Barry14UK

I have been using Nokian tyres throughout the year on my BMW saloon for several years now and have been very happy with them. A dedicated summer tyre would wear slightly less but I only do a small mileage and appreciate the better grip. I can't see the model I use listed now but it is probably similar to what they now describe as their weatherproof and all seasons model. I ordered last on line at a good discounted price (not one of the usual suppliers) and had them fitted by a local tyre fitting firm.

As regards reaching up to roof on RX, I did see somewhere that you could buy portable steps that cantilevered out from the central door posts but these looked a bit precarious to me.

From pics looks good but take care how you back up to park - looks like you are close to stuff!

Whilst I agree with replies, the OP said his HUD was reading about 3 mph slower than other indicators not faster. With standard size tyres correctly inflated I would expect the HUD to read faster than other devices. When comparing with satellite devices, it is important that comparative figures should be obtained on level road as hills will make a difference but not to the cars HUD. I have done this exercise on my car and the speedo and HUD which agree show a slightly faster speed than my fitted TomTom or the back up small Garmin. This is what I would expect and also find on my BMW. So in short, if compared as I said, the OP's HUD is suspect and does not comply with the margin speed indicators supplied on the car are meant to show.

If you can't find any used ones you could try 'Lexus Direct' an official Lexus main dealer who normally undercuts other Lexus dealers. Having said that, Lexus Cheltenham (and probably some other Lexus Dealer), are doing a promotion on accessories for August they tell me, so if going this route it's worth being quick.

What I find particularly perplexing is what you say about the screeching occurring now with the brakes off. I only ever had this with a stone caught up between the disc and the backplate/dust shield or on another occasion where the discs had been so worn and undercut by pads that metal on the pads was rubbing on a small peripheral area of the disc before the brake material could make contact. (A distorted backplate/dust shield could be another reason if disc was rubbing against it). Without garage lifting and other facilities and good knowledge of how to go about sorting this you are in the hands of a competent mechanic. Being a hybrid adds to the complication of checking with discs turning and jacked up as you seem to have an unexpected problem which looks not to be obvious.

Manufacturers don't sell their cars with screeching brakes and provided genuine replacements are fitted and correctly lubed as recommended, and all not replaced parts are in good order, it should not be necessary to resort to fitting non original parts. Certainly, manufacturers mostly fit calipers and the like from specialist suppliers and indeed there are some very different designs. I remember that on my old 2.5 V6 Camry there were anti rattle springs, the ends of which had to be located in the edge of the pads to help keep the pads away from the discs for example (possibly the case with other Toyota cars). Some pads come with an antirattle/antisqueal material preapplied while other have interposed shims that have to be lubricated. Some pads house an insulated sensor which when worn down allows the metal part then in contact to make an electrical connection bringing up a warning light while others when worn allow contact with a a softer metal that does produce a warning screech. This metal component has to be correctly located in the pad if not contained within the supplied pad. If all the parts are correctly lubricated and fitted I don't follow how applying extra cut out material is going to make a difference if the screeching occurs when the brakes are off. One way to help detect a sticking caliper is to drive the car some distance. Then, taking care not to burn yourself, feel nearer the center of the wheels to check whether one is noticeably hotter. It should not be difficult for a competent person to determine where the problem lies. i

sticking caliper? deformed back plate?

Very difficult to see how you could achieve that even if you tried! Would also be interested to see how car is removed - crane, demolish wall?

Coins could also have slipped out of trouser pocket. I have found this had happened in a car before now and also down the sides of my normal armchair. Anyway, good you found cause. Rattles can be irritating.

Be very careful as overheating can have knock on effects. I had some loss of coolant on my V6 Camry some years ago now. I replaced radiator and coolant and all seemed well. However, it became evident that a cylinder head gasket had failed. (not suggesting this is your problem), So with new head gaskets all was well for a few miles but then oil warning light came on and to cut a long story short, the original overheating had caused the coating of oil in the engine to flake off and drop into the sump. This had resulted in the oil strainer in the sump becoming completely blocked so starving the engine of oil. So a good clean and removing hardened oil from strainer with a pick sorted the problem. Luckily I stopped driving quite quickly before significant damage was caused. But this was due to the original overheating so it may be OK but if ever my car overheated, I would do an oil change in case flaked oil residue had been dislodged into sump.

What sort of mileage would you be putting on car in next 2 years and apart from accepting depreciation due to age and mileage, would you be able to fund repairs and wear and tear, the cost of which is rather unquantifyable? The present issues don't seem to be major. Breakers could be useful at some stage as Lexus parts are expensive, particularly so when compared with the value of an old car.

Best chance of getting what you are looking for is from Lexus dealerships and you also get a warranty some others will not match if you need to make use of it. Of course you pay more for this source. Another possibility could be Parkers second hand cars, this does include some 4th generation models but the vast majority are much older as you might expect. It can be difficult to meet all your criteria so much depends on how long you are prepared to wait and how far to view.

That's my experience and true of what others have found too but if Keith and the op find it works, fair enough. just pay for official or non official update. To be fair, roads don't generally change vastly very quickly, although modern satnav can help with alternative routes, particularly where there are hold ups. Unfortunately, that's another area where I have found frequent warnings on the Lexus that there is a hold up in 5 miles which when it comes to it does not materialize.

I keep a machete and a swordstick to hand for protection against intruders but I think if I used it to protect a car and injury or death resulted, the law might not be so forgiving.

I think it's Traffic Program - those traffic reports that interrupt your listening. I don't know how this achieved on a 2012 car.

Maybe because it was an 'old' Tom-tom. The latest six series are much faster, you can pinch and spread and mount closer to your line of vision without glancing to your left. But most importantly I have found Tom-tom to be more reliable. Having been taken miles out of my way with the Lexus sat nav which is pretty well up to date, I ran the Lexus and the Tom-tom together and the later chose the best route. I know this because i tested in an area I know well. When I was about a mile from home the Lexus unit continued to take me away from home whereas the Tom-tom took me the best way without problem for example. I proved the relative advantage a number of times. If you scroll down in this thread you will find how it was firmly mounted on the dash. (Apologies for duplicated pics). Every time I tried to edit out it just repeated - seems you can't completely remove a post on this forum or if there is a way it's not obvious. https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/120872-fit-aftermarket-satnav-and-integrate-into-rx-audiosystem/

No way would I update maps when you can fit a much more reliable TomTom with several free updates each year plus speed cameras. Well this is what replaced my hopeless Lexus one and I am by no means the only one. Others use Google maps or I think it's 'waze'.

I would have thought that the Lexus dealer who bought in this car, doubtless as a part ex, would have allowed the owner at the time a lesser amount on it on the basis they would either to have to do some work done on it (at very least the wheels) or sell it on to a garage with lower standards or even to auction.. Quite frankly, I am surprised that a good Lexus dealer would put it on display int this condition. Maybe he saw how keen you were and thought he would have a quick sale by doing minimum work.

Alloys look poor. I suppose an idea would be to go to a different Lexus dealer group with the car (if there is one not too far away) and ask them what further they would do if selling the car to bring it up to approved Lexus standard. In need you are going back to original dealer for MOT anyway, you could say car was not prepared to a satisfactory and you want your money back. That might get some compromise.

My pumps simply draw the fluid (has to be an oil) on upward stroke into the metal cylinder and push out by depressing lever, no relay or electronics lol. Prior to this I used the plastic tube on plastic container where you just squeeze. This might work here but the hand lever pump is better when you are underneath car and needing to force oil upwards.

I used touch spray from Halfords for 3 different cars and returned all tins due to mismatch, so wouldn't recommend them if the thought had occurred. I suppose they might get it right in some cases.

That seems a good tip! Good spot about thread sizing. I will adopt if my car needs significant amount of oil. Prior to reading this I would just have used one of my 1 litre oil pumps which has flexible tube at end. (I have used these for filling differential etc on previous cars).

In the UK (at least), you should tell your insurers of any change as I did when a similar situation arose with a previous car I insured. There are sites where you can feed in the tyre size of your standard approved tyres and the proposed ones and it gives the difference between them in distance per revolution as a percentage. This should be within certain parameters (which I can't recall immediately, as among other things speedo readings can be unacceptably off.)

Setting aside company cars, because these are often secured on special terms and the driver may be limited in choice by price, model or status in the firm, most drivers are just interested in the car as a means of getting from A to B. They like to think they are getting a good deal and it is helpful to have plenty of dealers around the country with preferably one not too far from where they live and one that is pretty reliable. Leasing has had an increasing impact on the market and this may have encouraged many to go for perceived up market cars in some cases for image. Certainly there are many more up market German cars on the roads nowadays, particularly these premium markers offer more smaller/less expensive models nowadays. It is important that the cars are reliable and service facilities are good. They have to accept that an image enhancing Mercedes is going to cost them more initially and for servicing than say for a Vauxhall or Peugeot. Then there are car enthusiasts, those who are regularly on car forums or wider ones as Piston Heads. Maybe such folk are a bit more forgiving of a car's quirks and it being somewhat less reliable if it offers something special or is endearing in another way . Spares may not be so readily available and dealers fewer and further away. I suppose the ideal is to have a reliable 'bread and butter' car for every day use and something that is an indulgence to maybe tinker with or take out on special occasions. Not everybody can do this of course. I met a guy once who had his own firm and had several Italian exotic cars but did most of his motoring in a Ford Escort as it was his most reliable car. Then there are guys like a neighbour of mine who also runs a bog standard Ford but also a now Classic Morris Minor to tinker with and use occasionally. Maybe with Lexus we have a car that is reliable and a bit out of the ordinary, accepting that servicing at main dealers is going to be expensive and for many may require travelling quite some way.