Sami Tilander

Something like this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ball-Joint-Service-Tool-Set-Kit-4x4-4wd-Remover-Removal-Installer-Install-Tool/291915849500?epid=2164167082&hash=item43f78a5f1c:g:JDYAAOSwpkFY6HWy ? That looks like a tool I could try on the stuck bolt first... to see if I'm able to remove it without cutting it. Sami

Still one concern before proceeding: if I cut the bolt... how do I get the remainings out from the bushing? The bushing is in the axle carrier, and I'd assume that changing that bushing might be very difficult... At least, some kind of a hydraulic press would be needed, right? I could not find that part from RockAuto, but seems that at least Febest has them as replacement parts, so it can be replaced... BR.Sami

No help, I've been hammering that a lot recently... The rubber will also absorb part of the energy from the hit, I think. And thanx Lee for pointing to RockAuto, they seems to have very reasonably priced arms indeed... I found also from ebay few sellers selling Febest control arms. Any experience on Febest parts? Mmhh, maybe I'll order the new arms, put everything back (as I still can), and wait for needed parts before start cutting anything... BR.Sami

Hi all, I had a plan to replace the rear wheel bearing on my GS450h... This time I planned to follow the offical guide to remove the whole axle carrier... only to discover that both upper control arm and lower control arm bolts were stuck inside the bushings. I got the nuts open, but the bolts do not move at all. What are my options? Should I try to cut those bolts? Or try with heating and probably destroy the rubber bushings? All help appreciated... BR.Sami

Hi John, a quick question about the rear brakes: is it easy to remove & install the piston's dust seal? I'm cleaning the calibers but wasn't sure if I can remove that safely... Any recommendations for the grease to be used with the slide pin? BR.Sami

"Check system" = communication problem between ECU and sensor. Use TechStream to check which sensor is giving this error. "Low tire" = communication ok, pressure is below the limit. Did you replace all four sensors, or just one? Could it be another sensor failing this time? Typically they just run out of battery, and it likely will happen to all of them sooner or later. BR:Sami

Nope, I don't see any error light nor message. Not even when toggling the Sport/Normal switch... Interesting if John got error light... BR.Sami

That does not harm either (I've my actuators sitting on garage's table right now: switched to BC Racing Coilovers in the last summer)... BR.Sami

And if you really want all the nasty details, check this Technical Report: "EVALUATION OF THE 2008 LEXUS LS 600H HYBRID SYNERGY DRIVE SYSTEM" https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/947393 It is for LS600h, but GS450h is quite similar (as far as I know)... BR.Sami

Search for "Prius Power Split Device" (PSD) for more information. One example here: http://eahart.com/prius/psd/ (requires Flash, but explains quite nicely the function of the PSD) BR.Sami

Not in Fort Knox, but probably in Lexus Tech: https://www.lexus-tech.eu/Menu/Repair (3€/h for accessing all manuals...) BR.Sami

Mmh... is this UK only? I checked my local (Finland) Lexus pages and also Lexus Europe's webpages: both still have max. 10y warranty: https://www.lexus.eu/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/hybrid-health-check/#hybrid-health (In Finland there is also max.350.000km in addition to that 10y limit, interesting,,,) Hopefully this is coming to Finland too... BR.Sami

Nice video, thanx for sharing this! Keep us updated if you face any issues with that Autel sensor... BR.Sami

Update: I'm also now having this "low tire" message visible all the time... I've been driving two days with TechStream live monitoring, and it shows correct pressures for all tires (way above the thresholds). And still that message is visible... strange. I'm suspecting that those aftermarket sensors are time-to-time sending some very low readings, even the pressures are correct. Because I did the "initialization" procedure and it captured very low pressures as limits (I can see this in the TechStream). The strange thing is that I don't see those low readings in TechStream. Maybe the TechStream is not updating the screen that often? BR.Sami

I ment 500 meters, not miles, sorry for confusion... I've to say that those aftermarket sensors I now have (Scharader), are not very reliable... It takes very long time to clear the "low tire" message after correcting the tire pressures. I'm going to switch back to the OEM sensors... BR.Sami

Hi all, My next task/plan is to refurbish the leather seats in my GS450h. They are in pretty good condition, but the colour has slightly faced out... I found from web an interesting product: https://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Colourant_Kit Does anybody here have any experience with this (or similar) product? Thanx in advance, Sami

You actually need to drive the car for about 500m to get the new limits set in the ECU. I noticed this when I had TechStream connected to the car and I did the initialization procedure: values where not updated even I waited how log. Only after I drove the car about 500m, the new limits were stored. And to get the "low type pressure" message cancelled, you need to drive a bit more. For me it took about 5 mins driving around when the message finally dissappeared. Strange logic... Did you have the TechStream? With it you can see the real measurements from sensors... BR.Sami

The link says "UMIWE 315MHz", but in Europe it should be 433MHz, if I've got it correctly... Anyway, good to know that there are other options available 👍 BR.Sami

Here is couple of pictures I took from TPMS sensor battery change... Pic 1: sensor removed from the enclosure: first remove the black plastic cover (two plastic pins holding it), then carefully dig out the sensor from that white stuff... Note that I have cut the valve stem totally (it was also damaged), and I'll replace that with new one. Pic 2: sensor from underneath: note the antenna wire (be carefully when removing the circuit board: you cannot really see the antenna, it is under the circuit board...) Pic 3: voltage of the old battery (antenna facing up) Pic 4: new battery, type CR2450. Not exactly same as the old one, but managed to solder it into place. Pic 5: voltage of the new battery Pic 6: end result! I used regular bathroom silicone (I don't have plans to replace this battery any more 😉 ) The new valve stem is glued with epoxy. BR. Sami

Did you still have original sensors? Never changed batteries? Did the error disappear or is it constant? I've noticed that it actually takes quite long time after the ECU complains about "check system". So might be that your sensor(s) is barely sending something, time to time, and it might keep the ECU happy most of the time. I've also similar issue with one of those non-OEM-sensors I bought: it has replaced already once, but it still fails in communication time to time... I'm going to refurbish the original, old sensors and replace at least this failing one... BR. Sami

Yes, correct. That will reset the alarm limits in ECU (the pressure which will raise the "low tire" message). Those are also visible in the TechStream... Sami

Where did you put the old sensor? You can easily get "low tire" if the old sensor with same ID is somewhere near the car... 😉 Did you try to do the "Pressure initialization" procedure? That should help after you have checked that the pressures are ok... TPMS is a good system, when it works... BR.Sami

When I had wrong IDs coded to the ECU, the fault codes re-appeared right after clearing. This sounds more like low battery or a failing sensor to me... I just got one of those Schrader sensors replaced as it was triggering "check system" about once a day. That message disappeared after a while, so the sensor was able to send something meaningful time to time... After sensor was changed two days ago, no fault codes since (fingers crossed). BR. Sami

Those fault codes will be visible in TechStream even if the ECU can read the sensors. The "Check System" message in the dash tells if there is some active communication problem or not. Clearing the codes will tell which sensors cannot be read right now (fault codes will appear again if there is still an issue). TechStream also support live monitoring of the sensors (select the Tire Pressure Monitor, and then data list). BR. Sami

Update: I worked out the strange "low tire" issue: it was caused by my old/original TPMS sensors (which had the same IDs than the new ones). Seems that even a brick wall was not blocking the wireless transmission from sensor to the ECU 😁. I'm still investigating one "check system" error which comes always from same sensor every now and then (and disappear after few minutes). Otherwise these sensors seems to work correctly.