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aspire

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  • Lexus Model
    SC430

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  1. Thanks to you both. Since posting this they've been fine! But I'll probably have to do something fairly soon - winter nights etc. I've printed out the techy stuff to show to whoever I decide to take the car to, I'm not skilled enough to DIY. Derek
  2. My 2002 SC430 has been maintained by an independent garage rather than the dealer, for a while, but I went back to ask about my self-levelling headlamp problem, and it is not a job they are equipped to deal with. The warning light on the dash comes on intermittently, and even when it is not on, sometimes the lights seem to be "hunting" up and down for the correct position. I could return to the Lexus dealer, but my garage recommended a local auto-electrician "as long as they are motorised, rather than pump operated." Can someone advise if they are motorised or pump-operated? Any other thoughts on the subject also welcome - including any experience of the cost of repair. Derek
  3. aspire

    Rust

    Thanks very much Ended up at my local Kwikfit, agreed with your opinion that the heat shield was rusted through, but just at the bolts that attach it to the boot floor (I think) and charged me £2 to re-attach it with large washers! Who knows how long that will last, but I'm happy. They also quoted £260 inc vat for front discs + pads, does anyone have an opinion if this is reasonable, the last MOT flagged these as needing attention soon. Derek
  4. aspire

    Rust

    Hi Thanks to those who helped with my failing folding door mirrors. I've left alone but they've been working fairly well again. Fingers crossed! New concern... My car has a new rattle, most noticable when I shut the boot. Excuse my lack of technical knowledge, but when I look underneath, there's a piece of pressed steel that curves down over the exhaust system towards the area of the bottom of the bumper, and it seems to be rusted through, and free to rattle. No other indication that the car is unwell. I'll probably take it to my local independent mechanic to look at, but any advice on what I should be asking would be welcome. Derek
  5. Enjoyed your post v much! Only one bucket? I would count myself as sympathetically minded in engineering matters, but not used to tackling car problems - happy to build furniture, or a new pc, for example. Can you give me a link to a site that might help me with the DIY approach to the mirrors? Thanks Derek
  6. Thanks for your advice. I'll try cleaning them out, but might just have to lose this useful feature and leave them folded out! Derek
  7. Hi and Happy New Year My 2002 SC430 door mirrors are no longer reliable. Sometimes they fail to fully retract, sometimes don't fully extend back out. If one sticks, the other seems to be affected, too. A few months ago I tried a squirt of WD40 between the mirror housing and the arm it is mounted on. That seemed to make them work, but only for a few weeks. So then I took the opposite approach, and used some fine string to "floss" out any dirt (and WD40) from the same place. That seemed to work for a few weeks, then less reliable again. I run this car on a bit of a tight budget, and can't afford hours of labour charges stripping/investigating such a fault. Has anyone any similar experience that was successfully fixed, or any suggestions? Thanks Derek
  8. Thanks again to Mike. My wheel centres arrived on Wednesday, as arranged. About 2 hours to remove the old ones, use my old Mercedes touch-up paint on some kerb-rash, and fit the new ones. Very pleased, they definitely bring the look of the car more up-to-date. Derek
  9. Cambelt change is every 10 years/100k miles on the 4.3 V8. Thanks for that, but could it be that Lexus's guidance on this has changed? The advice I was given was 100k miles or 6years, whichever came first. Derek
  10. Doh! Just had my car serviced today, didn't know about Gold membership and possible discounts. I see that this is with selected dealers, but I didn't find a list - is that only accessible to Gold members? I live in Glasgow, so if Lexus Glasgow (part of Arnold Clark) wasn't on the discount list, I would have to look at whether it was worth taking the car through to Edinburgh or down to Carlisle, if they were on it. I'm certainly going to have to save up for the next service: today intermediate was £146, but been advised next time (6yrs, 60000mls) service itself is about £400, going to need front pads & discs at about £400, and about £400 again for the cambelt change! Derek
  11. I'm interested. Sending a PM. Derek
  12. I need to replace the wiper blades on my 2002 SC430. I'm not a mechanical expert but I've never had a problem replacing wiper blades in the past, so I'm just looking for a little advice... The wiper arms on previous cars always folded up away from the screen, making it easy to unclip the wiper blades. On the SC430, whether the bonnet is up or down, they don't seem to lift up very much, though better with bonnet up. Am I missing something that makes this easier? Most of my friends drive newer cars which feature the newer style flat wiper blades, and I notice that they now seem to be available as a retrofit for my age of SC, eg here: http://www.wiperblades.co.uk/index.php so I'm tempted to try these, unless anyone suggests this is unwise! Thanks for any advice Derek
  13. I can dream! Having this car is great, simply maintaining it properly is about as far as I can stretch, so I'm afraid there'll be no extra mods (unless my lottery numbers come up!) Derek
  14. Hi, been a bit lazy, but finally got round to posting pics of the non-standard leather in my car. I think it goes really well with the silver paintwork. The story was that the car was ordered originally, with the buyer arranging retrimming at a local upholsterer, then he cancelled his car(!) and the dealer sold it as new stock, been through two owners and now me. I'm enjoying the car compared to my 98 MB SL320 that I traded in for it. It's much more modern, I think the ride is generally smoother, and it has more toys! The steering wheel still makes me smile as it whirrs towards me when the key is put in. The supplying dealer (non-Lexus) looked into the rattle that I was aware of from the back but couldn't fix it. He says it seems to come from the parcel shelf but as that folds up when the roof goes up/down, he doesn't see what can be done. Anyway, here are the interior pics... Regards Derek
  15. OK, finally got round to taking a picture. Enjoying my first two weeks of Lexus ownership, despite the puncture that destroyed a tyre a week ago! There is a rattle from behind me on the left hand side, maybe from the rear seat or parcel shelf, or something, has anyone come across this and fixed it? The car has the label under the bonnet, relating to the post-Aug 02 suspension, so that's good. If I get round to it later, I'll maybe post a top-down picture, and show you the non-standard leather! I spoke to the original selling dealer today, and he told me the car was ordered by one guy, with the leather re-trim being done by a local upholsterer, then the guy pulled out of the purchase! Thanks for all the advice received. Derek
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