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So finally got sometime to install the Greddy Ti Exhaust. As previously stated I had to do a slight modification to the mid pipes to include HFCs, so I didn’t use the Greddy Ti mid-pipes, instead I had a new set made out of SS with cats and resonator. I’ve only driven around for like 1 and half weeks and had to travel, loving it the more I drive it and reminds me of how the car used to sound with the Joe-Z Exhaust. I was surprised to see I had a significant exhaust leak when I took of the OEM exhaust. Driver side bottom was pretty bad, and passenger side Top seems to have started to leak (below pics). I hope this custom installation should in general give a much better compatibility between the PPE Header flanges and exhaust flanges. (Driver Side Exhaust flang) (Passenger Side Exhaust flang) Below pic of the new pipe alone: Greddy Mid-pipes vs SS Mid-pipes Below comparison of both mid-pipes together: If anyone is interested I did the work at Styledynamics in London, so far I’m loving their work. Any finally a short sound clip below:

Dev Do yourself and your Dad a favour ,the car as no returnable asset value to you or him if you start spending money on it the wheels and the touch ups will cost at least a grand, regardless of how popular these cars are the one you have is not the most sought after of the 400s that prize goes to the Mark 4. Stick it on auto trader and if there is a enthusiast out there it will fetch its correct value .

Decided against H&S exhaust as almost as common as RCF's nowadays.... ;-) Taking one for the team and I have ordered an exhaust from Fox in Germany with black tips. Contacted them directly and got free shipping to the UK and 10% off the exhaust Also ordered a Takeda intake from the States. Bonus gone :-) Bring the noise :-) Will post relevant pics & vids once arrived and installed.

New rear shocks arrived today - great service from RockAuto - arrived in 4 days, without customs delay as Fedex calculate this upfront and add to the bill. Been a while since I added something Made in Japan to a car

I think that if one doesn't use the car for an extended period the entry system goes into power saving mode. The first press woke it up, the second unlocked as normal?

This is a post that covers the problems that occur buying second hand parts.I recently broke the stay bracket on my air cleaner box whilst changing the power steering fluid. I am too embarrassed by my stupidity to explain how, suffice to say it distracted from the pristine condition of the engine bay. I sought out a used box from several online scrapyards who assured me that the one they had was perfect as is usually the case with scrapyard products they turned out to be damaged usually in the removal from the car. After three fruitless deliveries of non useable returned items,I sought out a dealer price and £300.00 for the complete box when I only wanted half of it was not going to happen. I then sought out the part new through a company in Japan who would sell me the half I wanted for £45 but the shipping and duties etc sent it up to £125. I then noticed one of Paul frosts Mark 4s for breaking and he assured me he had the part and it was perfect I have just fitted the part and it is perfect so after months of searching I have finally found a reliable supplier of used parts. As the LS400 is getting older the new parts are going to go unavailable so it is important to have a guy who specializes in the LS range and strips and stores parts that will become difficult to obtain.

Having just waded through a string about duff batteries/replacement of, on the GS section, it'd be interesting to know just how detailed the Lexus hybrid health check is. It seems that a single cell failure can stop the whole car, plus the copper contacts can corrode. The fix is thousands with Lexus, or several careful days DIY. The car LOOKS wonderful -tempting me back to Lexus maybe......the complexity deters though. Still, having just seen one with 260K miles, for sale.......

I’m afraid voltage is not a good indicator of battery condition what you need to know is capacity which is volts x amps (power) x time - that should point you in the right direction Richard

Always reminds me (he said again....) of the old 2CV ad that promised no features, and said 'Nothing to go wrong' at the bottom! Just been reading up on these with the same combination of 'want one/scared of the complexity' mixed emotions. I had thought I was 'over' Lexuses, but......(AND its a hybrid)

So as per my post on 27/3 my Polk sub woofer arrived from USA this week (it only took about 10 days from order to delivery Amazon total cost circa £65) and I've fitted it today as per the youtube link instructions above. The sound is back to amazing (better than I ever remember the bass) and the quality of the new speaker (if judged by the weight) is 3-4 times better than the factory stock Levinson. I don't profess to understand the 4 to 8 ohms thing, I just followed the wiring instructions using some quality speaker wire from Wilkos. Only 3 problems, 1) The rear offside single bench seat had two push in connections for the base and pulling it up wasn't enough. I had to get low peer inside and put a long screwdriver in to wedge the seat out from the push fittings made easier with the wider near side base bench seat removed first. 2) I removed and disassembled the old speaker but then had to keep checking back the youtube post to remind myself which way round things had to be refitted - I found it best to remove 4 small sections of the raised edge of the new speaker metal rim so that the original Lexus part used to secure the speaker with 4 grub screws could be used again. Removing the plastic cover rim from the new speaker required a small screwdriver to force them apart as it had a silicone seal between the metal and plastic rim. Cutting the raised metal 3mm rim on the new speaker was simple enough, just a small hacksaw cuts 1 cm apart and then pliers to bend back forward until the raised rim broke away creating a flush fit. 3) The quarter side panels were a pig to remove but there is definitely a knack to it as mentioned in the youtube. The Polk came with a gasket that works well between the old 4 bolt fitting bracket and the new speaker, some small silicone or gasket seal between the top of the new speaker metal rim and the original Lexus plastic rim at the top of the speaker is optional but I recommend it. Definitely a DIY task, it took me about 3-4 hours start to finish but half of that was the quarter side panels either side of the rear shelf and removing the single bench seat (I didn't want to force and break something).Tools needed: 10/12 mm sockets with 6-8 inch extension rod, medium/small screwdriver, panel prising tools, electrician wire cutter tool and red/blue connectors P.S. Pack your socket with a little grease so that you don't drop the 12 mm fixing bolts when refitting through the small access hole near the rear head rests that should be raised but not removed. It also helped to have the rear seat slightly reclined so the access hole and the bolts line up better. I must confess that half way through the job I was regretting starting it (there's a lot of stuff packed into those rear seats so take your time) but once it was all done with everything working I was delighted with the results and cost saving.

My 2010 RX450SEi has the hill hold facility, you just press down firmly on the brake pedal and you get a couple of seconds grace to allow yourself to move from the brake to the accelerator. Not the same as the electronic handbrake on more modern cars, my son has a GTI and I hate that system though I'm sure you get used to it in time. I remember the first time i encountered it on a golf 2 years ago on a VERY steep hill in Lausanne and someone had parked very close to me. I was terrified getting to grips with it, thought I was going to burn out the clutch to avoid hitting him.

Sandro, The charger on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-Solar-Powered-Car-Battery-Charger/dp/B00AC1LLQY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1523038911&sr=8-3&keywords=solar+battery+charger+car connects to the battery either by croc clips or by a plug into the OBD port (just under the steering column). This latter connection is easy and the charger could then lay under the front window. The cables look as if they are long enough for panel to sit on rear shelf if that would be better. Have you got somebody who could do this whilst you are away? There maybe somebody in LOC near you who could do it. (I'm too far away or I would.) John

Oh and got your question. Like John said, stick with the spec even if the car is modified. Engineers are Lexus know better than us sunday mechanics.

Don't want to sound rude but diesel owners.. please understand that there is no sound justification for deleting dpf. Sell the car if you are having issues with it but do not make uk a 3rd world. As for Oil, Lexus use Castrol. Google Castrol Oil Selector. Put your reg in and it will tell you wjat you need.

Good luck with MOT then, probably going to deem your car "not road worthy" and "dangerous" and rightly so! Just to remind you - removing DPF is illegal as it affects all our health (breathing in your soot).

And here's to it all fitting, which I'm sure it will. Will be interested if you note much change to ride quality.

So are they the same as original lexus? goodluck with them anyway

Worth having a good poke around once on a ramp - they hide rust pretty well in the sills. Do make sure all loose underseal is removed before applying Dinitrol over the top, else you’ll just make the problem worse. you may have read my broken spring thread, thankfully upon inspection it is just coil springs that were corroded/broken, all other suspension components appear okay.

I hope that will cure the problem for you. I have also traced the problem with my car. This turned out to be the anti roll bar rubber bushes. It is difficult to find movement in these as the slightest loading from side to side of the car loads the bushes. I have done a temporary repair "until new bushes arrive" by removing the bushes then increasing the gap in the bush with a hacksaw by about 2mm then fitting a square of plastic about 2mm thick under the bush then tightening the "U" bracket back up. This has completely eliminated the Knock. I would suggest changing these bushes when replacing the roll bar links. John.

yep - I had read it too, but thought I'd missed something more sinister - as it happens I had misread one of the rust fails and hadn't realised it was a structural element and not just a component. It looks quite rusty underneath but some looks like peeling sealant and some could be road grime. Will be giving it a good clean when i get the chance. I also have a client who's a mechanic and he's going take take a quick look when he's next in the gym. I do appreciate your comments chap as it means I can deal with anything small in the near future before it becomes a serious issue. Dendonc - thanks for the heads up about treatment possibilities, will definitely be looking in to this

Brake fluid 'test' is just a visual examination for contamination, cap will not be removed. paul m.

It took me nigh on 6 months to find the GS450h I ended up buying. I wanted a face-lift example, in the right colour, SE-L spec, with ACC. I ended up buying a 2008 model from a Lexus dealer last July, which meant the car was 'expensive' relative to the other stuff on AutoTrader, but came prepared to a very high standard with a 12 month Lexus warranty. I'm currently in conversations with my local dealer (Lexus Cambridge) about purchasing a two year warranty so there's no break in cover when my Lexus Used Warranty expires. Given the relative rarity of the GS450h and the even greater rarity of very high specification ones, I think it's reasonable that your Dad may need to wait for the 'perfect' car. Personally, I think it's worth waiting.

Just keep using what you have been. Diesels need a high detergent oil as well as DPF protection. Note that a working EGR and DPF will be a MoT requirement after 20th May.

Sorry to hear this Rob. If you aren't in a rush and really want a 450 you may have to sit tight and keep an eye out for the right one. I personally hate doing this as once I want to change I really want to change! ...but with the sensible cap on it usually is the best thing to do even though a compromise in other areas (e.g. spec/colour/etc.) may still be required.

White with the black pack. White does such a good job of hiding swirls

LOL - I didn't think you wrong either John :) Apologies if I came across that way. These warranty questions are always a little tricky!

@Flytvrthe ngenco looks terrific. Definitely on my list when the time comes....

Awesome work man. Great attention to detail [emoji41] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Strangely enough I went to my garage this morning to check my GS450h as I hadn't used it for about six weeks. I tried to open the door but it wouldn't unlock, it seemed totally dead. I withdrew the key from the fob but before using it, I pressed the unlock button and to my surprise it unlocked. The interior lights came on and the car started no problem. I ran the engine until the hybrid system stopped it and now everything works as it should. I really can't explain why the keyless entry didn't work, when the button on the fob worked OK but all's well that ends well. Six weeks is probably the limit, I wouldn't want to leave it three months. Still better than my BMW, I couldn't leave that for six days.

When my 1st F-Sport was written-off it had the "wrong" tyres on the front (235/40R18) and no-one batted an eyelid. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

“All that rust” ”flooded” Give him a break Malc, how about something positive

Spotted this one - not sure if that is something to be excited about (spoiler alert - no real Lexus was hurt in making it... it seems only rear lights are Lexus part, though they might be just well made stickers):

No, we all thought that but were just too polite to say so

Try driving the car round bends rather than relying on something that isn't designed to do what you're expecting it to. Unbelievable. Am I the only person on here who thinks that relying on radar guided cruise control to maintain a gap going round a sharp bend and declaring it to be a fault is complete and utter nuts?

Yes... seen that. Good thing it is not IS-F either. Both are what is called "silhouette race cars" - the purpose build race cars with tubular frame which are made to look similar to some production models, in reality they share no parts... you can put plastic shell of any car you like on that chassis. I personally hate them - for me that is "fake"... but hey everyone to their own opinion. In some respect it is cool to know that some people like Lexus brand so much that they even go such a length to make their race car look like one.

Usual story with ordering from a British business: lack of attention to or obfuscation of detail and ignoring specificities, poor ordering systems, poor customer service . The lack of attention to detail outside of technical circles I suppose reflects the snobbishness that made polytechnics want to become universities, as if aspiring to the Oxbridge bastions of liberal arts education represented the ne plus ultra of higher education, with technical, manual and vocational training somehow a lesser matter. Poor customer service comes from an entrenched class system where people are very aware of their position in any exchange, whether that be business or personal (I learned long ago that it helps to make British salespeople feel better about themselves otherwise it's hard getting what you want.) Order from abroad for peace of mind. Brexit will reinforce parochial tendencies.

Clay only removes dirt sitting on the surface, as does washing. SRP gets into the pores of the paint which could explain the dirt coming out. However, it may be paint transfer if the car has has some paintwork done to it i.e. smart repairs etc

Pic of one of the removed front springs - I thought it was only the rears that we’re broken! Rest of the suspension components apparently showing no signs of unwanted movement, so will be retained. Ive extended the job to include fluid changes so have requested engine oil/filter, PAS and gearbox fluid drain and refill.