SRVO

On 9/9/2023 at 5:17 PM, vin_smith said:

Recently I had a late night shopping trip (which may or may not have included some alcohol) and I ordered these. They are plug and play, have a good beam pattern and good light output.

My likes and dislikes:

+ Easy to mount, on a vehicle with stock Halogen units.
+ Good fitment on the car (I have a 2012 with a newer MY bumper)
+ Good (LHD) beam pattern, easily adjustable with screws on the back. I passed MOT without issues.
+ Bright(er) than halogen. I was using led bulbs in my halogen units, so the light output is about the same if not slightly better. Coming from stock you will definitely notice the difference.

- When the high beams turn on the center most light does some kind of 'lightshow' effect, which is also visible in the video on the product page @0:30. This happens every time the high beams are turned on and is hardwired into the units, which to me makes them unfit to run with the 'auto' light setting of the car (unless you want to laserbeam oncoming traffic every time it gets dim out). The seller confirmed that this cannot be disabled out of the box.
- Long-term support from vendor is dubious at best, though contact and communication throughout all phases of my order was good, quick and accurate.

For the price, I think they're good value and provide a nice upgrade visually and functionally. I might open them up eventually to try and disable that light effect, as I can see that becoming an annoyance. Whether or not you can live with it is a call you have to make on your own.

If you have any questions, hmu 🙂

Thanks for the detailed reply @vin_smith (and apologies for only just seeing it!). It's good to know someone has gone ahead with the installation, they look great. Shame they're only LHD but it gives me some confidence at least.

While I haven't done a 'genuine' retrofit of the camera, I have installed a reversing camera on my CT via an Android Auto/Apple Car Play box I installed and it works perfectly with the Lexus system (turns on automatically when in reverse gear, displays on screen with guidelines etc).

The cable for the Android Auto box was very similar to the one in your photo, so looks like it should be plug & play if you have the correct parts (although I can't guarantee that of course).

If it's of interest, the Android Auto system I purchased is here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003992641706.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.52.339a1802ZcPNk6

And the camera I used is here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003109294587.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.32.339a1802ZcPNk6

13 hours ago, Poundy said:

Less risky option here, for what he wants for it IMO.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1094577644266532/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=2141063852951234&__cft__[0]=AZU63rPgwQdbHRoPO8eRLPtAtIZmeqqm_j-8XXaybHfRLj6KTJ3NBk_iiDiBBKK051t13vgvyUcx9tzA6X78Ke6cSkBlZNStXYETIFxUwsMnI-Gpxvtx4OiViZX06x8iyV3x7wXoN8HkEu6G7MDGxErWUzsD1_dcnI83fEVmYQtgUQ&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R

Thanks Poundy, I reckon I'll be opting for a used replacement. I get the car back from Lexus today so I'll see what they say (obviously they want to sell me a brand new unit with a typical Lexus price tag)

Thanks Colin, yes risky gamble. I was hoping someone braver than me had already done it 😄

I've found myself needing to replace my offside headlight and out of curiosity I had a look at alternative options. These popped up...

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPjc5DO

They're obviously not OEM and who knows what the quality is like, but for aftermarket lights I think they look really good - reminiscent of the previous generation NX.

I don't suppose anyone has fitted these or has any idea if they would be road legal in the UK?

I'll probably end up swapping like-for-like genuine ones, but thought I'd ask out of interest.

I had Lexus fit the genuine one a couple of years ago as they do it for cost price (I think around £250), plus it will be marked and registered on the police database. I'm glad I had it done for peace of mind, however there are some downsides...

- It rattles ever so slightly at low speed which is annoying for a silent car (its minor though)
- I've had sticks and branches get stuck in it and drag along the road.
- It's scraped on the ground a couple of times when exiting steep multi-story car park ramps.

That said, I'd rather endure these minor flaws than have someone damage my car and have to pay for a replacement catalytic converter.

15 hours ago, Las Palmas said:

Never turn off air-condition. In summer for obvious reasons, but many do not know that in winter it is far more needed in colder countries. Also, when aircon is on all parts of it are kept lubricated and will last much longer if not forever. Never had condensation inside the car. In cold countries cars without air-condition are close to impossible to keep dry in winter. I lived in one before moving to where we have 20 degrees Celsius at night.

Totally agree. I never turn it off, I just used to have it recirculating to be more efficient, but that prevents moisture being removed from the air. 

On 3/28/2023 at 8:29 PM, Brock said:

Wondering if anyone has dealt with interior condensation on the windows in a Lexus CT200h.  It’s random but some mornings I go out to the car and the interior windows are soaked with condensation.  No leaks when it rains but also the rear seat floor is moist.  Any ideas? Wondering if it has something to do with heat from the battery. 

I haven't had it quite that bad (no wet floor) but for months I had really bad condensation from where I'd washed my rubber mats and forgot to dry them, so the water ended up 'in the air'. No matter how much I drove with the windows down, I couldn't stop the condensation forming next time I got in the car. In the end I realised the solution was to make sure the aircon was always running in 'flow mode' (not the recirculation mode), so the aircon would naturally remove the moisture from the air. It took a few months but it worked, so hopefully that helps.

On 3/19/2023 at 11:40 PM, SSUR said:

We also have a similar 14 model CT, full Lexus service history, only required a new wiper blade, front lightbulbs and recently new tyres in all these years, simply a great little car.

Same here and nice to hear it's a 'CT' thing. I've never had such a reliable car. Mine's a 2014 with 140k on the clock and still drives like new. It's only ever needed tyres, brakes, bulbs and wipers. Shows the benefit of servicing!

Very interested in this but not sure I'm brave enough to do it myself! Someone has though... https://www.ct200hforum.com/threads/has-anyone-actually-upgraded-to-lithium-ion-battery.149675/page-2

Thanks for the feedback, it's interesting to hear. Perhaps it is just normal then. It just seems like an unnecessary feature if the car is going to determine the speed of the wipers regardless of which setting you choose. Like Nick, every other car I've had has a setting of fast > slow > slower.

I think the main reason it's noticeable (and annoying) on the CT is that the 'slow' setting is still too fast (only a couple of seconds between wipes). I find myself having to turn it off and manually do the wipers.

Update-ish... I thought I'd try to eliminate one theory as it's a cheap and easy fix. I bought a used wiper stalk from eBay for £20 and swapped it over in my car. I thought this might be the solution as the 'new' one has much more defined clicks when you turn the intermittent dial, but alas it hasn't solved the problem. The speed does change slightly (as before), but not really with any logic (eg one setting isn't really any slower/faster than the other). I only tested this out in the snow however, so perhaps I need heavier rain to test it properly - I'll report back if that actually makes a difference.

On a positive note, this almost certainly means the issue is with the relay and they're cheap to replace. The only problem is that the relay is difficult to access because it's high up behind the dash (I've replaced an indicator relay in this location before and it's a pain to get to). Although you can reach these relays, you can't 'see' them and there's no way of knowing which one you need to unplug. It was easier with the indicator relay as I could turn it on and feel it clicking (here's how to do that if you're interested: https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/126966-smarttap-flasher-relay-install-for-comfort-flash/ )

I've written a how-to on replacing the wiper stalk anyway (below) because there was nothing online about how to do this on a CT. All other Toyota/Lexus write-ups say you have to remove the steering wheel and airbag which you do not have to do on the CT.


How to remove / replace wiper stalk:

1) Turn steering wheel to the side to access two hidden screws. Remove these.

2) Separate the top and bottom halves of the plastic cowling. This is the trickiest part as you need to use quite a lot of force. They're held together with clips:

3) Remove the two white plugs underneath the stalk unit.

4) Using a small flat head screwdriver, push this clip down to enable you to slide the stalk unit away from the steering column.

5) Now you can install your new stalk and put everything back together in reverse order.

Please note: Replacing the indicator stalk would not be as straightforward - for this you would need to remove the steering wheel as it doesn't unplug in the same way as the wiper stalk.

On 2/1/2023 at 3:03 PM, Nick0 said:

Thank you kind sir! 

As I thought, this is how I would expect it to work, either the sensitivity adjuster is ignoring me or I think it's not working. I wonder how much a new one of either might be. Any guesses?!

I have exactly the same issue in mine. Turning the sensitivity dial seems to make little to no difference at all. Thought it might just be how Lexus cars are, but if you do find a solution I'd be keen to hear!

45 minutes ago, Al D-Much said:

Nope.
Safety camera / speeding camera alerts, not the park assist beeps.

Oh right, apologies, no I don't believe this can be turned off. I actually love this feature but I can understand how it could also be annoying.

I have a 2014 CT (first facelift) and it has the speed camera beeps. Great feature. It's linked with the nav but it runs in the background continuously.

On 2/7/2023 at 8:02 AM, Al D-Much said:

1. Any way of turning off the safety camera beep? 

Do you mean the beeping while in reverse? If so, yes you can turn this off using an OBD device like Carista.

I don't have an answer unfortunately, however I have a 2014 CT and have considered doing this upgrade too, so I'm keen to hear if there is a solution. Did you run in to any problems installing the headlights or were they plug & play?

Hi Martin, I know this was posted a while ago, but I just wanted to say thanks for the write up as it helped me.

For anyone else wanting to do this mod, I live in the UK and SmartTap won't deliver here... However, I found a similar device on amazon for £10 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B085HQTWBQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) and you can find them even cheaper on AliExpress.

Instead of removing the old relay, I just unplugged the cable and plugged it in to the new relay. This will give you 3 blink lane change indicators and you can adjust the speed of the flashing.

On 7/6/2020 at 10:38 PM, holiday said:

Hi I just read your posts. What you could’ve done was that you could just use a vtr connection cables and did the mirroring for around £30. That’s what I’ve done and it works. 

Sorry to drag up an old post, but at £30 this solution looks great for what I need. One question though, how did you bypass the video-in-motion detection? The only thing I can find is a bypass module from Beat Sonic which costs £200+. For that money, I may as well go down the route of installing a proper CarPlay box like the OP. Any advice appreciated! 🙂 

13 minutes ago, Sofa table said:

Splendid! Did you end up using the Mequiar's stuff?

I did, yes. Hopefully I'll find a use for the rest of the bottle at some point as this little job didn't require much at all. 

VERDICT: It worked! I can confirm it has completely removed the anti-glare coating (no more purple tint) but it doesn't seem to affect anything. A few minor scratches remain which I'll remove when I spend more time on it, however this result was achieved in just 5-10 minutes and there is a huge improvement.

A couple of things to note if you're going to try it yourself:
- I used masking tape around the edges of the screen to prevent it getting on the rest of the unit.
- I only used a small amount of liquid at a time (pea sized amount on a microfibre cloth, moving in all directions).
- I avoided rubbing the white text above the buttons as I wasn't sure if it would remove them (it probably wouldn't, but better safe than sorry).

Thanks everyone for your help and advice 👍

15 minutes ago, Las Palmas said:

If it is the protective film it should be easy just to take that off? Reflections would come near the middle of the dashboard.

Or is that film impossible to just take off?

Is there such a film on this too?

There's no film on the climate control screen, just a coating. It does look like there's a film on the sat nav screen though - I've been wondering whether to take this off too, although I've made that mistake with a new tv screen before (and broke it 🤦‍♂️)

4 hours ago, rayaans said:

It usually tends to be the anti glare coating that gets scratched up

Meguiars PlastX will be great on it and will remove the coating. You shouldnt have any signficant glare issues, especially on a small section like that.

I removed the anti-glare coating on our IS300h Nav screen when we had it as it had marks on it like yours does and had no problems.

Thanks @rayaans that's reassuring to know! I'll buy some, give it a try and will report back 🤞

59 minutes ago, Sofa table said:

Polishing compound and a microfibre cloth maybe? I've been meaning to do it myself but haven't just gotten around to it since mine isn't too bad.

I'm guessing this stuff will do the trick, however it looks like there is an anti-glare coating on the plastic screen which makes me wonder if it'll do more harm than good. If someone has tried this already and had success (or not), it would be great to know before I attempt it 😄

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-PlastX-Plastic-Cleaner-Polish/dp/B0000AY3SR?th=1

On 9/9/2022 at 11:29 PM, SonnyA85 said:

It's a hatchback not a luxury sedan.

I wouldn't consider an armrest to be a luxury. My VW Golf was a hatchback and that had a rear armrest.