tonyricha

Hi Malc My 450h was in at Lexus Cambridge last Friday for intermediate 30,00 mile service, total cost inc VAT an £10 courtesy car admin charge ! was £192.33 but sadly invoice does not show oil type or make. Oil price £46.94, filter£8.74, service £72.10, emission control service £23.50, environmental charge £5.50 but FREE tyre report !!!!! wey hey Had to laugh (or gasp ) because I booked with only 1 week notice they were unsure if they could fit me in and then tried to offer a voucher for the local gym instead of a loan car, and I thought this is an old fart's car. I must say Leicester seem really keen to help in the future, offering to collect and deliver back my GS even though I must be 50 miles away and always within 1 week, sounds good to me. Regards Tony You have got me wondering which oil is in my engine, I thought I could trust them but maybee .....

Dont do it !!! I had my 2002 GS300 (same engine ) LPG converted, ruined the car, as Lexus say it does not work on these V Tec engines, 2 engine re builds and flash lube system later I had to bale out and sell it, lost a fortune to save a little !

Hi Paul sad to say I dont think auto retracting mirrors are on the menu which is a shame with the cost of them if hit , I agree it is a pain having to find the switch in the pod every time to retract and then again to open back out. Recently had a week with a LS460 which did have an auto folding mode linked to the locking system which makes perfect sense so hopefully will spread to the rest of the range for our next cars. Is this the only ag with these cars ? musn't grumble ! Regards Tony

Hi, I have owned my 2006 GS450h SE l for the last 8,000 miles having previously used a IS300 Sportcross (could not part with it and so now have 2 Lexus ) and a 2002 GS300. I find the hybrid such a relaxing car to drive I can not be bothered to corner it hard but it does not feel any less able to cope with the rural roads in my area and anyway the enormous accelatation will soon make up any shortfall ! it just never runs short of pull. Great car so refined, always averages 34 to 36 mpg and low tax band. The only slight issue I had was getting used to the brake by wire system which feels a bit dead at first but soon got the hang of it. I drive 1000 to 1200 miles per week and so am looking for this car to cover 200,000 over the next 4 years, this seems a big ask but I dont believe Lexus would retail this product if not capable. Having said this the Sportcross does feel very special to drive now but maybe thats because it is more traditional and I understand it more and the straight six and big tailpipe do sound sweet. Good luck with your decision and dont forget good deals are out there, I bought my hybrid at 2 years old showing 26,000 miles for £20200 from Lexus with full warranty and RFL, maybe not everyones choice in Kalahari Sand but I like it. Regards Tony

Hi Mike, I had a LPG BRG sequential system fitted to my 2002 GS300,which is basically the same engine for £2000 + VAT and to be frank it almost killed what was a perfect car. Having covered 200,000 miles in a LPG Omega V6 I asked my supplier what would make a good replacment vehicle, he advised a Lexus so the deal was done. The gearbox upshift never felt as sweet once converted then the engine managment problems started making it cut out when warm ( lane 4 M25 ) without warning and would not idle from cold. Completly unreliable with Lexus blaming the gas people and vice versa. Eventually it burnt the exhaust valves out so Lexus rebuilt the cylinder head with hardened valve seats at huge costs, still didn't feel right so I had a Flashlube system fitted but did not keep the car. The problem was explained to me as the gas burns hotter and longer than petrol and so is still burning when it passes the back of the exhaust valves and so damages the valve seats and confuses the lamba sensors. In my mind it is a huge no no on a modern petrol engine and anyway LPG price has never come down pro rata with petrol. My IS 300 always averages 28 - 31 MPG which I think is plenty good enough. Please think long and hard before converting yours., the fuel saving will NEVER pay the repair bills, keep it standard as Mr Lexus designed it to be. and he is a clever chap ! Regards Tony

Hi Malc, no it s not you, my 450h is exactly the same, often wiping a dry screen for no reason yet when a truck passes in the other direction covering me in spray it almost never wipes. Quite amuses me but is sometimes dangerous but shes worth it !

Hi, I recently bought a full set of mats for my GS from a company called Auto Cruise Ltd on e bay, they were exactly the same shape as originals even down to eyelets for the hooks but have a heel pad on the drivers side and are £70 cheaper. Well recommended! Regards Tony

Yes, each time this has happened I am at least 50 miles into my day, and have driven 100 miles on the motorway network so the batteries have done no work Hi Malc, thanks for your reply, you clearly believe in this system and that is good to know, does your GS ever show 100% charge on either display? even after a long motorway run mine will not illuminate the top bar. I am under the impression the hybrid warranty is 60000 miles only which is only 1 year in my case, my car was purchased from Lexus Bracknell. Thanks again Tony

Yes, each time this has happened I am at least 50 miles into my day, and have driven 100 miles on the motorway network so the batteries have done no work

Hi , I have just taken delivery of a 450h SE L, georgeous car 2 yrs old with only 25k on the clock, but the hybrid battery indicators never show a full state of charge 7/8 maximum but from this point it only manages 2 junctions before the guage shows almost no charge left. Can this be right ? if so the Hybrid seems a lot of kit for a tiny gain. I know the car stood for about the last 6 months so I hope the battery life will improve. Obviously still under Lexus warranty so if they need changing not my disaster! Kept the 300 Sportcross for the wife, cant tell you how good it now feels !!

Thank you, lots for me and the dog to try!

Thanks v.much, I cant imagine how you learned this ! Could not find it in mine with the alarm sounding & the dog barking in a statley home car park so just left it open praying it was not a hotbed for car theft.

Thanks v.much, I cant imagine how you learned this ! Sorry for calling it a Spotcross , it was a typing error, honest!

Thanks v.much, I cant imagine how you learned this !

Hi, can anybody please tell me if there is a way of locking my Spotrcross without setting the alarm ie leave the dog in it after a walk while I go for a coffee without setting the alarm off. Previous cars(non Lexus) all had a button to dis able the internal movement sensors. If inserted into the door lock the key seems to do nothing, is this correct or have I got a problem? Thanks in advance Tony

The difficulty is seeing the road in front, compared to the halogen lights in my wife's Megan, the halogen lights on my last GS300 or the Zenon lights on Omegas I used to run these IS lamps are very poor,which makes me think something must be wrong.I recently tried a new GS300 at night and was amazed how good the lights were which made mine seem all the worse!

surley only the dip beams are gas with halogen mains?

Hi, this is my first winter in a 2002 IS300 Sportcross, I am finding the headlights very poor,when they switch on they level OK but even after fitting 100 W white main beam bulbs and setting the levels on a MOT beam setter it is difficult to drive at night. Do the gas discharge bulbs deteriorate with age or is this normal and something I have to learn to live with? Any pre crash help would be much appreciated!

Hi all, I own a 2002 GS 300 with a BRG LPG gas conversion now having covered 115,000 miles, the idle speed has always been low with the occassional missfire when hot, the car now cold starts perfectly and runs at 1200rpm for about 10 seconds and then tries to idle at about 400rpm which causes it to stall, it then will not re start for almost 3 mins, spinning over at high speed but not firing. As I am unsure what the cause is I have had the gas system completly disconnected but the problem persists. I found the local Lexus agent very un helpfull and so have had the car diagonsed by my local garage, local Toyota garage and Torque Developments Int who all tell me there is no fault except the idle speed, which is non adjustable is too low. The throttle boby has also been stripped and cleaned but made no difference . Does anybody out there have any ideas how or who may be able to help me PLEASE?