andrewcoxgm@gmail.com

Well I don't think I have soft close doors - but the glass is pretty thick.

Don't do any opposite steering. Just use the brake pedal. Works a treat.

LS430 - identical inside.

Car is great -  reliable, comfortable, powerful. Luxury sport.

Does my car have those features? Not sure. It's supposed to be the same as a lexus 430, so if they have it I should to. How does the soft door close work? Do you press the door button?

One feature I can confirm is missing from the Crown is the valet lock. I know the LS430 has them, but I can't find the button in the crown.Perhaps I don't have those other features either.

Brisbane has some very steep streets. When I'm in the city, I release the parking brake with my left foot hard on the brakes - then use that to do a hill start. Once moving, remove left foot and you are back to normal auto driving. Works but always feels a little odd.

Never owned a lexus. so can't say. But the step up from the 400 to the 430 was a big one. I love my crown and it cost me less then half of a previous generation lexus with more mileage.

Crowns are good!

18 minutes ago, runsgrateasanut said:

Hi Andrew,

How's your Crown Majesta coping with the Australian heat and recent events? 

I think when we last had a conflab I mentioned one of the downsides of the Car (which I personally prefer to the Celsior in looks) is that interior Wood trim - as seen in this rather nice example doesn't cope with heat. Such a pity though daresay it can be replaced. 

https://www.tc-v.com/used_car/toyota/crown+majesta/26157750/?isNew=1

Yes, I have the same peeling trim problem. Has got so bad I will be taking it to a trim specialist in the next week or so. Hopefully they can fix it with a heat gun and adhesive. Only affects the front dashboard - side and rear trim all ok. It's the QLD heat that did it.

18 minutes ago, runsgrateasanut said:

 

Thanks, I will watch the vireo and check availability etc...

Hi,

I have imported a Crown Majesta S180 from Japan (basically a Lexus LS430). My previous car was an Avalon which was rear ended by a P plater at a roundabout.

I want to install front and rear cameras in my new car. Can anyone recommend a decent system that works well and is easy to use? I have checked on the web and they seem to get very mixed reviews.

I also want it fitted so there are no loose wires dangling about. I want the wires hidden as much as possible. I know that supercheap and autobahn (major stores here in Oz) say they can do this but are they any good? My understanding is that they would have to install an electronic box or a usb extender  (and of course snap out panels to put the wires inside). Are the staff in these chain stores up to this or should I use a qualified auto electrician to do it instead??

Thanks

Andrew 

On 12/21/2018 at 12:34 AM, andrewcoxgm@gmail.com said:

Thankyou - I will give it a a go and let you know. That solution never occurred to me. By the way, I also find that big clunky noise very annoying when I pull the release handle. Sounds more like a tractor than a luxury sedan.

Hi,

I tried this but it doesn't work. If I pull the lever and the foot brake hits my foot, the park brake stays on regardless. I have tried raising my foot to different levels but the result is always the same - ie, on or off. There may be a sweet spot I haven't been able to find, but for now I am using my left foot on the brake pedal as this is simpler (but v annoying).

Thanks for the suggestion though. It made perfect sense.

11 hours ago, The-Acre said:

I always brake with my left foot, it just feels natural.  

I have a bad knee and drive with my left foot resting above the dashboard - so it's not really an option.

20 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

I`ve had it for 25 years in 4 successive Mercs and never found it  troublesome Andrew.

Horses for Courses, I suppose.

Yes but horses don't roll downhill. They dig their hooves in to stop that happening. Just saying it is a stupid setup.

15 hours ago, The-Acre said:

No, mine resets the fuel average as well.

Wish mine would but it doesn't, and the TS controls for fuel usage don't either. I spent ages trying to figure out a way to reset it then came across some US Lexus forums and they were complaining about the same thing. It only resets when you fill the tank up. Minor thing nut v annoying.

18 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

I just press reset on the steering wheel.

 

That works for resetting average speed/trip distance etc, but it won't reset avg fuel consumption. Just to be clear, that is (in my crown) kms travelled per litre. No way to reset that unless you refill the tank. Maybe your lexus is a later model?

19 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

I have a steep driveway and this isn't a problem when I set off in the morning because the engine revs higher until it reaches working temperature. However, if you drive about a bit and park the car on a slope, when you pull that lever to drive off the car rolls. The park brake is either on or off and you have to do some fancy footwork with the brake and accelerator to avoid a ding. Have no idea why Toyota went with this. The footbrake in other models worked fine.

 

Sounds like the system I have in the Merc.

Can`t you use the left foot on the brake?

I do, but it is annoying and I don't understand why Toyota rolled this out when they had perfectly good set ups in other cars. It is an annoyance I wanted to tell potential buyers about.

On 12/19/2018 at 7:12 PM, rich1068 said:

All of them by the looks of it 

It is a Lexus LS430 for the Japanese Domestic market. 4.3L V8. Luxury Sedan.

41 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Best to use your own children if possible Andrew!  :):):)

Of course, and I will keep them away from the boot!

7 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

Sounds a bit like the footbrake in the XC90. A foot operated pedal to apply the brake but a handle to pull to disengage. Can you cover the footbrake with your foot so it doesn't completely disengage when you pull the lever? Pretty much what I had to do on the XC90. To stop it rolling and avoid the bloody loud twang! when the footbrake disengaged.

Thankyou - I will give it a a go and let you know. That solution never occurred to me. By the way, I also find that big clunky noise very annoying when I pull the release handle. Sounds more like a tractor than a luxury sedan.

23 hours ago, Chris Skelton said:

Nice Cube in background of pic! possibly my next car! (-:

Don't do it! I checked out the cubes they had in the compliance shop and they are awful. You would be better off with an Austin Maxi or a Morris. 

20 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

Minor woes then really.  Not sure what you mean about not manually setting the average fuel consumption on the LS430, with mine you just press re-set whenever you want.

Really? How? Have been told on other forums it isn't possible.

On 12/19/2018 at 2:15 AM, The-Acre said:

A bit blurred but I'm sure it disables the interior alarm sensors in case you lock pets/children inside.

Wow thanks! Presumably I can test this by locking children inside and hear if the alarm goes off?

On 12/18/2018 at 7:08 PM, Scouselexus said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201811192572948?radius=1501&make=TOYOTA&model=CROWN&sort=sponsored&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&postcode=l360sl&page=1

only two for sale in whole of uk this one looks like yours. Cracking motor you got btw

Hi.

I think that's an S170 Crown, the previous model to my S180. They upgraded the engine to a V8 in the S180 Majesta plus a few other things. Still looks very nice though!.

Had my Majesta for over a month now and am v happy with it, but there are some minor niggly issues that I wasn't expecting..

Firstly, there's no way to manually reset the avg fuel consumption reading. In any other car you can press a button or choose an option to set this reading back to zero  (ie, how much fuel am I using from now on). In the crown (and lexus ls430) you can't do that. Instead, the reading gets reset to zero (whether you like it or not) when you fill up the tank. Considering the effort Toyota made to make this car better than it's European rivals,  this oversight is v strange.

Secondly, the boot release mechanism is rubbish. You press a button under the boot lid and and it pops open. Then you have to gently lift it up about an inch until the motors engage and open it fully for you. So it sort of opens automatically but it doesn't shut itself. You have to do that yourself! You push the boot lid down and just before it's shut the car sucks it down the rest of the way with a viscous thump to make sure it is secure. I have checked and this isn't a fault. It's just what crowns do. I think it is specifically designed to eat fingers and a real child hazard. It reminds me of the snappy cash till they had in 'Open All Hours'.

The worst one though is the park brake. It's not a handbrake, it's a footbrake, but that's not the problem - my Avalon had a footbrake and it's easy to use when you get used to it. You park and press the lever down to engage it, then press fully down and gradually lift off to disengage if you are on a slope etc (just like an old handbrake). My new Crown also has a foot pedal to engage the park brake, but you can't disengage it with the pedal. Instead there is a big lever under the dashboard and when you pull it the park brake is  completely 'off'.

I have a steep driveway and this isn't a problem when I set off in the morning because the engine revs higher until it reaches working temperature. However, if you drive about a bit and park the car on a slope, when you pull that lever to drive off the car rolls. The park brake is either on or off and you have to do some fancy footwork with the brake and accelerator to avoid a ding. Have no idea why Toyota went with this. The footbrake in other models worked fine.

Other then that it's all good. Great car, great price. Should have done it sooner!

.

.  .  .

Hi,

Here is a photo of the mystery button in my crown. It's located in front of the air purifier controls above the rear view mirror (sorry if the photo isn't very sharp). It's basically a car icon with beams coming down inside from the roof and the only option is 'OFF'.  If I press it, nothing seems to happen (no lights on dash etc). Can you help?

Thanks

I will take a photo of the mystery button and post it here so you can take a look. Have no idea what it does.

My car also had a breakdown flare. I saw it in the photos before I collected the car and had to ask the import agent what it was for  The compliance shop removed it though.

You are quite right - the video link shows you how to keep the AC/Audio (and other) screens on full time so it doesn't just flick back to the default screen. That was one of the first things I did because it was really annoying. All good now.

TV screen is the same for me. I get sound on some channels but no picture. Why do they have TV in the dash anyway? Seems insane.

When I picked the car up, there were some large plastic components left in the passenger well. I watched a lexus ls430 video which  showed all the hidden storage compartments under the seats but I can't get these bits to even closely fit anywhere. I also had a brand new set of snow chains in the boot. They weigh a ton and as I live in tropical Queensland they are about as useful as an inflatable dart board.

The video tells you how to get rid of the missing ECT disk message. That I do remember. Hopefully your TS functions are similar.

I am also finding some stuff in my car which I don't understand. Apart from the mystery media player in the glovebox, there is a button above the windscreen (centre in front of the air purifier) which has an icon of the car with increasingly long bars coming down from the roof. What does that do?

That's interesting. Where was the sat nav disk? I was looking for a button to turn off the air suspension in case I needed to change a tyre etc but couldn't find it.(not even sure it exists). But I did find an empty media player in the glove box which is a complete mystery. Is that for ECT?

Will send a pic

Ok, I've checked the screen when I put it in reverse and I get no ECT message. I just have 2 buttons on the bottom of the screen. One changes the reversing view to a different display, the other puts the camera into parking assist mode (haven't had the guts to actually use that yet to park).

So I have no ECT problems. Did the video fix it for you?

15 hours ago, The-Acre said:

That's really helpful, thank you.  I'll look tomorrow to see how similar it is. Disabling ETC is really all I want to do. Its not a problem but it'll be nice not to get the message and the voice telling me off (at least I think she's telling me off!)

Hi,

Well as I say I haven't noticed any message on the reversing camera (forgot to check, will do so tomorrow), but I definitely don't get told off by the Japanese lady. In fact I never hear the Japanese lady at all. The video shows how to switch all that stuff off plus heaps of other useful info. 

Hope this solves your problem.

13 hours ago, The-Acre said:

No problem as such but it would be nice to disable a couple of things. One being ETC which is an automatic toll charge, the sensor being above the rear view mirror.  For some reason it shows ETC at the top of the screen for a few seconds when the reversing camera activates.  I could buy a monitor from a breakers for £80, but I'm not sure I can be bothered.

Hi,

Not sure exactly what you are asking about. ECT is disabled in my car but I will check the reversing screen tomorrow to see if I get the same thing. Is it a big ECT message (if so I haven't noticed it). The guy who imported the car for me warned about ECT and sent a link to a video where he shows how to switch it off (among lots of other things). I thought this was one of the first things I would have to to do in the car, but the compliance shop had already done it. So while I haven't actually fixed it myself I know the video tells you how to switch it off.

If you haven't watched it already, the video link is below...

Does this help?