Cotswold Pete

A mate of mine bought his 430 from there last year, he said the dealer was solid (and he has bought a few iffy LS from other places - so has learnt his lesson).

If it is the on their web site with 1000 miles on the clock, seems like a lot of body damage. Having had company cars from brand new over many years, would never had that much damage after so few miles. Sounds like assumed no need to check it properly as it has so few miles. Do not give up looking, plenty of decent Lexus people out there.

If you are any good with mechanics you can find replacement masts for the aerial on ebay (around £15), instructions can be found on lexusls.com. I need to do mine, but have lived with it stuck in air for last 18 months. On the Audio front, I just use a Cassette Adaptor and plug my Phone in via headphone socket. Sound quality is good seems to be various sorts on ebay (Maplins used to do really good ones, but they went bust). But it seems you can now get Bluetooth Casette Adpators for about £15, not tried one myself, but save a heck of a lot fiddling with the LS, if all you want music in the car, and just listen to one album after the other. Some earlier bluetooth receivers do not seem to work with newer devices, so maybe the Parrot is not fit for modern devices. I had no end of problems when I got my new Samsung phone, a number of my home Bluetooth audio transmitters (Jongo units) needed software upgrade to work.

I heard somewhere else that concrete production was responsible for a heck of a lot of the % of global warming, but then I also heard that we are running out of suitable sand to make concrete. It seems like somewhere in all the noise is the truth, but sure is darned hard to work it out. That would help, but if you have less land to grow stuff then you either blitz it with pesticides and fertilizer, or we all learn to live jut eating one cornflake for breakfast and a slice of bread for tea. I have planted four fruit trees in my garden so doing a little bit to help. I read that every 1 degree warming of the oceans pumps 30% more energy into the water cycle, and that is going to mean a lot more rain (even in Norfolk), which means the real worry is will my LS remain water proof and will my hybird or EV survive more flooding. One other thing I heard (coz I listen to really odd stuff on the BBC World Service when I cannot sleep) is that a log burner emits as much cr*p as a truck engine idling outside your house, so I suspect many a yoghurt-knitting hippy is unaware of why owning an LS is possibly no different to keeping the yurt warm. The answer is that Trump will pick a fight with Greta, the Nordics will be nuked, and then the Nuclear winter will begin.❄️

I assume vegans cannot own a LS, as the leather being an animal by product where as us heretical vegetarians will have less of a problem wearing the leather shoes made from the hide of the beef-cow that once wrapped itself around the steak that Phil enjoyed yesterday. I do also kill animals as I have not worked out how to avoid insects (unseen) crossing the road, and the occasional pheasant (about once every 2 years) on my way to work.

Just about every Korean car I have seen or been in, I always think 'close but no cigar', and having watched this I still feel the same about the Genesis. On the other hand I was saying the about the Jap cars I drove in the early 80's, where as now I would recommend just about any Honda or Toyota/Lexus over most other manufacturers Who knows; maybe one day I'll be driving a Korean creation.

Having been a veggie to 30 years, the f**ting comes from too much chocolate and beer. I only eat beans in moderation (on toast with an egg, for a late weekend breakfast)

Just to throw in a thought, I had same issue with my LS, but new shocks stopped it.

With that mileage I would be checking the running gear for knocks and clunks, and if it tramlines, likely to need work doing on front end at some time. As to the colour, I have always liked red, but stopped driving red cars over 25 years ago, because (and I kid you not) every red car I have ever had (4 in total) were hit by other motorists within first month of ownership - luckily all company cars so at the time it was not my personal insurance taking a hit. Not sure if it is just quality of pictures, but is there some slight bubbling on the rear arches?

The theory sounds fine until we see the damage being done to the environment in Peru where Lithium is derived from brine salts, and the water and air pollution created is just different polution to bite us (or Pervians) on the backside. Even though I have an LS, I think driving any car is not good for the environment, and would really love to have a job where I could walk to work, or even consider using public transport. I live 12 miles from work, but public transport would take me 3 hours each way. Banning cars from city centers is (IMHO) necessary, and even EVs should be banned, as they generate road wear and tyre particulate and fine metal dust, which I would think is not good for the lungs. One thing is that car body panels need furnaces to create enough heat to produce the steel/aluminium and that heat (as far as I know) can only be gained from coal, so we would still be spewing out masses of carbon as we replace (and recyle) old metal body parts, and surely plastic body panels is a bit of a nightmare for future generations. The dichotomy of owning an old luxury barge that does 11,000 miles a year. I know I am a seasoned hypocrite who loves visting the wilds of the Lake District having poured pollution all the way up the M5 to do so (but catching a train is way too expensive and cycling would be plainy mad - and my wife would expire before we got to Twekesbury👻). So in conclusion whatever the academics say, there are no easy answers, and the answers of todays scientists will create challenges for future scientists.

I had forgetten that, and then it reminded me of this Dyson £££ LED light They say they should last around 110,000 hours, but I am not sure it would fit behind the touchscreen😶

I would be thinking gearbox or diff if you can feel something and you have 'jerking', and the whine goes away in neutral. On the other hand the feeling could be just tyre wear. Wondering if it could be water pump whining away? My experience of Gearbox Oil is that it can get pretty dirty, and smelly and the transmission does not whine, but it you have low oil in the gear box, that is not a good thing. I used Automatic Transmissions of Gloucester to do a proper oil replace at 130,000 miles, and they seem to know their Lexus and Jag gearboxes. (their Google Reviews are variable), but I found them to be professional.

Just done a bit of reading, and Cold Cathode are long lasting, but as we know will have fading output. Lifetime figures for CCFL is up to 20,000hour plus, before they will not work. (about the same as LED - LED output fades over time as well) Like any system not being used there will be some degredation, (I assume the gas will leak out of the tube over time - as no lighting system is impermeable) Doing a quick calc, based on my time in car per year, and the age of the car, the display will have been on for around 8000 hours minimum. So Phil that steal is likely to be a useable or sellable item at some point

I could hear the noise on one of the videos, and does seem to change with the revs. Interesting that you said it is not as smooth as before, as my guess might be transmission issues, but not sure what you mean by smooth/scratchy Do you get the same noise if you get to speed, then put the car in neutral and then rev the engine. If noise is still there then I would be thinking water pump / cam belt problems.

Back when I was 24, driving around in 1.3 Escort Mk3, if I had anything like a hot hatch back then, I would be in the wooden box a long time ago. I remember getting my first Cavalier srI, and getting it up to 130mph (just), and nearly smashing into the back of tractors coming round country bends too quick. Made me realise that even at 30 years old I was too mad for a sportier car and went with Mr Sensible motors until I tried my first LS Not been in any of the sporty Lexus range, too used to the LS luxury (and sometimes push the barge up to 120 - when wife not with me).

I assume that they would be a standard type from back 20 years ago, that when they do go might be possible to source. Also assume more modern systems are LED backlit, so will fade as well, but over a longer period.

This is more of an observation, rather than a fault. Noticed more readily on these colder mornings that when the Touchscreen comes on at start-up it is suffering from low contrast (or colour fade). After about 10 minutes driving the colours and contrast are strong. All functions work, and I am wondering if this is just the fact that the panel is now 20 years old and the Liquid Crystals are slowly giving up, or whether it is likely that some voltage regulator for the panel is slowly giving up or strugglnig when ambient tempature is low and one day will decide to not light up the panel. It is a long time since I understood the mechanics of the lifetime of LCD displays, and my 23 year old spare room LCD TV is still going (but very faded) Any comments or thoughts appreciated.

And there-in lies the clue as to why Antwerp can ban cars, and yet people can get into town, because of an integrated transport planning policy. Antwerp is a well bustling place with more Teslas than you can shake a stick at. Integrated Transport is not a phrase thah can be applied to just about the whole of the UK, In London there is some form of integration (and a shed load of UK taxpayers money being thrown at improving transport). We totally need to work out how to use the car less, as whenever I go into a major UK city I come back with my shirt collars nicely black and my snot (sorry) as black as you like. Maybe it will make out of town centers more congested, but that would probably drive the relevant authority to work out how to tax the use of those roads to the detriment of the shoppers wallet. (Personally I avoid out of town shopping - or any shopping - unless my wife ties me up bundle me in a sack and drags me along) Still the chances of any UK government over the next 25 years getting transport sorted are pretty thin based on previous experience of all the hot air generated in the House of Commons since I started working 40 years ago when driving a company car into the middle of London in the rush hour was not a problem.

Amp removal should be easy - SVT and ML As to re-repairing the door units, I would give that a swerve and go for replacements. Used to repair speakers years ago, and I know materials are different know, but the one of two I ended up having to redo, the re-repair never lasted. This post reminds me of plumbers who look at my central heating system and its quite involved electrical setup and panic. However it was set up by a plumber who understood that central heating is not just boliers but water flow controlled by solenoidsand all the associated controllers. Thanks heavens I can do electrics, so last boiler replacement was easy as the plumber just did his bit then I took over.

Not sure where the fuse is, but if your amp is 'gone', seems like over the years SVT in Edinburgh are the people to speak to, they seem to be Mark Levison capable (though sounds like they are not fans of the ML gear). Best of luck, there is nothing worse than driving a car without tunes to fill the air

Over 30 years of driving comapny cars, never had a problem getting out of my Ford/Vaux/Rover etc, and getting into another car, then 10 years of owning LS, never had a problem getting into Honda/Volvo/Jag until just recently the good lady bought a Mazda (2 year old). I felt like I needed a course on how to drive the beast, the only thing that came naturally easy was changing gear, and getting into the car without using a key (like you the start button was well hidden. I found it really distracting to drive, which is why I like my LS400, and even the thought moving to a more modern GS makes me a little nervous, as it is light years ahead of my Mk4.

I had a bit of a problem with drift (and tramlining on LS), and it was only when I had new shocks and ARB bushes sorted on front end the problem went away. Although the LS is a bit of a wallow-mobile, since the new shocks it does corner much better, and I think we mainly just get used to the gentle decline in steering and road-holding performance, though it sounds like your situation is somewhat dramatic. Based on experience I would say that cheaper tyres do show up the effects of worn suspension more so than more expensive brands, but a tight running gear setup is not so botherered by cheaper tyres.

My first port of call would be looking to see if the wiring into one of the sensors is looking a little 'dodgy', especially as the fault comes and goes. Slight possibility that the sensor is sort of damaged, but your battery is one its way out, and the sensor is complaining ahead of fully failing (This to me seems less likely - unless you have other battery-about-to-go symptoms). Does the ABS actually work (with light off and/or light on), might provide a diagnosis clue.

Given both my LS suffered leaky boot syndrome (easily fixed), and the situation desrcibed here, it amazes me given that Japan has twice the rainfall of the UK, how the heck can Lexus owners manage in Japan when their cars get a little older. My dads 20 year old Peugeot 406 (and when my wife had a 15 year old Honda) never had a leak in their lives!!!!

Stu, Totally get that the LS is not your thing with current geography. There are days when my (206K miles, Year 2000) motor seems as quiet as a mouse's f*rt, and other days when it seems be allowing too much road noise into the cabin, which makes me think about a GS450, or RX, and I am sure if I did try either it would tempt me to consider leaving the LS family. Enjoy your RX, at least it is a Lexus.