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I made a half-hearted attempt at removing the arms, but I always break something so went back to the dealer and they quickly fixed it. No idea why this happened, but it's perfect now. Incidentally, I had some Bosch wiper blades fitted at the same time and they are much smoother. Thanks for the replies.

I too would chk the shims, put some copper grease on them as well you say the pads are ok but pull them out and chk that the pad fixings arent prone; unfortunately some fake pads are on the open market and these wear a lot quicker

Hi everyone, Seriously thinking about making an offer on this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-LEXUS-LS400-AUTO-GOLD-/172099005753?hash=item2811e66d39:g:IMYAAOSwQYZWvfhT anyone know the car and its history? Other comments? thanks, Jonathan

How do I make my car last? People often ask our agony uncle Honest John this question, and he refers them to the advice of Irv Gordon, who owns a 1966 Volvo P1800, which he has driven more than 3,000,000 miles. Here are Irv’s top 10 tips: 1 Start with a car you really like. “If you don’t like your car, you’ll never go the distance.” 2 Change oil and filter every year or every 10,000 miles, whichever comes first. “If there is one maintenance activity that will extend the life of your car’s engine, this is it.” 3 Use factory equipment parts. “They are more compatible with your car. I believe in keeping my Volvo a Volvo.” 4 Use one brand of oil. “It assures uniform quality.” 5 Spend a few minutes a week checking under the bonnet. “Even the most mechanically challenged car owners can look for low fluid levels or deterioration of belts and hoses.” 6 Wash your car regularly. “A clean car gives you an excellent opportunity to look for small nicks and scratches.” 7 Wax your car at least twice a year. “It provides a greater level of protection against oxidation.” 8 Develop a good relationship with your dealer and mechanic. “Both are your partners in the long run.” 9 Use petrol from a busy service station. “Without heavy traffic, petrol is stored for long periods and can degrade over time.” 10 When your car starts to make a funny noise, don’t ignore it. “The longer you wait, the greater the potential for damage.” I know it refers to a Volvo, but might interest members and has universal advice. In today's Telegraph, cheeers, Roger

It's all very well saying "use factory parts", but what if the manufacturer (e.g. Ford) won't supply them after 10 years - because they don't want you to do 100,000 miles in the same car - let alone 3 million? (Fortunately, most Toyota parts seem to be available 20+ years on.) I used to get angry at the Ford main dealer when I had old Cortinas and Granadas, because there were always parts for the current models but never the older ones. I once wrote to the Head Office and Technical Information Centre, asking what the design life was, and also after what age would they not issue safety recalls. They totally refused to answer. So I changed to Toyota and haven't looked back.

Robert I am very pleased with it. I went from a 2006 GS300 to a 2011 GS450H. Internally it very much the same so all the controls are exactly where you remember them to be. Mine is the SE-L so it has the two keys and the credit card one. Actually it is about twice the thickness of a credit card but doesn't have any of the buttons. With the card permanently in my wallet I leave the ordinary key at home. It also has the DAB radio which may not be a big thing for some people but as the radio station that we like is only available on DAB it is handy and helped me "sell" the car to my wife. If the cooled seats that came on the GS300 are something you liked then you need to be aware that by 2010 they were only available on the SE-L. The only problems that I had were that the Key card battery was dead when I bought it (the dealer replaced it happily) and the electric motor wasn't kicking in as soon or early as I would have expected. This was because the car had not been moved much for six months and the hybrid battery was pretty low. Once it had had a few good runs and was charged up it was fine. There are no daylight running lights. Externally the car is very similar to what you are familiar with. Oh, any excuse - here's a picture of my car, taken when it was on sale at Lexus Nottingham. I love it.

This is why I can't understand Leeds attitude towards a discount/higher part ex. All I've been getting is it's in high demand and if you get a deal somewhere else ring us to see if we can match it! Well clearly it isn't and I've got better things to do. I've ordered through Stoke as they were quite open from the start and very little BS.

I can help you out but not give the answer you are hoping for. Unfortunately mirroring is not available in the Lexus. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The whooshing is a good sign. It shows that your fuel lines and fuel cap are all sealed. Sometimes the rubber seal around the fuel cap perishes or is dirty and requires replacing or cleaning. Only an OBD2 code reader or Toyotas techstream can help you out here really...

Gentlemen please lets be nice to each other. Mike.

I had a similar itch ............. was soon cured owning a 4.0 litre Jeep Grand Cherokee! Off-Road Mud tyres gave me 13.5 mpg! And that was on a run!

Martin, this is the reply I've had from the Honda guy: Sorry to hear about this m8y, always sad when somebody that loves their motor or a newbie dealing with these issues, and we have had a couple of new members just joining up asking about their gearbox problems, if only they hadn't entrusted somebody to maintain their car that didn't care. Toyota/ Lexus transmissions have adaptive software which compensates for wear in the transmission and one day it will let go completely with little or no warning. This could be simply down to wear an tear or as a result of updated software or failure to update the software. Nevertheless it doesn’t compensate for viscosity changes e.g cold start shifting or responsiveness niggles. Alternatively the control unit itself has failed (I’ve replaced a couple on Lexus motors) especially if all gears are lost and reverse. Honda’s software is more pressure regulated which is more reliable in its own way but still has it own flaws with age. The fact you mentioned metal filings in the fluid doesn’t always mean it’s the transmission or controller is at fault and I would investigate the possibly of the torque converter failing although some damage may have occurred as result of excessive heat transfer and particles entering the transmission. Additionally I have replaced a few heat exchanger coolers on Toyota transmissions they lost drive as result of coolant getting into the transmission fluid with turns it to jelly and most survived the all-deal with fresh fluid and a new cooler or radiator wherever the cooler is situated Anyway keep us posted and never hesitate to forward a Lexus my way if it’s local and somebody needs assistance with a diagnostic

Michelin Latitude Tour HP. Search this forum for them... they are highly recommended.

I use the AA charger/OBD also and no problems. It needs to be parked outdoors though, not enough light in a multi-storey.

Hi Usman, welcome to LOC. Have a look at these http://www.amazon.co.uk/LEXUX-GENUINE-PHILIPS-XenEco-GERMAN/dp/B0169QYGO4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1455047102&sr=8-7&keywords=d4s+xenon+bulb

loved the comment about the mother-in-law! I have checked and the mud flaps are firm and the aerial isn't loose. the bumper protector is also firmly fixed. i have found the front near side wheel shroud has been loosened a little so I will be checking that out but the noise was from the rear so I'm not sure that is the cause. The search continues!

Hi. Cars this complex need to be taken to the dealers I think. Long gone are the days when you can do them on the drive Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

As regards treating the underbody, yes, David, it can be done but it is a time-consuming and messy job - I have done it on both my LS400s. The hardest bit is the rear sub-frame due to limited access - there are lots of suspension links in the way, as well as limited access at the top due to the sub-frame being close to the body. I removed as much rust as I could, some of it loose and some of it not so loose, before treating. There is not really much access for power tools like angle grinders and I used a range of hand tools. The not so loose rust was removed with a hammer and chisel and with the pointed end of a hammer (it was an old hammer for chipping slag off welds done with an arc welder and had a V shaped point at each end, a vertical point at one end and a horizontal one at the other end). Other tools used included coarse files, coarse sandpaper and wire brushes of various sizes. Once I had removed as much rust as I could, I then gave everywhere a good rub over with prep-paint wipe to remove any grease. You can buy pre-paint wipe from paint factors. It is not particularly expensive (I bought 5 litres for about £10 a few years ago) and it is better than white spirit as it evaporates much quicker. I painted some of the more accessible areas with a coat of black Rustbuster Epoxy Mastic (a two pack steel renovation paint) and later followed this with a coat of black Hammerite. I used Waxoyl on the less accessible areas. I have posted up a couple of photos of one car which I took when it was on the ramp at its MOT. If you are wondering what the blue pipe is coming out of the spare wheel well, it is the pipe to the LPG tank.

So, I've been playing with front air struts today and they are slightly different to the rears. Interesting points to note is that they seem to corrode less than the rears, the air bag material is thinner and the air line is a totally different design, so none of the rear fittings will work! I was going to remove the central top bolt, but you have to hold the air chamber rock steady otherwise the bag turns around the strut which is a big no no! Also, you can't roll the bag up the strut leg, like on the rears to clean, de-rust and lubricate it! I'll need to fabricate a rig to hold the top chamber so I can under the bolt that goes through the bearing to see if this can indeed be changed. Notice how the air hose is bonded to a nozzle/injector... Totally different to the rear! Kudos for Timeboy for warning us, as this damaged would mean a trip to the dealer for a new run of air line - I hope they don't sting Timeboy for too much... :/ I haven't taken it off the car yet, as I'll to need to finish refurbing my replacements and I just know I'll need new stabiliser/drop link bars as no doubt I'll bugger it up getting it off!! 😜 Here's some pics...

It can't push in, I just snapped some pics for you of the spare struts I have... Hopefully it might help you figure out what needs to be done to get the darn thing off. The pics are for the front near side strut.

Yep, we had this too, and it only occurred at our local Shell where they sometimes have an American style pump attendant, who will fill your car for you. Needless to say, the Missus won't let them touch her car again after the lights frightened the heck out of her! All because of a loose fuel cap!

Returning from a visit "up North" cruising the A1 when the VSC and Engine lights came on. Wife read the manual whilst continuing which advised " brake system ok " therefore, we continued South. When at home I read up the forum here at the Owners Club and read about the " whoosh" from the petrol cap. Went to the car undid the cap, slight "whoosh" tightened the cap. Wife drove car 5 miles - lights went out and haven't reappeared in the last 3 days whilst driving 50 plus miles. Will continue to monitor. I think the forum is a wonderful source for the best advice around at little or no cost.

Hi all Sorry but i'm a newbie here. I have had issues with the ABS & VSC warning lights coming on and going off for a few months but recently they have come on and stayed on, however for some reason I had noticed that I do not get and inrush of air anymore when I remove the filler cap for re-fuelling. This seemed to start at the same time as the warning lights coming on. I never associated the two things (why would you?). Just took the car for an MOT and it failed due to ABS warning light indicates fault. I asked the garage whether the ABS had failed or if it was just because of the light being on? They told me they had plugged the car in and it showed that the ABS sensor needed replacing at the cost of around £350. I asked if this would definetly resolve the issue and they would not confirm this either way and just re-iterated that thats what the computer tells us. As this seemed a little wooley I removed the car from them and decided to try another route. While surfing the net I found several suggestions and some were tried and then there was a mention of fuel filler caps somewhere. I raced out and made a crude rubber gasket for the filler cap replaced the cap drove the car 200yrds and the lights went out and have not come back on since. I'm not saying this will work for all but it is worth a shot considering it's a real low cost repair. I still don't know why the filler cap can make those lights come on but it worked for me. Best of luck and I hope this helps someone.