GEN

7 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

I think Gen's post might be your best thoughts going forward

Most other Ls owners never get around to wanting to change their cars  ..  take me for instance, 25 yrs with a ( my third )  Ls400 and some 250k miles under my belt I think and could never think why I would want to change ( sideways maybe ) to a different Ls style

Your comparison of knowledge from one specific owner will be very difficult to find methinks

God luck anyway

Malc

I didn't want to change either. I just had no choice!

Based on my experience (1998 Ls400 followed by 2005 Ls430 and now Ls600hl) while all three offer a beautiful comfortable, smooth ride, I would go for the LS430 with the standard (not the air, unless you're willing and able to spend a lot of money fixing it) suspension.  I think there is general agreement that it is really hard to tell the difference between the air and standard suspension, except for the cost of repairing it. And indeed people who bought LS cars with air suspension, when it failed, more often than not replaced it with the standard version.  Also, the Ls430 is still considered to be the best, most reliable of the three (mentioned above) if not of them all!  I only went with the Ls600hl because at the time I couldn't find an Ls430.

Understood.  

My gold membership expires on 06/08/23 and I have just had an email with an outstanding invoice!  Aren't we in May? Just a tad early isn't it!?!  Tried putting this in the gold membership section but not possible.

I've had, in the following sequence Ls400, Ls430 and now Ls600hl and personally I found the Ls400 most comfortable followed by the Ls430 and then the Ls600hl.  They changed the seats to make them more 'sporty', the Ls600hl does have more room for the 'VIPs' in the back and , of course, because of the hybrid Battery the space in the boot/trunk is laughable (do check this out).  Also remember that the 600hl comes with 2 inbuilt potentially catastrophic 'features' ( air suspension and hybrid battery)!  On the other hand the power delivery from the 5.0l V8 plus hybrid motor via all wheel drive is unbelievable.  

One hears mostly negatives about the E10 so why risk it?  E5 for my Ls600hl, the E10 seems to be a false economy.

Have used Vredstein on my Ls400, Ls430 and now Ls600hl.  They are quiet, good handling and long lasting and only £149 per tyre for the all season version.

Planet Lexi is a new idea to me, but what is your factual basis for asserting that all Toyota does is slap on a label and overcharge?  Are you familiar with the concept of "OEM" = meaning close or same as manufacturer specs?  You may have heard of Porsche rated tyres?  If you read around you'll find that Lexus cars are very sensitive to their batteries.... My personal experience (previous cars: original Mini, Ford Ltd, Fleetwood Cadillac, Ford Thunderbird, Volkswagen Passat, Porsche 928 GTS, and 3 Lexus LS, respectively 400, 430) is that there seems to be no such thing as a "bog standard" Battery, all behaving differently.  Worst one was of course in the Mini, the best in the Passat (it lasted for an incredible 10 years) whereas the Porsche died in 1 year and I then replaced it with the second best which was a Bosch S5.  For Lexus I have always used the Toyota ones (same cost as "bog standard", never let me down and fitted for free)(exception costwise is the one for the LS600h).

As for money priority perhaps you haven't yet come across  the saying and reality: "I'm too poor to buy cheap things".

All the best or maybe just the "bog standard"?

21 minutes ago, MLW said:

There are very few global companies that make batteries anyway. It is a bog standard part. Choose one from a well established maker. It is that simple.

On 10/14/2022 at 1:03 PM, Exdee said:

 

Leaving all sorts of things aside (i.e.: how sensitive these cars are to batteries, the question of whether Toyota test the batteries they sell, etc.), why not replace anything that can be replaced with a "bog standard" item?  Even better why not just drive a "bog standard" car to begin with?😂  Plenty around and way cheaper and it's still transport with wheels, seats, etc. Made from the same sort of materials....

While you are perfectly correct that most garages in this country were meant to accommodate a Fiat 500(the old one not the current one) I do not allow the size of my garage to dictate the kind of car I drive.😁

40 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

the option being, along with most other marques of similar age is just send her to the scrapper ...  to be crushed and no more ......  I'm happy with non Lexus Toyota bits and bobs if that's the only way to keep her going 

Malc

Obviously that's great for you as you are happy with it.  Hope it'll see you through many years.

21 hours ago, Stanwithaplan said:

I had a 2010 Audi A8 4.2 diesel twin turbo, which was a comfortable car for long journeys, but my current and previous LS400s always seemed to encourage me to alter my driving style, to  happily waft everywhere, the Audi never did that. The seats in the LS are much more comfortable than the A8 which "squeezed" too much. My old (again 2010) Lincoln Navigator was pretty good, better sound deadening than the older LS400, but again it never wafted. All my other cars have had hard suspensions.

BTW I'm also considering an LS600H for my UK car, but I'm going to need to test drive one first, because the CVT may not suit me, it seems its polarising in reviews?

As a Ls400 and Ls430 previous owner, and a current Ls600hl owner, I confirm that the Ls400 has the best ride and the most comfortable seats of all three.  The problem with the Ls400 now is that parts are no longer available from Lexus/Toyota (I needed 2 solenoids to keep my transmission going but.....no luck) so while maintaining it (with aftermarket parts) you're slowly degrading the car... 

Porsche don't make tyres but they do have specific Porsche rated tyres and....... these are much in use...

2 hours ago, Roger Bill said:

Apparently tyres filled with nitrogen are less affected by temperature changes than air: https://tractionlife.com/nitrogen-vs-air-in-tires-whats-the-main-difference/ Only costs £2.50 per tyre at ATS but I've never bothered, in fact I use a foot pump at home as I'm too tight fisted to spend money on an airline at a petrol station!

The way I read advice such as contained in https://www.tyre-pressures.com/blog/can-weather-or-temperature-affect-tyre-pressure is that tyres should be inflated to the specified pressure in the morning before driving so "cold" relates to the prevailing temperature rather than eg 20°C. Under inflated tyres increase fuel consumption and increase the risk of the tyre over heating when driven. Correctly inflated tyres should optimise tyre life.

I'm very grateful to you for the clarification.  After xx years of driving I may have to break down and get a pump!  😁😤

25 minutes ago, Roger Bill said:

Tyre pressures are always specified for cold tyres. If tyres only reached the specified pressure after driving some distance they are under inflated.

A tyre pressure warning system is a requirement for cars fitted with runflat tyres so the driver knows that speed and distance driven has to be restricted: https://www.national.co.uk/information/run-flat-tyres 

Agree with you that tyre pressures are specified for cold tyres but how cold?  Specifically on a cold day they'll be slightly under inflated at start whereas the next day being warmer the pressures will be fine.  I have personally had this, so the answer is.....?

My car has never had and I do not think it was designed for runflat tyres so the TPM not a requirement.

13 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Mine goes off when warm without the need to add air.

All in all the TPM is something I can easily do without...... In fact I'd be happy to pay not to have it!

Just now, Roger Bill said:

Lower temperature = lower pressure. Tyres often need some air added at this time of year, therefore, your tyre warning light is probably doing it's job.

Yes but shouldn't the warning light, etc., go off once the tyres are up to pressure?

2 minutes ago, Beduffshirl said:

First cold morning of the year today which reminded me of an annoying fault. The tyre warning light activating when the tyres are at low temp. I think I had this on my CT's as well so maybe a general Lexus thing. If you go on a decent run first thing or start up again when the temps a bit warmer the light has always gone off.

Just as annoying on my Ls600 and it takes about 20 miles to go off even though the tyres, according to the indicator, warm long before then. 😤

4 hours ago, Malc1 said:

on a more simplistic note ............  when replacing my ordinary 12v battery I seemed to have used the Lexus - Toyota spares dept in Canterbury .....  OK it's not very often of course ......  BUT the OEM and actually Yuasa supplied Toyota battery was hardly more expensive than from anywhere else ............ and of course fits a treat 🙂

And I did various on-line comparative searches for pricing etc too

 

Malc

Absolutely agree - have/will use Lexus dealer for my 12v Battery.  

That may be; but:

1. He was not having to sell me anything as I had sold it to myself.

2. The "waffle" is mine as I didn't even indicate that I was quoting him directly. In fact I was summarizing what I understood him to say.   The technical details I don't recall as I'm not a technical person.

When I purchased my Ls600 it had a standard Battery and was running fine but as winter was coming I just ordered a replacement Battery from my Lexus dealer and, having replaced batteries on my Ls400 and Ls430 I had a real shock when I had to pay for the Ls600h Battery (no I hadn't asked the price beforehand) but was told this was specially designed so as to avoid a fire from the combination of the 12v Battery and the hybrid Battery.  I thought/think the extra cost is well worth to avoid a fire/explosion but an ordinary Battery was certainly working. Pay your money and take your choice.

No problems either especially since Lexus are still showing my original plate even though the dealer actually made up and installed my personal plate!😁 Yes, all the Lexus paperwork is still showing the original plate...

At my previous Lexus dealer: when taking the car for service I would park in the Lexus forecourt and the car would then be driven around the corner to the Toyota workshop (seen by me, time and again) but of course the paperwork was Lexus.  Toyota was closer to my home than Lexus so on one occasion I went to Toyota to get a quote for something (could have been timing belt).  They said they would do it but asked me to wait while they got the price from Lexus!

Six of this, half a dozen......

10K/12 month intermediate service on my LS600hl today = £165.14

2 minutes ago, Micholas said:

I use main dealers for servicing because they know the schedule to a tee and have all parts that might come up in stock (sump bungs, missing rivets etc.) 

I presume private garages would just do what you tell them rather than add insight on the different spark plug, diff oil schedules. 
 

HOWEVER the two main dealers I have used really didn’t like dealing with my LS430. I got the impression it was a hinderance and they’d much rather be doing servicing and warranty work on a 2 year old RX. 

But what is this essential servicing you lot speak of?? Sorry relatively new to the Lexus world. 

Leaving aside my particular circumstances above) I would only use a dealership for critical items (timing belt, etc) as I I just trust the dealership/s to do the best job and wouldn't take chances of these items with an independent.