wharfhouse

If you have Executive trim it will have the standard Sat Nav with the rotary controller. This is updated through the USB port in the centre arm rest using a USB stick. The dealer will charge a few hundred pounds but the updates can be purchased from other places, though I've not tried any yet.

The lexuspartsdirect.co.uk website is run by Lexus Swindon (Fish Brothers) and so it's a normal Lexus dealer that happens to also sell online - they also have a Toyota franchise and have an online store for that too. Their online prices tend to be a bit cheaper than other Lexus dealers but unless you can pick up from Swindon they charge for postage so depends what you are ordering whether it works out cheaper than your local dealer.

Just run your finger tips around the tread grooves and feel for the tread wear indicators - they are at 3mm and so it's fairly easy to judge the amount of tread left and whether the tyre is wearing evenly across it's width. A tread depth gauge will give you more accuracy of course but for many years I've just used my finger tips and replace tyres as they reach the tread wear indicators.

Need to take the wiper arm off and reposition it - had to do the same on my IS 300h after a windscreen change. If its like mine lift the cover at the base of the wiper and then undo the nut. Pull the arm off and then reposition slightly on the splines. Put the nut back on and close the cover.

Always good to hear when the hybrid batteries are working well after high mileages.

I actually bought it from Amazon (direct, not a 3rd party seller) as I was buying some other bits and pieces at the same time from there and worked out same price once shipping is taken into account. I've used Autobulbs Direct in the past though and been happy with their service. The headlight bulbs look interesting as dipped beam isn't particularly good on the IS 300h (though full beam is OK, but as you say it's the same bulb for both, just a mechanical shutter that alters the beam IIRC) - also not sure how long the original fitment ones last (my car is 9 years old now) but as you say manual says dealer only fitment, but can't be too difficult - probably videos online showing how to do it.

Changed the reversing light bulb this morning for the new LED one and all is working fine - no CAN Bus errors. Certainly looks a lot brighter in daylight now so will see how it is in the dark later. The glass in old bulb I took out was a little bit smoky like old incandescent bulbs get so that certainly won't have been helping with it's brightness. Thanks @LenT for the suggestion.

I'll have to look into that further then. Yes according to the manual it's in the boot lid and shows bulb removal so will give it a go next week. Thanks for the tip about removing the whole lining.

According to my manual it says that a number of the lights are LED already: LED Lights The lights other than the discharge headlights (if equipped), front turn signal lights, rear turn signal lights, back-up light and outer foot lights each consist of a number of LEDs. If any of the LEDs burn out, take your vehicle to any authorized Lexus dealer or repairer, or another duly qualified and equipped professional to have the light replaced. I've just bought the LED to replace the reversing light (back-up light in Lexus language) as per @LenT so hopefully that will give me some more light when reversing.

Thanks - I'll give that a go - was trying to reverse down a very dark driveway last week and the current bulb didn't illuminate very much...

Is this significantly brighter than the normal bulb? If so looks like it might be a worthwhile change (mine is a 2014 IS 300h and so is a normal bulb, so not LED as far as I know).

IIRC for future reference the reversing light has a normal bulb that can be replaced but the fog light has a red LED that is more difficult to replace.

There is only one reversing light on the nearside - the offside has the fog light.

I bought Lexus wipers from Lexus Parts Direct. Previous set (same ones) lasted very well - a few years - and new ones (fitted a few weeks ago) are performing really well too. I believe Denso hybrid blades from Euro Car Parts maybe the same as OEM but the Lexus prices were pretty similar anyway.

I have an issue with mine that I carry our dog in the back of the car with a seat belt restraint which is plugged into one of the seat belts sockets. The dog can pull quite hard on the restraint sometimes which pulls the seat belt socket upwards from the seat. Once unplugged the seat belt alarm sometimes goes off. Pushing the seat belt socket back down again stops it. Whether it's slightly faulty wiring on the socket due to the dog pulling it I'm not quite sure but pushing it back down always stops it. If you've had people in the back of the car worth a check.

There have been two hybrid battery replacements mentioned on here that I recall. In both cases at some 180k miles IIRC - one done under the hybrid warranty and one paid for their own battery and replaced it themselves. I currently plan to keep my car for the foreseeable future - 2014 model IS 300h with 138k miles on it and so may reach 200k miles (I drive about 15k miles a year) and so I am certainly interested in whether the 15 year unlimited mileage warranty on the battery is still the current status.

I have all work done on my car by Lexus Reading but if you aren't using a Lexus dealer maybe wherever you get your car serviced at the moment?

Sounds like you might need it doing by a garage then that can get deeper into the evaporator and ducts etc.

Probably need an anti-bacterial treatment of the system - any competent garage or Lexus dealer can do it. There are treatments you can buy to do yourself too. Not sure if you leave the air con on all the time, but if you don't try leaving it on - generally stops bacteria growing.

The issue is that many modern cars are vulnerable to various "hacks" used by criminals. The latest spate I'm reading about is the Hyundai Ioniq - a number of them have been stolen in a matter of minutes. This model is now ranked second in the most stolen electric vehicles. One owner was away but video records the thieves walking up to the car and within a few seconds they had gained entry - then fiddled around under the steering wheel and drive off with it. https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/24474846/hyundai-ioniq-stolen-keyless-car-thieves/amp/ (Yes I know this is the Sun newspaper but it's the report that popped up again when I did a search...)

Yes the looms are very expensive - I hit a tyre shed from a lorry in my IS 300h - the damage ripped a fog light out. Along with some other repairs the biggest issue was it required a new loom for the lights as that was damaged where the fog light was pulled out. Final cost of the repair was £13,500 with the bulk being the supply and fitment of the new loom... Fortunately the supermarket insurance who's lorry shed the tyre paid.

I've been using Lexus Reading for 7 years for all my needs (bought the 2 year old car there too) and have always been well looked after. This month they called me to let me know my 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty was about to expire and did I want to renew, which i did. I know some others on here have had some less happy experiences there but I have no complaints. Also same with Toyota Reading (both owned by Jemca) for the last 4 years for my wife's Toyota - no complaints and have gone out of their way a couple of times to help us.

Out of interest I ran a few quotes to see how things compared (using Confused.com). My insurance isn't actually due until April so set a start date as 13th November (a few weeks out as advised for best pricing). I ran the same risk profile on all cars: my current 2014 IS 300h (which is an Executive trim), a 2019 IS 300h, a 2019 Lexus UX 300e, a 2019 Lexus RX 450h, and a 2019 Tesla Model 3 - all cars were in fairly basic trim levels for a fair comparison with my own. Other than the value of my own car being lower due to age (about £12k for comparison), the values of all the cars were not too far apart (from £25k - £32K). I chose 2019 for used cars - the newer the car the higher the premiums would be across the board. The results were: My current 2014 Lexus IS 300h: £444 2019 Lexus IS 300h: £522 2019 Lexus UX 300e: £516 2019 Lexus RX 450h: £836 2019 Tesla Model 3: £780 Not very scientific I admit, but it was interesting to see the differences (IMHO) and certainly brings it home that when looking at changing a car that these days the insurance premium can become something of a millstone if not careful.

Yes!, it was partly those flowing lines that sweep up to the rear that drew me to the car in the first place - I really liked the side profile.

Good news that the brakes are being replaced FoC - as a car sold through an established dealer like Marshalls you are paying top dollar to expect a car that does not have such issues to have to pay for in such a short amount of time. As for the Lexus Service, they will carry out the appropriate service for the car's age/miles and report anything that needs attention. If anything identified should be warranty related then I would have thought they would expect you to pay to have that sorted before they would issue the Relax Warranty to cover the coming 12 months / 10K miles - if the car is given a clean bill of health though, anything coming to light after that should be dealt with under the Relax Warranty T&Cs.