LenT

I regard the Disklok as the Big Daddy of them all. As I recall, it was the first - and is still one of the few - to pass the ‘5 Minute Attack’ test, resisting the attentions of professional destroyers. I had two - and still have one - but find it awkward to store in the car and a bit more cumbersome than the Milenco. But given that, its great strength is that it covers the entire wheel, so sawing through the wheel is no longer an option. The Milenco is one of the few others to pass the same attack test. What decided me is that it takes up less room in the car. - but it also takes more getting used to in order to fit and remove smoothly. It’s possible that somewhere like Halfords might stock them both, so you can compare them directly.

I have just bought this Milenco on the recommendation of another member. It’s a very solid and well-tested bit of kit. I can’t say if it will fit your wheel, but it’s perfect on my IS250. It takes a bit of practice, but it’s easier to store in the car than the Disklok I used to use. I bought this direct from the Milenco outlet. It’s the latest version with rubber blocks that lift the lock off the steering wheel so that it doesn’t mark it. The only problem I found is that sometimes the rubber blocks dropped off the Milenco before it was located on the wheel. Of course it may not happen to you, but I solved this by fitting a couple of cable ties around the blocks and locking them to the Milenco. Milenco Direct outlet: https://www.milenco-outlet.co.uk/security/milenco-high-security-steering-wheel-lock-yellow.html

Yes, this is clearly a standard aerofoil section. So be particularly careful when driving into a headwind. Combine that with a road speed of, say, 150mph and you might achieve lift off! 😊

Well, I didn’t Kevin! I had my IS250 Detailed when it was about six years old. Unless I am mistaken, your Lexus is rather newer than that. Mind you, few Detailers are also bodywork repair specialists as well. So they need to start with a reasonable finish! But the results in terms of appearance and protection are far superior to anything the likes of Supagard can offer. Now I’ve always thought that there a fewer easier things in Life than spending someone else’s money. I’d never heard of Detailing until I started looking for things to do to the car while we were all confined indoors due to the Covid lockdowns. In case it might be helpful, here’s a link to my Detailer. I expect he’s typical so might give you a better idea of the results to expect. https://www.huntsmiths.co.uk/

I know it’s been mentioned a few times, Kevin, but now might be a good time to consider having the car professionally detailed with a good quality ceramic finish. Mine was treated with Modesta products only three years ago, but I already feel it was a shrewd investment.

I don’t think it’s a con, but it’s only worth having in specific circumstances. It should certainly only be taken out after reviewing what your main car insurance covers and offers in compensation for a total loss. The AA cites a survey that finds a new car can lose up to 40% of its initial value in its first year - although the current chip shortage might well have reduced that. But traditionally a new car suffered significant depreciation the moment you drove it off the forecourt. Guaranteed Asset Protection insurance would bridge that gap between what you’d just paid and what it had just lost. So it would, ideally, in the event of a write-off, enable you to buy another new car of the same spec. So when I bought my new Honda Accord, I took it out. When I replaced it with a two year-old Lexus, I didn’t. I hope this AA article helps: https://www.theaa.com/cars/gap-insurance#:~:text=GAP stands for Guaranteed Asset,purchase price of your car.

In the current climate it may be wise not to spell out what those steps are. There may be some dodgy characters reading these comments right now! 😡 Maybe when you collect the car, he’ll relent enough to write them down on condition that you eat the paper before driving off! So, Gary, here’s wishing you and your new Lexus many happy years …together. 😊

I expect you were surprised that Lexus MK were competitive tyre sellers. I know I was and perhaps it may now encourage other LOC members to give their local Dealer a chance to quote. Did they comment on the TPMS status? And what were the results of the tracking check? I might even get this done at my next service there. 😊

Well, from your account it does appear that it is going away. I would hope that the second mechanic would have removed as much of the melted deposit as possible before applying the heat resistant paint. But as your third photo shows, there doesn’t appear to be any exposed material left that might pose a fire risk. At the car’s next MOT, you could ask the mechanic to check the entire exhaust system for any remaining material while it’s up on a hoist. But if you can’t smell it in the engine bay then it was obviously confined to the area under the car. In any case, after four hours of driving, exhaust systems generally get hot enough to emit distinctive smells any way. Which is possibly what you can now detect when you open the door!

Well, it certainly looks like some polystyrene insulation material has burnt on to the exhaust pipe. But it’s a bit surprising that a mechanic hasn’t been able to scrape it off. Possibly there’s still some located on the exhaust pipe that’s hard to reach. It shouldn’t be a fire hazard as I expect it will all gradually carbonise - a process you can accelerate by going for long drives that get the exhaust system really hot. As for the smell, here’s a cheap but effective remedy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Air-Freshener-LITTLE-TREES-Fragrance/dp/B0070YY4RE/ref=sr_1_8_mod_primary_new?adgrpid=128733248281&hvadid=606190324771&hvdev=t&hvlocphy=1006551&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8350481739510747798&hvtargid=kwd-47382050&hydadcr=9536_2247973&keywords=car%2Bair%2Bfreshener&qid=1697953264&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=8-8&th=1

Unlike Don, I thought my reversing light was rubbish and nowhere near as good as my previous car - a Honda Accord. Of course, it might be down to the age of my car. Anyway, I changed it for this LED wedge-base Philips bulb and transformed the view in the reversing camera. I don’t know if your Lexus uses the same fitting, but for £12 it’s not a huge risk. https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/955-w16w-white-philips-ultinon-pro6000-led-bulbs-single.html

Excellent suggestion that puts the onus back on your Insurers and applies the principle that you shouldn’t be disadvantaged by your loss. However, I think Insurers may only do this in certain circumstances- so again worth examining your Policy to see what conditions may apply. I thought that this adjudication by the Financial Ombudsman might be helpful. It’s possibly not an exact comparison but might help you give your Insurers an incentive to settle! https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decisions-case-studies/case-studies/new-car-stolen-customer-isnt-offered-replacement

Could the OP’s adopted title ‘Wagster’ be more of a description than a name?

Firstly, commiserations on your loss. The Valuer works for your Insurer. Claiming that he takes an ‘average’ value across the country’ sounds a bit disingenuous. Is he really able to show that he has identified ALL the available comparable models of Lexus cars in order to arrive at an average? Or has he perhaps cherry picked the lower value examples? You might ask to see his compilation of available examples on which his ‘average’ value is based. If you can show that your examples, compiled from respected trade sources such as Autotrader, are, in fact, more representative of the current regional model value, then I would be inclined to direct your arguments to the Insurers directly. I would also read your Policy closely to be clear exactly what your premiums have been buying you. Insurers have been known to ‘overlook’ some of the more generous aspects of a Policy they’re selling when it comes to paying out. For example, are they providing a loan car while your loss and compensation are being resolved? It may be cheaper for them to settle quickly at a higher value, then have a drawn out argument while their other costs mount up. Finally, do you belong to, say, the AA or RAC? They offer Members legal assistance and/or advice and may be able to provide an independent market value. When an HGV wrote off my Honda Accord, they were my Insurers and very helpful in dealing with the other Insurer. {Although there was still a degree of comparing different examples, despite the fact that it was the other Insurer who was totally liable!) Presumably you want to replace your Lexus with a similar - or possibly newer - model. Inevitably there comes a point when refusing to compromise over small sums is simply depriving yourself of the opportunity to buy what may be immediately available. I hope it all works out for you.

No, it’s my view too! And it can be quite useful even when you’re near to home. I had an instance in which a helpful van driver, trying to get a seized dust cap off my tyre, snapped the valve clean off! Not only did that deflate the tyre, it also removed the only way of re-inflating it. Or injecting the magic tyre gloop. Fortunately, I had insisted on having a SpaceSaver, so was able to limp round to a large nearby tyre retailer who replaced the (TPMS) valve.

Don’t beat yourself up about it, Ben. Most of us have been caught out by an uncooperative steering lock at some time or another. It’s not clear what the actual problem was, but it was apparently resolved fairly easily. So put it down to experience. I’ve just invested in a Milenco steering wheel lock. A hefty bit of kit, but it takes some getting used to. Well, it warns you that sometimes the key doesn’t fully enter the lock - in which case it won’t release. It then tells you what to do. But knowing all that didn’t help when it actually happened to me - and I had visions of calling a locksmith to break into a lock specifically designed to be very difficult to break into! Stay calm and the problem goes away.

According to this website, the answer is 1071 still on the road as of the start of this year. https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/vehicle/lexus_sc430_auto

A different Lexus, but that was precisely my experience! I only persisted because that was the area of location suggested by a rather strange illustration in the Manual. The tyre fitter, who had changed the tyre which then caused the warning light to come on in the first place, insisted that driving for a few miles would reset the system. Well, it didn’t for me - but finding this well-hidden button finally did. Quite why it’s the location of choice in the first place, is a puzzle anyway!

Stuart, perhaps you could email the second photo - and your now more detailed description - to the Service Manager of your nearest Lexus Dealer? After all, they’re working on these cars on a daily basis and should recognise this part. I’m sure the prospect of a repair job will encourage their reply. As another thought - and on the basis that you think it’s only on the nearside rear - I wondered if it might be connected with the fuel tank filler system?

Good point. Did it fall off the car? Or did the car park over it? And life used to be so simple….🙁

Oh, yes. Of course there is! 😊 And which size of staple might that be? Since posting this, I see that Stuart has provided a CD for scale. But the joke was too good to miss!

Unless anyone recognises it straightaway, some words of description might be helpful. For example, how long is it? Is it a hollow rubber tube with a short length of solid, twisted metal projecting from it? Although it might be hard to think what the point of that might be? Or is it length of flexible metal covered with a protective rubber sleeve? Or is it a length of something like a fibre optic cable? Or something else?

As it happens, the recommended tyre pressures by both car and tyre makers are based on those recorded on a cold tyre. The use of a slightly raised pressure would be indicated in the event of unusually heavy loads. This is an extract from a Continental Tyres web page on the subject. I have always considered that the ‘recommended’ pressure is the target figure when cold, on the basis that it is the optimum starting point as neither tyre nor car maker can control the varying weather conditions or driving styles that the tyre may face - even in the course of the same journey. Continental Tyres: Cold tyres. You’ll get a more accurate reading if you check the pressure when the tyres are cold, before the outside temperature rises and the tyres are exposed to direct sunlight. If the outside temperature increases by 10 degrees Celsius, the tyre pressure will increase by 1.6 PSI. In winter, in some climates, tyres could experience a drop of up to 5 PSI.

Well, the Museum appears to be open again. And who knows what automotive delights have been added in the intervening years? 🤔 https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/tag/oct

The CTEK system of a plug-in charging lead that’s permanently connected to the battery makes this a very simple operation. An added benefit is that leads are available that have three traffic light leds to indicate battery condition at a glance. I fitted them to both our cars and as an early warning that an overnight trickle charge might be advisable, they work pretty well. https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/accessories/car-accessories