Herbie

You're right Mark, it does seem obvious and I think it was my fault in latching onto the word "pressure" in the OP's opening line and diverting the conversation: I really must learn to read things properly first before replying

There doesn't appear to be any mention of an oil level float in the sump, as you can see from the 'On car inspection' instructions in the workshop manual - only thing for measuring oil is the dipstick as far as I can tell: EDIT: Well there you go, every day is a school day as the saying goes. I had a look at the workshop manual for the meter/gauge system - lo and behold, that does indeed give instructions for inspection of the low oil level warning display - Step No. 5 below: Just got to nip out but when I get back I'll find the procedure for replacing the float and post it up for you. WEll done Mark for pointing that out.

Maybe it's just me (my only Lexuses or is that Lexi?) have been RXs not saloon cars but to me, these are two completely different cars so it depends what you want. The LS430 exudes timeless class, sophistication, luxury, whereas that GS (to me) just looks dated and drab. I've never liked the rear ends of the GS and I really do not like the rear lights. Just my tuppenceworth

Just looked at the workshop manual and it is indeed a very big job. You have to remove all sorts of stuff. In fact, Step No. 1 says "Remove engine and transaxle assembly" In the screenshot below, Step No 1 has the words "Click Here" underneath it. When you do click on it, another window opens with more than 110 steps, just to remove the engine/transaxle assembly alone - then there's another 36 steps to get to the oil pump! These cars are complicated and I can't see it being as simple as the oil pressure switch clicking in and turning the warning light on. It's more likely that the switch will send a signal to an ECU for it to do something, so it could be a faulty ECU or a strange signal level turning the warning light on in error, when there really isn't a problem at all. Given that, I think first step would be to get an oil pressure gauge attached to see what the actual pressure really is and compare to what it should be, before thinking of changing the oil pump. Good luck!

Well I'm no mechanic, but logically I would think so. The engine can't be burning oil or you'd have to keep topping it up. There can't be any oil leaks or you'd have to keep topping it up. The 'Low Oil Pressure' warning light is on, but as long as your dipstick is showing the correct amount of oil in there (it is, isn't it?) then it can't be lack of oil causing low pressure. If you've swapped the oil pressure switch for a known good one, then logically, the only other thing that's left is the thing that creates the oil pressure in the first place, ie, the oil pump. But again, I'm no mechanic so take my input as you will.

Have a look at the replies you got in the other thread when you first asked this question:

You're welcome James, no problem. I honestly don't know if it would fit or not. Like you, I can't see any difference, BUT (1) I've never had an IS250 and (2) I'm not a mechanic, so my observations are not necessarily to be taken as being correct. I'm afraid you need someone with greater knowledge than me before you spend your hard-earned cash.

The 350 is higher road tax here in the UK but I don't know about France. Whichever one you go for you'll have to change over the headlights for left-hand drive units. I know that people just put on beam deflector stickers for a couple of weeks holiday but actually living there and getting it through a French MOT is quite a different kettle of fish altogether. Both are built on the same body shell and have the same interior as far as I know, but I'd say the more economical one would be the 400h. Hope all goes well and you find what you want.

But possibly not as efficient? The batteries need lots of cool air but maybe higher up with more ducting would reduce the airflow.

In that case then Barry, I can only suggest that there's something wrong with your car. As I said above, the RX brakes are amongst the best, if not the best brakes I've experienced on any car and I've driven many brands of cars, as well as many different vans and vehicles during my days as a telephone engineer on BT. Given that, and also the fact that very few others on here have voiced the same concerns as you, I can only reiterate that you seem to be the odd one out so it must be your car.

Hybrid cars are not emissions-tested anyway so they can't fail an emissions test. However, there is some debate around whether an MOT tester would fail it if he knew there should be one underneath but all he sees is a straight bit of pipe where the cat should be.

The brakes on my 2013 RX450h Advance are amongst the best I've ever had and will stop the car on a sixpence from high speed, no problem whatsoever. However, the whole idea of a hybrid is to anticipate stops and do it very gently - apart from emergency braking of course. The regenerative braking is a form of retardation, but it's primary purpose is to recover the kinetic energy normally lost in friction heat and use it to charge the traction battery, not just to slow down the car as a traditional electromagnetic retarder would. Say you're approaching traffic lights - you start to brake very gently from a fair way out. As you do so, the power meter needle dips into the charge zone, possibly all the way down which indicates maximum charge. As you continue to lose speed the needle begins to rise as the rate of charge goes down. When you reach a certain speed (I think it's 3mph but could be wrong) OR if the traction battery becomes fully charged and can accept no more, then there's a change from regen braking to normal hydraulic braking. If you're on a long downhill descent and you just lift off the accelerator the power meter needle will drop into the charge zone, but only slightly - put your foot on the brake and it'll drop down much further, indicating more charge. I don't know what actual figures are but for sake of this discussion let's say that a set of discs and pads on a 'normal' car will last for 20k miles (remember, it's just an example). It's not unusual for hybrids to double that mileage or even triple it before discs and pads need to be changed, if the braking is done correctly, ie, as much use of regen and as little use of hydraulic as possible. In an emergency stop or just heavy braking, the hydraulic brakes are used straight away, with no regeneration first.

You could be right, but at £1500 that Lexus price is well over the top anyway - just because it's Lexus, not because it has any more precious metal content than any other cat on any other brand of car. Plus, you have to remember that the ne'r-do-wells are not the sharpest tools in the box anyway and probably can't do the maths regarding profit and loss. They do seem to be targetting Lexus (or are we just hearing more about Lexus because we're in a Lexus forum?) in the mistaken belief that the precious metals in a cat from a hybrid will be 'less corroded' and 'newer' than those from cats of other cars. However, as I remember from chemistry lessons at school more than 45 years ago, a catalyst speeds up a reaction but is left unchanged by that reaction, so the metals from 20 year old or brand new, hybrid or non-hybrid, should all be the same anyway.

This can't really be the case, can it? I mean, ceramic alone won't do it so it still has to have precious metals to act as the catalyst so it must still have some value, albeit not as much. I seem to remember reading that 'real' cats (for want of a better word) have catalytic 'beads' of the precious metals, whereas the ceramic ones have a ceramic core that is covered in a 'catalytic wash' that has the catalyst suspended in it. If that's correct then they have to find a way of getting that coating off, but as the saying goes, "Where there's a will...."

Looks very much like that to me too. I'm assuming that the first photo is looking towards the rear of the car as you can see the silencer at the back. Coming forward we see the flange and what looks like the upward sweep of the tee piece that meets the two downpipes, and in between those two cut ends should be the cat.

PM sent Barry.

I'll upload mine to my Google Drive and send you a link to download them Barry. I actually bought the one that you linked to but it's only in PDF format and doesn't work very well but it may be useful as a sort of supplement to the better one I bought from Australia, which is in HTML format. I'll either do it later or possibly tomorrow.

Good point, and I have to say that I have no idea where it is on the RX300.

A very strange experience indeed Richard. The first question it begs is, if the cat really wasn't taken (and I'm not saying it's not true but just that I'm finding it very, very difficult to believe) but just "a section of exhaust", why did you go through insurance? Your premiums WILL go up at renewal time, no doubt whatsoever. I don't know how you got them to reduce your excess but even at £100, I would have just gone to a custom exhaust place and got them to fabricate the missing piece of pipe and weld it in. Even if they charged £250 to £300 I'll bet it would still have been cheaper in the long run (thinking of the increased premium when renewal comes round). Alternatively, your indy garage could have done it. The second question it begs is, if not the cat, what did they take, exactly? From the workshop manual it does look like the cat is very 'forward' of the pipe run but surely they wouldn't just take a straight section of pipe or the silencer?

Why would you think water could get in? If water could get in, tranny fluid could get out, but unless you're topping it up every week I don't think it's escaping so you'll be fine.

That's the format for the flash drive itself (can also be FAT16 too but no one would want that) but the music files themselves are different. I suppose it may depend on which car and how old, but I do know that my November 2013 RX450h Advance will only play MP3 or WMA files - it won't play FLAC, OGG or others. I have them arranged on the drive as follows: Parent folder = artist Sub folder = albums so Pink Floyd Dark side of the moon Wish you were here etc., etc. AC/DC Highway to Hell High Voltage and so on.

To what end? Did you read the article I linked to?

Welcome to the club Tariq. If you don't get anyone to show you in person, there should be Youtube videos that show the process.

Wonder how long it's been since the owner of this checked his tyre pressures and condition? Taken from this article here

Oh no! Sad news indeed. Hope you get the refund alright and that you find something else Shelley.