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Finally got my 'new' LS into Miles, my mechanic, today for some work. Main jobs included welding the Y section of the exhaust which has resulted in a return to the wonderfully silent whoosh that we all know and love so well. Other bits of work including fitting two part worn Falken tyres that I'd picked up on eBay, getting the alignment sorted (it was well off), stripping and reseting the parking brake and solving the mystery of the permanently on parking brake light (which, as we all know, is (and was) caused by a faulty bulb!). So, car will be having a good clean over the weekend ready for the Christmas holiday. After Christmas, I'm going to get some of the other jobs done, including the cam belt and water pump. I'll also get some of the minor body work stuff sorted. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and peaceful, and blissfully Lexus-style quiet, New Year! :)

As always a good and informative post fella.

this is a copy from the US IS-F's owners manual and as it says 96 RON or More.. so the standard 95RON is even underspec'd for this engine. it will still run fine on 95RON but not at its full capability since the knock sensors will cause the ECU to retard ignition timing and maybe engine mapping. by retarding ignition timing and mapping will result in the engine not running at its optimum. thing most forget is the fuel is not what makes the power the higher ron fuel just takes a bit longer to ignite when compared to a lower RON fuel. by the fuel holding off a bit longer causes the piston to give maximum compression without knocking which results in engine delivery its full potential when its put under load/stress in other words at higher rpm. but not any engine benefits from this a 1.2 fiesta will not since its not a tuned/performance engine but most tuned/performance engine do mainly high compression/turbo charges ones. I am aware some hot hatches like the golf GTI ,Honda Type R's/ S2000 states 98RON doesnt mean they wont run on 95 but they wont run at thier full potential.whilst sometimes even worser fuel economy due to the engine not running at its optimum. this is a copy and paste from wiki based on the AUDI RS4 "On 98 RON (93 AKI) Super-Unleaded petrol it produces 309 kilowatts (420 PS; 414 bhp) at 7,800 rpm [5] giving it a specific power output of 74.2 kW (100.9 PS; 99.5 bhp) per litre.[6] Based on a kerb weight of 1,680 kilograms (3,704 lb), this results in a power-to-weight ratio of 184 watts per kilogram. This engine also produces 430 newton metres (317 lbf·ft) of torque at 5,500 rpm,[5][6] 90 percent of the total torque being available between 2,250 and 7,600 rpm.[6] (Using lower 95 RON (91 AKI) standard unleaded fuel slightly reduces engine output, and therefore performance,[5] and slightly worsens fuel economy)"

My Inchcape Service Plan costs £23.50 per month. Tel

Following Malc's reference to the recall being in February 1998, I have had a look online to see if I could find out why there was a recall. I have discovered the reason for the recall was as follows: DUE TO IMPROPER ASSEMBLY OF THE TERMINAL FOR THE STARTER MOTOR MAGNETIC SWITCH, AN ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT CAN OCCUR IF ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE LIQUID, SUCH AS ROAD SPLASH WITH DEICING SALT, ENTERS THIS AREA. According to one website (http://www.arfc.org/autos/lexus/ls400/recalls/000008519000074548000000204/recall.aspx), the recall relates to vehicles manufactured between 4/3/1995 and 6/4/1997 (47,525 vehicles).

My LS430 was a 1 owner car, almost 11 years old with only 42k miles on the clock which sounded very bizarre given that these sorts of cars are typically used by drivers for higher annual mileages but the MOTs and the mileage checks were all fine. What did disappoint me though was the items which I needed to get fixed including the front and rear suspension and the electric steering column adjustment. Having said that, the car is now fine and driving just like I would expect it to. My previous LS400 still rates as the best ever car I have owned but in time I hope I will be feeling the same about my LS430 I picked mine up today after having a sensor replaced and one freed up. I mentioned that there is someone with a low mileage car that has needed a lot of suspension work. He said that it's likely due to lack of use, which in a way makes sense. Just as not using the parking brake from time to time can cause it to seize, the same can happen to any part. That's one reason for pressing the height button occasionally, just to keep things moving. At least I discovered that these sensors don't always need replacing, but can easily be taken apart, cleaned and lubricated. I still haven't got around to it but an external transmission cooler has to be the next job, just as a precaution against failure. It's a cheap and straightforward job it seems.

Fabulous result and shows the benefits of using the Lexus dealerships to service the cars.

Thanks all, decision made to keep it.

I know its not exactly the same engine but the RC-F engine guru was at Ascari last week and he said the engine is designed to perform exactly the same on any fuel (no increase in power or mpg) but the only reason to ever use super fuel is when running the engine at max revs (e.g. Track) for long periods as it will run cooler.

Precisely Malc! The welding also got rid of an annoying buzzing noise around 1100 - 1200 revs. It was the casing of the exhaust. The previous 'repairer' had only attached it at one end (hence the buzzing). Miles sorted that and, hey presto, no buzzing! It really is a smooth and quiet ride now. Happy days.

....compared with Citroen's much maligned suspension, which -in my experience - rarely causes trouble! Pity the myth says otherwise! (And Citroen seem to be fading it out!) Thanks for the responses. Much confirming my thoughts (amount of repairs etc..)