John N

For the IS250/220D 2005-2008 try this link http://bahamutcars.f...53e/index2.html John N

Robin I've got a 2001 LS430 without any parking sensors. I think some of the first cars were produced without them and they were an optional extra. Your car may be one of these and it may have been fitted with a simple after market reversing sensor kit, working off the reversing light and with a sounder in the boot. If that's the case you may be able to reposition the sounder to hear it better. John N

Hi Dave I had the same problem with my LS430 three weeks ago. My suspicion is that the mechanism jams due to the cold weather, lack of use or lack of lubrication. Mine would not open for a day, despite operating the door lock switch many times, then the next day it failed again for a few hours, then started working again. (Classic intermittent fault.) I've squirted WD40 in the door and avoided deadlocking the doors, and it has worked faultlessly since then! Now I can't make my mind up, do I take the door apart to replace or lubricate the mechanism, when it is working fine? It may be a project for a summer day. John N

Had the same experience myself last year. After paying £160 a tyre for Nokian WR G2 winter tyres I spent a lot of time wondering if I had wasted my money. Then the snow came and I realised they were worth every penny. I even treated the wife to a set for Christmas. (Cost a fortune in wrapping paper!) John N

Oops; Pasting that link to the search results didn't work very well, unless you speak German. Try this instead; http://www.mytyres.co.uk/Winter_Tyres.html John N

Try Mytyres.co.uk they are showing stock of the Nokian WR A3 tyres that I would recommend at £110 each : http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl John N

Multipoint is better, like the normal petrol injection system it uses a dedicated injector for each cylinder. Single point is cheaper because it uses one common injector, which is always a compromise. John N

I found mine on Ebay, in an auction, advertised as 4 refurbished 17" LS430 wheels, with tyres. Ended up paying £350 for them, which was only a bit more than the tyres would have cost, and the wheels were 'as new'. Try the 'breakers', or this is another option; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-LEXUS-LS430-AUTO-12-months-MOT-FANTASTIC-LOUNGE-WHEELS-/280781267818?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4 given that you could spend £3,500 on four new fancy alloys. John N

On the LS430 engine the adjusting shims are under the cam followers, and you can only change them by removing the cam shafts and cam followers. No special tool needed, just time. John N

Last year I bought 4 Nokian WR G2 winter tyres. Nokian are the Finnish company that originally developed winter tyres, see http://www.nokiantyres.com/products and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokian_Tires What a revelation! No problems with traction and braking on slush or snow, and a good degree of control on ice! In the dry and wet they are as good as normal tyres as long as the temperature is below 7 or 8 degree C, when the average temperature warms up above 8 deg you are better off on normal tyres. In the snow and ice they transform the car from a useless chunk of metal into a perfectly usable car. It's not just about traction, it's about having good directional control and braking on ice and snow. I really did pass Land Rovers struggling to keep control in slush lying on top of frozen compacted snow! I've got them on a spare set of wheels, and I'm just waiting for a snow or ice forecast to fit them to the car. The model WR G2 tyres have now been superseded by WR A3 or their 'top of the range' Hakkapelitta R tyres. I would definitely recommend the Nokian winter tyres, but you may struggle to get hold of them at the moment. Nokian hold 25% of the Russian winter tyre market and sell 15% of their annual production within 10 days of the first snow fall of the season. So I bet they've sold out. I bought a set for the wifes' Yaris 2 months ago. John N

Stevie The main difference between systems is that some work faultlessly and others give endless problems. The difference is not always the LPG systems fault as there is also a great variation in the quality of the installers, their work,and their technical knowledge. If you look back through the past posts on LPG you will see plenty of problems people have experienced, but you don't tend to find many posts from satisfied LPG users they just get on with saving money. Whatever make or type of system you choose it is more important to find an experienced installer with a good record of faultless conversions. The last two cars I had were both converted to LPG, and both saved me money, but they gave endless problems, and in both cases it was down to the installers. I spent a lot of time finding the right installer to convert my current LS430, and I finally chose Worsley Autogas http://www.worsleyautogascentre.co.uk/ they are not the cheapest or the fastest, but they do a neat clean job that should work without problems. A word of warning on fuel savings, you will get 20% less mpg from gas than petrol, this means that although LPG is half the price of petrol you will only make a 33% on your fuel costs, not the 50% the installers claim. Remember you only get what you pay for, and there is always someone who will do a rough job cheaper! John N

The answer to your question 'would winter tyres make a sufferance'is yes, a great deal of difference. I run an LS430 on Nokian WR G2 tyres in winter and they transform it from a useless chunk of metal to safe reliable transport in the snow and ice. They don't just give you good traction, more importantly they give you safe directional control and decent braking. You may not be able to use the Is-F as a snowplough, but you will be able to drive in the ice and slush with safety if you take it easy. Try this supplier - http://www.mytyres.co.uk/Winter_Tyres.html I'd recommend any Nokien tyre. (They are the company that first developed 'winter tyres'.) John N.

When I was filling up with LPG (65p/l) at Worsley Autogas, who did my LPG conversion, I noticed they had an LS460 in the workshop. I was told they could not convert it to LPG because the engine uses 'direct fuel injection' and conversion kits are not available. One problem appears to be that because the tips of the fuel injectors are in the combustion chamber they need the flow of petrol to keep them cool and they burn-out if the engine runs on gas. The moral of this story is: - If you are thinking of buying a LS460 and planning to convert it to LPG check somebody has found a way of doing it first. John N

There is a similar panel behind the lower part of the radiator grill on the LS430. When I fitted a Lexus tow-bar the fitting instructions tell you to remove the panel and throw it away. I assumed this is to improve the cooling when towing a heavy trailer. For the last 2 years I've had had mine removed and once the engine is warm the temperature gauge never moves, and for 95 percent of the time I don't tow anything. I think your guess is right. John N

Mine had started sticking when they were folding in and out, WD40 and silicone grease fixed it. John N

Not fitted one to a 460 but I have fitted one to my 430, see link to topic. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=73528 I think your only option is to go and talk to the 'spares department' at your local Lexus main dealer. Buy the 'tow bar' from them and get an independent tow bar installer to fit it and a wiring kit, or fit it yourself. John N

I can't remember where I found the following information about reading the fault codes on the LS430, but it looked interesting so I copied it and filed it away. Give it a try and see if it works. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "To access the Diagnostic Menu on the touch screen do the following". 1. Gear selector in park. 2. Handbrake on. 3. Ignition to ACC, (or start the engine if you want to do a speed check etc) wait for navi screen to power up, click "I Agree" (or buy the Vias Ipod or dvd lead and it does it for you) 4. Press and HOLD the OPTION button and AT THE SAME TIME... 5. Turn headlights from off to sidelights five times i.e. off/side/off/side/off. 6. To exit the menu, turn off the ignition, car will then behave as normal. You will then get a screen displayed, it shows if there are any faults stored in the ECU, you must wait until it populates the empty spaces. I got this from Club lexus forums from a Lexusthai he shows pictures of all the screens you will see, but I repeat, you must wait until it populates the empty ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John N

I'm in North Manchester, count me in for a Lake District meet. John N

A few years ago I used to take notice of the motoring journalists, and I remembered Autocar saying the S Class Merc was the 'best car in the real world'. Well I finally bought one and yes it was a great car, when it was working, but it broke down so much and it was rusting away so fast I traded it for an LS430 after 2 years. The Lexus is in a totally different league for reliability and build quality. Read the independent reviews, such as the JD Power customer satisfaction survey, which Lexus have won for years. Don't take any notice of the journalists who have tried a car for a couple of days and been plied with 'hospitality'. John N

Mike A quick suggestion: The LPG set-up computer should be able to reed the gas pressure when it is connected to the system. Connect it up and do a test run when the gas tank is nearly empty, then fill the tank and do another test run. There should not be a significant difference in the gas pressure between a full or nearly empty tank. The job of the evaporator/pressure regulator is to keep the gas pressure steady at the LPG systems recommended working pressure. You can usually adjust the pressure regulator easily, but if you do you will need to re-calibrate the system. Best of luck. John N

Hi Mike First I don't think your VSC problem is related to the LPG conversion, unless a sensor or its' lead has been disturbed by the work you have had done. If you cannot detect any twitch on change-over it indicates the system has been wired up correctly, and it is actuating the right gas valves at the right time. The oxygen sensor fault code that triggers the engine warning light indicates that at some point the LPG system is getting the fuel/air ratio wrong. This can mean that the 'mapping' needs adjusting, but if it can take 3 or 4 runs on gas to bring the engine warning light on after it has been cleared the error may only be transient and not a significant problem. (Other people with LPG conversions appear to be happy to live with this problem if the car runs OK on gas.) On the other hand fuel/air ratio problems can be caused by the LPG evaporator not supplying gas to the engine at a constant pressure. This can be because it is not evaporating the liquid gas or controlling the gas pressure properly. Get the gas temperature and pressure checked out on the road, it should be able to keep the gas at the recommended pressure. Getting the software mapping spot-on is not as critical as many people think because the system is self correcting. The map is the ratio between how long the gas valves open compared to how long the petrol injectors would open at different engine speeds. The LPG system then looks at how long the engine ECU is telling the petrol injectors to open for, then it opens the gas valves instead for the time needed for the equivalent amount of gas. If it gets the timing slightly wrong the oxygen sensor will detect the engine running rich or lean and the engine ECU will correct the petrol injector timing which in turn corrects the gas valve timing. The engine ECU can adjust the fuel/air ratio by quite a large amount but if it reaches the adjustment limit and the oxygen sensor is still not happy it assumes the oxygen sensor is faulty and trips the engine warning light. Non of the problems I had with my previous LPG conversions were due to the software mapping, they were caused by crossed wiring, lack of hot water to the evaporator and faulty gas valves. Don't assume it's a complicated software problem, check the simple stuff first. In answer to your last question, yes I had my LS430 converted a couple of months ago by Worsley Autogas, just outside Manchester. I had to think long and hard about it after the problems I'd had with previous conversions. But I was finally persuaded by the post put up by 'Parrot of Doom' and other peoples comments on the BRC system they supply. Up to now the system has been faultless but my town mpg is down by 20% from 20 to 16 mpg. Still it represents a 33% saving on petrol costs and should pay for itself in just over a year. ( You don't get that return from an ISA ! ) John N

Mike I had a lot of trouble with the two previous cars I had converted to LPG, the answers to these questions may help identify your problem. Did you find out which fault codes were being triggered when the engine warning light came on? Is the engine warning light on as soon as the ignition is turned on? If you leave the car running on petrol with the LPG system turned off, and you start and stop the engine 3 or 4 times does the engine warning light go out and stay off until you use gas again? ( The LS430 will often turn off the engine warning light if a fault does not recur in 3 or 4 runs.) If you do manage to clear the engine warning light and you change back to LPG at what point does the warning light come on again? As soon as the engine changes over to LPG, when it is on a normal light throttle, accelerating hard, on the over-run or idling? Also is there any hint of a misfire or hesitation as the engine switches from petrol to LPG, or back from LPG to petrol? If there is, it indicates a cross connection in the gas valve wiring, and you may have some gas valves controlled by the wrong petrol injectors. (This happened to me, the engine would run OK on LPG or petrol but misfired on changeover.) The set-up software for the LPG system should allow the installer to monitor the gas temperature when the system is running. The installer should have checked the evaporator was heating the gas to the right temperature when he set the system up in the garage, but the evaporator has to work much harder out on the open road. You need to connect the computer to the system and do a test run to check the evaporator is keeping the gas at the correct temperature when the engine is working hard on the open road. (This also happened to me, the water supply to the evaporator had not been connected properly and could not evaporate enough gas when the engine had to work hard.) I've also looked into the question of the MPG you get on gas compared to petrol. There is lots on this subject on the web, and there appears to be a consensus that you get 10% to 20% less mpg on gas. The reason is that a litre of LPG contains less energy (calories) than a litre of petrol, so you have to burn more to get the same power. The people who are trying to sell you gas conversions appear to conveniently forget this and simply compare LPG and petrol prices, then claim you will make a 50% saving. In reality if your mpg drops by 20% you will only make a 33% saving, but even this represents a very good investment if you do over 10k a year. Hope you solve your problems soon. John N

I can't see you will have any problem running without a 'brake dust shield' for a while. After all the other side of the brake disk is open to the elements where you can see it through the wheel. You will probably have to take the brake disc off to get it free, as they are often clamped in place by the calliper mounting bolts. John N

I wondered why it was hallmarked! John N

I fitted a tow bar to my LS430 in 2009 in order to tow a 1.5 tonne caravan. You can only legally fit a 'type approved' tow bar to a 2002 car, and after a long search the only one I could find was the genuine Lexus one. It is made for them by Brink, but Brink will not supply them directly, you have to buy it from Lexus. The part number is LPZ408-F1550-00 and in 2009 the list price was £399-69p + vat. The spares Dept. at Lexus Manchester gave me a 10% discount. Ask for a copy of the installation instructions. I fitted it myself with the help of a friend. With the back of the car up on ramps it took us 3 hours, very straight forward, just nuts and bolts, a saw to cut a notch out of the bumper and tin snips to trim the exhaust heat shields. You also have to remove a blanking plate behind the front grill to increase the air flow to the radiator. I then bought a trailer/caravan wiring kit from a local towing centre for £75. That also took about 3 hours to fit, you can pick up the power supply from under the left hand side of the boot floor (below the tool kit) there is an electrical box with a direct 80 amp feed from the battery. Use that instead of wiring back to the battery. When I started towing the caravan I found the gearbox showing signs of overheating so I fitted a transmission cooler from Kenlowe which cost £126. http://www.kenlowe.com/oil-coolers/automatic/index.html Also easy to fit, but the total cost of adapting the car to tow the caravan came to £620 even doing all the work myself. The good news is it's the best towcar I've ever had. John N