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Mike Floutier

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Lexus Model
    LS 430 x 2
  • Year of Lexus
    2006
  • UK/Ireland Location
    Hertfordshire
  • Interests
    General Automotive
    Sports & Leisure

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  1. Many thanks Matt, I've decided to go to Autoglass via the insurance company (£60 excess, no limit). They are happy for me to use Lexus but impose a £250 cap. I told them about my previous bad experience with the rain sensor. They asked me when this was and, rightly pointed out, that nowadays these sensors are a lot more common and the company trains techs to fit them. Fair comment. Regarding the trim problems I had previously I guess I just need to ensure I monitor the work and ensure that it's all fitted ok. Will let you know how it goes.
  2. Hi Jason, thanks for this positive feedback, what was the cost? Lexus have just come back with a quote for my LS430 and it's just short of £1,000.
  3. I recently had some bodywork done by a coachwork specialist. Lexus Colindale outsource all their bodywork to them. I thought the workmanship was excellent and thought I would phone them to ask their opinion about the windscreen issue. We had a long relaxed chat and the upshot was: 1. The Lexus dealer will do the best job for the car but it will be expensive. 2. If it was his car he would get a glass specialist such as National Windscreens and keep a close eye on the work. I accept the comment that a lot of jobs on the car can be done by any garage; indeed this is the reason why we work on our own cars and this form exists. However, some jobs are complicated, require special tools, and are infrequently carried out by local garages on Lexuses. I am still waiting for Lexus Colindale to come back to me with a price for my windscreen. Having read the instructions, I am not surprised. This delay is also an indication of how frequently they carry out this work.
  4. Ok, just reading through this as a massive stone hit my 2006 LS430 screen last night - sounded like a brick! I've just read the Manual for replacement. 13 pages for removal plus 13 for replacement PLUS 5 sets of sub-system instructions. I also recall my 2002 LS430 screen replacement (Autoglass) leaving the rain sensor malfunctioning (even after returning for new gel strip) Any latest thoughts on best approach to this?
  5. First question has to be, why would you want to replace them, since they wear so very little, if at all?
  6. I've had some experience of these big front lower arm bushes on my 2002 LS430 so I thought I'd share my experience. I was getting some knocking/noise and noticed that it varied when driving over a bump (eg kerb) depending on where, on the lock, the steering was. By looking at the geometry it was clear that more pressure was put on the relative bush at certain steering positions. This helped me to confirm the bush diagnosis. As has been mentioned it is a simple job to press out/in the bush. It's easy to get it off the car, you just need a friendly mechanic with a press do the swap. Such relief!
  7. I just bought a 2006 LS430 for £6,700. It had been sold to the one owner and then maintained by a Lexus main dealer which was very reassuring. I obtained the last 4 years' service records direct from said dealer as I am planning to maintain it myself and I wanted to know what was due to be done when. I did chuckle when I totted up the cost; it was just under £14,000!!
  8. Thanks Roy, Well, it all started well, I did my small pilot hole and then proceeded to try a larger drill bit. Unfortunately the bit sheared off leaving it's tip in the hole. Now I'm stumped, as it's got dark I thought it best to sleep on it and ask for suggestions. I suppose I could try drilling around the captive drill bit with a small "super-hard" bit. Not really sure how to proceed, any ideas welcome. Thanks!
  9. Ok, well I finally got hold of a replacement rear right suspension leg for the burst air-sus bladder. It was a fairly easy job to but I had to lower the hub etc. to accommodate the new leg. The only way I could see to do this was to release the pressure from the stabiliser bar. I couldn't undo the link so I went for removing the stabiliser bush clamp. Unfortunately one of the clamp bolts sheared off! I've not dealt with this sort of situation before so I would appreciate some wisdom. I guess I have to drill out the remaining bolt whilst trying not to damage the captive nut's threads. Please could someone talk me through the process so I don't make a pig's ear of it. Many thanks.
  10. Hi Steve, These legs seem to be hard to find. I used several of the "fan out" breakers' services but only one of them had one and when he got it off the car he found that the bladder had a rip in it. I've asked for a quote from lexuspartsdirect but no response so far. I see Sewell Lexus in Dallas have them for a discounted price of US$1339 so that gives me an idea of the new price. I've since found an independent breaker in Wigan who has 2 LS430's and will be speaking to him tomorrow. Also there is a 430 in the States with a coil-over-shock unit available. The cost is equal to about £90 for the part and £80 for fast shipping. I've just been preparing the car for this new part. I thought it would be hard but everything came apart quite easily in spite of the car's 10+ years and 350,000 miles. The hardest bit was removing the rear wheel arch liner - there about half a hundredweight of good quality top-soil on the ground by the time I'd finished :) The hole in the bladder was easy to see once everything was removed. It was tempting to try some sort of repair as it was only a small hole but the general state of the rubber was poor - very perished; easy to see how they go. Anyway, hope to have it fixed and up for sale soon now I have my "new" Grey LS430 - 2006. Have just applied for 2 years Gold membership so will be advertising it shortly.
  11. The bladder on my LS430 2002 Right Rear Suspension leg has developed a seemingly terminal leak so I'm looking for a replacement. Quite happy to use an air-sus or a coil-over-shock unit. Thanks for looking
  12. Ok, looks like the moral of this story is - if you replace your D2R Xenon bulb you should always refit the plastic cap on the back of the headlamp unit. As you can probably guess, the Light Control Computer (Ballast unit), was completely soaked and it's compartment was about an inch deep in water. I did find the appropriate fuse for each unit and noticed that inserting the fuse of the wet unit made it produce a brief buzzing sound; unlike the Good side which simply lit it's bulb without any fuss. Having removed the unit and superficially dried it I had a quick look at the input wiring, and whilst moving it gently managed to break the connection of the red wire to the unit. The tag that it was secured to simply crumbled. I'm not sure if the unit will be serviceable but my plan is to leave it to dry over a radiator for a day or so. I'll then try to solder the broken wire back onto the unit and see if it will work. Will let you know how it goes. With regard to replacing the unit I did find a Chinese firm that purport to supply OEM Xenon parts including this very part. A pic at http://www.oemxenonshop.com/Lexus-LS430-Headlight-Issue-Xenon-Ballast-Bulb-OEM-Parts-Replacement.html certainly looks like the real thing. They sell it for US$150 including shipping to UK which would be a very reasonable price. Anyone know anything about them?
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