arfur45

Hi guys Hoping I can pick your brains. Does anyone know of a good independent lexus specialist in Northumberland? I have an LS430 and am looking for someone who can service her to the standard that the old girl deserves. Many thanks for your help.

Thanks for the feedback chaps As you rightly say the garage may well not have touched the shield, I don't know the process hence my question Im just not used to bits falling off the big girl so maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree entirely

Many thanks for the helpful reply. Much appreciated

Hi chaps I wonder if anyone can help out. Today I took my ls430 on the motorway for the first time since service and mot. After about half an hour I noticed a scraping sound coming from under the front of the car. Upon investigation the splash shield had come adrift and was dragging on the road. I had to cut the plastic away to continue my journey. My first thought is that this must have been removed for the service and mot and was possibly not secured properly thereafter. Does this sound plausible? Also does anyone know where I can source a replacement used or new for a 06 ls430 in the UK? Many thanks

I also found lexus reading pricey when I enquired about a 100k service,cam belt,water pump and mot recently My usual local independent did all the work for £850. Was very pleased compared to dealership quote Incidentally it was her 10yr mot and sailed through again without an advisory

First lexus I ever drove was a 93 ls400. I was predominantly driving jags and s-class at the time. It quickly became my favourite client car,putting the rest to shame. This car was green on the logbook but everyone swore blind it was black, even the police! Decided then that when I stopped driving other people's cars for a living I had to buy my own ls someday.

Having recently been driven to airports and back several times in new s-class mercedes and audi A8s it was such a pleasant change to take a several hour journey in the back of our lexus. There seems to be constant sniping from the German owners that a lexus is "boring","soulless" and rubbish to drive. Incidentally I don't agree. However as a rear passenger the experience is vastly superior in an old lexus as opposed to a new German equivalent. The seats are far more comfortable,the leather is incomparably more soft and sumptuous and the air suspension ride is amazing. My wife and I are in agreement that we will just use our own car in the future instead of hiring unspectacular German "minicabs".

Many thanks for the advice guys Just spoke to my local lexus dealer and their price is the same as on ebay and they are going to drop them over to my home tomorrow (That's over 15 miles from the dealership ) I know some dealerships get a bad press but I really have had excellent service every time I have dealt with them

Hi chaps Just after a bit of expert advice Would you recommend genuine lexus pads for an ls430 or is there no real difference in using good quality pads of another make? I tend to lean towards genuine parts as a rule myself but am I just throwing money away? Many thanks Mark

Just arrived back from another trip to Holland You do see a handful of lexus',always the smaller ones tho I have never seen an ls on any of my trips there, and we have made numerous road trips from schipol to Arnhem and back That's basically from one side of the country to the other Lovely country to spend time in and drive in tho

Hi guys I wonder if any of you can shed any light on the above? Was out in the ls430 today and as usual was a problem free experience. However upon arriving home while parking the car I noticed a new sound from the steering column. No clunking was evident when the car was moving even over speed humps. But when the car is stationery and I turn the wheel anticlockwise there is a clunking sound at the start of the movement . If I continue turning there is no further sound. Turning the wheel all the way back to lock clockwise there is no sound but when I turn anticlockwise the clunk happens again. Any ideas chaps? Mark

Thanks for such an excellent and informative response. Very helpful and much appreciated. Think we have definitely decided to go with the sc 430 after admiring one in my local spa car park last evening Mark

Thanks for all your help guys Much appreciated as always I'm just wondering how many more replaced wing mirrors could have perhaps been saved by this vigorous unsophisticated remedy? ?

Yes Mike the folding/unfolding mechanism can be switched off but that works fine. It's the changing of the angle up and down that has been the problem

Morning guys Just a quick question for you experts out there who have been unbelievably helpful since I joined this forum. The only fly in the ointment of my fantastic ls430 has been the nearside wing mirror has not dipped for several months. The mirror housings fold in and out as they should when ignition is started or stopped and the glass on both can be moved in and out by the controller. However the nearside glass does not dip when reverse is selected or by using controller (offside is fine on all the above). Having mused for several months about replacing the whole mirror at quite a cost (apparently this is lexus only answer to this regular problem) I decided this morning to have one last try, so with my non existent mechanical skills I moved the glass manually up and down quite a few times really quite forcefully. I then put the car in and out of reverse about a dozen times and hey presto both mirrors worked perfectly every time! Also worked perfectly from the controller. Having set the scene in I admit a rather long winded way my question is can you somehow lubricate this part of the wing mirror mechanism as I believe this may be all that could be required to solve this problem. Thanks for bearing with me guys and any advice would be gratefully received as always Mark

Hi all Just popped over from the ls forum I'm the proud owner of an ls430 and it's a magical car in every way and a total joy to drive and own. So to business; We are so impressed with the whole ownership experience that we are considering investing in a sc 430.its mainly for the wife who wants a convertible. We have considered jags, merc, porsche but I'm not a great fan of german build quality these days and the lexus reliability could very well be the clincher. Is the sc as reliable as the ls? Can't see any reason why it wouldn't be and are there any things we should be aware of in particular? Difficult to find much quality info on these cars in the UK. We would be looking to buy one of the later cars on a budget of £15000 approx - any advice would be most gratefully received. Many thanks Mark

Had the conversation with the service manager at lexus reading recently and he assures me that 100,000 miles or 10 years is the recommended interval and totally adequate. Incidentally I know lexus maindealer service costs have a deserved reputation for being on the steep side but the all round experience is very pleasant right from the greeting as you walk through the door.

I've repeatedly looked at updating my satnav on my 06 ls430 but to be honest it's not that bad in practice and Google maps on my note3 is so good it picks up the slack where required and it's free ;-)

Blimey All I said was that I seemed to be enjoying driving my lexus so much my other cars were becoming obsolete. Now its a thread about global warming, who's to blame, government deception and cambelt costs. Better think before posting such jocular musings in the future

Hi chaps Having owned my ls430 for a few months now I seem to have fallen into a trap that I'm sure you can sympathise with. The lexus was bought for occasional use due to the highish running costs. I also own a Nissan sports car that was meant to be my every day car and the wife also has her car which was supposed to the second general option. However every time I reach for a set of keys I find my hand gravitates to the lexus fob and a grin appears on my face. A knowing smile also appears on the wife's face when I collect her from the station in the "wrong" car on most occasions. It's just such a joy to be behind the wheel that my "proper" car hasn't moved for two months and it may well be sold and the cash used for running costs for the lexus. So much for my brilliant plan!

Hi chaps I've now owned my ls430 for a few months and i'm loving the experience. However I'm so impressed I'm actually considering investing a bit more and replacing her for a newer ls460 or 600. Would be grateful for any expert opinion in this regard, are they much better than an immaculate ls430 or would I be better advised just to stay where I am and continue to enjoy my current wonderful car? Mark

Thanks for the replies guys As it's been serviced at the same lexus dealer from new by the previous owner I guess they will know if anything has been changed during the cars lifetime. Probably my first point of call.

Hi guy's Quick question, My ls430 has only done 45,000 miles but is 8 years old now. There seems to be some disagreement as to when the cambelt should be changed on this model. Everyone seems to agree on the mileage of 100,000 but the disagreement is on whether the change should be made at 6 or 10 years. Do any of you chaps have a ls430 service manual to clear up the question? Many thanks Mark

Hi chaps Quick question, my ls430 is eight years old now but has only done 45000 miles. I'm really struggling to find a definitive answer to the above question. Most seem to agree that the mileage change is 100,000 but there seems to be some debate as to whether the time of the intervals is 6 or 10 years. Does anyone have access to a lexus service manual to clear this question up? Many thanks Mark

That's interesting chris thanks for that. Looks like a trip to lexus to ascertain why mine only opens then