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Like @Al D-Much, I personally like the way it's set up and I like the fact that if you want it - you press the button. It was the same in my UX. There does seem to be a bit of a 'jolt' using it to pull away as it's obviously holding the brakes. That's fine on a hill, but unnecessary elsewhere. Each to their own of course, but I certainly wouldn't like it to be 'on' all the time. I'd feel as though I'd have a slightly sticky caliper every time I wanted to move forwards from standing still.

And as well as above the cabin is warmed by the engine running - so in winter the engine has to run more when you are st speeds where in summer it could be off just to generate heat so you have warm air into the cabin. When you first start the car in cold weather the engine has to run a longer initial cycle to get to working temperature and of course heat up the cabin first thing from stone cold (so fuel economy takes a proportionally bigger hit again during short trips in winter). To a lesser extent you also use more electrics in winter - so lights, wipers, heated seats, rear window demister etc. - these all require power that has to be replaced and so again the engine will run more to replenish the battery. The optimum external temperature for efficiency is around 20C - at this temperature the cabin is comfortable at ambient temperature so no heat required from the engine to warm the cabin, less power sapping electrics, and the air con isn't working very hard. The hybrid battery is also at the best working temperature for efficiency too. Conversely as outside temperatures rise up from 20C the air con has to work harder and as that is electrically driven in a hybrid is starts using more energy that then has to be replaced. Also the hybrid traction battery can become less efficient as it starts to get hotter. The effect is less on fuel economy in hot weather than cold weather but it's noticeable.

Basically hybrid batteries don't like cold weather and therefore the ICE is being called upon more regularly to transmit power.

I have a funny story while travelling in France on the way back from Italy. I set the sat nav for Luxembourg to get cheap fuel but forgot I had set the sat nav for just France. I ended up in the middle of nowhere in a small Hamlet called Luxembourg with very little fuel left. I was then panicking on a Sunday to find fuel.

To update this car parking charge. Following my response to the claim made by Uk.... Ltd I have heard back from the* IAS on the appeal. Bit frustrating as in the event the car parking company have dropped the parking charge, but there are no grounds given and the *IAS has not ruled on the matter. Good result ,but as I say a little frustrating.

No, but I've fitted a ctek quick plug and hooked up several amps and a remote battery monitor and GPS tracker...

Thanks Malc, I was far too rich, until I come to insure it 🥴 and Len, I feel cheated now, and there was me thinking I’d been specially selected 🤣😂

Xmas buskering was the best for sure 😂 Malc

I think with most things in life if you look at things purely from a financial aspect you would never do anything and life is to short. I have driven abroad for probably at least 25 years although not recently. There is not doubt it has got very expensive to drive in Europe now but what isn’t. The last time I went was in an BMW X5. On top of fuel and tolls doing 2500 miles adds on over £100 in tyre wear and brings servicing costs sooner. Plus extra insurance so all in all it is not cheap. Having said that I love driving abroad so the cost wouldn’t put me off. Trouble is the body is getting older now but the mind is still keen.

There is a moral here somewhere. If you have a whippet go to Asda, if you have a Red Setter go to Waitrose? I guess the bowls are a bit different as well. Delft for Waitrose and battered WW1 metal field kit for Asda.

Got 255/40-18's mounted all round and wheels installed on the car today. Initial short drive didn't show any dramatic difference to the 19" factory wheels, but as expected the new rubber is quieter than the old Potenzas. Happy with the fit and look, so now just need to get an alignment and then on with the onerous task of putting some miles on the new setup Cheers....

Lexigirl was a bit jealous of the attention the XK was getting so took herself off for a car park shoot. I warned her you won't look your best in this weather, but the green bug of envy had to be satiated.

Once you have had blind spot monitors it’s really a no brainer,something that helps me see something in my blind spot!

Still available on the web new for 70 euro( not 1700 ). Battery lasts 2 weeks

Let me just add this to the jobs list (aside from sorting out the brake shake... again!!). Thats a bit of that knee wrap tape as a temporary fix. Maybe my lights are not self levelling properly anymore as for a few days I've been getting people flashing me. Today trucks have started doing it and one just put his beams on coming straight opposite me. Hopefully this band-aid might help the lights not to shine as high.... Though, if I stand far from the car it doesn't seem excessively high nor shining in my eyes! Another problem could be that after I had the lenses cleaned I didn't add any extra laquer! I guess I'll find out in the coming days as this needs sorting.

Just bought and installed these, replacing my Osram Night Breaker Laser D4S bulbs and these are a direct replacement for the HIDS bulbs, these are a night and day transformation! No idea on the reliability but time will tell! I've tried all sorts and these are the real deal. No change to the existing setup. Plug and play.... OPP ULITE D4S Led Headlight Bulbs, Real Plug & Play, 1:1 with HID Bulb, Canbus Error Free, Compatible with Original Ballast Replacement Bulb, 9000LM 6000K Cool White, 2pc Pack https://amzn.eu/d/44MiRMX

Well stalked that man!

One in Beckenham. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/315142049133?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=moawhk8ctb-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=-Xw-SSzkQbS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Have finally agreed a renewal for insurance on my RX450hL (68 plate). Was awaiting the deemed 3-week "ideal time" prior to renewal to seek a quote. Filled in MSE's car insurance+ machine looking for fully comp on SDP at 8k miles a year, and it came back with a set of the cheapest three = £1,356 from Saga, £1,586 at Sainsburys & £1,684 with Admiral (all a bit horrid after £600 cost for the previous year). Rest of the list of offerings went airborne, running up to somewhere over £3k! The three "cheapies" each tried the rush-rush by saying their offering had to be accepted within 7 hours. Anyway, decided to give Adrian Flux a buzz - having already had a property covered with them. A kindly gent called Jeff (perhaps Geoff?) spent some time going through the requirements - I explained about having had the security plates fitted some months ago and my use of a Milenco steering lock etc. He did a quick (presumably online) check and saw they were coming up worse than Saga, so he excused himself and went off to badger some underwriters, quite successfully in the event. He came back with £1,221 from Axa, with free legals, plenty of Euro travel etc. - reasonable package. Painful by comparison with last year, but in truth I had been fearing worse in view of all the recent alarming publicity. I trust other folks are also finding their way through this ghastly maze - Good Luck!

Go for it. I've got your back. I'll be sure to have some cash on me when I'm around Waitrose.😉

Just a local one to get a sense of it. The build quality was excellent despite the example being tatty the engine was so smooth but you'll already know that! Suffice to say he's committed to an acquisition sometime soon.

I think there's also a case of the latest technology that nobody has yet released. In some case what we get isn't just what's possible, but what's sufficient for us to be persuaded to upgrade, with manufacturers releasing previously developed upgrades as and when they have to.

Apart from the badges I think we both have the same colour cars George.

You do't have to have a credit card with Apple. I once had issues with my iTunes account being hacked, so I deleted my credit card details and just use Itunes vouchers now. Years ago I used to be a big gadget fan, and was lucky enough to work in the mobile industry, so always got the lastest phones for free. Now that the novelty's worn off (and I have to spend my own money) I find that pretty much any phone does what I need. I still use an iPhone as my main phone, but usually buy used for under £100 (current one I've had for 3 or 4 years) and only upgrade when apps won't work on whatever highest level of OS it will take. My backup phone is a used Moto G, that was only £50, which frankly works as well as any iPhone I've ever had. I still like gadgets, but tend to be more interested in those that do things I couldn't previously do, rather than ones that might do the same things a little better.

First time I’ve ever set up a direct debit for my other car (3 door Rav4), tax is £395 a year, thought I’ll keep the money in my account for longer and just pay DVLA £34.50 a month . Will do the Lexus the same way , that will be an extra £60 plus a month.. between them that should be 3 pot holes sorted !!

Pleased to hear that the car parking company has dropped the charge - good result. If the car parking companies think there is any chance of a precedent being made that would work against them in the future then they wouldn't want to clarify on what grounds they dropped it (at best it's usually goodwill or something) and would want to keep it out of the appeals or small claims process in case others used the dame against them in the future. They rely almost totally on case law if they take the process forwards as that's there cheapest way of putting together their case and only needs the cheapest legal people...!

That will pay for 1.5 potholes.

Exactly right, Ian. It’s an aid to safe, careful driving - not a substitute for it! In fact I’m slightly surprised that you can even switch the system off. You can certainly adjust and reduce the sensitivity of the sensors, but I haven’t done that. I’m perfectly happy to have my attention drawn to the approaching pedestrian continuing to push a shopping trolley at my car despite it very obviously moving. And there have been times when reversing when BSM brought my attention to such items as very low walls that were impossible to see from the driver’s seat. Just to be clear Alan, are you saying that it isn’t?

I recall having a new 2.0l Lancia Beta Coupe in the early 80s at the height of these rumours. It was an excellent car; comfortable, reliable and with a very acceptable performance for its time. I didn’t have it long enough for any potential rust problems to develop (it was a company car) but they were exaggerated anyway. As I recall, the subframes could rust and become loose - but I don’t think any engines ever actually fell out! I think that at the heart of its problems was the use of substandard quality steel, to keep costs down, and - especially - poor quality workmanship. Which of course was something that bedevilled much of the British Motor industry too.

Hi Michael, It may be worth contacting Lexus customer services as I think it shows very poor customer support on behalf of the dealer. You may be surprised if they do get involved. Bri

Take it back and ask them to rectify it or if they state there is no problem, get it in writing.

That sounds hairy but what do I know of Plasma cutters? Good to hear that you fitted a ,92 into your Mk 2 '94. I have found a source for a s/h one but won't say more until I know its been cut out successfully. Fingers crossed as so many things can go wrong. Same with importing. Could end up with a giant box of glass shards and no rcourse to money back. Local S class Diesel may be on the Horizon but hoping not.

Could be the slider pins rather than the caliper itself.

If you're a hero driver and drive faster than everyone else, you don't need a blind spot warning system. In fact you don't need mirrors at all. As everyone behind you is of no consequence.

Do you have the button to enable the option?

Hi Mike and welcome to the LOC. Phil’s logic with the auxiliary battery is spot on, there have been multiple reported cases with Lexus vehicles having weird electrical problems when the battery is failing and “the dash lit up like a Christmas tree” comment. I don’t understand what is going off with the dealer diagnosis, “engine” or “transmission” is extremely vague. Do you know what checks they have performed e.g. basic battery tests, hybrid battery levels and a full diagnostic code read. Admittedly diagnosis of some faults is difficult but with the correct equipment, multimeter, oscilloscope, Techstream, experience and a sharp pair of eyes certainly possible and fully expected from a dealer. I would by now be looking for immediate answers and escalation.

This is the key point - prevention. It can be prevented but we are talking about already rusty. It's too late. As far as I understand renovation is expensive and must be done properly. A bit of oil and stuff won't do any harm, and it might make you feel better but it is not going to undo the rust damage that is already apparent. Maybe these rust cure things do something minimal🤔 - I think the jury's out on that. Tell me if I am wrong please.

Many years ago chatted to a guy at a classic car show ….. his Austin Cambridge A60 developed an engine oil leak drip from new and he couldn’t ( or wouldn’t ) fix it …… wondrous simple protection all underside over those decades from a tiny insignificant drip …… other A60s just rusted away I know The power of an oil drip allowed to flourish and save a fortune on rust prevention Malc

Nope. And there are certain circumstances where an auto feature could be more of a hinderance then help

Fuel consumption will be worse in winter and if you do short runs or at high speed.

My key observation is the age and quality of the van the new proposed contractor arrives in …… if it’s too smart and new he’s making too much £££££ from his jobs ……. Any works guys I use just know I’m broke coz of my old and ancient cars …… I hope they pity me 😂 Malc

I think the hybrid system would raise a fault code if there was a problem - certainly all those on this forum across all cars have either had no issues or a fault code - so long as its had the hybrid health check at the specified interval then it would be a warranty replacement of the battery if a fault code indicates a failure that can't be fixed any other way - to my knowledge Lexus do not have any threshold (at least published) for the hybrid battery capacity and nothing in the warranty about being below any threshold.

IIRC there was a thread on here a few years back along similar lines with the upshot that the techniques you are using cannot check the health of the hybrid battery. TBH best best is to get Lexus to do the hybrid healthcheck every 12 months / 10k miles (whichever comes first) - free with a Lexus service or about £60 if you pay for it separately - and then they will warranty the battery for 15 years with unlimited mileage - which seems like a good deal to me. I have a 2014 IS 300h (so basically same drive train as NX 300h and I've now done 143k miles with no issues whatsoever with the hybrid system to date. There is at least one other member who I think is on around 250k miles in their IS 300h with the original hybrid battery and another member with an IS 300h who did have a hybrid battery fault at 190k or so miles and had been using the hybrid health check and so had the hybrid battery replaced under warranty. Also the tech is basically the same as the Prius of which there are many thousands of cars happily running with no hybrid problems having covered hundred of thousands of miles. IMHO if you are concerned best to get Lexus to do the hybrid health check and if it passes then don't worry about it (but get the check done on schedule to keep the hybrid battery warranty in place).

Potholes can simply destroy tyres and a tube of gunk won’t fix that …… you’re clearly immune thankfully 🥳 You've been very fortunate never to need Breakdown Cover …….. lots of £££££ saved AND all that useful space free in your cars not carrying that totally useless spare wheel and jack I'm sure your plan of inaction will continue to find favour with the gods 🤥 Blessed are the few and that clearly includes yew 😇 Good luck Malc

Through circumstance I'm in a similar situation, using a Fold 4 and Honor Magic Pro 5. Samsung blows Honor out of the water on the software and stability front, however the Honor has a genuine all-day battery life even when hot-spotting to the iPad and doing GPS tracking. The V2 is too expensive and doesn't move the game on from the Fold....... I left the Apple walled garden after moving away from the iPhone 5S to a Galaxy S7. However my iPad pro has been really impressive interms of functionality and am now saving up for V2.0 of this.......

I had a triple CABG (Conorary Artery By-pass Graft!) 8 years ago. my blockages were 95%, 85% and 70% if I remember correctly. You will not be allowed to drive for 6 weeks after the operation. The post op exercise classes are essential to get back your fitness - you may even begin to enjoy them! They will probably take a vein from your leg and use that as the "tube" for the by-pass. It is considered a routine operation, but not to the person who is having it! As Stephen said above, the main pain you get is from coughing - that is why they give you a rolled towel to hold against your chest. You will feel quite weak for at least 2 weeks. Please DO NOT attempt any form of exercise until you are told to. I got bored and decided to polish the car roof after 3 weeks - oh did I suffer! Be a patient patient and your recovery will be quicker! Try not to worry unduly and if they offer you an earlier appointment take it! Keep us informed how it goes please - all the best!

Yeah, nowadays they have "high-end" and then "true" high-end. As always we can thank apple for this mess - I think they started it with iphone x, or maybe 11. Basically before you get either Iphone or galaxy S and that was the high-end phone of the year to get, then apple introduced "pro" for like £1500. At first it looked like either you get normal phone or overpay for some gimmick, but now the normal iphone or Galaxy S are actually mid-range, for example I have S22 and it just feels cheap even compared to my previous S10, because the one to get suppose to be £1500 S22 Ultra (or it was 2 years ago at least, S24 just launched now). Well and obvious they have these foldable phone now which used to cost a lot, but again rumours are Samsung is going to get competitive on pricing again. As for foldable phones - they are still fragile. When they were not water-proof I didn't even consider them, but I bought Z4 Flip as present and it was quite good, the special screen protector failed after 15 months, but it was replaced by warranty for free. Screen seems to hold just fine for now and Samsung does £150 subsidised replacements. But foldable phones are still fragile in comparison to normal ones, you definitely need to take extra care with them. I honestly can't care about latest and greatest now, somehow few years back each phone release used to excite me and there was some significant upgrade, but in recent years I really struggle to see what am I getting for extra money. Same applies to both Samsung and Apple - I can't even tell the difference between iphones after 12, Galaxy S likewise... last 3 or 4 are pretty much identical... S21, 22, 23 and now 24 really offers more or less the same package. If anything I probably prefer my old S10 (generally would like to have more compact phone, but there are no more compact high-end ones). As such I just keep the phones until they fail now... had S6 edge, to be fair it had not failed, but got quite slow after 4 years, S10 - I cracked the screen after 3 years (still works fine, just glass has chip) and S22 still going strong after 2 years, so if rumours are true then maybe in 2 years time I will pick-up discounted Fold 6. As for all other brands I personally find them irrelevant, so if android then it is Samsung, if not android then it is iphone... Never found Google Pixel to be any good, Sony, LG, HTC etc. are all pretty much irrelevant now. Motorola is basically chinese company as well and they kind of hang around in mid-range and then there is probably 100 different chinese companies. Generally they have impressive spec sheets, but features are just not polished and do not work half of the time and that is even considering Samsung features are often not fully polished. Also again in my experience they simply fail in less than a year, it starts little by little, but in 12 month it usually turns into brick... sort of maybe camera starts turning off at first, then it doesn't turn on at all, then microphone starts glitching, then people can't hear you anymore and by years' end they stop charging, or holds 4h of charge... or some combination of similar issues. As for malware - 1 it is real thing, but 2 - I kind of agree, there is nothing useful they can find out about me and I am not planning to go to china at any time soon. So it isn't real concern, but it is there. Also perhaps I would be little bit worried logging in into my banking account, they probably wouldn't bother stealing my 2p worth of savings, but I in theory they could if they wanted to. Also also - that is not to say google or apple does not spy on us, the difference perhaps is targeted advertising vs. "re-education camp" in Xinjiang. That said I think my key issue is their quality and "longevity" and their price isn't even that good in UK. For example I bought Oppo Find X in 2018 when I was in China and my girlfriend bought Vivo something... whatever. Point is in China Oppo Find X costed something like £290, whereas here it only launched year later for £899. And similar story for Vivo, it was even cheaper, if memory serves - like £155. So yes - at those prices they are amazing devices and I don't even care if they last 6 months, but at UK price I just never going to pay £1000+ for chinese phone, for one I kind of know they are not worth it, because they actually sell for maybe £250 in china and secondly, they are made to that level of quality. So yeah - if ever needed "burner" phone for some reason, then I may just get one of the cheaper ones for under £200, but I will never regard them as premium devices in the same league as Samsung or Apple.

Good news! Calibration worked! The English translated Chinese instruction I got from the seller didn't fully cover it but once you understand, it is very simple. These are the steps: 1. Get car in calibration mode: start engine until tire pressure display comes on (before this sequence i made sure the tire pressure display was selected). Then shut off. Do this 5 times. On the 6th start, the calibration mode is active. 2. This is what you see in calibration mode: see first picture. To the wheel without dashes: let air out until a yellow coloured pressure is shown. I only had to let out a few tenths of bar. 3. Do the next tire that has no dashes shown (display updates automatically after previous step. 4. Repeat step 3 until no more tires without dashes. I had to repeat the whole sequence due to an error in the Chinese translation and on the 2nd try the last tire was not needed so i only did 3 tires. The 2nd picture was from my first attempt when i did all 4 tires. I used 2 phones and a FaceTime video session for convenience so i could see my dash while out of the car (2nd picture is screenshot so bit blurry). 5. Shut off engine and restart. Not sure this was needed but did it anyway. 6. Inflate all tires to 2.5bar on the compressor (car shows 2.4) using the supplied compressor in my 300h. Nifty little device and quite useful. 6. Did the TPMS set (button under steering column. Happy days!! I believe this calibration sequence effectively is a TPMS relearn that you can also do with an OBD tool like Autel TS501 or Tire Assistant + dongle (Android only). For those interested in TPMS and Toyota/Lexus, i found this video insightful ( Car Care Nut). All you need to know about Tire Pressure Monitor For Toyota

Not really a strange world - all you have to do is to accept that all insurance companies, utility companies and so on are out to bleed us until we squeak! When I first started driving in 1975 a "fully comprehensive" policy was just that; everything you needed in one easy-to-arrange package. Now, if you want X you have to pay for it; "You want Y sir? That will be an extra [sticks finger in mouth then holds it up to see wind direction] £85 sir" I don't want to meet the Grim Reaper for a while yet, but let's just say that I'm glad I'm on the last bus to his place because this world is going to Hades in a handbasket on all fronts.

The ETCS does do a lot of secondary functions like idle control, traction control etc so I wouldn't be surprised if the Toyota engineers stuck something in there for emissions control. The swap you want to do is the 3 litre v6 from the GS300 which is the 3GR, is that correct? The 2.5 in the IS250 is the 4GR. I've had a couple of BMWs in the past albeit older ones but I will say they don't age well. From the interior they suffer badly from bolster tears in the drivers, seat wear on steering wheels can also cause splitting in the leather. An equivalent age and mileage Lexus won't have those issues. I still love BMWs though they are fantastic drivers cars. The BMWs can be a bit of a minefield regarding engines so you do need to be careful with which you buy and the maintenance. I live in Ireland and we have massive depreciation here on larger petrol engine cars and cars older than 2008 as our motor tax favours newer diesel cars and small engine petrol cars. I actually went onto the way back when web page and looked up the original for sale price of the IS250 here. Mine is a sport with the nav and sunroof and they were €60,305. For the price I paid you're talking €4,300 per year in depreciation. That is the nature of the Irish market here I don't know how the UK market fairs in comparison. The most popular cars here at the min are the likes of Hyundais as the Irish have a "new car mentality" where they prefer having a brand new reg numberplate on low spec cheaper brand cars than buying something a few years older for the same money with nicer spec. All our nice spec cars here tend to be UK imports. My IS250 was originally a Northern Irish car.