BigBoomer

The only thing to do with mindless jobsworths is to escalate and keep on escalating until you find someone with that actually uses their brain for something other than keeping their ears apart.
The late 2000 and early 2001 LS430s all have the same problem that you have. They full comply with and even exceed the required emissions levels, but the documentation doesn't show it.

The Varta Battery will be fine, but you need to either drive the car semi-regularly (at least one 20+mile drive per week) or else connect the Battery to a Battery maintainer.
Short local drives count for nothing and are in fact a net drain on the Battery as the starts use more power than the Alternator puts back into the Battery.

In the car I connected wires to my Battery that end in a connector in front of the radiators but behind the grille.
If the car is going to be stood for some time, then I lift the bonnet, plug her in, and close the bonnet (there is plenty of space between the bonnet and car for the wire).
The charger is inside my garage and I just extended the red and black wires on the charger cables to reach where my car is parked.

If you can't run wires to where the car is parked, you can get solar panels that you can put on the parcel shelf that when wired in will provide enough power to keep the Battery charged.

 

Yes, you can wind it out manually.
You need to remove the lower cover and then you can get a spanner on the square section at the lower end of the telescopic shaft and wind it out.
It is a slow process so you will be winding for quite some time. Save up plenty of patience before attempting it.
I had to do mine last year.

The 2 parts are nearly identical.
42410-50010 is marked as "EUR, HongKong, Singapore or Taiwan spec" and 42410-50030 isn't.

Since we are in EUR (despite Brexit) I would say order either one and get it fitted.

By the way, you can access the full Parts Fiche here
https://lexus-europe.epc-data.com/ls430/ucf30r/5111/?color=8P8&trim
This is for the facelift LS430 but you can get data for others from the site.
You will need to change your paint code (mine is 8P8) on the page where it shows "Trim Code".
 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-5th-gen-2018-present/982068-apple-car-play-by-model-year.html
Pretty much covers it in detail.
You will need to talk to your Lexus/Toyota dealer and pay to get it installed, but even once installed you will need to plug your Iphone in as it's cabled only.

Just had both rear exhaust silencers replaced by Pipecraft in Basildon. On the OE ones the internals were no longer attached to the casing.
He kept the factory (stainless) pipework (resonators to silencers) and welded in 2 new silencers and refitted the factory chrome tips. £450.
Looks great and sounds quiet again. Still has a slight "tin can" rattle when going over bumps though, so I suspect I have a loose heat shield somewhere.
You can only hear it with window open. Will need to get the car in the air and take a look when I can be bothered.

Welcome back Mike 😁 Looks like a nice LS400.

RIP John, now driving Heavens Highway,....in a Lexus no doubt.

The thinner hose/pipe is the high pressure liquid feed to the cooler unit in the rear.
The fatter pipe is the low pressure vapour return from the cooler to the compressor.

4 hours ago, Malc1 said:

David hi, you changed from orange lenses too at some point  She looks very smart ( as ever ) and the mileage is ???? 
Malc 

Hi Malc, the 01-03 have the orange indicator lenses. The 04-06 have clear lenses and orange bulbs. 

Any Battery flattened (and they do go flat with time even when not connected) will be damaged. It may be fine when charged but will have reduced capacity and lifespan.

For a gloss single colour full ca4 wrap £3500-ish but you can have individual parts wrapped. So, if it's just your roof that is manky, just have that wrapped. You won't get a good colour match so best to go for a complimentary colour.

Personally I would go aftermarket but it depends on how long you want it to last.
If you want it to last a long as the original, buy from Lexus.
If you don't mind replacing them every 5 years or so then cheaper aftermarket drop-links are fine.

The anti-rollbar drop links are easy enough to do yourself. It's just a matter of buying them, unbolting the old ones, and then bolting the new ones in.
Plenty of aftermarket options available or from Lexus/Toyota dealers.

28 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

shame nothing's seagull poo repellent !

Shotgun cartridges work well, but living where you are you are going to need a LOT of cartridges. 

Speaking of which, I shall be invading Sheppey again next Monday (was also there on Sunday 12th).
Going to Minster to purchase some pussy,... errr pussies, .... errrr kittens. 
Picking up 2 Burmese boys after losing our previous two in December and April. 😢
Looking forward to having kittens again. Seems like forever since our previous two were kittens (15 years).

Because Lexus in their infinite wisdom decided that emissions problems require that inbuilt safety systems be disabled. 
We get the same when there is a minor fault in one of the O2 sensors.
On mine it was the pre-heater on the O2 sensor (bank 1, pre-CAT) that had failed, so the engine was emitting too much evil pollution until the sensor reached operating temperature.
I assume they do it to "force" you to get it fixed ASAP.

You might be able to use a TimeSert or similar insert once you get all that epoxy mess removed, but it depends on what metal remains.
As you say, it's not urgent and a broom handle works fine so long as you wedge it into place firmly.

It really depends on what is causing the deterioration.
Most cars have a clearcoat that peels or flakes off, or can separate from the paint layer giving a milky appearance.
These issues can be fixed by careful sanding of the clearcoat and the application of new clearcoat, but as stated this is a lot of work and will cost lots, even if it is cheaper than a full respray.

I guess it really depends on how much you want to spend and how badly the current condition makes you feel.
Personally I am happy to drive around in a scabby looking car so long as it runs well and is comfy.
Others get upset over the slightest blemish.
Vive la difference!! 

That has been bodged before now and is a right mess. You may struggle to get the strut to fit on that side, which is probably why it only has one fitted.
Personally, I think the only way you will get that to work with 2 struts would be to either replace the bonnet, or else cut that piece out and weld in a new piece of steel that can be drilled and tapped to take the screw in ball joint. The joys of budget cars.

I still like the BlueMusic module. About the only problem I have found is that my phone does not always connect to it automatically, so occasionally I have to manually connect to it.
Otherwise the functionality is excellent, the sound quality superb, and it's all out of sight apart from the charger cable I fitted.

Welcome aboard Sam 
Concerning the bonnet struts, yes 2 are needed.
If you order aftermarket struts make sure that they have the ball that bolts into the car at either end if those are missing from yours.
Some come with the balls and others don't. If yours still has the balls fitted then you just need the strut.
These have the balls https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196260124651 and these don't https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183390158334
I fitted some aftermarket ones in 2019 (can't find the link) and they still work fine several years later.

Plenty on eBay such as this one if yours is the round plug
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152756482402
or this one if it's the oval plug
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373461494815

If you absolutely have to have a Denso then chances are you will need to order from a Lexus/Toyota dealer and pay their prices.

18 hours ago, CurryAddict said:

Yeah, sorry that’s what I meant @BigBoomer

It was the very first thing I bought for the car (£10 from Halfords) but it’s absolutely horrendous for any sort of music. You could probably get away with it if you were just listening to podcasts etc

I used one when I first got my LS but the quality was poor so I soon opted for a Bluetooth>FM adapter but even that wasn't good enough.
The BlueMusic module is perfect for playing music in the car and at that price is very good value.
I did consider a VAIS or a full Android replacement for the SatNav screen, but they are both quite pricey and don't add enough functionality for me to consider them worth the extra cost.

The ideal temperature for ATF-WS is around 80C (175F) but you are good up to about 105C (220F).
Much above that for any length of time and your ATF will start to break down.
Most auto-boxes have thermostats and built in pumps that control the circulation of the ATF so it sounds like yours is operating normally.
ATF-WS can withstand a few minutes above 105C but sustained operation at those temperatures will cause problems.

Glad to hear that it's working well for you. 
I find the ML system to be excellent, especially considering it's age.
Yes, the foam on the speakers falls apart and the Amp's suffer from the "lead-free solder" issue like many of LSes the electronic parts, but the sound quality is excellent.

When you say your "Aux cassette player" do you mean a cassette Aux adapter?
I had one of those and you are right that they are dogsh!t in terms of audio quality, but mine was more muffled than distorted.

The first Lexus only branded UK dealership didn't open until 1999 Malc.
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/1999/2/3/first-purpose-built-lexus-dealership-opens-in-spring/4571/
Until then some were joint Toyota/Lexus branded but most were just Toyota.

I posted the following in August last year based on numbers from that site.

It shows that for the UK total numbers on the road were as follows:
LS400 (1989 to 1996) peaked at 5.3k and the LS400 Auto (1997-2000) peaked at 2.3k which gives a UK total of 7.6k across 11 years (1989-2000).
For the LS430 (2000-2006) that number was 2.4k.
For the LS460 (2007-2017) that number was 849.
For the LS600 (2007-2017) that number was 564.
For the LS500 (2017-2023) that number was 122.

So 674 out of 849 is a pretty good survival rate.