Winter Preparation

IS300FSPORT · September 27, 2023

Greetings,

Do any of you bother with the winter preparation or just continue as is in the UK? Maybe a checklist may help owners to pay abit of attention & be more careful out there.

- Being RWD snow tyres although for best practise, recommended to have x4 winter set. Luckily we have another run around so mine doesnt see the gritty roads to minimise under corrosion I just leave it parked during heavy snow periods.

- Tyre pressures do you bother adjusting in colder months for better traction? If you have spare now is the time to carry it.

- Windscreen wash -5 temps usually does the trick top up

- Windscreen & side window covers work quite well if you just want to go in the morning without scraping windows.

- New wipers or replace directly after winter let the old wipers get the beating but obviously replace if necessary

- Pre winter Service? Or just top up oil if necessary. Never topped this engine up in my ownership.

- Brakes just as important as tyres but we all know the hybrids dont really see alot of wear unless your doing serious mileage, the discs corrode before they are actually worn out.

- Check lights all around from a safety perspective

- Keep it clean during winter months is more rewarding & better for the paint in the long run than letting the salt sit, tip for you all run your hand above the rear wheel arches & see how much dirt or mud has accumulated thats whar causes arches paintwork to rot or bubble as they age. Keep that area clean.

- Now is the time to pull out the rubber mats if you have them as with wet shoes, it can reduce the condensation on windows as carpet takes a while to dry off.

- *12v Battery recharge I plug mine into the Noco Genius 5 once a month just to keep it topped up. Although its a 2 year old Battery low mileage prevents it going flat when you most need it. Its usually sat around 12.2v however on charge monitoring it with a multimeter have seen it upto 12.9v. From 50-75% charge takes approx 3-4 hours before the maintenance charger switches to Green indicating fully charged. Can swear its switches to eco quickly or more regularly once the 12v Battery is fully charged maybe making it more economical.

Im sure there is plenty more interesting read if you can share that would be great. Thanks

J Henderson · September 27, 2023

Good list.

I switch to rubber floor mats and cold weather tyres, for sure. Usually around November/December.

-20 strength screenwash

And, my contribution;

- If your car's mirrors auto-fold when you lock it...disable that feature when it's very cold. If they get frozen solid in the folded position, you're in for a long wait to have a drivable car.

- Also, for a similar reason. Never try and open a window that's well frozen. I blew the fuse in my car trying to force one to open a few years ago

Worse still, I once had a window stay frozen in the door frame, whilst the mechanism detached itself from the glass and went inside the door by itself. This wasn't in a Lexus, but could happen in any car I guess.

wharfhouse · September 27, 2023

5 hours ago, IS300FSPORT said:

Greetings,

Do any of you bother with the winter preparation or just continue as is in the UK? Maybe a checklist may help owners to pay abit of attention & be more careful out there.

- Being RWD snow tyres although for best practise, recommended to have x4 winter set. Luckily we have another run around so mine doesnt see the gritty roads to minimise under corrosion I just leave it parked during heavy snow periods.

- Tyre pressures do you bother adjusting in colder months for better traction? If you have spare now is the time to carry it.

- Windscreen wash -5 temps usually does the trick top up

- Windscreen & side window covers work quite well if you just want to go in the morning without scraping windows.

- New wipers or replace directly after winter let the old wipers get the beating but obviously replace if necessary

- Pre winter Service? Or just top up oil if necessary. Never topped this engine up in my ownership.

- Brakes just as important as tyres but we all know the hybrids dont really see alot of wear unless your doing serious mileage, the discs corrode before they are actually worn out.

- Check lights all around from a safety perspective

- Keep it clean during winter months is more rewarding & better for the paint in the long run than letting the salt sit, tip for you all run your hand above the rear wheel arches & see how much dirt or mud has accumulated thats whar causes arches paintwork to rot or bubble as they age. Keep that area clean.

- Now is the time to pull out the rubber mats if you have them as with wet shoes, it can reduce the condensation on windows as carpet takes a while to dry off.

- *12v Battery recharge I plug mine into the Noco Genius 5 once a month just to keep it topped up. Although its a 2 year old battery low mileage prevents it going flat when you most need it. Its usually sat around 12.2v however on charge monitoring it with a multimeter have seen it upto 12.9v. From 50-75% charge takes approx 3-4 hours before the maintenance charger switches to Green indicating fully charged. Can swear its switches to eco quickly or more regularly once the 12v battery is fully charged maybe making it more economical.

Im sure there is plenty more interesting read if you can share that would be great. Thanks

Never done anything special - don't see much need to as cars are tested in all conditions and this country doesn't have anything particular extreme - just keep to the service schedule - check and inflate tyre pressures as needed as the cold weather means they will naturally be low and make the screen wash more concentrated for when it goes below zero. I live in the south of England though tavel all over, however and if I lived in the hills in the north of the country I might consider having winter tyres fitted as I've had some problems in snow a few times on normal tyres. Been running my 2014 IS 300h for 7 years now and nearly 100k miles in my ownership (it's now done 136k miles - bought it 2 years old with 40k miles on it) and it's still on the original 12V Battery and I have left it over a week in the summer and over a week in sub zero temps last winter and it started with no problems.

Bluemarlin · September 27, 2023

My service is done every September, so most things get checked before winter. They even replaced the front and rear wipers at no charge.

I also bought some of the Prestone extreme concentrated screen wash when it was offer in Costco for around a fiver for a 5 litre bottle, so I might add a more concentrated mix later in the year.

The only other thing I've done is give the underside a rinse with a lawn sprinkler and then a good spraying with ACF 50.

I already have all season tyres, so that's pretty much all I'll do. I may give it a quick hand wash every now and then if it gets dirty, but I put a graphene coating on it so the rain keeps it fairly clean. Also, if it gets cold enough for them to salt the roads, I might rinse the underside.

wharfhouse · September 27, 2023

49 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

I also bought some of the Prestone extreme concentrated screen wash when it was offer in Costco for around a fiver for a 5 litre bottle, so I might add a more concentrated mix later in the year.

Yes, I bought that too and concur it is very good and a reasonable price at Costco.

DBIZO · October 3, 2023

On 9/27/2023 at 2:09 AM, IS300FSPORT said:

Greetings,

Do any of you bother with the winter preparation or just continue as is in the UK? Maybe a checklist may help owners to pay abit of attention & be more careful out there.

- Being RWD snow tyres although for best practise, recommended to have x4 winter set. Luckily we have another run around so mine doesnt see the gritty roads to minimise under corrosion I just leave it parked during heavy snow periods.

- Tyre pressures do you bother adjusting in colder months for better traction? If you have spare now is the time to carry it.

- Windscreen wash -5 temps usually does the trick top up

- Windscreen & side window covers work quite well if you just want to go in the morning without scraping windows.

- New wipers or replace directly after winter let the old wipers get the beating but obviously replace if necessary

- Pre winter Service? Or just top up oil if necessary. Never topped this engine up in my ownership.

- Brakes just as important as tyres but we all know the hybrids dont really see alot of wear unless your doing serious mileage, the discs corrode before they are actually worn out.

- Check lights all around from a safety perspective

- Keep it clean during winter months is more rewarding & better for the paint in the long run than letting the salt sit, tip for you all run your hand above the rear wheel arches & see how much dirt or mud has accumulated thats whar causes arches paintwork to rot or bubble as they age. Keep that area clean.

- Now is the time to pull out the rubber mats if you have them as with wet shoes, it can reduce the condensation on windows as carpet takes a while to dry off.

- *12v Battery recharge I plug mine into the Noco Genius 5 once a month just to keep it topped up. Although its a 2 year old battery low mileage prevents it going flat when you most need it. Its usually sat around 12.2v however on charge monitoring it with a multimeter have seen it upto 12.9v. From 50-75% charge takes approx 3-4 hours before the maintenance charger switches to Green indicating fully charged. Can swear its switches to eco quickly or more regularly once the 12v battery is fully charged maybe making it more economical.

Im sure there is plenty more interesting read if you can share that would be great. Thanks

Thinking about winter prep already puts you ahead of 99% of UK drivers I suspect. Actually doing it you're probably part of one of the tiniest clubs in the UK. Must be noted, this is normal procedure on the continent...

My biggest ailment is that getting a simple tyre swap done can be painful and costly in the UK. When I was done with my previous set and wanted to put on a set I already had, I got rejected by multiple shops on account I had not bought the tyres from them. Then when I found a shop who took the job, they left marks on the rims and charged me nearly a 100 for it...

For this reason, my recommendation is to have a premium all-season set, the benchmark for which is Michelin's Cross Climate 2. These tyres are rated for winterly alpine conditions and carry the mountain symbol like full winters, but of course work well in the summer too. You're covered for all weather conditions.

I had a full run on a set of Pirelli Cinturatos, in both summer and winter, overall more than 20k, can't fault the performance, they got done by multiple punctures. They expose the rims though, so cannot recommend. But the performance was there, including snow traction, wet, and high-speeds on European motorways in cold conditions near freezing point.

Only got stuck once, in the Italian Alps, on icy compressed snow surface with in incline where I made the mistake to come to a full stop - then the rear left dug a little hole and created polished ice (snow mode was on) and the car needed a little rocking push to get out. Unsure if winters would have made a difference, maybe, all wheel drive definitely.

Tyre Reviews test them thoroughly, if you want to look at data, here is the latest set: 2023 24 Tyre Reviews All Season Tyre Test - Tyre Reviews and Tests

Mr_Groundhog · October 5, 2023

On 10/3/2023 at 10:22 AM, DBIZO said:

My biggest ailment is that getting a simple tyre swap done can be painful and costly in the UK. When I was done with my previous set and wanted to put on a set I already had, I got rejected by multiple shops on account I had not bought the tyres from them. Then when I found a shop who took the job, they left marks on the rims and charged me nearly a 100 for it...

This is something that drives me nuts about the UK. This obsession with not pleasing the customer. Moreover, at times when i needed to have something done in the car, most independent garages made me feel like I was a nuisance to them.

One thing I would like to do to my IS300h is an under seal to protect the underside from rust. Places I found online are far from where I live (I would need to take one or two days off work) and the local Lanoguard application place didn't even reply to my message asking...

Not that everything is better in the US but one thing they do well is they try to be friendly and accommodate the needs of the client.

DBIZO · October 5, 2023

1 hour ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

This is something that drives me nuts about the UK. This obsession with not pleasing the customer. Moreover, at times when i needed to have something done in the car, most independent garages made me feel like I was a nuisance to them.

One thing I would like to do to my IS300h is an under seal to protect the underside from rust. Places I found online are far from where I live (I would need to take one or two days off work) and the local Lanoguard application place didn't even reply to my message asking...

Not that everything is better in the US but one thing they do well is they try to be friendly and accommodate the needs of the client.

Unsure what's the source of it, but most service in the UK is characterised by either indifference or outright inhospitality under the motto "it is what it is, tough".

Get this: Lexus Hedge End (Snows) basically told me it was my fault I didn't bring the car in for a repair under warranty (heating servo or something like that) in time after diagnosis, so they sent the part back and my right to repair under warranty is now void. I was travelling a lot and naively assumed it's okay to delay the repair. They didn't tell me about any rule as such, and they probably tried to call me once in all the time. In good faith I timed the repair together with a service and MOT. It was my final service at 100k. They basically just shrugged it off. They didn't ask about future service plans (I would have probably signed), didn't try to resolve the warranty issue (I would have paid for an unrelated AC repair if they did took care of the heater), just informed me as a matter of fact and clearly couldn't care less when I just quietly walked.

I realised a long while ago you cannot actually negotiate with parties who don't care for their own self interests. I'm now either going to file a complaint if I find the stomach and the time, or just look for another garage.

The US is different because they are very driven by money, and they want you to part with it. In some other countries it's an interpersonal cultural factor, they like to help and solve your problem, or just be friendly and flexible.

Mind you, seeking recommendations in Hampshire and surroundings.

Mr_Groundhog · October 9, 2023

On 10/5/2023 at 11:23 PM, DBIZO said:

Mind you, seeking recommendations in Hampshire and surroundings.

I feel your pain. That is why when you find a good garage, you can consider yourself lucky.
I dunno if Kent is too far for you but at Kaizer motor they have been very nice to me. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rqyFSEfvqEqLQn329
And there is apparently a Lexus specialist in Ilford but I haven't used yet myself: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rAfiymHiGAQhptRa9

Their site seems to be down though.

Malc1 · October 9, 2023

6 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

I dunno if Kent is too far for you but at Kaizer motor they have been very nice to me. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rqyFSEfvqEqLQn329

and Rochester / Strood Kent is just off the M2 too

Malc

DBIZO · October 9, 2023

10 hours ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

I feel your pain. That is why when you find a good garage, you can consider yourself lucky.
I dunno if Kent is too far for you but at Kaizer motor they have been very nice to me. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rqyFSEfvqEqLQn329
And there is apparently a Lexus specialist in Ilford but I haven't used yet myself: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rAfiymHiGAQhptRa9

Their site seems to be down though.

Thanks - they are out of my way, but you never know....

Spottedlaurel · October 9, 2023

Things that are worth thinking about in winter that haven't been mentioned yet? Don't rely on auto lights (so many people seem to, no good when it's foggy but bright enough not to make the lights come on), and turn auto wipers off at the end of the day. Not ideal to have them try and work the next morning when they're frozen to the screen....

IS300FSPORT · December 16, 2023

Update I've added a quick connect lead to the Battery terminals.

For info - The NOCO GC002 connector is compatible with the NOCO Genius 5 or 10 charger. Saves you from removing the Battery cover each time & using the crocodile clips not ideal. Makes it so much easier to maintain the 12v Battery. Bought the cable from amazon discounted from £15.95 to £12.95 if any of you are interested.

(To be fair its not really necessary if you use the car regularly)

I tried to keep as OEM looking as possible put the cable in a conduit for extra pre-caution. Its a fused cable anyway so its safe to use. Recommend it if your not driving the car regularly or leaving it unattended for a long time you wont come back to a flat Battery potentially leaving you stranded.

Mr_Groundhog · December 20, 2023

On 12/16/2023 at 2:50 PM, IS300FSPORT said:

Update I've added a quick connect lead to the battery terminals.

For info - The NOCO GC002 connector is compatible with the NOCO Genius 5 or 10 charger. Saves you from removing the battery cover each time & using the crocodile clips not ideal. Makes it so much easier to maintain the 12v battery. Bought the cable from Amazon discounted from £15.95 to £12.95 if any of you are interested.

(To be fair its not really necessary if you use the car regularly)

I tried to keep as OEM looking as possible put the cable in a conduit for extra pre-caution. Its a fused cable anyway so its safe to use. Recommend it if your not driving the car regularly or leaving it unattended for a long time you wont come back to a flat battery potentially leaving you stranded.

thank you!
Two questions on your post:

Could it be that this accessory comes with the NOCO genius as standard? I have the 5 and I think if I unscrew the crocodile clips I would be left with the rings at the end, just like the accessory you bought.
You did a pretty cool installation there covering the clips but....does it not keep the cover from closing back again?

IS300FSPORT · December 20, 2023

48 minutes ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

thank you!
Two questions on your post:

Could it be that this accessory comes with the NOCO genius as standard? I have the 5 and I think if I unscrew the crocodile clips I would be left with the rings at the end, just like the accessory you bought.

You did a pretty cool installation there covering the clips but....does it not keep the cover from closing back again?

Yes your right the Noco Genius 5 does come with standard eyelets that can be removed from the crocodile clips to permanently hard wire to the Battery, but as I often charge batteries for other cars within the family I needed a spare cable. If that makes sense.

Re closing the cover I used a dremel to create a 1cm square to pass the cable through it right at the bottom of the cover, the plug is actually hidden under the rubber boot mat can't even tell its there.

30 second job now with an accessible outside socket installed its so convenient. :thumbup1:

IS300FSPORT · December 20, 2023

matt8 · December 21, 2023

For those with a CTEK charger like me, I was contemplating one of these for a flush OEM look:

https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/accessories/car-accessories/indicator-panel-1-5m

For now I have the dangly thing in the boot like pictures above, that functions just as well, so I’ve held off.

also afraid to disconnect the Battery for fitting something like this after all the issues people have had with fried head units!

IS300FSPORT · December 21, 2023

32 minutes ago, matt8 said:

also afraid to disconnect the battery for fitting something like this after all the issues people have had with fried head units!

There is no need to remove the clamps from the actual Battery terminals so you dont actually loose connection or risk a short circuit.

Its simple as loosen 10mm nut add the eyelet to the bolt & put the nut back on. Positive first then negative, 10 min job at the most.

With the Caveat - I dont know if adding a Battery monitor will cause any long term Battery drain as its a device constantly using a power source from the 12v Battery which defies the purpose of all this we want to reserve the Battery voltage to avoid or slow down the discharge rate.

Mr_Groundhog · December 21, 2023

9 hours ago, IS300FSPORT said:

I dont know if adding a battery monitor will cause any long term battery drain as its a device constantly using a power source from the 12v battery which defies the purpose of all this we want to reserve the battery voltage to avoid or slow down the discharge rate.

Good question actually! 🫠 Any electrician in the room to tell us?

matt8 · December 21, 2023

5 hours ago, IS300FSPORT said:

I dont know if adding a battery monitor will cause any long term battery drain as its a device constantly using a power source from the 12v battery which defies the purpose of all this we want to reserve the battery voltage to avoid or slow down the discharge rate.

I don’t think it’s an issue. My CTEK one has LEDs that are constantly flashing and I’ve never had a flat Battery. The power draw is very minimal.