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If you know a decent independent mechanic I would go there over the main stealers any day!!! I've just had the cambelt changed on my LS400 by a local mechanic who I've known for years. He did the whole job including a new waterpump, tensioners and complete coolant change for £400 including VAT and labour. I rang Lexus and they wanted over well over £600 for just doing the belt alone without the other items!!! Main dealer service histories are vastly overrated in my opinion, sure seeing all Lexus stamps in the book looks good but I'm more interested in the quality of the servicing being good which I don't think you always get at the main dealers. They are simply fitters rather than full mechanics who are trained to empty your wallet as quickly as possible!!! My car is 16 years old with 160k on the clock and as good as the car is its still only worth at best £1500 to £2000 so main stealer servicing will now affect the value very little if any.

I personally think main dealer skills are massively over-rated and would much prefer my car was looked after and serviced by a competent and trusted independent mechanic. I think when your car is new it is good to have it serviced by a main dealer because of your warranty but when it is out of warranty I wouldn't entertain a main dealer. My experience of dealing with Lexus Cheltenham/Swindon in the past doesn't fill me with confidence-I asked both branches for a price to change the automatic transmission fluid on my car-both said it is a sealed unit and cannot be changed?! I took it to an automatic transmission specialist who changed the fluid. When my dash lights started going out ( a common fault) I was quoted a stupid price (£1000+) by lexus to replace the whole unit as they said it couldn't be repaired-yet I had it repaired for about £50(simply replacing a few diodes) and it is still working perfectly 3/4 years later. Lexus Cheltenham were also responsible for wrongly diagnosing a gearbox fault on a LS430 as being a wheel bearing noise-resulting in the gearbox totally failing. I have heard it said and I agree that main dealers don't employ mechanics, they employ "fitters"-as in that they are capable/willing to fit new parts but unable/unwilling to try and "repair" your car. Most independent mechanics have to have the skill to repair your car whereas main dealers will just replace parts without any concern for the cost. When I have my air con serviced/topped up I take it to an specialist as to me they are much more skilled than a main dealer is. My other car is a 1991 Cadillac and I regularly speak to a guy in USA who was the foreman of a cadillac dealership for a number of years before leaving and going independent and he is always advising people who have problems with their cadillacs to never ever go to a main dealer but go to a competent local garage who will most times be more capable of repairing your car and at a sensible price. I've had my Lexus 8 years now and I don't think Lexus could service it any better than my independent garage has in all this time??

I think the cvt Rev that occurs under hard acceleration does sound different and is something you get used to but in my honest opinion the cvt under pretty much any condition Is superior to a standard auto box. For me the quality of a good auto box is one that changes almost seamless without the the driver noticing the transition between gears. The cvt is absolutely seamless as its effectively one continue gear. there is no smoother drive than a cvt because of this fact. i even drove an LS460 several months after ownership of my gs450 and the one thing that I noticed was that I could detect the auto box gear changes and to me it detracted from the smoothness of the drive. yes, you get used to the high rev under load but this not really noticeable unless you have the radio off and windows open. For pretty much all other driving conditions the cvt is without question perfect in prestige cars like the Lexus. if I ever consider buying an ls it would most certainly be the ls600 for me. for me, going back to a standard auto box would feel like a step backwards. carl

Mine has had nearly all lexus servicing apart from one Toyota dealership service. I took it to lexus Woodford last year and had the service and cam belt done. (£700). I'm moving to devon soon and I will probably look at future services with a reputable garage. My car is 15 years old too with 123000 on the clock. I don't suppose having a full lexus service history will make much difference anyway as I don't intend selling it and as long as it still is serviced properly it should be fine. It is my only car and is used as a daily driver and most of the time my wife's mobility scooter is in the boot. Probably better to look after the wallet a bit more now.

The CT200H is a car primarily focused on economy. The wheels are under the arches to help with this. The last time I drove a CT loaner it rode like a rock. I can only imagine that'd get worse with 18" wheels and let's not forget the speedo will be out too as you won't be able to match the tyres to keep the rolling diameter the same as its already running rubber band tyres Non chavvy wheels huh? Something from Lexus and most likely very expensive......

Cheers chaps. May go bigger brakes all round Stu. If so, will get them in blue.

Welcome to the forum and yes it works well with tapatalk. If you're having the car for 24 hours I'm sure they'll give you a full run down on the car. As you've already noticed Lexus dealers do try and provide a service that really all dealers should and sadly few do. The car is great, the F Sport the most striking IMO and I don't think you'll be disappointed. Remember to try it in Sport mode as well as Normal. As for your age, most of us are about your age as well [emoji23][emoji23], give or take a decade or so. Let us know how you get on and enjoy it! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Car looks amazing. Well done 👍

Well done chap. Very well deserved. Just needs blue callipers now 😉

Congrats! I'm in love with those seats still, that carbon

I bought one of these on e-bay a couple of years ago,i just keep it in the back. I also have one i take with me when motorcycling ...just in case...they are pretty good and stop at the desired pressure.....don't forget a tyre filled with goo will not be repaired..very costly if it could have been.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hyfive-Portable-Electric-Tyre-Pump-12V-Travel-Air-Compressor-250Psi-/400651778543?hash=item5d48b4f9ef:g:JjoAAOSwVFlT5NPv

So, great day at Tuner Fest South today at Brands Hatch. Even more so after I was announced 'Car of the show' in the Kleers show 'n' shine!! Here's some photos I took. And I saved arguably the best photo till last!

You are quite correct Tim,i think I was too tired/ lazy that time to do it properly...today I emptied the boot and put the wheel in,plus all the tools needed inside the wheel dish...wrapped so they don't rattle....there was plenty of room left on top of the wheel so I put the rubber mats it came with in,a coupla' cushions to take the extra space up so the top cover didn't sink in if any weight was put on it...and my electric tyre pump too...no need for a tray.. the size of the spacesaver wheel was.....T135/80D16/101M....the wheels on my Prius were 17"...many many thanks for this advice.... No,but they do have six air vents.. two at the front, one each side of the dash, and four in the lower fairing..two each side of the dummy fuel tank...which can be adjusted so they blow hot air in cold weather,..ok for warming the hands...when stood... as it only works when the electric cooling fans switch on...

I have also had a system fitted to my car I had a cat back system for £580.0 had it fitted in Basingstoke mines a long life system too very good service very pleased

Hi everyone. Finally I decided to part with German cars and move on to Japanese car, and I'm about to get a IS300h. The car is now still in the dealer, but, if everything goes smoothly, I'll get it next weekend. It is my first time to drive and own a Japanese car, first time to a hybrid car and also first time to a front engine - rear wheel drive car. I hope it will be a nice experience.

Hi Mike: Thank you for the respond, I'll spend some time on the rules. Also the car is now still in the dealer, so I'll post some picture as soon as I pick it up.

no idea yet john just having trouble finding nice ones online ebay stuff looks cheap and tacky if you come across any be sure to let me know

I seem to remember that as part of the official Lexus servicing programme the brake calliper slider pins are not removed/cleaned/regreased during the brake service, I also seem to remember many problems with seized callipers on fairly new cars. Makes you wonder.

If you want to replace foglights this one is easy to install and will give you same colour as your xenon headlights. http://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1000ML-15W-6000K-LED-day-running-lights-LED-light-guide-DRL-IP67-Q5-lens-LED-fog/32234266506.html?spm=2114.06010108.3.43.qLY3du&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_10,searchweb201602_4_10017_507,searchweb201603_2&btsid=c4a53979-75b0-4bfe-b8db-47059007c78d

No worries Stu. Weather looks like it should be ok today. Hopefully it stays dry, that's the main thing. Will take some photos. Cheers! Peter

Been running Ls400s for 15/16 years now and always used indy servicing .............. even though this latest ( 5 years ago now ) came with Full Lexus Service History I wasn't prepared to pay the effective cost price again every 2 or 3 years just to keep that going ............... and she drives as sweet as a nut ............. of course Save the £££££££, put that towards more of life's little pleasures, just as you have now driving your Lexus Malc

Yes these recent posts all have a sense of deja vu about them ! The problem with the 400h battery was that it did not have the 45Ah capacity that was specified for it. It is rather difficult to measure, but you can quickly produce an estimate by seeing how quickly it discharges to a specific voltage with a given load. With the intelligent charger, a constant current is used, so if you know this current you can then time how long it takes to fully charge back again, when an LED indication is shown on the charger. I used both methods and got close agreement in the result. My "new" replacement battery was around 15Ah ... just one third of the specified value ! These batteries are designed to have a very low self discharge, so it is not likely to be due to a long shelf storage prior to shipment. It is impossible to reject them back on the supplier as there would endless arguments about how this capacity test is performed of course. But it is difficult for me to see how my estimate could be so far out and as it also provides a credible explanation as to why there were so many problems with the 400h 12v auxiliary batteries, I sense that my result may not be that far out. I guess Lexus had designed the 400h on the basis of the specified value being correct. It's a pity that they didn't do more real time tests on the actual performance of the batteries on the real market! Perhaps the batteries they were "given" for their development tests were not representative of those that were supplied much later, in the production run ! I expect the true story will never surface of course. There are a lot of suspicious activities in the motor trade, as the recent scandal with VW emissions tests has revealed. Of course it is all a matter of saving as much money as possible, all at the expense of the end user, who never receives what is promised, because every effort is used to conceal the truth. But now it seems VW are going to have to pay for their deception and that is going to cost them billions ! I think the Bosch 45Ah battery is much better from the reports of users fitting this, but apparently Lexus were not prepared to do this as they may have a fixed contract with their own suppliers. It is not surprising that many 400h owners have chosen to fit their own Bosch batteries when their existing batteries expire yet again ! So the question now of course is what is the real capacity of the 450h batteries ? It is specified as 60Ah, so it might actually be 20Ah with a little luck ! Well even that is 33% more than the 400h battery ! So of course the answer is that you always have to manage what you are given.

That is strange! I have a 2011 Premier and daughter has a 2013 Sport and we both have a Prius spacesaver. When you say "too big" do you mean that the diameter is too large or the other measurement (IE the height if the wheel is laying down on the ground) ?

Having now driven [courtesy Lexus Guildford] a shiny new RX 450h and its dazzling running and sensual turn indicator sequencing I am happy that my tried and trusted 2005/6 136000 mile 400h doesn't need add-on running lights that will never match the previous and present 450h examples anyway. I am saving my pennies for a low mileage Pre mere in dark blue metallic. The active headlight dipping function is very impressive. Got over 42 mpg in a 24 hour 4 trip 2 local 2 longish distance drives. Sat nav is so easy to use too.

The GS battery is not a deep cycle AGM battery. It is a normal flooded lead acid battery. Varta, and Bosch along with others make a 70 AH battery that is the same size for circa £50 with a 4 year guarantee. AGM (absorbed glass mat) are used where the battery is in the passenger compartment "such as the Prius" so that in case of damage to the battery in a collision there is no free liquid acid that may splash on to occupants. The only requirement is to tape or heat glue the temperature sensor from the old Panasonic battery to the top of the replacement battery. This sensor adjusts the charging voltage slightly dependent on battery temperature. Most batteries are today made with one or more vent outlets. All lead acid batteries should have battery temperature monitoring as part of the charging system, but few vehicle manufacturers bother as it makes very little difference.

They just make stuff up don't they. The only thing special about it is that it isn't a common size. Whether it is charged up by an alternator or the hybrid system makes no difference. The only thing it might be is a deep cycle battery. Also sad that Lexus have been weaselling out of warranty claims on traction batteries. The aux battery would have zero influence on that. The 450h traction battery is known for having issues.

I'm not sure id consider the gs450h unreliable. I have read a few isolated cases of such issues but they seem rare in my oppinion. i have had mine a year and it never misses a beat. i would however agree that unless you are very mechanically minded then take out a Lexus warranty for piece of mind then no matter if you should be unfortunate to experience a problem it will all be put right in a professional manner. i have no regrets and still enjoy driving my gs450h on a daily basis. carl

Been looking to fit DRL to my 09 AWD LS-460 but found the mods to be somewhat intrusive. Fixed it by simply putting an old film cartridge cap over the light sensor, hey presto in auto lights headlights always on and they go off when the drivers door is opened. Had to tweak the sat nav screen to switch it from night mode but a minor issue.

You can leave them completely on and the sidelights will shut off after 20 minutes to preserve the battery. Id assume the sat nav time depends on the version of nav you have i.e older versions show shorter journey times sometimes due to the exponential increase we've had in traffic over recent years. Also, the time is based on the current location so if you are in Hackney and want to go to Wembley it'll show something like 58 minutes. If you travel a mile and then realise you're in heavy traffic and you move about 2 miles in 30 minutes, chances are, it'll still show 55 minutes or so. Its fairly accurate in free moving traffic to be honest.