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Well an interesting development. When I got to the car in Bolton everything checked out except the telescopic function on the steering wheel. They offered me the deposit back plus £60 for the inconvenience as they accepted they hadn't listed that (claimed not to have noticed). I haggled a sizeable discount instead. So today I pulled the relevant fuse and cleaned the contacts, then did the 8-click trick on the column (there's a video, 5 things you don't know about your 430). The column then slid silently down on touching the button. Time will tell if the fix is permanent, but I thought this might be relevant to anyone whose telescoping is not working. 650 miles on the new car so far and all seems well. Jon

Woohoo!!! Glad you got it sorted Jon, well done!

PCM. If found out that switch was there early on. Why Lexus don't put it out the way beats me. It's definitley on. Herbie. While following your suggestions I decided to have a more in-depth look at one of the sensors. When I opened it up I discovered on of the gold coloured springs had some decay. While quite difficult to see I used some abrqasion to clean in. I probably missed it on the last clean. Once put back on the car everything was perfect. Once again thanks for everyone's input. Cheers

The warranty has another 14 months to run, the dealer wants it back to re-inspect in 6 months, so there'll still be plenty of life left in the warranty then. But you're right, next time, I will be pushing to get it done.

Hi All This post is really aimed at anyone thinking of buying a GS450 or at anyone thinking of getting their battery refurbished or replaced. Maybe it'll act as a cautionary tale. I did previously post about my experience of buying the car under another name. I can't remember why I used another name, perhaps I'd lost this login so if anyone finds the other post maybe they can post a link? Anyway, here is the gist of the story; I'm having to redact it quite a bit as it would be very long in its entirety- In June of last year I bought a high mileage GS450 from a guy in Burnley who claimed he was an electrical engineer who refurbished hybrid batteries for a living. I don’t know if I’m allowed to post the link to his website or his name but I will if this is allowed. I agreed to pay £2500 for the car as it had some issues (more than he admitted to as it turns out). I agreed to fix the non-battery related issues out of my own pocket but he gave a 12 month warranty on the battery. But as he seemed professional and seemed to know what he was talking about, I agreed to buy the car. Of course, it wasn't long after that the dash lit up like a Xmas tree, with the warning messages that every 450 driver dreads. Despite giving him ample chance to fix the battery he made excuse after excuse and blocked my number so I couldn’t contact him. As the EML was on because of the hybrid fault, I couldn’t get the car MOTed and so eventually went to our well known and trusted friend in Northampton who refurbished the battery for me. I also had him add a battery conditioner. The car passed its MOT and I then went after the seller to recover the costs of the repair. As he had promised to fix the battery if it went wrong but the help never actually materialised, I took him to court through the moneyclaim small claims system and I won the case a couple of weeks ago. In fact, he never even turned up. Therefore, he now has a CCJ against him so what is written below is not libel, it’s been listened to by a judge who made a judgement in my favour. I also have every bit of paperwork to prove everything I’ve written. Before anyone points out to me how stupid I was, believe me I know. I really wanted the car and this guy saw me coming. However, I’ve definitely learnt my lesson! I guess the moral of the story is don’t buy with your heart and make sure that you check out whoever you’re dealing with. I’m happy to provide the name and website address on here if I’m allowed?

I think the self healing paint is on every new model Lexus after 2012 or so. It debuted on the GS 4th gen

Should you ever find yourself in West Sussex with your latest steed be sure to make contact!

it took about 10 minutes before the seats started to feel cool i am going to speak to lexus and ask for some advice

😂 Oh wow that’s a good result. My damage appears to have disappeared, so maybe the recent heat has had the same effect 🤷🏾‍♂️. I read somewhere about the self healing paint but I wasn’t sure if that applied to the GSF, or how effective it would be. Very frustrating. The original owner thing is just a typical excuse for them to get out of their warranty claims 😡.

Well done. I`m glad that you had the courage of your convictions.

A sad tale of woe, a better outcome though than my one and only dealing with the small claims court!

Hi Brian Not only did I fail to find a used baseball cap, I have now been in touch with the previous owner. He is older than me, quite famous for his charity work, and said "I have always been keen to follow all recommendations at service without delay" which is rather encouraging. So far so good! Jon

I'm really glad you sorted this, apart from your sheer joy at doing it yourself, it also helps the rest of us with air suspension to know how these very expensive sensors can be cleaned. Of course a main dealer would just replace them, in my case it would be around £350 just for the part! Well done.

Stupid question, but I assume the air suspension is switched on? There's that TINY button low down near the driver's door...

Oh dear, that's not good. May be a bit drastic to talk of selling though 😧 AFS is actually Adaptive Front Lighting System and as well as controlling the height and levelling of the headlights, it's what also makes them move left or right as you steer in those directions. I'm only clutching at straws here but are the lights doing their little 'dance' when you switch them on and do they actually move in the direction of steer as they should? I'm just thinking that there may be some correlation between the lights and the pump, ie, if the lights don't move with the steering as they should, maybe the ECU prevents the pump from operating? Other than that I can only suggest a trip to a proper auto electrician to see if they can sort it out.

As with all such problems, it's not caused by cars, old or new, it's caused by people. Too many people. People Produce Pollution, even if it's just their personal exhaust gases. As for lowering the car, I've never seen the point personally, not with speed bumps everywhere and the pothole proliferation of recent years.

I suspect the dealer thinks any claim for "slight play" might be refused under the "wear and tear" exclusion on the warranty (para 2.2) as the pump hasn't actually failed.. They're happy to take your money directly, of course. 😉

Leigh, your experience sounds grim but I'm impressed that you persevered and got a working car via our friendly Hybrid Battery Repair Guy. I dread the thought of going through the courts and feel for you as it must have stressful. Vehicle purchases can so easily go south which is one reason why I tend to keep mine for a few years. Keep us posted on further developments and I hope that since the car was repaired, that you've thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheers, Lee

I purchased the correct nuts (local engineering wholesalers) to use with the standard lexus bolts, but was still unable to use the stock bolts due to their length. Fortunately stock exhaust and bolts are stored in my shed and can easily be refitted if required. Interesting QS confirms the springs aren't required, I made sure they were fitted after reading a few horror stories on the web re cracked exhausts after being without them.

I have to say, that is a seriously good looking car and an usual colour for an RX. Given that I do very low miles, I was comfortable shopping above the 100k mark. That's where the bargains seem to be. It seems to be a major psychological threshold, for British motorists anyway. I'm not sure it's as meaningful as the price differential between 80k and 100k suggests.

When I've dealt with @LexusPartsDirect I've always found them most helpful, going above/beyond assisting to clarify part#s across model revisions. They also have good prices and I will definitely consider using them again. Anyone who's looking to source parts themselves should first do as much of their own due diligence before placing an order.

Pretty sure they're an arm of Fish Brothers - i.e. Lexus Swindon so I would have no doubts regarding technical knowledge or getting incorrect parts

HI @Texas, yes I would say that we do have a good technical understanding and we are always available to help where required! You can see from the image below our most recent comments from customers, this is from the last 5 days only!

I realise some would consider this sad, but I've always thought the look alone of the original LS engine was a visual masterpiece. Now they've got plastic over them but I can remember how much I loved the look of my 93 LS engine!

Agreed. Extra budget for detailing the 1UZ intake manifold with the T or L depending on market Last decent looking engine to come from Toyota.

I got the map update done on mine when I got it in Oct 2017. It was one of the USB systems and cost £160, took about 3 hours in total including an inclusive Hybrid system check. I much prefer the built in sat nav to the old TomTom I used to have.

I can't honestly remember where. Try going through the settings which are setup related. It will be under an option for display. I know I spent about 30 minutes and then found it.

Car technology has just become something that a general mechanic can't cope with. That's what I like about my Celsior, it's complex but mostly manageable! Before I bought my Volvo I came close to buying an E class Merc estate, a very good looking car.

Interestingly while looking for that picture I noticed one of the other LS460s I went to look at near me in Halifax is showing as taxed, but with no MoT since Jan 2018 and no insurance so suggests they're still waiting to find someone to buy it and fix the suspension on that one almost one year one! Oh yes, it was refilled just before I bought it and still works brilliantly - when I moved the car earlier it had cooled down in the time I move it between two spaces on the drive. I just had the MB refilled last week actually as part of the GroupOn deal at ATS but tbh it was almost still full anyway. That's a 2015 on 120k now so thought it may have lost a bit more.

We bought a 2014 Advance 2 months ago from Lexus Glasgow, 28k and bodywork and interior are excellent. Was £24k with 3 years servicing and a years warranty then got £1k contribution to finance that we took to get the £1k off and paid off.

Can't see why not? I mean - the styling's a bit marmite but the turbo v8 can't be sniffed at! The LS400 is legendary but it's not perfect; just try opening the centre armrest when there's a drink in the cupholder.... or drive off after a rainstorm with the window down!

Read this, http://blog.greenflag.com/2017/vin-plates-vital-car-owners/ The VIN no. should be stated on your V5 Document, but should be on the vehicle too.

So the deed is done - yes, I have updated my profile from 2004 Briarwood Pearl to 2004 Flint Mica. Oh and spent some money . . . The car was not perfect, but pretty sound. 3 keys, and the original PDI document was a bonus. Drove very well, and without any rattles. I am hopeful that once I have had it a year it will be closer to perfect - wheel refurb, paint touch up etc. Five years from now it should have done litres than 80k miles, for two owners, and a full Lexus history, so I think it should still be worth a premium price if I wanted to sell it. Which is unlikely. Thanks for all the input. Jon

A new section for used ES has now appeared on the www.lexus.co.uk website under Used Cars. There are currently 36 cars listed, starting at £29,800 for a base silver model in Reading.

I've been biting my tongue for so long that I've drawn blood but I can keep quiet no longer. I mean no offence to anyone but I just think it's sad when there's so much more in life to worry about. There are perhaps millions of people out there who will never be able to afford a brand new car, let alone a brand new Lexus, and yet when someone is fortunate enough to get one, they are put off by such a trivial problem that other people would love to be in a position to have. It's not like the cars are even faulty. It's just the way they work and even that's only under certain conditions that are only present for a fraction of journey times. Last weekend we purposely avoided motorways and had a lovely bimble purely on A-roads from Peterborough back to Preston. If I remember correctly it was about 175 miles and took about 4 hours. We noticed what may possibly be classed as 'excessive noise' from the eCVT on maybe half a dozen occasions during that time, as I went to do quick overtakes. Never once did I feel "embarrassed" about it and each time it was over and done with in mere seconds. I will admit that on one of those occasions I could see that the overtaking lane would soon be coming to an end and I wanted to get in front of an HGV before it did, so I put my foot down and completed the manoeuvre with room to spare. Unfortunately, the NIP I've just received in the post informs me that the speed limit on there is 60, which I must have been very close to because the acceleration to complete the overtake in time took me to 74 according the the speed camera van that happened to be watching 😭 But hey-ho, such is life. Getting a speeding ticket is something to be embarrassed about - having a brand new luxury car with no faults, that is maybe just a little noisy at certain times, is most definitely not.