Shahpor

My policy is also up for renewal, and of course my current insurer thinks that another year of claim free driving means an increase in my premium Anyway, not a problem since I have found cheaper insurance elsewhere, but while doing so, I came across another strange 'quirk'. I initially put my No Claims at 10 years, but then thought I had made a mistake and put it down to 9 years; the result? The premium went down by £4. I can understand if the price didn't change at all, but going down for having less No Claims? This isn't the first time something strange has happened either. My missus had her renewal a few months back and she had a claim in the last 3 years. What happened was that someone hit her car while it was parked overnight. So when it came to inputting the claim on a comparison site, we initially put it as 3rd party at fault. However, since we never identified the guilty party, we decided it would be safer to put it down as a claim from her insurers. What happened this time? £50 cheaper for a fault claim against a non fault one! Can someone please explain how these companies determine their prices? I wouldn't be surprised if someone suggested a random number generator was involved! Sorry about the rant, but I didn't want to create a new thread just to bitch and this was the closest one I could find to the topic at hand.

Good point Paul. I might have misread since having re-read the post it does say it is suggested, but not confirmed, by the recovery people that it is the DPF. A reading of the fault codes should pinpoint the problem easily enough.

In which case, definitely get the warranty because if they cover what you have mentioned you will certainly get your moneys worth The sticky caliper should be covered. I have now had 3 of them replaced under warranty with no fuss.

Unfortunately, blocked DPF's are fairly common these days. I had it happen to mine once. You are right in that motorways miles should help the situation, but as journeys rack up it can still become something of a problem unless all your mileage is on the motorway. It also depends on the revs used during the motorway trips, for example, I tend to keep mine in 5th at 70mph, which gives me roughly 2200rpm. What should happen is that, once in a while, the ECU detects the DPF reaching its threshold for blockage and performs a forced regen. This usually involves dumping extra fuel down the exhaust to heat the DPF up and burn the excess carbon off. Sometimes though, it can go a little wrong and you get the warnings like yours produced. What is its current state? In the first instance, a good blast up the motorway should help. Something like keeping it above 2500rpm for roughly 15 minutes. Second, it is possible to manually activate the cars forced gen procedure, but you would need a copy of Toyota's TechStream software to do it (or a visit to a main dealer or specialist). Unfortunately, the third option is replacement, which isn't cheap. Lastly, are you sure your car is 148hp? I was under the impression that only 200d's were 148hp, and all 220d were 175hp?

What did you do the last time? Do you have a way of checking fault codes?

That is a strange one. When you unfold them, do they go back all the way?

Did you get it off Ebay? If so, can you please post a link, and let us know if it works ok when it turns up? Thanks.

Are you referring to my post? If so, then that little CD you see in the pictures has the TechStream software on it.

That looks all too familiar. I recommend cleaning every 5000 miles since it seems to get clogged up pretty quickly. Also, as you know, it is a pretty easy procedure. The last time I did mine, I also unbolt the EGR motor from the valve so I could push the valve fully open and give it a proper clean. I might be wrong, but I don't think it should be open? @is 220d owner recently cleaned his manifold so he would be in a better position to comment, but I am willing to bet that the inside of the inlet manifold is similar, if not worse, than the condition of the EGR Valve. If it wasn't so tricky to remove, I would be attempting a cleaning of my manifold soon as I bet the car would appreciate it!

This one looks ok: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391788689000?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Well, to be fair, all the problems listed by the OP would effect the 220d just as much as the 250 I agree it is odd to hear about rust, but like previously mentioned, it must be pretty salty over there. Overall though, considering the age of the car, I would say you have done rather well.

Does the noise only occur under braking or does hitting a bump also set it off? If it does it when hitting a bump, then it could indicate that the problem could be suspension related. Of course, a loose brake pad is also just as likely

Hehe, me too! I am not a fan of Apple by any means, but I also have an Ipod in my armrest for playing music through. At the moment I am weighing up whether I am going to keep the car for much longer, but if I do, then I will probably invest in an Ipod Integration Kit. Oh, and if you don't want to use iTunes for your Ipod, MediaMonkey works just as well without taking over your music library. As for traffic, you guys are correct that the TMC works for traffic announcements and auto updates of the sat nav route.

Hello, Fault code P1238 means there is something wrong with one of your injectors. You would need Toyota's TechStream software to be able to determine which injector is not working properly.

Quicker than I thought. Start counting down the days. Here, I will help: Only 54 days to go!

Ok, I presumed - perhaps wrongly - that those options referred to the year of the car?

Not a problem for me as I prefer the GS over the IS anyway. It is just a shame there are so few newer GS's for sale. If you want a certain spec (and I do), it can push the price up considerably.

Well, having seen the before and after of the door surrounds, I actually like it either way. Big help I know I suppose it depends on whether you want to go for the complete de-chrome look or not?

Good to know, thanks for posting. I would love to follow a similar path to you Alan, but unfortunately funds do not allow it at the moment. Perhaps in the future.

Mine doesn't have a full Lexus history (1 service is non Lexus ), but they had no problems putting a warranty on it as long as it passed its Visual Safety Inspection. They didn't even ask to see the service book.

You can't stop tinkering, can you? In my humble opinion, the black grill surround is much better than the colour coded one. Not really sure either way on the door chrome to be honest.

Also, if I remember correctly, sometimes the code comes in a text file on the disc?

Surprising that the NX was the most popular car in the range last year. I would have thought it would have been the CT. No wonder 2nd hand GS's are so hard to find since they sold so few.

It wasn't, so it must be a mistake on the advert. They only came with E-CVT transmissions.

What are the options? It has been a while since I used the TechStream software, but all I remember was model, year and engine type?