TyrannosauRoss Lex

For a while now the resting ride height of my LS460 seems a bit hit and miss. Some days it sits lower at the back, some times a bit lower at the front than normal, some days one side is a bit higher than the other side, some days it seems perfectly normal. It doesn't "reset" itself after a drive, it doesn't make any knocks or bangs and is still smooth and comfortable over bumps. I'm not convinced it's normal (ie it shouldn't be like that) but not sure what it is? If it was the air bladders (?) wouldn't it reset after going for a drive? Also doesn't seem to matter whether the car has been sat for a number of days. Car, however, is largely used for very short trips, but will be doing 250 miles Saturday so that'll do it some good. Any thoughts? Cheers!

I'm not sure E5 fuel will be disappearing any time soon. It would write off many thousands of perfectly usable cars, largely fairly cheap cars, which people cannot necessarily afford to replace. Perhaps in another 10 years, but certainly not within the next few I shouldn't have thought. I guess if it were to happen, then you'd have a choice.... Find another car or replace the fuel lines and other bits necessary to get it to be safe to run E10 (fuel tank.....? Anything else?). I should imagine for an LS460 you'd probably be looking at a bill well over 4 figures, as a complete guess I'd have thought £2k minimum. Anyone care to guess?

Thanks Malc

I believe prior to this I've only used E10 once before.

I managed to fill up today, next weekend I'm heading on holiday (250+ mile drive) and I wanted to fill up in case I was limited to £30....it would still give me days to keep filling up. I had a little over 1/3 of a tank left (super unleaded) but I had to fill with E10, as they didn't have any super unleaded! I hope it'll be OK. The fuel will be almost all used by next Saturday, and then on the Sunday I may try to top up with super unleaded to "dilute it" down a bit. I'm sure not even a full tank of E10 will be OK...... Won't it!? 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

Thanks for sharing that!

Interesting thanks!

I state in my original post I use super unleaded.....? Yes, it makes motoring more expensive, my question wasn't really asking can I use E10, it was why I couldn't. I already know to fill up with E5, hence I said so in my original post 😁

Thanks for your reply. Seems strange they'd have changed any seals etc so early on in the production, and not at face-lift time.

The government website says that early LS460s aren't compatible with E10 fuel. My car, built in December 2006, is in that category. Does anyone know why this is the case, and what implications it would have running E10? I think a few tanks ago I used E10 before I realised it was E10 only now, it was only a few hundred miles and I've since used E5 super unleaded, and I've absolutely no worries that has caused any harm. I'm just wondering if anyone knows why early cars are not compatible, and what issues would arise from using E10 fuel. Thanks in advance, Ross.

Hi guys, I have just had the battery replaced on my LS460 because the other day after being left for just 4 days it took a while to start (about 2secs more than usual) and after a run it started fine. 2 days later when it was cold (5 degrees celcius) it again took longer than normal to start. I have just had a silver/calcium 850cca and 95Ah battery fitted, which is basically the best spec available for this car I think. My question is someone asked if it needs "coding".....but the car starts and drives fine so I'm assuming it's fine to leave alone? This was the case on my old BMW E65 745i, I bought a new battery, never had it coded but 2.5 years later it was still working fine when I then sold it. Thanks

OK thanks for your input everyone. I will get the radiator changed as a precaution when it goes in for its MOT, it's due mid-November so it will be done by then. The car is on around 104k miles at the moment.

Thanks Peter. The car is currently running a high performance 5W-30 (ester oil) https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-68896-fuchs-titan-race-pro-s-5w-30-ester-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx I got that oil because of the cold start protection offered, and I got it at a good price, and it is still a recommended viscosity for the LS460 engine with the temperatures we experience in the UK. The weird loss of power issue was noted before that oil was put into the car though. I'm not sure exactly what oil it had in it beforehand, but it was serviced at a well-reputed Japanese independant. Thank you very much for your insight RE the radiator. When it goes in for its MOT in around 6 weeks time I'll get them to have a look at the rad. That is somewhat ridiculous it doesn't have a low coolant level warning light? Is that true!?!? It is actually very hard to just casually check the coolant level because of all of the plastic coverings, you need to remove a lot to get a good look I think. Silly design in my opinion. I can see that there is fluid in there and it appears to be a little above the min mark, but it is hard to tell exactly where it is.

Just to update this.....I spoke to Lex Tech and they said that if it is so intermittent there is no real point in getting it booked in unless it becomes more consistent, because you could throw money at looking into issues and spend hours not finding anything. A little frustrating but totally understandable. Having said all of that.....the car has been 100% fine for 4-5 weeks now....so very bizarre! It has its MOT due mid-November, so when it goes in for that I will also get them to check the radiator over along with all of the hoses etc and see whether they deem it sensible to change it or not. If it does "go" and leak into the gearbox, will I get symptoms such as engine overheating before any gearbox damage is done? I don't want to spend £250 (or however much it'll cost...possibly more??) on a new radiator and coolant change when it is totally unnecessary, yet if there is a very good chance that spending £250 WILL prevent something serious then of course I would do it. Thanks again in advance.

Thanks for that, seems very expensive, may as well just get the super unleaded.

I probably don't do the mileage to make it necessary to be honest, probably 4k/year or so now.

Thanks, didn't realise that would stay 5%.

I have an LS460 and apparently it isn't compatible with E10 fuel. So....what happens? What would I need to do, is it likely to be costly, or will be my car effectively be scrap? https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/emissions/what-is-e10-fuel-and-how-could-it-affect-you/ Thanks in advance

Did you ever solve it? It's not a big deal, but it would be nice to just leave the lights on auto all the time.

I'm not saying they stay on when I'm driving, I'm saying they stay on of the car is totally switched off and locked, so that shouldn't make a difference anyway I wouldn't have thought.

Sorry that was my poor use of language, they are not daytime running lights, but just the side lights.... The ones you wouldn't just use at night! They stay on if I use auto for the lights. I do not believe they stay on of I use auto for the lights whilst the car is on and it's broad daylight outside. I will check later though! I called them DRL because I checked the owners manual online and it referred to them as DRL rather than side lights.

I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but if I have my lights set to "auto" they still stay on when I park the car and lock it. Even after an hour, for example, the lights are still on (daytime running lights, not the main driving headlights). As said, I'm sure I'm doing something wrong....so any ideas? Thanks!

If we're being really pedantic you should put a comma before his name. Anyway, please can we keep this thread related to the car. I've requested to get the car booked in to get looked at in just over a week so I'll keep you posted! Thanks to those who have been helpful to me.

OK thanks for your helpful input.

Thanks Peter. If it is the same problem that you had, may I ask how much it cost to get it fixed? I think I'll need to take it to Lex Tech rather than my normal garage for this one as it seems fairly complex.