Vince Donald

There are quite often issues with the Lexus Portal, however the biggest issue I've found is the browser. I use Chrome as my main browser, and the Lexus Portal just doesn't seem to like it, yet it seems to work better in Edge (Windows 10), it may be worth a try. Vince

I listen to the Security Now podcast and this topic was covered on one episode of that. The keyless entry are especially susceptible because of how they work. What they criminals do is they have a couple of bits of equipment which are basically like receiver/transmitters which work at the frequencies used by the car manufacturers, they are linked by what in effect are wifi modems, so basically one piece of equipment is place close to your key (ie near your front door) and the other is placed by your car where you would normally stand to open the door, the equipment basically relays the comms between the car and key , so the car thinks the key is right by the car, so opens, and again thinks the key is then in the car and theres not a lot the car manufacturers can do to defeat this. In theory, they could limit the time allowed for a response since the signals are being relayed so this adds a small propagation delay but this is so tiny it would need extremely expensive electronics to try and defeat the "hack". I just turn it off at home since you can disable the key with a few button presses, but elsewhere I don't as they would need to know exactly where you are to get close to your key. As Steve Gibson, the security expert on the podcast often says, security and convenience are often not compatible with each other. Vince

I think the menu option on the small dot matrix will work even in drive but only if you are at a complete stop, obviously this requires foot on the brake. I also think that if you are in a menu screen when driving, then stop, you need to go out of that menu and then back in for it to register that you are stopped, this also happens when you try to browse the USB before its finished scanning too, you have to go out and back in to the screen for greyed out options to become available. Vince

I've got a 15 reg IS300h and it connects fine to my S7 Edge which will basically be the same software as your S7. Vince

I have a 32Gb memory stick in my IS, which I recently used in an NX which I had as a courtesy car. As has been mentioned, there is a limit on files/folders, and I believe its not limited to Lexus, you should have no more than 255 folders in your root directory, I have a folder for each artist, and put the album folders inside the respective artist folders, I think WMA work okay, but now have mine all as MP3. Just checked the manual, says MP3, WMA & AAC, max 255 files (& folders) in any folder (including root), 9999 files total, 3000 folders total, no more than 8 levels of folder, ie folder in folder in folder etc. Vince

Had my 2015 IS300h for just over a year now, great car. First, ignore all those reviewers who moan about it CVT box, it's only unpleasant if you drive like a total nutter all the time. Second, you'll notice the tyre noise, this is because the rest of the car is so damn quiet and smooth. Third ignore those who tell you this is a pulleys and belt CVT, there's plenty of videos showing you how the eCVT works, and this explains why its so smooth. Vince

I came from a Diesel CRV (no auto back then), that engine is very punchy, the IS300h I have now feels less punchy but thats because its so smooth, still feels pretty brisk though. On the whole I liked the NX, but as others have alluded, maybe the engine set up different to the IS even though it would appear to be the same 300h, this may be a necessity due to the NX obviously carrying extra weight over an IS. The real eye-opener to me was when I was joining the M1 at J34 Tinsley Viaduct / Meadowhall, a road I know how my IS behaves, I know its uphill, but I was only joining at the national speed limit. I know what you mean about relaxed driving style though, I have found that if you're too aggressive with the IS, it too isn't a pleasant experience, but with the NX it was enough to maybe put me off choosing one, which is a pity because otherwise I think it would be a perfect car for me. The relaxed driving style I'm used to, I used to drive 30k mile per year and I did that in a Saab Aero auto, I got used to driving more relaxed even though it was a powerful car. Good to hear what others think though. Vince

I have a IS300h, and took it for a service at Lexus Sheffield, they gave me an NX300h as a courtesy car - great cos if I could have afforded one, I would probably got one of these when I was looking for a car over a year ago to replace my Honda CRV, but it was a little out of my price range. So I had a drive from Sheffield to Doncaster and back involving urban and motorway, so I got to try it in a variety of situations, my thoughts, well I really like this car, it would have been better than my CRV in every way apart from one... the engine, the CRV had a great diesel engine, the NX has a great Hybrid engine except that its not the right one for this car, most of the time its fine, but under fairly brisk acceleration such as joining the motorway - yikes its harsh, mainly due to revving quite high, much higher than my IS does I'm sure. I tried the radar cruise control, think that would take some getting used to, think I prefer the standard cruise but maybe more time I would get used to it. The driving position seems really high (compared to the CRV), but that ain't a problem, the ride and everything else would make this my next car, its just that engine, could maybe do with 500cc more or even a beefier electric. I don't know what any of you guys who own one think, but if this car had a little bit more power so that brief acceleration wasn't as harsh then there would be no other car to look at for me, okay the RX is nice but it just seems huge having sat in one, will have to see what transpires with the new UX having a new engine, maybe there will be more new engines for the rest of the range. When I was looking for a new car, I looked at loads, but always came back to the Lexus, having driven one for a year, I don't see anyone else tempting me away, with a slight engine improvement it would be an NX for sure. Vince

If you have your screen on whilst running sat nav, sometimes the charging can't keep up, this is usually if its a standard USB port as this only delivers 500mA. If it is a higher power one then it may be able to keep up and keep it charged. If you're playing music, your screen is normally off, and even though its transmitting over bluetooth, even the standard USB port will keep it topped up. This is from many years of using phones as sat nav, and music (in my case, podcast) playing. Don't worry about overcharging, the phone will control the charging. Vince

That is a good plate, best kept on a GS though. I had X724ERO on my Saab 95 AERO which several people who knew about Saabs noticed. Vince

I find the cancelling of the indicators at roundabouts a little annoying too, but once you're aware it happens you lookout for it happening. For those who are struggling, I took a few goes before it worked, I think the 5 seconds is the biggest thing people don't achieve. Also, the 'first click' is the position that gives you the normal 3 flashes rather than constant flashing. Oh, and my choice was 5 flashes. Vince

My wife has a Ford Fiesta and it has the Quick Clear windscreen, cracking (no pun intended) bit of kit, I've had a Mondeo before with it too. One feature my Saab(s) had was to automatically put the heated rear window on and turn the climate control to windscreen demist automatically when the temperatures were low and as the interior temperature increased, it then gradually eased the fan speed down and ultimately ended up back on the normal auto settings. Now this was 20 years ago, something a prestige car like Lexus should have in its feature list, the only thing I had to do was turn the heated seat on when I had my commute starting at 6.30 in the morning, many times I didn't even venture back out of the car to clear any frost, the car warmed up quickly and a warm seat is much better than going back out into the cold. So far I've found the Lexus clears then windscreen with reasonable speed though, I only ever press the demist button, then disengage it when its done its job, no need to touch any other buttons for fan speed or temperature settings. Vince

I only got my IS300h in February, its a 2015 model, pretty low mileage so can't help with any queries in that regard. I only have one regret, and that is I didn't get one sooner. Vince

Yeah, I've done this before, but changed it back after a couple of days, on my mainly urban commute it was very odd to see the revs drop to zero quite a lot of the time so found it more distracting. I had switched to this mode out of curiosity though. Its not a setting on the large screen, its on the mini screen above the steering wheel. its the last settings page (the gear symbol), if you go down those settings using the buttons on the rhs of the steering wheel, you will find it,you can have rev counter on always, never or the usual where its sport mode only, you can turn the EV indicator off too. Vince

I wouldn't dismiss these as motorway cruisers neither, when I go on a longer journey, I usually see my average mpg rise a little. If you switch to Sport mode to get the rev counter on, you'd be pleasantly surprised at how little the petrol motor is being used. Vince

Not got a CT200h but an IS300h, on my car there is an option to have the rev counter on all the time or never at all, is there something similar on the CT200h? I read it in the manual, switched my car to show the rev counter all the time, switched it back after a couple of days because on my commute the engine is forever being shut down i.e revs = zero and it was more of a distraction than the economy / charge gauge. Vince

I've got an IS300h, when stopped like you say, you have a continuous fan which is the ventilation fan blowing the air into your cabin. You may keep hearing another fan stop and start every few seconds or so, this appears to be the AC 'chiller' unit which would normally run off the ICE but on the hybrid is electrical. If you press the AC button to turn it off, you will find that the second sound stops. Vince

The number is really a reference to the battery size. A CR2450 is 24(.5)mm diameter, and 5.0mm height, its the same for all these button cell type batteries. Vince

I had an issue on my previous car, a Honda CR-V, it started mildy but over time got worse, it took quite a while to track down. Basically it started to vibrate around 35-40mph and by 55mph it disappeared. By the time it was fully diagnosed, it was quite a violent shudder, both my local garage and Honda were baffled, needed both front drive shafts replacing. Vince

This video demonstrates how the e=cvt box works. There is a series of videos, but this is the best one to show it in all its glory. Apparently all the Toyota transaxles are basically the same idea. In the series he explains the difference between each one, this particular one is from the Prius so I'd expect the same one in the CT200h, Vince Don't know why but the video always starts towards the end, just go back to the beginning.

I agree about the CVT, don't let the idea put you off, its not a true CVT, as gareth1902 says, its an e-cvt box, it doesn't use belts and pulleys. I've seen a series of videos which explains how they work, which is basically through a set of planetary gears and a second electric motor. Basically the car is an electric car with petrol backup, the computer decides which engine will do what and control them to give you what you are asking of them by your throttle usage. In Sport mode, the petrol engine is used quite a lot, but in Normal and Eco modes, the petrol engine goes completely off a lot when around town, but will it runs at motorway speeds, albeit at quite a low rpm. You can set you dash to have a rev counter on in all modes to see this happening as you don't really hear it stop and start in normal mode, it is a bit weird but it works so smoothly. I now know why people look at the car when you set off in car parks, if the petrol engine is on, which it does when its cold so as to warm the engine up, as you drive off, the petrol engine most likely doesn't change rpm and thus you appear to accelerate with an engine running at tick-over.. Now I've driven automatics before, but the e-cvt system is so smooth, its on another level, go and try one. Vince

Yeah, but by using the paddles, you will see that the car goes into regen too. I did see somewhere, it may even have been on this forum that once the battery is full and can't take any more, the car will spin the engine to have actual engine braking, but that would be a pretty big hill, maybe something like the Applecross road in Scotland, but I'm pretty sure I'd be using my brakes on that one. Vince

It is useful, a few weeks back I took my son into the peak district for his Duke Of Edinburgh walk. As I was descending into Hathersage, it is quite a steep hill, and its 30mph, so I 'dropped it down' a couple of gears, as one wasn't enough and it held it at 30mph all the way down. I may get to try this again soon as a visit to Scotland is on the horizon. Vince

Yeah, I think I'd agree with that too. Vince

I'd say groaning brakes are common on Automatics in general, I find my IS300h to be quite similar to my Saab 9-5 Aero in respect to slight groaning of the brakes, but maybe its my driving style where I've always been light on the brakes as I always try to ease off the gas rather than brake aggressively, this resulted in reasonable mpg from the big Saab,. Vince