Nick

I've just had a look at it and there are definently 'sum clews' as to the source of this. Both of the people who appear to be members keep 'dissin' it. Everyone ought to see it to realise how much work Steve, Mat and all the Mods put into this site. It is however extremely funny :D

;)

USA only. Apparently, it is too sensitive to the far smaller roads in this country, and the different 'driving' styles on our motorways (i.e 90mph or 50mph), and the systems on Jaguar and Mercedes in this country, are apparently not to everyone's taste. Not having tried one personally, it's hard to comment. There are a few other things that are available in the States which sound good, such as Voice Activated Sat Nav, Integrated phone option, Garage Door Closer and Lexus Concierge Service. Mind you they can keep Chrome Wheels

No, someone at work mentioned it, but I don't know where he heard about it. To be honest I think it offers no competition, and is virtually unreadable. Red and Black is very gothic but hard on the eyes. I could guess who is behind it, given the look of it , but of course I could be wrong.

Now that is weird. It now goes straight back here. I thought it was a competitor, but now it appears it's Steve with a penchant for red on black writing. Confused, what are you up to Steve??? Actually it now makes sense. There is some clever software afoot!!!

Has anyone seen this? It doesn't look like many have judging by the amount of topics and replies. Any views? Lexus Lounge Link

There are a number of changes, although most take a keen eye. I assume the T plate car you saw wasn't a later one with a 'private' number plate, eg T5 ARR, or something similar. Other differences of the top of my head are new front grille, new front headlight reflector colour, new exhaust pipe trims, curtain side airbags, brake assist, new instrument surround, E-Shift gearchange, gas filled dampers, etc although no panel changes. Hope this helps. The wiring from memory when someone else asked the same question was different so may cause a problem. Nothing is impossible, although make sure someone qualified does it so you don't have problems like permanently lit bulb failure when you have forked out your money. Best of luck

I have a feeling the connector blocks are different as there are more bulbs. It certainly isn't a quick swap over job!

Nankang are a budget priced tyre (read into it what you like) but I would recommend that you buy the best tyres as they are probably one of the most vital elements of the car.

Couple of points, there are only 54 being produced in a special colour so 1 per dealer and a few for internal Lexus GB use. The car is exactly as per a IS200 Sport with Styling Kit, so it is purely the colour which differentiates it. Secondly the car is good value as there is no charge for either the special colour or indeed the styling kit. In other words the car is priced as per a normal Sport without Metallic Paint. Colour is a very personal thing but as each dealer will only have 1 car to sell, there are approx 50 for a population of roughly 60 million people.

Maybe a press demonstrator or internal Lexus GB car, so there may be some S plates about, although I haven't physically seen one myself. Effectively if you are buying one they start on a "T"

I thought that legally you can't have an illegal spare (as per road wheels) but that it is legal to have no spare!! Anyone in the police? who can answer this (mind you that may blow your cover) :P

They need to be adjusted with the electronic test equipment which Lexus dealers have, although they are set to a level where they come on when the lighting conditions are poor rather than dark. Rather like street lights! The adjustment range isn't enormous, so your other option is to go back to manually turning them on and off.

Good point Andy, but I suppose raising the car to say 50mm lowered and trying it would be the first thing to try. Also maybe the adjustment mechanism is the same as on other TTE products with bigger allowable drops, and you just have to go by their guidelines. By the way, when your speed increases do you drive out of it, so at say 75-80 it has gone. I also wonder if your soundproofing is making it less easier to trace, but hey we like a challenge!

I wonder if then that means 35 mm lower than a SPORT or 50mm lower than a SPORT

Can we raise it a little to see if this makes a difference?

Andy, It was me who went out with a technician and I managed to get the noise to occur. After inspecting the car closely underneath there is nothing damaged or worn that is apparent. We are going to systematically have to change items to get rid of it until we find the cause, as it is a strange one. Perhaps you could answer a couple of questions which might speed up the process. 1/ You said it happened occasionally before you lowered it, but did it happen before you fitted the exhaust (it doesn't seem to catch anywhere - but rather difficult to tell at 65mph uphill in fourth gear) 2/ Does it ever happen in any other situations or is it only under hard acceleration uphill in fourth gear at 65ish. 3/ Also has it worsened since you had new tyres, as we are going to swap the wheels to see if there is a tyre/wheel or balancing problem. It isn't something we have come across on a standard car, but I guess that lots of people have a big exhaust and lowered cars with no problems so we can't rule anything out yet.

I think to use the front passenger seat with an airbag, you must be of a certain size and weight, so that the seatbelt holds you properly and the airbag inflates in the correct position relative to your body position. I'm sure I read somewhere that small children have been killed by airbags going off. Some manufacturer's are fitting weight sensors on the passenger seat to help with this, but I guess common sense is your best protection.

This is very clever and must have took some time to program

No announcement and as I say it is not a done deal, more a possibility. I personally would like to see the car that the USA gets. I really like the colour as much as anything. The Amarillo (Yellow) Sports with Body Styling (limited to one per dealer) is the only confirmed vehicle. I hope they do something like the Sport Edition as I guess anyone with a current car might be tempted to change for something a little different. I must stress though that "IF" it is decided to build one by Lexus GB, what and when are far from decided.

You may get a limited edition car at some stage this year or next, although this is a possibility rather than a done deal. Engines and transmissions will not change until the next generation IS which is 2 to 3 years away. There will therefore be no diesel or 5 speed auto in the current car.

The interior sensor is not in the same situation as the IS

No GS430 was ever built with a CD Rom Navigation System so the system and disc must be a DVD system. The functionality varies across models slightly and without a handy GS430 to check I can't tell whether yours is correct. Does Sportie have Sat Nav, as he definently has a GS430. Maybe he could help you with some direct comparisons.

You can have the sensitivity of the interior sensor turned down on a GS. We have done a number of these to cure this problem. The other simple one is to ensure you are using the parking brake as the car can move slightly in just "Park" causing the alarm to go of if it is windy. If you follow Chris's advice and these two points and still have no joy you may have a fault.

The weekend of 22nd and 23rd February we are having a SmartNav open weekend, where we will have SmartNav staff along with our sales staff to demonstrate the product on the road. There is a prize draw for all people taking a test drive to win a free unit fitted to the car of your choice. The product really is very good. It has all the benefits of the Lexus System (although U.K only and minus the screen) but adds traffic avoidance, and all for considerably less than the factory system (£599 inc vat fitted). It can also be moved to a new car when you sell your current vehicle, and has no "disc" to go out of date. All at the touch of a discreet button.