zippyone

Hi Andrew, 'well, I doo declare,' that I'm pleased things are beginning to go well for you, at last, I've been away at the local sanitarium for a few hours, so am having to play a little catch up as I write. I told you that we were a clever bunch of blokes on LOC. and I have to keep in trim. In my first effort I got your town/city wrong, so just substitute Colorado for Dresden and the Colorado river, for the watery bit. Sorry about that. Yes, you should be able to start your car with a set of 'jump leads,' - as we call them in the UK, attached to another car whilst it's engine is running. Just make sure that you have the polarity correct, Red = + and Black = - , but be careful, if you get it wrong you'll get a pretty firework display and a badly damaged Lexus. If by chance you have a Hybrid, do not attempt this and in any case, have a knowledgeable person with you at all times. In respect of costs, in UK we usually talk in terms of ounces of gold, not money, to get a Lexus repaired and least an arm or a leg. I would think that it is the same in the USA ? expensive toys. Now, just as a footnote, I am one of the last of the, 'Old Anglo Saxons' and I think that, 'VERBOUT' - above, was either personally, or had a relative on the field when King Harold lost his eye, so we go back a bit. Have you ever thought of using the American Lexus club, there may be an expert living near you, who could give some , 'hands on help,' free. How is the wife now? I hope she's better. Check your computer also if you can, I think its had one too many and is repeatedly sending the same message. Best wishes and good luck. Michael.

Hi Andrew, I have read what you have written, several times, boy, all that in one breath! now you're not from Italy, - where I reside - which would account for that, but there are not enough " e's or a's " as word endings. Perhaps you have got an old 'Enigma' machine and forgotten to tell us todays wheel settings! or, you may just be taking the P. I don't know. We on 'LOC,' are always willing, 'to throw a life jacket to a drowning man' and give our best council, but firstly we must understand the problem. At large we are quite a bright bunch, - after all, we are Lexus owners, mostly British, generally well travelled, but where you come from, or live, doesn't matter, (I just wish that we could write our country, instead of, 'Other/Non UK,'), our communication is done in English (UK) mainly. Having said all that, Britishness is unique, we can sit around a bare table and someone would find something humorous to say about it. this is quite visible from the replies you have had so far, - a bare lady comes under another heading!! It may be worth pointing out also, that we don't use ****** words, OR SHOUT, it's just not that sort of site. If you really have a problem with English, write in your own language or use Google translate, most of us are multilingual, we have now cracked American also, Now to your little problem. So, you were blind drunk and came of the road, landing in what you thought was a big puddle, but was in fact the Danube, however, you managed to get to the other bank and back onto Terra firma again. - the river's quite wide at Dresden, after a short period you'd sobered up enough to find, - to your surprise, that your car was flooded and that somehow water had mixed with the oil, but lucky for you, - being an intelligent Lexus owner, you had in the boot a spare set of plugs, some oil and a battery operated hair dryer, you set to work. After a short time you saw what at first looked like a large man heading towards you, but it turned out to be a large gorilla, - aren't they all, it had escaped from the local zoo, and was headed in your direction. He was a big lad and you didn't fancy any of that, so you legged it home, pretty swiftly. The next day you returned to your Lexus and tried to set fire to it, without success, so you took it to a shop that you own. Your next move was to try and get your Lexus dry and working again, some success was had, but as you hadn't checked the engine coolant, so it over heated, it also over revved for some reason, but then, this was an angry Lexus, after all you had tried to drown it the day before !! Next, you removed the 'Tps' system, the sensors are in the tyres as far as I know, so you must have removed the tyres, you also did a little clinical work in the engine bay, to try and resolve your Lexus's illness. - I think that in English we would use the gentile term, 'Blind, mindless buggering about.' Any old how, after a while you felt sufficiently confident to give your now very sick and tyre-less Lexus a test run, after you'd run 30 metres you realised that your Lexus hadn't moved, so, in your blind anger, you put a rope around it and tried to throttle it, not to mention the baby dolphin trapped inside calling/clicking for help. Now don't say all of this in one breath Andrew!!! This is my perception of your problem, if it is, I would suggest that you give your trusty Lexus a decent burial, pine coffin, gold handles and all, it deserves it, after all you've submitted it to. However, if this is an incorrect perception of what you wrote, please re-submit your original, but make it a trifle more understandable to get a better response from members. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Geoff, only had a few problems like that. for the first couple of goes, since then it has been fine. It was just a simple matter of getting the angle correct over the tyre valve so it sealed well, then, after a few seconds, it makes a noise to tell me that it is ready to be read. I bought it on 02/01/15 and it still has the original battery, even though it's used weekly. The light is good and the storage bag is shaped to fit the gauge and is very sturdy. As mentioned, I inflate the tyres with a foot pump. Not sure what it means, but Amazon use the following to identify it, AGIN B000V5F0XQ. (£23.90). Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Geoff, when I bought my new car I also bought a new tyre gauge. It was a 'Michelin digital pressure gauge,' I obtained it from, 'Amazon,' and it cost about £23.90. It had one of the highest ratings at the time and has been used every week since. It is also easy to read and compact and as far as I can tell very accurate. You are correct about checking your tyres at home, as they must be done whilst cold, mine are done after the weekly wash and I use a foot-pump to inflate them if needed. I keep my tyres at 2.65bar all round. If I had a tyre problem whilst out, I would check the other three tyre pressures to get the lowest pressure and refill the offending tyre just a little below that, this would allow for expansion, then check it after about 10km. As for the accuracy, well, above I used the words, "as far as I can tell," because there is no real bench mark to check it against, that I know of. Where does one take a gauge to be calibrated? each garage/tyre outlet gives slightly different readings. I suspect something similar to a home made gas pressure checker could be made, ( clear plastic tube, partly filled with water ) and adapted. - Open to comments on this. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Richard, glad to see that your getting of to a good start. Give the wife a sandwich and a flask of tea, so she can survive the walk to the pavement, always park in a distant part of the carpark at the supermarket. If you can, park in an auto silo, where your love looked after by an attendant. I rarely park alongside the kerb as some clown in a Fiat nothing will undoubtable try to squeeze in and skim the bumper. Generally, if I park in a marked slot, other parkers tend to park at least a doors width from me, just in case, 'can't have the out of control kids throwing the door open and damaging the smart, shiny, limo next to them, costs lots of shekels.' Just think, I was one of those little tikes many moons ago. Enjoy your new Love. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Richard, glad your loving your new motor, from what you say your sensations are almost like having a new wife!! Lets hope they last. Best wishes. Michael.

I had a new CT200h for 25 months, during that time I covered 38,000km (23,612m) and it returned 61mpg Ave. Including 2 trips to uk and around northern Europe, also trips to Dresden and Slovenia. The IS 'Mr. Jingles,' is now 16 months old, has 22,244km (13,861m) on the clock and is returning 51mpg Ave. Including 1 trip to uk and 2/3 to northern Europe. I found the CT too hard a ride so changed to the IS. I am happy with the change and with the mpg achieved in both motors. I use 'Fuelly' and 'Spiritmonitor de.'. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Hi Venkat I posted the above in May this year, as you can see I drove up hill and down dale, even across water! The CT is a good motor and very reliable, a good place to spend time, but for me and many others, it was too hard a ride. I changed to the IS for the better ride, and it is. If, as you suggest, it is going to be used a lot, I would recommend the IS, it is an even better place to spend a lot of time, with more comfort and almost noise free, + the Lexus reliability. The economy is a little less than a diesel, but it's more than made up for in respect to comfort. Yes, as stated above by Geof. and Paul there are many things that affect economy, I could add more, driving a Hybrid takes a little getting used to, but once mastered, can give good results. It is a personal choice of course, might be a good idea to test both if you can for a day. Good luck whatever you decide to do. Best wishes. Michael.

Tony, sorry to hear about the keying, I cannot for the life of me think why people do this, it is just mindless vandalism. Hope you got it fixed ok. I see that you have the later model to mine, - camera, but you have the skill/energy and ability that I once had, but now in older age seem to have lost, so mainly have to rely on others. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Brian, I put this on the NX forum a short time ago, hope it helps. This subject is always coming up, along with tyres and infotainment. Not on a NX, but I had a Blackvue 550gw-2ch fitted to my CT. The power was taken from the lower part of the 'A' frame, the 'smart power' was also hidden there. In 2015 I changed to a IS300h, I removed the two cameras' from the CT and left the wiring in place. I ordered new wiring and 'smart power'. The initial camera costs were £339.0 and it cost £170 to have fitted, the work was done outside my home in Hampshire. With the IS the power was taken from behind the navigation screen, the 'smart power' is also hidden there. Power cable to the glove box, where I had an interrupter fitted, - not really needed, Power to the rear camera - as far as I can remember, was taken from the rear roof light, 'AV' cable runs along above the doors. The cost of the cables and fittings for this were £113.0 and it cost £164.00 to have fitted as above. The total cost was a lot, I agree, but I did not know that I was going to change cars so soon. I choose the 'Blackvue' as it had good revues', and for me it's lived up to these, it has given me no trouble and is of good build and focal quality. I chose this route simply because I am not so capable/confident now, a £35k motor is a lot to foul up because of a silly error. Austin 7, Beetle, Cortina, Commer van, Subaru, take them to bits with no problems, or more often than not, 'bodge them up', but Lexus is a different kettle of fish, one foul up costs ££££££. s Camera bought from 'TTW Partners,' Nottingham. (Tom.). Fitting by 'Exec Spec,' Nottingham. (Steve.). I think the latter is one of the partners, the bloke that fitted them came from Brighton, I think and was prompt at 08.00. Service and work was top notch. That's my story of woe, hope it helps. Best wishes. Michael.

Spotted this on the BBC Technical page, quite interesting, the future looks bright. Wonder if the UK could use a similar system. Norway's green car sweeteners Image copyright Thinkstock No purchase taxes Exemption from 25% VAT on purchase Low annual road tax No charges on toll roads or ferries Free municipal parking Access to bus lanes 50% reduction in company car tax No VAT on leasing

Yes, I did a write up about it on the NX page under the heading 'Dashcams' a few days ago, check it out, it's worth a read I think. Well I wrote it after all!! Best wishes. Michael.

I understood what you said ok; mine works as your wife's, with no problems. When I looked on 'TTW's' site it mentioned something about a timer also, it could be that even. My thoughts are 1) faulty unit. 2) the 12v is not charging fully, therefore the 'power magic' is reaching it's cut off point quicker. The latter is unlikely, as you have a new motor, but it is worth a check. Failing that give them a ring, it's a SKYPE number and costs nothing and they will probably come up with a solution at the drop of a hat. Best wishes. Michael.

Just checked, yes there are two, 'power magic' and 'power magic pro,' as you say. I think the 'pro' is for goods vehicles but not sure. I have a number 01159 599 995 FREE , it is TTW Partners at Nottingham, they will know. When I bought my camera from them in 2013 I spoke to Tom. They were helpful and honest with me, even though I live over 1000km from them. Good luck. Best wishes. Michael.

Mmmm. seems strange that, as the 12v and Hybrid are separate systems, the camera uses the 12v system. No problems with mine, maybe your 'power magic' is faulty, or try it on another setting, just an idea. Best wishes. Michael.

From memory I thought the 'power magic' was adjustable, I think there are three settings. The 'power magic' shuts of the power to the camera, when the 12v battery depletes to the level set. The hybrid system is not involved, it is the 'power magic' and the 12v battery. Check that your 'power magic' setting is correct. Regards. Michael.

Not on a NX, but I had a Blackvue 550gw-2ch fitted to my CT. The power was taken from the lower part of the 'A' frame, the 'smart power' was also hidden there. In 2015 I changed to a IS300h, I removed the two cameras' from the CT and left the wiring in place. I ordered new wiring and 'smart power'. The initial camera costs were £339.0 and it cost £170 to have fitted, the work was done outside my home in Hampshire. With the IS the power was taken from behind the navigation screen, the 'smart power' is also hidden there. Power cable to the glove box, where I had an interrupter fitted, - not really needed, Power to the rear camera - as far as I can remember, was taken from the rear roof light, 'AV' cable runs along above the doors. The cost of the cables and fittings for this were £113.0 and it cost £164.00 to have fitted as above. The total cost was a lot, I agree, but I did not know that I was going to change cars so soon. I choose the 'Blackvue' as it had good revues', and for me it's lived up to these, it has given me no trouble and is of good build and focal quality. I chose this route simply because I am not so capable/confident now, a £35k motor is a lot to foul up because of a silly error. Austin 7, Beetle, Cortina, Commer van, Subaru, take them to bits with no problems, or more often than not, 'bodge them up', but Lexus is a different kettle of fish, one foul up costs ££££££. s Camera bought from 'TTW Partners,' Nottingham. (Tom.). Fitting by 'Exec Spec,' Nottingham. (Steve.). I think the latter is one of the partners, the bloke that fitted them came from Brighton, I think and was prompt at 08.00. Service and work was top notch. That's my story of woe, hope it helps. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Andy, the pictures were wonderful, I do pics. so noticed straight away that they were doctored, but was impressed. The first I called, 'Black Dyke,' as I have a liking for brass band music and that sky, with what looked like a dredging machine, brought it to mind. The second picture is worthy of any advertising campaign, far better than the normal rubbish that Lexus use. Did you send it to them? How did the trip go, where did you end up, any more pics? Best wishes. Michael.

Well Chris, 'Zippy' was a character in 'The magic roundabout,' I added the 'one' to separate me from another user of the name. Age, well I'll be 70 in December. I am still a 'happy old bunny,' but since having my prostate removed earlier this year, I don't seem to be getting so much excitement whilst cleaning Mr. Jingles Snr, I'm still trying to work out why!! 'Mr Jingles,' well we all have names. Whilst buying a CT a couple of years ago, I watched the film, 'The Green Mile,' got the idea from there. Quite a good film, well worth a watch. It was originally going to be called 'Sam,' - from my favourite film, 'Casablanca.' Chris. - the other one. Mr. Jingles is Sonic Titanium and the 'Autoglym car shampoo' doesn't leave any spots on him and I use it at double strength. What has been annoying though, is the occasional identified flying object, unloading on the paintwork whilst work is in progress. But life goes on. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Daniel, I am the staff, my clones flew the nest many years ago and now have 'staff ' of their own. I really can't understand why you are so rotten to your wife, after all those years of happiness and pleasure she has bestowed upon you, waxing indeed, how could you be so cruel? Mrs. Z. will be 71 next month, I think, - "is that right dear?" "Blimey! All right, keep your hair on, what's left of it." - yes, the loud shriek and flying dishcloth just confirmed that now. " no dear, I said that now, not that cow, turn your hearing aid on for once." During car washing she has long been relegated to menial tasks, providing tea/coffee at regular intervals, getting out and putting away the cleaning gear, then, praising me on doing such a good job and telling me how tired I must be, the latter gets me a good back massage. Post washing, if it's a day like today, 27°c, I then sit under the pergola and eat an ice cream - I am tired after all, she said so. - It is a pleasure watching her from my vantage point, happily walking up and down the garden, cutting the lawn, then, doing a little weeding, after which, she makes a cupper and we both enjoy, sipping away under the pergola. I don't like to feel she gets too bored in her pensionable years! Oh! the wash, :- rinse, shampoo and rinse, 30min. Drying 30min. Drying around the door inners and door sills 30min, another 30mins drying around the boot inner and in the engine bay. Vacuuming around 30 min. I get backache just writing it, bring on the ice cream. Best wishes. Michael.

I had a new CT200h for 25 months, during that time I covered 38,000km (23,612m) and it returned 61mpg Ave. Including 2 trips to uk and around northern Europe, also trips to Dresden and Slovenia. The IS 'Mr. Jingles,' is now 16 months old, has 22,244km (13,861m) on the clock and is returning 51mpg Ave. Including 1 trip to uk and 2/3 to northern Europe. I found the CT too hard a ride so changed to the IS. I am happy with the change and with the mpg achieved in both motors. I use 'Fuelly' and 'Spiritmonitor de.'. Best wishes. Michael

Edwardo, Sorry, I forgot to mention that I have a 'Blackvue' set up similar to you, but the previous model. It was originally fitted in my CT, when I moved to the IS I kept the cameras and just got the electrician to wire them in, he took a pick up point from behind the central display screen. The camera is on all the time and this may be why it was flat after 50 days. Could you explain what 'quiescent current' is please, excuse my ignorance. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi Jeff, I wash 'Mr. Jingles,' once a week and use 'Autoglym' products. I wax the car about once every two months, I also wax the front and rear screens, the alloy wheels are washed each week with the car and waxed about once a month. I have black carpets and wash them about every 3 months with a standard carpet cleaner, for the seats and other upholstery I use warm water and a drop of 'Fairy liquid.' I just use a damp cloth in the engine bay each week. I also clay the car at least once a year. There are no hard and fast rules for specific cleaning products, it depends on individual taste. The frequency depends on the type of climate you live in, the time of year and of course how fanatical you are. In the UK I lived in site of the Isle of Wight, salt was my enemy, now I live in sight of the Alps, dust is generally my enemy. I also keep 'Mr jingles,' garaged at home. I would highly recommend that you read and download 'Rayaan's guide to cleaning your car,' it's on the site, very informative and well written. I would only advise you to always hand wash your motor, never put it through a car wash. Good luck. Michael.

Hi 200h, many thanks for your comprehensive reply, I placed an order for the charger today, should arrive about the 26th, cost with p.p. £34.97. Hopefully, I will never have to use it, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. I only have to use it once in 100 years and it will pay for itself, I see it has other uses also, so can't be a bad buy at that price. Best wishes. Michael.

Hi all, I need a little advice please. After a 50 day 'holiday' in hospital earlier this year, I returned home to find the car in the garage with a flat battery, ( to be expected). I called the repair man and he had with him a large black box with two leads, he attached one lead to the red block in the fuse box and the other to a metallic part in the engine besides the inverter, as shown in the manual. The car started second time. - I only expected to be away 4/5 days, but there were some complications. I had a similar problem with a CT a few years back, but I was away then and the car was towed away, I feel a little worried. I do not want to get caught out again, for example, when on holiday. I noticed on another thread that there was mention of an :ANNKE 800mAh jump starter, 400 peak current, which was about £30 from Amazon. Is this item similar to the one that the repair man used, only smaller and if so, would it be suitable to start my engine if I found myself in that predicament again? Many thanks in anticipation. Michael. http://www.amazon.co.uk/8000mAh-Starter-Current-Emergency-Ultra-bright/dp/B012SXUK24/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460134374&sr=8-1&keywords

Hi Dan, I don't think you have said why exactly you want to make the screen darker, is it because you want to lessen the UV? is it because you want the glass to act more as a sunshade? do naughty things without being seen? make a rare car even rarer, as you won't see any others as they go by? or just to make a name for yourself as the local prat, with a smart expensive motor? If it's the latter, then I feel that you'd be more suited to a BMW or a Benz. You have a nice motor, expensive and rare, don't ruin it, enjoy it. Here, in the south of Europe, where the sun and UV is stronger, the drivers' generally wear sunglasses to good affect, as indeed I do. They come in various shades and colours and I can still say to my wife, on the rare occasion, " hey!, is that one of us up ahead?" Each to their own I suppose. Best wishes. Michael.