Leaderboard

Kindred Spirits............that's cars perhaps as well as owners. I took the ISF to a work meeting this week (any excuse) and found myself parking next to this. Look Familiar ?? I then bumped into the owner as I was about to leave to find its a Toyota Aristo V300 Vertex Edition. A personal import from Japan which has the 2JZ engine, same as my IS300, although with twin turbo' s for him. Its very quick apparently. It was certainly very nice. Other similarities to my IS300 include the steering wheel auto box shift buttons and nearly all the other switch gear. I bet there are more. The line of evolution to Lexus and later models too was clear. Small world

Yes, I'm very happy to recommend Miles to you all. He has looked after all my cars over the last17 years. He loves Japanese cars too. He looked after my previous car, the Honda Accord 3.0 V6, and if I didn't have the full warranty with Lexus for the LS600 he'd be looking after that too. As others have said, he is completely trustworthy and will always try and find the most economical way to fix things. He is also good at coming up with innovative solutions to any problems that come up with older cars. If anyone is coming over, do let me know as I live just around the corner. Always happy to chat about things Lexus (and watches!). I'll put the kettle on.

Thanks, that chart is very helpful. That actually differs to another chart I looked at last night, but it looks like your one is more accurate. I just drove with the old battery still fitted to go and get the new one. Once back, it's reading 12.33v on the old battery with the engine off, so definitely charging, albeit not to 100%. Just seems like it won't hold the charge for very long at all. The new battery is indicating a healthy 12.66v.

Just had a new clock spring fitted, and my cruise control now works! Thanks to everyone who pointed me in that direction.

Interesting that your pong is stronger in the boot, check the 12v battery behind the NSR panel. At the rear there should be a vent hose from the battery to outside the vehicle through the rear panel. If this hose isn't connected, then perhaps it's the cause of your odd smell. My car came with a busted exhaust but the vendor stumped up for a replacement. I got an aftermarket stainless middle and rear section made up, which makes a little more noise than OEM. I know what you mean about the quiet engine/exhaust, it's weird. Along with the exhaust I've had a few other age related gripes, the rear was riding low and now my rear toe adjusters are locked solid causing poor tyre wear. It's a great car to hop over to relatives in Belgium. I thoroughly enjoy the stealthy, sleeper style and occassionaly surprising other drivers.

Do you see the track name, artist name and a picture of the album cover when a track plays? If so, that's the tag information. You can use something like MP3Tag to change or delete them. I don't know when it was introduced, but mine will play AAC files.

He is an independent dealer who loves the LS. And knows all there is to know about them. Johnathan on here introduced me to him. People come from far and wide to see him. He is very reasonable with prices as well.

Lee it is amazing how tight some of the suspension bolts can be as you no doubt found when undoing the lower shock mounts, and hub bolts. I guarantee once you have purchased the new cam bolts you will not need them. Although if you did not buy them the old ones would have certainly broke off leaving you stranded. John.

I did my fogs and changed them to led Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Hi Shahpor sorry about that i thought that would have been the answer however i didhave a problem with my USB a couple of years ago i had a kingston memory stick and i cant recall exactly what it was but it didnt play correctly so i got a San Disk cruzer blade and that was perfect i have just took it out of car to check it puts all the albums up and the artists etc so i would have a look at that option as they are cheap as chips now Hope it goes alright for you mate Robert

Hi, Well as I say I haven't noticed any message on the reversing camera (forgot to check, will do so tomorrow), but I definitely don't get told off by the Japanese lady. In fact I never hear the Japanese lady at all. The video shows how to switch all that stuff off plus heaps of other useful info. Hope this solves your problem.

Thanks for your replies guys. Much appreciated. Nice one Rayaans as I didn't know hybrid health check was included. Reading other threads/posts led me to believe the contrary.

A few months ago I came from an E60 BMW (530d) to an IS300h Executive. The two are not immediately comparable, as the IS is a 3-series equivalent rather than a 5, but my early observations are :- Interior – I prefer the Lexus. The quality of the leather is much softer than the hard Beemer stuff, and the cabin generally is brighter, more interesting and a nicer place to be. Whilst the infotainment is a bit clunky it’s not really an issue. The relatively high drive shaft and centre console actually reminds me of an old E30 318is I owned back in the day, and feels driver-focussed and much like a cockpit. Only real downside for me is the cheap & nasty plastic used on the lower door areas. Passengers I’ve carried in the car also prefer the Lexus, except for the weird placement of the cup-holders in the front, where the passenger rests their arm. Exterior – Marginally prefer the Lexus. I still love the styling of the old E60, but the IS styling is sharper and definitely more unique and individual than both my 5 and also the current 3 series in my opinion. Whilst the IS has that rarity factor though, it noticeably has less of a “presence” on the road than the E60. Ride – The Lexus is lovely and quiet and personally I love the CVT transmission’s smoothness, but it not even close to my 530d for driving experience, although not immediately comparable. The Lexus’s handling is surprisingly stable and poised though, but it’s definitely less well insulated from outside noise, both wind and tyres. It also seems much more sensitive to the road surface than the Beemer, and feels that tyre choice can make quite a difference here.

Please don't get the DERV version as I'll you'll be back writing in another section of this forum a lot! If you go for the petrol (250) you won't be under the bonnet half so much but one thing is to check the cost of VED ( Road Tax) of the Auto and Manual versions even though they have the same engine 2.5 V6 the manual has got different class of emissions and the tax is eye watering! paul m.

are you sure that the files are mp3 if they came from itunes they are apple files whilst they will p;ay with the phone on bluetooth they WILL not play from a memory stick through USB they will have to be converted to either WMA or MP3 i have itunes now configured to convert to MP3 not AAC

Just get the essential service done as they skip the spark plugs in this. The hybrid health check is included.

Do you play tracks in order or randomly? I have a few hundred songs on my USB flash drive and the system is set to random play. However, in the 100 mile drive from here to my mother in law's, I noticed that some songs played two or three times whilst others didn't play at all. I did some digging around and discovered that 'random' play doesn't mean play all songs in a random order before repeating any of them - the system could 'randomly' play the same song five or more consecutive times before randomly moving to a different one.

Thanks for this - I'll look into it! Good point, it could be some sort of a venting issue as I took the side panel down where the 12v battery is, and the smell seemed to be really strong there. I'll check out the battery too to make sure it's not faulty/overheating. I'll check for other venting pipes and hoses too, cheers for that! Have you had it long, and what year is yours? I've heard a lot of people having some suspension related issues - can't say it's a surprise due to the weight! Hope the fixes didn't cause too much pain, but either way the investment is worth it. Yeah, it definitely is a very fun car to drive. Love the sleeper aspect of it too, there aren't many of these on the road here so not a lot of people know of them. Can easily be overlooked and seen as a "grandad" car - until you put the foot down! The fact that it's a dark horse is putting me off modifying it in any way on the outside, the most I'd go is maybe upgrading the wheels in time to come. The current original ones have started flaking near the centre which takes away from the look.

Hi, Yes I've seen this and not just in a Lexus. There are a number of things to try: 1. Check the maximums (total no. files on the drive, total no. files in a folder, total no. folders etc.) in the manual and see if you have too many of anything. 2. Try recopying the files that don't work. 3. Try copying files to a different memory stick and see if that works, 4. If you have album art on the tracks, check the size of it. I think there is a limit to the size it can cope with. 5. Try the files without any album art. 6. Some people suggest that removing all of the tags sometimes helps. 7. If none of these work, try recreating/re-downloading the affected files. Most head units are well behind current technology even when they are new and are notoriously fussy about what they'll play. You might find that there is a slight problem with some of the files that a PC can cope with, but the head unit can't. Hope this helps.

Because the oil change is 6k I've always (for at least 10 years) used part synthetic in all my LS's. If the interval was longer I'd use fully, but it isn't so I don't. None have ever used a drop and it still looks clear before it's changed.

pretty good if you can find a decent one,road tax not cheap though

He’s only looking to spend £2000 😕 not many about. What are the older is200’s like?

One of the key considerations if he’s thinking of a diesel is what type of journeys he’ll make. Modern diesels are fitting with a filter (DPF) to trap all the nasties from the exhaust, but in order for that filter to clean itself properly you need to be doing regular decent stretches of motorway driving ideally. Diesels are not suited to small journeys and local stop/start town journeys. Apart from the risk of the filter being unable to clean itself properly, a diesel’s fuel economy is optimised on long motorway hauls, not short local trips. So unless he’s got decent mileage to do, then as noted above, the petrol is250 may be a better bet. Cleaner and smoother too, although obviously more thirsty. Lexus aren’t renowned for their diesels at all, so I know where my money’d be going. Best of luck.

Keep clear of the diesel.

Get a 250 ..... every time. I’ve had both .... trust me it is a no brainer. The only decision is manual or auto. I’d take the auto every time.

Since the car is now out of guarantee "unless extended" you can ask for whatever service you wish. Because of the low millage a cam belt change "if required at 60K" is not due as are plugs "these ware out on millage not age". So just have the service you wish. John.

Looks very nice. Good job 👍🏻

The first prototype has arrived and looks very good, needs a couple of tweaks prior to actual production the throttle body end is a little too tight for comfort and we had a little miscommunication around the oil breather stubs, so these are likely to change to aluminium.

Hi, Thanks for your comment about the car. I am very happy with it as you can tell. I think it's fair to say that buying a car in Australia is generally much more expensive then in the UK (I came over here from the UK about 15yrs ago). Previously, If you bought an Aussie made brand (Holden/Ford/Mitsu/Toyota) you actually got a lot more metal for your money than you would in the UK (think Monaro/Falcon/Commodore/Statesman), but anything imported had an import/luxury tax slapped on so they were a lot more pricey. Now all the big car companies have pulled out of Australia, the government has reduced import taxes etc, but the price of new/second hand cars is still much higher. I hate watching UK shows like 'wheeler dealers', because they go out and buy an interesting car, make it good as new and sell it on for peanuts. They would cost 10x that here even before they were fixed up! Luckily for me, Australia has a trade agreement with Japan, which meant I didn't have to pay any import duty when the Crown was imported. All I had to pay was the GST (VAT) on the purchase cost of the car which I think is set at 10%. As the car came from Japan it was v cheap! Not sure about the details of this trade agreement, but it saved me a bundle!

They are happy to pay for the battery so I'll order it then send them the invoice, thanks for the info John I wasn't aware that was the law.

Phone them now and explain.They may authorise you to replace it over the phone and reimburse your costs. Nothing ventured, nothing gained Dave.

Under the Trade Description Act AND SUBSEQUENT AMENDING LEGISLATION IN PARTICULAR CONSUMER RIGHTS ACT 2018 the seller of the car (if a trader) is responsible for anything that goes wrong within 6 months of purchase. If your battery has failed,then it was failing 2 months ago !! Look at Google for more info Dave.

Although I'd get the premium ones @ £25 ish if it was me! Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

I agree about the roads. Having recently driven through 7 European countries I can confirm ours are by far the worst.