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Mauler

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  1. I've been going over this scrote-ache for the last few months - it turns out that my '07 400h that I got last year was cheap because it doubles as a water carrier! So far I have replaced the boot seal/rubber as it was a bit mullered, sealed the upper panel seams leading down from the rear roof-rail fixings & as of yesterday put some sealant around the holes where the plastic trim fixes next to the rear light clusers. I had leaks on both sides originally, but after 3 hours, a socket set, screwdriver & 2 litres of water in a bottle I'm sure that I've nailed the passenger side and will keep an eye on the driver's side. I want it to rain now so I can go and see if I finally can take towels out of the back of my luxury car and put my damn boot back together! 😄
  2. No thanks Ken! I wouldn't get a plate specific to a car model for the same reason that you're selling yours 😁 Loving it, for the most part thank you! I'd like the electric motor to kick in a bit more but I suppose I just need to get a better feel for the car to get the most out of driving a hybrid. Seems to get used the most under the gentlest of acceleration and when at a constant low speed: any whiff of an uphill incline and that's it, the V6 is in play! As for the AUX issue, I just went with a BT to FM transceiver - I like Anker kit as I had a USB lighter charger in my IS and I have one of their USB power packs; very well made and nicely designed. I plugged the unit into the floor 12v socket so it's all hidden and out of the way, plus I never listen to the actual radio so giving up one of six unused memory saves was not a problem!
  3. If I had a spare kidney I would - unfortunately I'm also a Games Workshop hobbyist so I don't have THAT much spare cash 😁
  4. While the circumstances for upgrading from my IS250 to a RX400h were astoundingly creppe, it did force a purchase of a more practical vehicle to taxi my father around in if need be. I've been after an RX for a while so it was the obvious choice and while travelling for 2 hours to view the car was less than great the price for the car was and that was that! She needs two new rear tyres very soon and a good clean where she was parked under a tree for a while but it was the perfect match of interior colour, exterior colour, spec and condition. No faffing about upgrading the head unit to an MP3/DVD changer as I'd planned buuuut I might look into nabbing a second hand DVD player for the rear...I suspect that upgrade may be far more agg than it's worth. So...a few questions: 1) Which apps do experienced owners recommend for hybrid checks? I already know my way around Torque and was eyeballing Hybrid Assistant... 2) Does the RX have an AUX headphone port so that I can stream audio from my phone to the head unit via an adaptor? There's no obvious CD/AUX button like my very similar IS250 unit? 3) There doesn't seem to be any headlamp washers installed (unless they flip open under certain conditions?) but there's a button for them in the centre console. Is this normal too? Thanks in advance and hello, I'm quite chuffed 😄
  5. Haha! Sorry, not checked in for a while - I didn't have a RX then; I do now. Manuals for the 400h can be found here, entertainment hardware also: https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/resources/manuals-warranty
  6. Sure it's not a Levinson amp & sub? I have an IS, my sub runs the length of the back shelf and I suspect the amp is stashed somewhere nearby. I've not seen many RXs up close but in pics and vids I've never seen a sub in plain view in the boot or on the back of a seat as they're folding (but the IS has non-folding rear seats so they're ideal for locating a sub behind). If an RX has a sub I'd wager that it's out of sight somewhere as there's not many places to fit one into the visible interior.
  7. Word of caution for this one - my 07 IS250 Multimedia has the ML (Pioneer) 6-disc DVD changer and it reads DVD video, CD audio & MP3 CD audio. It doesn't read MP3 DVD discs, much to my dismay. 😢
  8. Pretty much as per the title really - I have my heart set on upgrading from an 07 IS250 Multimedia to a RX400h and I was wondering if anywhere has a comprehensive list of which models had which spec and options? I've Googled a bit and found a ton of info but not much of it pertains to the UK or has the detail or clarity that I'm after. Can anyone shed some light, plx? 😀
  9. Turns out that Saga Insurance are for those who are over 50! Counts them out for me 😄
  10. I've been with AF for years and never had to make a claim - what's the experience putting you off them, Malc? I've got an IS250 at the mo but my insurance is up too...
  11. To be fair, that sounds like the RX head units: the earlier models don't support MP3 playback but later units did and I have no idea at which point or spec Lexus changed it!
  12. I'm not sure which model is in my 07 IS250 Multimedia but it plays DVDs and reads MP3 CDs just fine. Kinda gutted that it doesn't read MP3 DVDs but there you go 😁 Personally I was quite disappointed to discover that Lexus head units are made by Pioneer (I'm more used to higher-level Alpine stuff that has way more options) and that the Levinson speakers all seem to be paper cones. It sounds fine for what it is though, don't get me wrong, I just kinda expected the head unit to be made by a more prestigious manufacturer and Mark Levinson speakers, for all the fuss people make about them, to be more than paper! Given the overall decent output from the IS multimedia system I'm a mite concerned that if I sell it for an RX400h (which is the plan) I'll be taking a step down in audio quality - 'm not even sure that an RX of similar age even has an amp + sub...
  13. Will be interesting to see what people think of this as I'm sure this is the same on my IS250 - passenger side is deffo cooler than the driver's side when set to the same temp.
  14. Herbie, can you post or message me a link to some working Win10 64 drivers please, dude? I've got the same or a very similar Techstream cable but my PC nor laptop will recognise it and I've messed with a fair few drivers trying to get it to show up in the software!
  15. Wasn't sure where to post this, but as it directly involved my IS250 I figured here would be the best place but I'd hope that Lexus quality control extends to all models and ages. I recently took FO Autos up on an offer that I received in my mailbox to have an MOT for just £25. I figured that as my workplace in Chelmsford was a 30 seconds drive away from the local branch it was a cheap and convenient way to get the rapidly approaching MOT done. Now I'm no stranger to MOTs having generally owned Fords in the past (I still have my 3.0S Capri though, although I need it sold soon!) so I'm used to working on them myself and have a rough expectation of what should and shouldn't fail at certain ages on a car in general. So I drop my '07 IS250 off at the place on the day and head back to work. While I was at the counter I told the guy that due to a knock on the front in a car-park one headlamp was almost certainly out so could they please check the alignment and correct it before the MOT. The chap said they'd do it as they went. Cool. I got a call over an hour later saying that my car had failed it's MOT. I was quite surprised at this because the only advisories from the previous year (shortly before I owned the car) were for rear tyre tread depth and low front pads: the latter the previous owner had replaced before I bought the car and the rear tyres were still not on the wear indicators, so with the headlamps being true I shouldn't of had anything serious to worry about. They claimed that it had failed on the front headlamps being out of line, but had noted that they'd adjusted them - what's the point of failing the car on that if it's no longer going to cause a failure?! That was irritating more than anything, especially as I'd asked for them to be attended to before the test. The chap also claimed that the car had failed on a leaking rear shock absorber and a front wishbone rear bush splitting causing excessive movement. The chap went on to say that they'd "done me a favour" and phoned some places but the only place they could source a new wishbone was from Lexus; Lexus UK had none so they'd have to order one from Lexus Japan to the tune of a four-week wait and the part cost of £600. I politely passed on that helpful offer, got my car and on the drive home I arranged another MOT at my usual place local to where I live. So the next day at 9am I was £40 lighter and in my usual garage talking to the mechanic as my car was MOTed again. He said that the headlamps were now fine and would pass, but was also mystified as to why the previous tester had failed them if he'd been asked to adjust them beforehand. When it came to the rear shock I could see what he pointed out - it had leaked at some point but wasn't currently leaking or wet to touch, still performed it's job and while wasn't a fail it was certainly an advisory. The wishbone bush was the biggest pee-take of all. He showed me the chunky rubber at the back of the wishbone, which looked pretty good for a 12 year old bush constantly exposed to road grime and use. There was a tiny maybe 5mm crack on the front facing surface, away from the inner and outer edges, when the guy gave the car the horizontal movement test on the ramp there was next to no movement in the parts at all. He also pointed out that the opposite wishbone bush was exactly the same, which they hadn't even mentioned and neither was anywhere near an advisory, never mind a failure. So that was a lesson learned and an MOT pass for me. My mechanic then explained that it's been heard for some chains to lure motorists in with a special offer, exaggerate issues with the vehicle to fail an MOT test to pull in extra work and additional profit from that and the tester gets a bonus for performance. While I'm sceptical of this personally it would explain why Formula One seemed to try to pull a fast one and extort me for cash for work that wasn't required. So...last week I learned to avoid Formula One Autocentres, or the Chelmsford one at least, and stick to a trusted garage despite any inconvenience caused. Beh.
  16. Also not on my IS but on the crappy Focus I had before it - twice I had a "Steering Malfunction" error on the dash and lost power steering. The first time pootling around town was due to the -5C morning cold and a battery on it's way out. The second time was on the A12 and I had to pull over because it was too iffy to continue, then the car wouldn't start because the battery had finally died. Most modern cars have electric power steering as opposed to the traditional hydraulic fluid type, when the 12v battery is on it's last legs it seems the steering, dangerously, is one of the first systems to feel it. I'd get the 12v battery tested/charged/replaced and go from there.
  17. With regards to the audio setup in the IS (and Lexus' in general I think), Pioneer make the head units & amps, Mark Levinson, I believe, provide the speakers. After years of owning after-market Alpine head units I was somewhat disappointed with the ML setup. The speakers are great and the stereo is decent for most things (but as Linas says it deffo handles some music better than others) but as for messing with EQ audio options it's pretty much bass/mid/treble & fade/balance. When I assumed that ML were some Yank brand that was highly regarded I expected more customisation from the stereo but once I worked out that they only do the speakers I cut them some slack.
  18. All IS-model head units seem to be made by Pioneer. The easiest way to check is to search on eBay; they all pretty much have Pioneer stickers on the top casing.
  19. Sorry, only just seen this! If you could PM me a link that would be fantastic, thank you! IT Tech here, too 🙂
  20. Aye, the cheapo bluetooth ODB2 readers can diag most things but they *only* interface with the main ECU, which is where you can miss issues with subsystems like the ABS, which has it's own ECU module. I had a Mk2 Focus and got a Med/High bus cable and FORScan on my laptop to talk to the car, which allowed me to reprogram a Mk2.5 dash pod (and a spare key) to match my car, enable remote closing/opening of all windows, stuff like that. Specialist apps and cable may cost more than the cheap stuff but they're certainly worth it if you need to have a detailed look at the car's systems and dare to do more in-depth adjustments. Annoyingly my laptop is running Windows 10 and doesn't talk to my Chinese Techstream cable...yet. I think it's just a matter of Windows drivers...
  21. Threaten the gits with the insurance ombudsman - you'd be surprised how this can motivate them to be less rubbish. Then once it's sorted, bin them ASAP.
  22. Thanks n2! 😀 I'm sure I've taken interior panels off to get to gubbins on every car I've owned but none were as nice as the Lexus so I don't want to damage anything by misadventure...
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