johnatg

Those of you who have watched the videos I posted links to recently by Car Care Nut may be a little concerned about the battery cooling fan and filter state - see pics in post above. CCN emphasises that keeping the cooling filters and fan clean is critical to traction battery life. Whilst researching this, I came across some interesting items, including a TSB (TSBs are public domain in US - why not here in UK?). GS450h TSBs are here: https://www.carcomplaints.com/Lexus/GS_450h/2015/tsbs/ and in other places. I chose the 2015 (in US parlance 'cos that will be closest to my GS300h 2014) (GS300h not sold in US but pretty well everything but the drive train is the same as GS450h) OK - this TSB relating to HV Battery Cooling System Maintenance -MC-10179691-9999.pdf I also found a youtube video where a guy was quoted $750 or so to get the filter cleaned on a RAV 4 at a California Toyota dealer - and it's a bit easier than on a GS! So I thought I'd have look. I followed John's (Pops1 - John in Galway) instructions except that I didn't do anything in the boot - the whole job can be done inside the car. First you need to remove the back seat. Lift the corner of the seat which will help to locate the retaining prongs, then on one side grasp the lower front edge of the seat either side of the retainer then pull upwards VERY hard. It does come eventually! Repeat for the other side. Move the seat base forward a little and you will find two electrical connectors at the back, one on each side - disconnect. I assume these are for the 'seat occupied' detectors. Remove the seat from the car. Now it helps to remove the three rear headrests, then undo four bolts (12mm socket) at the lower edge of the backrest. Lift (a strong lift!) from the bottom of the backrest at each side to disconnect the top retainers - you need to lift it quite high as the retainer things are unnecessarily long. Swing the backrest forward as shown. Fold the heat/sound insulation upwards and rest it on the back shelf. Remove 5 trim clips to release the centre section of the vent duct. One clip is hidden above and behind the duct - I guess this is the one that John dismantled the boot trim for but it is easily reachable from inside the car - just don't drop it!. Manipulate the centre part of the duct away from the side sections and the fan inlet. (That's why GS seats don't fold down or even have a 'ski- hatch'!) My filters were fairly clean but I gave them a good blast of compressed air to clear them - stupidly they are rivetted to the duct. If you need to clean the fan note the instruction in the TSB to retain the fan to stop it spinning with compressed air flow. On reassembly make sure that the duct is properly located on the fan inlet. Relocating the backrest is a bit fiddly - as I said you need to lift the backrest quite high. Don't forget the 'seat occupied detector' connectors when replacing the seat base My conclusion - if your use of the car is you and maybe your partner only and you wear reasonably lint-free clothes, you probably never need to do this. But if you have frequent back seat passengers, maybe kids and a hairy dog - you should probably check the filters and fan after say 50K miles. YMMV! PS - apparently the filters are only fitted from 2014 on (US 2015 model year) GS cars Keep away from the orange cables!

I think they just feel for blows with the engine running. Why not see if an exhaust fabrication place can make up and fit a replacement section? I can recommend JP Exhausts if you're anywhere near Congleton - others are available!

Another interesting video - must watch if you're thinking of buying one or know someone who is.

Interesting video:

I guess that would have included change spark plugs. Only needed at 60k intervals and actually they are good for way more than that.

Possibly sounds like a failed relay. Open the fuse box up - you should be able to determine which relay it is. Quite possibly that's what's been causing the battery to go flat. Whilst relays can sometimes be fixed, the best course of action is to replace.

1. If you can park the car reasonably close to an electrical socket get a trickle charger (eg Ctek MXS 5.0). That will keep the battery in good nick and may well revive the one you have. 2. You could well have an object in the tyre. Remove the wheel and examine the tyre very closely - look all round each tread block. Things like thorns from a hedge or some wire nails can be very tiny indeed. If you find something, mark the spot with chalk and take the wheel to a tyre place for a puncture repair. Or you could try putting Puncture Safe (www.puncturesafe.co.uk) into the tyre. It is a magical gel sort of stuff which can stay permanently in the tyre. It is designed to be put into a tyre before a puncture occurs but it works well put in after so long as the puncture isn't too much into the sidewall. I have it in one of my tyres (put in 18 months ago) and it is also in one of the tyres on my daughter's car - I found two objects in her tyre, both causing leaks. Puncture Safe has sealed them completely and this was 6 months ago. It is best not used in front wheels - although they claim it doesn't affect balance - well it does, slightly. You need to put about 18 units in a GS tyre.

Efficient!

Auto Aid. Only used them once when the coil pack on my MX-5 gave up but they were effi4.

I understand that the warranty after a hybrid health check lasts for 1 year or 10K miles. If you reach 10k miles in less than a year you can just get another HHC and start again. But you'd have to pay for it if it didn't coincide with a service - free with a service. But then, services should be at 10K mile intervals (maximum) anyway, if less than a year has gone by.

Allow me to throw a bit of a curve ball into this. Fact is, most of us don't have experience of enough different tyres to offer much of a comparative opinion. And it seems, tyre develpment is still moving on apace and experience of a tyre even 5 or 6 years ago isn't up with the latest thing. I've mentioned Dunlop SportMaxx, Goodyear F1 Assymetric 5 and Continenental PremiumContact 6. I've had all those on a combination of my IS250 and GS300h over the last 10 years. I've also had Avon ZV7 which are great tyres for handling, braking etc but they don't last long. But I've been reading: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/features/91856/tyre-reviews-best-car-tyres-buy-now-2021 (Edit: the link takes you to results, but knock off the last bit and you'll get the full test narrative) They at least do up to date comparative tests on a range of (10) tyres. And - Dunlop SportMaxx have sunk to the bottom of that particular heap - F1 and PremiumContact 6 now rank middling. In fact, any of the 10 tyres mentioned would be perfectly OK on our Lexus cars - but the outstanding champion in 2021 tests is........Hankook Ventus s1 Evo 3. So there you have it - interesting read.

I suspect the noise varies. I have heard it described as squealing and that's what you would expect. I haven't heard it often, but when I have it has been more like there was something very loose in the suspension - definitely a rattle and not just when you are braking.

Agree with these recommendations. Original tyres were probably Dunlop SportMaxx - they are fine. I had good results with Goodyear FI Assymetric 5 and Continental PremiumContact 6.

Have you looked at them yourself? Measured the disc and pad thickness? Worn discs/pads are often reported as a 'fail safe' thing - there could well be plenty of meat left. Was there a report on the MoT? Is the MoT due anytime soon? I think there will be a 'rattler' - a springy bit of metal which contacts the disc when the pads are worn and makes a noise like the wheels are about to fall off! Just noticed - 4mm on the pads is plenty - MoT limit is 2mm. Those 2mm will take quite a while to wear.

Generic cats won't cause an MoT failure on hybrid cars because emissions are not tested.

It will be the secondary cats which have been stolen, not the primary ones in the exhaust manifolds. Sami's pics show the secondary cats. It would be perfectly possible to fabricate replacement sections using universal cats for a 'modest' price - so £474 sounds quite reasonable. A good repair using universal cats would be OK for MoT - they just have to check that the exhaust is intact. Emissions are not tested on hybrids and anyway the secondary cats don't do much - most cars don't have them, after all. There are cat shields listed on ebay (some including fitting) specifically for GS models.

You can make a replacement with a length of stainless threaded rod and a couple of ball joints (eg ebay item 323993244156) (Search ball joint m6 or m8)

You need to drive each window up and down with the switch on its own door, holding the button for about 3 seconds at each end of the travel. Have you disconnected the battery recently?

It's not covered. It's attached to the body ecu which is white. It just needs a bit of contortions to see it.

Just get well under the dashbord, some way to the right of the steering column, with a torch. Look upwards. You'll see it!

So is this all due to the timing chain having jumped some teeth? When do you think that happened? Before or after the first rebuild? I'm impressed that you've stuck with it this far! Is it mobile again yet? Good luck with the rest of the project!

Yes and yes. They are very strong - just fit them.

BTW - in passing - I don't like to remove plugs for checking. The seal depends on a crush washer and once it's been crushed the seal may not be quite as good on subsequent retightening - especially multiple times. Just depend on the car's self monitoring!

Indeed - but the OP wanted a comment on the 60 K service price where the schedule says the plugs get changed. Actually, I think it's pretty unnecesary - I'm sure that the plugs will last for close on 100K miles at least. And it's even more unnecessary if the '60K miles' service is being done at 6 years but with a lower mileage. I had the 6 years service done at a Lexus dealer with 40k or so on the odometer - I just requested that the plugs not be changed. They marked that ('No plugs') in the service book. Incidentally - Lexus use Denso FK20HBR8 plugs and they do cost about £54 or so discounted (for 4) - not sure what Lexus charge for them - probably a good deal more. But you can just as well use IKBH20TT - that's what Denso recommend, they are slightly more advanced technology (TT) and they are cheaper - a set of 4 can be had for £25 or less. Applies to the 450h too.

Yes - you can reach 4 of the plugs easily but the other 2 (left bank rear) need a whole lot of dismantling of most of the air intake system including the air surge tank (what people often think is the intake manifold) It is quite a time consuming job (probably more than an hour for a technician - a whole afternoon for an amateur)