JeffL

What a shame, honestjohn.co.uk appears to have parted company with 'John'. I and many others enjoyed reading his weekly questions answers segment on the website. The site apparently went into administration in January and has been bought by another company. Plenty of comments from readers saying it won't be independent advice on the side of the motorist from now on. However, just checked and he appears to still be with the Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/honestjohn-car-advice/ I thought it was only a weekly column in the actual Telegraph newspaper but he can be read on the Telegraph website as above so maybe all is not lost.

Happy New Year to all and many thanks for the help and advice I've received!

and Neil Diamond will be 79 this month!

Bump

Thank you to both Johns and Norman. I've watched some youtube videos on how to replace them so I'll get the bulbs ordered.

John thanks for your reply. I will go and swap the bulbs over after lunch. But in the meantime, I've just remembered that when I had the bonnet and the front wings resprayed in mid September they said they would have to remove the indicator lights on the wings and also loosen (I think they said?) the headlights so as to get a better paint finish. I'm just wondering if there might be a connection fault due to the lights being disturbed in September as I've no idea how long the headlight has not been working. OR with the symptoms I described do you still think it more likely to be a faulty bulb? Thanks.

This morning I went to the car to check if the bulb was still not working and low and behold it WAS working. I drove the car for about 5 minutes with the low beam on, got out of the car to check, still working. Drove home, another 5 minutes, got out of the car, STOPPED working. Switched on/off a few times and the faulty one was lit but dim but within say 1 minute it was bright again. Any ideas what the problem might be, i.e. bulb, earth connection, fuse faulty/loose, switch?

I need to replace a Low Beam Headlight Bulb. I think it might be best to buy two so that they both match? Never had to do this before as never had a car this old. 12 years old and 74K miles, wonderful car! I'm a bit green (a lot green actually) about the techs so could someone please help me to choose the right bulbs? The handbook states D4S Discharge Bulb 35W Headlight (Low Beam). I've found some on amazon but the prices vary a lot and there are choices of e.g 4300K and 6000K etc. Prices for the following are £20 ish for a pack of 2 and £37 for pack of 1. Eurocarparts don't appear to have stock in local branch (Stockport) and Halfords don't appear to have what I need. What would you replace with and where from? Car is GS300 year 2007. Thank you. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TVKHF35/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=AZH2GF8Z5J95G&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016DDZDSG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A3S1O3V0Q4FDD0&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0068M10PI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1 Also found some on eBay example below https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HID-Xenon-Headlight-Bulb-4300k-White-D4S-Fits-Lexus-GS-IS-LS-RX-RTD4SDB43x1US/162856881425?fits=Car+Make%3ALexus|Model%3AGS|Cars+Year%3A2007&hash=item25eb06cd11:g:UagAAOSwDkpaX3Y6

Thanks for the reply John. Still no problems with mine at 73K miles. I do garage it, don't know if that makes a difference.

Very smart 460, looks beautiful! Same age and colour combination as my GS300 at 73K miles. How many miles has your 460 done?

John, yes I think a regular update is in order!

I continue to be amazed by the knowledge, ingenuity and determination by members on these forums to keep their cars in good working order and of course extending the lives of their vehicles. Also for all the help you all give to us less knowledgeable and able. THANKS!

Just posted the following in the RX section on another thread about the same topic. https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/167053-turn-signal-indicators-too-quiet/ See above link. It's from 2015 so some of the eBay links don't work. From what I understand, gazza1286 on the Toyota forum fitted an ADDITIONAL( ?) relay? which activates in parallel with the original one in the car? If I'm understanding this correctly it will have increased the sound volume 100%. What do anyone of you think about this solution? Personally I wouldn't attempt to do anything like this myself, I'd have to get an auto electrician or my local indy to do it for me, but in principle do you think this might resolve the problem?

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/167053-turn-signal-indicators-too-quiet/ See above link. It's from 2015 so some of the eBay links don't work. From what I understand, gazza1286 on the Toyota forum fitted an ADDITIONAL( ?) relay? which activates in parallel with the original one in the car? If I'm understanding this correctly it will have increased the sound volume 100%. What do anyone of you think about this solution? Personally I wouldn't attempt to do anything like this myself, I'd have to get an auto electrician or my local indy to do it for me, but in principle do you think this might resolve the problem?

Another Plus for Toyota/Lexus (From this weeks Honest John). Reader writes I had my Prius serviced this week, and the service manager told me a woman had bought a new Yaris with a manual gearbox. Around 6 months later the clutch went, so she took it in for a replacement under warranty, was given a courtesy car and was told they would ring her the next day. They did, she was told they had checked for driver errors and there were none, but Toyota GB were apoplectic because the car had been fitted with an obviously faulty part, so would she mind continuing to use the courtesy car while Toyota sorted it out. Toyota then sent an engineer and translator from Japan to inspect the faulty part and oversee the fitting of the new one. Can you believe that? I thought it worth telling you because you have often commented on some manufacturers only warranting their clutches for 6 months. It would appear when it comes to Toyota there is some degree of integrity. HJ's reply That's a nice story. But it indicates to me that Toyota must have had several reports of failed clutches so that's why they wanted to get to the bottom of the reason why this one had failed. Your friend simply presented them with a live opportunity to find out what was wrong with it. But that's Toyota for you. I'm currently driving the new Camry hybrid. Excellent, sensible, big car, for sensible money, and 50+ mpg.

David and Herbs Definitely don't smoke! Thanks I'll have a look at both those ones.

Can anyone recommend a USB Charger to plug-in to the Cigarette Lighter Socket? There are hundreds of them on offer from a few pounds to £25 ish. Not sure why the price varies so much. I want something reliable to charge my iPhone in the car. I use an 'Apple Lightning Connector cable' (Lightning Connector one end and USB the other) so I could buy a simple charger with a USB socket and plug the Lightning cable into it OR there are some with a Lightning cable attached which plugs straight into the phone. Any recommendations? Two examples below. Thank you. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HGQQ72D/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?smid=A3GXRRYJZM8ZLE&psc=1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Q2GFP4M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A296JJ7EW4ORVE&psc=1

I've corrected my error using the Edit button. Yes, I tried the left-foot braking after reading his suggestion a few years ago, just to keep an open mind, as you do, but no, not for me!

Sorry John (royoftherovers) I gave Herbie the credit for this thread by mistake.☹️

Royoftherovers beat me to it re H.J. I read about the Lexus Taxi on www.honestjohn.co.uk which I read late Friday or Saturday every week as I like to read the 'Honest John's Motoring Agony Column'. There's a Part 1 and a Part 2 which are dated for the Saturday but are often uploaded to the site late afternoon/evening each Friday. There's some useful/interesting information on there and as a Lexus owner it really makes me feel rather smug when I read the horror stories from owners of VAG Group cars and Mercedes and BMW😃. I too would never change from Lexus/Toyota. However, there is one thing that really annoys me about Honest John (and I'm not alone) and that is his insistence that an automatic should be driven two-footed. He reckons the only safe way to drive an auto is to use left-foot braking. I just don't get it. All my cars have been autos for about the last 40 years and I've always driven them right-footed. Apart from that the site is a good read. No doubt this will bring about a discussion on how to drive an auto? Feel Free!

Thanks Herbs and Ian. Can someone educate me on which is better regarding amps and mAh? The DB Power DJS50-01 600A and 18,000 mAh The Suaoki U10 800A and 20,000 mAh The Suaoki U18 1200A and 16,000 mAh I've really no idea what those numbers mean in regard to efficiency. Our cars are my GS300 3 litre petrol and my wife's Honda Jazz 1.4 litre petrol. Thank you.

I'm thinking of buying a Portable Jump Starter and when looking on amazon although there are a lot of positive reviews, it's still annoying to see quite a few negative reviews saying they've received faulty ones or they've become faulty after a short while. Because a portable jump starter is something we might need to rely on when away from home, it is an item in which we should have complete confidence that it will work when required to do so. The negative reviews affect all makes and models and I'm just wondering how well thought-out is the technology? It is a marvellous idea to be able to have such a compact product in the glove compartment that will start a car with a flat battery, but it has to be reliable. On another thread Wendle and Herbie suggested the following ones, Arteck 900A 18,000 Amh and DB Power 600A 18,000 Amh. Anyone else on here got any experience of using a portable jump starter?

Thanks for the responses on the battery charger and the portable jump starter. I'm going to start a new thread for the portable jump starter to see if there's any other opinions. I do like the specifications of the two suggested by Wendle and Herbie but when looking at the reviews on amazon it's annoying to see quite a few people saying they're received faulty ones or they've become faulty after a short while. Anyway, let's have this discussion in the thread!.

John, I've only just seen your reply this morning. Thank you for the explanation. If I decided to replace my battery charger with a modern one, what would you suggest I buy? There was one recommended on here (I think) which might be this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FC42HAA/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1. All suggestions welcome. Also. I'm looking for a Portable Jump Starter to carry in the car. There was one highly recommended by someone on here, possibly Herbie or Royoftherovers? and I was looking for that thread when I came across your answer. So, I'm looking for a recommendation from someone who's actually used one, not just got one. I'll look for the other thread in the meantime. Thanks again.

Anyone interested in this should also follow the thread 'Boosting Turn Indicator Volume' in the RX section.