-Rich-

Hopefully it's just condensation that caused it then. I'll clean it off and see if it comes back. I assume there isn't a cover that's missing from the shaft? With the bolt I put a socket on the top one and it didn't feel loose but I applied a little pressure to nip it up. We went away afterwards to Wales so lots of perfect roads to test it out. Over 600 miles later and the knocking has completely gone. The steering also feels a little tighter so happy days

Is the other end of the shaft behind the brake pedal? How is that cover removed? I also noticed it's got a bit of surface rust on it, anyone else got that?

I just want to check this is the right bolt, it's stamped 11 but Wass said it's unstamped? If I hold the shaft and turn the steering wheel I can feel a knock through the column.

The missus has been saying for a while she can hear a knock when going over bumps but I've never heard it myself until yesterday when I was driving over a gravel track. I had previously asked my trusted garage to have a look but they check the drop links etc which is what usually causes such a noise. After hearing the noise yesterday I decided to turn the steering wheel side to side and it made a similar clunking noise. Does it sound like it's this bolt? The car is on 70k miles. What size bolt is needed to replace it?

The eBay link is for 15s - will they fit over the calipers? I bought some spare 17" rims and fitted Nokian A3 tyres a couple of weeks a go. We're away today and it's raining where we are but there is heavy snow at home. It'll be interesting to see how the car drives on them in snow. They have been excellent in the freezing temperatures so far.

Ah! You meant the scuttle panel vent, I was thinking the dash vents for some reason. I got some dettol and used loads of it. It's Apple smell and it made the inside of the car smell lovely but the smell was still there the next day, although not as strong. I sprayed the vent again the next day, using alot of product and it helped for a few hours and now it's back again. I could get an aircon bomb but I don't think it's going to do much. Has anyone checked their drain tube to see how much water comes out when the car is turned off? It's still only dripping so I'll be cleaning this next but I want to know if it can be accessed from inside the car? I would rather push any blockage out from the top than push it up from below.

The tops of the headlights have a foggy appearance but on a 6 year old car I'm surprised it's happening so soon. I've wet sanded and polished headlights on older cars but is this ok to do on the Lexus? I'll try just polish first before getting the sandpaper out though!

Still have the smell and it's even worse in this heat! We have the air con all the time so we only really smell it for the first few minutes after starting the car, there is no smell at all with the aircon on. I took it for a run with the heaters on but it made no difference. Looking underneath the car after turning it off the water was only dripping from the tube and I mean literally 1 drip, wait a second, 1 drip and so on. On my other cars there is usually a big pool of water within 30 seconds of turning the aircon off. Does anyone else's drip like this or does it just flow out? I'll get an aircon bomb or the anti bacterial spray and try that. Verbout, I assume you mean spray it on the vents on top of the dash by the windscreen, does this damage the plastic or leave streaks on it? We have also caught cats peeing up the front of the car so I'm still wondering if this is the cause, maybe it's spraying on to something that is absorbing it. Will anti bacterial cleaner be ok to use on paint?

Do you do this with the air con turned on or off? As I've said the smell isn't there with the air con on, it's only when the car is first started and the fans are on. It then disappears if I switch the air con on. I'll give your method a go though, I've got nothing to lose. Good point about the drain, I always check it on my other car when I have it jacked up but for some reason I've not even thought about it on this one. When the ground is dry I'll check to make sure the water is draining out. Where is the drain located, towards the rear of the engine in the centre?

I have already cleaned the system with Airco Breeze and the issue doesn't seem to be with the air con but the normal fans bringing in the fresh air from outside. There are no smells from the air con system at all since I used the above. I think it's something else causing the smell. Thanks for the suggestions though.

I forgot to say I have checked that already, the car had it's 60k mile service in September before we bought it and the pollen filter looks like a new one. Maybe I should replace it anyway just to rule it out but wouldn't the smell be there with the aircon on too if it was that?

A couple of months ago the air from the vents started to stink and this seems to be getting worse. It's the missus car so she mainly drives it and has said it smells like fox's urine! We used the car over the weekend to go away in so I had the chance to smell it myself. When the car has been left for a while, then started up and the fans are put on you get a strong smell of urine - it's not very pleasant! As soon as you turn the air con on it disappears, whether you use fresh air or recirculate. Once you turn the air con off the smell has gone away, although I think a couple of times I got a little whiff of it. I did use some air con cleaner (Airco Breeze) about 6 weeks a go cos that was a bit musty when it was first used, which seems to have stopped it. So an animal has sprayed somewhere near a vent if that's possible, I've not looked to see where they are. I have noticed something's sprayed up the wheels before so we have had animals around the car at night. Something has maybe crawled in to the air duct and died but I should think that would smell all the time. Or there is a coolant leak, although I think this should smell sweet and not of urine. I have not checked under the carpets yet but I will and I need to mark the coolant reservoir to see if it's dropping. It wasn't on max when we got the car so I'm not sure if it's actually lost any. I also noticed over winter the windscreen was fogging up very quickly, which I made a thread about as it didn't seem normal, but if there is a coolant leak that could explain why. The car is still under warranty with Lexus but I'm hoping it's not a leak cos the dealer we bought it from is miles away. Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing it?

We bought our CT at the end of September last year, so when the weather was turning colder. MPG was high 30s to low 40s apart from January when it was 33mpg but that was down to frosty mornings and having the heater on all the time. It has now been slowly increasing to mid-high 40s and over the weekend we achieved 53mpg when we went away. It cost £35 to do 346 miles and if we had gone in my 2.4 Accord it would have cost more than double that. This is all calculated manually, I find the trip computer reads about 3mpg over. I am happy with that and hopefully it'll increase a little more with the warmer weather. I don't think neither of us are particularly gentle with the acceleration and braking, especially me! I do try to pull away smoothly when I can and coast to slow down but I don't think it'll ever make me a proper eco driver. FWIW we have always used Esso fuel in the car.

With a lot of force I managed to get the belt to retract to the point that you couldn't slacken it to release the ELR so the seat is now secure. However, I still don't think this is right and once the belt is pulled all the way out it should only retract. The dealer I bought it from is miles a way but I could go to a local one I guess or I might just try and look at another CT first and see if that does it. It shouldn't matter if there is a seat in place or not, as long as the belt has been pulled all the way out it should activate the ALR. Can anyone here try theirs?

Yep that's what I have done and once the belt has retracted as much as it can, I can then pull it straight back out again, it doesn't lock!

When you do that the auto light goes out so I thought it turns it off, is that not the case then?

I've just been having a look at that, does it work with any OBDII adapter? What customisation's have you used it for? The turning off seat belt ding would be handy, that is so annoying! We are members of Whipsnade Zoo and drive in every time but the ding means we always have to put the belts on!

I use the air con every week in my cars to keep it working properly, they're expensive to fix when they're not used and things start going wrong! I gave the inside screen a good clean and we've been using auto mode most of the time, it hasn't been misting much now. The problem with auto mode is you can't change the fan speed or outlets. Does anyone use the micro dust and pollen filter button - when would you actually need to use it?

I guess it depends on how old your kids are but if they're more than toddler age I don't think they'll be comfortable in the back. We managed to get 3 adults in the back of our CT for a 5 minute drive down the road and there was no room at all. The weight also made the car sit very low and it caught somewhere underneath (I think it was a brace) when going down a slope. I'd imagine it would also catch on speed humps too. Most of the time it's just the missus and one other person in the car so it's fine. We'll be using it to go away for weekends with our 17 year old son but it definitely won't be large enough for a week or more. My only real issue with the car is the seats, to start with they gave me back ache but I've got used to them now. If any one other than you is going to be driving I would suggest getting one with electric seats. I'm finding the manual drivers seat doesn't adjust well and if I change it the missus moans cos she can't get it back to how she likes it. So I'm only allowed to move it back and forwards when I do drive it! We've never had this issue with other cars which is why I didn't want to pay the extra for the Premier over the SE-L but in hindsight I kind of wish I had.

No this isn't normal, it's like the ALR isn't activating - Automatic Locking Retractor. The belt works as normal when someone is sitting in the seat, i.e. the ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) is working, so if you brake hard it locks and then it'll pull out again if you release the tension. With the child seat if you pull the belt all the way out and then let it retract it's supposed to lock so it can't be pulled out again unless fully retracted first. After pulling the belt all the way out, I can retract it partially but then pull it out again so the child seat is wobbly cos it's not locked in. See handbook details below. We only have to use it once a week so I'm not buying a new seat and we only need it until September but I'm just wondering if something is stopping them from locking? If they are actually faulty then I have Lexus warranty until September so I'll contact the dealer.

I'm not sure if this is a problem with the belt or us trying to fit it. We put the seat in, loop the belt around and plug it in. Then pull the belt right out and let it retract so it should lock. If you pull the seat hard the belt locks but it doesn't stay locked. Pull it gently and the belt comes out as normal making the seat loose. It seems to be the same on both sides. Anyone else had issues or is there a different way I should be fitting it?

Yes I checked that and it looks fairly new, which it should be cos it was serviced 3 months a go. I probably exaggerated about that, it's not on constantly but I do have a habit of switching it back over as it does clear the windows quicker. The dealer did mention that actually, it does sense if there is a polluting car in front and will switch it over automatically. We've only had the car just over 2 months so I haven't been able to gauge if it loses mpg with the air con permanently. In my Accord I leave it on all summer and it does affect it a little, but then that does 20mpg around town so I always try to save fuel when I can!

It's fine overnight and clear in the morning but as soon as you start the car the windows fog up. It's not condensation, the glass isn't wet. I also place one of the dehumidifier bags in the dash. Once the quick clear has finished we have to leave the aircon on to keep the glass clear. It's always on recirculate unless it's switched over automatically to fresh air. I know it's expected abit in this weather but my other cars don't really do it compared to how bad it is in the CT. Within seconds of turning off the aircon all the windows are fogged up. I've not given them a good clean yet so will try that and see if it helps.

This is driving me around the bend now, I have to keep the aircon on all the time otherwise the windows fog up. I have done the usual of checking the pollen filter, under the mats to make sure it's dry and checked all of the boot, which is dry. Does anyone else get this, what can I do to stop it? Surely door seals can't be gone on a 5 year old car.

I take it no one has fitted wheels from a Toyota?