Beejay55

I just came across this on another forum: Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car. Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall. Torque is how far you take the wall with you.

Sorry this did not work out for you. If it is any consolation I think you did the right thing. I am sure you will find a better car.

LX430 and getting an average of 24.6 mpg, and until I recently retired I was buying LPG near my place of work for 43p per litre. Cheap good value motoring !

In my case the VSC warning was solved by resetting the sensors, using the diagnostic tool at the garage. The engine warning light was due to the left bank of cylinders running lean, sorted by fitting a new lambda sensor. Good luck !

Are you planning on waiting until you are dead first?

The Toyota part number is 77316-16010

Hi Dave Have a look at my recent post: Cheers Brendan

See the posts on this forum regarding petrol caps. The gasket for one costs £15, incl VAT, from any Toyota dealer.

Sorry to hear that Mark. Looks like you are going to have to bite the bullet and go for the more expensive option

First, the problem. The orange engine warning light came on, but the car was behaving and driving normally (or so I thought - see later). A quick look at this forum, and a general Google around, indicated that the orange warning light was not a major fault. I was already going to put the car in to the garage in a few weeks and thought it could wait until then. Then one morning the red warning light came on, and as I reversed up the drive the ASC also came on. At this point I definitely became concerned. I parked the car up and used my wife's, and when I got home that evening, out the came the laptop again. It was suggested by some that the solution could be as simple, and cheap, as a new petrol cap. I bought one with next day delivery, and next day I fitted it. Started the engine, all the dashboard lights went out, one by one. For thirty seconds or so I was greatly relieved, and then the orange engine warning light came back on. "Oh dear", or words to that effect. The next solution offered was to find the ODB connector and using a paperclip short out two specific pins. Seemed simple, but the idea of deliberately shorting across two pins made me feel a little anxious, but several unrelated websites said it worked. The problem was first finding the ODB interface. Several sites pointed me to different locations, where it was not to be found. If you ever need to find it on a 2003 LS430, it is to be found deep under the dashboard, behind a flap, just above where your shin would be if you were pressing down on a clutch pedal. I followed the instructions, a lot of flashing lights on the dashboard, which settled down as described in the instructions. I turned off the ignition, removed the paper clip from the ODB socket and turned the ignition back on. Back came my little friends - more 'Oh Dear, Oh Dear' and off to the laptop. The next thing to try was to attach the ODB reader I had purchased years ago for a different car, and look on the Android Play Store for some suitable free apps. There seemed to be several which would read faults, but not so many that would clear codes. A number of the apps confirmed that left bank of cylinders was running lean and that a temperature sensor was showing a fault. I tried some of the apps to clear the faults and turn off the warning lights, but alas none was effective. So, down to the local garage and booked the car in, having relayed the above to the owner. On the day he connected up his diagnostic equipment and found that indeed the left bank of cylinders was reporting they were running lean, the 'temperature' sensor fault turned out to be a faulty lambda probe and he was able to clear the fault with the ASC, having reset the sensor. He handed the car over to me saying all the warning lights were no longer coming on. Pleased, I took the car out for a run. All the warning lights remained off for the first five miles or so and then the amber warning light came on. Being now very focussed on the response of the engine, I sensed it was not as powerful as I recalled. Could this be that the left bank of cylinders was so lean that in effect it was only running on four? Back to the garage. The car was booked in, and the first day they had it they removed the lambda sensor which was indicating the fault and made sure they ordered the correct replacement. This was delivered to them the next day and they replaced it. I have just collected the car, no warning lights of any sort and it is accelerating smartly, making me realise that I had been losing power before all this started without realising. I have yet to be given the bill. Is there a moral to this tale? If there is, it is probably to not ignore warning lights (even if people suggest they are not critical); get it to a professional with the right diagnostic equipment and don't rely on free apps (even Torque).

Hi Qamar I don't doubt you, and again I thank you for the heads-up to members of this forum. I was merely suggesting that inserting the word 'allegedly', as they do on Have I Got News For You, makes it less definite, and perhaps avoids the interference of the dealer's solicitor ;-) (although I admit that is unlikely) Cheers Brendan

Thanks for the heads up. I presume you have evidence? I just wondered that since this is, in effect, a public forum, whether inserting the word "allegedly" might avoid a potential legal response from the dealer? Just trying to be helpful, and look out for your interests.

So, I am not the only one who wanted a torque wrench for Christmas. I didn't get one

Get four brilliant A' Level grades Gain a place at Oxford where you can study for a degree in Physics Follow this through with a Master's degree Now carry out research gaining a PhD after another three years Build your own research lab, employing the best brains in the world. Invent the world's first cloning machine Clone the original key That has to be cheaper than getting one from a dealer, and having it programmed Do I get a like?

The only seller I can find on eBay called "Minters" has been a member since Dec 2009. They have feedback for just four items, and have sold nothing for more than a year. They have nothing for sale at the moment. Do you have any other details?

First a caveat, I am just coming up to the first year of ownership of a Lexus, so a long way from the experience of others on the forum. I would raise two points: If it has been on the market for some time, and it is as good as the advert says, why has it not sold? Secondly, and I may well be wrong with this, looking at the sideways view it seems rather higher at the back than the front. Is this something to do with not having air suspension, or is it just my imagination? Brendan

I have visited India a great deal, for work. over the last 10 years. I agree, adherence to whatever rules of the road they have, does seem to be purely optional. Experiences have included cars choosing to go down a dual carriageway on the wrong side, because it was obviously too far to go down the correct side to the next roundabout, and come back again. (the same goes to guys riding elephants - and they do this at night time, and elephants don't have lights). A taxi driver who hit heavy traffic, and because I was in a hurry, opted to drive down the pavement to get me to my destination on time. It was like in the original Italian Job film, when the minis drove down the pavements. Seeing a coach on the main Delhi/Chandigarh road with a man sitting on the roof with four goats, who ooked petrified as they tried to remain upright. Hooves on painted metal don't provide much grip, and the coach was doing 60mph. The traffic lights count down the seconds to when they go green, and the cars, motorbikes, scooters, trucks and tuktuks all rev their engines and it is like the start of a F1 race as they all hurtle off. Some 'jump the start', and then have to dodge the vehicles coming left to right across them, who came through on the red light. The sight of five people on a small motorbike, Father driving, with a young child lying over the petrol tank like a saddle bag (the father with one hand on the handle bar, the other pinning the child in place, behind the father was a second child wedged between the him and the mother, and the mother was breast feeding a third child. The law states that the rider of a motorbike, must wear a helmet, but the same law does not apply to any number of passengers on the bike. The law is also quite loose in its definition of a motorbike helmet. I have often seen a hard hat from a building site being used, which explains why you never see hard hats on construction sites. The best helmet I have ever seen was a large plastic bucket. On one of my earlier trips, a driver was taking me somewhere at night, but had no lights on. When I commented, he said there was no point in turning on his headlights at night, as it just wore out the bulbs. Lastly, I was being driven along a mountain road, with some sharp corners, and large drops off the side. My driver overtook a slow moving lorry, on a blind corner, with nowhere to go if another vehicle came towards us. After shouting at him about his poor driving, I calmed down a bit, and asked him if he was afraid of dying. His reply was "if it is my day to die, it is my day to die". When I asked about me, he replied "sir, in that case it will be your day to die too". India. You've just got to love it

Fuses ?

This is the link HERE

Thanks for this. I'll give it a go tomorrow. The partial removal of the liner, in this film, seemed to be OK, but it appeared to be quite a challenge to get it back in again. Let's see how I get on.

Can anyone advise on taking off the wheel arch lining, and how to remove the clip holding the defunct sensor in place? Thank you

Just bought a parking sensor for my LS430. I took a deep breath and bought one from China, using eBay. It cost £14.99, with free delivery, and came through UK customs without any duty being asked for. It took 11 days to arrive, but that was 9 days sooner than their quickest estimate. The box has a part number of 89341-50011-BO I have read that as this is to replace a front corner sensor, that the easiest way is to take off the wheel liner to gain access. Can anyone advise on how the wheel liner is removed? I have searched on the forum, and there are no obvious instructions, so it will probably be obvious once I get my head in to the wheel arch. I also anticipate that this could be fiddly, and will fall under the warning that "a ten minute job always takes two hours" Thank you

Re question 6 I used to own a Rover 75 CDTi Tourer and thought it one of the best cars I had owned. The 2 litre BMW engine in it was a peach. But, hallelujah I saw the light and bought a Lexus :D

I would also wonder how an LPG service comes to £900. The garage I use charges £120 +VAT to include filters plus two hours of labour.

Winter reaches Fife very early