RgrWynne

Steve, just to inform you, my daughter purchased a 2008 RX400h just over a year ago. It had 120,000 motorway miles on the clock, but whilst it had been serviced on time, it had not all been done at Lexus dealers. However the owner had taken it to a Lexus dealer because of a fault, and was advised to purchase the extended warranty, which they did. My daughter then transferred the warranty, and have had expensive items replaced....rear calipers and discs, both sides. The car is now serviced at Lexus, the car now has 132000 on the clock, and she has just taken a further 2 years extra warranty out. Lexus have been brilliant and the car has been faultless.

Thank you for that John, I know where he is and may we'll give him a try in future. Rgds,Roger

Hi John, think your idea is a good one. Would be interested in knowing the indie on the Wirral. Thanks , Roger

Hi John, think your idea is a good one. Would be interested in knowing the indie on the Wirral. Thanks , Roger

I totally agree with Paul, just be very careful, it is not worth cutting corners, for a relatively small saving. I would also add that my colleague whose brake discs were rusted also suffered with a seized caliper on a front wheel. It overheated the disc and wheel making the car violently judder at high speed and frightened the living daylight out of him. The car had just been mot'd here, he lives in France, and it was not picked up.

A cause of disc scoring and also high wear is when the vehicle is not used and the discs rust. Depending on how long the vehicle is left will decide how bad. This happened to a friend who did low mileage , but had very high disc wear. Good luck with your claim

Thank you Colin , I will have to have a look underneath. I guess the one think I am concerned about is if they high pressure blast water underneath will it ingress the sensors on the air suspension and then affect it. Cheers, Roger

Really appreciate the advice, just what I hoped to get, Rgds, Roger

Hi Andy I bought a heavy duty jump starter, up to 5 litres , from machine Mart, as reported in this post . I have used it about 3 times on a completely flat battery , and performed well. I keep it fully charged, but unlike many of these new smaller ones it is heavy. i subsequently changed the battery and not used it since, but is handy for powering a compressor to inflate the tyres, plus I know it is there in a emergency. machine mart only did 2 models, the one like you saw in Halfords , plus the heavy duty , which I bought . cheers Roger

Thanks for that. Have you actually had your Lexus rustprooofed ? just trying to gauge whether it is necessary , thanks

Hi, has anybody had their Lexus LS waxoiled. Flashed up on my iPad the other day so I asked for a quote, which was £460. My friend who has a Rover 75 which he is hoping will one day become a classic, had his done earlier this year and was raving about it. Basically the whole underside of the vehicle is completely jet blasted to remove all the muck and loose rust. They also remove any plastic wheel guards, dry everything and then spray under pressure waxoil everywhere. He told me they even did the void on the bonnet and the boot. The 64 thousand dollar question is, bearing in mind it is not a Rover 75, is it necessary. On the other hand £460 not a kings ransom if you plan to keep the vehicle, which I do. Would appreciate your opinions, and Happy New Year, Roger

Hi Roy the one that has been added after mine is the one I would go for. Machine mart did 2 models and the one I got is the heavy duty one, but technology has come on and I would go for a much smaller one now. rgds, Roger

Hi Roy, merry Xmas to you and all members. i bought a jump start from machine mart, about 2 years ago, which copes with cars of this size, and have used it before I replaced the battery. I think the cost was about £90. However I think you will find there are some good alternative smaller options on eBay, mine is rather heavy duty, and heavy. They are universal for all sizes and types of requirements, with adaptors to suit. They are of course Chinese made, and seem to be good value. Have not tried one myself but I know others who have and they have worked ok. Just make sure you get one with the right spec. Cheers, Roger

Regarding engine wear, I think you only need look at the Prius, which is the global taxi of choice and achieve massive mileages.

I bought my LS 430 from somebody who bought an LS 460 as a replacement . He owns multiple cars, and said to me he wanted first refusal if I ever sold. On each MOT anniversary I ring him and tell him how good the car is .Each time he asks me to sell, he is not happy with the 460 even though it is a great car . So I have a buyer lined up but I could never replace a vehicle in which I have complete confidence. There is mention here about large bills for mercs. They are fine cars and I am not running them down at all but I have noticed with German cars generally at a point in time they have expensive service items that tends not to happen on Japanese to the same extent. Just my observation. I do think there is something that gets into your blood with Lexus, plus we are probably all nuts !!!

I spoke to the independent Lexus service centre, Lex Tech, in Sheffield as mentioned on this forum. The owner tells me he has over 20 years experience at a main dealer, and was trained on Lexus. Can't confirm but he sounds like he knows what he is talking about and I plan to use him. I asked him about the air suspension on 430's and how prevalent were problems. He said in his opinion these problems were over stated, he was not aware of it being a big issue , and that most problems related to the sensors, which he was able to cheaply and easily deal with. i have always taken the view that my car drives so beautifully, to replace it with a modern version would cost 'at least 'over £3k per year in depreciation alone, and I would be happy to spend that amount , which covers any suspension problems, and hopefully ....... happy days. Of course I hope that day does not arrive yet and I have more mileage in current air suspension. Happy motoring, Roger

I had the same problem last year on my LS 430. Fitted new complete hub from Lexus, but done at an indie, I think it cost around £400 fitted and all well. Would not have just bought the bearing, my choice.

Just changed my radiator as a precaution, no problem. Bought an OEM from Lexus garage, for peace of mind and hopefully another 14 years. I imagine the old one was the original because the retaining bolts were hard to shift. Used a very good indie locally.

Thanks doog, it is a shame that some people are unable to cope with different opions, without insulting. This will sometimes happen, but of course ultimately will stifle debate,

Am very happy to be a "sheep" and only fit OEM parts from Lexus dealer. The same applies to my wife's Honda, and guess what fantastic reliability with both vehicles. I use a good indie for my Lexus who is old school Mercedes trained. He has a large customer base, built up over years, together with experience, and would always use OEM.......because in his words.... they fit. It does not matter where the parts are made, it is the quality, with some very high quality coming out or China......alongside a lot of dross.

To go through rear brakes in 6000 miles I would have thought you would need to have driven like Lewis Hamilton !!!

http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/recommended/most-reliable-cars?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=OBBestpages2016&utm_term=5053546

Renewed my LS policy with LV last month £246. Always been with them and they are always very competitive. Tried Adrian Flux once and they were so far out, I think about twice the quote at the time, I thought they were having a laugh.

Hi Chris, really appreciate your response. I had come to a similar conclusion. The steering lock/ignition switch is totally free now. I think that the steering wheel motor needs attention, which I can now deal with, thank you, Roger

Steering wheel motors were sounding different the other day. Stopped for fuel today and could not start, the ignition switch would not turn. When I pushed it in the steering wheel tried to come down , but stopped, obviously seizing. Tried many times but it just would not budge. Had to ring the AA to relay into the local Lexus garage. AA said 90 mins, so kept trying. Eventually a combination of using the manual control on the side of the column, and pushing the ignition switch in to activate the motors , I managed to free the ignition switch and start the engine. Does anybody know what the problem is and any solution other than taking it to the main agent. Based in Chester, many thanks, Roger h