Dr. Amdahl

I've been using one of these.... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transmitter-SMBOX-Bluetooth-Handsfree-Wireless-Black/dp/B0792T86C4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Absolutely brilliant bargain, put a 32Gb memory card in the side with most of the music I want and can stream my favourite Barbados radio station, spotify, youtube, etc all for about a tenner! Sound quality through an unused radio frequency in my Mark Levinson is great too!

That looks like it would have done the job, thing is though would all the other functions that disappear when you remove that antiquated CD/cassette work with the replacement unit? Reversing camera, heating controls, satnav, etc are all connected to the back of it, I'd be surprised if the new unit supported all of them?

So, got into the car the other day and the CD player (Mark Levinson) had 'CD' on display. Was working fine the night before. Pushed 'play' - nothing, pushed 'eject'- nothing, pushed 'Radio' - nothing. Tried all the usual tips - even disconnected battery and reconnected - nothing. Took the whole lump out and removed the lid of the CD player to reveal a mechanism reminiscent of a Grandfather Clock! Sent off the lump to Cartronics for repair (bear in mind this means - no rear view camera, SatNav or demister, heater, etc, etc). They replaced the CD changer (ordered from Japan - two weeks' lead time) - the cost? £780..... OUCH! Apparently from Lexus it would have been north of £2K.....

Good series, however if my RX ended upside down I would like to hope that all those myriad airbags would have deployed....!

Those codes indicate a loss of data from the accelerometers and steering angle sensor to the ABS brain. when you say there is a wobble during braking from the front left wheel, it could be you have a failing bearing or damaged brake disk or something loose which are causing enough vibration to confuse the ABS controller's software, this stuff is very low level and will include routines that default to fail and switch on the error codes if the data doesn't make sense, sensor vibration can generate too much data also known as a 'bus storm' this can also be caused by a bad ground connection. I would take a good look at the wheel in question and see if there is any play or if anything looks damaged, loose or worn.

Using the cruise control on my 350 coming back from Warrington to Stansted area (all motorway) heavy traffic so set at about 65 managed 34.8 (210 miles)

I was only joking Colin, I guess I got lucky this time round. Still can't believe I saved £125 on one little part, makes you wonder how much of a markup other bits have. I guess we are subsidising the shiny big showrooms and the free coffee.

Do you think I should hotfoot it up the road to Stansted and give FedEx their tenner? To be honest I think they owe me that for the rooftiles their so**ing great Jumbos have loosened thundering in to land at 3am 6inches above my house.

New coil has arrived from Rock, total cost £40.72 including postage. Denso part number is 673-1309, even came with a free RockAuto fridge magnet and I didn't get charged any duty. Have been driving for over a week with no more error lights after using contact cleaner so it will go into my spares stash along with my wireless OBD dongle. Thanks Chris and Colin for your help as always.

OK so I ordered some di-electric grease and a new Denso coil from Rock Auto. In the meantime my curiosity got the better of me and I had a half hour spare so I decided to take a look at the coil. This has to be about the easiest part I've ever taken out of an engine! I removed it (takes about a minute) and gave the ECU connector and plug and the HT connector a good old spray with contact cleaner, the outside of it was coated in a brown dust (I assume these things must generate a healthy magnetic field when they're firing so they attract any fine oxidised metal dust) so I gave the whole thing a good wipe down. Put it all back together on Friday, no codes since despite a fair amount of driving. New coil will arrive from the States next week so it will go in the glovebox until I get a repeat.

Not teaching me to suck eggs Chris! Appreciate the suggestions, have ordered some dielectric grease and will try that first - very good idea. Will keep you posted, many thanks.

Hi all, just started getting the engine check and VSC light. It's happened twice in a week so far (it resets itself after three or four restarts). I checked for codes which are logging as p0356 a faulty 'coil on plug' for what looks like the front right hand cylinder (Cylinder 6). I have done a bit of research and have discovered that there are a whole range of prices for these things, the Lexus official one is quoted at £165 which seems a lot compared to the alternatives. I am also thinking it would be wise to replace all the plugs at the same time as the car's now done 55K Miles. So, can anyone advise the best source for the coil and plugs? There seems to be a number of Toyota part numbers which are also confusing, don't mind paying for quality and longevity but from experience the (good) non originals are often just as reliable?

Mine shudders very slightly when the air con cuts in, are you sure it's not just that?

Especially when they know that the £900 per month is barely paying the depreciation cost

Hey Gents, please choose some nice combos and look after them. Us lesser mortals are looking forward to relieving you of them in five years' time for a third of the price. Joking aside, you lucky lot - wish I could justify buying a brand new Lex, I have a drool each time mine goes in for a service.