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Ha ha, I thought I was getting confused 🤔. We are on a cruise taking in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. We are currently making our way to Keelung so I am sat having a coffee on the ship at 11:30 am, hence the time difference 😆

Same here... if money would be no object I may enjoy RX500 + LC500 combo... but money kind of being an object and only having to choose one car to live with I can't see any Lexus in the current line-up that would be both practical, non-SUV and somewhat enjoyable to drive.

I've bought mine this year IS300H 2014 with 300k miles and drives smooth, the previous owner had done all services in main dealer. Hybrid battery will need replacement soon that's all

Yes good idea try to keep it out of insurance claim if you can because you will have a nightmare getting insurance next time and the premium will jump even higher. Eventually Lexus will update the security on my model and I will keep it until my next insurance which is April 25 and then move away most likely to Honda. Whilst Honda hybrids are for old people (and I'm old) they do not get stolen like Lexus and insurance is very reasonable indeed

Parked up and was mugged by an old lady and had to buy a jar of her honey. Sort of protection money for looking out for my car.

That is completely mad!!! I would suggest you try to find a reputable bodywork repairer. I can't say this is true of Toyota BUT with a number of other brands mostly use specialist independents but claim it is done by them. EG I used to know a person who was a specialist PDR (paintless dent remover) and apart from dealing with private people he used to go to the local Audi, BMW and Honda dealership and repair customers cars at the dealership. Where he charged between £30-£90 for dent removal (which often took 10-30 minutes max) to the dealership they would massively profit from it by telling a load of porkies about how the car was taken to a specialist centre, had parts removed etc to charge a lot for labour. I found this out because my fiancee at the time had a 5 series and a stray golf ball from Carlisle golf club came onto main road and hit bonnet while she was doing around 60mph. A bad dent in the bonnet was caused although paintwork appeared ok so she took it into BMW Carlisle. A week later got it back along with a £500 bill and was told they had to get the bonnet and its insultation removed to access the dent and labour time was a few hours. A couple of months later by pure chance I became friends with a PDR person and when he came to our house we quickly established that he had fixed her bonnet as he was often called out to the dealers around Carlisle. It took him 20-30 minutes and not bonnet removal and he had charged them £60.00

Usually this comes to bite when you go to different insurance company. Perhaps in my case it was highlighted as I had another two non-fault accidents and then when I got RC my existing insurance company told me they cannot insure me at all. And when I asked why, they told me that I have 3 claims. I was like "what you mean 3 claims, I had 2 accidents where other people crashed into me which was not my fault and what is third", the lady on the phone told me it does not matter who was at fault - accident is accident and the third one was windscreen cover. Point is - they DEFINATELLY have this on their records, depending on insurance broker and underwriter they may or may not count it towards total number of claims/accidents. It has nothing to do with no claims bonus, only if you have accident that is your fault or let's say you have your car vandalised (where party at fault is not known), only then it will affect your NCB, if it is not protected. However, if somebody else crashes into you, or you claim on windscreen, or missfuel, or key cover, this is considered "accident/incident" and that is what you have to declare next year when you quoting for insurance, for the question where they asking if you had any accidents in last 3 or 5 years. Also "notification only" reports counts for that, so if you call your insurance company and say somebody crashed into your car in the supermarket and you won't claim, but just want to update the record (as they require by contract), it will also count for next 3-5 years and you will pay more for insurance for being honest. So if you had say 8 years NCB, you still have 8 years NCB (also many companies now only accepts and protects only up-to 5 years), but now you also have reported "accident" on your policy which will affect the price. Also even if you won't declare it (as I didn't do for 2 years for my windscreen claim as I did not know this counts), your insurance price is probably affected anyway, that questions is more like "honesty challenge" and insurance companies basically just check if you honest and that gives them extra reason to invalidate the cover or inflate the price if you are not. When I asked what exact claims they have on the system and reported them all correctly my cover price actually slightly dropped. Also risk here - if you declare the accident incorrectly i.e. you had the crash on 1st of July 2023, but for whatever reason in insurance records it on the 5th, then their system will not recognise it as the same claim and thus you going to be doubly penalised during the quote - once for claim you declared "incorrectly" and once for one you have not declared. Insurance is legal scam, which is enabled by government to rip of the drivers and that is what they doing. So when dealing with them always remember that - anything that you say will be used against you. My calculation is rather simple - I consider claim to be 20% increase for next 5 years. So if you paying £400 for your cover, then it is well worth it for the windscreen. Say £50 excess for ~£400 increased premium due to claim is still cheaper than ~£600-800 for windscreen. However, if one is paying £1,200 for insurance then we can quickly calculate that it would be cheaper to simply pay for windscreen yourself, rather than having it on your insurance. Finally, I guess it is more of an issue for younger drivers, as many insurance underwriters have extra rules for those under 25 and under 30 e.g. do not provide cover if diver has more than 2 claims, so it is not so much that you price increases, but more that you lose cheaper insurance option i.e. your cheapest quote would have been £800 from certain provider, but now you can't see it at all as they refuse to insure you for 2 non-fault claims you have, and the next cheapest underwriter who is willing to accept you is simply more expensive at £1200. It was always more expensive, it is just that you had more options before. Again for example when I was insuring my old IS250 (and also now) I get quote from maybe 70-80 providers, so of them stupid price of course, but a lot of brokers match their policy for me. When I had RC after having 3 claims, I would get total maybe 18 providers appearing on the search all together, so I was missing on maybe 50 providers who would not want to insure me. once one is over 30 it is much less of such requirements and it affects the price less.

Just an update. I took it to a car air-conditioner specialist and after he ran diagnostic tests, he could not find any faults with the compressor or detect any leaks. I therefore got it re-gassed and serviced for £100 and it's ice cold now. Whether the compressor will pack in at a later date only time will tell but hopefully I will have my car sold by then. Thanks all

Driving down the M60 yesterday I think. Somewhere near Manchester, I was driving towards Cheshire. Spotted what looked like a classic Merc in the distance and thought, 'Oh, looks rather lovely just as a classic Merc should'. Got closer then realised it had an L on the badge. 'Oh', and then closer inspection confirmed I was looking at (IIRC) an X or Y reg LS400. Beautiful!! Naturally I couldn't contain myself and gave a little pap of the horn as I overtook carefully. Not satisfied I'd been seen in my less classy LS430, I then proceeded to try and wave (like a moron) with my lights/hazards. If it was you (I think I know who it was), then I'm 😞 sorry... 😊 I get easily excited.

2013+ is more of a cosmetic facelift rather than any big changes under the hood. You want a 2009+ facelift model as that one has the better suspension as the earlier models had issues with premature bushing wear on the front control arms. You also get 6 pot calipers on the 2009+ models vs the 4 pot on the 2006+. Driving style doesn’t change much between the generations that much unless you go for the 2013+ LS460 F sport which has firmer ride and tighter handling (rare in the UK, more common in the US). Not too much goes wrong apart from the usual Lexus 5.0 V8 issues. (Valley plate leak *common, front control arm bushing *somewhat common, timing chain tensioner rattle *somewhat common). Overall it’s a decently reliable car. There’s a good video from the car care nut channel on YouTube with a recent video on the LS460 common issues. Pretty applicable to the LS600h as they share a very similar engine and pretty much the same body and suspension (LS460 had an RWD variant which is different to LS600h which is AWD only). If you do buy a LS600h make sure to listen for the timing chain rattle, it’s a costly job to fix (rattle doesn’t seem to cause any damage to engine however from what I can see on Club Lexus forums. It’s expensive due to the 21 hours book time that Lexus will charge you for it because it requires disassembly of the front of the engine.

I took my car into the dealer yesterday to fix the media/connecting to the app problems. He reset the software, re linked my phone to the media centre and it has been working as it should be ever since. The last software upgrade messed it up, I had not recorded trips since Feb. All ok now.

There are many factors that will determine whether the car is running on ICE, battery or both, speed is only one. Just let the car do it's thing and you soon won't notice the difference.

80mph.

Malc 1 just got a stunning deal from greenlight insurance. All mods declared can add more if I feel like it. Can have track day cover for £45 per day if I feel the need to track day her 😱😬.

I don't remember, I know it was cheapest policy available, likely it was fully comp. But even then, even today fully comp is about the same price as TPO and TPO+F, for many year fully comp. was actually cheapest for me as well... Some non-sense about "people who don't get fully comp. are considered more risky", or maybe other way around "people who chose third party only are more risky"... basically there was some excuse to price TPO higher. I remember making mistake once and providing my actual phone number when comparing the quotes and it was few years later after £36,000 quote, so insurance probably was already like £16,000 or £14,000 by then... and I received the call from the cheapest quote provider asking me to confirm if "I want to proceed with the quote"... and I was like "seriously, have you seen the fffing price?!" and the guy on the other end was actually annoyed and said "OKEY, Jesus... if you don't want don't insure with us then!"... as if the price was somehow realistic for somebody to pay and my answer could have been anything but "ffff-off". To be fair - obviously it was not his fault that the price was the way it was, but also it was almost cheeky to ask if I want to pay £16,000 to insure £800 worth of Ford Focus LX 1.3L - "yeah sure... go ahead then, I am just going to pay 20x the price of the car". Actually, on other occasion I have said that... and lady casually womansplained to me that "it is not about the price of the car, but is about the risk you as a driver may pose and thus is calculated to cover that risk"... thanks lady, I never thought about that... "now it totally makes sense why ~22 years old has to pay over £10,000 for insurance... simple - it is just about inherent risk they are".

Linas hi …… and All I think those brokers and insurers ….. all of ‘em ……. have a base point that they won’t insure you whatever, being car, driver age and experience, postcode When they do pass this “ test”, next comes the number of “ events “ on prior policies …… your fault or not, non physical even like glass claim events You may have a totally clean record with everyone else at fault BUT you have been involved and caused some insurer somewhere to open your file and spend time on it I can’t, and won’t even try to explain the totally incomprehensible and inexplicable and one just has to chase around finding an insurer that maybe just “ likes” you If there’s any insurer, broker or even Dan that can dispel my irreverent thoughts then GOOD …… let’s hear them eh ! 😂 Malc

Hi Malc1 I am in discussions with several insurance companies. Problem is not the mods, it's the car 🤔. Lexus seems to be so misunderstood as brand. Far more than a jumped Toyota. Billions spent on refining every part for optimal weight reduction and strength is on scale that's never been repeated. LS430 is not a difficult car to work on. Design and quality of parts and ease of routine maintenance is phenomenal.

You are right Malc. but having had the Trannie pipe drop off the Radiator of my S140 series Merc just as I arrived home once, I bought the Rad just in case. It was a problem with a certain manufacturer which I may have mentioned before on this forum, Well known to Merc owners. Earlier Lexus didn't use them but had their own Rads which G willing will last to eternity. Only frontal impact or external corrosion likely to require replacement. Bl**dy weather - one day progress then two days Gales and wet! Doh!

I've been in a similar boat with my EV, trying to navigate the best charging tariffs. It can be tricky finding the right fit for cost efficiency. I remember stumbling upon some useful insights on managing EV charging expenses on websites like https://smarterbusiness.co.uk/. They offered practical tips that helped me make informed decisions.

Just had to fix my drivers side last week, the passenger side went last year. Electrolytic corrosion it looks like to me but could be wrong. Just fitted a large washer over the hole and all ok for now. I asked them to check them at the last service in September but they said they were ok. Whether they did check them or not I don’t know. New heat shields were about £90 each I think from lexuspartsdirect. I’ll see how the washers go for now.

I’ve not had any issues in my NX but I did have both heat shields come away on my CT after about 5-6 years. I ended up Jerry rigging them back on with washers etc. they seemed very flimsy and easily disintegrated I’m sure the dealer can fit replacements but I remember my quote being quite expensive as they had to remove the exhaust to fit so I didn’t bother

They’re an extra 2-3 weeks at sea now because they’re coming around Africa rather than the Suez.

Going through an expensive/messy divorce so sadly having to put my Lexus up for sale. I've owned it since new in September 2023 and it only has 5,000 miles and is in immaculate condition. Rare Sunlight Green paint and Hazel interior combination. The car drives beautifully and I'm gutted to see it go. It will be replaced with a 2008 Vauxhall Corsa that was previously our third car used for shopping/tip runs (fortunately I don't cover big miles!). Grab a bargain at £30,500. I'm based in the Falkirk area and happy to arrange a test drive. Link below with photos (hope that's allowed). https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202403288072637?sort=distance&advertising-location=at_cars&make=Lexus&model=ES&postcode=fk3 9bx&fromsra

Yes ‘Lester’ is tucked up at home with just 50 miles on him as we only picked him up a couple day’s before we left 😆. We were supposed to be going to Hualien, but that has obviously been cancelled due to the terrible earthquake. We are arriving early in Keelung giving us an extra day and overnight, so that means we are able to see the night market which should be great.

Yes, that’s cleared that up. 😀 Sounds like a great cruise! I guess you’ve left the Lexus at home… No doubt you’ll be enjoying the many delights of the Keelong Night Market - if they let you off the ship. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g13806823-d1383207-Reviews-Keelung_Miaokou_Night_Market-Ren_ai_District_Keelung.html

Me too! More like Arthur Daley than Lexus Main Dealer… If you - or indeed anyone else - is looking for a used Lexus, then maybe search for Lexus Select vehicles from the ‘Pre-Owned’ offerings? These are supposedly subjected to a 150 point check before being presented for sale - the implication being that they are properly prepared and warranted for sale. There’s more information about these vehicles here: https://www.lexus.co.uk/pre-owned/lexus-select

After 60 years of motoring I had my first experience of having a damaged windscreen en route home from holiday. I thought it might be repairable, but the crack was in direct line of driver vision and was considered to be a potential hazard. I had no difficulty getting Lexus approved windscreen last year. Initial visit from fitter said that the Insurance company would probably not meet the cost and advised me to check with the insurers before proceeding. I did as he asked, and the insurers agreed straight away. Perhaps because I happened to be insured by Toyota?

One word answer to questions, general not interested vibe. Could not answer why if the car had been in the shop for two days why it was a state. Didn’t really offer anything useful to hang your hat on. You go in armed and prepared that they will be waxing lyrical about the car and it’s plus point but nothing not a flicker. It was very odd as it was in complete contrast to the first time we went in just to look at `Lexus generally. With the end of the first quarter coming up just thought he would be wanting to make a sale. But the state of the car on its own was shocking.

And Chris Knott Brokers too M

Let the dealer principal know.

Wise move Chris, by the sound of it! Don’t despair Chris. It’s much more a reflection on the Dealer. Anyone in car sales who can’t be bothered to properly prepare a vehicle for presentation doesn’t deserve to stay in business. I always maintain that if they can’t even be bothered about the bits you can see, then always walk away. Are there no other recognised Lexus dealerships within a reasonable distance? I do believe that outfits such as Carwow might be worth looking at - but I’ve no personal experience. Good luck!

Still waiting for the used oil valve solenoid so decided to chase the aftermarket switch wiring. it proved easier than expected!

Just to point out, Chris, that if they’re replacing the two front tyres then they should go on the rear wheels. And they should be the same as the current rear tyres ie you have the same brand and type of tyre on all four wheels!

Absolutely agree. In my case the lobes were clean, with no wear sings. When I bought my LS430, the car had about 150k miles, started having issues at around 200 - 210k miles. After doing the full timing and clearance job it runs like a charm, but honestly I think the valve clearance was never done before. As a side note, I run the car on LPG, so I would imagine the seats and valves may experience a sight more wear since LPG burns at higher temperatures, and does not provide as much cooling and valve lubrication as petrol.

Took delivery of a white takumi LBX three days ago. Quite a bit different from my 19 year old IS250. But this one is really for my wife. It handles well, corners well and is nearly as quiet inside as the IS. Shame about the lack of a full manual - though it is available online (and it keeps referring you to the multimedia manual which doesn’t exist except online inside what it calls the Navigation Manual !!!) So far we are pleased with it except my wife hates the big multimedia screen which she says is very distracting. I have yet to discover how to turn it off.

No, thats not true. Wet batteries can be sealed, not just AGM, Absorbent Glass Mat, sometimes called Gel. Sealed batteries have a pressure relief valve inside and a little vent hole on the top narrow side, into which you plug a little drain tube that's in the battery compartment. I've since found this Yuasa literature attached which is almost correct for the battery, except one of the labels says Y6 instead of S6, as S6 could easily be AGM version of Y6, I just don't know. The '400LN5-MF' is 400 cranking amps in an LN5 sized casing, with MF, maintenance free. LN5 is equivalent to the 019 size battery casing, 190Hx175Wx335L. I'm inclined to agree it is just a normal lead acid, the car would be the very first generation that launched late 2017, registered new in feb 2018. It may well be the case that AGM became standard shortly after. The yuasa UK finder site lists two AGM as suitable, with the warning that original AGM must be replaced by AGM. The NZ finder though indicates either were fitted. This particular car could well be common to the NZ spec, ( I'm in Ireland, so km and rhd same as Japan, NZ etc). Anyway, I had a used AGM of exactly that size from my previous 2015 A6 Quattro, still serviceable, and holding 12.6 volts lying around (used as lawnmower jump starter). I put that in this morning. The LS doesn't use the 12v battery for anything other than system startup, and accessories. Its charged from the hybrid at a set 14.1 volts, which is a maintenance level voltage for AGM. It doesn't crank the engine, the hybrid motor does that, and all the stop/starts during driving. I'll see how it goes until the main dealer finds a definitive answer. I can get a LN5 size 85AH standard battery for €100, AGM for €200. Y6_for_General_passenger_cars.pdf

I got mine fixed in the end and it was apparently just a leaf stuck in the fan housing. Lexus Guildford didn't even charge labour so I can't imagine it was too much work for them to get out. Every time you remove the filter there's a chance debris sitting on top of it will fall down into the fan housing. I've heard that you can slot a piece of paper or card underneath before withdrawing the filter which should block stuff from falling in.

A mate Terry. We did lots of changes to his Yaris Cross but it got written off in the first month. The waiting time for another matches a new LBX so he’s gone up in the world. He needs a towbar and lighting for his bike.

I think you’ll be given another app. It works like Apple Pay and you use the phone in a similar way. It is ultra wide band technology that can’t be scanned.

There’s a big difference between the Yaris and the LBX. To comply with EC manufacturing legislation, the battery for the Yaris is sourced in Europe from Mutlu in Turkey and they are known to have a performance issue. The battery in the LBX is sourced in Japan, probably from Yuasa but they do use ND and Panasonic. These are top notch batteries and don’t suffer the same as Mutlu. If you charge a Mutlu overnight it will test ok even when it isn’t.

Mudflaps are available and surprisingly cheap. I’ve ordered the tow bar and wiring too. List price is £813 for the two.

I also note that the boot lamps don't appear to illuminate. I see that they appear on fuse 19 DOME 7.5A alongside the other cosmetic light circuits. Interior light, Personal lights, Vanity lights, engine switch light (?), Trunk light, Antenna, Garage door opener system and Audio system. DOME circuit also appears to be controlled by the D/C CUT 15A in the engine bay, which also does the MPX 1-3 which I imagine is a multiplex of some sort. I was told by the previous keeper that the stereo didn't work but that it was just a fuse (?) so this might make sense, however I have seen the interior roof lights working.... The audio system is on fuse 47, RADIO#1, 30A, but also on fuse 24, RADIO#2, 10A, along with the trip info display, seat belt warning system and shift lock system. I was pleased to see an invoice which included speaker replacement in the last couple of years... Plenty to figure out before the replacement oil valve solenoids arrive

But if you do. I'll be interested

Try searching for insurance in incognito mode, don't login to your accounts either. Not saying it'll massively cut premiums mind you, but insurers/comparison sites play the same game as ticket sellers, airlines and hotels. If they know you're looking, up it goes...

I think it's mostly just for fun. In a manual car you might change down to get more power for faster overtaking. You can simulate this for the same reason - higher revs gives more power, perhaps when you're about to overtake. But with this transmission you can get higher revs just by pressing the accelerator in a way that is not possible in a manual. In past years, journalists who didn't understand this described the transmission as being noisy. This is wrong. It's not the transmission that is noisy it's the engine, which like any other engine is noisy if you change down to the lowest available gear when the car is moving at speed. It's just that you can get maximum power in this transmission just by pressing the accelerator, rather than having to manually change down. You can also use the paddles on a long descent of a hill. But I generally use the brakes in order to get maximum power regeneration. If the hill is not too steep you may be able to slow the car enough with a light touch of the brakes which will only use the motor-generators, rather than the brake pads, to feed electricity into the battery. And when the battery is full, the car will increase engine revs automatically to provide engine braking when the battery can take no more electricity. Sometimes you might think the engine is running when in fact no fuel is being used but electricity is being drawn from the battery and the motor-generators are turning the engine without petrol. This is done to reduce the charge in the battery when it's close to the maximum.

42MPG sounds like the norm your never going to consistently acheive diesel territory MPG figures. Only obvious call outs are dont carry unnecessary weight, check tyre pressures, go easy on the throttle but that soon becomes boring. I stopped chasing MPG figures a few months after ownership, I genuinely don't know how people acheive 60+mpg figures over a full tank. To keep pace with traffic or driving it normal without holding traffic does hurt the figures (at least from my experience), the 2.5 engine is not great on economy but neither is it bad, if your coming from a diesel you will feel the MPG drop like I did.

Yeh yeh - another LC500 😁 On the other hand, the house looks amazing. How about a walk round video of that!?

Used Whats app 20240116_115531.mp4

Love it, best colour combination too. If I knew how to do a YouTube video I would have a go.

That's why I never buy a new model that's just been released. There are always niggles, faults, and recalls until all the bugs are ironed out by the customers' experience. Best to buy EOL models, all the bugs are gone, loads of extras chucked in, discounts to be had. If you keep the car until 'death' like I do, it matters not that it's last year model