adebendanchris

Steve - thanks for the response and the link. Have seen the same on ebay from this company, that is based in Spain. Main issue is it could take 3 weeks to get here and isn't the genuine article - unless someone can vouch for using it. Would prefer to use the genuine Toyota tool if I could.

In the spirit of the festive season I wondered whether anyone can lend or sell me one of the above. Part number is 09730-00010. I've got a damaged front air suspension strut on my RX450h that I've managed to remove but getting the airline out it is proving a struggle and despite trying other options suggested on the forums, looks like I need this tool. I'll obviously cover all postage and packaging costs and would be very grateful! Please let me know if you can help.

Thanks for sharing - good to know!

Happy it's been useful Anthony - site link is www.sc430mods.com. I'm probably going to order the rear camera and will post how I get on.

+50bhp chip I'm not certain about 😀 but I'm tempted to try the throttle accelerator. I know it doesn't really increase bhp but maybe it will make the car feel a bit more responsive.

As a relatively new SC430 owner (although a long term RX400 owner) I thought I'd repay some of the excellent advice on this forum by sharing my experience of buying and installing a bluetooth adapter to my 2004 SC430. I'd like to stress straight away that I have no link with the individual supplying the product. I was looking for a solution that would allow me to answer calls and more importantly to access my music on my phone while on the move. I wanted a plug and play option that could be easily integrated with the existing controls. When I started to look around I saw the options were limited and once you'd factored in shipping most were coming out at £150+. I didn't want to go to the expense of replace the entire system, just wanted to link to my phone. I then came across sc430mods a site run by an enthusiast in the US who was supplying bluetooth kits as well as other products that he'd developed. Although the kits were out of stock I dropped Calvin a note and got a response within 24 hours answering all my queries and directing me to a video of an install so I could see how the product was fitted and worked. He assured me that although the product was out of stock on the site more would be ready in the next couple of days and to use the notify when available option. Within 2 days I did get a note saying they were back in stock. I decided to take the plunge and order a kit. Including P&P it was about £80 (cost varies dependent on shipping options), much less than I'd seen elsewhere and you can pay be paypal or credit card. Once I submitted my order I got a confirmation email and then another to confirm shipping. A week later my bluetooth adapter arrived. Although not the prettiest of products, fitting was exactly as shown in the video, plug and play. The unit works faultlessly with both Android and Iphones and is fully integrated with all the steering wheel controls. Sound quality is excellent. It's worked that well I ordered a second to fit to the RX400 and that is performing brilliantly as well. There are a variety of other products available and a rear view camera kit is being developed that looks interesting. I'm not endorsing this site but my experience (both product and service) has been excellent and wanted to share this in case anyone else is looking for a cheap option to upgrade stereo / access phone. Any questions / queries just shout.

If you do go down the DIY route like Barry I can recommend Bilt Hamber. It leaves a clear film and provided good protection. I used it on my last car when I got an advisory regarding the brake pipes. Once I cleaned off the surface rust it was simple to apply and I had no further advisories while I had the car. The flexible nozzle works great and I also used it on my wheel arches which appeared to work well. As ever it's a case of "pays your money and takes your choice" but compared to some of the costs above I think it's a good budget option. As with all these products access is the real issue and you really need a lift to be able to apply the product effectively (Although I did manage with a jack and axle stands last time). Overall I've always been pretty impressed with all Bilt Hamber products, as they do a whole range of car detailing and rust prevention solutions.

Hi Ian, I'm not certain this will help but I thought I'd share my story with my RX400h. (After finding so much help when I was looking for a car) October 2017 and my wife wants to replace her car. She uses it mainly around town and drives to work 3 times per week. We also do the occasional long trip to the continent. We wanted a spacious and comfortable car for the longer trips for 2 adults and two teenagers. It also needed to be slightly higher up than a normal car. We started looking at standard SUVs (Nissan Quasqhai etc) but weren't keen.We decided the best bet was to go upmarket, looking for something older to fit our budget but still reliable. After much research we narrowed it down to the Lexus RX400h or Volvo XC60 . Why not the Volvo? - well nearly all were diesels and after issues with DPF previously we wanted a petrol, so the Lexus it was. We knew we'd most likely be looking at a car with 100,000 miles plus and over 10 years old. To be honest there was a lot of dross out there. Many with the timing belts not being changed ("I'm certain it's been done but I've lost the paperwork..."), tatty interiors (torn seats) etc. After much searching we found a decent private sale with 131,000 miles, full service history but it needed a service. It had minor things needed doing (Roof bars needed powder coating, some interior trim replacing ) but really just needed a good clean. The main thing was the timing belt and water pump was done at 100k. I can appreciate the concern with the hybrid but I think the technology is pretty robust and talking to my indie (Toyoda Tech) you're more likely to have other issues than the hybrid battery. If the hybrid does go (from my understanding) you can replace it but it's not cheap (used battery on ebay £600). However,compared to the cost of replacing parts on Mercs (SBC brake unit in Mercs will fail at some point - £1,000 to replace) or Range Rovers / Volvos, this is pretty reasonable. Either way just over 15 months later with 143,000 mile on the clock apart from the first main service the car has been perfect. It's ticked all the boxes being quiet comfortable and spacious. The only thing I've done is replace and upgrade the battery (£54 Yuasa 48ah) due to some strange system warnings come up when it's cold. Once changed no more issues. I'm also a Merc fan and have a CLS500 but annoyingly the kids now always ask to go in their mum's car! The only downside is it's not great on petrol but then again compared to the Merc it's positively economical. My advice would be don't be rushed in to buying something, make sure it's got a good service history and find a good local indie (Toyoda Tech have been great ..) Maybe we've been lucky but I'd not hesitate in getting another. Your 100K car I'd look for a local Toyota/Lexus Indie to look it over.