mrdoofa

None when it goes wrong!!! My mum drives a little tin box 2005 Daihatsu Charade which many people laugh at but it's bailed me out lots of times when I've had an apparently ultra reliable Lexus keep going wrong. It might only have a 1.0 3 cylinder engine but 50bhp that keeps going is better than 300bhp which doesn't.

I'd be wary of the hybrid components at very high mileages, at the very least I'd want a current hybrid health check certificate. When hybrid components start to fail it can quickly cost thousands!!! Mine suffered hybrid problems within weeks of ownership, luckily the dealer stepped up to the mark and took the car back and gave me a full refund. The car was great while it lasted but would I risk another? Probably not. There is simply too much expensive stuff to go wrong. In fact, I'm having a break from Lexus completely, I've had 4 now and have found them all to be pretty far from the ultra reliable machines they are reputed to be, maybe I'm just unlucky but I'd tread very carefully and take the "Lexus just don't go wrong" arguments with a few grains of salt.

My first car was a Yugo 45!!! Now that was luxury motoring lol!!!🤣🤣🤣 It was a truly awful car. It was slow, noisy, uncomfortable but it got me to work and back for a year. It had a 900cc engine which sounded awful, the gearchange was so sloppy it felt more like stirring porridge than a gearbox. I suppose it's each to their own when it comes to driving style, if I've got the power I like to use it a bit, especially when it comes to teaching boy racers a lesson in their chavved up corsas and saxos, it makes me laugh when they sit there revving up at the lights impatiently nudging slowly forwards inch by inch then you just effortlessly leave them behind. These cars don't particularly look fast but they catch a lot of people out, a true wolf in sheeps clothing!!! One of the reasons for driving a car hard is the sound especially with the 5 litre V8 I have now. That is something no diesel or electric car will ever give you, although the V6 in the 450h makes a nice sound. Happy motoring!!! 😀😀😀

What's with all this penny pinching economy driving? You don't buy a car like a 450h or any luxury car like a Lexus for economy!!! If you aren't going to utilise the performance of a car like this you might as well drive a 1 litre hatchback!!! 🤣🤣🤣 For the record I averaged around 25-27mpg day to day and around 38mpg on a run from my 450h before it went kaput. The only way I can see of getting more than that is to crawl along the inside lane at about 60mph and where's the fun in that? My merc S500 does about 19-21 day to day and about 30-33mpg on a run which I think is good for a 5 litre V8 and I don't hang about!!!

Love that scene!!! 🤣🤣🤣

£4K certainly is excessive!!! 327k isn't meaningless and will take its toll on any car no matter how well made it is or what the seller says and what maintenance its had. Many people state this sort of mileages are nothing to these engines but there is far more to a car than just its engine. You can bet the interior, the seats, carpets, the electrics, the switchgear, suspension components, steering components are all going to be showing plenty evidence of high mileage. You can get a far lower mileage example for the same or less money. This guy is simply trying it on and only a fool would pay £4K for a car with so many miles on the clock. Remember the LS430 isn't a particularly special car, it's a very nice car but is still just another large luxury saloon.

£4,000 and it's done 327,000 miles!!! What are they smoking?

Congratulations on the new car!!! Hope you have better luck with yours than I had with mine lol!!! Mine had hybrid battery failure and gearbox failure within weeks of ownership!!! I ended up getting a refund from the dealer I bought it from (they were very good and reasonable about it all) but it was an awesome car though while it lasted!!! I now have a Mercedes S-Class S500 LWB which I'm loving so far. I also had an LS430 a couple of years ago which suffered catastrophic gearbox failure so I am having a break from Lexus at the moment. There is no way of switching the clock to 24 hours unfortunately, I ran mine on standard unleaded without issue. Try putting the gearbox into Hybrid power mode and the suspension into sports mode then hammer it to put a big smile on your face!!! You can really teach all the boy racers out there a lesson lol!!! Enjoy!!!

I'm still not sure what to do!!! I really like the GS450H but this experience has made me wary, it's not the fact that they can go wrong that particularly bothers me as any car can go wrong, it's the fact they seem to do it with no warning or other symptoms and there seems to be no way of checking these things before you buy. My budget of £5,000 seems to be at the lower end of GS450H prices so that could be something to do with the problems. I'm considering another mk4 LS400 and even an LS430 although the previous one I had suffered gearbox failure again with no warning so I'm wary of them too!!! I've even seen a 2005 Mercedes S500 LWB for sale locally which I may take a look at, although I've heard the W220 S-classes can have problems too!!! You see my predicament. The funny thing is that throughout all the problems I've had with cars the one car that keeps getting me out of the s**t is my mums humble 2005 Daihatsu Charade!!! That just keeps on going no matter what you throw at it. I don't know what to do for the best, at the end of the day I don't ask for much out of life but one thing I do like is a nice car but it seems even that is too much to ask!!!

Ok, here's the current situation. Lexus have had the car for 2 days and have reported the following: Needs new hybrid battery - £2,300 Seized rear calipers - £650 NSF shock absorber dangerous - £795 Exhaust blowing - £845 3 of these items I didn't even want looking at, the car passed the MOT with no advisories only last month!!! They then said they still haven't finished diagnosing!!! The dealer I bought it from has now decided to take the car back and give me a full refund, to be honest they have been very good throughout. They are giving a full refund, paying Lexus for the diagnostic and arranging for the car to be taken back to them. I still can't believe that the car was working absolutely perfectly then all of a sudden to completely fail with no warning or other symptoms. Is this how they normally go? That leaves me shopping for another car, I'm really sad because the GS450h was the perfect car for me, perfect size, lots of gadgets, very fast, not bad on fuel, comfortable. I'd like another but am now very wary!!! Is there really no way of telling the car has problems before it goes kaput? Any other checks you can do? Thanks again for all your help, I am car less now and need a replacement soon as I am using my mums car at the moment.

Thanks for the info!!! My GS450h is being looked at by Lexus tomorrow after it became undrivable because of a hybrid malfunction. I've only had it 3 weeks so the dealer I bought it from is paying for the £85 diagnosis tomorrow and then says they will pay for whatever repairs are necessary. My concern is that depending on the problem it might prove so expensive that the dealer may end up giving me a refund!!! I think most jobs with hybrid parts run into £thousands very quickly!!! I am just weighing up my options should that happen, I did have a 2002 LS430 that suffered gearbox failure because of the contamination issue (No, I don't have a lot of luck with cars!!!). Is there anyway of checking the gearbox is OK before you buy the car, the one I had failed without any warning, in fact it went halfway across a roundabout and I had to coast it off the roundabout!!! I've heard that many owners change the radiator as a precaution but isn't there a risk of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?

Hi, I've no doubt this has been asked before but I just wondered if there are any other benefits to getting a facelift LS430 apart from the 6 speed box and rear camera. Ive read somewhere that the heated and cooled seats were improved, is this true? Is the air suspension reliability any better and do they still have the radiator/transmission fluid contamination problem? Cheers!!!

I did do research and carried out various checks to see if the hybrid system was working correctly which it passed easily. I've had many cars from many different makes over the years and the only 2 that have left me completely abandoned and unable to drive the car without warning have been Lexus which for a brand that has built it's reputation around reliability is very poor. I know any car can have faults and problems, I just don't like how these fail so catastrophically and without warning. Maybe I'm just unlucky, the one Lexus I did have which never gave me a problem was the mk4 LS400. we'll see what Thursday brings, if the dealer does what he should and pays for all the necessary repairs I could end up with a really good car back again which will give no more problems for a long time, that's the hope at least!!!

I'm leaving it well alone now, it's going to Lexus on Thursday for a diagnosis. I can't tell you how disappointed I am, I've only had it 3 weeks and already the car can't be used, at least I got 2 months out of the LS430!!! The thing that gets me is that once again there was no warning or other symptoms before it went kaput. At least this time the dealer I bought it from is stepping up to the mark (so far!!!), the LS430 was bought privately so I had no come back on that. I just hope it doesn't prove so expensive that the dealer decides to give a refund because I want this car!!!

I don't know if there is a way of making it look more up to date, I noticed when looking at different GS's the screen of the GS450H looks a lot newer and a higher resolution than the petrol only models.

I fitted the new 12v battery but sadly, as I was half expecting, it didn't work!! The engine fired up when I pressed the power button but sounded quite rough and cut out after 6 or 7 seconds. I could also hear some roughness from what I think is the transmission as I could feel it through the gear knob too. I switched it all off and tried again one more time, the engine fired up again but stalled after the same 6 or 7 seconds with the CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM, CHECK ECB and CHECK VSC messages showing but the READY light was also lit, I moved the gear lever to D to see if the car would move but it wouldn't, the gear didn't even engage so I put it back in P, turned it all off and left it. I also noticed that the hybrid battery charge level would sometimes jump from 1 purple bar to 6 blue bars, when it showed 1 purple bar the engine wouldn't start but when it went to 6 blue bars it would start. Do you think it needs a new transmission or new battery or both? How much is this likely to cost the dealer?

Cheers John. I thought the car would benefit from a new battery anyway as it was reading 11.2v. Is that very low for these cars and possibly enough to trigger warning messages? I'll let you know how I get on once I've installed it. It'll be tomorrow now because I've just bought the battery and typically it's started pouring down now, it's supposed to be dry tomorrow though.

I've just gone into the diagnostics mode on the touchscreen by holding down the info button and flicking headlights on and off 3 times, the battery voltage said 11.2v so would probably benefit from replacing regardless. The thing that gets me is the coincidence of it all, it was absolutely fine until autoglass had it. I can get a new suitable battery for £73 with a 3 year guarantee. Are they easy to DIY install because the car can't be driven to a garage to fit it!!! Is it right that you just tape the temperature sensor to the top of the new battery? Is it safe to just tape off the end of the vent hose and leave disconnected? Thanks again everybody!!! I was actually taken aback by how reasonable the dealer has been (so far!!!). The lady at Lexus spoke to him to get permission to do the £85 diagnosis on Thursday and she said the same. I'm a member of greenflag and they are going to flat bed the car to Lexus on Wednesday afternoon.

After my little rant earlier another small update. I went to the car again today and once again the engine started but this time ran nice and smooth with no strange sounds etc but still cut out after about 5 seconds with same error messages. After that when I switched the ignition on the engine would no longer try to start perhaps because the 12v battery was now too depleted. When the man from autoglass repaired the chipped windscreen my mum said he did have the doors open for about half an hour then messed about long enough with just the ignition on trying to find the odo display because I had it set on trip A. It wasn't until my mum went out and interrupted him from just pressing all buttons randomly to ask what the problem was that he stopped. He then said I'm trying to find the odometer. I wish people would come and ask rather than just randomly messing around with someone else's property!!! It just seems too much of a coincidence that the car was absolutely fine until then. It is for these reasons that I'm thinking more and more that it could be the 12v battery run low, the problem is I don't have a charger!!! Aaarrrggghhh!!! I suspect it's still the original battery as it's Panasonic, I'm thinking it won't do any harm to try a new battery as it's probably on it's last legs anyway. I'm going to halfrauds tomorrow but the question is, what battery do I need to buy because when I put the reg in the website it won't find anything. Also, is it easy to change the battery yourself with the temp sensor etc. Finally, will the faults disappear on their own if a new battery does work or do I need to get them reset? Thanks once again for your help!!! I don't want to lose faith in the brand because I really like Lexus it's just that when 2 cars go like this it becomes a bit disheartening.

Thanks for your help, I've been in touch with the trader and he just said book it into my nearest Lexus dealer, get it fixed and they will pay the bill. I'm expecting that might change when they get the quote for the work!!! They have to do something though, I've only had it 3 weeks and already it's unfit for purpose!!! Its booked in on Thursday for an £85 diagnosis. Luckily my mum is letting me borrow her car to get to work whilst it gets sorted. This is the second Lexus I've had that's gone catastrophically wrong without warning and left me completely stranded, the first was an LS430. I must admit I'm starting to think this reputation Lexus has for reliability is nothing more than a myth.

Just a quick update, got back from work and went to look at the car again, the engine fired up easily but then idled very unsteadily and I could also hear what I would describe as a grating sound then after about 5 seconds it cut out, also in addition to the CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM I now also have CHECK VSC and CHECK ECB on the display. I also have the traction control light lit and a yellow exclamation mark symbol illuminated.

As you all know I very recently bought a 2006 GS450H and have been really liking the car. Today I went and started it up, the engine started up then I got the EML and red warning triangle and CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM on the display and the engine then cut out. I tried it a couple of times and it kept happening, had to leave the car then and borrow my mums car because I had to get to work. It was fine when I drove it last night and parked it up, the only thing that's happened today is having a windscreen stone chip repaired by Autoglass. Any ideas what might've happened? I'm dreading the worst!!! My mum dealt with the AG man and she said he did quite a bit of fiddling about to try and get the odo reading. Neither of them realised the button is on the drop down panel. Anyway, any help or ideas would be appreciated!!! BTW the hybrid battery says 3/4 full on the central screen. Cheers!!!

I don't really think old Baz makes any profit!!! It's his hobby, he's had loads of cars over the years it's only been these last 5 years or so he has stuck with Lexus. He used to have big American cars like Buicks, chevys etc. He's had big BMWs, jags, rovers, fords and lots of others. People are very quick to jump to conclusions and judge without being in full possession of the facts. As I said I actually know him and am in touch with him now. He is a good friend and car (especially Lexus) enthusiast. I find his ebay listings quite amusing sometimes!!!

I know old Baz, I've met him and bought my last LS400 off him. He is definitely NOT a dealer!!!! The car I bought off him was a great example and my only regret is selling it!!! I've bought a GS450H now though so I am very happy with that. Baz is an enthusiast who enjoys the chase and buying new cars even though it's always LS400s and 430s. He seems to constantly recycle the same £2,000 as he always buys and sells them at around that price. He does regularly use the same excuses for selling and buying cars such as for weddings, different colour, Pat (his wife) doesn't like it etc, one thing you won't buy off him is a dirty car as he spends hours cleaning and detailing them!!! He is struggling at the moment as he has 2 LS400s and is struggling to sell his gold one because of mainly quite bad paint fade on the bonnet, roof and boot lid which I think is putting people off. He is a genuine nice guy though and I wouldn't treat him with any more suspicion than any other people selling cars either privately or trade. BTW, The seller of the LPG LS430 has put up new pictures now although it's ridiculously over priced for a 2001 221k example!!!

I only use the local hand car wash these days, same price as the machine but a much better job!!!