Raytheham

Oxfordshire county council are the pits when it comes to road maintenance. This is not the first issue I've had with them. My previous car was a SAAB 9-5 3litre turbo. Two of the alloys on one side were damaged in a particularly bad stretch of road. I took photos of the potholes with rulers etc showing the depth, complained and tried to get recompense direct. Nothing, I then tried using the RAC legal department. The specious arguments that cam back from Oxon had to be seen to be believed, accusing me of driving too fast for the "road" conditions to previous damage.. all sorts. Eventually the RAC suggested taking them to the small claims court, which I did. I won but by the time I paid the court fees traveling expenses etc I received exactly £55.00, not even the cost of a quarter of one alloy. my insurance company were also less than helpful, subsequently changed. Be warned, Oxfordshire roads are the pits...literally, Ray

Thanks for all the information guys. I took it to the garage and had the alignment etc checked. The rear was ok but the front was a little out. The problem was that both the front tyres had 50 pence sized pieces of tyre worn out/missing in several places. The explanation given was sharp edges of potholes causing this. Given the shocking state of the roads here in Oxfordshire I am happy to believe it. Two new Michelin SP4 s later the noise has gone. Regards Ray

Thanks Guys

Hi all. Just up to 50k in my is300h. Been doing a lot of commuting up to yorkshire lately. On some really smooth roads I noticed a sort of rumbling noise from the front of the car which varies with speed. On my old Morris 8 (showing my age-bought, it when I was 17!) this was exactly the same noise when the front wheel bearings were about to break up. Has anyone else noticed this? With an aged parent up north from Oxford I am starting to have to do 440 mile round trip every weekend or other week and I am a little concerned, it might let me down. Any ideas? Regards Ray

Due to aged parent in Yorkshire, I am commuting up and down M1 every week or so from Oxford Having been nearly wiped out by idiots a couple of times I wish to fit a dash cam. Can anyone tell me how to hardwire it to the rain sensor wiring so I don't have wires around the trim. On the subject of agism. I am a 73 year old ex military test pilot, I still fly and have a medical every 6 months. The MO (medical Officer) does a reaction test every time due to "perceived" age related reaction time slow down. He has yet to see any in my case. The current reaction times are still simlar to when I was full time test flying so lets drop this agism. People are living longer and healthier lives with very little signs of slowing down until in their 80's. SO lets keep agism off this forum.

I've had my Is300h for several months now and my only criticism is the suspension. I find it much harder than my old IS250 and given my back problems(ex military, sky diving and motorcycle accident) I am finding it more and more uncomfortable. I don't want to go back to an IS250 so can anyone suggest a way of improving the ride? I have got rid of those dreadful portenza tyres and now on michelins. They are a little better but the car still thumps and bangs on our crappy roads in Oxfordshire. The car has only done 20,000 miles. Thanks for looking Ray

Yes I did both those, usual don't assume check! Surprise, surprise, the damn satnav worked tonight with full post code, dont think it was digital cockup on Saturday but we'll see, don't normally need to use it. . Bratman 91..... RAF Halton 93rd entry here! If thats a hit? Will check the tyre pressures and make tomorrow and suss the options, many thanks Ray

Hello all, I bought a 2013 IS300h ex demonstrator, from a dealer, a few months ago and so far had been very pleased but now a couple of niggles have arisen. Firstly, why won't the satnav accept full 6 digit post codes only the first 4. The auto dim interior mirror only goes a very pale shade of green, not very effective even when cars up close behind, sensor is unobstructed as rear headrests fully down. Finally, very firm ride, not as good as my IS250 petrol,on the motorways is fine but on a run down to Somerset yesterday you could feel every single stone on the roads. The car has done 14000 miles so I would have thought it would have been sorted. Any help greatly appreciated. Ray

Hi Alan, from another radio ham. On glass antennas work but.......the heating element is the antenna for the broadcast radio. You will fry the rf amplifier and the input stages of the radio, on both 2metres and 70 cm. Trust me! I know from bitter experiance. As regards Rf getting into the systems can bus you will need to filter both positive and negative leads and mount the base unit as close to the battery as possible, very tricky. Antenna wise I use a setup with the antenna mount that clips over the offside rear passenger window. I also now use a handheld dual band, isolated from the car systems. I might go back to a mobile rig once the warranty runs out but meantime the handheld orks fine with bluetooth headset and Vox. There's only one reapeater local so its not a problem sticking to a single channel. 73's Ray G3VHE

Thanks for that. I managed to get through to the main Lexus SATNAV expert. He confirms that from 10/11 onwards, 6/7 digit post code will work. Its on the second page under an icon like a hunting/post horn. Guess what, my satnav is the o9/10 version! I'll have to decide whether to lash out £170 for the discs or keep using the TOM TOM! Still, its Christmas, who knows what might happen if enough subtle hints are dropped! BBFN, Ray

Does this update with the 6/7 post code entry work with the '07 lexus or just the '11 lexus. This is my only beef with what is a great car. Mine is an 'O7 and as a case worker trying to find obscure village addresses I have reverted to using a Tom Tom go!! I never understood the logic of only allowing the first 4 digits. Any one know why? Regards Ray

Just had this come on.Mine is IS250SEL with 37,000 on the clock. Tried switching off ignition and restarting after 10 mins. No change. Car drives OK but phones garage, booked in for 0930 tomorrow so we'll see what they say. Will update asap as I love the car compared to the 220d I had before, just disapointed that this should happen on a high end luxury car. Ray

Well guys,when I lived in Germany,(Armed Forces..42 years, all weathers,including Norway, Germany, GULF war(no SNow there!Flalklands etc)) I drove a tuned (200bhp)Reliant Scimitar Auto through 3 heavy snow type winters. I had snow chains fitted to the rear only....18 inch alloys. With care and a sensible speed you do not need them on all 4 wheels. All the German cars normally have them fitted to drive wheels only as do the Bund Polizei. Yes they can be a pig to fit but if you want to keep movin???. To carry on they were fitted to my Lexus IS250 auto last winter, rear wheels, a bit close to the alloys which got a little scuffed by the end of the snow. However, I was crossing the Lambourne Downs on a regular basis whithout any problems stopping or steeering. The only time I got slightly stuck was when an incompetent woman driver in a 4x4 forced me into a snow drift because she was frightened of getting out of tyre tracks!!. I dug myself out easily, using a couple of old strips of carpet to help traction initally with no further problems. PREPARATION is essential, carry a couple of sand bags, 50 kg..and it can be used to help traction by spreading it under wheels. Carry a spade, a couple of strips of carpet, at least a metre long, ensure you dress for the snow and use sensible speed, 15-20 mph, any faster and you WILL lose control. Regards Ray

Hi all, I had my alloys on my IS250 SEL replaced under warranty (corrosion etc) plus some kerbing. I then found this product, new to this country...."Alloygator". These are a hard synthetic nylon insert which fits over the rim and protects it. Its DIY job, you have to deflate the tyrse to install them, and they work a treat, look smart and there are several colours. The guy who runs the firm, Kurt is expanding the number of wheels they fit and I posted the pics of my car on his web site...www.alloygator.co.uk. I did nudge a kerb, accidently, and they stopped damage and just needed a little scrape with the back of a knife to restore the finish. £39.95 for a set of 4. ( I have no connection with the firm, just highly delighted with the product and service. Regards Ray

Slightly off topic, but why are only 2 front parking sensors fitted on the SEL as standard? Can the other 2 be added easily, ie does the wiring exist? Cheers. I just binned my IS220d sport for crap fuel consumption after a year of trying to get it fixed. I exchanged it for an IS250 auto MM SEL with the rear camera. I had the lexus front parking snesors fitted, all 4 of them at the dealers as part of the deal for £247.00. There is a manual on/off switch under the dash for them, and boy do you need it!. They are more sensitive and trigger when overtaking or being overtaken(not very often!) Good decision to change, I am getting around 30-34 mpg whereas the 220d was doing around 29-31....even on a long run it barely went to about 35-36mpg. Hope this helps, regards Ray

Thats exactly it mate. My old SAAB diesel had a light on the dash like a coil of wire and you had to wait until it went out before you cranked the engine over. If you anticipated, it would sometimes start but if it was really cold....forget it!! You just had to be patient, sometimes, -10C or below it took a couple of minutes, that was when I lived in Germany. winter sometimes got down to -20C. Regards Ray

It is not clear whether you have the automatic or the manual gearbox. "N" refers to the Auto... Leave it in park, keep your foot on the brake and then press the start button. If you have the manual, keep it in neutral, depress the clutch fully until the green light comes on, press the start button and wait for a few seconds. The system does a diagnostic check, warms up the glow plugs then statrs the engine. This si what my IS220D sport does anyway. I know about the auto as they lent me one whilst mine was having an injector changew under warranty. Don't expect marvelous fuel economy unless you do long runs. Using it for short runs you will be lucky to get 30-32mpg as it keeps the idling speed high to burn off the particulates in the catalyst until it is thoroughly warmed up. If you use it for short runs, give it a good blast at least once a week to stop the injectors from fouling up. Enjoy, once you get used to all the high-tech tricks!! Regards Ray

Well, mine had a similar recall here in Oxford a couple of months ago,....2 bottles of wine, £40.00 diesel, full valet, packet of mints, courtesy car,no charge.. It is going back in on Monday for pathetic fuel consumption. An IS 220d Sport, cruising up to York at the legal +VAt....34mpg. My old saab 3 litre turbo diesel would do 41-42 to the gallon on the same run. Running around locally I get between 27.5 and 29.6 mpg, the old SAAB would do 36-37mpg. Anyone any clues? It had a remap and an injector clean on the recall as far as I can establish. Love the toys, the audio system and the quiet cruise at speed...but the consumption is the pits Ray

OH Dear! I have just traded my SAAB 9.5 3.0TDI in for a 1 year old (14000) 220d Sport. After reading all the comments on the forums I am beginning to think I rushed in a bit after being wowed by the toys. I bought it on the premise that Lexus/Toyota have the highest reliability in the last few JD power surveys. Was I mistaken? Or am I worrying un-necessarily? Are the forums just for people to complain or are there many more out there who are satisfied? Can anyone re-assure me? Ray