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Not heard of a driveshaft going for donkeys years let alone on one 4 years old.

Hello everyone! The time has come to announce that I have successfully purchased LS 600h F Sport in Ultra White!!! It is quite different comapre to RX so we are getting to know each other 😉 Car needs a bit of love and proper clean inside, because dealer used about 50 litres of PLAK (that dashboard "cleaner") inside it...... Now just need to do service - lexuspartsdirect.co.uk do not have service kit to 600h.... any suggestions? I want to do engine oil and filters, maybe spark plugs or will wait with that a bit. Overall I am extremely HAPPY 😄 😄 I want to do quick guide about changing japan language to english. Not everything can be changed but most things you use on normal day can 😉 I will keep you all posted definitely 😉 All the best!

It obviously got a buzz from being there.

Is this misting on the inside of the screen? Set it to run twice as long and see how it goes. Make sure there's nothing damp left in the car. Do you use the a/c continuously? This helps to dry the cabin air. I never switch the a/c off, just set to auto and the temp I want and let the car sort it out. Make sure the windscreen glass is really clean, a dirty/film on the inside will mist up more easily

Thanks Jon. My driver's side temperature light stopped working ages ago but now I know how it can be fixed.

yes sounds very much like the 12v battery as the car would not have started if the hybrid battery was flat. Herbie is spot on

I’m a mechanic by trade and we have a saying “somebody’s been here” and if it’s leaking from either end then there’s a story. The thing is Paul, if a new drive shaft cures it you don’t really need to know what caused it.

Must be a warranty issue surely?

How long is it since you used the car? It's very unusual for the traction battery to just 'fail' without warning and even if the car has been stood and not used for about three months (or even longer) there should be enough charge in it. When you press the Power On or Start button, one of the very first things to happen is that the 12V battery operates two 12V relays that are configured as a safety interlock, which acts as a sort of 'gatekeeper' to the hybrid system. When the interlock operates, it then gives access to the hybrid system but if the battery hasn't got enough power to operate the relays, the hybrid system will not power up. If things are working correctly then the sequence is something like this: 12V battery boots the computers, does a couple of other things and also operates the interlock, which brings the hybrid system online, as shown by the green READY indicator. At this point, given sufficient charge in the traction battery, the car can be driven off on battery alone. When the hybrid system needs the petrol engine, it uses MG1 (Motor/Generator No.1) to spin the engine up to 1,000rpm before supplying petrol to the injectors and applying the sparks to ignite it. As a first move I'd be very much inclined to have the 12V battery load tested (drop tested).

Since cars have stopped having CD changers (yes, I'm old enough to remember those) I have used USB drives to store and play music / drama on the go. Most recently this has been on micro SD cards, but the LBX I'm expecting on December doesn't have the necessary slot for that. I've bought a USB C drive (neater than using an adaptor), but stupidly I bought a 64GB one before I read the manual which says the LBX can handle a maximum of 32GB. I have read somewhere that formatting the USB drive using FAT32 will address this issue, and my 64GB drive will play just fine in the car. Before I do this - anyone already done it and been successful? Any other advice? I can buy a 32GB drive of course. But I'd rather like to use the one I've already bought if I can.

So, the cause of all my new UX ownership woes can finally be revealed…..the driveshaft has failed…after 20K miles. The dealer kindly rang me earlier and broke the good news…good in the fact I now know the cause. They have to order a new one direct from Japan, which will take another 3 weeks or so….so I’m stuck with a year old 250h F Sport courtesy car in the meantime😉once my car goes like the courtesy car, I will be happy🙂🙂🙂🙂

Hi, I don’t think I’m the only one that considers the overall sound quality of the standard audio system in the IS300h to be disappointing. Upgrading the speakers can result in an improvement in sound quality in just about any audio system and that’s what I’ve begun to do with my IS300h, starting with the dash speakers. Unfortunately it was not a straight forward plug in and bolt in job, a bit of tweaking and butchering is required. I replaced the stock dash speakers with a pair of Pioneer TS-E1002I. The stock speakers have standard bolt spacing and that is the only part of the fitting that was right from the start. The stock speakers are unusually small for what are essentially 10cm speakers. I measured the speaker cones at less than 5cm! Some headphones have drivers that size, they really are feeble, nasty things. The Pioneers are deeper and wider than stock and it was necessary to use a stanley knife to trim away some of the internal plastic of the dash to make some space for the Pioneers. More of this trimming was needed for the passenger side than the driver side. The speaker space is not symetrical between left and right, indeed the speaker grilles are different sizes which I didn’t notice until I had them off. Luckily the plastic is quite soft. Because the Pioneer speakers are deeper than stock I had to mount them 5 or 6mm higher up to clear some of the ventilation system ducting that runs close to the speakers. I used rubber grommets as spacers, If I had some washers of the right size at hand I probably would have used a stack of them instead. I might go back and do so yet. As a precaution I also trimmed away some plastic from the underside of the grilles to create a little more clearance above the speakers. The biggest fiddle was electrically connecting the speakers. I scoured the internet for ready made IS300h dash speaker adaptors but couldn’t find any. That left two oprions, cut the existing plug off and use crimps or make my own adaptor using the sockets molded into the stock speaker. Although crimps were my first choice I decided against them because the loom wires feeding the speakers are short and you have very little working space with them tight into a corner. So I carefully cut the sockets off the stock speakers, filed them down into neat pieces and then soldered on the wires supplied with the Pioneers. A lump of epoxy putty at the back of the sockets sealed the connections in. All in all a bit of fiddling and faffing about but the result was worth it. The improvement in sound quality is substantial. Front doors next

Beautiful car, Blazej, that ultra white color really sets it apart and it looks so classy, great choice! Looking forward to future updates as you get more familiar with the car! 🙂

Having just looked up insurance for an 09 LS600h (import) I salute you on your bravery - or deep pockets? Enjoy the luxury.

lol, that’s where I work. DM and we’ll sort something out.

How long do you set it for? Perhaps extending the set time would clear more of the screen?

Colleague of mine thought he could get his nearly new company car through the notorious ford near Rufford Park Notts a few years back..... Car got swept away, it was 3 days before the fire brigade retrieved it!

Although the e-Store calls it a Spring Update, all the files in the download except three small ones are dated November 2023. So I'm sure you have the latest installed now. I don't know that I'd blame the dealer. It's clearly not a robust process, with 15,000 files in the update, and even the instruction file name "mapupdatelexus-mm21pdf.pdf" (pdf twice), header "PROTECTED", footer "Sensitivity: Company" suggest to me as a retired software engineer that the work hasn't been done by people working to the highest standard. It's a strange contrast with the top level engineering it must take to do things like lane guidance and engine management that the online stuff all seems a bit amateurish. I can barely imagine the depth of skill and work that it must take to put a safe reliable car on the road, but when it comes to the e-store and even the Lexus Link+ app I start to think I could almost have done better myself.

Which side driveshaft has failed? A short production run of 2 litre hybrid C-HR manufactured during January 2020 had a recall issued due to right hand driveshaft failure & I've seen a report of one C-HR suffering from this drive shaft failure. The driveshaft was at risk of failure during high torque applications OR rapid acceleration.

So, I've been doing the proper due diligence on the alternative tyre fitting today. Man these wheels are heavy🤪 Pictures don't do it justice really, poor lighting conditions, but there are no clearance issues front and rear, looks 'right' 'feels' right. I measured the Ride height from tarmac to underside of black wheel arch trim. This reduced 4mm front and rear. Exactly as the online tyre calculator predicted. Visually from the side, no different to the eye. Increased width tyres do not stick out further than the mud guards. 255 tyres have a pronounced 'bulge' to the side wall, again,it doesn't look out of place and of course, more protection for the rim is afforded. Measured the clearance from top of tyre to underside of the front suspension spring cup. As far as I could tell, 25mm both cases. As GSLV6 rightly says however, there's no problem with the grip of the standard set up, totally agree. I'm looking at it from an aesthetics viewpoint only and to me a wider tyre looks better. Cheers Note. Photos to follow, need to re-size them

God knows ... one train of thought is that by that time all new cars must be electric and that could lead to a good market for luxury petrol/hybrid cars. But there are many more scenarios possible were that isn't the case. My view is you buy a car to use and enjoy now ... so I'm enjoying my 2019 IS300h while being mindful it could be my last petrol powered car.

I replaced my Ls400 dhp with a C5 Corvette 3 years ago and it's been great - no rot to watch out for and similar mpg, but with more grunt and great handling.

The range of the 300 rz is significantly better than for the 450 rz but it will be interesting to see how it compares in terms of driving and performance.

All cars since mid-90s have CAN-BUS, just not the stupid, exposed, CAN-BUS for "smart headlight" ECU that Toyota started using around 2014. The links to the stolen/attempted stolen IS are clearly not CAN-BUS attacks, first one is really laughable, more likely some homeless tried to shelter inside than steal it, there is absolutelly no reason to butcher the lock like that. That said IS since 2005, not even 2013 are vulnerable to loads of other methods... CAN-BUS was simply the low bar for Toyota and literally negligent design which made cars extremely easy to steal, but any car can be stolen in principle, it is just the case of risk vs. reward. IS300h is simply not a big reward, so there are less bstards who are willing to take risks. But in theory if there is car that cannot be stolen, but somebody wants it badly enough, they can simply car jack you at the lights. This is really more a matter of police in UK being useless and simply decriminalising car crime, generally anything that is likely to be insured is now de-facto decriminalised, so the gangs are running rampant. UK is complete third world country when it comes to crime prevention... at least in most third world countries one can protect themselves (have guns, use them for self-defence and defence of property), in UK we don't even have that, in UK it is the criminal that is protected!

I think we need new thread for this, the IS250 was now found, so this topic is kind of closed. I suggest something along the lines "bringing tired IS250 back to life"... it will be a journey thought! 😄 re: water pump - usually there are tell-tale signs - pink crust around pump and coolant reservoir. Also this is critical thing to do - one sure way to kill 4GR-FSE is to overheat it, and they only ever overheat when the pumps go, or spring a leak. Now whining sound, could be many things, not necessarily water pump, so who knows. It may be it, may not be it.

Water pump will be due at 100k... look for coolant leaking around thermostat / water pump etc. Either way, if it's never been done, I suggest you buy a new genuine pump for £160 and get it replaced. it's not a bad DIY job, just a bit messy when draining the coolant.

Also, I think it was @Lisa 102 who mentioned a while back that she was told by her dealer the password does not like too many special characters. Since I changed by password to contain just the @ symbol as my special character the app has worked perfectly. The only time there was an issue since was when Lexus were upgrading their servers and the journey recordings were a bit sporadic, but once they had finished their update all my journey's appeared.

You never know they might be worth more than 50p in the future being one of the last V8 rear wheel drive 90s Jap cars that isn't completely overpriced.

Yes….I did ask the aftersales manager if mine’s had accident repairs…no real response as yet, but I will follow up on probable causes…which may be that it was just a bad driveshaft🤔as they did tell me it was leaking oil..

There is potential for the 12v battery to go flat as Ryan has said above. This is NOT the key fob battery. You have to be very careful with leaving it switched on unless it’s in READY mode. It will go flat in a matter of minutes if you are listening to the radio or even messing about with the door open.

Yes I agree, the engine / battery simply works well and does what it is designed to do. Although I'm not particularly interested in or understand the 'under the bonnet' stuff, I do appreciate the end result. I like to turn it on, select D and go. The only thing I have kept an eye on is fuel. We have had the ES for 3 months and have covered 5,000 miles. For the first few tanks of fuel, I used BP E5 Premium petrol, since I had no idea what had been used before. The car has averaged 59mpg which I was very pleased with - in all fairness, this is mostly motorway use at about 65mph. However, now the colder weather has arrived, this has dropped to 55mpg but I think it's still very good for such a large car. As far as I'm aware, the battery-engine magic simply carries on in the background - brilliant!

A specialist I use for some of my cars fitted them so I don't know how difficult the job was. The first thing I did was turn off the 'beep' that indicated changes in the suspension as you drive, it drove me mad quickly. I'm not going to bother mounting the display on the dash either because it is a distraction like the 'beep' in fact I'll probably mount it in the cubby area on the passenger side because I set it in Auto and just left it in that setting. I would give the Tein agent a call because my installer told me they are very helpful

Yes, I was mightily surprised. The 1 year old/10,000 mile F Sport I have as a courtesy car goes like it’s in a different league….mine should be the same of course. The dealer chief tech said he was surprised I got mine to them in one piece under the circumstances……a Lexus with a failing driveshaft doesn’t behave too well let me tell you🤔🙄🙄. I’ve asked them to double check, in due course, I’ve not caused it any further damage by driving it up to them.

Absolutely - no question in my mind🙂

The oil and filter changes are crucial. Many mechanics recommend with a low mileage car this should be done every 6 months. The manufacturers' selling point is service every 12 months.

I'm going to keep an eye out on the IS preferably a slightly newer one 2017+ I do prefer the GS300h but the main user is my wife and she prefers the IS so I will stick with that

Rufus is normally used to format drives for Linux so is great for anything not Windows related.

One thing I’ve noticed since getting mine…..Lexus cars on Cornish roads are very rare….something to do with the nearest dealer being in the next county perhaps? I like the rarity if I’m honest….and since I got mine, it turns heads….something which the 1 year old UX F Sport courtesy car continues to do👍👍 it deffo holds its own in the company of Mercs, BMWs, Audis and Range Rovers😍

Hit 170,000 miles on my 2006 LS430 today, although I missed the exact figure by 10 miles... Also I didn't realise how bad the dash cluster is scratched... any tips for cleaning it up?

THERE IS NO PERFECT CAR. You weigh up the good with the not so good. I would never listen to the opinion of a person who has treated staff like trash ie Clarkson, Gordon Ramsay, and it defies logic why others continue to respect what they have to say. Like all cars it needs to be looked at in the light of similar cars eg against other small hybrid vehicles. The problem with most car reviewers is that they go from a top of the line Mercedes to an affordable BYD or MG and they have the residual luxury, tech, and power in the back of their minds. They also come with internal biases. The constant droning on about cheap plastics is boring and irrelevant. I’ve had thirteen different cars in my time and the plastics have never been an issue. If you are worried about the suede seats maintaining their look then buy some seat covers. I have no problems with acceleration- I also drive my daughter’s Yaris Cross on which the LBX is based, and the LBX is relatively quiet in comparison when strained. The Yaris Cross complains bitterly when accelerating on steep hills but it gets there using less fuel than the LBX. Horses for courses. No rear air vents is unfortunate I agree and I took this into consideration when I weighed the pros and cons. Reassuringly I have had many journeys with adults in the rear seats in Australian heat and they have always said that they could get enough cooling from the AC vents in the front aimed at the back. The air doesn’t have to travel far being a small car! My dealers were the best I have ever come across in my life, but given my past experiences sadly it’s not a high bar to overcome. The LBX is not without its faults. There are multiple issues I find frustrating in daily use that never came to light with my test drive or with the endless online reviews I watched before purchasing, but I hasten to add this is every car new car I have bought. Good luck with your decision

I followed the advice of other members and replaced all four tyres rather than just the front two. I wanted to stay with run-flats, and after getting prices for Hankook, Yokohama and Dunlop A rated (67dB) tyres I opted for Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 K127B as they were the cheapest. I am very pleased with the Hankooks, as the noise when driving on rough road surfaces is noticeably less than that from the original Bridgestone tyres. It's too early to comment on other aspects of the tyres, but I am happy with them so far.

Well, I disagree. Any oil is better than too low, especially when the car is going to get an oil change in a few months time. The Toyota or Lexus garage will use whatever oil to the correct spec is cheapest - I doubt that they will use Toyota branded oil. The service sheet in the workshop manual for the Mk 4 GS300h and GS450h has a whole list of acceptable oils: 0W20 SL (which is the preferred grade) 5W20 SN 5W30 10W30 15W40 SL, SM or SN 20W50 SL, SM or SN I would put in 1/2 a litre of the 5W40 fully synthetic. Once mixed with whatever is in there now the engine won't notice the difference. But it will if it's low on oil. (It's still got 6 litres or so in the sump) Incidentally, isn't the light for low oil pressure, not low oil level?

JBL Club 34F - 3-1/2" (87mm) Two-Way Car Speaker, 75 Watts Peak, 25 Watts RMS, Sensitivity (@ 2.83V): 89dB, Frequency Response: 90Hz – 20kHz, Nominal Impedance: 3.0 ohms ciao, cosa ne pensate di questi?

well you figured it out... £2500 for IS250, not unrealistic, but I have found many cars on fb marketplace to have undeclared write-offs and just generally worse quality compared to Autotrader. IS300h for some reason are really popular for scams on FB, not sure why, maybe because people don't know them, but they look decent and putting one for £5000 doesn't look immediately suspicious for people who do not follow the car values and furthermore don't know what Lexus is. But yes - any of those below ~£8,000-£9,000 are scams. Not even sure how they work, but my assumption would be asking for deposit to be transferred before car can be viewed and then disappearing. I tried to contact few scammers there just to understand how they work, but they simply never responded, so don't know how big is the scam. Also - FB completely ignores those scams and allows them to exist, I have reported like 10 adds that were clearly scam and got response "we can't see anything wrong with them". Yeah sure - 2019 IS300h F-Sport with 55,000 miles for £4,500 is obviously "legit deal".

Profile not syncing has been the bane of my life and continues to be so. If anyone knows how to fix this permanently please let me know. Regarding problems with the uppercase key have you checked the temporary screen protector has been removed?

Hello Rob, as someone new to Lexus myself, I have done a fair bit of digging around on this and the American owners forums. Please note that not all of the below listed items are guaranteed to fail, but this should give you a general idea of what might fail on any given LS430 - unless already addressed by the previous owner: Radiator - can leak, which in my understanding sends coolant into the gearbox - bad, bad idea! Solution: replace radiator, and install a separate gearbox cooler Sunroof - has been mentioned as getting stuck in one position or other, in some cases can require manual intervention, i.e. you'll need to push it up to close. Have read of a few cars where there's rust build up near the sunroof area Steering Wheel Motor - known faults with levelling or telescopic motor failures (won't move up or down, in or out, sometimes both!). Fixes included replacing the motor in its entirety, or even something as simple as replacing a washer - your mileage may vary, also seems to affect facelift and pre-facelift models in different ways Air Suspension Failures - I believe the car you are looking at should look "normal" (height-wise) - not sagging on either end. If it sits too low to the ground (almost scraping) - this may mean that the suspension is on its way out - one of the most expensive items to replace like-for-like. Alternative solutions include replacing air suspension with regular coil springs. If I remember correctly, there are companies in the US, UK and Italy that supply these, you can Google "LS430 Air Suspension Conversion" to get the idea for cost as well as numerous articles from owners and their experience. There is also fully guided replacement video on this very topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZILfT7SKCY&list=LL&index=38 - looks pretty straightforward if you are mechanically minded! Subwoofer - placed at the rear of the cabin, behind passenger headrests - is known to start rattling or "blow". Costly item to replace outright, however it appears there are simpler and cheaper fixes, including replacing the foam cushion around the subwoofer itself, as seen here: https://youtu.be/K0uvSRFUDvk Door Locks - the actuator can fail and you no longer have central locking, the fix will depend on the severity of the problem Power Fold Mirrors and Mirror Motors - seen instances where the motor fails on one or both mirrors and doesn't let you adjust them or auto fold them on lock Passenger Windows - are sometimes known to have condensation issues as they are laminated / double glazed, and moisture builds up between the two panes of glass. Easy enough to spot - you will see the lower half of the passenger window all steamed up. I don't believe it can be fixed, therefore an outright replacement is required (just the glass, not the door) Bonnet / Boot Struts - commonly known to fail. You will notice this right away if your bonnet fails to stay up on struts, or boot feels heavy to lift up Door Rust - rust is known to build up above the chrome strip on all doors, you will often see it start bubbling up on some cars I think this about covers it for the most common faults, of course there will be others which are more or less minor, or are simply wear and tear items (cambelt, brakes, suspension bushes, exhaust system, etc.). Lots and lots of forums threads that cover these and other problems in detail, as well as numerous videos on Youtube to help you. In terms of cost for all parts listed, I have heard Paul Frost at Lexus Spares Direct being mentioned a lot on these pages: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/lexussparesdirect. There is also the official page for new parts: https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/, not to mention Euro Car Parts and the like. Generally this model is well regarded for its build quality, reliability and comfort, and is built to last. A good example should - and will! - feel every bit like you would expect a flagship Lexus to feel - well put together, quiet inside, with supreme ride quality, all this despite the age. You will see prices going anywhere from £900 for a high mileage, beaten up and sorry looking pre-facelift model, and up to £10,000+ for ones that look like they never left the showroom: https://www.kassclassicsautos.co.uk/cars/lexus/ls430/4.34dr/617396/. LPG models are common and look to be a good choice in terms of fuel economy, but I would say having someone with LPG experience give it a once over before the purchase is still very beneficial. Otherwise make sure to confirm it has had its annual (?) service done at an LPG specialist or has paperwork to back it up. Hope this helps, Max

Ian, one fill will not demonstrate the efficiency or otherwise of V Power. One must measure5/6 fills against 5/6 fills of not using V Power. Read widely and be better informed. https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/89093/what-super-fuel-do-you-recommend-

It actually kicked off talking about the maf. Your the only one talking about the map.

I have a new emergency spare wheel and a new LEXUS original 'shallow' wheel-well tool tray which covers the spare wheel. My 1 year old ES300h with 1,800 miles on the clock was written-off after a 'bump'! For sale at £300 o.n.o. for both. The tool tray alone costs £400! 07973 559646 North-West

I placed an order for new 450h+ and Lexus had an offer for discounted EV Wall charger (via British Gas) for £395 (reduced from £1,100). Been toing and froing with dealer to finalise order for wall chrager only to be told that LEXUS are now putting back delivery for 450h+ to late Q1 2025 (was originally told it was late Nov 24). Really annoyed with dealer. Not sure if my persistence for the wall cahrger put them off - or really a production delay.