Clunkfish

Obviously everyone makes their own decisions and who am I to tell you anything different, and I am very hesitant to say this, but..... I honestly think you must be mad to do this :(

My 1998 LS400 has an OBD2 port (down below the steering wheel). However, I bought a cheap Bluetooth OBD2 dongle and can't get my phone or tablet to talk to it. Whether this is the fault of the car (non-standard OBD2 in 1998?) or the dongle (cheap and useless?) I can't be sure!

Are they less than £25? :winky:

Bit of a long shot, but do you have a USB or similar charging cable connected via the cigarette lighter socket? I had a big current leak from one of these even when the cable wasn't connected to anything, just plugged in at the supply end. I guess I'm thinking that the OBD and cigarette lighter might be on the same circuit....? Sorry if it's a red herring!

Probably not too aggressive so might be worth a try as nothing to lose. You could also try toothpaste with lots of heavy elbow grease (when I tried toothpaste I was nervous of ruining the lens so only gave it a moderate go).

The kit uses 500 grit dry, then 800 grit dry, then what looks like 2000 grit wet and dry, then a paste. They are applied using a circular sponge drill head, which does all the heavy lifting and makes it easy. For info, the 500 grit makes the whole lens look frosted, the 800 grit takes that back to very cloudy, the 2000 grit produces a clear lens and the paste makes it crystal. They say that a sealant, like the one I linked, helps to stop it going back to cloudy again over the course of a year or two's UV exposure, but it doesn't alter the crystal clarity of the lens so you could try doing without.

Some people say toothpaste works, but it did nowt for my headlights....

I decided to bite the bullet and try using a headlight refurbishing kit to sort out my cloudy and pitted headlight lenses. It worked a treat - see attached before and after photos. It only took about 45 minutes. I used a sealant to finish them off, so the whole job cost me about £25. Just thought I would pass it on in case anyone else is wondering whether the kits work.

Another point to make, at the risk of ruffling feathers, is that if you are done for say 37 in a 30 (as someone I know was), the indicated speed will be more like 40 or even 42. Being done for 37 in a 30 may feel a bit tight, but when your speedo is showing 40+ in a 30 then actually you have no excuses.

I think it's less Machiavellian than you suggest. Having a non-fault accident means you are statistically more likely to make a claim; going on a speed awareness course also means you are statistically more likely to claim. You might dispute this but it's a simple numbers game, with the data gathered from hundreds of millions of driver-years. Then, the more likely you are to claim, the higher your premium will be. Hence higher premiums for the young and the elderly, and for those who have had non-fault claims and who have been on courses.

Bluesman's photos of the manual confirm what I'm saying - there is a "Check Eng" message but not the traditional little engine icon. I think we're all agreeing :)

There is no Check Engine icon on UK spec Mk IV LS400s. There is a "Check Eng" message in the text display below the speedo/rev counter, together with a warning tone and a small flashing warning light next to the text display, but no icon. I have confirmed this in my own Mk IV LS400 and in the handbook that came with it. The "Check Eng" message does not show at start up - it only comes on if you have a problem. So if you have a UK Mk IV, you will not see any little yellow engine icon at any time, but if you see "Check Eng" in the display in writing then you have a prob. If you can't see anything at all in the text display, then you need to get it repaired because important warning notices will not be seen, though presumably the warning tone will still sound and the little warning light will still flash.

Couldn't agree more. Mine came with aftermarket alloys on it, which are OK, but if I could find a set of originals that I could afford I'd change back to the stock look as soon as possible :)

My experience of aftermarket batteries for the mighty MkIV LS400 is that they don't quite fit, despite being specified for the vehicle. A Lexus dealer will fit a new battery, keeping all your radio codes and seat memory settings, and dispose of your old battery, for about £100. They'll usually wash and hoover the car too. I think that's a pretty reasonable deal :)

Could it just be a dead battery in the master.....?

Had my 1998 LS400 MOT'd today - passed with no problems (112K on the clock now). What impressed me was the emissions results: fast idle carbon monoxide, limit is 0.200%, result was 0.044%; hydrocarbons, limit is 200ppm, result was 21ppm. At natural idle, the CO limit is 0.300%, result was 0.032%. The oil is still golden! These engines are gems - the only thing I've ever seen like it is the V-4 used in the Honda VFR750, another fantastically well engineered piece of kit.

Guy Martin - the man who says everything twice :)

BECAUSE THE BBC IS ONLY INTERESTED IN RATINGS AND IT IS SO EASY TO SPEND SOMEONE ELSE`S MONEY (YOURS AND MINE!) Regards John My understanding is that Top Gear has been a profitable franchise for the BBC, which means that it's been money well spent. Perhaps you'd prefer them not to take any notice of how many people watch the programmes and spend as little as possible on them? Doesn't sound like it would be very entertaining though...

Couldn't agree more - spot on.

Has Lex-Man Got A New Alias? Only if he's moved from the West Midlands to Bedfordshire....

I seem to have touched a nerve, for which apologies, but there's no need to be quite so combative. I said that I was sure you meant well to avoid giving the impression that I thought you were some kind of wind-up merchant. It was a polite and well-meaning remark. Saying, as you did, "what we perceive as big problems really are not" makes it look as if you are telling other people how to deal with these things. Saying it in response to someone having trouble with their car is unavoidably going to be interpreted as giving advice. Now you add that "we generally worry too much about trivial matters", which simply adds to that impression. I'm afraid I think it is nonsense anyway - we all deal with things as we see them, and what is trivial to you may be very important to me. The OP has also quite rightly said that he does not see how the plane crash has any bearing on his Lexus issues, so it's not just me that thinks you are out of line here. And I did not contradict myself - I merely said that you should not tell someone else how to feel about their own difficulties. I'm sure you would agree with that.

Hmmm. What you say betrays a common misconception. Life is not a zero-sum game: it is perfectly possible to be equally upset about terrible disasters happening to other people and also non-life-threatening problems of your own. You don't have to choose, you don't have to rank these things in some sort of order. Being troubled by your own problems does not mean you are lacking in empathy or a sense of proportion. I'm sure you mean well but, in my personal view, you should not be telling someone else how to feel about their own difficulties.

Erm...no mate, someone else said that the wood surround, despite being selected, designed and installed by Lexus, was cheap and tasteless. I would not use those words to describe what someone else has said they like, because to do so would be pretty rude in my opinion. I'm simply pointing out that it's a surprising verdict, given that the rest of the car is so well designed and with a great deal of understated elegance. By the way, it is real wood veneer, not "fake wood" or plastic. I agree that those would probably look out of place, but walnut veneers in a car with leather seats and deep pile carpets seems entirely in keeping to me.

Looking again at my beautifully engineered masterpiece of Japanese design, considered a true classic by the cognoscenti with its clean lines, understated authority, just a hint of the huge power available from the superb V8, every driving convenience then available - in short, a miraculous combination of speed, comfort, good looks and safety - you have to say it's surprising that Lexus got the interior so "cheaply and tastelessly" wrong......!

It looks fab in all wood!