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top gear its not really a car show,its an entertainment show that involves cars,its for people with no attention span,but there is no real demand for car shows except for enthusiast,would only be a small audience.at least there is a classic car show,and a lot of the content is interesting,people driving fast around airfields and racetracks does'nt give any indication of real world car usage i watch wheeler dealers,for the love of cars,chasing classic cars,and things like fast and loud,none of them are perfect but a lot better to watch, while the wife got her soaps on.to be fair jodie kidd can drive fairly well,she done quite a few races in the past

might help

I thought I would start a new thread following my lengthy discussion about finding and importing a car from Ireland, and the financial advantages, to talk about the car itself and my plans, coming to Lexus for the first time. The car is a 2004 LS430 which has now done just over 1,000 miles in my hands and very nice it is too. On Wednesday it is going in to a bodyshop I have used before to get the bumpers resprayed, and a couple of scuffs polished out, plus the alloys re-furbed. I have had a health check from an independent Lexus / Toyota specialist in Newport which was positive, and arranged to do all the servicing in one big hit, as with the mileage at 97,000 it is definitely timing belt time. However the oil is looking very clear from the last service in September so I am going to leave it for a couple of months. There is a little bit of judder under braking, but nothing serious and I can live with it for now. Carl also said there is a fault recorded on the little valve that allows extra air under acceleration, so that will be replaced, along with all the fluids and the V belt. Budget is £1k for everything. I negotiated a discount because the car only came with one key, and Lexus have supplied a new master key for £138. Even though I had to produce proof of ID and Ownership the key doesn't work until it is coded in, which is also due Wednesday, at a cost of £25 from the dealer. Fingers crossed that all works OK. I took three folks to the airport the other day and they were very positive about the space and comfort. The only cloud on my horizon at present is the error message from the front parking sensors, so I am running with them switched off. Replacement looks like a rather pricey job. Several of them look like they have oxidised in some way. So far, so good, in conclusion. Jon

some pics/how to of your instal if/when you do the job would be a great help;)

Yes, I figured popping out the panel to have a look was going to be the answer, I was just hoping someone had already done it. :)

I've watched the odd James May thing, he's almost bearable without the other two clowns, but if Richard Hammond was performing in my back garden, I'd draw the curtains. Clarkson is just a spoilt brat, who should have been cut down to size long ago, before he turned top gear in to panto. I like my motoring programmes to be about cars, preferably those that aren't the preserve of the uber rich, and therefore of little interest to me. If that puts me in a minority, so be it, I don't really care.

BECAUSE THE BBC IS ONLY INTERESTED IN RATINGS AND IT IS SO EASY TO SPEND SOMEONE ELSE`S MONEY (YOURS AND MINE!) Regards John My understanding is that Top Gear has been a profitable franchise for the BBC, which means that it's been money well spent. Perhaps you'd prefer them not to take any notice of how many people watch the programmes and spend as little as possible on them? Doesn't sound like it would be very entertaining though... The BBC may well have a profitable product with Top Gear but they should have looked after it a little better and seen that there was a monster in their midst and sorted it long before now. There are many good dramas that are on for 6 to 8 weeks runs but often after 6 or so series, sometimes more sometimes left they are knocked on the head mainly because the actors involved want to move on so as not to get stereo typed. There have been changes of presenting staff in the past and it was long overdue for Top Gear. Ratings. The BBC are not in a ratings war with independent companies its remit is entirely different where quality of content is far more important. So there is no argument there. It would be interesting to know how many LOC members watch James May and the Hamsters programs which they have made independently of Top Gear and JC. Mike.

Hi, Have you done any visual checks? Check your coolant level at the expansion bottle, check the oil filler cap (unscrew and look underneath the cap), lastly with the engine cool, remove the radiator cap and look in, coolant should be visible no more than half inch down the neck the cap is unscrewed from... Is there signs of any dried coolant water marks under the bonnet? It is not uncommon for the plastic filler cap neck to crack/perish over time... Check other fluid levels (brakes, power steering, transmission fluid), some pipe may be leaking onto something hot or even your air conditioning condensation/drip tube may have caused this if dripping onto the exhaust with air flow pushing it out the back of the car. Have you had any work done on the car recently? Sometimes lubes and penetrating fluids over spray onto hot bits and burn off when moving.... If you are concerned your brakes may be binding, this is easy to check by feeling your alloy wheels after 15-20mins of driving, if one or two feel hotter to touch then that is normally the tell tale sign (sometimes you can "smell" the brakes burning which is not normal) - The back brakes/alloys hardly get used so should definately not be warm. Usually a big problem has indicators - if you can't find anything, let a mechanic or Lex check it out, for your safety and others. Let us know how you get on!

Also find Bob Flavin quite funny. Tarun

I haven't done my own yet but the garage that did mine last time didn't remove the radiator but mine is slightly different as it has a hydraulic cooling fan set up. I guess you have seen the VVTI tutorial on www.lexls.com it's for the LS430 but basically the same engine.