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Vanishing point starring @Mark G in @Warrington guy's white isf.

My NX300h Sport has been with Lexus Swindon for the past three months so that they could fix what they - and Lexus UK - thought was a very minor issue until they investigated further. Glad to say it is all fixed now and Lexus has provided me with 'goodwill' of a free set of alloys (for my Winter tyres) and free side-steps as an apology. I've had Lexus courtesy cars for the duration, mostly a 2017 NX300h F-Sport, and I thought it might be useful to compare that with my own Sport as the differences were far greater than I expected. I should say that for the first two weeks - bear in mind originally my car was expected to be at the dealer for less than 24 hours (!) - I had an IS300h Advance. I liked it to drive, but it was no good for me as I have mobility issues and I also struggled with the foot operated parking brake, so Lexus provided me with a new NX F-Sport to use instead. It was interesting to have it for a while though. Based on my experience, God alone knows why I don't see more of them on the road and fewer Audi A4/BMW 3-Series... Anyway, the rest of the time I had the NX F-Sport. I'll start with the positives. First, it is far more 'focussed' to drive, and the handling is in a different league. I know manufacturers talk about the differences between different models, but until I had the chance to drive both for an extended period 'back to back' I wouldn't have believed the difference could be that noticeable. The normal Sport model feels a bit 'wobbly' in comparison. 1-0 to the F-Sport. Second, some of the extra goodies that the F-Sport comes with are useful. The headlights are especially good far, FAR, better than those on my Sport and they look groovy too. I like the fact that it comes with front fog lights as standard, and the way they light up the kerb automatically when cornering which I found surprisingly useful. A couple of other nice touches missing from the Sport model, both of which I thought to be gimmicks until I had them. The lights under the door handles are really useful, as is the way the (electrically adjustable) steering wheel moves out of the way when getting in or out of the car. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure! There were some things I didn't like about the F-Sport though. First, the ride. I've said above that the handling is much better, but at the expense of comfort. It isn't uncomfortable as such, but again I'm surprised at the level of the difference. The ride quality in the Sport suits me far better personally. Secondly, the seats. I couldn't really get comfortable with the seats in the F-Sport, mainly because they were harder, deeper and the bolsters too high. Now, I do have mobility issues around my hips and legs so this is a big thing for me that others may not notice. Even so, getting back into the soft 'armchair' seats in the Sport was a relief and I find them much more comfortable as well as easier to get in and out of. I'd say that if you are considering an NX try both the standard and F-Sport seats if it is likely to make a difference in your circumstances. The biggest difference though, is the amount of noise in the car at pretty much all speeds. I can't work this out at all. In comparison with the Sport, the F-Sport had so much more road noise. The difference is so stark that I've found myself wondering whether there was something wrong with the F-Sport I've been using, although I guess it could be partly down to tyre fitment? I'd be really interested in views on this and whether others have noticed the same. One other odd thing. Colleagues of mine - mainly not 'into' cars I should add - thought that the basic Sport was actually the model higher in the NX range. I'm sure a lot of that was down to colour, as the F-Sport I had was white which I personally don't think suits it as well as some colours, but even so. Weird, right? I thought the F-Sport looked obviously 'superior' because of the grille and wheels, but there you go, just shows what I know! My summary? Keener drivers will prefer the F-Sport, of that I have little doubt. That isn't me though, as I prefer to waft about. I didn't test-drive an F-Sport before I bought my Sport, but having had the chance for this comparison over an extended period I'm happy that I made the correct decision for me, especially given the extra cost (from new) involved.

I'll let the gratuitous blue pictures do the talking Loving my first mod to the is F

Of all the car adverts you have seen on TV and in magazines, which ones do you actually remember from a few years ago? Adverts are meant to keep in our subconscience - but which ones do you remember? This was my favourite - at the time!

Well, more of a courtesy car than a test drive really. My wife's new NX needed some minor paintwork sorting out so they brought a 67-reg CT200 with 2k miles on the clock for us to use. We've done about 250 miles in it including some motorway, urban and a trip into central London, right across to the west, and back again. Pretty mixed driving. I don't know what trim level it is but it seems to be specc'd OK with satnav, cruise, heated seats, rear camera etc. So here goes: Likes: MPG: 49 and I was not driving for economy. That includes a lot of fairly "assertive" central London driving and 80mph motorway driving. Not bad at all. And it's still new and relatively tight. Smooth. It really is, especially in traffic. Good pickup in Sport mode, which it was in for most of the time. It seems to go much further on battery than the NX does which is a major plus. Build quality - whilst the inside feels a little cheap in places compared to a Golf, it feels really solid. And we know that the Prius upon which it is based lasts forever............ Dislikes (sorry, there are a few ): Road noise. Seems rather excessive. Probably the low profile tyres. Ride. Bordering on terrible. I'd just eaten and had a coffee before I went out in it for the first time and I could feel my dinner jiggling around in my stomach over our fairly average local roads. And this isn't a "sporty" car, so why's it so hard? Headlights. They're like half-awake gloworms in jars, and I'd just cleaned them. Very poor. I'd expected LEDs or xenons on a well equipped model. The satnav. Aaaaarrrrghhhhhhhh.........I can't even begin to list all of the issues. One example: I needed to enter a road name in London rather than a postcode. It would not let me enter London on its own as a Town and then move onto the street name. I tried. And tried.. This stuff should be intuitive, as it is on a £100 Garmin. But to be fair, the premier system in the NX is similarly frustrating. Satnav routing. Weird. Just weird. And I'd checked the settings. I got to see some weird and wonderful parts of London last night on the way home. Telephone: I've paired phones in the NX but didn't stand a chance with the CT. The same phones and the system just could not see each other. Again, this should be intuitive. So overall, mixed. Fundamentally, the actual drive itself was very impressive. I guess a gazillion Uber drivers in similarly platformed but less plush Prius' can't be wrong. It's the details and tuning that don't work for me. I've read about the 2018 model and would be pretty confident that Lexus will improve some of these things. and we know that every Lexus is a fantastic long term buy. If they fixed one or two of the irritants, I'd definitely consider it.

What a great job you have done but that bonnet looks awful.

Blue-Tac on the end of a curtain wire?

Looks nice, would love for you to keep the standard green paint though, my favourite 😍

Soooo.. I picked up a Gs 450H in black (Oh Lord how did I ever end up with an all black drive .. all three cars we own are black !! Gulp !!) Need to take some proper pics but here's a taster :- Things that needs attention are :- Needs a clay bar, polish and wax Engine bay is dirty Brake discs aren't great, will look at changing those at some point. I think I may have spotted an oil leak or at least some sign of some oil dripping off the cooling pipes for Hybrid System, down the nearside of the engine Have a think about getting Android phone mirrored up on the Sat Nav screen Even though the oil has just been changed by the previous owner I'll do another change very soon. I like to do a couple of quick oil changes within a few hundred miles of each other when I first get a car. I'll count his change as one and I'll down my own one. Initial impressions are good. I'm still finding my way round the cockpit. I'm quite liking the laid driving approach that the Hybrid encourages. The 450H has replaced a Nissan 350Z so it's an all together different beast totally, although in a straight line sprint I think the Lexus may actually have beaten the 350Z I took it down to London and back on Saturday and the economy wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped. I was actually thinking of selling my '05 Accord 2.4 Type S once I'd got the Lexus but now I think I'll just LPG the Accord and keep that as well. I can get the costs equivalent of 50 to 60MPG once the 2.4 is LPG converted. It's a huge shame the 450H's can't be LPG'd would have loved to put a system in that. If anyone's interested I can do a thread on the LPG of the Accord once I get round to it, probably some time in Jan.

A few of us getting it built back up. Can't seem to find the folder with all the finished article shots in it but hopefully these give an idea of how it's ended up. Hope you enjoyed 'em! Now back to ISF's

I requested a hard copy and Lexus sent me two free, owners manual and navigation. Dealers wanted about £50.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

if you are in cult movies and into Japanese drifting racing and speed in general this one could be yours. Tau man Ji D. japanese movie about the son of a tofu maker living at the bottom of a mountain. He has to deliver the tofu to his fathers customers living on that mountain so every night drive to the top and back. The faster he does it the faster his job is done. So he start to tweak his fathers old toyota and masters the art of drifting. Only the negative camber gives it away a bit.. in the same time the local city youth discovers the mountain and starts driftraces there in expensive highly tuned driftmobiles. The scene where the number 1 driftking is passed in a drift up the mountain by a stinking old toyota with a tufu deliveryboy behind the wheel is just too much.. and the cars. The tofu car could have been an IS 200/300 first gen ( or even a heavy LS400 modified?) the driftkings of course a shining RCF!

Sorry its been a few days...i wanted to test it out and its SOLVED all problems. I still need to clean the egr anyway but so far so good. I wanna thank everyone for their input its all been a major help. Now its time to see how everyone else is getting on lol.

Have a good one lads and lasses

Merry Christmas everyone, have a great day 👍

Merry Xmas Piers, and no advisories for 2018 to everyone... Ed

The French ( yes french ) movie TAXI. It is about a pizza delivery boy with a highly tuned peugeot 405 (or 6 dont remember) . Of course all goes terribly wrong but the way it is filmed in the steets of marseille is RONIN like. This Peugeot should have been an ISF. When you are bored over christmas try to youtube it. Its a car movie and lots of fun! Merry Christmas to all of you!

Just to clear a few things up. I’ve owned the car for 90 days. Due to some ill health on my part, it’s not been used much and only covered 1200 miles in that time. The sticking brake occurred last weekend and was first noticed as a slight dragging on a half mile trip to a supermarket. It was taken back to the dealers as soon as they could fix to, which was last Wednesday. So I collected the car Friday. Therefore I’ve had the car two days since the repair. Me personally, I would not have put that wheel back on until cleaned on the inside. What they do is up to them provided the repairs are sound and does not cause any further damage or degradation. I am looking at the car now and I see no way a cleaner can access the inside of the wheel without removing it. Which he won’t. So that’s the technicians job. What really concerned me was the over 1 inch of water around the battery. If, as Rayaans said, these do not leak, how did that get there? The dealer has previously admitted problems with the valeter, soaking cars, so one would expect them to keep an eye on the new one for a few months. If that much water penetrates the electrics or goes under the carpets, I’ll have a huge job getting it dry. Most of it is at the moment, the dampness is mainly confined to the boot, but there is a question to answer.

Well, they should be checked afterwards by a responsible member of staff surely! This is Lexus we are talking about!

I’d normally not be concerned if the valeter hadn’t done a good job, but this time the technician put a contaminated wheel back on, then relied on the valeter to do it. I have no idea if he expected him to take a wheel off to clean it but that’s what was required. Given what had happened I think it should have been down to be inspected after the valeter. I only drove the 15 miles to Stockport on the sticking caliper at low speed on the local roads, previously it had had very little use. The inside hasn’t been cleaned at all and I wouldn’t expect it. I lost this morning trying to put it right, and think they should do the job, so for now I have emailed the head of Aftersales.

My car was from Lexus Stockport and the service was excellent. I suggest you speak to centre manager Fred Goodwin. Nice chap, sorts issues out pretty much instantly. The cleaning responsibility lies with the valeters and the cars aren't checked afterwards. Essentially, if the valeter screws up, after sales won't know about it. That wheel and door needs some fallout remover. Go for Bilt Hamber Korrosol, iron x or car chem revolt. Taking a look at the wheel though it looks shot. It's not something that happens overnight and looking at it, it seems you've driven too much with stuck calipers, especially if you drove 45 miles on the motorway to get there. I would have got it towed via AA on a flatbed The dealers dont keep or use this so theyd have a hard time shifting this without using acidic products on the wheels and door panel. I suggest you try the fallout remover first. On a side note, RX450h's don't leak from anywhere. The 2nd gen RX had the potential to leak but the 3RX doesn't so it shouldn't be soaking wet at all. Having said that, when valeted the car will have had its carpets washed with an extractor so will be wet. The shampoo uses biocides so won't smell when dried though

Yes, this is with Lexus Stockport. Not impressed at all and have just spent some time writing to their Aftersales Manager with some suggestions for a resolution. I’ve had the car for 90 days so I don’t think I can reject. What I want is it sorting and with the water ingress, if it’s not bone dry in there, I’ll make sure they fix it or come up with an alternative plan.

Before, during and after it's first clean in about 3 weeks!

Sometimes it really hard to love a Lexus. Collected the car yesterday and only managed to have a really good look over it when I got home. Although the car had been ‘cleaned’ this didn’t extend to removing the baked on brake /caliper residue that was all over the front wheel, passenger door and back along the car. I can’t quite believe that the technician had actually put the wheel back on in that state. If I hadn’t needed the car urgently yesterday I would have taken it back and left it. So as it’s a 45 minute drive each way I decided to try and shift it myself. After a morning of of cleaning, nothing had shifted it. It’s going to need the wheel removing and some heavy duty acid wheel cleaner on it. As for the bodywork, it was in the door trim, handles rear wheel, the dust had got everywhere. Shifted a lot with tar remover, but even wonderwheels didn’t touch the wheel. Phoned the dealer to give them some feedback who offered to ‘give it a clean’ next time I’m passing! How the h@ll does a mechanic, who has just fitted clean new caliper, discs and pads, then put back on a wheel thick with baked on grit? To ice the cake, I decided as I was cleaning the car, to clean the boot properly. Yes I am the proud owner of a Lexus swimming pool. At least one inch of water was swimming round the battery. When I bought the car the boot was wet, the speaker grill stained and the jack slightly rusty, all of which they put down to their now dismissed vaulter who had been washing the cars with the boot open! They dried it and assured me it wasn’t a problem. So either I have a soaked battery because of the usual leak issues which I have read up on, and have to find that problem, or more hopefully whoever half washed the car this time again at the dealers was careless and got the boot wet. I really don’t want to go back to the dealers, and would rather get the car privately detailed so I know all these things are right, but I feel they should put some of this right at least. Any thoughts?

I've had Cross Climates on my RX450h since January this year. Probably done about 10,000 on them and so far they are excellent. I'm not one to explore the limits of grip but they never feel like they will lose grip and coped well in the recent icy weather. See my original review here: Sorry first time I've tried a hyperlink so got additional text from my post but don't know how! Price is probably lower now as I was an early adopter.

@mike m Mike down in Lincolnshire they haven't invented garages yet, my 'F' lives in a garage......... we'll sort of.........

Try this... https://carmanuals2.com/lexus/nx300h-2015-owner-s-manual-53070

That’s a real relief and one that will have me pricing up a warranty next year when this first 12 months expires.

At least this happened whilst under a warranty the wallet is safe for a while

The hole was almost certainly in the rubber boot meant to protect the piston from dirt, and water. Once the boot has been compromised the piston will quickly seize. John.

Getting there....

Turns out it was a hole in the side of the piston. This then seized and wrecked the caliper. Dealer is replacing all this as well as pads and disc. Have to say I’ve had a few corroded pistons over the years, but even with pitting or corrosion they simply become stiff, I’ve never had an actual hole!

RCF, CT200 and Sc430 in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Weird thing is I fret more about my recent run of sub-£5k cars than I ever have about new ones. If they've been well cared for I feel I have to continue with that. If something happens to a new car I just think the insurance will sort it out. I'd be a lot more worried about my hypothetical mint LS400 than the hypothetical 7 seat RX.

I've often wondered about this parking ding thing. I'm a bit funny about where I park my car, always have been, drives my wife nuts at times because we often end up parking further away from where we need to go. I've often wondered whether the thought, and therefore risk, of someone dinging the car is much worse than the frequency of it happening. I wonder whether I'm just being stupid and at the end of the day it's a car and over say 3 years it's bound to pick up a ding or two. Just wish I was less bothered about this sort of thing really, life would be easier and my wife would be happier! I'm certainly thinking pretty seriously about getting an RX450h though.

I collected the exhaust parts this afternoon ready for welding. John.

I changed my 'tips'... Ref;