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My wife's brother in law is a 'Jaguar man' and passes his Jaguar club magazine on to me when he is finished. As a Jaguar sympathiser, I always look for a good read, but I am truly shocked at what owners say.....new wishbones, not too bad at £450 a side......new rear suspension bushes only £400 as if it is 'normal'. The most scary aspect is corrosion. My daughter has a 12 year old FIAT Panda with no corrosion. Yes, a FIAT. Yet, a £50,000 Jaguar F type (the E-Type replacement ) has a string of corrosion issues, such that members are screaming for Jaguar to act. They do not. Corrosion was solved by the bad boys of Lancia, Vauxhall, and Fiat in the late 1990's. That Jaguar still has an issue is really worrying. We however, just waft along quietly in quiet snobbery ......and why not?

For reason I won't go into, I went to the (VW) T-Roc forum the other day. Bearing in mind the T-Roc has been out for only about four months, there are probably 100 threads already cataloguing loads of faults, including clutch failures. Long live Boring Forums!

If you get an LS430 you'll find it hard to have anything else. I've had three LS400's and as great as they are, the 430 in my opinion is so much better.

Saddo that I may be but I love sitting down and 'reading' through owners manuals and the Lexus ones are real Tomes, especally the Navagation Manuals! Paul m.

I believe the TSB is: CP-0082L-0614 Vibration and droning noise when driving Your dealer could have spend 20 seconds searching the TSB database for that rather than just fobbing you off. I really don't get how Lexus scores so highly on customer satisfaction sometimes 😞

I have used a pals connected 12v battery to put mine into READY mode when I didn't think and sat listening to the radio in the local health centre once, using jump leads and simply waiting a couple of minutes when connected with no engines running before trying with no problems at all. Also used a spare battery recently when following a short holiday then an emergency admission to hospital left the battery too low to get it into READY mode again with no problems

Hello all, I have recently purchased a 2001 GS300. This car is very much a project for me - and a venture in to Japanese cars from my principal hobby car brand of choice - BMW. I own a '98 BMW 740i which has been my main hobby to date, but have always hankered after a Lexus, from teenage years and onward. It was purchased using my usual rule of trying to find something interesting for under a grand... enter the car in question: It has pretty high miles - 184k and a complete lack of stamped service history, with the notable exception of a cambelt change at a Lexus main dealer at 160k miles. Engine oil is reasonably clean, transmission functions as intended - but I bought with my eyes well and truly open, which leads me to the discoveries... I have a pathological fear of rust, so first thing was to strip of all the sill covers and asses things down below. Here's a couple of shots of the rear jacking points as I found them: NSR: OSR: Given 17 years on the road and some likely abuse through being jacked improperly, I was happy to find that the corrosion is just surface stuff. I've hammered the pinch welds straight again, scrubbed everything down, and given the length of the affected areas a coating with POR-15 (https://www.por15.com/) and stonechip primer: I don't have pictures of the final product, but basically any grey area was covered with black stonechip - and with the colour coded sill covers on, this area isn't visible - so I'm not fussed about the difference in colour. I've scrubbed and treated all 4 jacking points onthe car, and any area on the length of the sill that looked like it was rusting. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of the inner wheel wells, and I was able to push holes in them in the area where they meet the sill section – thankfully the rot doesn’t affect the sills– so I got the wheel wells inspected by a local underbody welder whom I trust – and repaired wherever rust was found: Looking from the hole down the sill (!): As before, the sill looks good, just the wheel wells not so much! I plan to get some waxoyl and a flexible applicator and thoroughly treat the inside of the sills once I have the car back from the body shop. I’ve also found some curious examples of previous owners/those in their employ attempting to hide faults – rather than fix them. Can you see what’s missing in this shot of the rear of the instrument cluster? Yes – the telltale bulbs for the VSC system have been removed. Putting replacement bulbs in immediately showed up that the system was deactivated and faulty, as was the ABS; I can only assume a PO did this to hide the faults and pass an MOT test. The other frustration was that the MIL light had been painted over with black nail varnish (!) – lightly removing this from the outside of the cluster (no I didn’t spot it on the test drive) of course revealed the MIL was illuminated. I’m thankful I was able to get codes using my OBDII reader – and the damage could have been worse – 2x separate lambda sensor faults. One traced to *really* poor workmanship on a presumed universal sensor installation: Fixed as (self amalgating tape added to the length of the repair afterward): That was fixed by remaking the wire joints with solder/heat shrink insulation. The other sensor needed to be replaced entirely and then the MIL light could be extinguished; an easy fix for the sake of some time with a soldering iron, and £50 for a new DENSO universal sensor. The VSC/ABS system was easily brought back to life with a trick for resetting zero point calibration using a paper clip that I found somewhere on a USA Lexus forum post – bingo, no more warnings on the dash. The plan for this car will be to give it a complete brakes and suspension renewal, and service everything I can, before making some subtle modifications. Broadly, I want to lower it, give it a slightly louder exhaust note (actually there has already been some work done as the silencer tips are not original to the car), and some nice deep dish wheels. I’ll post up my progress on here, mention any useful part numbers; if anything for my own records. I’m a keen DIY’er so largely I’ll be doing this in the garage/ driveway. First service item was to a drain/refill the ATF. I use a suction/syphon drain and got some Type 4 ATF from Toyota: Coming from BMWs it was great to have a dipstick to work with. Fluid removed was dark, but didn’t smell burned; I think I managed to put about 4 litres of fluid in to the box – definitely I put in more than I removed so I think the box was lower on fluid level than it should have been. I’ve also put a new radiator on the car, as the plastic cores on the old part appeared very brown and mottled – like you could touch them and they’d spring a leak. New part from Ad-Rad.co.uk, delivered next day – made by Koyorad; fitted in under an hour: Next up will be to replace the rocker cover gaskets, as there’s a fair old oil leak from the top of the engine. I’ll post on that when I have the car back from the body shop. I'm hoping this car will be some fun to work on - and broadly speaking a valuable learning experience on a vehicle that isn't German/ a Land Rover! Thanks, John

I think you'll agree this is much nicer than the scabby one the car came with, damaged due to a sticky cover.

Evening one n all, Ryo is organising a Mini meet at Tesla Oxford services, meeting will be at 1pm with some American F’ers who own a Super charged RCF, open inveration to one and all. hopefully see a few there. Paul

Well eventually I'm an ISF owner and I'm sooooo pleased with it. Collected today from a member here so thanks David @Dave400SE for the opportunity. Great to meet you. I gather its belonged to at least 1 other member too so perhaps I'm just the current custodian of this fine machine. I took the long way home through the Peak District and haven't stopped grinning yet. I didn't stop to take any new photo's either, Doh, but here's a couple of Davids. Its in great condition but I cant resist spending a few ££ to make it the best it can be. Thanks to all you guys on here from which I have leaned so much on my search to find the right one. Love it. Love it. Love it.......or is it "her" ?

That's just the basic SE spec. Seems to be across all of them on the Lexus Website. Autotrader descriptions seem more accurate

Well said Simon ! If only we has Politicians who said it as it was !!

And Ken, if you happen to find yourself in West Sussex you're more than welcome to take mine for a good drive.

Yes, we bought a small Nissan earlier this year for Mrs ledzep. It had badly corroded diamond cuts, gone all milky behind the lacquer. They hadn't been kerbed, just chips in the lacquer allowing water ingress. We had a full refurbishment done (the whole wheel) and painted in gunmetal at The Wheel Specialist in Swansea, fantastic job like new wheels ! I believe they are a franchise operation with centres around the country.

To avoid me keep coveting this one, its got a very good MOT record. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Lexus-LS-430-430-4-3-4dr/362486052572?hash=item5465da36dc:g:oJQAAOSwU1Nb6sSL:rk:7:pf:0

welcome back ................. enjoy the forum again 😊 Malc

just research the proposed Ls430 you're likely to get ........... you do know there are a few tell tale signs to beware of when looking for your one eh ! ....... there's nowt quite like a good Mk3 Ls400 you know Malc

I was thinking of a 2006 Jag XJ (the aluminium body x350) which I think have come a long way for reliability plus there's so many places to get new parts from which is a bonus & even had the ridiculous idea of a Pheaton TDI but not won the lottery yet to repair it, but I have had 6 mercs with no issues to speak of, but want my next car to be an LS 430 & can't wait to get one

Looks very nice and tidy - seems to be sitting a tad high though?

Totally agree, my wifes Jag is only 13 years old but has more corrosion than you care to know about. She managed to get the welding done really cheap (by chap who welds trucks) and he said, in another 2 to 3 years be prepared to scrap the motor. On looking Jag forum I have decided she is not having a another Jag. Maybe back to Honda for her, though she was tempted by a GS300 a while ago. On Kens comment, I have never owned a Merc, but my mates who do have deep pockets, and all the other marques mentioned I would have said Vauxhall was better than the rest, but not anything like as reliable as Lexus. Appreciate LS versus your average Vauxhall, at a price level is not fair, but know of two VW Phaeton Owners who have deep pockets and car in garage more often than not. This forum is like a gentlemans club, it's quite, all its members are gentlemen and we we all know our cars are rock solid (maybe like 67 Pall Mall), and so we can just get on with reading the Times and smoking our pipes (or in my case, the gardening, DIY projects and listening to vinyl records - when my teenage lad is not hogging the best stereo in the house).

Not as high as as you may think. The heaters are rated at about 40 watts at full power. The traction battery has a usable 1.2 kw at 288 volts equating to a load of 0.27 amps to supply both seats. John.

I've only ever used regular unleaded and zero additives .............. now 215k miles young .............. if in another 215k miles summat fails I'll just know I'm not doing it right I'll let you all know Malc

For boring I read 'less troublesome' and in my world troubles = £££'s so long live (Technical) bordom ! Someone mentioned the other day about buying a Lexus and the fact that it never came with a folder full of reciepts for previous maintaince & repairs, until it was pointed out that it was'nt probably missing just that the car ain't had to have any work (other than regular servicing in the history book) done! says it all really. Paul M.

I think you have been very unlucky. The overwhelming testament and experience of most owners here, from my observations over the last few years, is the exact opposite. Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

Aren't owner's handbooks wonderful things??

My boot light was out for Months until I finally got around to taking it out to see what replacement bulb I needed. Once I removed it I realised there was an On/Off switch on it, whcih was switched to off. Doh!

Thanks all, this is very helpful to know your experiences 🙂

It is normal, not a hybrid thing but a petrol engine thing - although most Toyota/Lexus vehicles seem more prone than other manufacturers for some reason.

Mine is the same, I always assumed that because the exhaust cools as I zip about on battery, there’s a natural build up of condensation which when the engine comes back into play and heats the pipes back up has to go somewhere. If the temperature gauge stays straight and true, I really don’t think you’ve anything to worry about. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My car steams under certain weather conditions. For every gallon of petrol burnt a gallon of water is produced. It has to go somewhere.

A quick report (slightly behind actual progress) of where things stand with my car. The intention is to lower this car with coilovers, give it some nice wheels and a nice exhaust. None of that can happen (in my opinion) without renewing all items of suspension and brakes that are found to be wanting... boy howdy is there some work to do! Here's a couple of my issues at the front of the car: Both front calipers have blown piston seals. the outer seals were all that was keeping brake fluid from p***ing out the caliper every time you hit the brakes: Clearly the previous owner was driving the car with the brakes in this state for some time... The calipers were effectively seized in place on both sides of the car. It didn't also help that the slide pins have probably never been serviced - so they were seized in the caliper carriers as well: Old hardware on the left - after some serious F'ing and blinding getting the pins out the carrier and cleaning them up. New hardware on the right - as I just didn't want to risk putting the old pins back in, however clearn/lubricated they were. Here's the caliper being stripped; easy to do - hang the caliper from the upper arm, pump the brakes and get the piston out the housing - try not to get a jet of brake fluid in your eyes if your piston seals are sh***ed! Pistons on the way out of one caliper - they were in good nick so were re-used: New seals in the caliper and boots inverted on the pistons before slowly offering them back in to the caliper body: pistons back in and seal/boot circlips back in place: c The caliper repair kit supplied from Brake Parts.co.uk (along with the discs, pads and caliper hardware: All put back together - the discs are Bremtech, pads are Ferodo: My boy is supervising the work - he was anxious to point out that there's a jack stand under the car just out of shot!

I had exactly the same experience/ignoring LOC at Lexus Lincoln

I've found a minor oil leak from my cam cover gasket. Not acceptable after 20 years if you ask me. I'm going to buy a BMW next and grumble about VANOS failure.

I used the video below and followed what he did. The techstream bit was straightforward, but doing the door close/open and press the lock/unlock button thing on the keyfob was a bit hit and miss. I had to have a few goes before I got the timing right. The lock unlock cycle of the doors after opening closing the doors was slower than I expected and certainly slower than on the video. Also pressing the lock unlock button and then the lock button on the fob needs to happen I think within 3-5 seconds. Iit seemed I was too slow the first few times. Once I got the timing right, it worked.

Spotted! Just outside Brisbane, Australia! (I got a small reprimand from Mrs Funex for being a ‘sad car weirdo’!!!) 🤣

It is - as far as us we temperate oceanic UK types are concerned - 'winter' now. On my drive home tonight it was 2°C and I'd driven about 8 miles (about 1/5th my journey home) and was sitting in stationary traffic, and there was a lot of 'steam' visible out the back of my car. I'm sure what you've been seeing is the same as I saw; high humidity, low ambient temperature. still cold exhaust from low speed but with an up-to-temperature engine. Hybrids in similar circumstances can run their motors for less time than my pure petrol, so effects will be more pronounced, I'm sure. All the same, I'd keep an eye on it, just in case. Excessive moisture in the exhaust can only come from one place, so keep a very close the coolant level.

Lot of difference between smoke and steam .. you nose should tell you which it is. 30 mins does seem a tad long for steam but it might depend on the route you take

Canyon Anisclo These were all deliberately composed and cropped to hide a too large to clone out mega sized bird hide further to the left. These are from my first visit there so I took a variety of images as the light and cloud changed. _DSC3114 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr _DSC3120 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr Not long afterward taking this the sky got a bit dull and flat _DSC3903 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr Sunset was nice 😄 _DSC3189 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

Yes, really wonderful cars as MarkG says, ( I've got his old one ). Had it 6 months now, and really feel at home with it. Haven't seen another one yet, and I love the fact that people just don't know what they are. And the noise, that wonderful noise when you open her up.......

Things to look for... Service History - Look for Plus 60 (60k/6 year service) to check if that has been completed (including Spark Plugs) as that is the biggest service it needs (about £900 from Lexus). Check invoices (if available) to see if water pump has been replaced as that is the only real weakness on the ISF that I am aware of. If you get a chance to drive it, try both normal and sport mode. Normal mode the throttle has a dead zone for just cruising whereas Sport mode is instant throttle response. Snow mode.... I believe it has the E-Diff rather than mechanical LSD (you can tell from steering wheel. If it has blue section at bottom it has mechanical LSD). Other thing that's fairly common is the aux belt slipping a bit under hard acceleration. Mine has done this since the day I bought it 3 years ago and doesn't bother me. Quite a lot of them do it if you look on youtube at ISF's being launched. Squeaky front seats are a quick tighten with a 10mm spanner. The safety recall will more than likely be the passenger airbag recall. Day job completed by Lexus so no cost to yourself. Don't be surprised if front tyres are worn on inside. Common with most of them although mine wear evenly for some reason since I have had alignment completed by Wheel Alignment Specialist in Southampton. From the pics it looks like it has Conti Sport 6's all round so a good sign that previous or current owner has put decent rubber on it. If brake discs/pads look like they need replacing then a relatively cheap consumable if you get some Brembo or Pagid discs/pads from Euro Car Parts in one of their numerous 50% off all brake sales. The MOT history is a bit random... the parking brake efficiency is a common one. Mine is being adjusted before it's MOT next week when it has a 10 year service as well. My main concern is the unreadable mileage and the 45k mile jump in MOT between 2010 and 2012. Also with it being a 2009 then why would it need an MOT in 2010 (assuming new cars are still exempt from MOT's for 3 years). That kind of mileage and the gap for 2 years... Could have been a track day car for a company maybe? Would it need an MOT if it lived at a race track? If the Service History lines up and you can get it for 10k then you have got yourself a potential bargain. Also... Just notice the tailpipes don't look standard. They look like these are fitted... https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/for-Lexus-Is250-Is350-GS-LS-Is-f-ISF-Style-Custom-Muffler-Tips-Twin-Dual-Oval/1342371713?iid=152232848229&chn=ps So possible that an aftermarket exhaust has been installed. The standard tailpipes are over £400 a side from Lexus so you can understand why replicas would be fitted instead if previous tailpipes were discarded. HTH

Cheltenham Lexus have been very good with discount on service and I've scored majorly by being a gold member.

Hey all. Found this site that seems to have a load of relatively hard to find ISF and RCF upgrade stuff on it. Take a look, some pretty nice kit on there. @Peter P18 there’s some pretty decent looking mods on the more extreme end of the spectrum too! https://www.nengun.com/ Enjoy! P.S. to anybody who is reading this. Alittle off topic I know but I work for your bank and we’ve found a pigeon in your bank account. It’s quite embarrassing so please don’t tell anyone. If you can let me know your account number, sort code and security password we can let it out before it causes any problems with your Direct Debits and Standing Orders. Please post them below and I promise you’ll never hear from me again 🧐

It's well known and almost 'normal' for this to happen with hybrids. In a hybrid there's the usual 12V battery and then there's the traction (hybrid) battery of about 288V. In a standard car the 12V battery is usually quite big and beefy because it has to supply about 300A or more to the starter motor to crank the engine, but in a hybrid there is no starter motor as such. All the 12V battery does is to power up the entry/exit systems and the computers needed to bring the car to the READY state. Once the car is in the READY state, all the starter motor and alternator duties are performed by the traction battery. You'll see from the photo below that my 12V battery in my RX450h is providing a current of just 15.32A to bring the car to READY, which is a hell of a lot lower than the 300A or more required for a traditional starter motor. Because of this the 12V battery doesn't have to be big or beefy and is, in fact, quite small, which in turn means that it doesn't hold its charge for anywhere near as long as a bigger one if not used on a regular basis. I would suggest buying one of these or something similar to keep in the glove box or boot just in case it happens again (or to be a good Samaritan if anyone else's battery is flat). Although I've never needed to use mine yet I've had it in the car for about a year now and its still got 75% charge.

You may wish to sneak off your drive early one morning without waking your neighbours. 😊

Pena Montanesa Bit of a peachy evening - never been here other than driving past 3 years back and was keen to explore the area further and find a good angle to shoot the side of this mountain. Turns out Canyon Anisclo is the place to do it. This aspect of the mountain reminds me of a certain one back home... _DSC3172 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr This turned out to be my favourite composition and the one I would retake another time _DSC3184 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr Wider take _DSC3187 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr One dusk came in it was a proper colour fest - it was very hazy (being Spain and quite hot) so the colour fades away into the shot. One could de-haze it but I rather like the layered feeling to the shot and the depth you get. _DSC3192 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr _DSC3193 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

The rehabilitation of my GS300 continues - first under bonnet job was rocker cover gaskets. Symptoms of a problem: quite an oil leak from the top of the block, all the way round the rocker covers, block permanently wet with oil, pooling in areas of the head and burning off the exhaust manifold. Presumably also a fair degree of vacuum loss from the crankcase? Anyway, on to the job: Air box and hose work removed: Throttle body and Y-Pipe removed to reveal spark plug valley: Coil packs and inition leads removed: The coolant is from unclipping hoses on the throttle body during removal - but generally speaking, the valley was a mess - loads of of oil and muck, brittle plastic etc. There was a lot of oil in each plug well and on the coil pack caps. Everything was taken out, cleaned up and dried off. Left (As you look at the block) side off first: Easy enough to go round the entire cover and undo all the bolts - then a delicate tap to loosen it from the head. Here you can see how the problem arises: Old gasket is on the left, new on the right - you can see how it shrinks and goes brittle with age. Easy to pick the gasket from the cover, ensure mating surfaces are clean, and put the new gasket in ready for installation back on the head. Some dabs of black RTV on the corners of the half moon sections at the front of both covers - to aid sealing: Putting the cover back is simple - used a criss-cross pattern to tighten the bolts down to 9nm - other side of the engine is just as easy. One thing I was specifically prepared for was brittle coil pack connectors on the car's wiring loom. As it turns out, all 3 of the connectors on my car were previously damaged - two were completley missing the inner sections of the connectors, leaving just the pins inside the hollow outer casing of the connector; it's a wonder the car was still running acceptably. Fortunately, these connectors can be depinned and replaced - or in my case just snap off the old brittle conector casings and replace with new: You can push the pins in to the rear of the new connector and snap it shut - I also took care of a little frayed insulation right by the grommet for the connector; here's the part number for these connectors from Toyota: and for the rocker cover gaskets (Which are handed): And finally the gasket for the y-pipe to the rest of the intake manifold: Everything is back together with ease - left the block to stand for 24hrs to let the RTV cure. I might be kidding myself, but I feel it's idling more smoothly, and spends less time at inexplicably high revs after a cold start. At any rate, the block should dry up, and it should hopefully smelling of burnt oil everytime I come to a stop! Next up is a teardown and replacement of the front suspension and brakes - all of which is utterly knackered...

Here’s a few of mine.

Here's my GSF. You can add to your database Big Rat, ex Lexus GB car.

Before the illuminated Taxi sign was fitted....................