flotsam

What's cheepest for you may not be the cheapest for someone else.

The only way to get the cheapest insurance is to phone around.

My quotes vary from £600 to £3000. It's worth it!

I've never had problems with my CD-R''s in either my old Toyota or my LS400 though by Toyota was a '98 and my Lex '00.

Try someone else's CD-writer.

"however, he won't guarantee that this will fix the problem."

"I only found out about the wheel wobble on my way home after I had handed over my cash"

Yes! We've all encountered this problem. It's called being ripped off!

On a potentially more helpful note I read somewhere that the Soarer air condition has diagnostics. On this model you hold down the a/c off and airflow direction buttons when you turn the ignition on. Haven't tried it myself yet. Keep forgetting to.

p.s.

Having read your post again, ALL cars will drift with the camber of the road which helps rain drain away.

Having driven a 4x4 myself I'd say they tend to have less feel on those big 'n bouncy tyres.

The RX300 caster angle is spec'd at only 2.08 ± 0.75 degrees which these days isn't a lot.

A normal road car such as the LS400 has a caster angle of over 9 degrees.

Turning Inclination angle is 11.84 degrees.

These are much more likely to affect the tendency to proceed in a straight line than the camber.

Quentin Wilson drives an LS400. He also did a feature of one which had 100K and according to Wilson had no squeeks etc. and drove like new.

The V8 is silent! Which is why I bought one (mostly curiosity but also satnav).

Mine's only got 20K so can't offer any further advice on probs.

Got only four wheels replaced as the wheel that was the spare had only a few thousand miles on it. But asked Bracknell to have another look and they agreed to replace it as corrosion had already started.

The new wheels are supposed to have more lacquer but I can't tell the difference. The five spoke alloys have less lacquer on the recesses as the spray seems to be perpendicular to the face of the wheel. I'll spray them myself.

Bracknell tried to sell me four new tyres which I don't believe I need, but they made a good job of refitting the new tyres with balancing weights on the inner rim so the paintwork wasn't damaged so I'll pop back to Bracknell when I DO need new tyres.

Courtesy car was offered without fuss and no messing about with insurance. Bracknell do my servicing and have always been spot on with customer care and professionalism.

Hmmm! An LS400 weighs about 1800Kg and the only thing controlling its motion are four patches of rubber of about 200mm² in area.

Apparently, Formula 1 tyres are more sophisticated in their technology than the rest of the car!

I wouldn't go cheap on tyres! It sort of defeats the purpose of having a Lexus unless it's just for posing. Mind you, that sort of defeats the purpose of a Lexus too!

That's strange, the girls my Lex attracts never do that!

Vertex,

don't know if you already know this but if you have a CD burner you can convert MP3s to WAV (using CDEX for example) and burn them onto a CD.

Sorry to hear about the brick. Sad Little Bs are common...literally! The worst I've had in sunny Surrey is a sad git that tailgated me on a dual carriageway, even though the outside lane was empty. I overtook the car in front and the scumbag couldn't keep up as it became a single lane but cut me up at a roundabout ahead. I can't even think down to that level. I've been jealous of other people's cars yes! But why throw a brick? Nutters!

I bought an LS400 just before the SC came out. I'm very jealous as the LS is a tad bigger than I really wanted, but I had to have a Lexus 'cos Autocar say they're sister mag in Germany say it's the best for reliability bar none and also the Satnav are the best and the V8 is the best and Quentin Wilson drives an old one which has over 100K but still no squeeks.

Can't swap mine though, I've spent too much time polishing and waxing it.

The SC is direct competition for the Jaguar, whereas we don't make anything which is in competition with the Hyundai. The SC is supposed to be like the Aston DB7 which Tiff Needel slated on Fifth Gear. Neither car is intended for the track. Nor are they luxury barges. They're more of a luxury sports car.

I bought the Autocar back issue comparison review of the LS400 and it also got slated with some obvious errors such as statements in the blurb which contradicted the figures in the table and some data from the Mark III thrown in to make the mark IV appear to have only three gears and less power. Then in the back of the mag they compliment its space power, refinement and "excellent ride" in exact contradiction to the comparison article.

You have to read between the lines for example "The Lexus cause is not helped by the test car's optional £2424 dynamic handling pack" which explains their "tyre roar is the dominant sound on motorways", and "deficiencies are highlighted by the steering's suprising accuracy" whereas it criticises the Daimler for inaccurate steering!

It seems Autocar are had a tongue in cheek stab at the competition. I know the LS400 is a problem as when it first came out everyone stopped buying S-class Mercs. I once arrived at a three lane roundabout and two other LS400s arrived at the same time! Two MkIVs and an earlier one!

Dunlops are generally very good. The D8zs are Dunlop's "Highway, All Season" tyres. The SP Sport 4000 is also recommended by Dunlop for the Mk IV LS400 and are their "Ultra-High Performance" tyres with a similar revs/mile of 786 (They also do a run-flat version which you might need if there's a blue moon).

Alternatively, Bridgestone Turanza ER30 are recommended too.

Wouldn't trust any car mechanic in London. I know someone who bought a car in London and the first service cost her almost £900! It should have cost less than £200. But take it to a lexus/toyota dealer. Sounds like the Battery and the dead radio problem are one and the same. I assume you've checked fuses and read the manual etc.

The sat nav works in Britain but you probably need a new CD/DVD for the UK.

Don't know about the leather.

The best insurance deal I could find was from Privilege. I have over a dozen years NCB.

Never had to polish mine. I just wash and wax. I've just tried Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection and it is very good. All the minor scratches disappear and you get an as new mirror like finish (at least on my car you do).

I've tried TurtleWax alloy cleaner kit and it's useless. Soap and water were better at getting grime off the inside of the wheels.

Look out for badly pitted alloys. I can't think of anything which has gone wrong with mine so can't advise further.

Oh! Check options packs, such as air-suspension, Nakamichi hi-fi, sat-nav and ensure you have tool kit in the boot on RHS, wheel chock and jack under the boot liner. Check for CDs that come with the car probably in the glove box.

Nadeem,

the fuel consumption will increase as soon as your father takes the car off the car transporter!

But seriously, it sounds as thought the LS400 is ok but there's something wrong with the GS300.

Thanks! I assume you got yours from new and the dealer didn't ½" yours.

Though under the wheel chock, there seems to be some marking on the foam. It looks like something with a knurled wheel (just guessing) was there and has marked it.

I just GOTSTA Know!

Agree with Tony Goose. The orange peel effect means they don't put it on the upper part of the car 'cos it doesn't look good. You'll find Mercs do the same thing which is why they have two-tone paint jobs too.

But even on the lower part of the car, you can't expect to crash through brick walls like Knight Rider and come through unscathed. I think it should be taken as chip resistant not chip proof.

Administrator:

Doesn't the Autoglym wheel cleaner have acid in it and is not recommended for non-lacquered alloys? My 2000 LS400 original alloys seem to be anodised aluminium alloys.

wildrnes:

Found a good body shop @:

http://www.nightowl-technology.co.uk/reviews/index.htm

Lived up to its reputation.

I bought a 2000 LS400 demonstrator from the dealer but have since found there are recesses in the foam next to the spare wheel. I've got all the items mentioned in the manual but there's obviously a space for a fold-up warning triangle in one of those plastic rectangular boxes and there's a further recess under the wheel chock for what looks like a small flask or bottle.

Anyone know:

1) if these two recesses come filled, and

2) what should fill the recess under the wheel chock?

Second question:

I can't find the sat nav unit. The manual shows a picci of it and says it's in the boot but I can't find it! Anyone know how to locate it?

Third question:

Dunlop suggest SP Sport 4000 are OEM tyres for the LS400 but as we all know they come with D8Zs. Anyone know why the discrepancy? The 4000s are sportier but probably ride harsher.

Fourth question:

the D8zs rotate at 786 rev/mile is this the ideal rate for the sat-nav?

Fifth question:

Since the last tyre rotation, one of the wheels on the rear seems to have worn more than the other three. Any ideas?

Sixth question:

Why haven't Lexus in their pursuit of perfection mentioned the above in the manual or, for that matter, the first-aid kit under the left front seat, or mention of the type of alloys and how they should be cared for, or provided a tyre gauge in the toolkit (or is that one of the missing items)?

Final question:

There are two velvet-lined recesses above the CD changer. Anyone know if anything should be there or if they have a specific purpose?

B) "Bad Luck"? Are you sure you haven't upset one of the neighbours?