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Our thoughts are with him in this difficult time.

IKEA is a bit harsh.... That's a serious punishment

When the hybrid batteries failed in my 2007 RX400h in February 2014, the view of Lexus Twickenham was that complete replacement was required. I wanted a second opinion (indeed I posted on here asking for recommendations: Boxbrownie was kind enough to help). With the prior blessing of Lexus Head Office Customer Care I had the car moved on a low loader at my sole expense to Lexus Edgware Road. Their diagnosis was identical to Lexus Twickenham, and indeed they carried out the work. The car was off the road for a week or so, and the bill was £2637.34 (plus the cost of the low loader, and a hire car throughout the time my car was off the road). I had contacted Lexus head office before and after the battery replacement, and I understand Lexus Edgware Road did as well. The response of Lexus was: "I was sorry to learn of the diagnosis from Lexus Edgware Road. Please accept my sincere apologies for the disappointment this has caused. Naturally, we hope that our customers will not experience any problems with their vehicles. I regret this has not been the case. We rigorously test every aspect of the car before production commences. However, we sometimes have to react to unforeseen difficulties as they occur and, regrettably, we cannot guarantee that a part will not fail unexpectedly. At the end of the warranty period we encourage our customers to invest in an extended warranty for further peace of mind. For those who do not choose this option, we do try to provide an out of warranty goodwill contribution where possible. Unfortunately, we cannot offer this support indefinitely and I regret to advise you we are unable to offer a contribution towards repairs costs on this occasion. I am sorry we are unable to respond in a more positive manner and I realise our response will come as a further disappointment to you. For this I can only apologise." Now of course I do not expect an indefinite warranty. However this was a relatively low-mileage car, owned by me from brand new, and serviced to exact Lexus' specification. At the least I would have expected curiosity into the problem from Lexus, if not a contribution to the expense, especially if this is a risk as microscopic as Colin Barber suggests.

Morning chaps Yes good to see you all yesterday and much more interesting that the place at Thurrock. My results were 395 at the wheels and 424.7 at the flywheel. Look forward to seeing you all soon Steve

Just gone under the seat to check for the keys and I have them. Will call them and post them back to them tomorrow.

Hi, I have a 97 model mk3 too and service manual says 63000miles or 7 years but the first time the timing belt was done on my car was after 109370 miles (10years and 5 month...done by dealership....proven by timing belt sticker on engine + bill).

Mine was 408.1 at the wheels and 438.8 at the flywheel.

I got 394.6 at the flywheel, 367.7 at the wheels. The Takeda accounts for around 5 as Stu mentioned. I'm also thinking the throttle controller may have robbed some more. I'll be heading back once I get my uprated stock intake setup installed, and I'll leave the throttle controller off, and just run sport mode. Hopefully that'll find me the missing ponies! ;)

Hi Brian...got them this morning and for the money are really good although not as hot as the picture would have you believe which is maybe just as well!!!

Mine made 417.9 fly wheel and 388.7 at the wheels and would seem takeda is sapping 5bhp ish but sound makes up for it.

I just can't stand this car anymore. I tried to love it, I still kind of do. It's really pretty and interior is really nice, though really small in the back. However... during this year... I don't remember a week when something wasn't broken. I'm doing all the maintenance myself because this being lexus the work costs obscene amounts. Even the freaking parts cost 10 times more than a similar car from the same year, I don't see what I'm paying for. My TRC and ABS light constantly come on, meaning some sensor is broken, or some electrical wiring crap is broken. My lights above the number plate didn't work properly due to the wires being thin and made of crap that made them rust from inside out, same with the connectors. My headlight connectors rusted out. The air con motor is making a horrible whining noise despite all the belts being brand new (and cost a ******ton) meaning the bearing in it is dead. All the belts are making some noise. Oil level doesn't drop which means it's not leaking but the gap between the engine block and that top cover is oily which means it leaks somewhere. I've changed the radiator once(my own stupidity) and the new one is seemingly fine but my coolant is constantly disappearing somewhere. The sensor for temperature in the radiator had it's connector rusted out and I almost overheated the engine in the middle of the city in a huge traffic jam. Coolant was evaporating from everywhere. My radio stopped working completely, first the screen was working fine but no sound(even that stupid beep when searching for radiostations) now even the screen doesn't come on. My second(!) alternator is seemingly broken since all the warning lights come up- the low fuel light is blinking (half a tank), oil lamp comes up (red one, full level of oil, even a biit too much and changed recently), battery light, temperature gauge stops working, then fuel gauge stops working, then snow mode doesn't work and all the other crap. Can't figure out whether it's the alternator again (checked the voltage, seems a bit low so quite likely) or the stupid wiring somewhere in this whole wiring crap mess. My interior temperature is stuck in full heat all the time, I can't control what wents my air comes from, I can't control the blower unit. I checked the motors and all of them seemed fine, disassembled the aircon console and it seems fine as well, except those little pesky clips that turn with the wheels looked quite old and worn, not like I have anywhere I could buy them, need a whole new console and a new radio console.... and just so much more... Fuses are ok, I check them pretty much daily. Theeeen the ball joint failed on the right wheel, my fender is bent a bit, the rim is damaged and the bill was huge, changed the other side just in case as well. There is water leaking from the mirror in the interior , no freaking clue where it's coming from. Water is leaking in the boot constantly due to a big gap from the bootlid. Rear bumper is cracked, not from hitting anything no.. age or heat or something. And it doesn't hold on properly because the mounts for it have rusted away. My rear tires are R18 225 40 and if I have passengers in the car they are rubbing against the fenders! I had 240 ones before and changed them just to solve the rubbing. Front is much lower than the back (stock suspension) and I had to change one spring because it broke the lower ring, how can a spring even break.... Front right side had a bad wheel bearing. EVEN THE STUPID WHEEL STUDS ARE BAD. All of them, all 20 wheel studs are bad. Not even a single on of them is usable anymore. I bought new open ended lug nuts since my old ones were worn down, I can't even get them on. Need to change all the studs. I can't do an alignment for the back at all, front took a whole day for the service people to do since it all corroded together and wouldn't come apart, they still had to replace some steering joint or whatever it was since it was bent-from normal driving. They couldn't do the back one at all, told me they need to cut all the bolts off since they don't move at all. 20 euro's for 1 bolt and 15 euro's for a nut for the bolt... and that wasn't even the final number- for 1 BOLT! The calipers at the front were seized, had to rebuild them all myself. The stupid rebuilding kit cost 20 euro's for one side, just for some rubbers. When it does work right... what's the point? Yes it looks cool, but is pretty much the slowest car on the road nowadays. The car judders if you don't release the clutch in a special and caring way, second gear sounds like it is being engaged with a hammer. It doesn't feel stable on the road at all, feels all over the place. I can't relax driving it, have to be concentrated all the time or it starts going all over the place. I've driven a WV Bora diesel(yes I know it is hideous) from 2003 recently (I've driven maybe in some 20~30 cars) and even that thing felt quicker and it only used 5L/100km , whereas mine is 10L/100KM minimum, it's impossible to get more out of it. Full tank lasts me 600km of careful and slow driving without needless acceleration, if I want to have some fun it's even less. My mates 2004 Volvo S40 2.0D uses 5L/100km, and it's twice as quick, more roomy and arguably looks better. I can't sell this piece of crap since I wont get even 1/10th of what I invested in it already. I know it's an old car and needs maintenance. This is ridiculous though, it's supposed to be one of the most reliable cars out there and mine just constantly breaks. How I wish I had some money, would put a 2JZ-GTE in it and make it a drift/track car. At least I'll have some fun while everything breaks. Sorry for this really long post, I've opened my boot yesterday to get something out only to find it all wet and sitting in a puddle, topped up the coolant a bit. Started up the car and all the warnings/gauges went crazy again. Turned on the radio only to have it break on me. I almost started crying.... this was my dream car.

I'd like to add (mines a IS200 Sport 2001 model) - check the front coil springs that they aren't broken. I agree with the brake calipers, my OSF tends to stick every Jan/Feb - apparently water moisture rusting the cylinder - some solution is new seals, these I believe are only available through Lexus (NOT aftermarket outlets), although you can find sets which have been refurbished (OOCH). Rear number plates bulbs are a pain to change. Check that you have locking wheel nut. Check that you have both front seat adjusters intact, expensive (I think for a piece of plastic). Also the CD issue - I found that if you have one stuck that a bang on the side (passenger side) with hand generally jarred the system. In future I believe its best to eject the CD's in order (1 to 6) to avoid jam. Nice car to drive and handles well

Toyota, they'll never learn about the sticking accelerator! Lol.... :)

Excellent buyers guide! Just put a deposit on one so I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas

I'm 6'1 and I have to have the seat as low as it will go or I hit my head on the roof when going over a bump! Lol :)