Pidu

So you will end up paying regular price for services, while service plan was supposed to offer discounted price. What is the point of taking it?

Looks like I got wrong the price for full service at 40k miles. Thanks for the link Colin.

Kind of service your car needs depend on the mileage and age - if you are not doing many miles. Every 10k miles or 1 year it's intermmediate, every 20k or 2 years - full. I recently paid £195 inc VAT for intermediate one. Prices of full service vary, as depending on the mileage (or age) there are additional inspections and replacements due. My next service is full and it will cost £395 - at 40k (or every 4 years) inspection of front differential oil is due. Full service at 60k is £445 and includes new spark plugs. Anyway I'm taking service plan in January - will save about £85 or so on next 3 services, plus 3 MOT's at half price and 10% discount on parts and accessories.

+1 Visit Lexus or garage with headlight beam tester to set lights and they should set correct "base" position of lights within few minutes. It's done using two screws (sometimes hidden a little) - one is responsible for vertical and one for horizontal adjustment of the headlight light beam. Once lights are set correctly self levelling system will do the rest while driving. This should be checked when car was MOTed, but some garages just do not bother.

Had a little bit of time today so to finish dash cam project I have made a rear view mirror mount. Unfo my camera had only windscreen mount and I am not a fan of suction cups stuck permanently to the windscreen. I have modified flashlight mount for bicycles and here is the result. Mount is rock solid and not visible when fitted. Need to think of another project to do.

Bluenose1940, here is Lexus IS HomeLink fitting instruction,could be useful: http://www.lexus-tech.eu/aimuploads/%7BEDE24F82-C0AE-E8DD-A4B0-AB451F16C0AE%7D/Homelink%20RHD%20PZ481-00291%20AIM%20000%20629-0.pdf It shows step by step how to remove upper light console and get to the wiring loom. Ground is marked, you would need cheap probe to find power when ignition is on and you could hardwire USB power adapter to power your dash cam.

I have Mio Mivue 388 bought quite a long time ago. Has a nice few features, but was rather pricey. As far as I have read nowadays G1W dash cam is highly recommended, good quality picture, decent size and great price - about 30 quid delivered. Unfo there are fake ones out there, look the same, but much worse quality. Was even thinking about getting one, but as long as mio is working fine there is no point really.

Actually I did hardwire my dash cam at the same time using same power source as for the mirror. I have connected 12V to USB adapter and the USB socket is stuck to the windscreen just behind the mirror, from there short USB cable to power cam. It all look nice and tidy. To remove upper light console I have used trim removal tool, similar to the one shown in attached Lexus instruction, but I think it could be done without it. All you need to do is pull the console and clips will let go.

Finally found time to fit auto dimming rear view mirror. Was missing this feature a lot. After doing some research I found out that Honda mirror will fit plug and play, so bought one on ebay - 40 quid including postage for brand new one for Honda Accord 2008-2014. Other thing required was dupont female wire housing to connect wires to the mirror, also available on ebay. Unfo as my time was limited I did not take any pictures, but job is easy when you use Lexus HomeLink fitting instruction as reference: http://www.lexus-tech.eu/aimuploads/%7B809862E7-2603-BE76-8D41-37B980882603%7D/HomeLink_CT200h_RHD_PZ481_00291_AIM_002_039_0.PDF As I wanted to keep it as simple as possible I decided to check overhead console wiring loom looking for ground and power when ignition is on instead of running wires from centre console. You can connect as well reversing light power if you want the mirror to get bright when reverse is engaged. This signal can be found near passenger feet, in case of need I can provide more detailed info. To remove the oem mirror simply pull away from the windscreen the bottom of the fitting and then move the whole part upwards. To remove overhead console - pull from the windscreen side first, there are 2 clips, then on the sides near lights - another two clips, unplug connector and remove console. Connect piece of two core wire to wires in console connector - ground is white with black stripe in the corner (pin 15), power - green in the middle (I believe it is pin 7, next to yellow one). At the back of the mirror we need to connect pin 1 - power and 2 - ground. Put all the bits together and job is done. The second picture is with the light sensor covered, mirror dimmed. It gets really dark, was just not able to catch it with my phone camera. If you do not want the mirror to dimm you can turn it off using the switch.

Reading American CT forum HID is very popular upgrade over there. I guess legal requirements are different. Anyway I have in a garage a set of 35W HID i bought some time ago for offroad use. Out of my curiosity fitted it to the car - had no issues, all working perfectly including auto lights, no glare and lots of light, huge improvement over halogen bulb. The headlight lens obviously does the job. But it was just a test, not using it due to legal issues. Few years ago I upgraded my previous car to zenon headlights. Used proper headlights with D2S bulbs, HID ballasts (genuine were way to expansive), OEM washers and universal Hella self-levelling kit. That upgrade was perfectly legal and I was driving for few years without problems, then sold the car. BTW price of those HID kits is just silly. You get exactly the same kit with slim ballasts for 30 quid.

As said before MPG depends on many factors. I get 45-48 driving where I live now, but when I was visiting my home town - slightly smaller, but congested, I did over 1000 miles there averaging 57 MPG without changing my driving style.

They definitely dimm when lights are turned on. Enough to turn on position lights, the difference is visible immediately. If in doubt do it at night parked close to the wall.

Cost of service plan depends on cars mileage and next 3 services due - each service cost from 159, 350 (or so) up to over 450 for service at 60 000 miles. There is also MOT included. Whatever you have to pay the final price for 3 services is discounted, so it is worth buying. Also if service price rises you won't be charged more.

How much does Lexus charge for it?

I have other question regarding auto headlights - when light switch is in auto and lights are on, if you turn off engine lights stay on until door are opened. As per above attachment newer cars (my guess?) have option to turn if off. Is there any way to turn it off in 2012 model? Edit: Did more reading and the option I mention above does not turn off lights immediately upon powering off the car, it sets the time lights will stay on after you open the driver door. :eerrrmm:

Here are setting options for non nav: http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/CT200h-without-nav-LPS.pdf Having 2012 model I do not recall many of those options, think the list may be for 2014 model. If it's not there you have 2 options - dealership or going for mini elm bluetooth interface (abt £5.50) and carista obd2 app for android (pro version abt £12.50 or so) - it allowes to castomize all options including dealer ones plus fault code reader. Great app, deff worth the money. They are working on iOS version at the moment. This option is cheaper and let's you play with many cars, not just Lexus whenever you want. Do not know Paul where in Cheshire you live, but if not far from Stockport you could use my interface.

Reading this made mi think of this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCl9TMOyojQ Read the description below. Not sure about one thing - even without opening doors movement sensors should trigger the alarm, but on the other hand the area close to A pillar might be out of their reach. I guess the only solution is comprehensive insurance + GAP and watch were you park your car.

For pre-2014 model owners - I have received today TapTurn flasher relay. Posted from Canada, it took 8 days to arrive. Not sure how to upload photos, so excuse lack of them. Fitting was easy and took not more than 5 minutes. Turned off the car, turned on hazard lights and listening to the clicking sound I have found the position of genuine flasher relay. You need to put your head under dash on driver side, look up, it will be on the right side, closer to engine bay, fitted to some white plastic cover (or whatever that is). All you will see from the bottom is the plug and wiring, but the whole relay is vibrating while hazard lights are on. Small flashlight was helpful. Turned off hazards and at first I have removed the plug, then the relay - just pushed it up, and fitted TapTurn in its place so it looks OEM. All is working perfectly as on the above video linked by 200h. What you get with TapTurn is lane flash / comfort indicators (3 up to 6 flashes on tap), additional modes of hazard lights (wig-wag, slow motion or wig-wag in slow motion ), directional park lights and arrival / departure lightning. All those features use indicators and are adjustable. I did not went for strobe pack, do not think using it would be legal. Total cost was abt 57 quid, quite a lot, but for me it was definitely worth it. Hope it is not against rules to post a link to the seller's webpage - http://www.autowindow.com/ and choose TapTurn or directly http://www3.telus.net/s_mcphee/orderTAP.html. All I need now to be 95% happy with the car is dimming rear view mirror - another 40 quid. 5% are electric folding mirrors but due to price - not gonna fit them.

By manual folding mirror you mean you have to grab the mirror and fold?

Excuse my mistake - it is actually brass not copper (language issues ;)) Windscreen is never perfectly clean, there are always some sand / grit bits on it under ice, so when you are scraping some of those bits get caught under soft plastic or rubber edge of scraper and as you apply pressure you may scratch the glass. As brass edge is solid (but still "softer" then glass) dirt is removed with ice, it does not stick to the edge of scraper. Take a look at the edge of used plastic scraper - after time it is damaged, has small dents etc. My brass scraper is probably 6 years old, edge is in perfect condition, like new. Although I have seen some reports online that it did scratch the windscreen anyway, I think it is very unlikely event and neither me nor my friends have experienced this. The company making them is called Murska, from Finland. There are probably some fake ones available nowadays as well. Have seen them on ebay - just search for Murska ice scraper. Other thing is that using brass scraper is so much faster :) Clip obviously comes from ebay Seller, but it is nice comparison of plastic vs brass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvSyhaZkWo4 Just want to make clear - I do not sell them, I do not make them, the clip was gooogled, the above opinion is based on my personal experience ;)

That is the one I have ordered. Can't wait to fit it :)

Mine CT is 2012 model and I miss this feature a lot. Browsing online for a solution found a TapTurn relay that replaces OEM flasher relay and ads few features. Should get it within 2 weeks - shipment from USA. So if pre 2014 CT users would be interested I write more in due time.

I have seen Heko deflectors, had them years ago on other car, but for CT I want something different. Have seen on other forum those from ebay auction above - like the look a lot.

For a while been thinking about fitting wind deflectors for CT. I know it is not everybody's cup of tea. Seems like in Europe only in-channel deflectors are available, while I would prefer stick-on ones like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JDM-SMOKE-TINTED-WINDOW-VISOR-WTIH-CHROME-TRIM-FITS-ZWA10-2011-13-LEXUS-CT200H-/171395269814?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27e7f444b6 Like the chrome part Unfo postage price is high, makes the price of deflectors not acceptable. Has anybody seen this for sale in the UK / Europe? I did not manage to find them.

Ignition must be on in order to connect to car ;)