Scribe

The thread about long life advice made me wonder whether I should celebrate 6 years' LS ownership this summer by polishing the car. It doesn't look as if it needs it, but I might be pleasantly surprised. Also there are some minor scratches that I might be able to get rid of. Any advice about what polish or T-Cut-type stuff to use, and whether it's worth investing in an electric polisher? I have a feeling that once I start the job I'll wish I hadn't - there's a lot of metal there.

A perfect one will cost you several times more, and you'll be terrified to take it anywhere.

Yes, you must investigate.

I quite like the later Mondeos. Anyway, good luck with whatever decision you make. Re Barry's suggestion above, anyone in the Midlands who has gearbox issues might like to contact Stuart (based in Burton-on-Trent). His website is very Honda-focused at the moment but he works on other Japanese (and German) cars. www.hondaman.co.uk

I had the same experience as Anthony after reconnecting the battery following a charge. I double-checked the tightness of the connections, crossed my fingers, put in the key, noticed with relief that the steering wheel moved, turned the key and the engine fired up as normal. Everything worked and nothing (including the radio stations) needed to be reset. Brian, yours is a later car, so perhaps it has a different immobiliser or something?

So Brian, you could be right.

Martin, this is the reply I've had from the Honda guy: Sorry to hear about this m8y, always sad when somebody that loves their motor or a newbie dealing with these issues, and we have had a couple of new members just joining up asking about their gearbox problems, if only they hadn't entrusted somebody to maintain their car that didn't care. Toyota/ Lexus transmissions have adaptive software which compensates for wear in the transmission and one day it will let go completely with little or no warning. This could be simply down to wear an tear or as a result of updated software or failure to update the software. Nevertheless it doesn’t compensate for viscosity changes e.g cold start shifting or responsiveness niggles. Alternatively the control unit itself has failed (I’ve replaced a couple on Lexus motors) especially if all gears are lost and reverse. Honda’s software is more pressure regulated which is more reliable in its own way but still has it own flaws with age. The fact you mentioned metal filings in the fluid doesn’t always mean it’s the transmission or controller is at fault and I would investigate the possibly of the torque converter failing although some damage may have occurred as result of excessive heat transfer and particles entering the transmission. Additionally I have replaced a few heat exchanger coolers on Toyota transmissions they lost drive as result of coolant getting into the transmission fluid with turns it to jelly and most survived the all-deal with fresh fluid and a new cooler or radiator wherever the cooler is situated Anyway keep us posted and never hesitate to forward a Lexus my way if it’s local and somebody needs assistance with a diagnostic

One of the moderators of the Honda Accord forum that I belong to is an auto transmission specialist and has saved many a Honda V6 gearbox. He's not local to you and may not know much about Lexus boxes but I'll ask him what he thinks.

It is a sad day, but Mr Lexmanic is more important than his car. Please send him our best wishes.

I've done something similar - thought something had failed whereas in fact I didn't know how to work it or adjust the settings. I still don't really understand the heating/climate controls.

Henry, I've recently had a cambelt + water pump + pulleys replacement, and a similar ouch moment financially. Trying to be philosophical about it, I decided (1) what price peace of mind? (2) if the belt broke and wrecked the engine, would I ever forgive myself? (3) if I have to sell the car I can ask the going rate (whatever that is) for it. (4) Even if I keep it another ten years, that works out to only £60 a year. (5) Apart from worn-out suspension, there's nothing else major that will need doing to the car. (6) Considering that the car's worth what I paid for it six years ago, it really hasn't cost me much to run. (7) A cambelt is more important than any bodywork or detailing, however nice that might be to have done. (8) Read Honest John and see what owners of some much newer 'quality' cars have to pay for repairs to turbos, electronic handbrakes etc. A guy with a 2010 Mercedes estate (diesel, 89,000 miles, full Merc service history) had a snapped timing belt and was quoted £11,000 for a new engine, of which he would have to pay half.

Result! Congratulations.

In that case, the cost of detailing seems reasonable. There must be a hell of a lot of work involved, plus materials, and I'd have thought you could recoup some or most of it if you sold the car. Wouldn't be worth it for mine, though - and maybe not yours, Malc.

Wow indeed. If it was mine I wouldn't be taking it to the Asda car park!

Congratulations David! Great result. My 2014 MOT advised generalised corrosion to a number of underbody parts but it seems to have been an over-zealous tester because last year it sailed through with no advisories even though no underbody wrk had been done. Which is not to say that rustproofing is a waste of time, though.

Norman, does it vibrate if you freewheel in N? If so, perhaps a front brake binding?

LIdl were recently selling wiper blades at £4.99 a pair. They didn't have any to fit the LS400 but I bought a pair for my Honda. Haven't tried them yet.

Slightly off topic (but sort of related): was it a coincidence that the day after an appointment at Urology I started getting twenty daily spam e-mails about ***** enlargement and Viagra? You decide... (By the way, I typed the full word above but it was changed into asterisks. Obviously no one's allowed to see the word *****. I hope this won't affect my member's total reputation - no pun intended! )

True. They'll revise the premium based on your claims history - which amounts to the same thing as losing your NCD.

Also, I'm convinced that if you make a claim on your policy, whatever the circumstances, you're more likely to get phone calls from an Indian call centre about 'your accident'. One of my cars has twice been scraped while parked, and the other party's insurers have coughed up for repairs, but I notified my insurers, even though I wasn't claiming from them, because I thought I was supposed to. And that's when the phone calls started. Maybe it's coincidence, but I doubt it.

And gold is very difficult to colour-match, isn't it?

You were remarkably restrained, in the circumstances.

Yes, they both look a slightly different colour.

Great news. I trust that all doubts and fears have been laid to rest, and the Jag forgotten! I look forward to seeing it in the flesh some time.

Yes, this car was mentioned recently in another thread. Mike's right, but surely £1100 is a good price? That's banger money really, and anything at that price is going to need something doing. I'm just aware that 400s are rare these days, and so buyers can't afford to be so choosy. There again, this one could be a money pit. Steve, you're right too - 'excellent condition' could mean anything. A surprising number of cars are described as 'mint'... These are some of my favourite ads (not Lexus): 'I have only bought this car a couple weeks ago for my girlfriend to learn to drive and can't get on with gears so she is now up for sale going very cheap.' 'Stolen and recovered in 2007 with engine and gearbox missing, never been used since.' (What a surprise.)