plastic orange

Thanks for that Steve. Pete

My driver's side seatbelt is starting to become frayed and can only get worse - how easy is this to change? Pete

Having sorted out one for my brother 20 years ago, I came to the conclusion that I didn't really like them. They are in my opinion a poorly put together kit car which deteriorates quickly with age, generally lacking in quality and performance, with a constant smell of dampness, petrol and fibreglass not necessarily in that order. He's after an older car to take his wife and kids to rallies but the Minors we have on the road just now only have 2 seats. I've suggested a Rover P6B having had 6 of them but he's not keen - yet. Pete

I've just done a 600 mile round trip to south of Manchester - mostly dual carriageway and motorway cruising at 75 mph and got 31.8 mpg overall. This was into a strong headwind for most of the journey south and traffic queues on the way back north otherwise I'm sure it would have been over 32mpg - not bad. Wasted journey though as the Reliant Scimitar my son wanted to buy proved it would be unable to make the journey home with us due to a burst heater hose (on test drive), weeping core plug and tracking wildly out. I'm not a Scimitar fan, so was quite pleased really. Pete

If you are concerned about potential air suspension problems with an SEL, then just buy an SE instead - that's what I did. Pete

We're still pleased with the car. I had to get the air con re-gassed as I think the supplying garage must have disconnected things during cambelt change as I'd tested it worked before purchase, then no need until recently. Fuel consumption is only downside, although I managed almost 28mpg on a trip of 140 miles each way on mixed roads, but was cruising with air con on and at an indicated 80 on motorways. Town driving seems to be high teens, low 20's though. I also think that it is rather high geared for the power and weight of car as it needs to kick down at times to maintain speed up hills, but I'm probably picky due to being used to V8's.I also cleaned up the surface rust underneath (wasn't too bad) and used a bilt hamber product to further protect it. I've still to clean and paint the brake calipers etc as they look a bit untidy. I replaced the spare tyre with a Bridgestone Potenza to match the rest as it wasn't in good order and got the wheel powdercoated as well. My wife loves the car though and we may possibly investigate a 450 in the future, but will have to try one first. Pete

Bilt Hamber products seem to get the best write up these days. I used a couple of tins to protect underneath my wife's RX, turned out fine, but time will tell. Pete

I bought a 2005 Rx300SE for my wife back in March. It had 100k on the clock with full lexus history. I also run an LS 400 mk4, so I can advise you on general comparisons with the 2 cars. Firstly, I find that fuel consumption isn't as good as expected - 21 urban and best of 25mpg cruising at 70, in other words, my LS is my economy car. General build quality whilst good, isn't to LS spec and neither is the gear change, with the box being caught out at times. I find that performance can be described as adequate with hills needing the box to change down, again it's a heavy car with nearly 100bhp less than the LS. I do enjoy sitting higher up in the car, and handling is better than I expected with little body roll and low wind and tyre noise. I also find the seating arrangement good with the rear seat being able to accommodate 2 child seats with room for an additional passenger. boot space is also very good with storage space under the floor for sundries. Like the LS, cam belt change is expensive, so make sure that it's been done and that all electrics work as they should. I didn't want the additional technicalities that the air suspended SEL had, so the SE ticked that box. Have a good look underneath as they do rust a bit under there. The good thing is that there are quite a few to choose from as they are more popular than an LS, but this is dependant where you live as I had very few to choose from in Scotland. Seems to be quite a few LS owners getting RX's these days, says a lot for brand loyalty. Pete

I checked the pipes mentioned and they are cold-ish, but no frost. Bubble in window doesn't seem to alter much. I'll have a look for codes. Pete

Cheers folks, I'll check further. Pete

I took my car in today to ATS for one of the groupon air con recharges, and was told that they couldn't complete the refill as they said my air con compressor wasn't working. As I stay in Scotland there isn't really much need for air con, but of late I thought it wasn't as cold as usual (I turn it on now and then to keep it working). I told the guy that the compressor appears to kick in as the revs rise when air is selected - he said he'd noticed that too, but that his gauges indicated that it wasn't pressurising. They performed a leak test prior to attempting a fill, and he said it was fine and that it had refrigerant in the system. They were quite decent really and have allowed me to use the voucher for the wife's RX 300, but I'm wondering how to test that the compressor has failed. Pete

I bought one for my wife back in March - similar mileage too. Observations over the last 3 months: Wife loves it, She was nervous to begin with due to size Fuel consumption - worse than I thought it would be, averaging 21 in town and at best 25 at motorway speeds. It drives very nicely and is well finished, ride is comfortable and little body roll. Cruise control isn't as smooth as I expected though (compared to my LS) and it kicks down on gradients which was unexpected the first time it happened. Make sure cam belt has been changed, auto box is smooth and with clean oil and have a good look for rust underneath. Make sure everything electrical works. Car advertised looks nice and is well priced. Pete

I reckon that these sub standard upper control arms all come from the same source. If you have to fit these, then spend another couple of quid and replace the rubbers with a better one. My test rubbers are still as good as when I got them over a year ago - still sitting in my toolbox, but then the new crap parts destroyed the rubbers sitting on my garage wall, so it's a similar test. I bought the replacement gaiters on ebay - just measured what I needed. Pete

I've just renewed my insurance this year with the AA. Not impressed to discover they value a 99 LS at £695. When I phoned to query this, the nice young lady said that was the market value. I asked what market she shopped at and I'd buy 10 at that price. She upped value to £2.5k, but this is not agreed value, so expect very little if the worst happens. Insurance is really just a 'donation' though. I have agreed value on both my V8 minors through the NSRA policy with Classicline, but I feel we get ripped off with our daily drivers. Pete

There are plenty tutorials relating to replacement on an LS400, but can't see it being much different on the 430. The garage I use took £150 to do the job. Pete

Just type in starter solenoid repair kit for Lexus in ebay. Super quick delivery and sorts the problem. Once the dreaded click starts, replacement is the only solution as you will get caught out. Pete

Small step ladder does for me. Pete

I had a new filter fitted when I got the transmission serviced when I bought my car 5 years ago (peace of mind). Bill for toyota trans fluid, gasket and filter plus work was over £250 if I recall. It made no difference to the drive, but I just wanted my new purchase to be right. Pete

Check out the LS section on the forum. this is well documented there. Most folk get a solenoid repair kit from ebay - around £15. It cost me £150 to get my mechanic to sort out my LS400 and it's been perfect since. I did go through all the easy options prior to 'surgery' - as you do. Pete

It may be because that the MOT tester considered it to be corrosion of the braking components, of which the back plate is part of it. Remove it and it's not rusty anymore, so can't fail. I'd go elsewhere for an MOT in future. Plenty info if you google. Pete

Shouldn't be an MOT fail as far as I believe. Pete

I bought a 2005 RX 300SE for my wife a few weeks ago and I've found it to be almost as quiet as my LS400 with very little road noise - on Bridgestone potenzas. It may be that the air suspension models suffer in this department. I went for the model I did as I didn't want air or battery probs. Pete

I have suspicions that my N/S rear wheel bearing is playing up. There is no untoward wheel movement, but it developed a squeak which wasn't brake related. Prior to investigating fully (may be a UJ) does anyone know the bearing dimensions/serial number in case I have to get a replacement. A friend is a bearing supplier, so I won't have the usual 400% markup to pay, but giving him the specification before I take it off would be good. I had to tighten the nut holding the bearing in place about 2 years ago as it had somehow gone slack, and have possibly been waiting for some repercussion. cheers Pete

It was me that reported ball joint rubbers perishing whilst resting on my garage wall. I purchased aftermarket replacements which I have left exposed to the atmosphere to see how they fare, and they are still as purchased after around 9 months, so they seem good. It may be an idea to replace the ball joint rubbers on any cheap UCA before fitting. Pete

I bought a RX300 for my wife a few weeks ago. I've been really impressed with it so far apart from mpg. I could easily see myself migrating from the LS to one in the future. Pete