Cotswold Pete

An LS is like being addicted to caffeine, it makes you feel good, you can give it up, but life will never be the same again. Having a modern frugal fuel beast is like having too many pints of Stella, you never know when things might get nasty

Maybe you could create a LS400 car pool for those of us who might need one while our ones are in for some major work. Just choose a lock-up in the middle of UK and away you go!!!

Totally agree with you on this, which is one way the LS400 stops me being so enthusiastic, which is no bad thing (until I get stuck behind Mr & Mrs Pootle-Along and Short overtaking gaps, then I wish...) But a manual box with superchargers might make me end up in a ditch somewhere.

Whatever you do, using both has to be done, as no car (not even an LS) likes to be left standing. A supercharged version would be interesting though!

Diesel is the spawn of the devil, and from my experience the best technology for destroying the atmosphere, as well as the actual engine itself. What you save by not having to keep tinkering with a LS more than makes up for the money spent keeping a diesel together. Good to hear the government are looking at removing diesels, and heaven help anyone who has a DPF that is cleaned by a fuel wash into the sump (what a crazy idea that is - Mazda, and no doubt others). The LS is a lean burn 4 litre petrol and long may it help save the planet.

Same here, or when I load up with junk for the tip. It's going onto the list of things to look at for next service, as was told at last service all the bushes were up to scratch, and had new rear spring fitted. To be honest it does not bother me as it is so infrequent, but anything rubbing when it should not be - I guess - should be sorted

An LS400 for the Knight Rider, if only I could get a Hasselhoff barnet to match!!!!

I rely more on that orange light even in the Mk4, then when it gets really low, the message low fuel comes up, but never risked working out exactly how much is left at that point, but I reckon about 20 to 30 miles commuting.

Siesta time But don't tell the boss

I suspect the rain tomorrow might give it a good test. Usually parking with front of car facing slightly downhill is enough to test whether water comes in (as it is in your original photo) I checked by placing a little rag under the plastic cover just by where the boot lock is and checking to see if it got damp (which it did not) Fingers crossed for you as well

I would think it is not to do with fuel evaporation, unless you have an issue with a leak or some other issue in the fuel line where the heat causes the crack (or whatever it is) to expand and you have a pressure feed issue. Just one other thought (based on experience with Mk2 and the failing/stalling ECU problem) is the ECU electronics maybe misbehaving a bit due to heat. I always had more issues with the ECU when it was hotter. Not sure (and others may have some different thoughts) as to whether fuel pump may be starting to give you gip. My Mk4 fires up no problem and the last few days it has registered 27/28C sat outside of work.

Had this twice with the Mk4, seems like not many tyre mechanics check the clearance, and it is pretty tight. Last time it was my MOT man who spotted the issue, as the rubbing was so slight could not really hear anything when driving.

Had same problem with Mk2 and current MK4. Cheapest route, pull off old seal, clean out the groove, and then fill groove with silicone, and ease back onto the boot lip. The water getting in generally enters about where the boot latch is, but in fact appears to get up into the seal somewhere near the top of the boot, which is why you really need to take the whole strip out and clean it. I clean out the cr*ppy old mastic with a cloth and blunted flat head screwdriver (means you do not damage the seal when cleaning). Takes about 60 to 90 mins, and saves a fortune.

Gear box total change - had mine done at 150K, it was really smelly and in need of change. Cost was about £180, and made a big difference to the gear changes. The specialist I went to reckoned a full change every 40K is a good thing, though he said he had seen LS and GS with really old oil and no failures in the auto-boxes (unlike BMW and Audis he had dealt with). Not had the diff done, and various garages say different things, but my view is anything mechanical needs new lubrication at some point, so will be getting diff done some time in next year.

I had the same, just disconnected the darned thing. One day I will sort it, might try creating a new float out of some foam I have knocking about. I was not sure if the light staying on is a MOT advisory or fail, now that they are getting more fussy with MOT, this does assume MOT inspector checks the water bottle to see it is full, but sees the light still on.

I must admit my mechanic implied if things were broken they would be more expensive than this, but to be honest if it cost £100 + labour it is worth having a working handbrake. Maybe I'll get him to have a good poke about at next service.

Might be worth a try, especially as every morning the dent catches my eye, and then later on I will get it sorted properly, as I feel the need to get my car back to great looking motor it was before all the other paint work damage, and get the headlights polished back, and the leather seats a good old clean. At least when driving I cannot see how shabby the LS is looking!!

Glad it is sorted, never thought of reverse polarity. I always take my battery out to charge, and being an trained in electrics, always double - double check polarity, as in the old days when I played around with valves, 400v reverse polarity creates some interesting pops and bangs.

That's a thought, could have been a tourist climbing a tree to get a better view, and fell on the car while trying to get a better selfie

Does make no real sense, it would be as if all the live side had shorted, and for 4 to do it seems odd. Any chance you can see by taking out all 4 fuses whether the 4 lives have all found a common connection. Other than that not at all sure without having access to a wiring loom diagram. Not sure if it would work where you take out the four fuses, then turn on ignition and insert fuses one at a time. Someone else might know whether this is likely to create more mayhem or not. I have had a few flat batteries over the years and never had a 'weird' problem like this.

Malc, I agree, I just wanted to see how bad the brake was while waiting at some traffic lights. I rarely use handbrake for temporary stops unless I have had to brake hard and want to get the pads off the disk ASAP to allow cooling of the disc. A bit over the top maybe! When parked I use P and handbrake (old habits from driving manuals die hard).

If you take the fuse out and the measure resistance between the fuse terminal and the chassis, it reads zero implies a short to earth. If not then it could something just drawing a shed load of current, which could be the ECU of radio. But as to what is was if it was the ECU or radio,would mean disconnecting them (one at a time), to find out the culprit. In my earlier Mk2, I used to find the fuse that deals with the cigarette lighter would blow if I had the lighter socket in use with the steering on full lock as the time I started up the engine. Never got to the bottom of that one, just made sure I never left car in full lock when turning off the engine.

The other day driving along, and hear a loud bang that came from the rear the car. Assumed I had hit something in the road, and later when I checked underneath, could find no problems. But the next day noticed a big dent in near side rear pillar, about the size of a saucer and it has actually created a slight crease in the metal work - so must have been heavy? Given the bang happened on a treelined road, I assume therefore a branch/log whacked the back. So now my lovely motor is looking somewhat in need of some work, what with the keyed doors on drives side (over 18 months ago - but no rust coming through), the bat sh*t pock mark on the bonnet (over two years ago) and now a log strike. Not sure with rear pillar issue to just get it professionally filled, or get the internal panel off and at least get it knocked out a bit before finishing, but either way seems like a bit of cash (which I do not have at the mo) needs to be spent. The joys of owning a car - and at least the log fell on the rear rather than through the windscreen!!!

Just to add my tuppence worth, my parking brake is only just legal and the other day parked on a (not to steep about 10%) road it did not hold even though footbrake right on the floor. My mechanic tells me this is due to some issues with corrosion around the back end of the cable run, and he said to leave well alone until it fails the MOT, as it could be all sorts that needs replacing. So it may be simple as sorting out like Brian suggests, in the other hand it may be a bit more expensive to get done. If your does not work at all suggests it is more than just a bit of adjustment needed. Best of luck with MOT. Mine has got through 4 MOTs with handbrake just above the minimum requirement.

I agree with all the comments here, the 430 has a nicer cabin, not sure if it is any quieter than 400 My Mk4 can be serene most of the time and then some days on some roads it can feel like it is having a bad day. My only dislike of the 430 is it looks too much like a Merc from most angles, and this is why if ever I had to change it would be for a 460. The one thing I would say about my 400 is that it is a great every day - off to work, off the the tip at weekends, fill it with anything kind of car and I do not feel as if I am treating it in a bad way,(I do have to hoover it out on a regular basis) where as I feel if I did have a 460/430 it would have to be my sunday best car. I think the stereo in 400 is as good as any other LS, and more than enough gizmos to keep me happy. I guess having been brought up driving Vaux Cavaliers and Ford Sierra, any Lexus is an improvement. The one really strange thing I have noticed (and this does not make any sense to me) the LS400 always seems to drive nicer at night, could be my weird brain, but this seems to true whether it is an overnight hack to Scotland or a quick evening trip to Cirencester to see a mate. So maybe try driving a 430 and a 400 in the day and at night.