Titch LS

Phil, Not saying that your Beemer gearbox will go 'bang', (I hope it doesn't), just saying that they go 'bang' a lot more often than Lexus ones. E.g in a properly maintained LS400 autobox, failure is almost unheard of. Most modern gearbox problems stem from them being 'filled for life' i.e. (neglected), that's all I'm saying. If I was the owner of a used X5 the first thing I would do is change the ATF.

The accelerator should never be pressed when starting your LS. This goes for all year round, hot or cold engine. If you do, you may have starting/flooding problems. Mine always starts first time, hot or cold, by staying off the throttle.

Phil, hope your X5 is more reliable than my ex-work colleague's one. She shelled out £3,000 on a replacement gearbox for hers. That was the result of never changing the ATF in the gearbox. So called 'sealed for life'.

Did that to me at first. Gave it another go and up popped all the details.

Roger, when I had mine replaced my NCB was protected at the time. Plus, at renewal time my premium hardly went up at all, certainly nowhere near the cost of paying for a Lexus windscreen myself. I did use my insurance company's fitters, but they are just the high street fitters everyone uses anyway. As I mentioned earlier, I purposely took my car to Autoglass to make sure the fitter was not a spotty trainee who didn't know half what he was doing. It turned out the fitter had many years of experience and did a great job.

The difference between an IS and an LS is chalk and cheese. The LS is in a completely different league. Depends what you want in a car I guess.

Hi, chaps and chapesses, I think there is some confusion here. On a '98 LS you will have three possible temperature displays. One situated right next to the clock for displaying the outside temperature (which should be on display all the time whilst driving) and then the second and third are two separate cabin temperature setting displays, one for the driver and one for the front seat passenger. As long as the fan is operated all three should display. With the fan off, the inside cabin temperature settings are not displayed (only the outside temp.). All this is regardless of whether the A/C is on or not. Hope this helps a bit.

Claiming windscreen replacement on your insurance does not affect your No Claims Bonus.

Advertised as having the Check Engine Light on too! That's unbelievable for the money he's asking. Greeeeeeedy person methinks.

Had mine done on the insurance by Autoglass. I took the car to them, (rather than them come to me), to make sure it was not a young spotty apprentice that was going to do the replacing. The extremely expensive LS windscreen should be a precision fit with all the cabin garnish put back properly afterward. The chap who did mine was very experienced and it was a first class fitment.

It's not necessarily a head gasket problem. A friend of mine had a similar coolant loss on her high mileage Toyota Yaris. Had a pressure test (with UV dye) and they discovered a small leak in the radiator, which they duly relpaced. The engine cutting out after a few seconds though sounds like a fuelling problem. It'll be a failed fuel pump relay or something small like that, I'll bet. Any chance of retrieving some codes to point you in the right direction? Mobile Auto- electrician time I reckon.

Alfred, I didn't note the price difference between them, but both kits are good. I'd probably go with the Aisin kit if it was up to me.

All my car's gremlins disappeared by replacing the battery. On a side note; the alarm can go off unexpectedly if something metal is left in the central console. This has happened to me on one or two occasions.I read about this on one of the forums. Might have been this one!

William, I hope you enjoy your 'new' motor. I would have liked to have had a drive in a 7 series just to compare it to my Mk4, especially one of the earlier older style cars. The same goes for an XJ Jag, (I love the look of them), but I'm still very happy to be wafting around in my LS for now. Can't really see myself in anything else to be honest. Dull, boring to look at ? Maybe to some people, but what car is as comfy, as smooth and as reliable as an LS?........ Exactly.

John, the Sat-Nav in the MK4 is old but so are most of the routes you will take. The only drawback is that you can't input a destination via a postcode as you can with say, a Garmin or Tom Tom etc. Having said that, I reckon 'her' voice commands are better and clearer than any modern shop bought sat-nav, bearing in mind the limitations of this unit. Performance wise the Mk4 has VVT-i and it shows. It pulls like a train through the entire rev range in PWR mode, and still gives the same mpg as in the older models. There are a few more updates I could mention such as electronic dipping side mirrors when you put the car into reverse, etc. Stuff like that. Hope you find a good one, but you'll find low mileage ones are now attracting higher prices than before.

Alfred, if Brighton is too far, as an alternative, I can recommend Japex Automotive near Hemel Hemstead, Herts. They know these cars inside out and don't mind fitting your 'bring along' parts. Very friendly bunch who do a thorough job at a reasonable price too. I've used them a few times. Tel No. is 01923 260707. Ask for Stuart if you're interested.

Alfred, this looks a very good kit to buy, but as Ambermarine says, get it fitted by someone who knows what he is doing. A Lexus dealership might be a bit sniffy about you not buying the parts from them. If that is the case, you could always find a good local independant garage/mechanic who is familiar with these engines and get them to fit it. There is no immediate rush.

John, if it's an auto S-type you're considering, proceed with caution. I can almost guarantee that a certain little light on the dash will start blinking at you. They all do it. Mate of mine only had his for a few weeks, then got rid. Autobox was duff.

Matthew,I used to drive ambulances many moons ago. Once, when checking the tyre pressures first thing, I discovered that EVERY wheelnut on the front was loose. After sevicing the vehicle the 'mobile mechanic' had forgotten to tighten the nuts up past 'hand tight'. Your life in their hands!

My son had the same problem on his old Honda. A quick spray of silicon and all was cured!

I thought just LS's had that reputation. My workmates joked about me being a drug dealer or pimp because I drove a big Lexus!

I've been in some C class mercs---- they're NOT as smooth as my LS (especially the gearbox). Seats are small and firm too.

Saw an LX in Sainsbury's car park a while back. They're even rarer than an LS. Nice motor though,-- a real Luxury Landcruiser.

Thank the Lord you weren't in it at the time. I'd be gutted too if it were my LS. Make sure her insurance company gets you a similar motor ,or, get this one repaired if possible, (but unlikely). That's your right as the innocent party.

If the wiper arms have been removed for one reason or another, e.g. for replacement windscreen etc., it is crucial that they go back onto the splines in exactly the same position that they were removed from. If not, the arm will 'bang' on either the bonnet or the pillar.