SH20

It's true I have never given a second thought to starting any of the 8 hybrid cars we have owned as a family, 6 of which were mine, all Lexus variants. So when I experienced a failure to start on the very car I had always aimed to own you can appreciate my total surprise when my LS500h didn't fire up 5 days ago which needed the AA's assistance. Over the last 5 days I have come to understand completely that the auxiliary 12 volt battery is constantly dropping in voltage and loses power when doors, boot lid are opened, when interior lamps come on etc etc and the hybrid system doesn't get the chance to replenish the battery's reserve. Also the battery standing voltage should be 12.6 volts and when the car is running it should be 14.4 volts or very close to that. I haven't used the LS any less or more than the other 5 Lexus Hybrids. The first Yaris Hybrid the wife owned and her current Yaris is used every day and often for short journeys but to date no issues concerning a flat 12v battery. I will now keep my eye on it, although the battery's location under the rear seat is hardly convenient. I now know that regular charging will keep the 12v battery alive so hard wiring my CTek battery conditioner to the battery will make it a simple process going forward. A jump pack kit for emergency use and a simple battery volt tester to check the standing and running voltage periodically are in the car at all times now. The standing and running volts of my battery are correct so for the moment I have no need to replace the battery which Lexus Hull quoted £220 fitted and incl VAT. Unless I am wrong perhaps a member can confirm that the jump pack +post often found under a fuse box cover under the bonnet along with any suitable negative ground point can be used to charge a 12 volt battery if the same contact points can be used to jump start a car. I ask because the Yaris 12v battery is under the rear seat squab and not easy to get at. In some respects I'm glad I have experienced the issue of a battery losing it's power which allowed me to learn what happens when it's a Hybrid vehicle.

Love it, best colour combination too. If I knew how to do a YouTube video I would have a go.

CTek to the rescue as usual. My battery was so in need of a long controlled trickle charge after I connected it that only 2 of the 6 orange LED's were lit up. The 7th LED is a green light and lets you know the battery is fully charged. It took about 4 hours to get the green light to light up. My last check is to check the standing voltage of the battery so I will buy a simple volt reader. If it shows 12.6 volts for a standing battery and around 14.2 when the car is running without major accessories running I will be happy to stick with my existing battery but will definitely top it up once a week with the CTek. If any damage was done when it dropped down to 3.1 volts when it was unable to re boot the electrics and start the car I may have to replace it or rather demand the dealer where I bought it 6 weeks ago replace it. Batteries fall outside the 12 month used car warranty and the 10 year Relax scheme but to be faced with battery problems which I never encountered with my previous 5 Hybrids makes me believe the dealer has some responsibility to me.

My XK had no issues with poss corrosion and it was a 2007 model as per the pic and at no time was there any suggestion things were hiding the dreaded aluminium corrosion which does exist but I never experienced

Went to the dealer who did a free health check on the 12v battery and said it was still serviceable but it needs a long charge. Car running ok and more use will do it no harm. The dealer said it's more about how much time the car spends running so it has enough time to keep it refreshed rather than actual miles. Surprised the battery wouldn't be covered under Lexus warranty as it would if it was within the 3 year original warranty period It was my wrong impression when Lexus talk about their great 10 year Reflex cover for cars serviced regularly in the Network then a full like for like warranty applies but not so according to the dealer. Small print I guess. I'll be more wary now leaving doors open for long periods but the jump pack will give me a back up going forward and will avoid using the AA for a similar flat battery event.

I agree Phil, Ian Callum was a so good at designing cars for Jaguar and Aston Martin and it was the early XK like yours that got us all excited. My own XK was joy even if the rear seats were for match stick people.

Hadn't given a lot of thought to the demands of a 12 v battery in all 6 Lexus hybrids I've owned until yesterday when my LS500h went flat totally after 5 weeks of ownership. The car was a pre owned Lexus approved car but all previous 5 hybrids never once went flat regardless of how long they were left unused. Just ordered a small Jump pack from Machine Mart which I will now carry with me. The AA came out within 40 mins and spoke of the huge number of ECU's and Modems cars have now and the very high spec of this car makes me wonder just how many electrical systems are powered up each time you press that start button. My battery went down to 3 volts so total power loss and despite the AA getting it running with a jump pack and I gave it a 40 minute run out I'm not sure the battery can be saved. If it starts tomorrow I'll be amazed. The AA had to clear a large number of error codes due to multiple warning lights flashing away after he started the car and eventually the car returned to normal. I'm ringing the dealer first thing to test the battery under the 12 month warranty I got with the car.

For me it has been a question of taking all things Lexus for granted based my last 6 cars being Lexus hybrids and never until yesterday had a problem starting any of them no matter how long they were left in my garage or sitting on the drive. Equally the wife's 2 Toyota Yaris Hybrids have never failed to start. I now accept that this LS has so much electrical demand on the battery due to the multiple modems and ECU's that it resulted in me ordering a jump start pack that I will carry with me at all times. The positive post I can connect to is under the bonnet under a fuse/relay box and the earth can be any earthed metal bracket or large bolt head you can find so emptying the boot isn't necessary to access the 12v battery. The test now is will it start tomorrow after the AA got it started and I gave it a 40 minute run out or will the battery be shot having dropped to 3volts which caused the no start. I see no reason why the 12 month warranty I got with the car will not cover the battery and the fact it has a full Lexus service history thereby qualifying for the 10 year Lexus Relax scheme although I think Lexus have now dropped the actual word Relax as have Toyota dropped it for Toyota cars. I have considered connecting my CTek battery conditioner but then the boot lid would have to be open and with 2 boot lights on all the time I wonder if it would ever reach full charge.

Even though batteries have a 3, 4, or 5 years warranty when you buy one off the shelf should we not expect a battery to last much longer. If it is being charged then why should it not hold that charge all the time. My battery went down to 3 volts because I was in and out of it doing stuff and it's the only time a hybrid car failed to start out of a total of 7 hybrids we have owned over the last 8-9 years. I was doing similar stuff in all the other hybrid cars I had so I wonder if it is do with the huge amount of toys this model of car has all of which need kick starting in terms of the huge number of modules and ecu's it must have. If all these electronics have to power up then it might make sense. The 12 month warranty which accompanied this sale 5 weeks ago should cover the 12v battery if it has failed and if not I will be asking why not when I see the dealer.

Mark I concur, you are right. I have spent too much time with doors and boot lid open for extended periods of time over the last week. I didn't check but do you know that on my first 2007 LS460 when I was doing exactly the same thing with doors open for long periods of time the interior lights, door puddle lights all went out after a specific period of time to save battery use which now that I think about it doesn't happen on this newer LS500h, they stay on all the time. I had a look at the battery and it's clearly a Toyota battery and a fairly large one with a date sticker of December 2021. Not sure if Dec 2021 is the warranty expiry date of the battery as the car was registered 1/12/2017. This could possibly mean a 4 year manufacturer warranty, maybe. I accept batteries won't last forever so I'll ask the dealer to comment. Just ordered a jump start pack from Machine Mart, a handy size to keep in the boot for £99. This will avoid calling out the AA going forward if my battery drains down.

AA came out and discovered the 12 volt battery in the boot which as Andrew said powers up all the electrics/ecu's etc was down to 3 volts- Flat of course. Power pack connected and started up but the dash board was like a Christmas tree. He cleared a stack of faults codes and all went back to normal. Told me to take it out straight away for 40 mins and re charge the battery and said cars these days have to fire up a stack of electrical equipment and modules etc so not surprisingly a battery can give up. Battery six years old and no evidence in the My Lexus Link App that the service history shows a replacement battery has ever been fitted. I'm wondering now if a some of the cells in the battery are failing. I'll get into the dealer and ask for an opinion on the battery. If anyone knows what make Lexus use I can check my own battery to see if it is the original factory battery. Anyway it's running now.

Thanks Andrew that fix will be what I will hope for. Cheers Steve

As I write this and await the arrival of the AA at home I'm wondering how all electrical power has been depleted. Although the car opened up, pressing the pedal and the start button I heard a rather ominous growling sound and no dash board lights as normal. Car is dead and I can't even lock it now. I did open the boot with the small key and noticed no internal boot lights or interior lights on with the driver's door open. Clearly no power at all. Decided against putting my C Tech trickle charger on the 12 volt battery and wait for the AA. What I don't know is what power source starts the car up, the hybrid battery or the 12 volt battery. I'm only guessing but I suspect the hybrid battery gets the car going and the 12 volt battery runs the ancillaries. So after 5 weeks and all I said about this beautiful car it is now immovable on my drive, can't be locked and as dead as dodo. Who knew. I'm hoping the issue is the 12 volt battery which I imagine the AA could swap out but if it's the hybrid battery then that's a big job and it's off to Lexus Hull on the back of a trailer if the AA know how to make it moveable. Very disappointed as you can imagine more so because if it's away at Lexus Hull I have no control of anything. In total this is my 6th Hybrid vehicle, 5 Lexus and 1 Toyota and the wife has had 2 Yaris Hybrids and clearly indicate how much faith we have in them. I'm glad the car is on the drive as the AA said it could be up to 4 hours although they try and aim for 1 hour for normal demand. Any thoughts Fellow Members ??

You're right Stephen, Portfolio first appeared 2 or 3 years after your XK in the picture. My error.

Too many pipes and crevices to deal with, sorry Phil.

I wonder if it is Lexus Cambridge you got it from. Sounds so familiar.

Yes lovely and unusual colour scheme, you don't see many XK's with that lovely caramel coloured leather and what I think is a Burr Oak veneer or maybe Birds Eye Maple veneers. Might the XK be a Portfolio Spec? Looks like Portfolio seats to me by the leather panel set up.

This is the only photo I have left of my XK back in 2013. Don't know where or how I lost my other photos. I was the second owner of this lovely car, a basic 4.2 litre V8. The first owner had the supplying dealer fit the 60th anniversary body kit to it before he collected it. Black leather interior. A real joy but not as reliable as any of the Lexus cars I've had.

Before I went for the LS500 I had the ES300 which was only 16 months old and bought retail from that awful Lexus dealer in Cambridge. Here is what they believed was a well presented retail car in terms of under the hood and it's leather. The seat shows a 50/50 split after I cleaned half of it to emphasise the filth. Total anathema to me and only because of the spec did I continue to do a deal knowing I would sort it out later.

For those who have the patience this short 5 min video was taken by Phil Walker Car Sales Ltd of Sheffield just after I sold my LS460 to him a few years back. He retired not long after and spent 40 years selling cars but loved the LS460. I was so proud to own this car in this colour combination. This was my very first Lexus and I stuck with Lexus ever since. Towards the end of the video he shows the car with the bonnet up and that is what this post is really about. He sold the car 5 days after he posted the video. In my opinion Lexus set out to impress by having the cleanest look of any car I have ever seen when the bonnet was opened. A damp cloth was all it took to keep it looking like new. My current car the LS500h has a similar look but not like a LS460 and certainly most cars today make it very difficult to keep an engine bay looking like new or at least clean and for someone as anal as me that's a hard thing to overcome. OCD has always been an issue for me but the first time I opened the bonnet of a LS460 I thought "now this is what I'm talking about" and how much time I would save cleaning. The ES300h I owned before my LS500 took a lot of time to keep clean and it still looked like a plumber's nightmare. If there is a smarter, clutter free, more streamlined under bonnet look than a LS460 be sure to let me know.

The public are never going to see reasonable increases regardless of what you want to cover, Car, Home, Pet, Travel etc 100% increases are and will be common place now. Every industry that is involved in the world of insurance repair work or issuing cover for an insurance product are now finally making sure the public pick up every aspect of cost related to increased claim costs. No favours for anyone who doesn't claim and by definition is a good risk. They pay as well. A great example would be a truly massive massive increase in what vehicle body shops now charge for paint materials. Forget cost of replacement parts for the moment, just think of paint materials which all insurance body repairs inevitably need. A 2023 Toyota Yaris (wife's car) had a new near side rear door fitted along with a significant repair (Not replacement) of the near side rear wing and inner wheel arch. Blending paint work of the front door and repainting/repair to the corner of the rear bumper, again not replaced. The only new parts were a door shell and 2 black pillar transfers for the doors. The colour was Red Mica Metallic base coat and finished off with the top coats of clear lacquer. In total 4 body parts actually in need of painting. Cost of paint materials alone, £775 !! plus a £30 allowance charge sanctioned by the Government for every job the body shop carries out involving painting parts to cover the fuel (Gas normally) to heat the repairer's paint ovens. Plus EPA charges for every job. Blamed entirely on the raw material increases, transport cost increase, covid and the world wars going on. Same for storm/flood home insurance repairs, timber, bricks, plasterboard, roofing materials etc etc same related reasons and it's a free for all at our expense because no one can refuse to pay. There will come a day when car insurance is so far out of reach for people that cars which require compulsory comprehensive cover such as PCP's, Finance agreements (HP) and any other agreement involving a lender who wants that asset fully insured will see cars handed back because the monthly cost of an insurance policy is greater than the car loan each month. Medical conditions: If you have one, or God forbid several manageable medical conditions and you are not as fit as a butcher's dog, a weeks cover for a trip abroad will and does cost several hundred pounds for 7 days !! We are the cash cow and Insurers know it.

If you are buying it yourself but haven't bought it yet Nextbase are offering discounts on their cameras if you buy online direct. If you are using a company to do the whole job for a fixed price, supply and fit then it will be unlikely the discount will be passed on to you. I assume you are having a hard wire kit to serve both cameras. Remember to make sure you keep the fuse box cover lid which can't be refitted to the fuse box because they will piggy back of a fuse with an adaptor which prevents the cover going back on. If the dash cam is ever removed and the hard wire kit is removed too the fuse box cover lid should be re fitted otherwise you won't know what fuse is serving which electrical circuit.

My LS500h AWD is now on it's second set of run flat tyres. All 4 changed at 32000 miles and a direct replacement set of the original Bridgestone's which were fitted at the factory.

If there are any visible gaps either side of the rear blind when it is raised, as little as 1.5 inches, you might be able to mount the rear camera for a 522GW on the glass itself. But if the screen fills the whole glass area and you want to use it periodically then yes the rear shelf might be your only option.

Go to Screwfix website and type in Titan Vacuum and between £65 and £95 you can have a 1400W motor , between 16 - 33 litre capacity that will suck your face off and can be used as a wet vac too. Been using one for years with no breakdowns.