Alan

I don't know about the SE, but it's on the Sport. The position of the steering wheel is saved as part of the seat memory function.

When you switch on, the steering wheel moves to the position set in the memory (i.e. the memory for the seats). When you switch off, the steering wheel retracts to make getting out easier. It could be that the steering wheel's saved position is very close to the position it's moved to when you switch off ... if that makes sense?! That would account for the noise and the slight vibration. Try moving the steering wheel, saving it in memory, and then switching on/off to see if you get the same thing.

Might be an option but bulky in an alteady cramped space. I think the male plug may pose the same problem but will check it out! I have one of the Halfords ones and it does the trick. The male plug fits under the armrest fine, and I have the 3-way adapter velcro-ed on to the vertical wall in front of it. It takes up less than 1" of the available space. Hope this helps!

At last - another Caspian Sky owner! Obviously I'm massively biased, but I reckon it's the best colour out there :D . I was also pretty amused when I saw it down as blue in the log book. Also, I've not yet seen a photo online that truly reflects what it looks like. When I first saw it in the showroom, I thought it was white and that there were blue lights shining on it to make it look sparklier. It was only when I got it outside that I realised what it really was.

Another daft question ... are you pushing the clutch in hard enough? I've had the symptons you describe a couple of times, and it's just because I've not been pressing hard enough.

I have an 06 Sport, and usually get around the 30mpg mark. It doesn't generally go below 28mpg, but on long clear motorway journeys I've had it up to 40.

The outer 25% of the tyre is completely smooth. The inner 25% has about 3mm of tread left. Thanks in advance for any help.

Yes, it is. And it's just the front passenger side tyre that's worn on its outside edge.

Hi, One of my front tyres has camber wear on the outer edge. I'll be getting a couple of new tyres, so can anyone recommend somewhere in the Glasgow area that'll check / adjust the alignment etc.? I've heard good things about Hypertech in Bonnybridge, and according to their website - http://www.rollingroadscotland.co.uk - they "can carry out 4 wheel alignment using the Hunter Winalign System". That means nothing to me :-) ... any ideas if it's a good system? Also, I got a nasty (although maybe not surprising) shock when I phoned Lexus for the tyres. For the 18" Dunlop Sport Maxx, here are some quotes for getting the tyres supplied and fitted: Various online retailers: approx. £120 Local garage: £118 Kwik-Fit: £124 each if buying 2 And Lexus Glasgow? £170.98 !! How can they possibly justify that?! Plus £92 + VAT for doing the alignment.

I had the same squeak coming from my driver's seat as you have. Lexus Glasgow acknowledged it straight away, and said they'd get an upholstery company who specialise in cars to fix it. And they did - when I got it back they'd replaced the foam, so no more squeaks, it feels the same and you'd never know they'd had the cover off. Funny that one dealer will take this approach, while the other will replace the whole seat.

The only original CD I have that displays the tracks out of the box is Queen's "Queen Rock Montreal". I got it a couple of months ago and got quite a surprise seeing the tracks appear :) .

I don't know if I'm brave enough without someone else doing it first! I may ask for more details the next time I'm in for tyres - my local Kwik Fit's beaten the lowest internet price by £10 a tyre for quite some time now and always do a good job - and they've even offered to repair a puncture (free!) a couple of times. Will post here if I get more details from them in the future.

Interesting thread. I'm thinking of getting my brakes checked elsewhere before I book the car in for its next service. Kwik Fit do a free check, and also claim that "Once fitted we will replace worn out brake pads & shoes for free for as long as you own the vehicle". Has anyone taken them up on this, or know anyone who has? I'm wondering what kind of pads they use. See http://www.kwik-fit.com/free-brake-check.asp for their blurb.

Tango, Does it display the list of songs in each playlist when you select that playlist, or does the screen only show the song that you're currently playing? And I'm guessing it can't play any videos that are on the iPod?

I'll not be happy if Lexus Bristol send me a similar priced offer after I've had it installed Think I'll use this post as a negotiaton tool....any chance of sending me a copy of the info before next Wednesday?? I'll pm my email if there is. Mine is in for a 20K service although it's actually a 2 year service as it's only done 16K....what was the cost of your 20K at Glasgow? Yep, no problem. They're sending it tomorrow, so I'll send you a copy if you pm me. Total price of the 20K service was £373.

Got my 20K service today at Lexus Glasgow, and on the invoice it says "Control your i-Pod through your existing car audio controls - Christmas offer: £199.99 inc VAT". I checked that this includes installation, and it does. Very very tempting! They're sending me some info through the post.

My journey from home to work along twisty country roads regularly gives me 28.4mpg. Earlier in the year I travelled from Glasgow to south of Bristol, motorway all the way, and had cruise control set to 70mph the whole way. I got a very nice 39.9mpg there, and 40.1mpg back.

I had a very similar problem with my 200 Sport. Basically, when I switched the ignition off the headlights would stay on (even when they weren't on Auto), and a loud buzzing noise would come from the fuse box under the bonnet. Pulling out the large pale blue relay switch in the box would stop it. So I spent days popping the bonnet and unplugging this every time I left the car so I wouldn't end up with a flat battery . I took it it Lexus Glasgow who said they'd come across it before. It was caused by dampness getting in at the passenger's footwell and corroding something which I forget now. So they replaced it and reproofed the area all under warranty, and I never had the problem again.

Hi all, We took a trip up to the far north of Scotland to see the in-laws over the weekend, and I got to find out how my IS300 handles in the snow. As we drove up the A9 I watched the temperature drop to freezing, then -1, -2, and eventually down to -5 before the snow started. Knowing that the IS doesn't have a good reputation in the snow, I was taking it easy and we got to my brother-in-law's without any problems. Spent a couple of hours there, and then on to the sister-in-law's - she has a steep driveway, and by the time we got there it was about 2" deep in snow. Still -5C, so I hit the SNOW button, moved down into 2nd, and crawled up as slowly as I could. Although I was going about 2mph the ABS kicked in to try to slow me down further :D . Anyway, we got to the top of the driveway no probs. It was the same story throughout the weekend: I just took is easy, and despite more snow and the temperature dropping to a very chilly -11 for a couple of hours, the car behaved superbly. Anyway, the weekend got me wondering ... excuse my ignorance, but can someone explain what the differences are between TRC, VSC and the SNOW feature, and what they all do? And what about LSD? Before I got the 300 I had a 200 Sport which had LSD - does the 300 have it or is superceded by VSC? Thanks! Alan

Thanks - much appreciated!

Hi, I have two dents on my IS300 - one on the bonnet and the other on the rear wing. Both are small - they're difficult to see unless the light catches the car in the right way. But I know they're there so need to get them repaired. I was thinking of buying one of those dent pullers I've heard about it. I've never done anything to the bodywork of a car, so was wondering if they do a good job, or could they end up leaving the car worse than it is just now. Has anyone ever used one? Cheers, Alan

Try Halifax insurance too. They've always quoted me very good prices ... same for home insurance as well.

Oh yeah, one word of warning ... if/when you take one for a test drive, prepare to be embarrassed as you fly off from junctions and send everyone lurching forward when you hit the brakes ... well, that's what I did anyway :-). It was just a wee bitty more responsive than the 200!

Hi Jon, I had a 200 Sport for two and a half years, and when I decided to start looking around for a replacement I had the exact same thoughts as you - didn't want to lose the quality and service I'd got used to. So I went for an IS300, have had it a couple of months now, and absolutely love it. It feels *much* more powerful than the 200, and the fact that it's an auto hasn't bothered me one bit. I've driven autos in the US, and had a tiptronic FTO a few years back, and the "problems" I'd had with them don't exist with my IS300. e.g. no problem with it being sluggish when you move off, gear changes are unnoticeable (even on steep hills which the FTO would wait far too long before changing down), performance not a problem. The Power button is also very good fun :-). I've very rarely used the E-shift as I've not really had any problems with the gear the car chooses to be in! However one thing that surprised me about the E-shift is that I expected that when you press Down or Up, you'd move Down or Up a gear. But I don't think it does. When you hit the buttons, you change the maximum gear you want the car to be in. So for example, move off at 5mph, move to M, and the display will say 5 (although you're obviously not in 5th!). Press Down, and the Display moves to 4, then 3 then 2, but the gear you're in doesn't change (you're probably in 2nd). Only when you speed up do you gain "real" control of the gears. HTH, Alan

That reminds me of this ... A magazine held a competition, inviting its readers to submit new scientific theories on ANY subject. Below is the winner: When a cat is dropped, it always lands on its feet, and when toast is dropped, it always lands buttered side down. Therefore, if a slice of toast is strapped to a cat's back, buttered side up, and the animal is then dropped, the two opposing forces will cause it to hover, spinning inches above the ground. If enough toast-laden felines were used, they could form the basis of a high-speed monorail system. And then the magazine got this reply from one of its readers : I've been thinking about this cat/toast business for a while. In the buttered toast case, it's the butter that causes it to land buttered side down - it doesn't have to be toast, the theory works equally well with Jacob's crackers. So to save money you just miss out the toast - and butter the cat. Also, should here be an imbalance between the effects of cat and butter, there are other substances that have a stronger affinity for carpet. Probability of carpet impact is determined by the following simple formula: p = s * t(t)/tc where p is the probability of carpet impact,s is the "stain" value of the toast-covering substance - an indicator of the effectiveness of the toast topping in permanently staining the carpet. Chicken Tikka Masala, for example, has a very high s value, while the s value of water is zero. tc and t(t) indicate the tone of the carpet and topping - the value of p being strongly related to the relationship between the colour of the carpet and topping, as even chicken tikka masala won't cause a permanent and obvious stain if the carpet is the same colour. So it is obvious that the probability of carpet impact is maximised if you use chicken tikka masala and a white carpet - in fact this combination gives a p value of one, which is the same as the probability of a cat landing on its feet. Therefore a cat with chicken tikka masala on its back will be certain to hover in mid air, while there could be problems with buttered toast as the toast may fall off the cat, causing a terrible monorail crash resulting in nauseating images of members of the royal family visiting accident victims in hospital, and politicians saying it wouldn't have happened if their party was in power as there would have been more investment in cat-toast glue research. Therefore it is in the interests not only of public safety but also public sanity if the buttered toast on cats idea is scrapped, to be replaced by a monorail powered by cats smeared with chicken tikka masala floating above a rail made from white shag pile carpet.