culky

In the description it mentions that the mirrors are electrically retractable is this part of the Vspec package does anyone know? Wondering how possible it would be to retroft to a bog std Mk1 sport...

Congratulations Steve - welcome, hope the new car serves you well!

Cor!, not only has the car got a Taurus rear parking sensor fitted now (with grateful thanks to SteJ for his comprehensive rear bumper removal entry in Workshop) - it only took 2 hours in total! Then the Mitchell On-Demand workshop manual for the Lexus arrived in the post, then (and this was the most unexpected bit) Halfords had the little wedge-shaped sidelight bulbs in stock - my nearside one had blown and i pessimistically expected Halfords not to stock them.

...to LPG that is. I've bitten the bullet and had my Mk1 converted to LPG by Autogas Power in Ketley. They've done lots of LPG conversions for my father-in-law's business and he recommended them to me. I left the car with them for a week because although they'd done his RX300 and V8 Soarer, they hadn't attempted a GS before. Picked the car up today and they've done a good job. A neat and tidy installation and a valet, plus they gave a tour of the car and the workshop. I've included some photos of the completed installation below Images Gallery From cold, the car starts on petrol until it reaches 30 deg C and then it switches to gas above 1600 rpm. When the gas tank is empty it bleeps to let you know and switches back to petrol. I haven't done enough mileage to compare economy but i'm jotting it down. On the hours drive back i switched several times manually between gas and petrol and its seemless, only with the radio off can you tell anything's happened by a quiet little relay-click as the gas pump comes on. In terms of performance, its too early to comment but Autogas recommended switching to petrol for spirited driving anyway. I'm using a rule of thumb that if i'm tempted to use sport mode (which isn't a huge amount) I switch it to petrol at the same time. Autogas even gave it a free 4-wheel alignment because they suspected the tracking was out slightly (something i've been meaning to get sorted because over time its wearing the nearside front tyre unevenly). A full 12,000 mile/1 year warranty and a checkup in 2000 miles time was included. I'm unsure what the final price was because i haven't had to paid for it myself but its around the 1700ukp mark. For me it seemed worth it because the car has only done a youthful 46k, I plan on keeping it until one of us expires so over that time it should have repaid itself. Added to that the fact that I have a free source of LPG at the moment and i'm doing a few miles up and down the country and it made sense. All in all, quite impressed, but time will be the real test..

My mk1 sport is just the same, i need to be pretty much within touching-distance of the car. Occasionally its worked up to about 10ft away, but not often. I've never replaced the batterys in my fobs yet but am planning to in the next week or two. I'll post if I discover it makes a difference. Matthew: Nah! (at least not on mine) It was the first thing i tried but neither lock or unlock seem to do window/roof closure on the mk1.

slightly off-topic but why is it that only the LHD MK1 GS300's have traction control? Anyone know what it is about RHD models that prevented us from getting it? I wonder if the parts are there but it isn't enabled or whether the option is excluded from the wiring loom altogether?

I'd concur with the above. From the trackwork i do in the Caterham - which usually dictates i fiddle with the suspension geometry, there are 3 factors that will influence tramlining and steering response on a car: Toe Tyre type tyre pressures pretty much in that order. Toe adjustment both positive to negative can affect the cars turn-in and straight-line stability, certain tyre types can be more suceptible to tramlining and under-inflated tyres can induce a more sluggish steering response. I would imagine the front castor and camber are not readily adjustable on a Lexus so it's most likely to be toe. I'd certainly get a second opinion on the tracking setup, preferably as part of a 4-wheel laser-alignment. Hope this helps.

I'll bet that's what i've done. I just checked it with the door open - not closed. Doh!! A million thanks thanks Rodders, I'll change it and pick up a better permanent feed at the same time. Best regards, Darren

Hi peeps. Anyone know why this might be happening - I wired in a Nokia CARK91 to my Mk1 Gs300 last night. I took the 12v permenant live feed from the passenger footwell light I took the 12v ignition feed from a cable going into the ashtray light/cigar lighter connector. I'm not sure exactly what the wire used to supply but i checked it goes +12v when the key is in the ignition. Everything works but the main courtesy light comes on dimly when the phone is sitting in the cradle charging. What on earth have i done?! I know - i'm an idiot and should have paid an auto-electrician to do the job for me, but i needed it in quickly and i thought finding a permenant and an ignition live would not be any great hardship. Any ideas gratefully received, i'm considering trying an alternative ignition feed to see if this solves the problem. All the best, Darren

Ahhh! Thanks James

I noticed this when i first bought mk mk1 but it wasn't until i spent a half hour sitting in the car waiting for the other half to finish shopping that i noticed it again. Its what looks like a little photoelectric cell underneath where my tax disc is sitting, in a little circle on the top left of the dash. Anyone know what it might be? The car has no aftermarket mods in the way of alarm systems or anything. I can only imagine it could be the receiver for the central locking system otherwise.. Just curious!

Just an update - Finally solved this problem on my car when the red exclamation light occasionally came on after braking.. I *had* decided to eliminate the Brake fluid sensor by removing the connector, shorting it out and leaving it for a while, but before i tried that I removed the brake bulbs and checked them and the connectors. All seemed fine - bulbs and connectors looked like new. Upon putting the offside bulb back in and testing it though, it didnt light. I cannobolised the Caterham for it's rear indicator bulb which happened to be the same fitting and wattage. The exclamation light has not come on since! It would seem that a failing bulb can be enough to fool the system into thinking there's a fault. So if you get the same symptoms and you're brake fluid level is good, try replacing both rear brake bulbs with some fresh ones even if they're working - its a very cheap first stab at solving the problem! I'm guessing your dad's prob must be something else eMJay - might be worth disconnecting/shorting the brake fluid sensor and see if the problem still occurs - if so the sensor may be dodgy (assuming you've got enough in there, that is..!) Just need to buy an indicator bulb for the Caterham now! :winky:

Thanks guys. For that sort of money it's gotta be worth it. Cheers!

Thanks Colin, I'll take a look. Just curious at this stage really. I think the car may well be too complex to consider doing any real work on it if the time comes (touch wood it won't)

Just posted this under General Maintenance but that forum looks a bit quiet and this is really in relation to the GS300 : I've noticed some on ebay, and some on workshopmanuals.co.uk (which report to be the Mitchells MODS system). Does anybody know if any of these are any good for maintenance/repair work or are they just a glorified owners manual?

Cheers Guys :)

I've noticed some on ebay, and some on workshopmanuals.co.uk (which report to be the Mitchells MODS system). Does anybody know if any of these are any good for maintenance/repair work or are they just a glorified owners manual?

Just a quick update to say i've added the pics. I must replace them with some better ones soon! :) http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...CODE=12&CID=225]In the Garage here....

thanks guys. Just got a chance to check the manual back home. On the mk1, if this light comes on with your foot on the brake then it means that a bulb has gone. If it comes on at any other time it means a suspected fault with the braking circuit (Usually low brake fluid). If as in my case, the light comes on when driving and the fluid level is fine, according to the manual it means an error in the warning system - so long as the car is still braking okay you can drive it but they advise getting the system checked over by Lexus. Mine only comes on when i stop. I've moderated my braking behaviour today and it hasn't come on at all. It came on once yesterday after coming off a motorway, leaving the roundabout on the exit and coming to a stop again at a set of lights. Very odd.

Hello all, Does anyone know what this could be?: I was driving the wife into work this morning and noticed the red exclamation symbol was on after moving off from a set of lights. It wasn't on at the start of the journey and we must have travelled about 5 miles up to that point. The car was behaving perfectly normally. The symbol is a red exclamation inside a circle, just next to the parking brake symbol. Unsure what to do (and now on the M53) I had to make a choice of getting to Chester Lexus or getting my wife into work (she's a doctor so it was fairly important to get her in). I'd passed the local Lex agent already so i decided to come off at the next junction and check things... pulled off the road and had a good look - no other lights on, temperatures fine, the engine seems fine. Switched the car off and waited 10 seconds, then switched it back on. The light has gone out. Pulled back onto the road and head up the sliproad slowly to rejoin the motorway and i felt quite a juddering. Pulled up to the side of the road and stopped, called the RAC out and had the car recovered to the Lexus dealer. Whilst waiting for the recovery chap to arrive, I tried starting the car and moving it backwards and forwards - fine. Same result when i tried driving around Chester Lexus. For peace of mind, I asked to chat to someone and i got to see the chief technician for a few minutes - a brilliant bloke who took the car out with me for a bit and it behaved faultlessly. I checked all the fluids - brake and 'box and they're fine. Had a squint and the pads and they were fine too. Lexus couldnt' fit the car in until tomorrow so I took the chance and drove on to hospital and then took the motorway back home (about a 35 mile round trip) Nothing. Any ideas what it could have been? Whatever it is, the technician and I came to the conclusion that it's unlikely to be major because it seems to have corrected itself and hasn't reappeared but i'm still curious... Brakes perhaps? could it have been a sticking calliper or a confused ABS? It felt like it could have been but I just wondered if anyone else has had anything similar... Thanks for any help you can give. The worry of this morning, and the thought of a large transmission bill is subsiding.. All the best, Darren (car pics up soon)

Cheers guys, I feel very welcomed! I'll try and sort out a few snaps and post them up soon. All the best! Darren

Ah apologies...looking a bit more closely it would appear that you have to send the instrument cluster to them to get it done. Bother..

Have you seen these guys? http://www.lextech.org I have no connection with them and haven't looked too deeply but they look to do replacement needle kits in the colour of your choice. They may be worth a look - $100+the dreaded has got to be cheaper than 1200ukp! Hope this helps, Darren

Thanks Claire!

Yay! After scouring a few ads, I've just taken the plunge and bought a Mk1 GS300 sport. £7k for a silver 41k car with gold badges, full Lex service history and the ever-popular 10" rears. An added bonus was the plate it came with - A2XUS Drove it 280 miles back last night and 2 words can describe the experience - absolute perfection. What a lovely vehicle to drive, I just wish i'd bought one years ago! It was a toss up between this an an E-class and i'm so glad i chose the Lexus. It now joins a Caterham SLR in the garage and will be getting an LPG conversion in about 6 months. Looks like i'd better cough up and become a gold member now.. All the best, Darren