Leaderboard

If you can get one with a huge discount it's a no brainer. But do not pay list price or anywhere near that.

This is why our insurance premiums are going through the roof. Everyone from manufacturers, body shops, hire companies and dealerships all making easy money from insurance work.

Please please think of us poor souls that bought - the market is floored and more incentives on new ones will only kill it even more ! Seriously, where will this all end - the big manufacturers will just stop competing in markets with fines and disincentives and the Chinese will then just dump substandard cheap cars (even after paying levies) as they control the cost of batteries and other EV components. Once they have the market, they will turn the screw and as they are really the Chinese government it will set the agenda. The Chinese importers have no fear of the fines as they easily beat the 20% threshold as they are mostly bringing in only EV’s. You couldn’t have designed a more Chinese favourable regime if you had tried. The US has a far more sensible approach, they incentivise US manufacturers with subsidies for US sourced parts and gives credits on EV’s off personal tax, not the cost of the car. Lexus US will reduce the lease cost as they offset the tax saving, not by reducing the cost of the car - you have to be a tax payer to receive the subsidy. We just lump on fines and remove incentives - there are London Boroughs ramping up parking according to weight and as EV’s inevitably weigh more, they will pay more ! Governmental rant over - apologies for disturbing the peace on a Sunday

Indeed. They have been removing incentives over the last few years.

Bus is a computing term meaning a shared communication path between components, essentially via copper wires either within a system or allowing multiple systems to communicate with each other. CAN is an acronym for controller area network (hence why it is written in capital letters) - it is the specific protocol, or language, that is sent over the bus - like humans, two items communicating need a common language to understand each other. Within the auto industry there are many different protocols used. Toyota/Lexus commonly use CAN, LIN, AVC-LAN and MOST. The reason for using buses rather than discrete wiring is to save cost and allow more sophisticated features. Take the rear light clusters, (Toyota don't typically use CAN for rear lights but just as an example) - traditionally you have multiple wires, one for each function: rear light, brake, left indicator, right indicator, reverse and fog. That's 6 controls wires + ground. If you had sequential indicators you need two more wires for sequential mode rather than standard on/off required for hazard, so a total of 9 wires. If you had CAN controlled light clusters you can reduce to just 4 - +12v, ground and two CAN wires. If you want your mirrors to drop when in reverse, rather than a signal wire going to the mirror ECU, it can just listen for the reverse communication without needing any additional wires. If you take it to the extreme, where modern matrix headlights are made up of 1,000+ individual LEDs that each can be controlled individually to block out the beam to oncoming traffic then that wouldn't be economically possible or reliable using discrete wiring.

Kevin. Thorough test but pre-update - check the dash. John & I have been getting far far better figures. What Car are a very reputable testing house but for some reason they and most other tests result in far worse figures than those actually experienced. You’ll see from earlier posts that post-update 200+ real miles are easily achievable and efficiency upwards of 2.9 miles / kw. Comparing a BYD with a Lexus is like comparing a Dacia with a Lexus ! Look at the difference in claimed efficiency and actual at the end of the video and you’ll see even pre-update Lexus’s actual is better than claimed. I totally agree with John that the RZ was marketed far too early - they have totally blundered as all the reviews are for cars pre-update and the car shouldn’t have been released without it. Now the drop for heating is significantly less and use of the radiant heaters means ‘UK winter running’ is not an issue. Do I regret buying the RZ - yes. Am I happier since the update - far happier. With what has happened to EV residuals, would have I been happier with a different EV - no ! Lexus will be in a very difficult place this year as they have to achieve 20% of all sales being full EV, every car sold below that accrues a £ 15k fine - one of the main reasons in the drop in RV’s is manufacturers will reduce prices to sell rather than pay a fine to achieve nothing. There is no hope of Lexus getting anywhere near 20%. We have been totally misled by the government into buying EV’s as they then changed the rules by removing the 2030 ban at the same time as levying fines - total idiocy

I’ve got a series of test drives booked for later in March, and I’ve decided to bail out while my RX still has some value. I want to downsize anyway, but this issue has brought my decision forward. My RX is my third Lexus, and I’ve loved the cars and the dealers. However, none of the cars I’m testing is a Lexus - I cancelled the test drive in the LBX because I feel it’s just too expensive compared to the alternatives and, to be totally honest, all of this malarkey has made me think twice. I fully accept that other manufacturers have, have had, and will have similar issues. I also accept that Lexus may come up with a software solution for the Mk4 RX which helps or solves the problem. That said, I’m of the opinion that a smaller and less desirable car, and one without this specific CANBUS vulnerability is the right thing to do in the circumstances before my insurance renewal in May. Personally I think the damage to the Lexus brand among previously loyal owners is, and will continue to be, significant. Shame.

Just got my GS back from it's annual service and MOT, 7 years old now but still looks and drives beautifully. Total clean sheet from Lexus, no advisories at all. Thought I'd treat her to a full detail to celebrate. Kudos to Lexus Hedge End for their usual spot on service. I was just thinking, what else could you buy now in the Lexus range (excluding LC/RC-F) that can rival the comfort, power and economy of this GS ? It's a keeper for sure! Dave.

When it’s in the kitchen?

Rachel, I agree with John. Buying one of the used RZ’s with the update and a huge discount is a no brainer…! I see that Lexus Scotland have a few in the £40,000’s… You should get some more discount…! I have bought several cars from Eastern Western in Scotland. Two Mercedes, three BMW’s, and my Lexus LC500 Convertible were delivered to me to Cornwall from Scotland… I didn’t view any of them before I paid for them… I just got photos and videos... I did have a £5k deposit with them for an RZ in September 2022. I got my deposit back because my wife unfortunately can’t come out with me unless we use our VW Caddy WAV. If I could take my wife out in another vehicle. It would be one of the current used RZ’s. And I would have one in my garage… I regularly read posts on the Lexus Owner’s Forum… And from what I have read. The update has sorted the range issue for the various owners…

As it happens I own nearly 20 years old Lexus (2005)... does it have rust? Ohhh yeah! But more important question is what kind of rust it has... So first of all it is clear that it wasn't always cared for, there is little spot of rust where rear fender was scratched (so accident damage), the suspension bolts and nuts in particular have rust on them (I was told by mechanic this is typical for all Japanese cars, compared to say German), there is rust around lifting points (so again damage from improperly lifting the car) and exhaust is rather rusted (so that is wear an tear)... but there is no rust whatsoever on typical spots for older cars, floors, sills, inner fenders etc, because all that is covered by plastic. What is most important - all the areas that would be protected by "rubber undercoat" are not rusted. That is not to say rust protection is not needed, but as I said the focus should be primarily suspension components, not the underside of the car. Also they will rust anyway, if not themselves then they will be covered by brake dust which will rust on top of them. But using something like Bilt Hamber Atom-Mac is basically what is needed, something that could easily be sprayed on intricate links and suspension components. You can even do it yourself, it requires application maybe every 2-3 years, but as a matter of routine could be done once a year. The process itself would be rather simple - lift the car (ideally without damaging the floor 😄), remove 1 wheel (if you have nice even parking and jack stands could be done on all 4 wheels), spray it with APC, let it sit for 5 minutes, pressure wash all the lose dirt, let it sit for maybe 15 minutes for most of the water to run down (compressed air would be ideal here), then spray Atom-Mac focusing on suspension components and all of key things can be reached easily from wheel well. Also wand sprayer (like the ones used to kill weeds in garden) are ideal for this. Repeat on all 4 corners and your car should be protected from rusting for good 3 years.

I agree if you can get a great deal, it's worth going for it. The prices for nearly new, very low mileage (perhaps pre-reg) RZ's at some dealers seem very good. Some brokers are discounting the UXe by around 30% but am not sure if that level of discounting applies to the RZ. Bob is right that Lexus are in a difficult place with EV sales- I'd imagine there will be bigger incentives as the year progresses. Perhaps the rumoured reduction in the VAT rate to 10% on new EV's in next weeks Budget will help to increase demand.

Absolutely! Some Lexus dealers doing very good deals and offering more discount than other carwow dealers. I’ve used carwow for years and it gives me a good benchmark as to how much dealers have to play with on discounts. Most car manufacturers are doing good ev deals at the moment, they need to get their March numbers up, so deals are not bad.

Moreover, dare I say many people have no quantitive idea what they are talking about when it comes to public pensions. For example, historically many people with private pensions chose when and how much to contribute towards a pension. By contrast currently in the NHS as an example my daughter has a personal contribution to that pension that deducts 9.8% of her gross income towards that occupational pension. Dare I say if anybody in any sector contributed 9.8% of their pay over a period of 40 years towards their pension then it would be job done. I am not coming back for a dialogue on that issue as it's not really appropriate to the thread, but I thought a balancing comment worth doing.

What Lexus owners need to do is get together, use an RX as bait, and when the thieves appear, all jump out and ... (of course for legal purposes, I was going to say make a citizens arrest)

Thanks, I knew my car was rubbish! 🤣 Still none the wiser.

Good question - I will try to explain for you. We have dustbins for recycling tin cans and plastic. To save the planet we re-use these materials to make cars from the tin/steel/aluminium cans. The plastic makes the faux leather and other cheapo bits. So the CAN bus is a description of what your SUV or BUS like vehicle actually is - which is a bus made out of cans. Hence CANbus - QED.😉

Yes Ed, I think I am in the same mindset too. Just like you I love the brand, the quality, the dealers, and in all honesty it’s not the cars fault, it’s the thieving scumbags that are the problem. I have no doubt at all this will affect the brand, and take loyal customers elsewhere, ( just avoid Audi, there dealers are crap)and who can blame them, at the end of the day cash is king, and if owning a Lexus means being fleeced by insurance companies I don’t see an alternative really, sad situation 😩

Regarding advice be aware if it's the 'black' stuff these days it brings an advisory on MOT's to the effect the underside is not visible. When transparent stuff is now available it's easy enough to avoid that.

You are so right Paul. I've just had my council tax bill for the new year and they have put a £30 levy to help fund their gold plated pensions. Yet my private pension was reduced after a certain Mr Brown withdrew dividend tax credit all those years ago which finished off DB pension in the private sector years ago. I know this is not the place for this type of conversation but it annoys me that I have to fund a gold plated public sector pension out of my reduced private sector pension. Rant over and mods feel free to delete my post if you think it is inappropriate.

Range test of 12 ev's including UX300 e and RZ 450e. No prizes guessing what came last. Albeit this was before the new software update for the RZ although I expect the result wouldl be similar

No Lexus should be handed over to the customer with over inflated tyres. Yes they are over inflated on the RORO ship to avoid flat spots from the weeks a sea strapped down to the deck but each vehicle should go through a PDI before customer handover where these things are corrected.

Foundations of Stonehenge are deep you know. Like an iceberg.

The first owner was a retired gentleman from Kensington and I guess he didn't venture out of London too often. When I purchased it in 2021 from Lexus Hedge End it had just 3649 miles on the clock from new.

That’s where a home battery comes in. Charge it in the off peak window at 7.5p at the same time as the car is charging. Use the stored energy to power the house all day at the off peak rate. You are using the battery to time shift so you use no (or barely any) peak rate electricity. With solar too, aside from Nov-Feb you can generally charge the battery from that, in a few weeks I will be switching from charging the battery at night on off peak to just filling it with solar.

Regarding the boot leak, I found on mine that water had been leaking past the aerial mounting because the material had gone hard. A smear of silicone solved it. Maybe you have the same issue.

The oil leak looks like it could be just the sump gasket or even the sump plug.

I’ve got SyncEV charger, untethered, chosen because it was the smallest available and I wanted to put it on a low brick fence. I don’t subscribe to any special EV electricity plans as they mean higher chargers during the day, as a result as I don’t care what time I charge, I just do it occasionally in the morning while having a breakfast or before travelling.

Hi Chris, indeed yes it is Sonic Titanium. I'm actually back at Hedge End on Monday with my other car, an RX450h for the canbus protection plates to be fitted. Hopefully they take care of her, I'm sure they will. I have a search running on Autotrader for facelift GS450h's, they do pop up from time to time, but usually sell very quickly, often in less than 24 hours. Clearly those who know them snap them up! Auto Express certainly got it right when they voted the GS as "UK’s favourite used car" in 2021.

I think what is already clear is that it was the right thing to do to get two different make of cars. I can already see that the differences are going to be a source of appreciation rather than irritation. If I had bought two SC 430's inevitably I suspect I would have gravitated to one with the other doing more standing until I sold it off. With the SC and XK to move between I think there is less chance of that happening. Bit like a great roast dinner and baked pasta dish. Both to be enjoyed for different reasons. You don't have to choose between them !

WAW! Many thanks, never too late to learn. It all makes sense now.

I am really glad we don’t get real low / well below freezing temperatures - this article reports the real effect on a Tesla Long Range - https://www.hotcars.com/how-winter-weather-shortens-range-tesla-model-3/

List price on any ‘prestige’ EV is a definite no no. I’ll repeat though that I’m not as depressed as I might have been as I got a ridiculous px for my Velar. If I’d kept the Velar I would have lost about the same as the RZ has melted ! I was offered a factory ordered RX450h £ 15k below list so it’s not only EV’s apparently. with EV’s I think you need to be clear about what you really need. Range and charging but nothing else, Tesla are unbeatable, reliability and good range the Koreans, comfort, well finished but mediocre range Lexus, old battery tech and mediocre and misleading range the Germans. I see loads of articles about charging and a lot of them are totally misleading. Doing down a car with 150kw capacity against say 250kw really only means about 10 mins for 20% to 80% and is that a big deal for occasional public charging. Maybe for a road warrior and thus a Tesla but a concern for a luxury SUV, probably not. I think that Lexus US provides proof of the market for the RZ - they provide an ICE car of choice free for 30 days over 3 years for road trips, shame they didn’t provide it here.

If you sold it would you replace it with something similar? In other words, it might be more cost effective to have it repaired, especially as values seem to be rising, than to buy a replacement. It is quite an alarming list for a low mileage car, but, as has been mentioned already, the most serious (and expensive) issues are the corrosion and the engine oil leak. From the cars currently being advertised I would guess that the value, once repaired, would be over £5,000, assuming the bodywork and interior need no work. If it's a "hobby car" and you don't intend to replace it then perhaps just cut your losses and sell it for spares or repair. Apparently the engines are becoming popular for those who want to convert to V8 power, presumably having supplanted the trusty Rover/Buick V8.

People running NX450+ and RZ,s complaining about other people’s pension eh? It’s a despicable entitled culture we live in these days and I can’t for the life of me understand the logic. I’ve got one of those pensions and if I lost it, I’d be routing for those still with one to keep it, not lose it too but that’s the world we live in. We’ll have to hope people running old Vauxhalls don’t wish Lexus owners bad luck. The neighbour hit a pot hole in her Mazda coming to the airport for me and it ruined a nearly new all season tyre. That was several weeks ago and they’re still fighting it. Of course there will be people claiming free tyres in bogus claims which won’t help the cause but we can deflect that by blaming pensions.

Lexus=Japanese Merc. Just a shame there is nothing really in the same class to replace the GS. My father in law wants to buy a Freelander 2 I keep telling its built in Liverpool (Halewood) but he won't listen !

In terms of the electrical safety of regular use of a granny charger, I can recommend the Speak EV forum. It’s a discussion point that crops up a lot and there are a fair few electricians in the group. There is certainly not consensus on the issue. The best advice seems to be that if you want to rely on the granny charger as the primary method of charging, the circuit for the socket being used needs to be investigated. Is it on a ring, is it a spur off a ring, is it something dodgy like a spur off a spur. Is it a radial circuit. What else is on the same circuit sharing the supply etc The granny is going to be pulling over 2kW constant draw for many hours, likely at night, unattended. This comes down to risk judgement. Would you happily leave a fan heater running all night on full power while asleep, and do so using the same plug and socket several times a week for years. It will likely be ok, but think of it in those terms to judge the risk. Personally, I would suggest getting a Zappi or similar spec home charge point. Aside from the safety, which is a subjective point as detailed above, you unlock the convenience of charging far more quickly, and the ability to take advantage of cheap time of use products like Intelligent Octopus Go. You’re not going to get your money back on the cost of the install in cheaper electricity, but the convenience and safety are metrics only you can judge the merit of. You may decide that once you’ve enjoyed the electric experience, you want a full EV as a second car, and the Zappi will better suit that. Once you get a car with a plug, many will start to consider how they use electricity, and often solar panels and a battery follow. Funds allowing, an EV (or PHEV), solar and battery are together greater than the sum of each part. We did this some years ago and even running an EV our annual electricity bill is less than a tank of petrol. If you decide to switch to Octopus feel free to use my £50 referral code “Warm-Burn-664”

If your wall charger is not compatible with the Octopus lowest rate they also offer a tariff that charges 9p between 12.30am and 4.30am. There is a slight premium over the standard rate outwith these hours.

I ordered my LBX at the end of August, I was told it would arrive at the dealership on the 27th Feb, my latest update is that it’s at the depot (Derby maybe?) but like everyone else I can’t insure it yet, when I checked yesterday the LBX was listed on comparison websites but no quotes available yet. I’ll try NFU tomorrow as they’re my insurer of choice. Good luck everyone, I’m so excited to get mine!

From what I understand, mark 5 is fully encrypted. But I cannot confirm.

For the Takumi models like mine they come with Real soft Leather

Pin 3 on the fog light connector is for cornering lights, which is controlled via the headlight ECU. I don't know if it would be as simple as removing that pin from the connector and putting insulation table around it. Some duct tape over that element of the fog light lens would be the simplest solution.

I agree with Linus. Today's manufacturers have ensured their bodies do not corrode unlike in the 70's when rubberised sprayed on underseals were all the rage but eventually merely covered a rotting shell behind the rubber coating. It formed a mould of rubber over factory finished painted steel. Done with the best intensions but when moisture got behind the covering it rotted out chassis legs, side members and floors discovered 5-6 years later when finally the MOT man was able to poke through the moulded rubber with his screwdriver to discover crumbling wet and rusty remains. The chassis leg etc looked like it was still there because the rubber stayed in place as a moulded replica of the part it was supposed to protect. Stay clear. Just look at any 20 year old Japanese vehicles or British made cars for that matter which 1. are still around and 2. Have good bodywork and chassis still.

NOOOOO - please don't! The coating which is essentially like rubber is meant for old cars, I would say even vintage/classic cars. Have you seen how underbody of RX350h looks (or any Lexus from last 20 years for that matter?)... it is plastic clad everywhere! So applying rubberised coating like on 1970s Ford Cortina is not the way to go. What you need is to go to detailer and ask to apply something like Bilt Hamber Atom-Mac or Hydrate 80. https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/collections/corrosion-rust-treaments/products/bilt-hamber-atom-mac?variant=32326776291407 https://www.in2detailing.co.uk/collections/corrosion-rust-treaments/products/bilt-hamber-hydrate-80?variant=39561981001807 And it looks something like this: After that if you really want to go above and beyond - you can ask all the plastic panels to be removed and underside of the car to get ceramically coated, so it is basically becomes hydrophobic. But that is really unnecessary. What usually happens to newer Lexus is that exposed suspension components, bolts in particular get's rusty, everything under plastic covers are usually fine.

If they are now at the stage of cutting the wiring loom to gain access they would not even need to smash the plate. The plate only covers the connector area, not the entire loom. This was only a matter of time. The plate should have bought enough time to engineer a software fix.... But here we are still discussing the lack of solution...

OEM would probably be your best choice, aftermarket maybe Mintex. Bit of a discount here https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product-category/brakes-transmission/?make=316&model=337 Preparation goes a long way when replacing discs, rust left on the hub mating surface can create problems with warping and avoid heavy braking where possible until everything beds in.

I live on the outskirts of Wolverhampton, my mate lives in Great Barr. I pay £480/year full comp. with protected NCB, all mods declared like for like & 10,000 miles. I checked a comparison site earlier, just out of curiosity and the cheapest quote was £2100.. that's assuming my car is "stock"... ridiculous. People need to start ringing around rather than rely on online quotes, it's extortionate. I am not 100% about stickers (I doubt it because cars leave the dealership with stickers in the window) but tints being classed as mod is down to the insurance company. My I.C. (Brentacre) says tints are not classed as mod to them, but my ex from like 10 years ago had an issue with tints (not factory fitted).. A bloke came out to fit a blackbox and spotted the tints so she had to get them removed. Really depends on the insurance company, it's quite dumb that there are no set guidelines for consumers.

Mercs are great, they are very similar to Lexus. BMW and others, not so much.

If anyone steals my car I don't want it back. They can ship it off to wherever.

Hi Guys, posted a couple of times over the past while, and a few members have asked for better interior photos of my USB IS-F Never actually taken any half decent photos of the of the cars interior since fitting the seats and having the steering wheel re-trimmed. Quiet afternoon at work and an ideal chance to give the car a wash an hoover, and take a few pics. Hope you like them! The Seats are Recaro CS Sportsters from a Lotus Evora and came with manual runners. Yes, I've lost the heated seats and electric adjustment, but small price to pay for the perfect seating position as I've always found the standard seats didn't' quite go low enough for me. I must admit though, the heated seats were missed over winter, but it is nearly summer :) There is quite a bit of wiring involved to address the PCS and Airbag lights. This was taken care of by a professional Auto Spark. The bases came from the states, using IS350 mounts, although if I'm being 100% honest, the drivers frame isn't perfect and I'm going to have the original adjusted or an entirely new subframe fabricated. I used Optimus Trimmers up here in Glasgow for the wheel. They are top notch. Even did the wheel in once piece, unlike my GT3 which wheel uses three sections. I wouldn't ever have known, but Del the owner wanted it to be like the factory finish. He's some man! This is my third IS-F and chose to address all the little things I didn't like about the model with this car. There isn't much, but always room for improvement. I'm not into going overboard - Prefer to get the car like they way I imagined it might have come from the factory. OEM+ I think its called on the 'scene' :) Cheers, Stevie