Barry1000

Thank you for the posts.  I’m still looking at the mo to see if there is anything else out there.  In any event I would get it fitted as I don’t fancy taking the dash etc apart myself.   I will update if I find anything.

Has anyone had experience of the new warranty arrangements that Toyota and Lexus have just issued?  They now call this Lexus Relax.  As long as you have the car serviced by Lexus and it has done less than 100,000 miles and is less than 10 years old they give you a years warranty.

This is interesting if somewhat annoying as I have pre purchased three years of warranty and a condition of the warranty is that it needs to be serviced by Lexus.  So I am now thinking of cancelling the warranties and getting a refund.

Also they Lexus dealers now no longer offer a discount on servicing to Lexus Forum members since the new rules have been brought in according to my Lexus dealer so this now needs updating on the owners site.

The down side of this new arrangement is that you can't warranty cars for greater than  100,000 miles where as under the old arrangement as long as you started you warranty at less than 100,000 miles then you could continue it each year provided the car was under 10 years old.  Apart from this the new arrangement is cheaper than the old one.

Has anyone retro fitted a 2016 rx450h to operate apple carplay?  There are some converters on the market that you can buy but I wondered if anyone had actually done this.  Lexus say they wont do it on the older Rx's at all

Thanks

Thank you for you replies.  The error code is P1651.  Has anyone had experience of a non lexus dealer fixing something trike this?

thanks Barry

The engine management light came on so I took it to Lexus who said that it was the sensor that balances the smooth running of the two V’s.  I asked them what effect this would have and they said the engine would run less smoothly and be less economical.  I have monitored the mpg over the last few months while the light has been on and see no change in the economy and the engine performs as smoothly as it ever has.  The problem is that to fix the sensor is very expensive as it is at the bottom of the V and would involve taking the head off and Lexus said it was about 5 hours work and probably about £1500.  I see little point in fixing this as the car performs perfectly but it is annoying to have the light on all the time and also if another error pops up I will not know because the light is on all the time.  Is there any way of stopping this error tripping the light as it does not seem to be a true error?

I wondered if anyone has used an Ls430 for towing a caravan?  If so did you fit an additional oil cooler for the gearbox, I know for some automatics this is suggested.  Also how did it perform and what impact did I it have on the mpg

thanks

 Barry

Thank you for your replies. The outcome was that I had the replacement Battery fitted at Halfords as it was still under warranty with them. It then didn't start and was transported to Lexus Cheltenham. They looked at it and initially said yes it was the starter, but because of the Lpg they were not sure if they could repair it. They then contacted and Lpg coy who advised them and Lexus then said they could do it. In the mean time I contacted Gas and Go who said they could fix it but we're busy for at least a week funnily enough because they are converting and ls430 to gas! When I mentioned to Lexus that I thought I would move the car because their price was too high they sharpened their pencil considerably and almost matched Gas and Go, so I told Lexus to do it. About half an hour later I had a phone call from them saying that they had just started on the job only to find that the Battery had not been reconnected correctly by Halfords and that they had left off the starter connection! They put it back on again and off it went. So they only charged me for half an hour. Overall I thought Lexus were excellent. I cannot say the same for Halfords as the episode has cost me a triple journey to collect the car today, numerous phone calls and time, and difficulty managing without the car for a couple of days. In fairness they have said give them a bill and the will consider it. So in fact this excellent car continues to be highly reliable and the moral is be very careful who you let work on it!

I came home from holiday having left the car at the airport for a couple of weeks and it started fine. Drove home and left the car for a couple of days and the Battery had gone flat. Called out the breakdown and they jumped it with another Battery and suggested I went and got a new Battery. Had Battery replaced the next day, and went to start it and only got the dreaded click. It seems the solenoid has gone.

Have now had car taken to Lexus , but have a feeling that they will not be able to help as I have discovered that the starter work requires removing the inlet manifold. My car has been converted to Lpg and while lexus have done all the servicing on the car they said at the outset they would not touch the Lpg system. Does any one know of anyone near Worcester that might be able to help me with this, as I understand the starter change is not a straight forward job?

Thank you both for your help

Barry

Does any one know if it is possible to put a tow bar in an ls430? Does it require a specialist part?

Thanks

Barry

Thanks for your comments. I have discovered what it is. I had the Lpg serviced remotely by Profess and asked them about the lub as it had not been consuming fluid. They suggested I turned it up. I had turned it up too much! Now turned back down and all is well.

Barry

The LS 430 has just started producing white smoke on start up which quickly clears. I've had a look on the internet and it appears it could either be a head gasket or control valve that sits under the power steering. I have checked the power steering fluid level and the coolant and oil and all seem to be normal but I have only just noticed it happening.

Has anyone had a similar experience. If it is a head gasget it sounds like the end of the car which would be very sad😩

Regards

Barry

Has anyone converted an Ls460?

I did see a clip on utube by a company in Cork who have done it but other than that no reference anywhere

Thanks

Barry

I have driven an ls430 for about 50,000 miles and have found it very reliable and a pleasure to drive. Now the family are gown up i am thinking of changing to an sc430. Does anyone have experience of the two? How do they compare?. I generally use for a daily commute of about 70 miles round trip on a and B roads?

Barry

I took the LS 430 in to Lexus today and they checked the air con. They added dye( they had previously said that they had added it to check it last time it was in where as in fact they clearly had not done so) and checked for leaks. There were no leaks at all. What they did discover is that the back air con is blocked off. Presumably there was a problem with it previously when the previous owner had it. However it has worked quite adequately on the front end aall the time I have had it. They were not sure what volume of gas to put in and were concerned that overfilling it may cause freezing. I have not spoken directly to them yet but I thought you could check by ensuring the correct pressure? does anyone know if my theory is correct?

In any event they appear to have come clean but clearly were trying it on to the tune of £800. Overall not sure how an feel about continuing to have them service it. What do you think?

Barry

Thanks for your advice, it's going back in on Friday next week to have a new back box exhaust fitted. I have spoken to them about about happened and the service manager said he wanted to look at the car with the technician and see why he said what he did. He still maintains that he is trustworthy and that there must be a leak. We shall see. I am a little concerned that the system may now. Be made to leak - but what can you do we shall see.

Barry

Hi Chaps

I went to the air conditioning specialist today. They said there was nothing wrong with the system. There are no leaks and furthermore they checked for leaks with the ultra violet light and said that there no die was contained in the fluid as if there was it would glow lime green through the inspection glass- which it didn't. They checked the cooling effect and found it to be working very effectively. They advised me to leave well alone and suggested that the garage must have been fishing!

The problem I now have is that I don't trust the Lexus dealer. I received a customer satisfaction call which I missed from their head office asking me if all was ok. The dilemma is do I move my business although there is not another near Lexus dealer or do I complain to either them or their head office. My concern is that if I do even if I win this incident which I think is unlikely and the will most likely just lie their way out, what will they come up with next. Until now the garage has been excellent and I have had 5 services there so far and have a service plan.

Any ideas as to what I should do?

Barry

The ls430 has worn out the inside edge of both front tyres. This is the second set it has done it to. I had a four wheel alignment done after the first set, but it has happened again. I took it yo be checked again at a four wheel alignment specialist and he said it had hardly changed from the previous readings, and that it was within tolerance and not worth adjusting. He said any adjustment would not make any difference to what had occurred. He suggested trying a different make of tyres to start, so I have bought Michelan this time where as I previously bought Goodyears. Failing that he said it could be to do with something more fundamental to do with e steering or power steering, but did not really have any specific suggestions. I wondered if any one else had experienced this and if so whether you found a cure?

Thanks

Barry ( not having a grand time with the normally faultless ls!)

Thank you for your replies I am going to take it an air con specialist on Friday to check it out and get a second opinion. I really would like to be able to trust the dealer, they have been right about everything else to do with the car, but £800 is a lot so it is best to be sure. I will let you know what happens

Barry

I've just had my Lexus ls430 serviced at Lexus and they have said that the air conditioning system is releasing gases into the atmosphere and it needs a new condenser at a price of £800 fitted. Does this sound right as it works perfectly and does not appear to loose fluid? Is there any way I can check this?

Thanks

Barry

I currently own an ls430 and am thinking of buying an sc430. I have read various reviews about the sc430 which often talk about the quality of the ride. I wondered if there are any members who have experience of driving both and what you thought about how the two compared. For me the ride of the ls is one of the main attractions of the ls 430 and would hope the sc430 would be similar. Also if there are any other views about how the cars compare I would be keen to hear.

Thank you for your replies. I can see the pros and cons of converting or not. The most important thing is to decide to get one of these great cars. I have read a few reviews but not driven one. They do seem to suggest that the earlier cars had quite a harsh ride on the run flats but this had been rectified on more recent cars. Is this true and if so which year did they make the change? One of the real pleasures of the ls430 is the comfort of the ride and I was rather hoping the sc430 would be the same.

Barry

I currently own an ls430 which I have found to be fantastic. I am thinking of also buying an sc430 and was wondering how the reliability compares to the ls and whether anyone has gas converted an sc?

Thank you for you help

Barry

Has anyone ever had a problem with the steering going back once ignition turned off to a position that has tilted too much? And then when starting the car the wheel does not tilt down enough? It then seems to adopt this routine thereafter.

The washer bottle indicator warning light came on so I filled up the washer bottle, but the indicator light has not gone out. Has anyone any ideas what the cause might be?

Thanks