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I like my £500 Lexus LS400 a lot. I like that everything electric just works, I like that it sounds good with the middle resonator on the exhaust cut out, I like that mis-matched Chinese ditch-finders on the back make it do skids everywhere (especially in the wet). I like that the stereo is obnoxiously loud when needed, I like the leather seats, I like a lot about it. However, one of the main points of contact is the slightly tired old leather gearknob. I am changing this as we speak… I have a pal, Mark, who has owned one of the most prestigious kitchen and furniture companies in the UK, perhaps the world. He is semi-retired and likes tinkering. I have asked him to make me an ebony gear knob for the Lexus, he has agreed. He has taken my knob and replaced it with a temporary solution, a nickel re-cast of a 1928 bonnet mascot that looks just like him. It cost ‘many hundreds of pounds’ and he had to borrow the original from Beaulieu Motor Museum. I will of course show you the ebony knob when finished but in the meanwhile, here is the gearknob that costs more than my whole car…

As above, online breakers use a network to source parts for newer cars. You should be able to find what you need as cosmetic parts generally don't sell quickly like engines and transmissions.

As the sun made an appearance in my neck of the woods today I decided to get the LS from the back of garage from her winter hibernation! The winter ‘hacks’ can take a rest for a while! Heading into pick up my better half (her words!) from work, sunroof open, stereo on, arm on the door, I reminded myself just how great these cars are. It is such a great all rounder – ultimate cruiser, ‘sufficient’ power on tap, road presence, fantastic! You can tell a lot of money was spent on quality control as she feels as solid as the day she was built, almost twenty years ago. One flaw that has reared its head again for me is some tiny rust patches under the chrome strip on the offside rear door. I believe this is caused by the clips that hold the chrome moulding. Although very small, I am going to have this sorted when she goes for a full body respray as she has some stone chips at the front as well – someone with OCD once said to me “you are being a bit picky, aren’t you?”! Having had this ‘sorted’ once before, has anyone found a long term cure for this, maybe modified clips or tips on how they should be fitted? It is strange it is on one one of the doors but I am not complaining about that!

There are people who fix ecu systems - have a look on Honest John's Web Site - don't buy a new one unless you are really sure. I'm with Colin - I would look elsewhere first. Bren

lol....Yeah, the Leaf has the aerodynamics of a breeze block, and the same residuals. Super little car though, and a pity they didn't fit it with something like a 1L back up petrol engine to extend the range.

Hi and welcome to the LOC, we are a friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull the to bits and put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer left over. Regards Mike.

Welcome. Glad you found a good RX, eventually. :)

Best just to browse for styles you like on eBay as you can fit loads of different types on one page. I'm happy to stick to the factory 18's on mine (to keep ride nice and comfy). Managed to pick up a spare wheel on eBay to refurb myself - £30 delivered... Bargain! If you have an air compressor and a blasting kit at home, then full refurb is possible (albeit one wheel at a time so you can keep the RX on the road!) I have been doing mine totally by hand and have the following observations: 1) it's slow going! 1 wheel of work is going to be a week! 2) if doing a tire-off refurb, don't bother without an air compressor and blasting setup 3) paint stripper is crap these days (many coats required) and costs a fortune! PS: DOT5.1 brake fluid doesn't even mark these wheels with factory paint! 4) aluminium corrosion sucks needs to go back to bare metal and these wheels love to corrode! 5) if you can find someone to refurb them for you for upto £250 and you don't have much in the way of tools, sandpaper, paint stripper, new paint and time, it will work out cheaper, honest! It'll also be a better more durable finish (ie: powder coating or baking of lacquer) then we can do at home. 6) trying to spray paint outdoors is not fun on wheels! Nature, wind and bugs are all out to get you & your beautiful wet paint! Still, for me I like doing my own stuff so it hasn't deterred me and means I have an excuse to buy a decent compressor (I have 5 sets of alloys I want to refurb). Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment? :)

I'd be really surprised if the Tesla S gets close 3.5 miles/KWH in the real world, and especially on UK stop/start roads. My wife drives a Leaf, and the most we get is around 75 miles per charge in mixed driving. although we used to achieve nearer 90 mile before the morons at my local Nissan garage did an unrequested update to the software. Volvo reckon 3 miles per KWH is achievable from their V60, but I've found that 2.25 is a much more realistic figure. I will be really interested to read your reports on the Tesla, because I have considered it myself, but I'm rather wary of long term reliability, manufacturer support here in the UK, and residuals.

That is a lot cheaper. Clearly the longer the range and shorter the charge time the more realistic an option they will become for people. Can't help but feel people would be put out if I asked to use their power to charge my car.

Some dealers do just stamp the book, or just give you a discount on the main service down to the value of essentials. Not sure why they need to have a difference. Just give owners of 5+ year old vehicles a discount off labour and parts, that is how MB operate.

I dont understand why they can't just give you a "Lexus Essential Care" stamp instead?

Welcome Alex. The sport has a slightly lowered suspension, alloy pedals, two-tone steering wheel, a mesh grille and rear privacy glass with sport logos. In April 2004 the sport also got a short throw gear lever. Looking at your picture it seems you have third party front splitters and side skirts - the skirts could be TRD but the splitters look too square. The 2004 sport came with 11 spoke alloys so again your ones look non-standard.

Hi, Ive just purchased a IS200 SE and joined the forum to meet other local owners and be part of the Lexus community! My IS200 is a local car and was purchased off the original owner with 79,000 miles and is in excellent condition and has been well cared for, this is something i intend on carrying on with. I will post photos of the car once i have taken some decent ones! Look forward to meeting people soon. Cheers Andy

Based on my research to date, which is no more than reading a few reviews, I'm likely to be blown away by the acceleration and in particular the immediacy of it. The fact that using it to any great extend is hugely limited is one of the reasons I didn't buy something like the Audi R's or an ISF. I knew I'd get incredibly frustrated at horribly low mpg for most of my driving and having all that power just aching to be released. I remember a colleague used to have a BMW 540 and it was a nightmare to drive, it just wasn't designed to be driven around town/suburbia. The beauty of the Tesla, from what I can tell so far, is I can waft around for next to nothing most of the time, and then experience some mind blowing acceleration when the opportunity arises. I don't normally look forward to visiting the likes of Westfield, but tomorrow will be an exception. I wonder what I will think of its lines and interior, given how superb I think the IS300h F Sport looks? I'll be sure to report back!

Hi and welcome to the LOC, we are a friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull the to bits and put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer left over. Regards Mike.

"He has taken my knob and replaced it with a temporary solution" Please, no pics :( Edit: Biologist wife, in path-lab mode, is asking for video evidence for her new book. Thxs :)

Follow up call from Lexus to check I'm happy, AND Badger arrived today in post. Thank you. http://www.american-automobiles.com/images/Badger-1910.jpg

Welcome to the club Alex. This is a great place to be. Someone will come along shortly with the answers to your questions. Enjoy your car.

Great good news story. Well done you and to Lexus in Leicester. Mike.

Hi I see what you mean,am not entirely sure you can,l think the earlier models came with the small remotes and the later models with the controls on the centre console which I have,further more the earlier models had a 5in screen(generation00 sat nav) and the later models a 7in screen(generation 01 sat nav)

well I only seen that once...!

Wow! That is good service. I hope you can find the real fault soon and get it sorted.

Hi and welcome to the club,what controller are you on about as I don't fully understand what you mean

they missed a bit of dust on the runner though lol

Indeed, most aftermarket intakes are there for the noise. Toyota rarely get an intake design wrong, they are not restrictive and they do a good job of drawing in cold air.

Try breakeryard.com Sorted me some Saab parts a few years back.

Drove to Birmingham and back so 218 miles altogether. Whole trip was in Sport mode at 70-80mph although I hit 100mph once after I got annoyed with the roadworks. Got 34mpg which I was extremely pleased with as I had 5 people in the car and maybe an extra 20kg from all the crap that my wife brings along

Reading this old thread as the "leak" mentioned in the MOT is likely or not from the Power Steering system. It had a new control valve just before I bought it (if that is a power steering part?) Not leaking from front cooling tube or rubber connections. Don't know if you've ever been amused by the Scotty Kilmer Channel on vutube but came across this which members might be interested in.Could it be the answer? Will have a better look tomorrow ps Must get my CS3E running its been in storage now about fifteen years. I serviced the Carbs last year but never got to trying the machine. Always something takes me away from the jobs I start.

I've just bought my first Lexus, so thought I'd join the club. I've picked up a mint, low mileage (48k with full Lexus history) GS300 Sport Series 1 and wanted to know tips on how to keep it immaculate. It's in Riviera White with the two-tone grey. Some older chap has had it sat in his garage for the last ten years and done 4,000 miles in it. There is not a single parking ding anywhere! I feel incredibly lucky to have found it.

People like the Gen II RX. It is arguable better looking than the Gen III and some people want the petrol engine / auto transmission option. The biggest factor was probably the price hike that came along with the Gen III. Lexus went from selling over 4,000 RXs per year during the prime years of the Gen II to around 2,000 per year for the current RX, except for 3,000 during the initial launch year. I don't think they have deliberately made the costs high on their older vehicles. The parts where always priced high, essentially associated with the list price of the vehicle and servicing costs have gone up across the whole range and whether the vehicle is new or old. From what we are hearing the new RX is going to be another jump in cost, probably too much for many existing Gen II owners to afford and the vehicle itself is going to be bigger again. For Gen I and possibly Gen II owners the equivalent current vehicle is the NX, not the RX.

Colin, Speaking to my local Poole Lexus sales chap, he curses the Gen II RX as he can't coax any of his previous customers to part with theirs to upgrade them to a newer generation! Makes me think this could be a similar story around the country and why Lexus have decided to make servicing the older cars so expensive - any items need doing that cost an arm and a leg is a good sales angle to get customers to upgrade... "Sure, you could fix that light bulb for £2000 BUT if we give you £x thousand as a part exchange you could use that repair money against 3 months of lease payments on a NEW shiny RX!!" Lol...! Whilst the current RX may not have been such an attractive proposition to entice current Gen II RX owners, I think the forthcoming new RX model certainly will be! What do you think? Chris

Hi Fellas Many apologies for not responding to Phil's PM and your questions. I have not been logging on to the forum because I have been a bit busy. So an update on my suspension change. I had the work done in early Feb and since mid Feb have been covering about 500 miles per week and everything is spot on. My wife thinks the car was better on the air suspension when it was new - sure 240K miles and 13 years ago when the roads did not have pot holes in them. She is correct that over bumps the air suspension will give you a better ride because it reacts more quickly and the suspension is quieter. The new suspension can rattle a bit on a very bumpy road but this does not affect handling and it is very smooth on a half decent road surface. The car corners just as well as it did on air suspension. I am coming up for a service so will have somebody check it out for me - I don't crawl under cars anymore because I am too fat and stiff. The parts were £671 including shipping on ebay in the US - none were available in the UK. – They cost £114 to clear through customs and deliver. This seemed cheap and I did not get any paperwork nor did I chase any because it was a good price. My local garage charged me £55 per corner to fit. So the parts plus shipping, clearance and fitting were less than £1000 - I am very happy with this. I had to have the front end aligned after the work and the track rods were seized so I bought a full set from Rock Auto in the US for $152 delivered – it was £100 to have them fitted and the alignment done. I cannot stress how well the car drives – it also breaks very well. My air suspension was in such bad shape my 430 drove like a barge before I changed the struts. Things to watch out for: I asked the garage to remove the compressor – they did this after the event. On the day you only need to remove the fuse to disable the compressor. There were no warning lights at this point – when the compressor was removed a high ride height warning appeared. This may be because one of the ride heath sensors was bumped or broken during the removal – anybody any idea how to disable this? I did a lot of research into this change (it is in my nature because I am an engineering consultant for a living) and I am very pleased with the outcome. The new struts can be fitted by any competent mechanic – the guy that did the job said the rears were a bit of a wrestle – that’s why I paid him. I am due a service so will let you know if anything come from that. Cheers Bren