autobahn

Due to a musty smell from the aircon, I'm looking to get all of my aircon and seat filters changed. These include:

• Front seat filters
  
• Rear seat filters
  
• Side garnish filters
  
• Air conditioning filter (behind the glovebox)
  

All of them seem straightforward to change apart from the side garnish filters, which the manual says should be changed by a Lexus dealer. Has anyone had all of these filters changed? If so, what was the cost and how long did it take?

The ventilation from the seats is also very low so i'm guessing that the seat filters haven't been changed in five years. I'm also planning to run a can of aircon cleaner spray through the cabin after all the filters have been changed.

I've just gone out to check the locking wheel nut. It was just left in the right-hand side luggage net in the boot and I noticed that the key portion of it is heavily chipped so it's likely to slip when used. It shouldn't have passed the approved used warranty checklist so i'll be requesting a new set of locking wheel nuts and key from the dealership.

I tried spray grease on the hinges but that hasn't improved things much. I think the gas struts are leaking as I can hear gas escaping when I open the boot lid fully. I'll try and get them replaced under warranty.

I noticed yesterday that opening and closing the boot lid on my 2005 LS430 requires some effort. The boot lid opener button works fine and the soft close works fine. Once the boot open button is pressed the boot lid is released and pops up about an inch. It then requires some effort to open fully and to bring down to the close position (whereupon the soft-close function works fine).

Any ideas on what the problem could be? I'm inclined to get it sorted under warranty if possible as it might just be the gas struts are worn.

Where's the best place to get a new set of locking wheel nuts for an LS430? Would it be a dealership? The ones I currently have are very brown and dirty, probably due to their age.

Thanks. I eventually called the service department and they said any 5W-30 fully synthetic oil will be fine.

According to the Opie Oils website, the LS430 takes Castrol Edge 5W-30. According to the dealership, it takes Mobil-1 0W-30. Who is right? The reason i'm asking the question is that I have a couple of litres of Castrol Edge 5W-30 in my garage which was purchased for a previous car and it would be good if I could use that in the LS430 too.

Thank you very much for the advice. I shall try that out shortly.

Auto Ultra Foam is the best product i've ever used:

http://www.lttsolutions.net/auto-ultra-foam.asp

Many thanks for the advice.

How do I create a marked point? Perhaps I should go back one step. This is what I am trying to achieve: I have a load of addresses that I want to pre-program into the satnav (family, friends, offices, etc). I want to add each address as if i'll be navigating to it but I then simply want to store it (presumably as a marked point).

Okay, to answer my own question, it does 4-digit postcodes (with the 09-10 nav DVD).

Just resurrecting this thread. I've had the SL2i-UP unit installed and am trying to enter 'Simple' mode. The instructions mention physical buttons that don't exist!

Put your device in Simple Mode by rapidly pressing the [sCAN] button 8 times (MUST BE DONE within 1-2 seconds).

Push DISC REPEAT button to hear a long beep to toggle the “I Agree” Automatic Bypass Function ON and OFF. (For

vehicles not equipped with DISC REPEAT as a physical button, push and hold the REPEAT button until you hear a

long beep to toggle the “I Agree” Automatic Bypass Function ON and OFF.

There is no physical SCAN button! There is a SCAN button on the display but you cannot press that 8 times within 1-2 seconds. There are also no physical REPEAT or DISC REPEAT buttons. Any ideas?

How do store addresses in the satnav and then subsequently recall them as destinations to navigate to? The satnav owner's manual is very poor in its explanation of using the satnav.

I'm worried about using up a tank-full of petrol each time I check/adjust my tyre pressures!

Found this in an LS430 driver's manual (US-spec):

Initialization is completed after driving at the speeds of 30 km/h (19 mph) or over for more than one hour. If the following driving conditions are satisfied, initialization will be completed in about one hour.

• The vehicle speeds is between 50 km/h (31 mph) and 100 km/h (62 mph).
  
• The roads are dry, smooth and straight.
  
• The number of passengers is one or two (including the driver).
  

Have I understood this correctly? Does it mean that you have to drive continuously for a whole hour at speeds between 31mph and 62mph just to reset the TPMS? Or is is several drives totalling one hour? I tend to check and reset tyre pressures weekly and having to drive for an hour just initialise the TPMS seems to be a lot of effort!

I've had that function on all of the cars that i've owned in recent years and I was wondering whether the LS430 locks all the doors when you drive off. It's a safety and security feature to stop you being car-jacked when you're stationery at traffic lights, for example.

Does the Lexus LS430 lock all the doors as you drive off?

How many satnav DVDs do Lexus release per year? Also, what is the latest edition of the satnav DVD?

Found this on the Lexus UK site regarding Lexus Approved Pre-Owned Benefits, the service specifically:

All Approved Pre-Owned Lexus vehicles must have a service history that is approved by the Lexus Centre retailing the car.

Requirements for an approved service history:

* All Lexus Centre services will be completed by a Lexus qualified technician and have all the applicable stamps and signatures.

* Services for qualifying vehicles must be within 1,000 miles either side of the scheduled service mileage limit or within 2 months either side of the specified time period.

Vehicles with an incomplete or non Lexus Centre service history can only qualify as an Approved Pre-Owned Lexus once the retailing Lexus Centre completes the most recent major service. The Centre must then update the service record book to provide to you.

So I guess that they've done the most recent major service to make the car an Approved car.

Then the car history check is fairly comprehensive too:

The Vehicle History Check utilises data from many sources including the DVLA, Police National computer, finance companies, ABI, BVRLA, VMC, RMIF and SMMT to name but a few.

With access to over 63 million records the following checks are made:

* Cross referencing between Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and registration number.

* Vehicle description check.

* Finance data check/high risk data check.

* Registration date and year of manufacture.

* Stolen vehicle check.

* Write off/condition check/scrapped indicator.

* Number of previous owners and owner change dates.

* Plate change warning, including full plate history or any previous colour changes.

* Import/export data.

As with the Vehicle History Check, the Independent Mileage Check is vital as it gives both you and each Lexus Centre the confidence that the vehicle mileage has been independently verified.

Most Lexus Centres carry out a full mileage verification check as a matter of course with a recommended supplier. All checks include the provision of a branded pass certificate that you will find inserted in the relevant place at the back of your handover pack.

I guess the first thing I should check is the 'branded pass certificate'.

Has anyone got a used car collection checklist that they've used in the past? One for a used LS430 would be particularly useful. I'm just looking for gotchas and common problems to check for rather than formal stuff like documentation, keys, etc.

The dealer cannot guarantee that the two missing services (20,000 miles and 30,000) have ever been done. The car has done 38,000 miles and the dealer has spent £1K on the 60K miles service so many things were replaced (all brake pads, Battery and so on). There is a stamp for the 10,000 mile service and one for 38,000 miles (which is the current mileage and at which the dealer carried out the equivalent of a 60K-mile service).

He's offering a full Lexus Used Car Warranty (not the 5+ year Warranty), breakdown cover and MOT for 1 year with the car.

Should I walk away?

Any advice on cleaning perforated, air-conditioned leather seats? I have a fairly good, high-end leather cleaner and a separate conditioner that i've used on previous cars but the cleaner requires massaging into the leather using a soft brush in order to lift the dirt out. I'm guessing that this is probably not a good idea on ventilated seats unless someone can advise otherwise?

What's the general consensus on tyres for an LS430 with 18" wheels? I've had Michelin Pilot Sports on other cars in the past and was impressed by them. Would these work well with an LS430?

Is there any way to get DAB radio and/or digital TV on an LS430?

The dealer will sell the car with the latest satnav DVD. I'm not sure if this makes any difference to the postcode search facility.