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On my 98MY the switch when pressed into snow mode does lock down and the light turns on the dashboard so maybe it's not working on yours?

I have used Edge fully synthetic. Then last year my car was with Lexus for timing belt, etc.,. The oil change was due so I decided to let them do it and then had a discussion about synthetic versus semi. Their mechanic maintained that the fully synthetic was not suitable for the older cars. When going overseas I decided to buy a litre of oil to have it in the car just in case so I went to the local Toyota to buy this oil. The parts guy at Toyota asked me for the car registration and then sold the oil - a litre of fully synthetic which he assured me was what was recommended. This was Toyota branded and under £10. When I went back to Lexus this year I had the conversation again and while they did not dispute the story I was told by Toyota the explained that they only did semi-synthetic!? I suspect that as long as it is meeting the required specs and changed as per book it should be OK but I would love to have an authoritative and definitive answer if someone can provide it...

About a year ago, after some negotiations, I had the timing belt, water pump and tensioner replaced by Lexus at around that price (700 UK pounds) so it may be worth asking your local Lexus.

I certainly did not succeed even though I had the Lexus instructions and two keys to work with. When my remaining key gives up I guess I'll revisit the whole issue....

Certainly if I could get it done for that I would jump at it!

It sounds so good that it is clearly not a quote from a Lexus dealer and all in all it sounds too good to be true - after the cost of parts too little left for labour and profit, I think...

I don't really know but, if memory serves, it's a bit more serious than a fuse... It's a known problem and you need to search here and will find the details.

Mine is a 98 with the same problems... Where did you get your wheels refurbished? At the moment my center caps are the best looking bits...!!!!

Had a similar problem with my LS400 except that I had two fully functional keys and seemingly the battery died on one of them. I replaced the battery and from then on it would lock the car but not unlock it. Tried reprogramming with the full Lexus instructions kindly provided by someone here but it failed at the last step. Lexus was willing to sell me a new key but not guaranteed to work-cost over £200 so am still looking for a solution. Thankfully the other key is still working.

Mine is a LS400 and has always run that way but everything else seems OK so I get worried if it seems higher!

Vredstein Wintrac Extreme have served me very well year round: quiet and comfortable; grippy and lasted over 24000 miles at approximately £100 per corne (size: standard 17 etc., etc.. )It is true that they are limited to 130mph but this is not a major problem for me especially since I have not been on the autobahn recently...

I switched to Mud & Snow tyres (Vredstein to be exact; first rear set lasted for over 25000miles) and did not need anything else. Before that, with Pirelli summer tyres and snow mode, even a little bit of snow was like ice! Do remember that all that the snow mode does is to shift in to a higher gear sooner so as to keep the revs low, etc. Haven't tried the socks but have used chains and they are a real pain.

How true what I was told many years ago: " a licence to sell insurance is a licence to print money..."... No doubt in my mind that we are all being taken advantage of... I passed the 12 year NCB some years back (various insurance companies have told me they stop counting at 9. Why?), I don't live in a war zone, not a teenager, involved in motor sports, etc., but it is still cheaper for me to insure my Porsche than my LS400!!! You might want to try Tesco insurance - cheapest I could find just under £500. Whereas with the Porsche I have an agreed value policy (agreed between the ins. co. and myself based on valuation) the LS400 is valued by Tesco at between £0-£30000! I suppose that means the premium is for a £30K car and payout in case of accident will be £0! Have tried many, many others - including the one recommended by LOC (the very helpful guy who ran the quote apologized that he couldn't do better than a premium in excess of £2K!). Guess we do need to start our own insurance company...

I would say you are lucky - my local Toyota refuses to touch anything on my LS400 and refers me to Lexus some 20 miles away. As far as workshop is concerned I had a very similar experience Lexus and Toyota showroom side by side and when Lexus drove my car away they drove it to the worshop round the back of the Toyota showroom! And of course if I want any Lexus parts I order them from the parts department, the Toyota parts department that is.

Although my experience is as described and the specs are well within those recommended I am always willing to learn - what do you suggest?

I have not used Protyre but members of PCGB were shown around the local (North London area) Protyre with full explanations of the machines (latest) and processes they use - sounded most impressive and I will certainly try them next. By the by, PCGB (Porsche Club GB) members are offered a discount perhaps we should try the same for LOC? If you do use them perhaps you can post your experience? Best wishes

Hi! I have been using Castrol Edge (fully synthetic) 5w-40 Turbo-Diesel in my 98 Mk 4 LS400. It is currently on sale at Halfords for £32.79 (4l). I would, of course, be interested to hear what Opie suggests so perhaps you can post his recommendations. Best wishes

I have a 98MY Mk4 with traction control and snow mode which were completely useless in the snow the year before last. I then switched to Vredstein Snow & Mud tyres and the improvement was unbelievable - I can now drive in the snow with confidence and so would highly recommend these tyres which are, interestingly enough, also recommended as winter tyres by Porsche. Of course not driving at all in difficult conditions is a much better option, if available. As for the Fiesta - if you are suggesting (and I simply don't know) that their tyres would be unsuitable I suppose you might have to worry about that in the summer also!

I (and a few others on this forum) will recommend them highly. You need to speak to John at J P Polishing on 01268 680245 (he is in Canvey Island), A video of the process is on his website: http://jppolishing.co.uk/ Also note he doues a "bright" silver which looks like a polished wheel-would have been too much on my wheels, so went for a standard silver, Very, very pleased with the quality and the customer care John offers. Please note that I am just a happy customer and have no other links with J P Polishing. Thank you very much for the information.

My wheels need doing too and I can't manage it - would you recommend the company in Essex? and if yes, could you let me know their name or phone number? Thank you.

Hi! When the battery died on my LS400 the cheapest one (about £65) I could find was from Lexus (Woodford) and I asked them to fit given the potential problems when putting in a new battery. So it was fitted by Lexus and I should have but did not expect that they would charge me (about £30) but they did. It was still cheapest I could find immediately. It cae with a 2 year warranty. About 1 year later it began playing up and Lexus (Woodford) replaced it with a new one - no charge, no fuss (the usual excellent service, including car wash) but I did need to produce the receipt. I do think that producing the receipt is standard (had the same with my other car). Since then I discovered and can recommend (am using in my other car) the Bosch S6 series - 6 year warranty, Bosch's latest/best technology in a sealed-for-life unit and it cost me £82 all inclusive and delivered from a place up North. Have had this S6 battery since the beginning of the year and it's the best ever and it does have to work to start a 5.4l engine!

I nearly bought those parts, but checked the part numbers, the number for the water pump is not for a MK4 LS400, I suspect its a different part for an LS430. The ebay ad states quite clearly that the parts are for an LS430.

If you are using the remote to lock/unlock I suggest you press the lock button twice instead of once - I had the same problem as you and since I have done the above it has resolved the issue.