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It’s a fair point, and I’m finding that familiarity makes things less scary - I think a lot of the issue is in the mind, certainly in my case. The big difference between those Amazon/Ocado/Tractor/lorry drivers and driving an RX is that they are less concerned about the potential for minor damage. However, I found that even worse were other drivers of large SUVs…😂🙄…especially those who refused to drive anywhere other than down the middle of an already narrow(ish) lane (perhaps a car and a half wide). Genuinely, there were lanes where I used to live where even the NX was a struggle so I tended to avoid them unless I was travelling very early or very late. I just didn’t want the drama or to scratch my lovely paintwork. As my first wife used to tell me frequently - and I’m sure she was talking about cars - a couple of extra inches makes a big difference…

Perhaps a timely reminder? Maintainace of hybrid battery.pdf

My previous NX Luxury is now for sale at Lexus Swindon (on a new number plate as I have a personal one). https://usedcars.lexus.co.uk/en/used-lexus/Lexus/Nx-Estate/300h-25-Luxury-jjcre6t She’s been an utterly faithful servant to me, and I’m sure will serve her new owner just as well. If anybody is looking for a good used NX I can recommend this one - very careful owner, no damage of any sort, pretty much as new apart from a couple of stone chips. Ceramic coated when new by a specialist (who is also sorting my new RX in a few days) and the leather was protected as well. No scuffs or marks, not had children or pets anywhere near it! Side-steps and side protectors also fitted, genuine Lexus. I can also recommend Rob and the team at Lexus Swindon, who have now sold me my last three cars. Hopefully whoever buys her will join up on here.

Thanks Mike, I have had an offer from the friendly staff at Lexus Swindon to help me set up the whole infotainment system. This will help I’m sure.

Well to be fair, are we giving opinions to help fellow members or to look after our own interests by trying to promote high prices as good value? Anyone paying £50k for that GSF is going to get burnt (unless dealer gives an equally inflated amount for their part ex). Crazy prices are not unique to GSF...its more or less across the board in the used car market. 2 years ago when I part exd my 25k miles late 2016 RX450 luxury, they were selling for way less than now (2 years older and 2-3× miles) and used prices look to have risen by at least as much as GSF in the same time (discounting that £50k one which I can't take seriously!). Once the semi conductor situation has sorted itself out (which it will) and new cars become readily available there will inevitably be a crash in the prices we are seeing for used cars now. GSF prices will fall commensurately along with other makes that are also attractive to would be buyers (there is a limit to the premium that most devotees will pay extra). If we let our heads rule our hearts, we'd sell our GSFs and buy bangers until the price crash occurs, then buy more up market again more cheaply. Unfortunately my heart wouldn't let sell my GSF! 🙄 What we can't influence is the prices, no matter how we talk them up on here, so I personally prefer to give my honest opinion (and I stress it is only an opinion) with the intention of making someone on here think twice before parting with that kind of money only to experience very heavy depreciation as things return to normal.

I’ve not had a car that gathered so much crud inside the doors. I always pressure wash all round them.......... Also, using non acid wheel cleaner keeps the calipers looking new. Mine is 21 months old with 13000 on it.

In the meantime, Herbie, I have downloaded Waze and texted the wife to do same for the return journey. Sad that we should have to rely on a phone app though… Thanks for the tip.

Update LS400 in France Just had a text "Car all loaded, ready to set off. See you tomorrow Morning". Great news, as I've been worrying that it would not start after three weeks + 14 months prior. I left a power cable and charger in the Garage so the guy could give it a boost but hopefully he didn't have to use them. Will know more tomorrow. Expense coming up, Insurance cover and I guess if I can get it repaired and MOT'd during 14 days I can cancel the cover if I decide not to keep the LS and stay with the GS. Don't want two cars but it had to be got away from France as property on the market.. Spotted this on F/b so may recover my costs if worst price scenario. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/443296277184950/?ref=search&referral_code=marketplace_search&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Aabd183c4-1352-44f8-9af0-5ce43273fc13

Most cars will pull to the left slightly due to the way the road is in the UK As long as the numbers on the printout are fine it should be well aligned unless you've bent something They've obviously tried twice to rectify the issue I don't see how that's poor customer service?

None taken, Herbie! And the size thing is not the game changer, but the infotainment system might be.

Well, I've done it again... I am now the owner of a prime, sourced sight-unseen from a salvage auction in Edinburgh, Non-running, High-Mileage Lexus IS 250: The backstory is three-fold. First, I was getting bored out of my skull sitting in accommodation at work, and couldn’t risk doing too much to whatever car I drove there (at risk of being stranded if something unexpected happened). Second, my wife has decided to start learning to drive in Jan and this could become her first car (or, if sold, provide the money for her to buy what she wants, assuming the option to make money on it still remains…). Third, I’ve been interested in doing some kind of ‘auction rescue’ project for a while, so recently joined Copart and started browsing the salvage Cat N, S or U cars. Having always liked them, a Lexus IS 250 was settled on as the project of choice and, having bid and lost on a few with structural damage, I finally won this one with minor cosmetic issues but a non-runner, for £900 (Cheapest Lexus IS 250 in the Country?) The auction notes said the following: The ‘VSC, Non-Start’ thing is potentially down to a few different causes, most of which I can solve. That Copart had it listed as ‘Runs and drives’ was of some interest, but I resolved to see what turned up and diagnose the actual fault from there. Ultimately, if it’s anything top end, VVT, fuel or electrically related I should be able to fix it, and have a fair budget to work with depending on resale value (fees and shipping added a lot to the overall bill so far). If it’s bottom end, I’ll be either punting it on, or sourcing a used engine (have a few candidates already). These engines are direct injection so are liable to carbon fouling and a design fault in the earlier ones can lead to high oil consumption. I have plans to tackle both these issues, depending what I find, but again if it starts looking like a lemon then I’ll just either go for an engine change or get rid. SO! The newest ‘biggest mistake ever’ arrives on Monday and I’ll be getting stuck into it in a car park at my work weather, availability and facilities dependant. Just hope the first fault code read doesn’t look like this: (Much) more to follow, I’m sure – including, potentially, a lot of pain…

Am I the only person thatv's noticed when you look on American forums in regards to the is250 all they say is it's slow? Is the IS250 slow or are Americans just ***** measuring because of their V8 Mo-Turs? I would have thought power is absolutely pointless in most us states because of the 55mph speed limits anyways. I don't think 8s 0 to 60 is slow especially for a car that's designed to get you everywhere in total comfort.

Len, you are absolutely right. I was considering fitting it myself but considering your point and the hassle of perhaps my making a complete dogs breakfast of it, I will talk to the dealership.

Yes, it does get filthy on the lower inside of the doors, the rears especially.

You drive a Lexus hybrid and you have no idea what Ready mode is? And you expect me to believe that? Let’s see some photos of your pride and joy and a photo of the invoice for your battery replacement at a Lexus dealership. If you do, I’ll take it all back and apologise for daring to suggest it was a windup. Until then however…..

road not toad 😀

I’ve owned four Jaguars. Had one case where one of them let me down on one occasion. 80k miles and five years of driving Jaguars. A bit more than 3-6 months. Owning a Lexus is all about the ownership experience and reliability. Owning a Jaguar is all about how they drive and how they breathe over the road surface with impeccable toad manners and enjoyment. Depends what is important I suppose.

Your Handbook reveals all Tom. It is a procedure whereby the car engine switches itself off and on for approx 30 minutes periodically and providing a feed to the 12v battery. Do look it up Tom.

The attached doc would suggest the converter should be able to support all the high drain consumers without the 12v battery.? CHARGING SYSTEM ON-VEHICLE INSPECTION.pdf

These cars need to be run in "ready" mode for about one hour per week to maintain the system battery which is charged via a DC/DC converter. This can be by driving the car or by leaving it in park in ready mode (for example on your drive). If this is impractical then a trickle charger is your best bet.

Mine is a DB Power one that I bought quite a few years ago. Not had to use it on my car but did use it to start someone else's diesel van so I know it works. If you do a search on the likes of Amazon for something like jump start pack there are quite a number. Get one with decent customer reviews and for around £50 and should work especially as hybrids draw so little power to get into Ready mode.

I’ve got a former colleague who works for JLR. He says they only keep their company cars for 3-6 months as if they keep them for any longer they tend to break…😆 They also tell a joke amongst themselves. “What are the only two man made things visible from space? 1. the Great Wall of China 2. the panel gaps on a JLR product…”

Another windup in my opinion

It's as much to do with how the power is delivered as the actual power.

If it's a flat battery due to lack of use you will have exactly the same problem with a hybrid Auris or Yaris for the reasons Herbie listed above. In fact you will probably get battery problems with non-hybrid ones to. My IS 300h is a 2014 reg and has now done 110k miles and still on its original 12V battery but it does do a decent mileage each week so it's not an inherent issue in the IS 300h. For a flat battery you should be able to start the car with one of the Li Ion glove box charge packs (as starting a hybrid takes only a small amount of power). If that doesn't work there are probably some other issues though.

Wow Thanks, I'll take a look.

But an ES Takumi is £49,455, so that nearly ££4,500 more than the Jag you are quoting?🤔

You only have to look on the Lexus website online car configurator to see just how much equipment the Takumi ES is fitted with. Very impressive specification. Unlike BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar etc whose option lists look like telephone directories. E.G An entry level Jaguar XE starts at £30K with basic equipment. If you wanted roughly the same spec in the Jaguar as a Takumi ES it would cost you nearly £45K. Enough said I think.

Finally had the headlights replaced after a 2 week wait for parts. Throughly recommend Lexus Bolton, for efficient customer service👍

Yes I could have done some damage , although would have though they might have checked that , no mention was made it thats the case Visually checked the tyre , looks fine, will check the pressure , will be getting someone else to drive it, they have a Merc estate , see if they come to the same conclusion I do , will take it to a tyre company in Wigan , who have Hunter diagnostic machinery , will also get the steering checked Thanks for coming back everyone , will let you know how I go on

That’s true Malc. Mine passed no problem but they weren’t that bad. However, if the headlights are severely opaqued they cannot be as good as they should be in my opinion. On my car I always thought the passenger side was better than the drivers side, I equated that to the drivers side headlight oxidisation being a lot worse than the passenger side. I’ll soon find out tomorrow morning if my hypothesis is correct when driving to work. If it doesn’t make any difference then at least the headlights look better……..worth £7 to me for that alone.

I don't wish to personally attack anyone or cause offence to anyone but come on, the RX isn't THAT big! Do delivery vans, bin wagons, BT vans, milk tankers and suchlike manage on these narrow lanes? If the answer to that is yes then it's not the RX at fault is it? And yes, I do live in a town but having holidayed (is that even a word?) in Devon and Cornwall many times I'm no stranger to those narrow lanes by any means.

The navigation system is not the best, but I have been on journeys where the navigation has prompted me whether I wanted to update the route to get around a traffic jam/accident. Unfortunately, I couldn't say for sure how I set this up, or whether this was already configured when I bought the car. As regards the brightness between different settings, perhaps the issue is screen contrast? I think this can be adjusted here:

Thought I'd post my experience on now using super unleaded petrol. Since I filled up last Saturday morning I've driven nearly 600 miles. 70% motorway and 30% A and B roads. No I've not driven those miles sensibly either lol. Yes I've red lined it loads of times and hardly stuck to speed limits. My car tells me my average MPG is 35.8. I'm chuffed as a chuffed thing. Mind you the Shell service station on the A591 is on the dear side. V Power 152.9p a litre yikes.

You can also lock her from the back doors too. All 4 doors are dual touch sensitive for locking and unlocking.

Interesting to see one of those pretend Land Rovers getting the Scheissewagen treatment this week. The Rozzers show how it should be done.

Update on the brightness issue on the map display: Thanks for the steer on how to enable day/night mode, Mike. As my wife was driving through dusk on a long journey last Friday, the screen did, as anticipated, automatically switch from daylight mode to night mode, making it much easier on the eyes. But as dusk became fully dark, the screen went even darker, making it too dark to see the map. There appears to be three automatic graduated shifts from daylight mode (fully bright screen), dusk (night mode) and dark (almost invisible - just the red lines of the motorway showing). We just want the system to work - this is most infuriating! I am sure the answer will be RTFM, and yes, I agree, the answer is somewhere in the manual. But I got a call from my wife who had been driving for 6 hours and she had to pull over to use a road atlas to check the route! I was therefore unable to adjust the screen settings and won't be able to do so until she returns - another 6 hour solo drive. Has anyone else experienced such difficulty with the map display? I should add that the navigation system did not predict delays on the motorway or suggest an alternative route around the delay. These functions are now commonplace with other brands, so why not with Lexus?

No - mine was FM07 EKL 😁 Someone has either put a new plate on it or it has been scrapped as I can't see it on the MOT checker anymore.

I've just discovered that it's possible to unlock Betsy from the back doors too. I've no idea what made me try this however.

Interesting, no problem with mine so far but I do remember others mentioning something about a lack of coating in another thread. you'll likely pay double... up to you really 🙂

Hi Brian, Thanks for the link - I hadn't manged to find that supplier. Mats now ordered and will hopefully, once delivered, protect the LC's carpets for the next 3-4 months

Looks good, I've just bought a 2006 is250 in Black with Black wheeles, they look so much better in person as photo's don't do them justice.

Usually they will only charge a premium if the modification enhances the performance in some way so I would say it's best to let them know and hope there's no extra charge. Some insurers will refuse cover if the car has mods as they just aren't able to cover the risk on some policies. The brakes ought to be okay as they are the same size and designed to be direct replacements for the car.

It’s peace of mind with a new battery.but have also noticed that they must be linked the seats and the blowers as they both come on at the same time.but thanks everyone for your help 👍🏻

Actually, I'm glad you mentioned the dipping mirrors thing. Betsy and I have just been shopping and I noticed that when she was put into reverse, the driver's mirror tilted up! That was soon sorted out though, as I'm sure everyone will be pleased to hear. Thank goodness for manuals eh!

I wouldn't mess with replacing the bearings , PiA job! The grindings from the worn bearings will have washed through the whole unit. find a replacement differential unit. Try Paul Frost they dont often go wrong , most breakers cant get rid of them and they go for scrap weight. hunt about ,especially the private sellers on ebay breaking their crashed car. Pay £100 or less https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXUS-RX-400H-2007-SUV-3-3-RHD-HYBRID-REAR-DIFFERENTIAL-DIFF-OEM-/294060522101?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

Likewise my NX is now just over 3 years old now and still continues to impress. As you say build quality and comfort are outstanding. Due to the restrictions my mileage is lower than it would have been normally and gives me the dilemma of whether to change before its 4th anniversary (the new 450h+ looks tempting!) or given the new Relax warranty I hold on to it for another couple of years. I had purchased a 2 year extended warranty and service plan at the time of the 3 year service appointment so expect I will be able to get a refund for the second year warranty after the next service.

Certainly very comfortable cars. Am planning to keep mine in the family for a long time. Agree that Relax helps to make this an easier decision.

I've edited your post to put the pictures inline. Good job there, hopefully the other sensor will be as easy.

I cant seem to match the pictures up with the text so have indicated the picture number within the text. I will be doing the second sensor at the weekend if the weather holds and will post the how to for that one then.