Keith Bowler

Great, thanks Phil

Does anyone know the corresponding paint code for the constrasting 'cladding' colour for Imperial Jade Mica (6Q7).

There was a post on here a few years back and I wrote it down in a safe place but as is the law of sod it was safer than I intended and I cant for the life of me find it.

Cheers

3 hours ago, plastic orange said:

Mine has had a knock for some time now and I've ruled out the obvious. A very detailed inspection discovered a crack in the bottom of the spring on the N/S, so this is what's causing the noise. As my car is a DHP model, I'm living with it as I can't source replacements. MOT wouldn't pick it up as it's very hard to see, and car hasn't dropped as piece is still in place.

 

Pete

Interesting, mine is a 1999 DHP spec car too, problem only ever there on start up and has never been flagged at MOT time too.

Just out of interest chaps, apart from riding low are there any other obvious signs of spring failure.

The reason I ask is that i have a knock from my nearside front which is not ball joint or bearing related and goes after a few miles of driving.

I reckon it may be shock absorber or spring related, anyone had a similar issue?

When I had my rear bumper repaired after being hit by a NID the cost of a replacement strip from Lexus was £157 +vat!

You can use the self adhesive stuff that comes in a real but you need to be very good at getting it straight.

Interesting, the very same company that wanted to write off my car when I was hit by an uninsured driver last year.

Now that's something completely different!

Nice tidy and well thought out transplant there.

Is it getting the 'rat' look or will you be putting lots of shiny chrome and paint on that lovely patinated Detroit steel.

Hi Les

I believe it was Car Parts Market who trade on eBay.

The glass is not OEM and I remain to be convinced that the wide angle section of the glass is any different from the remainder.

That said, if you can get your existing glass to delaminate leaving the lower layer with its heating element connections etc in tact, the replacement self adhesive glass fits snugly in the existing plastic surround and demists as normal, you just don't get the night time dimming effect when car headlights behind you are picked up in the mirror.

If you really want to achieve the dimming effect you could put some very light window tilting film over the replacement glass before you fit it.

Drove my LS back from the station after work last night in the snow a 10 min drive took nearly 2 hrs.

Ok I had two hills to negotiate one was fine the other quite frightening, snow traction control facility better than useless, had to stop on an incline brakes just about held but even in low gear control moving off was useless and I nearly squashed a Fiesta on a slight incline at less that 5mph.

If it continues I am either going to let the tyres down a few PSI to try and get better traction or just leave it on the drive and walk to the station.

Why are Lexus's so bad in the snow, even my old Mk1 GS was the same, my work colleagues who have BM's Audi's and Merc's don't seem to have such problems.

Any tips on how to drive a big old Lexus in the snow apart from the obvious, slowly and carefully?

Stuart - I had similar dilemma with my Mk1 GS which used the same 1-button key and sourced some replacement cases with blank blades.

I was lead to believe by a company that reproduces programmable car keys like the Lexus ones (based near Heathrow - used to reprogramme and re-cut blanks for £20-25) that the electronics and transponder is self contained though as Steve mentioned there is an electrical connection to the blade.

I never did get my key rebuilt as I robbed the bits I needed from a scond hand key I got hold of and then passed the car on, but I do have a couple of blank cases knocking around in my Lexus spares box (single button but not identical OEM) if you are interested in getting yours rebuilt. You could split with Steve as I know he was looking for a single button key case a while back.

Finally got round to replacing my broken door mirror, turned out the replacement was faulty as it did not heat up then I damaged the glass on the final fitting.

Ordered some replacement glass from that nice bloke on eBay and replaced with a non heated plain replacement glass stuck over one layer of the original glass. This works fine and even heats up ok it just does not dim. I can now see why a replacement is over £200.

In the fitting process would you believe I have lost the lower tabs that secure the glass unit at the bottom, so now need to know if anyone has a fix for securing the bottom of the glass unit where the tabs are broken. A bit miffed as I was soooo careful! Have used some Gorilla duct tape where the tabs have broken to secure it at present but I doubt it will no hold up for ever

Thanks chaps

On 1/6/2017 at 8:18 PM, goldtop said:

The DHP wheels are all 5 the same, so when looking at them, the elongated bit of the 7 cut-outs is towards the top-right/bottom-left (which keeps things simple, but sets off the OCD in me). So they all look like this:

Any notions of 'improved airflow' are marketing BS or wishful thinking.

I have them on mine but don't like them (for looks nor tyre choice nor alloy quality), and next time that it's tyre change time, I may swap to non-DHP wheels.

Anyone know where to get the centre caps shown in the picture above as they do not appear to be OEM items?

On 1/6/2017 at 9:01 PM, cornershop said:

Fancy a swap?

Anyone know where to get wheel centre caps like the one in the picture above?

Thanks Colin, that is my plan now having bought one of the heated glass ones off eBay.

Will search out your post

7 hours ago, The-Acre said:

When I bought mine early this year it had a very dark nearside mirror, I bought one from a breakers which turned out not to have the original glass so that went back. I then bought a stick on one for £9 but managed to get the black edging to cover it so it looks fine.  It still heats up, just takes slightly longer but not much. It's a bit dirty today but this is it in place. And obviously it isn't self dimming but better than the £250 I was quoted for a genuine replacement.

Thanks for the replies chaps. The replacement I fitted from a spare mirror I had is not too bad as it is only cracked in two places and really only noticeable from certain angles. When it gets too bad I will try a stick on replacement that I found on eBay, says it's heated too.

To cut a rather long story short yesterday I had what I will call an altercation with a motor cyclist that resulted in damage to my drivers side door mirror.

I know this question has been asked many times before but other than getting a proper replacement mirror panel from Lexus is there a viable alternative to the naff stick on replacement glasses.

I thought I had a spare door mirror unit with good glass but sadly when removing the panel using the cloth trick I must have damaged the glass so now need a replacement.

Any tips appreciated.

Not as difficult as I imagined,will have a go over the weekend.

Thanks Steve

I have same problem, so got hold of a second hand mirror complete with good original heated tinted glass for around £30.

Just need to pluck up courage to remove the glass and fit, anyone any tips on how to do this?

Sorry to have highjacked Graham's original post but just could not resist enquiring about Pete's Moggies.

Awesome Pete! - bet they are a real hoot to drive.

I am very tempted, I have seen the Traveller with a Mazda MX5 conversion I believe it was all professionally done for around £20k.

I have stuck with the OEM Bridgestone Potenza runflats on my LS. They give an acceptable ride though you do get a degree of 'tramlining' when they become about half worn and they are rock solid but then I am used to a hard ride having the DHP spec and previously I ran a GS300 Sport.

As an aside, Angus, I would be interested to hear more about your V8 'Moggy', I have a V8 MGB but have always fancied a V8 powered Traveller .

I have a blank replacement somewhere that I bought for my old single button GS300 remote locking key.Its not an OEM replacement but it might work. Let me know and I will look it out.

9 hours ago, Frubbins said:

It looks like I am going to need an independent motor engineer. Anyone know of one in the Croydon area ?

With regard to the garage saying "it was a non-starter when it arrived so we don't know it worked" (Obviously it didn't start as it didn't have a working starter motor). Anyway I just realised that the RAC guy who turned up two days before the starter finally died, jump started the car. With the bonnet open and the engine running we spent a good ten minutes talking about LS400's. His father had one and both of them were great fans. So having stood next to the engine turning over silently for 10+ minutes, I have an independent witness to the prior state of the engine. Useful if this goes to Court.

VISA have noted the failure to supply service bit and have posted the £700 into an escrow account pending satisfactory outcome.

Philip - I have used an independant Toyota/Lexus mechanic in Carshalton for a few years now who knows his stuff when it comes to these models. He only works part time now but would most likely help you out. Message me and we can discuss how to get in touch with him.

Hi John - thanks, I have sent you a private message with my contact details.

I should be able to receive messages now as I have emptied my message box.

Cheers

Keith

59 minutes ago, Chasdad said:

Hi Keith. I've got one you can have. It's got clips snapped off but could be held in place with a dab of silicone I imagine

Hi yes please, PM me your details and how much youcwant for it

 Cheers

Could not source any replacement original caps so decided to go for some 3D decals on generic centre caps as photos.