LenT

Not complaints about conspiracies, surely? In my relatively recent experience of the LOC, the main offence seems to be straying from the topic. At least that did not appear to be the case here. So perhaps the complainer(s) would care to explain the complaint - and why it was not expressed on the thread itself.

I presume you’re referring to the TPMS valves. Are you proposing to fit them yourself? It does take special equipment, after all. When I needed to replace a broken TPMS valve I drove round to a nearby large tyre retailer. They had one to match the OE valve and supplied and fitted it was £65 inc VAT. Perhaps ringing round local tyre retailers might be a good place to start? Certainly cheaper than the Lexus offering. And if any tyres need replacing, you could probably negotiate a good deal as the tyre has to come off anyway!

We’ll all be thinking of you, Sean. 😊

Now that you know how to resolve this particular problem, you might consider a future investment in a trickle charger (a CTEK, for example) or even a Power Pack (a NOCO, for example). After all, they might come in handy for your other car. 😊

While I’m always interested in responses to my posts, I do wonder, Eric, if this latest conspiratorial attack on Governments and Oil Companies - whatever its merits - has any relevance to my analysis of ‘Paul’s’ article that you offered in order to support your implication of criminal activity by Bill Gates? Is it possible that you flagged up the wrong post? If you re-read my post, I’m pointing out that trying to justify your choice of ‘evidence’ against Bill Gates by conceding that the author is not ‘strictly wrong’ is very far removed from it being right! Indeed, as I noted, ‘Paul’s’ article takes care to avoid any allegation of criminal activity on the part of Gates. It has nothing to do with your latest response claiming conspiracies on the part of Governments or Oil Companies. It’s do to with the quality of evidence that conspiracists present. I suggest that citing an article that’s so easily dismissed only serves to damage the credibility of the proposed conspiracy.

As you’re referring to the article you cited by ‘Paul’ as providing evidence of illegal activities by Bill Gates, being not ‘strictly wrong’ is tantamount to not being exactly right! Which tends to discredit the accusation. Why this matters is that this post is ostensibly about the intricacies and nuances of EVs and their battery technology - a subject about which I have scant knowledge. I therefore will be guided by the better informed opinions of others here. Now I can only speak for myself, but if there’s an attitude to ‘evidence’ that an acceptable standard is that it’s not ‘strictly wrong’, and even a suggestion that those opinions may be tainted by prejudice, then it’s not going to get the consideration it might otherwise merit!

I presumed that the article by ‘Paul’ at ‘Critical Sway’ that you offered as evidence would provide the answer to this vexing question. Having read it, my conclusion is….. Philanthropist. So let’s have a look at that article. Before ‘Paul’ even discusses Gates he proceeds by describing the actions of Al Capone, who actually committed acts of both philanthropy and criminality. He introduces his Gates’ item by writing: 'Men and women, guilty of varying degrees of overt criminality, have long understood the value of the philanthropist’s playbook. Let’s take a look at a modern-day philanthropist - William Henry Gates III.' This is known as ‘Guilt by Association’. However, in the 1600 or so words that follow, he does not include ‘crook’, ‘illegal’, ‘criminal’, ‘criminality’ or even their synonyms. He even fails to provide any examples of ‘overt criminality’. In fact, 'Paul' makes no allegation of criminal behaviour by Gates of any kind. At one point he states: ‘I'm not begrudging another man's financial success. ‘ And yet that’s clearly what he is doing! In simple terms, it seems that the fact that Gates is continuing to make money overrides the reality that he is also giving much of it away. But there’s nothing illegal about that. What seems to inflame ‘Paul’ is that Gates is being given credit for his acts of philanthropy but not getting any poorer! In fact, many would say that it is the making of more money that provides the opportunity to indulge in philanthropy. After all, if charities were forced to rely only on what the likes of ‘Paul’ could donate, I suspect they would be facing very lean times indeed. Let’s take an example with which you might be more familiar. You have on occasions cited The Guardian as a source. So presumably you regard it as reliable, authoritative and independent. And yet – as I have observed before – The Guardian freely acknowledges and enthusiastically welcomes the decade-long financial support that it has received from Bill Gates. So….is The Guardian the complicit recipient of a crook’s largess, or the grateful beneficiary of a generous philanthropist? You decide.

Thanks for the extra info, Steven. Normally you wouldn’t expect a battery in good condition to go flat after just two weeks, unless there was an unknown source of a current drain. But the activity you describe was obviously sufficient to tip it over the edge! As you are a flat dweller I can see that access to a three-pin socket may be a bit limited. Maybe there’s a Caretaker with a handy cupboard that you can run a cable in to? My apologies but I’m not much help there, unfortunately. 🙁 This Model of NOCO Power Pack is the one I have and it’s an excellent bit of kit. I haven’t had to use it on the Lexus, but our other car - which only did 100 miles one year and I’d forgotten to connect the trickle charger - did benefit. I actually got one because I witnessed an AA mechanic use one to bring a car back to life with a battery so flat that not even an overnight trickle charger had improved it. Neighbours have also benefited. In fact, I keep it in the boot in case I can rescue some stranded stranger and thus feel that my day has not been without purpose! I’ve not tried it myself, but you can also use it to charge up phones, tablets and such like. Every six months or so, if I remember, I check the charge level but its hardly diminished. As for your predicament - and I’ve no idea if this is possible for you - I like to drive out to a nice country pub for the occasional lunch and thus recharge the battery on the way! As someone who grew up in London and worked in London for many years, I always looked forward to getting away from it!

Glad to hear that your power pack has got you going again, Steven. But they are an emergency solution and not something a battery should regularly need. So you may wish to consider what caused the problem in the first place. If it’s the original battery then it may well becoming to the end of its useful life. It may also be that you’re not doing sufficient mileage to keep it charged - or that the charging rate is down. You don’t mention it, but in case you don’t have one, it’s always worth investing in a good trickle charger that will maintain and even condition the battery. I use a CTEK - but others are available.

I don't know how effective this stuff is, but it may do the job for the small areas you have in mind. LEXUS ALLOY WHEEL SILVER TOUCH UP PAINT REPAIR KIT, STONE CHIPS, SCUFFS | eBay

Thank you David, for sharing this very sad news with us. Like many here, I feel I have lost a friend that I never had the pleasure of actually meeting. I joined in June 2020 and it soon became clear that John was one of the stalwarts of the LOC. I appreciated his wit and wisdom - and in exchanging PMs discovered that we were not dissimilar in backgrounds and age. He was what we used to describe affectionately as a ‘Gentleman and Scholar’. In the last PM we exchanged exactly one month ago, he shared with me the news of his deteriorating health. I too extend my sincere condolences to Margaret and his Family and very much hope that they see this Post and thus appreciate how much he was admired by strangers whose only connection was that they owned a Lexus! One thing that amused us both - and that John would gently point out - was that the answers to many of the questions raised could be found in the car’s Manual. But that didn’t stop him from helping a fellow owner. I - and the LOC - shall miss him greatly.

I have indeed pondered that myself, Alex. For example, my rear camera displays when reverse is selected, but could be recording an image continuously - with the rear sensors powered to activate the system when parked. What occurred to me is that the current cameras are located at low levels - typically, under the boot lid and above the front bumper or at the base of the windscreen. Dashcams, however, are invariably positioned at the highest point of the front and rear screens. So I wondered if this was because technically - and evidentially - this was the most effective positioning for recording purposes.

I’ve always used the same excellent local auto electrician on the basis that installing dashcams is something he does for a living and on a very regular basis.

It’s a bit suspicious if the reference label is missing. Maybe the car was repaired around the door frames - or casually resprayed? To help identify it, the colour reference starts with the letters C/TR followed by the colour code.

Today, I gave the alloys a special treat - I renewed the Alloygator rim protectors. Well, after four years they were looking a bit scuffed! Which is rather the point of them! Of course, some folk reckon it’s cheaper not to hit a kerb in the first place. Which is reasonable if you can see the kerb - which you can’t if it’s a snow-covered narrow country lane. Or, worse still, a water-filled pothole. Our local ChipsAway guy does an excellent alloy wheel repair job. But at £60 a wheel it makes £160 for a set of Alloygators - spread over four years - one of my better accessory choices!

Good advice, Linus. Personally, I think these could be the single most effective way of improving driving behaviour. As you rightly suggest, if drivers are aware that the chances that their deliberately bad behaviour is increasingly likely to be recorded by the vehicles around them, it is also increasingly likely that it will deter all but the most determinedly stupid. And greatly improve even their chances of being caught. I’m sure that Lexus is not alone in offering dashcams as an accessory. It’s a relatively trivial cost when lost in the purchase price.

Irritating though this encounter may have been, Steve, I think you’ve just presented an excellent case for the fitting of a dashcam. At the very most, the Police might have interviewed the other driver and possibly issued a Police Caution. But in the absence of independent evidence of this incident, a Prosecution would most likely fail. As such, it would indeed be deemed as not being in the public interest. I have personal experience of this in that I did have occasion to report an incidence of potentially dangerous driving and was able to supply corroborating video evidence. A PC took the trouble to pay three visits to the driver’s address before finding him in and then presented him with the evidence, before issuing a Police Caution. I was then contacted to see if I was satisfied with that outcome - or did I wish to persue it further. As it happens, I thought the other driver seemed sufficiently contrite and might be more considerate in future. Or at least aware that their actions could be being recorded! So that ended the matter. There is a facility for supplying video clips to Police Authorities to support prosecutions and I think they welcome valid contributions. After all, they can be a very easy way to improve their conviction figures!

If these are the original TPMS valves, then I would suspect that one or more of the batteries has failed. Depending on mileage, they are. considered to have about a ten year life. If you take the car to a good tyre retailer, they should be able to check the state of the valves. When I had to have one replaced, it was £65 fitted - which was better than a Lexus dealer. If the tyres need replacing then that would be a good time to do it, as the tyre has to be removed anyway. And you can always negotiate a deal. Of course you could just ignore it - some owners find a small piece of black tape over the flashing light solves the problem! But the TPMS system is a safety aid and early warning system. For your own safety - let alone that of others - it should be working.

This is surely the point! Like most car makers running a production line, it is set up to cater for the most popular colours and combinations. If you choose an option outside of that, then it requires a modification to that process that takes it out of the standard setup and therefor incurs additional time and labour. There’s also the consideration that some special finishes may require additional treatments.

It’s not a programme that I regularly watch as I’m not in the market for a new car. But I might catch it on Catch-Up now you’ve been good enough to highlight it. Certainly, dismissing a four year older model on the basis that it’s not as modern does seem a bit perverse! It obviously didn’t come from Lexus PR, and possibly not even a Dealer, as both would have undoubtedly prepared it better. So it may well have been borrowed from a private owner. I would expect that anyone contemplating buying any of these four would conduct their own test drives anyway. Personally, I only ever regard car testers as offering a guide to what’s currently available. Their comments are usually far removed from the real-life concerns of drivers spending their own money!

That’s the deal we have for MrsT’s car - which does a ridiculously low annual mileage anyway. Very happy with Saga. In fact, we recently added her Brother temporarily to the Policy so that he could drive it while searching for a replacement car. Curiously, that additional driver resulted in Saga refunding £55! I’ve no idea why - but it seemed churlish to have an argument over it.

I commuted from north London in to Central London every working week day for 25 years - and occasionally on weekends - by London Underground. It was my experience that it could be all these things - and many more - in the course of one day!

As it happens, Linus, my Power Magic Pro does monitor the battery state and will switch off the dashcam if the voltage drops below a preset level. In fact the camera drain In standby is very low. You can also get an independent battery that will takeover powering the camera when the ignition is off. But I agree with you that a dashcam is always better when it’s on!

Just wondering why you want to disable the dashcam when the ignition is off? Do you think your Lexus is not going to be hit or scratched when it’s parked while you’re out shopping or having a meal? Or left outside your home! If anything, cars are more vulnerable when they’re unattended. You can get power supply units that will keep the dashcam in standby mode when the ignition is off. For example, my BlackVue has a unit called a Power Magic Pro. I’m sure that Nextbase will have a similar system.

When I had to have a TPMS valve replaced (it had been sheared off by a helpful stranger trying to release a seized dust cap!) a large nearby tyre retailer fitted a replacement for about £65. I would be inclined to investigate them first - and possibly negotiate a deal on a set of four. It may even be that they can detect the battery levels prior to removal.