Mike246

Rodders is right - they come on with the heated rear window. Rodders is always right. Him and my wife, which is why we don't have an encyclopedia in this house as she know's everything. A related piece of useless information. My GS was recently damaged by cement being swept off a hotel being constructed. One of the parts replaced was the mirror glass. £ 130 for the part alone. Apparantly it has a heated gel on the back, hence the cost.

Steve, I won't do that but it's a thoughtful suggestion!

I've returned the RSVP to Northampton's finest, accepting their invitation. It's a better alternative to getting points. Economically, there is no contest. I am insured on 4 cars; my insurer loads 8% per car per driver for each offence. Over 3 years before the points expire, that's quite a loading. An issue I'm not happy with is that I have to attend on the day they offer and breaking a business meeting to do so is a real drag. Also an offender is allowed only 'one course ever' in lieu of points - they have asked me to bring my licence along and I suspect that they are going to mark it in some way.

Jiberjaber, In answer, it was A428 in Yardley Hastings. Full frontal photo so must be one of those new fangled things.

They were so pleased to see me in Northampton that they took my picture on the way out with one of their cameras and sent me a copy with a Notice of Prosecution. 35 in a 30 limit. So kind. No excuse for speeding but 35 - what a bummer. I wrote them a nice letter politely drawing attention to the ACO guidlines which advocates non-prosecution at 10% of limit plus 2 mph. Was this issued in error? I received their reply today. They are sticking to their guns (let's hope Northampton Police are never armed) but offer an alternative. I can elect to attend a Speed Workshop in Northampton which is a 3-hour session on a day of their choosing, not weekends. The cost of the course is £60 in lieu of the fine and points. Presumably I will have the opportunity to meet with like-minded people, be served a good meal and maybe a dance or two with the Chief Constable's wife. I wonder what they do with the sixty quid? I must ask them.

Should have explained, mine are a light-grey colour to go with the leather. They really do look grubby and ucertain how to clean.

I have a good one! The GS has door-mounted speakers. The covers seem to attract dirt - maybe its an electrostatic thing. These seem to be the one interior surface which looks like it would be difficult to clean up without causing damage. Anyone got any ideas? Can they be replaced?

Cilin, Point taken. But 150,000 for a cambelt change?

Phil, That's not right. That's the service schedule for a Boing 737. My Mk 2 GS service book says A/B services at 9,000/27,000 miles replace air & fuel filters on B-service replace plugs and timing belt at 63,000 miles replace ATF every 36,000 miles. It's the plug change that is a real sod. Much worse than getting to the timing belt. My GS is a mid-98. I wonder if your is later and they have changed the schedule. My cambelt came out like new at 63,000 but 150,000 is a bit chancy!

Intrigued to know who your dealer is. Feel free to PM me.

we have a local rabbi who specialises in that sort of work

It needs the programming unit that Lexus dealers have.

Colin, Your advice appreciated but how can over-tightened wheels cause disk warp? The five studs go through the 'hub' of the disk and any uneven pressure caused by over-tightening cannot impact on the disk itself. Having said that, I'm going to get Lexus Hatfield to recheck the torques.

Just had my fourth set fitted in 77,000 mile Mk2. This is not good. Had the garage give me the old ones back so I could get them checked for run-out. Whoever said that the problem is caused by pad material adhesion is talking rubbish. The disks have only worn 2mm from new and are warped. Lexus have a heat and material problem with this design, not helped by the tendency to use the footbrake at lights, rather than the parking brake as the latter is foot-operated.

The battery for the Mk2 GS is a non-preferred size. In my view the best available is the Bosch premium one. This cost £ 52 plus V.A.T. from Russells who have branches in N/NW London and Herts. PM me if you need further information. If you DIY, make sure that you have the passcode for your sound system or satnav otherwise it will be a sod to get working again.

Rodders says 'its always wheel-balancing' and he is usually right with his responses on this forum. My GS wheels were balanced twice by Costco who supplied the tyres and still wobbled at speed. Took the car to Lexus Hatfield who used their own state-of-the-art kit to rebalance. Result - no wobble. In my experience the GS is particularly susceptable to correct balancing.

ruds, Assume it is the 63k service. Changing the spark plugs requires more dismantling than for the timing belt. Hence the high labour charge. No indication of where you are. If you are down south, I recommend Lexus Hatfield who did the 63k service and look after my car. No complaints, nice people who know what they are doing. £495 plus V.A.T. after LOC discount.

Claire may be right. If it gets worse when swinging the steering from side to side, it is the bearing. Happened on mine. The bearings are massive and look like they come off a DC10. And they cost as much.

You should check two things. Firstly that the connector to the disk unit is properly seated - the unit will swivel upwards to help. Secondly, the laser reader may need cleaning - try one of the CD cleaning kits. Failing that, I would pop into the local Lex dealer and try a different disk.

Forgive me asking, but are you on something?

Thanks for the response but that doesn't seem right. The motorway driving is in lieu of town driving. Far less stop-start journeys over the life of the discs. I examined the last set that came off my GS. No pad material on them - that would be easy to remove. The discs were not worn down but there was run-in (warp) over the radial area. I think one contributing factor is that on the GS, in traffic it is usual to hold the car on the brake pedal as the 'handbrake' is foot-operated. This must keep the front discs hot.

My GS has done 77k and is about to get its fourth set of front discs. The present set have lasted 17k before warping. This is not on. Most of the mileage is motorway and I am not heavy on the brakes. Lexus Hatfield say that one disc pair replacement with every other pad change is the norm. Never had to replace disks on the six Hondas I have owned, two of which went over the 100k. Just recovering from spending £ 500 replacing the front bearings. Not fashionable on this forum to knock Lexus, but this is not on.

Hi Claire, We met - breifly at the Toyota factory tour. They are an insrcutable lot at Burnaston. I wish I could tell you what you want to hear. My NSF GS bearing became noisy so had both replaced. £112 each plus £15 each for the oil seals. An hour's labour each side as the hubs need to come off plus another hour for a front alignment. Total inc V.A.T. £ 574. Ouch! Work was done by Lexus Hatfield who are pretty good. Your symptoms indicate that the bearing is beginning to break. My GS has done 70k and given that front disks have been replaced twice, new ball joint and now the bearings, it challenges the myth that Lexi never wear out. Didn't have to replace any of these on five Hondas! Only consolation is that it does drive much better now. Oh yes, and they lent me a new Sportcross while it was being done.

One of my front wheel bearings had got noisy at 73K so I had both replaced. Wow! £130 per side for bearing and oil seal and around 3 hours labour. Has any other GS owner experienced this?

My missus needs that - big time