Barry14UK

Well it wouldn't make sense to drive it again until what is causing the problem has beeen found and rectified. If you are assured in writing that this haas been done you can take a view as to whether to keep or trade.

Thank you for confirming what I assumed. I will leave brackets in place in case I have to be pulled out of a ditch or whatever! I wouldn't want to tow with this arrangement, although force of habit I do have a tow rope in the boot. Decided I won't have sufficient use to get proper tow bar fitted.

I assume it's just a button type battery easily checked with a meter.

Hi Peter, Thank you for posting pic but I don't see that. on my car. About two thirds is covered by a plastic undershield with a triangular bracket bolted to the chassis showing as it projects down through the shield on the near side. The plastic shield stops short fairly close to the rear silencer and just further out still is the counterpart triangular bracket attached to the other longitudinal chassis member. You couldn't fit a bar directly between the two brackets as it would foul the end of the silencer. I was thinking the brackets may have served as tie down points during shipment . These brackets are not currently serving any purpose. I propose to fit a connector to one so I can take my external mains supply to it and thence inside boot to a connector for my smart charger. This will then enable me to plug into the connector weekly to top up my battery without lifting stuff out of the boot to access the smart charger. It's threatening to rain at present but when possible I will get my trolley jack out and raise the car's rear in order to take some pics. I couldn't see a dedicated lifting pad in the centre rear but will sort something.

Thank you for your response Herbs. These 'jump starts' are great but need treating with respect otherwise can smoke or even explode as was shown with a market leader in a video but not in the one I will link to. I found it interesting to watch this tear down of a defective unit and from about 13.06 on (if you don't wish to watch the whole thing), the guy opens the diode pack and shows the importance of this, hence I mentioned it to you.

Had a look under rear of my car today. I have a substantial bolted on bracket with elongated hole projecting downwards on either side. Lexus make reference to a drawbar for towing in the handbook, although there is nothing connecting these brackets or connected to them. Any idea if these brackets are part of a tow system or what other purpose they serve

I just received same email from Lexus Cheltenahm so expect others will too.

Herbs, Thank you for posting and hope you have not badly strained your back. I empathise as I also have back trouble and it takes a few days to recover after contortions. I am actively looking into installing a 'jump start' and like you have concluded that connections indirectly to the 12v battery are more easily made from under the bonnet rather than directly to the battery in the boot. I follow the connections you made under the bonnet and how you brought extended leads through the bulkhead. I believe the unit you installed comes with the little diode housing on the positive lead to stop backfeed to the jump start. Did you include this on the extended cables you made up? I assume your leads terminate in the socket you showed where your meter was hooked up. Presumably you would plug the jump start into this socket when needed.

Sorry, the information I was given and passed on was incorrect as presented so apologies. I think this may have been misread https://www.whatcar.com/news/government-ends-coronavirus-mot-extension-early/n21612

Just a reminder for those of us that have been able to defer the due date for MOT's due to the 'C' virus. The period of grace ends on 31st July so testing stations may be busy around this time if you have not arranged for this to be done yet where appropriate.

I thought this thread was about 'foggy head lights'. The subject has been completely changed from that posted by the OP which is a discourtesy and furthermore is now directed specifically at a model outside this forum range so should be on a more appropriate section of the club.

I think we are looking at different situations here and I wonder whether a bit of preliminary work could lead to less hassle when needed as problems tend to happen at awkward times. Is this feasible? * Bolt onto accessible underside of car a bracket that will carry a waterproof plug for connection to mains and to take mains power inside of car boot when wanted. * Install smart charger in boot. * Install Power pack in boot. * convert an existing socket to make permanent (or add new) inside cabin so smart charger can be connected to it and then to 12v system when required. All that would need to be done then would be to connect external plug to mains. * Power pack could also be boosted as required by connection to mains via the external socket. * This would save raising bonnet or boot lid and emptying out contents in boot. * When 12v battery eventually needs changing the power pack can be readily connected inside the car without other temporary connections and without losing settings. I think this could be made to work - it's just that more needs to be done at the outset to make it easier when situation requires. i

If I remember correctly, Herbs has his neatly installed in the boot area ready for use if necessary. As he implies, you don't really 'jump start' the engine, you supplement or virtually replace the 12v battery this way to wake up the computers etc which then enable the traction battery to fire up the engine as necessary. As I see it, you could have a well charged traction battery but it can't do it's job unless the 12v battery is able to initiate the process. Of course it's best to avoid letting the 12v battery ever drop to a level where it fails to do this because each time this happens it will reduce the life of the expensive 12v battery. Therefore, if the car is not used regularly say once every couple of weeks or so, it makes sense to use a smart charger or one of those solar jobbies. Naturally, an older battery is going to hold it's charge less well than a newer one so that would affect need for checking/charging frequency.

? correct forum and post not very explicit

It has to be remembered that the MOT tests things are operating at only that brief moment in time. What should be noted is how the brakes perform overall and also individually against each other where ideally both sides should match the time and progression of the other. A sticking caliper would show up in this test. But with wear and partial seizing of components there can come a tipping point when a disparity develops. The only other thing I can think of that has not yet been mentioned although is a very remote possibility is that the back plate may have suffered a blow whereby it has bent and is rubbing against the disc

This sounds to me like brake pads have worn though friction material maybe caused by sticking caliper or could be a stone has got caught up. I have even known where the pads over time have so undercut the disc that a considerable lip has formed leading to metal on pad and disc meeting. You could see what difference it makes taking out pads and possibly disc. I had a Camry once where there was no movement in the bearing but it gave a constant slight whistling sound which went when I replaced the bearing but quite unlike the sound yours made. If you you find you do have a disc/pads problem you need to check the other side also and if there is a substantial difference establish cause. Then having remedied this you might well have to fit new ones on either side unless it was just a very small stone on on side which I doubt it is.

Maybe said with tongue in cheek but I know a person who learnt the piano accordion and he provides free entertainment sessions at care homes

Met a guy at a kit car show some years ago. He liked building and working on cars. When he retired he built a Kit car and when he finished it sold it and started another one. He told me it had stopped him 'from going nuts'. This is rather an unusual one and he had the facilities to do this. Another person I knew joined a choir or learnt to play a musical instrument. There really is a great variety of things one can do.

U3A have many diverse groups in my area ranging from walking to various sports, languages to philosophy, bridge to discussion groups, photographic to book discussion, among others. I am sure there are many such U3A groups throughout the UK. Some meet weekly or fortnightly and others once a month. Some members attend more than one group. This would not be a complete replacement for a normal working jobof course but could provide some added interest and occupy some of your time.

The Michelin Cross climates I had fitted to my car last year transformed it for the better from the Dunlops it came with. However, in tests it said that the further you got up towards Scotland where they have more heavy snow, the recommendation tipped towards the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons. I did ask Lexus at Cheltenham what was recommended and was told the Michelin Cross Climates were becoming the most popular choice and this seems to have been borne out by recommendations I have seen.

Looks like money well spent and makes you feel completely different about your car. Worth making a note of anybody that can do this work especially as labour rates well below those of Lexus dealerships.

As always it helps to know what sort of budget you have and the annual mileage and type of motoring it will be used for mainly. I must say I was impressed with the NX300h which I had as a loan car while my RX450h was being serviced. The acceleration was not quite so good as my car but still adequate. It was also not quite so comfortable which could be a minus for long journeys as could a smaller boot. However, it looks good and is more maneuverable helped by being smaller. It's also cheaper, slightly more economical to run and I would think to insure. Might be worth checking it out as an alternative to an RX,450h.

First Iv'e seen of these but appreciate could be useful in some situations. I just have a good quality rubber base I bought from ebay which stays in my car and I wouldn't be without it.

Probably a safer choice of the two.

A non Lexus specific Dealer may argue that a more standard flooded and much cheaper lead acid battery will do the job. it will do to a degree but it won't be a deep cycling one like the Pan D23 VRLA AGM type where also the latter importantly also offers more protection in the event of an accident as the acid is absorbed in a glass fibre mat, so less risk to passengers where the battery is in effect in the cabin and not protected by a fire wall as when fitted under the bonnet. Battery manufacturers, the AA and RAC among others say you should always replace a failing AGM battery with one of the same type. There is also a recommendation that when charging using a charger this should not be of the type that gives a constant charge. (There is a risk that the battery will become overcharged leading to excess gas being discharged which shortens the life of the battery). It's best to use a smart charger with a mode for AGM batteries and one that does not exceed 5amp at any time for the 12v Lexus AGM battery in the RX. One last thing. The D23 Panasonic battery may not say AGM on it but should display VRLA or Valve Regulated Lead Acid which means it is an AGM one.