coneybiller

Was that while using the manual operation on the auto box? I used it all the time as it improves MPG quite a lot! if you leave it in first and hit 15mph while not accelerating hard you will notice the revs start to pick up and then when you knock it into 2nd its almost an instantaneous shift! But if you were pulling away and you were in batt mode then the engine will need to fire and then pick up to match ur demanded acceleration, hence you would notice a slight delay. Oh and my commute is 75 miles each way, hence the mpg I get ;)

Sorry for late reply, this is the first time I've checked back since my post! Thanks for the responce, the cars now on 161k so its had a fair few miles of heat, carbon and fumes being filtered through them! I'm really hoping that the cats havent given up as thats going to cost well over £1k :( Its also as you say not the easiest diagnosis seeing as it will need to be driven while monitoring upstream and downstream sensor readings! I managed to do 165miles the other day without it coming on! Then not long after i exited the motorway in reading it decided to come on! Typical! I wonder if a bottle of cataclean would perhaps help the isse? I'm slightly worried now I think about it, that I used ZX1 extralube in with my oil and wondered if perhaps this additive could of had an adverse affect on the cats. It does say catalyst safe on the instructions but it seems a coincidence that it came on not much longer after I used it (within a week)!

Funny you should mention ZX1, I've carried out my last oil change and added some ZX1 to the oil! Thought I'd try it as the lexus specialist I used last recommended the stuff. Can't say I've noticed any difference, although I'm not sure its a coincidence but my average MPG seems to have risen from around 30mpg (motorway commute) to around 32 MPG. As I say not sure if its a coincidence with the ambient air temps geting slightly warmer from the cold crisp air we've had recently! Certainly hasnt done any harm and is supposed to give good cold starting protection due to slow oil circulation when the oils cold and thick. Not used any petrol additives, and havent ever put super in it due to price and how often I fill up (twice weekly)!

Have the EML on on my GS450h, read the fault codes and I have 2 fault codes that are identical (P0430). I cleared the fault codes and it stays off for a day, then as soon as I go above 60mph the next day, it comes back on again, the faults are stored and not current codes. I've not noticed any MPG loss or loss of power whatsoever! So am I safe to assume its not the catalysts? Only other thing I could think of is an o2 sensor gone bad perhaps? I don't want to spend money really as I'm about to sell the car for a more economical one for my 150miles per day commute to work! Just had all 4 wheels refurbished too which set me back a fair amount, now this! AAAAARRRGGGG! Any ideas or experiences/fix stories of this fault?

Hmm possibility, although that sounds like its on the 4th gen GS not the 3rd gen! Could try turning the wheels lock to lock while stationary (obviously lol) and see if makes any difference to the light. I remember on the mercs that a certain light on the dash could possibly be reset by turning lock to lock a few times, as the clock spring that the airbag and steering wheel controls work though, needs to be re-inisialised! Never know it could be the same with the electronic P/S motor! It could also do absolutely nothing! But for the sakes of 1 min its worth a try :)

I had a slow punture, which did the same on my GS. If you pump up the tyre and drive a mile or so the light should clear itself! I've never actually touched the reset button and if the light comes on just inflate and drive and it should reset itself! If its not doing this then you could have a faulty sensor perhaps! Oh and do you have corrosion on the affected rim? As I have been told that lexus/toyota wheels that suffer corrosion are likely to loose pressure due to small amounts of air escaping through the corroded parts of the bead on the rim!

Well shes booked in to have all 4 wheels refurbed at the bodyshop Lexus of Cheltenham use for their refurbs and also a full valet by them! I'll be zipping around in a Fiat 500 for a couple of days while they sort all that out hehe! I'm not sure the GS450h is listed in the glasses guide, as I was going to trade it in a while ago and the bloke had never seen 1 and couldnt find it in his glasses guide book! He looked on autotrader then ummed and arred and gave me the biggest low ball ever, to which completely disgusted me and I stormed out hahaha! Think I should price it just above the lowest price on auotrader and see what happens! I'm not expecting this to be a quick sale but need it gone ASAP as just had our offer accepted on our first house, which means I need to get a diesel for commuting ASAP eeeek!

I 2nd that, get them to fix it ASAP! Could be something minor, or it might not be and end up costing u a pretty penny!

Defo check to see if theyve replaced your K&N, I also have 1 fitted but put the sticker on the airbox to say do not replace! My lexus dealer (cheltenham) is pretty good, seem to be very helpful! Although again they always seem to dodge questions, but I think thats what service advisors do so they don't end up with too many awkward time consuming/bonus sapping jobs! I got the same reply regarding the transmission oil at lexus of stoke, but when i visited a lexus specialist in newport, I had them replace the oil to which he said was absolutely filthy and long over due a change! It takes an oil called ATF-WS which is a toyota only oil and only manufactured in japan by toyota (apparently). Can't remember exactly how much it cost me but wasn't overly expensive! Didn't notice much of a difference from the change either but obviously worthwhile doing from the state of the oil! I had an oil leak from the back rear rocker cover, check to see if your car has had the valve spring recall within the last 12 months (probably longer ago though), if so you could argue that they havent fitted the rocker cover correctly causing an oil leak. You'll have to go to the garage that carried out the recall but they should replace it under parts/labour warantee! Thats what I did anyway :winky: Oh and rear callipers are renowned for seizing on the 3GS line, usually ends up with new callipers, or you can unsieze it yourself with a blow torch and hammer then sanding the slider pins and regreasing! Ball ache though!

Hmm seems interesting! I left mine for 2 weeks while in portugal, and 2 weeks while in majorca and fired first time after each time. That was without assistance from a charger, but then i do astronomical mileage so the battery is always charged! Good to know for anyone planning longer stints away though!

I'm thinking of selling up due to buying a house to which I will no longer be able to afford my 600mile per week commute in the GS450h. So unfortunately I will be needing an economical diesel! Shes covered 160,000miles which is alot but as said I have been commuting 600miles per week for the last 2 years so all motorway miles! I probably should of sold her a while ago but just can't bring myself to let her go! Another downfall is the fact that after 2 years of owning her (out of 3yrs) , I got fed up of paying massive money on lexus servicing due to the frequency of required servicing due to my mileage! This has meant I have carried out the servicing completely myself and only visiting lexus (or lexus specialist) when the odd problem has arrisen! I am a fully qualified NVQ3 level light vehicle maintanence technician (came from mercedes-benz then dodge-chrysler-jeep), so am perfectly capable and know what I'm doing, BUT i fear this is not going to be enough to justify the lack of service history :( Carried out a spark plug change in the last 7 months, had a coil pack and rocker cover gasket replaced by a lexus specialist (due to a misfire I lost the plot with lol), I also had the CVT gearbox fluid changed and the rear silencer(s) replaced (how much for an exhaust!!!!!!!) while she was in (reciepts included). Ive also changed the oil and filter in the last month for some Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 5w30 (bloody expensive) and a lexus oil filter with reciepts. I've also fitted a drain tap to the sump plug for ease, as I change the oil ever 3 months or so. I havent got all the reciepts for the oil changed either :( She needs 2 front tyres and the front 2 alloys are absolutely shagged in a corrosion sense. Would it be worth getting them refurbed before placing adverts?? Shes a full SE-L spec with mark levinson system + ipod connector in glovebox, radar cruise control, I've put uprated pads and discs on all corners (red stuff pads + drilled n grooved discs), LED fog light bulbs, US rear light conversion so inner clusters also work as LED tail lights and foglight moved to drivers side reverse position. Shes got grey leather with black dashboard and black wood panels on centre console and doors and drives sweet as a nut!! Cheapest 450h I've seen had 178k on the clock and was going for £5990 (it also has cream leather and red wood panels... ewww). Question remains.... Whats she worth??

1) Not sure on this question as never encountered it myself, I believe the 12v batt if bought from lexus is not cheap at all. I think I remember reading somewhere its a panasonic battery, BUT if you research a little more I'm pretty sure people have fitted after market batteries at a fraction of the cost with no troubles! Just make sure the cold cranking amp rating is the same or higher and the battery is the same dimensions and the terminals are the same style. The tube coming from the battery is to expell the excess gasses from the cells crated by the acid, most batteries have the hole where you can attach this I believe :) 2) 245/40R19, do you have 19" wheels fitted or was that a typo? I found fitting 225/45R18 (if yours are 18") to the front, worked out better in road holding and it no longer tram lines on the motorway! Fitting these tyres also shouldnt affect the speedo as are only a 1.07% difference. As for brands, I'm not sure on the dunlops as never had them on my car! Never really had premium brands due to the cost, but found hankook v12s to be excellent personally! Also had Nokian winter tyres last winter on the back and they were excellent in the cold and snowy! Also have Falken Ziex ZE-914s currentl fitted to the back which I have no complaints about whatso ever (although others have referred to them as ditchfinders lol) 3) I would say alignment issue there, def get that adjusted after your front tyres are replaced or you'll end up replacing the tyres sooner rather than later! Hope some of this helps and happy motoring!

UPDATE Pulled off the heater matrix hoses yesterday, (cutting my hand in the process ) I ran a hosepipe through the matrix, backwards first in an attempt to clear out any debris or blockages on the inlet side and it ran clear and straight through. Ran i through the correct way round and again no restriction or blockages and ran clear straight away. I took the cap off of the thermostat housing (while cold) and noticed there was no coolant in it whatsoever. So I re-fitted the matrix hoses (really really easy to take off and run a garden hose through BTW) and started her up, it belched a small amount of coolant then immediately went dry again, so i topped it up (with water) till overflowing, put cap back on and squeezed the top rad pipe for 10secs or so, cautiously removed thermostat cap again to find it empty, so topped up and repeated hose squeezing until, when I opened the cap it decided it was gonna go everywhere (system full) to which i stopped! My heating's been blowing hot ever since, so it must of been an air-lock in the coolant system causing a bubble of air to be trapped inside the heater matrix pipes which seem to be the highest point in the cooling system! So there you have it, hopefully if anyone else has this issue then this could be a fix for you

Think I've found the source of the problem!! I Sarted the car up at work yesterday from cold and let it idle and come up to temp. Sure enough the temp gauge rises and still the heating doesnt get warm. Thought I'd double check the heater matrix hoses in the engine bay, 1 was scolding hot and the other stone cold (still blowing cold in car). So i hit the accelerator and waited for warm air to come through, then quickly went round and felt the pipes. The cold pipe was now hot, I stayed round by the pipes and let the engine idle again for a while and the pipe eventually got cooler and the air in the cabin grew cooler with the pipe This suggests that the heater matrix is partially blocked and that when the engine is revved, the water pump turning faster is forcing coolant through it and making it hot! Hopefully I can fix it with the garden hosepipe by taking the two matrix pipes off under the bonnet and flushing it through backwards to dislodge the blockage! It may have to wait until the weekend though!!!

I had found that if the unlock button on the fob is held down, the "global open/close" feature is activated where you can open all of the windows by holding the unlock button on the remote fob, you can close them again by pressing (and holding) the lock button! Could be that the keys have been pressed in a pocket or handbag for a moment enough to activate the global opening feature which then lowered the windows for a short period. It should only do this when in range of the car though! The range is quite good on our cars, as if youve walked away and forgot to lock th car and press the button on the fob, it can be done from quite far away. This could also happen with the global open/close feature from a distance!

Think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and visit my local Lexus Dealer! Not what I had hoped the outcome would be but hey ho! Was hoping someone on here or our american cousins over at clublexus would say "oh yea, I've had that problem with mine and it's X" but unfortunately no luck in that department hehe! I'm going to bet on the engine waterpump myself! Might get them to diagnose it and I'll do it myself! Theres a tutorial on how to change the pump on the GS350 on the american forum! 2 hours work tops!

Yea the car shuts the engine off and an electric water pump circulates the coolant when the engines off, not sure if it circulates the coolant via the heater matrix, but when the coolant temperature drops below a certain temp it then starts the engine up again! You should b able to start the car from cold, put temp to hi and windscreen blower on and it'll blow out hot air as soon as the engine has warmed up, then it'll cut the engine out and into battery mode and then once the coolant temp drops or the batteries run low, it'll start the engine back up again therefore maintaining a constant temperature! It'll continue this cycle until you drive away! Problem is mine doesn't blow warm air at all until you press the accelerator! Then it's as warm as it should be but goes cool as soon as you let it idle or into battery mode! :(

Just had a look as wasn't sure, but no eco mode that I can see, it has an auto feature that regulates the temp on its own and an auto circulation control. If i start the car up for 10 mins and leave it idleing, the temp guage reaches halway and stops, but even if I set the temp to "HI" and put the demister on it still blows cold until you hit the accelorator, then hot air comes through, let go of the accelorator and after a few secs it then blows cold air! :(

Rear brake calipers have been an issue with the 05 onwards GS line with them seizing up on the slider pins, but as you stated, they've been replaced not so long ago so thats not a problem. Another 1 to look out for is dashboard creaks from the bottom corners of the windscreen on passengers side and drivers (just behind the speaker grills). It doesnt hurt the car or affect it in any way its just damn annoying! There is cheap fixes for this (felt cloth stuffed down the back of the dash) but at the dealer itll cost you a lot as they'll remove the dahboard to fix the issue! Not a big worry though as said it's not a critical fault in any way! Other than that I cant think of anything else really! Just make sure you start the car from cold and check all fluid levels under the bonnet (oil, coolant, brake fluid, powersteering (if its hydraulic and not electric like the 450h is as that doesnt have fluid). Check the oil filler cap for any thick milky like residue as that could be a sign of coolant in the oil which is not good at all. Look through the alloy wheels at the brake calipers and see how the thick the brake pads are, if theres only a very thin portion left then they will require replacement soon. Tyres, check how much tread is left, get under the car if poss and check the condition of the tyre from very inner to very outter, as if worn more on 1 side of the tyre than the other it could suggest alignment issues or suspension component wear. Check the exhaust pipe(s) from front to back and see if you can see any rust or corrosion, the rear silencers are over £400 and unless you have a stainless system made you can only get them from lexus! Make sure you press every button in the car, all interior lights, external lights (get a friend to help) all seat belts pull out fully and retract and click into the buckle and unclip again and check if the belts are frayed as failing seat belt is an MOT failure. Seats move back and forth, up down, lumbar adjustment, heated operation and cooled (if fitted), electronic steering wheel adjustment up down, in out, make sure the A/C blows ice cool and the heater blows really hot, CD changer operation, sat nav operation (make sure it shows your current position on screen). Open the little hideaway button compartment to the right of the steering wheel and push buttons, make sure EVERYTHING works, as could be expensive if it doesnt. Theyre pretty good with their electronics though so I should of thought it'll be fine but check any way! When driving the car make sure it drives nice and smooth and has no knocking noises, squeeks, rattles or bangs from underneith or engine bay, make sure it accelerates hard and that the brakes are effective and do not judder through the peddle or steering wheel, check the cruise control while your at it! I'm pretty sure I've missed a few things out but you can get the general idea of what to look out for. It's best to go with a friend as I did when I bought mine as you can easily get overwhelmed by all the gadgetry and pure luxury of the car and not look into the finite details, your frind can perhaps look around while your working out the gadgets :winky: Happy car hunting

I've actually got the toyota techstream on my laptop to have a look at the faults and play around. Problem is, my laptop battery doesnt last any longer than 10mins, so I need an extension cable to run outside the house, but this time of year I dont want to chance the extension cable in the rain/puddles

€650 isnt too bad, I'm sure my lexus stealer would have charged me a great deal more hehe! Glad all turned out ok!

Just had a feel of the rad hoses and hoses that go into the matrix (engine side of bulk head) and matrix hoses feel warm (both of them), the top hose to the rad is warm but not hot and bottom hose is cold suggesting the stat hasn't opened yet. Its cold outside so getting the car up to temp is quite difficult without a long drive (rush hour at the mo). Still I just had the car parked on the drive and cranked the heater up to max and held the accelorator for a while and super warm air blows out. The engine cuts back out as "normal operating temp" has beenreached for battery mode and then the heater goes cool again! Still the bottom radiator hose is cool and top hose not massively warm. It has never overheated thus far and I drive 150miles a day back and forth to Reading from Cheltenham 4 nights a week. Only thing I can think of is a sticky thermostat or waterpump not operating sufficiently enough to circulate the water?!? Anyone got any other ideas? Its getting colder and short trips where it used to blow warm air nice and quickly (within 3-5miles) are becomming unpleasant! :(

Maybe the pads had wiggled slightly under extreme braking and had settled back into norm position, you can sometimes hear this when going from reverse to forward as the pads move slightly in the guides! Don't quote me on it though!

Umm not that I'm aware of but having it set at 26degrees and it blow cold air at me when in battery mode shouldn't make any difference surely?

Plug change, get your wallet out, around £400 just for a plug change if my memory serves me right! If you get a crank sensor fail on you then it shouldnt run very well, if at all from what I've read. If youve had no symptoms though other than the light, I'd just keep an eye out and try not to worry about it for now, my cars thrown the odd EML on a few times to which I've read the codes, clearned them and never had them back again! There seems to be sensors that sense sensors on this 2GR engine! Having said that, it could be an o2 sensor on its way out or partially blocked cat maybe causing restriction! Just clutching at straws though!