goodoldgrandad

I phoned my Lexus Dealer service department and was told that with the engine off I should hold the "Menu" button in whilst pressing the engine Start button - nothing solved. Then I was told to disconnect the car battery for a few minutes and reconnect it to see if that will reset the management system - again nothing happened appart from now loosing the radio stations !!! As there is nothing on the screen you can't see what anything is set to. Any suggestions please - if not I'll have to take it in to Lexus and make a 100+ mile round trip. It is still under warranty but I didn't know if by pressing something it has turned something off.

The central display console on my IS250SE-L for the sat-nav, etc has gone totally blank today. I can't get anything to come on it. We I first switch on the engine the Lexus logo flashes on the screen for a few seconds before going blank. I've tried pressing all the control switches but nothing seems to help. Also tried the dimmer switch and covered the dashboard light sensor. Any suggestions please?

Standard production cars are designed to take the same tyres all around - mix and matching can be dangerous and is apparently THE main cause of accidents where tyres are to blame. Personal view - stick to the same type and make all around. The added bonus is when you service the vehicle you can also rotate the tyres around the car to even out any wear.

The V300 Twin Turbo is basically a Toyoto Supra engine and Lexus GG300 body, so service costs are usually within these car's budgets (which are usually competitively priced). However, not many garages know what they are dealing with if you show up in a V300, and some Lexus garages will not service imports. A good local "sports" garage may be able to help. If you live in Coventry then you are not far away from Thor Racing - so if you want to add goodies and service it as a performance car then they offer good value for money and know what they are doing.

Most of the electronics on the Lexus are "fail safe" - ie: if a wire comes off it assumes a sensor is down or a problem exists and therefore a light or alarm comes on. As you seem to have an intermitted problem then I suspect it is a poor connection rather than a genuine fault as such. It could be a loose wire or the switch itself breaking down, so have a look at the TRC control switch first.

In theory the different steering wheels from these Lexus/Toyota cars work in a similar way and appear to have similar functions and same fitting spline on the steering column. Getting hold of them in perfect condition may however prove difficult. The "Up" and "Down" shift are only switches after all that give a signal to change the gears electronically. You would have to make sure the air bag, etc is perfect and you may have to fiddle with the electrical connectors if they are not the same type. You can also buy triptronic style steeling wheels off the internet, but I've not seen any with airbags fitted. In the past I did change my Mitsubishi FTO trip-change wheel for a smaller version with actual paddle controls (not buttons), which I bought off the web from Japan.

Sadly price is not always an indication of performance, and you will find that some "expensive" break upgrades have little improvement for the extra cost (whether this is for the Aristo or any other car I've owned). Often it is as much down to driving style and the road surface and condition than the car itself. If you want improvement in the car's breaking my advice is the following cost to performance route: 1. Use better quality pads (currently good quality Green Pads on Anees Aristo, so not much you can do here). 2. Replace breaklines with stainless/braided and use high grade break fluid. 3. Find replacement performance discs to fit your wheels/calipers. 4. Replace all the above and add larger new calipers (probably means new larger wheels). 5. Choose some good larger rims and quality rubber tyres. UK Supra break upgrade is good for the MK2 Aristo, and I've seen one with LS400 breaks fitted. Be aware of import parts as these often aren't any different to what you already have if you have an inport car already. However, ask yourself how and where you will be using the car. I suspect that larger wheels, replacement pipes, good break fluid, quality pads, and modest priced replacement discs (ie: groved) will do it for everyday use. More or bigger surface area calipers/pads take you a step further with quality tyres. The main thing is that you need to do is for all four wheels (especially as there is four wheel steer breakout on Anees car) - get the breaking balance wrong and the car will handle like a JCB. Be careful on bleeding the breaks on the Aristo, as I'm told that air in the system can ruin the master cycliner (which is an expensive hobby). If in doubt, take your foot off the accelerator early!!!

The fin on the roof is not "standard", but was fitted for the freeview TV - allowing you to watch it on the move (unless you are in a poor reception area or have the thing switched off !!).

Watch how you go !!! Drive it for a while before you consider fitting the performance parts, and maybe think about upgrading the breaks at the same time (or before) - better to be able to stop than just to accelerate.

I've sent another Personal Message with the information.

I've sent you a personal message/e-mail.

I guess it was probably me as I'm in and out of Sheffield most weeks !!!

If anyone is doing work on their brakes, then here is some information that may be useful. Following these links to three pages of procedure on the post 1997 Lexus GS300, which is the same I am told as the MK 2 Aristo. Brake Bleeding (page 1) Brake Bleeding (page 2) Brake Bleeding (page 3) Be VERY careful to follow the instructions, as damaged can be caused to the brake master servo, which is around £2,000 to buy new !!! It's really a two "man" job - unless you have very long legs !!!

Yes - I've got all the wiring information sorted. Just got some glue-filled heat shrink sleeving and got a new soldering iron (rather than using my welding kit and blow torch). Just need some spare time now to do the job.

I didn't install the hands free kit - it is still in the box next to my computer !!!!! I don't like cutting and splicing wires - it always looks like a bodge job. I'm still trying to find some matching plugs and sockets, new or from a scrap yard, but as yet no joy.

The magic of computer power - and of having the diagnostic codes to know what it means and how to access it or go through a proceedure !!! Everything electrical on the Aristo I am told has fault-finding diagnostics built in.

Try the fuseboxes and relays in the footwell, as these mainly have the internal/dashboard fuses. Been to Hong Kong many times on business - much better than Huddersfield but just slightly more busy !!

It's a toss up between keeping the Aristo and sneaking out to do a spot of tinkering in the garage or buying a potting shed !! Decisions, decisions.

The car was serviced and put away for the winter, so I may have a potter around in it now it's better weather. Only did a few hundred miles in it last year, so I may be looking for a good home for her shortly. At my age I guess I'm starting to perfer the 4x4 for comfort and pushing all the grandkids clutter in rather than the performance of the Aristo !!

Does the Aristor not have servomotors/solenoids to control the air flow? If it was a "buzzing" sound then I suspect it was mechanical rather than electrical shorting. Have you check the fuses? Here are a couple of pages of information from my Lexus GS300 workshop manual which may help. http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1808/aristomk21wb1.jpg http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/3430/aristomk22ft8.jpg

Yes I believe they are the same - bought mine with new plugs and the two breather pipes from Toyota Dealer and they were invoiced and boxed as genuine Toyota spares. You can get them mail order from www.toyotalexusspecialists.co.uk

I suspect it is a common con of either: 1. Get goods with counterfit Bankers draft. 2. Money laundering (pay you more than the car is worth but ask you in the final deal for cash back). 3. Trying to obtain your return e-mail so they can spam off it or see if they can hack through your password. 4. Obtaining your e-mail information so they can sell or claim to sell product using your identity (only you don't get the money - just all the hassel). My recommendation is NOT to respond to this type of e-mail and do NOT click on any web-link they may include in their e-mail (as this can up-load spyware, etc to your PC).

I don't believe so as the GS300 of that age is the same as my Aristo TT as far as I can tell - which means you have a five speaker audio system (not four speakers) - so the harness and wiring are different. You could check - if yours is the four speaker audio system then I suspect it will fit. The Parrot harness is for GS300 cars older than 1998, LS400 cars between 1990 and 2000, and IS200 between 1999 and 2003 (which are four speaker systems and all share the same amplifier, etc)

Thanks - but I've already spotted this and I think it must be for the Mk 1 Aristo or UK version of the Lexus GS300. It is for a 4 speaker system - the MK2 (which I have) has a five speaker system (with a central dashboard one as well) and slightly different wiring and plugs/sockets. Either this was a change on the Mk2 or the fact that my car has the combined radio/CD/Sat Nav/TV built in. I may end up just cutting off the fifth speaker in teh dash altogether and splicing the wiring if I can't find a neater solution.

I was trying to work with the wiring in the boot as it is easier to access and I didn't fancy tacking the dashboard out. I can't spot a Blue/Orange wire on mine !! My car has the combined radio/CD/Sat Nav, so muting the radio may not be effective if I've the CD on. I've worked out the car speaker wires, so as I can't get a suitable interface cable for the Aristo I'm going to do some surgery and cut some wires when I get around to it.