Britprius

I am told if you have to many relatives at home for Christmas the police will come and tell them to go home. Can you book this service?😉

John.

A happy Christmas to all forum members that make this a great place to visit, and gain knowledge on all things Lexus. 🎅

John. 

If you normally have the car serviced at Lexus surly they fix punctures free of charge. Toyota certainly do this, and I would imagine Lexus with it's prestigious service would be at leased as good.

John. 

Phil. Your mention of the "Blue badge" could be the reason my car comes up as exempt as I am a badge holder, and declared this with my Prius, but I did not entre that detail for my GSH. The badge also entitles free M6 toll "with registration" , and also the Severn bridge crossings in south Whales when they were toll charged. This toll has now been removed.

John.

Phil did you register your car with TFL?

John.

While I cannot categorically state the ct200h is exempt I have checked my GS450H (2007), and according to the TFL website it is exempt from the charge.

John.

I think you will find if you register your car with TFL for a fee of again I think £10 your car is exempt from the congestion charge. This is based on information from when I had a Prius.

John. 

The way to check the oil level is by removing the fill plug, and filling till oil spills out.

The pump can be removed from under the car. The main problem with the pump is bearing failure, and a new pump is £2500, but the bearings are standard ball races that can be bought for under £5.
The bearing numbers I will Check for you from my files, and let you know later.

John.

Hi Samuel.

The code P3176 is caused by a temperature sensor in the transmission oil pump. This is probably caused by a short or open circuit in the wiring. The pump is an external electrically driven unit on the outside of the transmission on the drivers side.
The other two codes are for regen malfunction of the HV system, and HV system malfunction. These could be related to the oil pump problem.

John.

1 hour ago, ganzoom said:

the difference between highest and lowest voltage modules is less than 0.006 volts!

The difference between the two systems is that the Tesla monitors single cell voltage that for lithium is 3.8 volts nominal depending on level of charge.
The Lexus system measures measures the voltage of 12 cells in series "2 blocks of 6" with a nominal voltage of 1.2 volts per cell or 14.4 volts nominal for the 12 cells. This means any voltage difference must be divided by 12 to give an indication of individual cell voltages
The Lexus has no balancing mechanism to keep the voltages even while the Tesla does.

Off load voltage alone does not give a reliable indication of condition. Internal resistance, and on load voltage drop is a more reliable measurement of condition.

John.

39 minutes ago, Sundance said:

fuel tank gently farting at me when I go to fill it!

As john above says this is perfectly normal as the car has a sealed fuel system.

Be thankful Toyota/Lexus did not continue with the system fitted to the American version of the gen2 Prius. This has a bladder in the fuel tank to hold the fuel, and in certain circumstances farts the fuel back out of the filler tube while being filled. Also if the bladder leaks into the tank for any reason the tank assembly has to be completely replaced.

John.

Perhaps the easiest Lexus cars to convert to electric are the GS450h, and RX 450h. These only require the engine removed, and larger capacity batteries fitted. The GS450h has 2 electric motors in the transmission the larger one rated at 180 HP. The smaller motor can be made to assist the drive "giving even more power" by simply locking the first motion shaft of the transmission.
The RX450h could be modified in a similar way, but also has the added advantage of having a 80 HP drive motor built into the rear differential enabling the 4 wheel drive function to be retained.

John.

5 hours ago, Couchie said:

Does anyone know whether the sensors are specific to the GS450h

Hi Phillip.
Replacement genuine sensors are not cheap, and after market versions are around £40 each.

The cheapest way around the problem, but keeping it OEM is to go to your local tyre fitter, and get them to replace all the valves with standard rubber valves as a temporary keep you on the road. Then replace the batteries as in the original valves as in the post linked below. These can then be refitted to the wheels.
Total cost for all 4 sensors will be around £5.

John.

The zero point calibration does not issue an error message or code if it is not set correctly. The method of setting the calibration is through the Toyota software called "Techstream". Most standard code readers cannot access this. You can buy a devise, and the software to connect your car to a laptop running Windows to the car. This will give dealer level of service actions, and code reading for a few pounds if you are interested in any DIY work on your car.
I can give more details if you are interested.

John. 

58 minutes ago, Grey One said:

 I know the ISF isn't a Ferrari,

Hi James. The brakes on the Lexus are no different to any other modern car be it a Ford or a Nissan. Any garage can change the discs, and pads without any "special" tools or knowledge. As already said it's a basic bread, and butter job. I would however stay away from the "chain" brake, tyre, exhaust companies, but rather go to garages that do all repair work.

John. 

19 minutes ago, JJ86 said:

I have an appointment tomorrow with a local garage who did the wheel alignment

The reason the steering ECU has to be reset is for the following reason.
If the wheel alignment is out, but the car drives strait with the steering wheel strait it may be that only one wheel on the car is out of specification. This may be on the front or rear of the car. Lets imagine it's a rear wheel that is out of position "but could just as easily be a front". The wheel is adjusted, and now the rear of the car will steer slightly in one direction or the other from it's original setting.
The steering wheel will now need to be turned one way or the other to run the car strait to compensate for this, but the power steering ECU believes the steering wheel is out of the strait ahead position adding power effect to the steering when it should not. I hope that makes sense.

John.  

2 hours ago, JJ86 said:

the Steering ECU may have auto-calibrated itself

I have not heard of this happening, but it "may" be possible. It is a requirement however that the steering ECU be reset each time the steering is tracked. Please keep us informed of any developments with this.

John.

Has a zero point calibration been done on the steering? After tracking adjustment has been carried out this is required so that the electric power steering ECU knows where the strait ahead position of the steering is. You may be fighting against the power steering if calibration is not done.

John.

1 hour ago, LexIS200Sport said:

I think there is more to that,

While I agree that the damping for the GS300 "may" be less than the 450H overall the 300 will be damped somewhere in the middle of  the optimum setting of comfort against road holding, and load carrying. The 450 can have a setting that covers most scenarios. However it is a fact that the shocks do not carry the actual vehicle weight. The springs alone do this. Unless the shocks adjust automatically a single setting standard shock will only be correct on the 300 for one particular set of conditions that will not be that different to a 450 used for "comfortable" driving.

John 

Continuous use of WD40 on wiper blades will cause them to wrinkle making the useless.

John.

18 hours ago, Dave Peate said:

My question is, has anyone had this issue and resolved it without great expense?

Hi Dave.
The codes you are getting is almost certainly due to timing chain ware. The start up rattle is likely to be the cam phasers draining of oil, and not being locked by the locking pins. You can change the timing chain without dismantling the front of the engine, but without replacing the chain guides. The cam phasers could also be changed this way if you undo the cam bearings, and lift the cams.
Fitting a pre-lube system cures the problem of the startup rattle, and has another beneficial attribute of reducing engine ware. If I can be of any assistance just ask.

John. 

23 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

So are we saying that the extra weight of a hybrid GS does not warrant a stiffer shock?

No it uses stiffer springs to take the extra weight. The shocks only dampen the movement, and in no way actually support the vehicle. 

John.

1 hour ago, reid said:

Has anyone experience of replacing the original selectable shocks with good quality, regular non adjustable shocks and if so, with which brand / model.

Hi Reid.

The GS non hybrid shocks are a strait swap for the adjustable hybrid shocks. The ride should be very similar to the hybrid versions, but without the stiffening when driven spiritedly. The non adjustable shocks are about 1/4 of the cost of the adjustable versions. 
The adjustable shocks are adjusted by a small motor mounted on top of the shocks, and these can be left in place "connected electrically" so that no warning lights appear on the dash.
The shocks could be replaced as axle pairs replacing just the fronts or rears as required. There is know physical difference to the look of the shocks, and unless some dismantling was done an insurance company would have great difficulty in knowing any such modification. 
Know spring compressor is required for changing the shocks making it a relatively easy job. I have changed shocks on my GS450H on the floor without any special tools. They take about 1 hour each to change.
I am in the same age category as yourself, but still enjoy the performance ability of the hybrid GS.
Any good units you have after doing the work could be sold on eBay greatly offsetting the cost of the new replacements. If a garage does the work for you insist that the old units are returned to you.

John. 

Although not in the workshop manual it is possible on the V6/V8 engines to change the timing chain without dismantling the front of the engine, but just by removing the drivers side "RHD cars" cam cover.
Obviously the timing chain in a 4 cylinder engine is under much less load than 6 & 8 cylinder versions with less cams to drive. The chain is also much shorter so that link pin ware is multiplied less by there being fewer links. 

John.

Unfortunately Lexus is not immune to timing chain stretch problems. It is a known problem with V6 & V8 engines causing a cam timing error code after 100K plus miles. Fortunately it is unusual for the chain to snap possibly because of the engine management light, and error code producing corrective treatment.

John.