Rapidone

2 ways to get the all the battery lights on. Going down a long hill, or high speed on the 3rd lane of motorway with lots of slowing for traffic. I've had mine for three and a half years now and not seen any change in battery behaviour. Currently on 76k miles. I was under the impression that the type of batteries used benefit from a complete discharge before recharging, unlike a lead acid battery that likes to be continually topped up. I assume that is why it's rare to see full batteries on the display. I guess the best way to manage the batteries would be for the computer to alternate through the cell in the pack, making one or two cells tottaly empty at a time. Just a few thoughts, the guys at the service center didn't seem to have much idea. Took me ages to figure out there's a gear change in the recharging system, dropping from 70mph this happens at around 35mph, recharging stops at this speed, but will start again if you let off the brake for a few seconds and then re-apply. The service center had no idea at all about this also.

The worst car built in the last 10 years. That would be the Kia Picanto, not the latest modle which is thankfully much better, but the previous one. If you have driven one you will know what I mean. As for the CT200, I had one for an afternoon. Much preferable to an Auris Hybrid. Precice steering, sturdy, comfortable. Sound system was fine. I think the tyre noise is too loud on my GS so I guess the CT never had a chance, above 40mph tyre noise is very noticable. My final thoughts were, would make a nice shopping trolly, very good round town, can't tell when the engine is running and when it's not. But way too noisy for the motorway. Considering buying one used next summer, but will have to remember to take speed bumps no faster than 10mph.

Anyone know warm air from the heating system is diverted into the battery pack on the 450h to make the batteries opperate more efficiently in cold weather.?

Hi there, I'm a little above 5ft 10 (maybe a longer body than most) and have no sun roof.. With the seat all the way down, I have one fist width (3.5 inches) of room spare above my head. I've read that the correct way to fit yourself to a car is to have one fist width clearance. So that would suggest I am the max height for this car. However, the head rest is raised fully and is slightly too low in my opinion. If you like to have you seat reclined more than me you may fit. The obvious suggestion would be to get to a dealership and sit in one of the cars. I wouldnt have wanted the sun roof anyway. It only adds weight at exactly the worst place rasing the center of gravity. However, auto cruse control would have been a nice feature to have. I'm pretty sure the Mark Levinson audio is standard on the SE of that age, I may be wrong. It's in mine but may be an option. You certanly cant go wrong with one of these cars. They are alot of car for the money, and with the reliabilty too. To good to miss with the prices as low as they are. A steel, if you fit.

I've been considering this for some time now. I was hoping to have one before this winter, actually I've been considering lots of 4x4 options. The low noise level in the LS600h is the most appealing feature for me. The fuel ecconomy is 20% worse that the GS450h, not a huge problem another £400 per year. They are alot of car for the money.

I've never noticed the steering heavy. However, I was told by the salesman of my car, it is normal for the car to automatically unlock when walking near it even without putting your hand behind door handle. There was a fault on the car and he wanted to sell it. How can you tell a salesman is lying? His lips are moving!

I just wanted to give an update on the this issue. I recently had a puncture in one of the new rear tyres. I had it replaced and got the front tyres done at the same time. So now there are Continental sport contact 3 on all 4 wheels. The handling issues have gone away. The steering is straight again. I know, I don't understand either. The car feels totally different, like a new car. It's quieter. The ride is better. It's soaks up the bumps much better, potholes are less of an issue. The grip is way better, esspecially in the wet. There is less tramlining and tugging on the steering wheel, however the sense of the road through the steering wheel is less. I can certainly recommend the tyres, despite them being Mercedes fitment.

I believe so. There's one other difference. The half wood steering wheel on the SEL.

As far as I know the only difference on the 07 was the sunroof and Adaptive Cruise Control. Maybe tyre pressure guages too. I went for the SE becaues the sunroof in the SEL would have made the roof too low. It's a shame to miss out on the ACC.

I've been looking at that aswell. I've been toying with the idea of getting one towards the end of the year. Although the LS460 seems to be going for 7-8k less. That would buy a lot of petrol and road tax! Do all the 460 and 600 come with double glazing or was that an option?

http://sniperslaststand.blogspot.com/2008/10/quest-for-quietest-car.html The Gs450h comes in at number 47 on the list of quiet cars in the link. The article is a few year old though. There is certainly more road noise in the GS450h than I would like, but way less noise from the rear than the IS250 I had before. I found the previous generation of E Class merc was significantly quieter (27 on the list), in fact I was going to buy one until I found out about the reliability issues. The GS450h has does have the smoothest transmission of any car I've ever driven. It's almost perfect, just a little surge of accelaration you wouldnt expect as slides into highest ratio at about 60mph, but even that isn't a jerk, in fact you probably would only notice that once its been pointed out. What to look out for? The corroding wheels, they are a bit of a joke. They pit and blister, still, at least they don't crack like some of the BMW cars, and desptite the issue the wheels still look ok on mine. Apart from the recall work, the only new issue that has required any work in the last two years, was a replacement of a sticking rear caliper under warranty.

The tyres are listed as Mercedes fitment, and having driven quite a few mercs I can see the similarity in feel. Quieter, softer ride, less precision, more roll. I guess it's possible one of the new tyres has a sidewall that's faulty and too soft. I'm sure your correct about the active suspension. Perhaps it's an active stabillity management issue instead. Maybe the breaks being applied on one of the wheels to try and keep the car straight. All I know is, since the steering was straighted a little, the feeling of toe out on the rears is nowhere near as bad. I'll probably try swapping the wheels round on Saturday. As for changing the steering without altering the tracking. I'm assuming they made adjustments to the track rod ends, by the same amount on each of the front wheels to bring them more in line, while still keeping them parallel.

Is this right? My recently-purchased Mk2 GS300 Sport is running 245 40s on the rear and 235 40s on the front. i was thinking that this was a personal preference and was planning to run the same size each corner... I expect gordi thought he was posting on the IS250 forum. The tyre sizes are different on the IS250 but are the same size all round on the GS450h, well at least they are on mine. I took the car back to the garage that fitted the tyres and they checked the tracking on the wheels, there was no problem. They also straightened up the steering a little via mechanical means under the car. It's still not totally straight but the handling seems to have improved a somewhat. Is the active suspension partly controled via the angle of the steering wheel? I'm wondering if the steering can be straightened by attaching a computer on these cars. I'll contact the lexus dealer this weekend and see if they can shed any light on this matter.

I had the rear tyres changed from Avan A10e to Continental Sport Contact3. The car was jacked up on the sill jacking points. There are still Avan A10e on the front. Now the steering is slightly off center and the car seems to roll more during left hand corners than right. There is also a difference in handling. It feels like the rear wheels have some toe-out on them. The tyre pressures are even. Is it possible the active suspension has been damaged in some, way? I realy cant see how changing the rear tyres can affect the steering, however previously the left rear tyre had about 2mm less tread that the right. So has anyone else had a similar problem, or have any ideas what may have happened? Do you think its worth swapping the front to the rears and seeing if there is any change?

I've been thinking about this a little more. I've noticed when this problem happens the most, it's comming off the motorway to a stop, and especially after lots of hard accelaration on the motorway. I don't get what would be described as knocking, but I do get a solid thump sometimes when cruising up the sliproad off the motorway. It's asif there is a clutch in the drivetrain that is stuck together, and it's not disenguaging when it should, the car will judder a few times, then a loud thump and everything runs smooth again. GS Sport, does that sound fammilar?

Well like I said before, it's not gotten any worse on mine in two years I've had the car, the car is 4 years old now with just over 60k. However if there is some think loose on the car causing the knocking, it's fair to assume that the knock will get worse over time. £900 is way too high for me to consider paying, that would be a sizable chunk of the value of the entire car, especially considering the problem isnt getting worse. Has the problem only recently started to happen of did you buy the car like that? Would it be worth drawing the attention of Lexus UK to this thread?

Wouldnt using the tipronic to slow the car disipate more energy through the engine, and thereby leave less to be gathered by regeneration. I know the energy dial goes further into regeneration when using a lower speed on the auto box, but it seems to me to move much more when the brake is pressed for regeneration. As for cornering, I tend to use the racing line and near the limit of grip in bends. Maybe squeeling the tyres isnt such a good idea, but it is fun.

There was no difference in the problem for me before or after the valve spring recall. As for unburned fuel in the exhaust. I can see that causing vibration, but would it also cause the engine to keep running when you expect it to stop. To me it seems like some fuel is getting into some of the cylinders when it shouldnt. To me the the vibration always feels like a car that is running on after the ignition is turned off. I'm only guessing, I'm not a technician. If they fix it by changing the coils, they will obviously be correct. It will be interesting to find out. Would that fault be covered under the first three years warranty? When I first reported the problem the are was under three years old, and now it's older than three. Maybe it can still be done for free. Did you get any indication of likely costs? If yours is done under warranty, would you ask the cost would be without a warranty. Thanks.

Mine does the same, the engine feels as if it's on the edge of a stall running very lumpy, and then finally cuts out sending a judder through the car. It happens at time when I would expect the engine to be stopped. There is no knocking from under the car though, sounds like you have something loose. I did ask at the Lexus dealer about the lumpy idling, they asked me to demonstrate to them, but of course the car was working perfectly when I tried. The car has been doing this maybe one stop in every four the car makes. This has been happening for the two year that I've had the car, and has not gotten any worse. Please keep us posted of any investigation you have done.

The best solution is probably to put a Road Angel or similar on the dash.

A GS600h 4x4 would get my vote :) A four cylilnder mode on the v8 would be a nice feature to save some fuel. That would be the perfect car. With most of the ecconomy of a 2.5L hybrid and sub 5 second 0-62 time.

My mpg varies from 36 driving extremely carefully, to 31 driving very aggressively. That's mainly on 17 mile commute to work, mostly on motorway varing from stop start to free flowing, and several 1 to 3 mile trips to the shops during the week. Some of the best figures I've acheived have come in heavy traffic on the motorway 20 to 40mph, with lots of changes in speed. I find 40mpg is easily acheived at 70mph on the flat. I do think ahead to get those figures, keeping the energy meter just a fraction into the negative area when slowing at high speed, and when slowing to a stop. Thereby maximising the time that the engine is off. Did you consider checking to see if the trip computer is reading acurately by doing a full to full miles/fuel calculation?

Being a cynical person, I suspect that the insurance company thinks that if a person is willing to pay such a large extra purchace price from the lowest grade of car to the highest, then they are probably also willing to pay the extra insurance premium. The insurance company will quote as high a figure as they think the market will bear, and that has no relation to the cost of the risk to them.

Would you be kind enough to say what tyres you use and what pressures? Thanks. I found using anything less than about 36psi in winter gives awfull mpg and very poor handling. I was using 38psi for a while on the rears, but this has caused more wear in the center of the tyre, but did improve the handling. With the warmer weather 34psi seems to be fine for handling and ecconomy, however after the car service the dealer set all four tyres at 32psi. The car has Yokohama Advan A10E on it.