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Delighted to tell you that the car sold to the first person to show up looking at it. He said it's exactly as advertised and took no time in saying he wants it. Very happy with the buyer, he's from the same cut as myself and my father, and will take great care of it. He and a few others thought the advert was hilarious and helped bring their interest, boring "basic" ads lack personality. Over the top is entertaining, and keeps people reading to the bottom. Tango passed in January and I had the pleasure of driving the car for about 1,000 miles but decided very quickly it isn't for me. I just wanted to drive his prized car, listen to his iPod, remember him and put it through some action before selling it on to a wealthier owner who can take care of it properly. I drive a racing V6 MR2, and a cheap(ish) boosted daily driver that I built myself - as you can probably see from the advert photos. Driving an expensive super saloon is like dangling a Rolex out of the window that I was gifted and didn't earn. £16,800 was not overpriced it would have sold for £17,500 maybe £18,000 but my patience is thin. RE: the Bose system, I was only describing from memory and someone messaged to let me know it was the ML upgrade, not Bose. Adaptive suspension perhaps not but certainly feels like rebound settings are harder in Sport than normal, immediately noticeable when going down crap roads or motorway. If you don't think the car hunkers down immediately on pressing Sport and appears a bit harder, then you perhaps have ancient butt cheeks 🙂 I appreciate the kind words for my father, he was very fond of the car and we took great care of it together. It has since been clayed, polished, coated and kept pristine by myself and my friends. I read his old posts on here and was delighted to see how much like me he was while I was away at university and missed a lot of the IS250 stuff. I'm amused you thought a funny OTT advert would delay the sale, I think any other person would have taken it immediately as well.

Ive 3 sets of alloys for my RCF 🤦🏼‍♂️ lol hate the OEM diamond cut ones was going to get them refurbed in black but decided to keep as is to put car back to original when I trade in or sell, One of the 20’’ black ones got damaged during lockdown and couldn’t get them sorted at the time so purchased black bronze 20’’ ones.... missus is now thinking I’m hording alloys 😂 (wait till I get my 2 RCF spare bonnets shipped from old houseto here then I’m in trouble 🤣)

Like I mentioned above I had the pleasure to meet your dad in his garage, the very same garage the 250 & ISF lived in to purchase d SF one 250 parts and felt he was a very knowledgeable and pleasant person, sorry for your loss but don’t lose your memories. paul m.

Here's some scary pic's of the heater swap...

Look further down the page - it says this: *: Without RSA (Road Sign Assist) If you have the tech pack and the 10" screen you have RSA so it appears in the small screen to the right of the speedo. Confusing I know, but manuals cover many versions of the same car.

Quatrac 5s have asymmetrical tread pattern with good traction and handling, but pretty noisy. Especially when driving with open windows. I am okay with the Quatrac 5s, I like it a little louder. This article confirms my experience. https://motorandwheels.com/are-vredestein-tires-quiet-noisy/ If you prefer the LS-quietness, do not buy them. I would love to know how the Quatrac Pro (looks like it has a quieter tread pattern) and the Michelin Cross Climate (symmetrical tread pattern) on a 95-97 LS400 perform. PS: The LS400 came with asymmetrical tread pattern.

Finally managed to find a decent (I think) example. Started off with looking for SE-I/SE-L for up to 13k, potentially will end up with Luxury for 16k. Paid deposit, car will be taken off sale tomorrow morning. While I would prefer an Advance (because of sunroof) or SE-L/Premier it's really hard to find something within budget from half-reputable dealer (that would be regulated by FCA, which is major requirement from my bank). There's like a Premier for £14k or £15k, but when my bank did some searching on it, turns out it's someone selling cars from home. Mine is currently at Lexus Cardiff, and should be ready for sale on Saturday. Now, I say should, as I didn't really understand why. The sales person told me it's being prepared, but wouldn't give me details. Now because I've experienced "It's being prepared" not that long ago (my first post from this topic), I had flashbacks of wing mirrors falling off and DRLs not working again, but hopefully "being prepared by technicians" means something else when being purchased used from Lexus directly. If I find a decent Premier from at least 2010 by next week or two, where I can get lexus warranty on top for 16k I'll happily take the plunge, but it looks like it's going to be Luxury (which looks like SE-I with spindle grille, DRLs and 7gen nav), and it's not that bad actually.

There is not doubt having seen my first one in the flesh tonight, the RCF is an incredible machine and I love it more than I did before. However, this particular example isnt for me. There were a few niggly bits on it and coupled with the fact that the dealer knew nothing about these cars, I was happy to walk. He said he has 2 others interested, one of which already viewed the white one on AT....anyone on here?

You must have a magic money tree Graham! Tbh I saw my first RCF in the flesh tonight and I actually quite like the standard diamond cut wheels....pics dont do them justice. If someone offered me GSF or the RCF option wheels for a decent enough price I would be tempted but not all is lost if not.

Did a quick test on the doorstep this evening and it does appear maps are updated ota. Car advised that the latest map version is 2020v1 and I started the download to test and it did appear to download over home WiFi. Didn't have time to let it finish though so cant confirm success but looking good so far Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Secondary Bonnet Catch replaced at noon on my 10 year old GS under Lexus Extended Warranty. Would have cost £113 I was told.

Manufacturers have largely come out against the 'pour in' treatments saying that modern oils and regular filter changes mean these should not be necessary but nevertheless although minimized, there will still be some build up of carbon. In fact this has been a problem with some BMW (and other) diesel engines fitted with swirl flaps. These have become so coked up that they have been ingested and caused considerable damage to engines, so much so that aftermarket blanking plugs can be bought to prevent the damage but there is still a build up of coke. The Terraclean treatment seems to be different but whether this works better needs to be established by an independent body following extensive evaluation. With respect, I suggest the subjective views of a very few members who may have tried this treatment will not be conclusive. If independent tests showed it did all that was claimed and manufacturers approved it's use it might be worthwhile considering.

For most of the UK campsites you'll be fine towing across a field. I've towed on wet grass on inclines and it managed fine. But it's not a hardcore farmers off road mud plugger!

Or @vu5ter within the setup screen, why don't you go to lexus online (assuming you setup your account). And see if you can update it through WiFi.

Your maps are three generations out of date. The update to 2020v1 is free so you have nothing to lose. However 2020v2 will probably be released around November so you could just wait a bit longer. The update takes around 70mins (once downloaded and copied to USB) so you wait not want to do it twice so close together.

Totally agree Andy B. Thanks for all the trailblazers and pioneers to give me the confidence to update mine. All went well no problems. That was before I read Andy B links to the problems others encountered. Pretty sure I would have bottled it I'd read the problems before starting. Quick question. My map db is showing 2018 v2. Is that out of date and do I need to update anyone know? I tend to still rely on inbuilt satnav for short local trips and pulling out googlemap for longer trips for traffic. Cheers Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

Ok, back from local dealer, and I'm half way to getting it sorted. The good half. He used a grey box called "Intelligent Tester" which took about 10 minutes to programme both the immobiliser bit and the buttons. We tried it and everything worked fine. When I got home half an hour later, the buttons did not work, but at least the car will start now without setting off the alarm. The car will be back in there in 2 weeks for the timing belt change, so I'll get them to redo the button part of the work. Quick question to the experts: how near to the car does the immobiliser chip have to be for it to able to a) get in, and b) start it? In essence, if my original working key is sitting on a post 3 meters away, will it allow the new key to get in/start? Edit: The battery does not really sit well in the fob, and it had lost contact. A bit of tweaking (bending) and all is well.

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/358123-terraclean-huge-problems-monte-carlo-tdi/

This has been discussed across the various different model forums here. It seems if you have RSA then you don't get speed limits showing on the nav system. I assume it is because RSA should be more accurate as it will detect temporary speed restrictions etc. but we all know the system is far from foolproof. Most people would prefer to have both, or at least the option for both, however Lexus don't give us that option and more annoyingly Toyota vehicles do, which essentially use the same system 😞

USB 1: Kingston DT101G3/16GB - this didn't load in the car for whatever reason (wasted an hour trying to diagnosis the issue, even though it was fine on pc). So I tried it with a SanDisk 32GB full size sd card into a integral USB card reader USB 2: SanDisk 126905 Ultra Flair 32 GB, looks the same as your pic USB 3: Kingston DT100G3/32GB

Yeh i remember changing a few shockers on GS450h for knocking, if i recall correctly alot of them was rear shockers. Even changed some for knocking and they had no leaks just an internal fault. Im also using a ctek charger too, quality bit of kit for the price.

They are for the fitting of a wind deflector IIRC.

My point exactly, Piers.

Can't beat a Lexus Warranty!

Cheers Malcolm. Very pleased that I've now joined the Senior Service

Brembo callipers and rotors but the pads are a hybrid Brembo/Galfer affair.

Ok before we all get carried away with what your car needs .empty your car if you carry the world in the thing .when empty put all the stuff in the car you go on holiday with including all passenger and go to weight bridge and weight the front and back axle weights separately then look at your sticker in the door shut and see how your doing .then add the nose weight of your caravan and add to rear axle weight and if your healthily in the spec of the vehicle .either your springs are weak or if in good condition I would fit spring assisters .as I hav many caravan people I know who use them and they work .and can be easily removed after your stay in the local council car park lol😇

I have heko deflectors on mine they look like this...

That has to be dedication to the Marque. Trophy accordingly awarded

For years I used Vredestein Wintrac Extreme very happily on my LS400. These have been superseded by the Vredestein Quatrac Pro. They are all season but with snow and mud markings and the tread looks similar to the Wintrac Extreme (those were snow tyres). Anyway I just bought a set(4) of the Quatrac Pro tyres for just under £500( for 245/45 /18 as I now have an LS430, so the right size for the LS400 should be cheaper). I would highly recommend the Wintrac Extreme tyres and hope the new ones will be good but as I am only starting to use them....

Sadly this does look to be the case. How very very sad. This photo below I have copied from Tango's own post back in 2014. He was always such a fountain of knowledge on 250's and ISF's. Had not seen anything of him for quite some time so I thought he'd moved onto a different car altogether.

Over the top price too.... any reason why it’s atleast £6k over priced?

The shocks are easy to change. The rears the most difficult because you have to remove all the boot trim before you start, and reach in some distance to get at the top mounting point. Although everything I have read about removal says a spring compressor is required. On the spares that I have with springs I can easily remove and fit the rear springs without such equipment. I have not as yet tried this out on the fronts as I have no parts to try. I will however keep you posted as to my findings. A trolley jack or two, and a few sockets are all that is required in the way of equipment. John As per my previous post on the GS450H a spring compressor is not required to change the front or rear shocks. This makes it a simple DIY job. 1 (Front and rear) Undo the centre top shock mounting nut with the car still on it's wheels. Do not undo the three top mounting nuts. At the front the cover over the mounting must be removed "three nuts". 2 (Rear) Jack up the car and remove stabilizer link bolt, headlamp link, shock absorber bottom bolt, and lower arm to hub bolt. (Front) As above, but undo top suspension ball joint instead of lower arm bolt, and unplug the ABS cable from the hub. 3 Prize down bottom arm with suitable lever "does not require much effort". Withdraw shock with loose spring. To refit:- Fit spring over shock, fit spring with shock in place and fit shock lower mounting bolt. Jack under the suspension aligning the spring on it's seats fitting top mounting nut as the thread appears through the top mount. This save the hassle, and dangers of using spring clamps. I do not know if this applies to other GS models, but I do not see why not. John

They are not actually too tricky to replace for a mechanic on a two post ramp, the electric adjusters sit on top of the stem (behind the hybrid battery panel) there is nothing tricky here a simple bayonet fitting - push & twist & they are off also just as easy to refit as long as you make sure the drive spindle locates in the inner stem spindle properly which is pretty obvious - check the condition of the drop links if they are badly worn now is the time to replace them. Part numbers can be identified with your vin number from your V5/C at toyodiy.com Parts can be sourced at dealers or places like amayama or partsouq - there are probably other places out there too. hope this info helps other members too.

Hi all. Well. My RCF has a new owner today. I don't know who bought her because it was on a sell or return deal. Took about four weeks to find a new owner. May be it will turn up here one day. Keep an eye out. I will pop in now and then but that's it from me. Over and out. Jonathan