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Four months into GS F ownership I finally got around to taking some pictures. So here it is, early car with fixed dampers, sonic titanium with red leather, Mark Levinson but no sunroof -perfect spec for me. The plate doesn't really suit but came off my V10 Phaeton which the F replaced. Plan is to keep it forever -one of the reasons I chose it over an M5 or AMG. I love the sense of occasion you get when driving, and the Jekyll and Hyde character. And, of course, the noise! I feel very fortunate to own three of the best sounding cars ever -the GS F, an S54 BMW Z3 M Coupe and a Gordon-Keeble. Hi to everyone on the forum! Mike

mate, I have had 2 previous black cars and vowed and declared I would never have another, yet here I am! bite the bullet dude, its super hard coating that will at minimum prevent it getting worse for the next 18-24 months!!

Hello and welcome Mike, we have contacted each other in the past through the Pistonheads forum as fellow Phaeton V10 owners, and both seem to have landed up with an F series Lexus. Like you I love the Jekyll and Hyde characteristics of the car, one of the many youtube clips I watched where Tiff Nedell stated the more you drive the car the more it grows on you is absolutely spot on. I think the servicing costs are also a very pleasant surprise, despite the fuel consumption.

I've got one of these and although I've not yet needed it to start the car, it's been in the boot for about a year and is still holding 75% charge, so I know it'll be there if or when I do need it. Incidentally, it takes very little power to get the car into the READY state but I wouldn't buy a smaller capacity unit in case someone else with a 'normal' car needs help.

Other than some slight misting in both headlights which were changed under warranty I didn't have any issues with mine, I came from a GS 450h f sport which had AVS which gave me the option of changing the ride comfort the RC-F did not have this and I felt the ride comfort was a bit hard for me, but as David has mentioned the 2017 model has AVS,

So here are a few of mine from this morning. Sun is out, but driveway is kind of half lit, so photos aren’t perfect! 😉

picture us rollin'

Just a potential FIX for you bashing your head against this particular wall, The problem, a 2008 is220d, 110k miles, with embarrassing quantities of white smoke from exhaust that smells of diesel fuel. My parents car has been smoking like a pig for the last few months, Diagnosis.... Garage condemmed the DPF and replaced it..................Still smokes. Garage says "just keep driving it, the smoke will soon stop"............It didn't Garage says "er, drive it some more"...................Still smokes. Garage yanks the injectors and send them off to be tested, by people who are not idiots..................non idiots send them back with the verdict, injectors are perfect...........................Still smokes. Garage now say they are sure it is the turbo which will need replacing...................At which point I get involved and rescue the car. No sign of misfire, compressions good, no play on the supposedly fragged turbo, no headgasket doom. Not trusting the fifth injector, I unclipped the fuel line and plugged it by clipping another injector on it. Went for a drive, white smoke gone! So confirming fifth injector misbehaviour. Changed the fifth injector, a total git of a job............Smokes, Argh! So it is the ECU telling the fifth injector to keep on squirting. Techstream turns up from ebay, so plug it in. The dpf pressure values are all over the shop, so tee in a magnehelic guage, which disagrees with the values from the software. Wiggle wiring, AHA! Gotcha! Pressure values in the software change in sympathy. So I remade the wiring from dpf sensor to the ECU and then got good values for the dpf sensor pressure. The ECU "learns" whilst you drive, but the corrupt dpf pressure data had totally confused it. Unplug car battery for ten minutes, reconnect, ECU starts to relearn with good data. Relearn the window winders by driving them for a couple of seconds against their stops at each door switch. AND THE SMOKE STOPPED! and mpg has gone up from 25mpg imp to 40+mpg imp. The magnehelic gauge reads 5kPa (20 inches water gauge) when regeneration of the DPF now starts. So to recap, check the DPF pressure sensor to ECU wiring carefully before spending lots of money on the garage partswap goosechase. Good luck on what is a fantastic car. Warning!!!!!!!!!!!! ! I only disconnected the fith injector for long enough for diagnosis, if it is disabled for too long, the DPF will probably clog up! I only disconnected it for 20 miles.

After taking my car for a good blast yesterday I came home and noticed in bright sunlight the enormous number of swirls in my paint finish. If anyone wants to see the worlds worst example go have a look at the RCF for sale in Poole it is unbelievable, my car is nothing near as bad but does look like it's in need of some attention. I pondered whether to get a chap I know to do the complete job but at about £500 I decided to put to work my Meguiars DA polisher and some Ultimate Compound. I am very pleased with the results and finished it off with a coating of Souveran Pinnacle wax. I'll post up some pictures later today in the sunshine, having had a good inspection there are only about two areas in need of a bit more attention. Debating whether to just carry on applying a coat of Souveran every few months (the £80 tub goes an awful long way) or brave putting a ceramic coating on.

Grey squirrel?

Worn suspension bushes, all easily testable. As the steering wheel wobbles then it's unlikely to be the prop and/or drive shafts.

Yesterday I took my car to the local car-wash (where I use the highly effective plain-water jet wash and, no doubt like all Lexus owners, avoid the rotating brushes like the plague). As I do every 2-3 washes or so - and have done with every car I have ever owned - I opened up the bonnet in order to remove spots and splatters, vacuum dust from the screw cavities, and wipe the plastic surfaces. To my surprise the people in the adjoining bay, who had been eyeing me somewhat shiftily, came over and congratulated me for doing such a thorough job. It was obvious, however, that they actually thought I was being over-zealous to the point of neurosis. While agreeing that it is rare to see people cleaning under the bonnet - at least in public car-washes - I maintained that is perfectly normal and natural and necessary thing to do. Surely I’m not alone in this?

Didn't need them Les. First time I've pushed the car and it was incredible for a 10.5 year old vehicle with 103K on the clock. Fantastic drive.

So many possibilities. Sticking caliper, worn steering parts, worn bushes, out of shape tyres and more! Any other symptoms/noises? Even wrongly inflated tyres can cause it.

Just watched the US video from prestige Lexus; you have to set daylight saving to off. It then adjusts one hour back. Simples.

Same with me, I’ll get round to it when I can be arsed...

Couldn't hang around my old Saab was causing me new problems on a daily basis! Hope the Lexus reliability lives up to the reviews! From a large dealership in London, hassle free indeed, except the salesman and I thought the boot solenoid/motor had failed because we couldn't open the boot! We then discovered the switch in the glovebox - happy days! It's nice to have something different to the usual E-class, 5-series, A6 etc.

I went for a DBPower one - seemed to get good reviews and the power needed to start a hybrid is much less than a traditional starter. Haven't had to use it to date but check it every few months just in case and it holds the charge well. Keep it in the glove box just in case.

Lac de Cheserys. Had to walk this one, sadly you cannot drive here. _DSC1297 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr _DSC1315 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr _DSC1316 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

As there are no visible footprints that would indicate a larger animal, it could be mice or rats - they love to chew. Put some talcum powder on the roof overnight for a couple of days and see if any clues are left. After that, it's poisoning time!

Thanks Shahpor. Correct, Grey with the black interior. It's a GS250 Luxury. Has BSM which I think was an option? I'm not as well versed in the standard equipment as I should be! Other than that all the usual high level of equipment, reverse camera, heated/cooled seats, easy access, leather, climate, auto wipers, auto mirror, keyless entry etc. I need to go out at get some more pics, the light is terrible at the moment so will try and get some soon.

So I only went and got one! Clean GS250 with just over 40k on the clock: Very pleased with the car. It actually blew me away a bit, it just feels so solid and comfy, it's more than I was expecting. The engine noise surprised me for a couple of reasons. It's slightly diesel-ish from cold, there is a slight tickyness to it. I see that the direct injectors can click a bit because they are such high pressure? Seems to be a lot of talk about it online. The second reason is when you put your foot down! I was not expecting such an awesome noise from a Lexus! I found Bluetooth easy to set up with my phone and the nav is easy to use also. The joystick (whatever it's called) is given bad reviews, but it doesn't seem too fiddly to me, slightly odd, but works well. The next service is looking quite expensive because Lexus tell me all the plugs need doing, but it's not every year at least!

Yes it would be a pre-faclift I imagine, in black - possibly a Y reg so makes sense what you said. Didn't really get a chance to see it - as it was GONE IN A FLASH!!!!

I bought a similar item to that in the first post because of an upcoming continental trip and not wanting to get stuck if the battery went flat. It's an auto. Last week my neighbour came round and asked if I had a battery charger as her car battery was flat and it would not start. Great opportunity to try my jump starter I thought. Plugged in the big leads, clipped them on to her battery and wow, it actually worked brilliantly. Still had 95% of charge left in it. A big thumbs up from me.

I bought this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079LZJ8GK/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_2 I've read some reviews and came to the conclusion that is more than enough for an IS300h. Never tried it yet though.

Thanks John. I am enjoying the car very much, and without wanting to tread on anyone's toes, I have a new RX450h as a loaner and it is making me miss my GS even more. I can't wait to get it back.

My Sister had similar issues with crows a couple of years back. Amazing the damage they could do...but they tended to focus on window and sunroof surrounds, I assume because of the reflections?

He is indeed- and getting returning customers!

Of course it is! Stupid me! lol! :)

Vlad, since it isn't hybrid, it only has a rev counter

I have sent the young lady in the video a message on her website to ask if she has experienced any longer term issues since fitting the RSR lowered springs. I generally go along with the opinions of people who have actually done this sort of thing first hand plus her car is the AVS fitted RCF. Haven't had a reply yet and hope it won't be too long for me to get an answer. It's not urgent but I have to consider the warranty options and ask if Lexus would notice too.

Clean mine also. Not that there is a lot to clean apart from the big plastic covers. Aero303 gives quite a nice finish or chemical guys matt protectant.

Vlad

in the USA they have enform app on their cars this app lets them remotely start / stop heat or cool their cars i'm not sure if this is available in the uk here is a link https://www.lexus.com/enform or there is the webasto car pre heaters here is a link https://www.webasto.com/gb/markets-products/car/retrofit-parking-heater/

All the best for a speedy recovery, like they say “where there’s one there’s always another”......get better n get that F 👍🏻👍🏻 Good luck

The keyless entry system will stop you locking the car with the car in ready mode, I do not believe this can be overridden simply. John.

I understand that the new mot checks that the dpf is fitted and function. I know that many taxi drivers are going to be buying and fitting dpfs to Toyota Avensis now

I believe you have to manually toggle a setting to switch between daylight saving and normal.

An example of what these companies publish on their websites regarding DPF removals, putting the onus on the customer ... IS DPF REMOVAL LEGAL? Please note that we only offer DPF solutions for Off-Road Usage only. Although it is not illegal to remove a DPF filter form your vehicle, it is an offence under the Road vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Regulation 61a(3))1 to use a vehicle which has been modified in such a way that it no longer complies with the air pollutant emissions standards it was designed to meet. Removal of a DPF will almost invariably contravene these requirements.

Still the rage. Companies still offer and carry out the process in pure daylight especially if they're good at welding and then removing the weld marks. The only way is to make it illegal to carry it out.

A few years ago it was all the rage to remove the dpf. Sales of them must have rocketed lately. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey, Seats are Cobra Misano Anniversary edition with the carbon backs. Had them custom finished with blue stitching to match the rear seats. Steering wheel is from Elvin in Singapore. It’s based off a stock 2IS one that he has reworked with the carbon and F badge etc.

Yep, the new MOT rules make it an instant failure.

Also a little game, spot the new carbon bits! Lol. 😉😂😂

Firstly, it's illegal and an MoT failure. What's the problem with the DPF?

I went from an RX400h to a NX300h. As the new RX's are larger the NX is actually similar in size to the RX400h. Length and width are very similar. Height is slightly less. The figures I've seen suggest the boot capacity is bigger on the NX. It doesn't look it in real life so I don't believe the figures although the wheel arches intrude less at least. It feels similar size inside while driving although the centre console seems higher and doesn't move so it feels a like it cocoons you a bit more. I've found the ride and seat on the NX slightly harder (and I have a Premium not an F Sport). I do find the adaptive cruise control makes a huge difference to making driving more relaxing though. My RX would do 28-31mpg. This does 37-40mpg. CO2 is lower so tax for my 15 plate is £110 instead of £270 for the RX. Insurance was about the same. However it feels pretty slow in comparison. Figures are 9.5s to 60 instead of 7.6s but it also feels like it's trying hard when you push it. The RX was effortless, the NX is just loud and revy when pushed. Around town up to 40 in sport mode its pretty nippy and there's not much between them but over 40 and you realise the RX is in a different league. I do love the NX. With the Premier I have a shed load of toys, the styling inside and out is great. I like the better fuel economy of the NX and greener credentials but I do miss the engine in the RX. It's a pity that 10 years on Lexus couldn't manage green and fast. Someone rear-ended the NX a week ago and I've had a base spec(?) manual diesel 318 as a loan car. I've missed the quiet, smooth comfort of my NX so much.