autobahn

I'll be switiching to Micheln tyres when I need a new set. I've had Michelins on many previous cars and they've always been head and shoulders above any other brand i've tried. However, I haven't tried them on the LS430 yet.

The basic reset simply clears the TPMS warning message. Re-initialising the system cannot happen until the warning message is reset (cleared). If re-initialisation is not done then the TPMS warning will come back as the tyres will still be judged to be punctured.

The dealer has reluctantly agreed to have the tracking checked free of charge for me. It's kind of ironic as a pre-condition for me purchasing the car from them was to have the steering alignment done and before and after printouts provided. I'm happy to get it done myself and pay for it but there's a principle at stake here. The dealer should have sorted the issue out for me prior to collection. On all my previous cars (including brand new cars) i've always had the wheel alignment carried out at my cost a week or two after collecting the car by a specialist wheel alignment shop (using laser Hunter kit). In this situation I ensured that a full wheel alignment check and remediation was a pre-condition of purchasing the car, which the dealer did agree to via email. I guess I should have pushed the dealer to provide me with the paperwork for the wheel alignment when I collected the car but I took his verbal assurance that it had been done as good enough.

My problem is that I have the steering wheel turned to the right to keep the car straight at speed! It definitely hasn't been kerbed by me. But I agree with Steve that I probably haven't got any comeback with the dealer. I'll just get it checked independently.

I've been doing some long runs up and down a motorway over the last couple of weeks and i've noticed that my LS430 steering wheel has to be held slightly to the right to keep the car in a straight line. With the steering level the car goes to the left quite a bit. Obviously this isn't right and steering alignment was one of the things I gave in writing to the dealer to check before I picked the car up. I was verbally told that it was done at collection time but there wasn't a before and after printout even though I had requested one. I called the dealer today and was told that this wouldn't be covered under warranty. The service advisor suggested I speak to the salesman to see if sales would cover the costs but the salesman has suddenly become elusive and impossible to contact now. I'm going to get the tracking checked and rectified at my own cost tomorrow and will get before and after printouts. Do I have recourse to complain to the Lexus dealer if it emerges that the tracking was out and I explicitly asked for it to be checked prior to collecting my car?

Why not just reset it? If you look under the dash (below the steering wheel), you'll see a couple of buttons and a knob. One of the buttons is marked with the word "SET" and a picture of a tyre appears next to it. To reset the TPMS (this is taken from the manual): Note point (3). If your TPMS warning is already on then you need to clear that warning first before the TPMS can 're-learn' the correct tire pressure settings. Once "Pressure Initial" appears on your instrument binnacle display, then the TPMS system will 're-learn' the correct tyre pressures according to the following criteria:

Hi Fiona, i'm not an expert on this but I think the car audio device needs to support CD-text for the track listing information to appear AND the CD itself must have CD-text information on it. Older CDs don't usually have this information (CD-text) on them. The original specification for Compact Disc Digital Audio (Red Book standards) didn't specify and track listing data to be present on the CD. In later years this standard was extended to allow CD-text data to be present on the disc and this data could then be read by compatible CD players (like the ones in the Lexus, I presume). Could you check the jewel case of one of your CDs to see if it has the CD-text insignia on it? It's a graphic showing the words "Compact Disc Digital Audio Text". The reason why some PC- and Mac-based audio players recognise the track listing of an audio CD is that they 'checksum' the track data on the CD and then look for this checksum on a large Internet-based CD database (like CDDB, for example). If the checksum is found then it returns the track listing data back to the application that performed the lookup, and the audio application on your PC or Mac then 'recognises' the CD. In reality it hasn't actually read the track information off the CD itself. The CD-player on the Lexus doesn't have the ability to lookup the track listing data from the Internet-based CD database so must rely in CD-text data embedded on the actual CD itself.

I'd log the issue with Lexus GB customer relations. I'd say it sounds more like your dealer trying to make a fast buck as warranty labour rates (paid to dealers by the manufacturer) are often half of what dealers would charge you to effect a repair. You could also try another dealer.

I am surprised that this isn't covered under warranty. It's a mechanical failure. The windows seals and guides are not replaceable items like tyres and exhausts. To me this simply sounds like a mechanical failure and should be covered under warranty.

Wow! That look in really good nick. Congratulations!

Driver's side is 24", passenger's side is 16". Any decent aftermarket wiper blades out there?

I'd just like to say a big thank you to those on here who gave me advice in response to my questions. I'm finally very happy with my '05 LS430. I spent many hours washing and polishing my car today and it looks like a new car, despite being 5 years old. The iPod integration that I have installed (Vais SL2i-UP) has helped me to get rid of the "I agree" nag screen on the nav and i've set up One-Touch dialling so I can call some people whilst on the move. I've disinfected the aircon system by running Comma Aircon Cleaner through it and I have a new car smell in the cabin as it was a but musty.

That's brilliant! Thanks very much.

I'm just wondering about a beep when just locking or unlocking normally (i.e. not when a window is open). The manual says it's supposed to beep.

Is the car supposed to make a beep sound when the central locking is locked or unlocked? Mine doesn't, but the indicators flash. There seems to be a volume control hidden way under the dashboard but this isn't clicked shut to turn off the beep noise.

I think you are correct. There are only seat heating buttons for the rear seats, no ventilation buttons.

Is there an online supplier of Lexus parts and accessories in the UK? I'm looking for a good e-tailer that can supply things like carpet mats, boot liners, and other bits and pieces.

I can't seem to find voice commands to control the phone. The owner's manual set is very sparse on the voice control functions. The (useful) example of saying 'home' is mentioned and i've worked out how to make the aircon warm up or cool the car down. But there's got to be more! I'm particularly interested in being able to control the (Bluetooth) phone system using voice commands.

I've not been able to find the rear seat ventilation controls on my LS430. Any ideas where I should be looking? Maybe the rear seats are not ventilated?

Is this a fault on my LS430? I tried to make phone calls using the centre touch-screen display whilst on the motorway but everything related to making phone calls was greyed out. I could only use the phone system whilst stationary. Is this a fault on my car as I simply cannot believe that Lexus won't allow you to make a phone call when driving?! This is going to be a real issue for me with the car as I do hundreds of business miles per week and need to make phone calls every day.

Some instructions here on how to reset an iPod (instructions differ slightly depending on the model of iPod you have so select the correct instructions!): http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1320?viewlocale=en_us&locale=en_us

I just use confused.com every year and choose the cheapest! Insurance is a lottery, i've found.

Thank you very much. I shall practice this mysterious tapping technique! Getting rid of the nag screen will be sheer bliss.

I got the dealer to fit a Vais SL2i-UP in my 2005 LS430 and it's a bit disappointing. The sound quality is quite poor, Vais support is almost non-existent and the functionality is severely lacking. With the generation of Lexus radio that I have, I cannot browse by artist or album. I have to create a playlist for all the music that I want to listen to and there is no 'browsing in context' where I can see a list of previous tracks and following tracks relative to the current track. All my music on the iPod is lossless but the sound quality through the ML system is very weak and lacking in any depth, tonal range, timbre or presence. Luckily, getting the SL2i-UP fitted didn't cost me anything. I'm on the hunt for a better iPod integration for my 2005 LS430. An audio fitter recommended a Dice unit. Does anyone have any experience of Dice units or any other iPod integrations that work more intuitively and offer more functionality? The integration is limited to MD-emulation via the CD autochanger interface so I cannot do MP3-text emulation because of the age of my nav unit. I want to be able to use the Lexus radio, touch-screen and steering wheel-mounted controls to control the iPod fully and be able to browse albums, artists, playlists, genres, audiobooks, etc.

^ Where is the air intake located? Is it below the wipers?