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Hi to all Lexus aficionados, I'm a new member (was a member a couple of years back, but couldn't log in with my old sign on). straight to the point- my MOT a couple of weeks ago gave me an advisory on my left rear shock absorber, there was a fine mist of oil on it though not leaking or dripping, in contrast to the right side which was dry. My local Lexus dealer who I haven't used yet (see below) quoted nearly £800 for the part and £200 for fitting, gulp! It is air suspension. Does anyone know of any options? I do like to keep my LS430 perfect though, it's an 05 with 64,000 miles. if I join as a gold member I assume the dealer will give me 10% discount? second issue, the interior boot release doesn't work, the only way to open the boot is to stand with the key at the back and press the release mechanism to the right of the number plate - what could this fault be? any help on these two issues would be greatly appreciated. Note to readers. My Lexus has just been imported back from NZ as I've just moved back to the UK. I bought it in the UK 4 years ago and shipped it out to NZ then. Why would I go through the expense of that - because it's the best car in the world. The trials and tribulations of dealing with customs and HMRC, is another very long story, they wanted VAT and duty on original purchase cost to me!! Anyway, the excellence of the Lex was recently made clearer. In the last month I have also been running a brand new Merc S class 350d. Very smooth and economical, 43mpg, it cost about £65-70,000, but I prefer the ride and experience of my Lexus. A picture of it below, as I know we all love pictures - my wheels are body coloured, not everyone's choice I know, but it does look stunning. oh, since I've been back in the UK, since end of April, I haven't seen a single LS400/430 on the road. That's amazing! I'm in the south near Southampton. And it been wonderful to drive her at more than 60mph (quite a lot more!) as the speed limit is strictly enforced and adhered to in NZ. Nige

My E class sealed for life box has had oil changes every 40,000 miles. It is now on 211,000 miles and has just brought me back seamlessly from Spain! Regards John

Hi I have an 07 plate is220d which to be fair has had very little problems. A month ago it was sluggish, to the point of dangerous, pulling away in 1st gear. Then the VSC light came on and the AA said blocked DPF. I had the DPF chemically cleaned but still sluggish. I had the EGR cleaned and the inlet manifold, still sluggish, I even swapped the MAF sensor with a friend who has a Toyota, still useless. I then thought back to the old days and decided that if it was years ago I would have suspected a loose throttle cable or linkage, but this car is drive by wire. I decided that it might be a faulty or dirty accelerator potentiometer, I sprayed it with a good dose of electrical contact clener whilst pushing the pedal with my hand. I don't know whether this is a permanent cure, but I can honestly say the car runs better than it has done for years, the fuel consumption has improved only slightly but I can live with that. Give it a try it might work for you. Pluffy

I had the excact same problem turned out to be damaged wiring next to the ABS warning plug on the front hub hope this helps

Brilliant, look after her well.

I don't hold with the latest 'lifetime fill' concept on modern cars. Manufacturers want to replace your gearbox when it fails. The sooner the better as far as they are concerned, preferably, just as the warranty runs out. It's a big con. No ATF can be that efficient that it never needs replacing or replenishing at some point. My neighbour never changed the ATF on her Beemer X5 and guess what? Yep, catastrophic gearbox failure. Cost her a fortune.

Colin: Excellent write up on CT200h Vs Focus. Thanks I would be driving at least 400-600 miles per week. Thats what I was bit confused whether worth go to hybrid or traditional diesel. As you pointed out no need of gear changing with CT and left hand and leg can give rest. If I go for automatic gear box with diesel than more CO2 and tax plus lower MPG. Stormchaser: Looks your mileage split will be opposite to mine. 80% motorway and 20% city. I also read somewhere that hybrid cars are best to be drive within city to get maximum fuel economy. 200h: I am going to carry only PPE bag, occasionaly small suitcase which I think boot is ok with me. Thanks everyone who comments on my topic.

No its not as easy as some people make it sound, understanding the nitrogen cycle will give you a huge understanding of what's happening and why things go wrong! If it is of any use, this is a video of a tank I built for a side project I had years ago putting fish tanks in home / businesses and maintaining them, this is a Male Only cichlid show tank, I no longer have access to the youtube account, but thought you may enjoy watching it, this is the closet thing I could build to a marine tank without the need for salt and extra work. The key to any tank is water changes and lots of them!

Hi Nige The suspension issue can be resolved only by replacement of the unit that is leaking as they are sealed units and not repairable. The boot release could be several fault lines .The battery in your fob is weak the signal transmitter or receiver could be faulty ,or the release solenoid is sticking in the catch . Take a look at the solenoid release on the catch first and go through the other fault lines until you find it. If you feel you would like to dispense with the ongoing issues that occur with the air suspension you could convert to coil over springs. Nice example by the way.

Gear box total change - had mine done at 150K, it was really smelly and in need of change. Cost was about £180, and made a big difference to the gear changes. The specialist I went to reckoned a full change every 40K is a good thing, though he said he had seen LS and GS with really old oil and no failures in the auto-boxes (unlike BMW and Audis he had dealt with). Not had the diff done, and various garages say different things, but my view is anything mechanical needs new lubrication at some point, so will be getting diff done some time in next year.

To be honest I think it's still ahead of many luxury cars I've been in recently, they all seem to have a certain amount of tackyness about them.

I use a Rubber Care Stick called "Gummi Pflege Stift" which you can get from Ebay or Amazon. The description of this says " Gummi Pflege provides long lasting protection against freezing for rubber seals in car doors,windows and boots.it also conditions helping to prolong the life of rubber seals against cold, heat and UV radiation from the sun". I use it in the winter to stop the doors jamming shut when really icy and it also helps if the rubbers are dry and brittle and need softening up again. it also gives a really nice looking shine as well.

The LS400 featured in the Top Grear video is still on the road according to the MOT checker, last MOT'd 13th June 2016 at 161,471 miles.

I had a new CT200h for 25 months, during that time I covered 38,000km (23,612m) and it returned 61mpg Ave. Including 2 trips to uk and around northern Europe, also trips to Dresden and Slovenia. The IS 'Mr. Jingles,' is now 16 months old, has 22,244km (13,861m) on the clock and is returning 51mpg Ave. Including 1 trip to uk and 2/3 to northern Europe. I found the CT too hard a ride so changed to the IS. I am happy with the change and with the mpg achieved in both motors. I use 'Fuelly' and 'Spiritmonitor de.'. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Hi Venkat I posted the above in May this year, as you can see I drove up hill and down dale, even across water! The CT is a good motor and very reliable, a good place to spend time, but for me and many others, it was too hard a ride. I changed to the IS for the better ride, and it is. If, as you suggest, it is going to be used a lot, I would recommend the IS, it is an even better place to spend a lot of time, with more comfort and almost noise free, + the Lexus reliability. The economy is a little less than a diesel, but it's more than made up for in respect to comfort. Yes, as stated above by Geof. and Paul there are many things that affect economy, I could add more, driving a Hybrid takes a little getting used to, but once mastered, can give good results. It is a personal choice of course, might be a good idea to test both if you can for a day. Good luck whatever you decide to do. Best wishes. Michael.

Nice one. I used to get annoyed when manufacturers made you take off the inlet manifold to get to the plugs, but since it is once every 60k in this case, it is fair enough. It is good to get things done yourself. On a completely unrelated topic, it took me over 5 hours of messing around to fit a UV Steriliser to my fish tank today, and despite being a complete pain in the arse, you can't help but feel good when you turn it on and it works fine. By the same token, I do miss tinkering with my cars.

Hi Kris Congrats on your purchase, they're a heck of a lot of car for the money. I've got the same model/year as you and it's the best car I've ever owned. If you're referring to the SatNav screen message telling you to "Drive Safely, obey traffic rules" etc, then AFAIK this can't be turned off. It's a symptom of the nanny state we live in.

Looking good, Hate that colour with a passion but WTH, it still looks great!

Exciting times just ahead. Enjoy!!!

In the 450h handbook, it only says 36psi for the 18" wheel and tyre combo, it says 32 psi for the 19"

I remember someone commenting on his first drive in the Rx450h that Lexus had ... "ruined the ride" ... so that he could feel ... "every ridge and bump in the road" ...(presumably compared with his Rx400h). Certainly the reviews on the Rx 450h frequently complain about the unsettled ride, whereas on the 400h these criticisms are notably absent. One reviewer commented that the top model 450h with 19 inch wheels and air suspension gave a worse ride than the base model with standard suspension and 18 inch wheels. I guess you could look for a base model with 18 inch wheels and then ask to drive it, to see how it felt to you, before committing yourself to smaller wheels. I also remember someone experimenting with tyres pressures too, saying that the optimum ride was very dependent on this. So I guess that was also someone else who was in the same position as you are now. Certainly experimenting with tyre pressures is the easiest thing to try first. With the 2011 model I think you will still have the traditional tyre valves too, so you will not have to play around with that pesky Tyre Pressure Monitoring System which would complain if it thought the tyre pressures were too low. So what you are saying is in line with everything I have read so far and it always seems that 18 inch wheels are indeed the way to go for maximum ride comfort. It seems to me that there is no advantage at all fitting larger wheels to the Rx, except perhaps from the perceived cosmetic angle. The Rx is aimed at people who prefer a smooth, quiet ride and an effortless driving experience. Cars fitted with larger wheels and low profile tyres are more suited to drivers who wish to spend a lot of effort driving along twisty country roads to see how fast they can go before they end up in the ditch. Such ludicrous driving is more suited to the younger generations and like you, I definitely do not belong there. So you think very much as I do and support my inclination to remain with my older Rx400h rather than "upgrade" to the Rx450h. Please let me know if you do find a way to make your Rx450h ride as well as your last Rx400h as I might follow you there some day, although I do have other reservations about the Rx450h which I would also need to address.