Barry14UK

Also tyre pressures. As I understand it, self centering is caused by all the parameters that make up steering/suspension geometry and I would not have expected this to have changed significantly to make a great difference.

The original Panasonic 12v boot located battery on my third Gen RX450h is AGM but does not say so. It is VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) and has a vent tube to outside the car. I believe this is typical for Lexus hybrids for reasons Colin states. I have read that this type of battery should not be opened up but somebody did add a little distilled water to a dead battery and by careful charging resuscitated it. (A way to charge a dead battery that will not accept a charge is to connect it to a partially charged battery and charge it for a considerable time - it sometimes works). The person who topped up the battery removed the Panasonic label then broke away some whiteish plastic to reveal the cell caps. Maybe Lexus fit variations of the battery?

The ref for the raised cover in black was reported as 58427 - 43020 and I pass this on in good faith, not having personally checked this out with Lexus.

Message received today from Listers but alternatively smart charger or solar pane could be used for 12v battery but I don't think would help the traction battery which I would hope would hold it's charge longer. Vehicle Maintenance Tip The majority of us, with the exception of key workers, are now isolating at home and only venturing out for basic essentials, which means that our cars are parked and being rarely used – if at all. If your car has not been used for two weeks the last thing you’ll want to worry about is a flat battery! We’re experiencing a few customer issues directly related to this and you may want to consider starting your car every few days and allowing the engine to run for ten to fifteen minutes to top up the charge. The car does not need to be taken out on to the road, should not be in a garage or confined space and for security it should not be left unattended. If you have two cars in the family it may be worth alternating between vehicles when you do venture out for essential reasons. To be clear, we’re not advocating wasting fuel or polluting the environment – just trying to help with the unnecessary hassle of charging or replacing your battery. I hope that this once a week inconvenience will save you considerably more time and hassle when life returns to some form of normality. Yours sincerely, Geoff Lister Chief Executive

My understanding is that a full size spare wheel was an option on at least some cars but few had it. It requires a lifted cover which reduces the available boot space. Apparently it's so rare that even some dealers don't know of this option. I did make a note of a reference of one colour but obviously anybody wanting to do this would want to colour match existing. If this is being actively pursued I will try to find the reference I recorded somewhere which could involved some delving.

I am considering the 12v battery that sits in the boot. (It would seem some other models, particularly earlier ones had the 12v battery under the bonnet). I believe an alternative needs to meet the following criteria, which would exclude the MX5 battery on at least 2 counts. * replacement needs to be of a size that can be accommodated. The Lexus Pan battery is about 215 mm in length allowing for the beadlike protrusion near the top. The battery sits inside a plastic under-tray which has an upturned lip with space around the bottom of the battery and the lip. So if you wanted to retain the lip on this tray the maximum length of snug fitting battery would be about 220 mm as the the ends of the battery tray are slightly rounded rather than square. If you are prepared to remove the side lips and reroute a cable slightly that is clipped to it, you could just accommodate a battery up to the more standard size of 242 mm length but this would take the battery to within a couple of MM or so of the tyre on the spare wheel. It is possible to move the wheel off centre before tightening down to gain another 3 or so mm clearance. A similar situation applies with the width where the Pan battery is about 165 mm + say 5 mm for the bead. A replacement battery of 175 mm would be a very tight fit although easier if one of the cross way lips was removed. (A width of 175 mm is a very common battery size). Height is not a problem with any battery I have looked at. So in summary, providing you are willing to cut the plastic tray (you can always slip the battery in polythene before fitting), the biggest size battery you can fit would be 242 mm x 175 mm. The height of the Pan battery is very close to 200 mm with the positive terminal post plus red insulation bringing the total height to approximately 230.5 mm A small packer would therefore be needed to bring the height up in a typical battery with height of 190 mm inclusive of the terminal posts. * the positive and negative terminals have to be in the correct place and if of another type have to have adapters to convert to round posts. * battery needs to be a deep cycling one, of about 20 hr 50 amp rating, of AGM lead acid type with vent control valve for release of excess gases. High cranking power is not required as this battery does not turn the motor. I suppose it's a lot more straight forward to bite the bullet and haggle with Lexus. With all my previous cars where required I have fitted a good quality after market battery so buying off a dealer goes against the grain!

I know this subject has been raised from time to time and the present enforced lack of use has prompted us to check our batteries and charge by one means or another. I had difficulty in starting my car and although it charged to full using my smart charger. I am currently checking regularly to learn how well the Panasonic original Battery (2015) is holding it's charge. However, if not soon, there will come a time when the battery needs to be replaced. It seems to me that Toyota (Lexus) got together with Panasonic to provide a suitable 12v battery that would slot into the available space in the boot. I can't see this battery for sale anywhere else, so a cosy arrangement between Panasonic and Lexus dealers meaning you have to buy from them with Panasonic not facing direct competition from other manufacturers because of the customised dimensions/spec. Another downside to this is when your battery fails you might be many miles from a Lexus dealer so need to install a temporary non standard battery to get you to one. I think the prices asked for this Pan battery are excessive and I have checked forums on both sides of the pond to see what others have done. I believe there are other batteries that would work but maybe not as well in certain respects? I would like to stay as close to the Panasonic Lexus supplied battery as possible which means fitting a deep cycle battery giving about 20h 50A. VARTA showed their D47 Dynamic Blue as suitable but I find this hard to believe. It would be good to know any alternatives you guys have found to work satisfactorily over quite some time. NB Edited following further consideration.

Great result! Pleased for you.

Thank you for your post on this John. I hope that by trickle charging occasionally I will be able to avoid the 12v battery going flat. I am aware that once flattened they are not always recoverable and even if they are this can drastically reduce their efficiency/life.

I am a little concerned by your comment that the supplied jack barely lifts car wheel off the ground because wheel might have to be replaced with spare in event of puncture. I have not yet had to do this and at home on the Lexus but have generally used trolley jacks and axle stands. However, with other cars where I have needed to remove a wheel I have sometimes used a thick piece of wood just over an inch thick to place under the supplied jack. I will put this in a plastic bag and keep it in the boot to provide that extra bit of lift in view of what you say. This will be added to a 'kneeler' mat, some hand cleaner and a roll of paper towel, an appropriate socket and 'T' piece on short extension, plus short piece of tube to provide extra leverage. There is also a torque wrench to ensure wheel nuts are tightened to Lexus specification and gradually tightening diagonally as far as possible rather than done in a circular pattern. I also have a foldable wheel stop which came with a Camry I had some years ago. You might at least consider the wooden block. PS. I also forgot a portable light kept in the car for use in an emergency.

Thank you for your prompt and always helpful reply Herbs. I understand your logic in this and would not have hesitated had it not been for the fact that for some inexplicable reason Lexus specifically says to ground the battery connection where battery is charged on car and I know hybrid electrics are different in some respects. I can only think that perhaps it might be because some owners might connect a very high powered charger to the electrical system but then again as you point out, the car can be jump started from the location under the hood, very strange! Understand your disclaimer and will connect direct to battery as I have done with non hybrid cars. I don't envisage a problem but should there be one I will post so others may be aware.

A number of us are not likely to use our cars for quite some time due to tightening restrictions. A have a 5amp CTEK smart charger which I have used by just connecting the grip connectors to the battery terminals in the boot of my BMW without problem. I have in mind to use this on my RX450h in the same way but the Lexus Manual says that if the battery is charged in the car the ground should be disconnected. Like the OP I don't want to do lose settings by doing this. Why would Lexus say the ground should be removed and is this really necessary using a smart charger?

I think what you say is in the main understood but not necessarily accepted. Certainly, if everybody was allowed to contract the C virus, it would mainly be the elderly that would die, particularly the retired elderly who are largely supported by the working population. From an economic view this would ease the burden on the survivors and enable the country to return to normality earlier. However, no country has adopted this extreme policy, (fortunately for many of us). In fact the drive to obtain many more ventilators to save some of those that might come through this will not only enable the NHS to better cope with the emergency but enable many mainly elderly to survive who otherwise wouldn't. If/when a vaccine is developed, some of those that have been effectively shielded will survive without natural immunity which would otherwise have killed them if infected. It's been said that the way a country cares for it's elderly is a measure of it's morality.

Some younger people being infected now so not only affecting old or those with underlying heart/respiratory systems.

No doubt it's largely down to age (although some younger people are attracted) but I like to listen to songs/music mainly pre 1980 when songs had a good melody, were clearly annunciated and not just a noise! Here is one by Matt Monroe, regarded by many as good as if not better than Sinatra and possibly the best male singer of his genre that England has produced. Llisten to perfect pitch, tone and clarity. Nice scenery and the Muira From 'The Italian Job.'

There will always be conspiracy theories 9/11 being part of a USA plot, the Americans never really landing on the moon (there was even a film on this once, can't remember whether it was before or after the actual landing but one of the astronaults who was hunted down escaped detection and turned up at his own funeral which gave the game away but that was a movie). I don't for a second believe the C -19 was man made but if it was it was released unintentionally. It has damaged every country, directly or indirectly particularly the USA. I had not previously seen the Bill Gates video but he has been shown to have been correct. Russia seems to have got off fairly light if you can believe what is reported but look how they cover up drug taking by athletes and what happened at Chenoble.

The situation will ease eventually but is likely to get much worse before it improves in terms of the number of those affected and of those that die. The damage done to businesses large and small and to the self employed is incalculable as is the cost to the economy. I think it will take many years for our population to enjoy the pre Coronavirus standard of living (and even before this we were living beyond our means). Viruses can mutate and become more virulent and it remains a possibility sooner or later that another will follow, so the people of the world should take a lesson from this virus and be better prepared for another pandemic.

Police are stopping quite a number of motorists in North Devon to establish whether they have good reason to be driving. I had an email from Green Flag of which this is part. What this means for you. First, and most importantly, please follow the government's advice and do not travel unless it's essential. Second, if you do break down and we can't fix your vehicle at the roadside and have to take you somewhere, you'll need to remain in your vehicle while it's being towed. This is so our technicians can help you, but still follow social distancing guidelines to keep everyone safe We'll take you to a safe location (so you're not stuck in your vehicle for a long time) where you can access public transport or have someone you know pick you up. Depending on your cover level, we'll cover any public transport costs, and once you're safe, we'll take your vehicle to a different location if required"

Hi there, I don't have a direct recommendation but you really need an auto locksmith and preferably one that is familiar with Lexus. Some advertise here https://www.google.com/search?q=specialist+in+replacing+Lexus+ignition+cylinder&oq=specialist+in+replacing+Lexus+ignition+cylinder&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.84526j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 This job could be quite involved. This guy managed it with some bodges albeit on a a 2007 RX 350. He was lucky not to damage the aluminium cylinder housing beyond more than was repairable with epoxy. Ignore first few seconds, don't know why these were included. It the fault is due to damage caused within the cylinder as is most likely in your case, it might be possible for a locksmith to use picks to move the position where the cylinder can be removed by depressing a securing plunger. Whether this is possible without removing the housing on your model I don't know. (I wouldn't try to do this yourself by forcing the key or hammering a screwdriver in the cylinder as this could break the key in the cylinder/damage the shaft or damage the housing. Whether the cylinder from your other car is a suitable transplant remains to be established and if so you would accept a key just serving the ignition as opposed to buying a new cylinder from Lexus specifically suited to your car.

My father had a Wolseley 16/60. They were big roomy cars with large boot and tons of room under the bonnet but underpowered. I had the MG version. Actually, I preferred the previous model, my MG Magnette ZB Varitone which had more character and twin carbs but was still slow! Both were reliable and I had the ZB for about 6 years. The only mechanical work I did on it was to replace the twin SU carb's needles and jets at about 60K miles but the starter ring had worn and sometimes jammed when I sold it at 100K+ miles. Rust was a problem (as with many cars of the period) and I part built the front wheel arches with fiberglass. This gave me the excuse to repaint the car blue rather than it's original grey. My 1st and previous car was a Morris 1000 saloon which was reliable and served me well and was also easy and cheap to maintain. My next door neighbour currently has the traveller version with wood framed rear panels and it's pretty good for it's age. I have told him he should get the front drums converted to discs. Braking is the disadvantage with these old cars. I know that they are tax exempt but I wonder why they are fetching so much money now? Other than renewing the needles and jets on the SU carbs of the MG, ZB, I never had any carburettor problems with any of the cars I had except for balancing the carbs on a V8 Maserati Indy. Generally speaking cars were much easier to work on and without the need for so many specialist tools. Looking back, I don't think I had a lot of problems with those old cars and with the later ones a V6 Camry produced the most problems. (broken cable inside harness, leaking oil pump housing, front wheel bearing, radiator, boot hinges, head gaskets and replacement suspension bushes). Yes it's nice to have a greater selection of 'toys' nowadays but are some of them really needed, take electrically operated windows with more to go wrong than manually wind up ones or electrically operated seats as examples? When all works well the greater sophistication is nice but we pay for it both initially and when things go wrong. It's reached a stage where even the average garage is limited in what they can do so you pay main dealer prices in such circumstances.

Lexus/Toyota have been shown to be a tad more reliable than other makes but when most parts need to be replaced these are often much more expensive and there seems to be a dearth of Independents. Also, there doesn't seem to be many alternative people making the parts compared to say those for BMW. I fitted replacement control arms and drop links by a top alternative manufacturer for my E39 at reasonable cost and I had some other work done by a BMW specialist at under 50% of BMW or Lexus main dealer prices. With Lexus you pay for exclusivity but the same can't be said of Toyota. Incidentally, a lot of owners with BMW's got their rubber bushes pressed out and replaced these with a push in kit of poly bushes. Handling was further tightened up at the expense of harder ride. I doubt this option is available to Lexus owners but stand to be corrected.

sadly I'm out now expect to be confined to home

The Hillman Hunter was a boxy rust bucket and a real let down after the nicer lines and build quality of the MK2 Humber Septre and range but a 7" sealed beam headlamp was nearer £5 than £25 and you can buy a new one for under £15 today so let's not exaggerate! Servicing was cheap and a doddle even if needed more often than required today. The RX is in a different class so not really a fair comparison but the time it takes to change plugs and a water pump with attendant cost is ridiculous. Think you can be sure of doing 100k miles without a problem - take a look at some of the threads of those having faults?

The V12 engined Jag/Daimler engine although also used in some of the E types and later XJS only formed a very small number of the UK built cars and I believe was the only British built V12 of the time. (Even Rolls Royce just used a V8) It was not typical of the sort of car that the average home mechanic would service so falls outside the comparison I was trying to make. The early models had inboard rear disc brakes (which some enthusiasts have subsequently converted to outboard) The XJS series of 1993 - had factory outboard rear discs.

Good news (especially as it sorted itself and no cost involved!) I did consider posting a well known problem on my E39 BMW in a similar vein where due to the design of the back plates stones tend to get caught up and produce rattling sounds at times. The stones can be dislodged by compressed air or by finding a near empty car park and accelerating backwards sharply and then braking hard which ejects them. The latter worked for me. I don't know if this problem might also apply to the RX so didn't mention it previously but in view of your experience is perhaps another possibility to bear in mind for owners.