brendangeorge

Thanks Herbie I suspect the garage only disconnected the aux battery but will check. The alarm has stayed off.

When I started the car to check for any codes the warning had cleared. There was a P0A0D code that I cleared. This is a high voltage interlock problem - seems to be spurious. The battery was disconnected when some work was done yesterday - I assume it was related to that. I looked around and saw that this code is often associated with a failure of the hybrid system.

Hi All I had an independent local garage carry out some work - reline the front brakes, replace rear n/s trailing arm and fit a new cruise control stalk. After which the check hybrid system warning came up. The car is fine and the hybrid system is working. Anyone seen this before? I will poke about tomorrow and will be happy if anybody has an advice. The cruise control switch was only £20 and was probably the biggest job - air bag disconnected etc. This mean the battery was disconnected which meant the darn car started talking to me and beeped every time I touched the mouse. Any ideas would be great. It is going to a Lexus dealer for a service, MoT and hybrid check very soon so they will probably charge me £200 to look at it. There have been no probs with the car - it has been rock solid. It has been to a local garage because Lexus wanted £450 to replace the front pads and £550 for the trailing arm. The local guys charge £50 per hour and are booked out 3 weeks ahead and are great. We put Lexus parts on. Regards Bren

That's exactly what I was thinking Phil - my bank gives me free AA - well provides it because nothing is free from a bank. I will look at Motoreasy's satisfaction rating before I decide on the Lexus backed offering in a couple of month's

I will see if I can obtain this warranty with Lexus Cov when they MoT and service my car in November. My Motoreasy warranty only costs £350 and covers what I need - however, a Lexus product would be better. I received good service in 2021 when the old one expired. A good discussion as usual guys. We need to remember the dealers are not Lexus they are franchises and are only as good as their staff. Regards Bren

Lexus stopped selling extended warranty - they were giving it away but only for cars with less that 100K miles at 10 years old. I am intrigued that Bill could get a Lexus warranty. Just before my last extended warranty ran out I had £2000+ of work done - the front bushes and some air conditioning work. That warranty was sold by Lexus but provided by a third party. My local dealer is Coventry and were adamant in 2021 that there was no extended warranty available from Lexus. Lexus will extend the traction battery warranty if you keep the health checks up to date. I have mine serviced at a dealer so the batt health check is done then. I took a warranty from Motoreasy - it is £350 a year and covers all the important big stuff. I have it on auto-renew in case I forget.

If they did not test the 600 then they will say the newer fuels are not supported.

If you are going to have a go at the electrics on your hybrid you need this manual - and be careful. The dealer found water in my AUX battery well and recommended they check there is no water near the traction battery. The problem is the dealer wants £300 for the work - check the manual out. I can see why - the rear seats need to come out. I will be biting the bullet later after reading about other water ingress problems because my car is still under warranty. Good luck Mandy - you can check the status of your hybrid battery using the OBD port. You need the correct scanner and software - I am going to check mine out later this week. It is unlikely that all the cells are duff - look on YouTube you can see videos of Prius cell replacements. When mine was serviced last Nov it was in great nick and the hybrid health check was fine - it is a 2012 with 105K on the clock. Be very careful - I have been an electrical engineer for 40 years and can tell you, through experience, if you are not experienced mistakes can be costly and even lethal. Regards Bren RX450_GYL2.pdf

Has anybody had the seat belt warning alarm sound when driving? I don't mean because you did not plug in before setting off. I don’t think the false alarm is a collision sensor fault – it is the seat belt alarm – I tested this. I took everything off the seats and the alarm still kept going off intermittently. This was annoying when on a motorway. I stopped and plugged in all the seatbelts and the alarm stopped. I drove around for some time with all the belts plugged in. I asked the dealer to investigate at a service (may have been last November). The guys did not find any problems – however, the alarm stopped so I think they tinkered a bit – great outcome but no RCA. That is until two days ago – the seat belt alarm went off and stopped (after a few mins) a few more times. So the belts are all plugged in again and the alarm is quiet. Anyone have any ideas?

well guys ....... it's done it again today Been a couple of weeks since she's been out and about ... started fine today, a bit warmer and sunny and dry .. going to get some essential cat food at P-at- H a 5 mile drive ...... just approaching there and POP it all goes off again ............ so I didn't stop, just carried on home .. at the traffic lights put her in P and when the lights change she won't move into Drive .... so I pressed the Gear Override button on the console and she pops into D ok and off I go ......... 5 miles to home and radio works, cigar lighter works ( my phone charges in there ) but all else looks a bit " dead " ... just getting into my turning and BLIMEY it all sparks into life again and seems fine So if it self heals it also likes playing around Asked my indy and he says electrics not his strong point so I'm awaiting his positive suggestion I guess it's a local Auto-Electrician I need then ? Anyone know of one on Sheppey, Kent Malc Hi Malc I'd put my money on an intermittent engine ECU (duff capacitor, dry joint etc.) or one of the connections to it. My wife’s Avensis has a duff body ECU which results in intermittent central locking operation. The body ECU is part of the fuse box – I have a low mileage scrapper to refurb because Toyota want £1K to fix it. There are 12 ECUs in a 400: ● ECU (ECM) ● Proportional Power Steering ECU ● Cruise Control ECU ● ABS or ABS/TRAC ECU ● Shift Lock ECU ● A/C ECU ● Body ECU ● Tilt/Telescope ECU ● Power Seat ECU ● Driver's Door ECU ● Front Passenger Door ECU ● Wireless Door Lock ECU ● Air Suspension ECU (if equipped) The list may help you narrow down the fault. You mentioned you could not select drive – check this URL out. It is about converting a 400 to a manual gear box (nuts I know but it takes all sorts) 😊. You can get an idea about how they are connected and what may stop you being able to select drive. lextreme.com/forums/index.php?threads/tricking-the-ecu-with-5-speed-tranny.1301/ put www:// on the front of the URL above. Some stuff on ECUs from our American pals: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-1st-and-2nd-gen-1990-2000/726265-how-many-independent-ecus-in-ls400.html I don’t have a 400 or 430 any more so cannot be much more help – however I have been an electrical and electronics engineer for a few decades and know what a pain intermittent faults are. You could try a heat gun (hair dryer) or freeze spray on the engine ECU to see if you can make it fail – this is a standard troubleshooting technique. You could open it up and see if you can spot any bulging or leaking caps. Good luck mate – now I need to do some work 😊 Bren

Interesting first views Ron. I changed my old 430 to coil overs and did not see any difference in handling, ride or performance - I think I posted about it on this forum. The guys who fitted them may have diddled with them before I got it back but I don't think so. The air suspension on my 430 was FUBAR: the rear ride height sensors kept failing - the bits of Meccano that is not the pots - so the back end kept dropping. The rear struts had leaks and the compressor was very noisy. I think I had more than 230K miles on the old beast so my impression of the coil-overs may have been biased by the state of the air suspension for a few years. Good luck Bren

I missed that Malc - I had a relay problem that cased my light to turn off - a 50p fix (replacement relay) but it took a while to sort it out because it was intermittent, like my brain. I think you mentioned the fault occurred in pouring rain and cleared up after you left the engine running in the car park. Sounds like time to get a hose pipe and a hair dryer out mate and do some testing 😀. I'd look at the last things that were worked on and see if they are water tight - if everything went out that should give an auto-electrician a place to look. Good luck Bren

Hi Phil I remember putting some Philips bulbs in my 430 - I cannot remember which ones. However, the colour temp is important - don't go above 5200K. Don't be pulled in by the marketing BS about brightness and don't put blue ones in - humans don't see blue that well even if you thinl they look good. This is why very white light are not always easy to see with - you see red, green and blue and slightly yellow lights are easy to see with. If I find what I bought I'll let you know :). I know what I bough made a huge difference. FYI I can change the colour temp of my office lights between 3000K, 4000K and 6000K - 4000K is the most comfortable and easyist to see by. Bren

Hi Malc They don't fix themselves - I wish they did then my old 265K miler would still be running. Your float charger will have kept your battery in good nick but there are a few electronic bits to look at. I am a bit out of touch with the LS eletrical system (despite being an electrical engineer). You have an intermittent fault caused by something warming up - the clue is it sorted itself out in the car park when you turned it off. When some componets cool down they will work again but not for long. I think Herbie pointed you in the right direction when he said the alternator should be running the car - if it does not then you will discharge the battery. It could be the voltage reg on the alternator - you mentioned a replacement was fitted so it could have developed an intermittant fault. If you have an earth fault that develops when a connection warms up - again it may work when it cools down. If you need help with fixing a problem it is always a good idea to leave it in the failed state so it can be inspected - this is not always possible or optimal in a car. Good luck. Bren

Hi James I had this problem after some (a lot of really) accident damage. The repairers had not put the cable in its clip and when the new head lamp was fitted. They spent months trying to sort it out - one Lexus dealer wanted to charge me £1000 for a new head lamp (I don't go there anymore); it took Coventry Lexus 5 mins 🙂 to. fix - great service. I found the AFS light was off on start up and if the lights were off - as soon as the lights came on and I came to a corner the lights steered, jammed the motor, the head lamps recentered and the AFS light came on. The body shop just reset the fault but were never able to test it properly - I was in a loan car for ages and decided to go to the dealer where they bought their spares from (with the body shops blessing) and get it fixed. Driving a diesel loan truck was plenty of motivation. I decided crashing my car and wiping out the front end is a bad idea. Bren

It is always difficult evaluating test results Barry - I do so for a living. You are faced with a ton of data and unless you know about the test process in detail you are being fed a marketing story. It is very difficult not to accept the fancy data presented by many so called experts so I don't and I recon I am not alone on this forum. Who has the time to carry out the work? This is why I asked for some feedback/experience and received some great data. I can tell you that Richard who sold me the tyre knows they will be a suppository if they are rubbish 😀. This has not happeded in twenty odd years. Don't believe a word anybody tells you (including me) unless you check and graphs are........ let's say for the magazine. They are a good place to start though but bear in mind the mag has to please its readers and its advertisers......... In a different industry where I worked we sold a product that was not the fastest but cost effective but worked and was very reliable. A journo rubbished it because it was not the fastest or cheapest - I walked into a large bank and asked what they thought about the article - the customer pointed at the bin where he has tossed the mag - the journo had called him a dolt and his boss asked him why.... Cut to the chase - I told the journo (it was a big bank) and his face was a picture - I then told him a few things about testing - OK the analogy is a bit loose. My criteia for evaluation were performance in bad/poor weather - the bank wanted reliabilty. The data in the tyre graphs is all quite close and a little counter intuitive - Summer tyres beat all season and winter tyres for wet weather breaking - what about a cold wet winter day - the winter tyre will win - I have done this test myself. It is good to see the evidence presented by the press refuted by real World data - I am a big fan of Honest John for that. The tyre guys I buy from see a wide range of vehicles (all except HGV and PCV) including the cops. They are a great source of practical data. All good stuff. Cheers Bren

Yep - nice one John Got one now though

Hi William I am an Electrical and Electronics engineer (Degree etc.) and these days spend most of my time testing large IT programmes - Data Centers, Networks etc. The whole thing from the designs to user acceptance, including the security. Clearly I don't press all the buttons (some I do) but manage the process. I am the annoying so and so you have to have on the programme to keep everybody honest. You are correct about documentation - the people who deisgn and build things see it as an embuggerance and probably run out of time to do it. The other challenge is the assumption of knowledge on behalf of the user/customer. On a big project we have a hadover built into the cost - if it is not done the customer does not pay. When we run a big project we have something called a RTM - a requiments tracking matrix and one of the requirements is the docs. One type of deocument we have to produce is called a run book - what you have to do to get something reinstalled or up and running quickly with out reading all the designs and manuals - a bit like stickies on the forum. Big IT projects are like new cars (not so relevant here because a lot of run old ones) thinks change all the time. My next gig will be all new version, loads of new features that don't work, unclear requirements, rubbish documentation => loads of testing which keeps me in work. I should add I often work on projects that are tough or a bit broken - plenty of room for being a hero and there is always work - I love it really. I should also say testing is a process based on critical thinking so I can manage the testing of anything - experience makes it easier. Cheers Bren

An update on my type swap chaps. The tyre dealer put me off the CC's because he said they wear out quickly. However, he said a lot of vehicles come with the Verdies and other people did not complain (Range Rover drivers etc.). So I went with the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 - £660 drive away price and they are fab. Great when it is slippery or wet - no perceptible torque steer and quiet. The car rides more smoothly and in all ways better - thanks for your advice H. The Verdies went on at 72830 and off at 105730 - 33K is not a bad wear rate. I am now a happy bear. 🐻 Bren

Hi Mike Did you get anywhere with this mate? I just got my RX450h back from a service and MoT and had the same report. The dealer said water may also be leaking into the traction battery compartment as well. They could not find the boot leak and want £450 for the body shop to check the traction battery compartment - seats out etc. and I am too fat and old to do that these days. Dry it out and send it back I said. I will keep an eye on it. They (the dealer) have just picked it up to repair the paint customisation they applied during the service (scratches). I wonder if they will check for water in the battery bay. The heater stinks when it blows hot air and the car beeps like hell for a while when you set off from cold - probably a duff parking sensor. That used to happen a lot on my old 430. Although I thought it may be a seat belt warning because I had a lot of stuff on the seats - I plugged all the seat belts in and the warning beeps stopped. That was a year ago when I was on a long trip at night - I can't tell you how annoying it is to have a constant alarm in your car. That said the current alarm shuts off within 1/2 a mile and does not come back on when I stop - which makes me think it is not the parking sensor. Any ideas would be very welcome. Cheers Bren

When I bought my LS430 the front seat air con was very good. Along with the obvious use cases it was designed for, it was handy for blowing pasty or pork pie crumbs out of the seat - yes I eat in the car 🙂 The RX450h does not have the 'chip catchers' that the 430 has. It is pain having to dog out under the seats - it is amazing what gets down there. No furry food though because I am good at hitting my big mouth 😀 Bren

Hi John I forgot to reply - I beg a thousand pardons. It was a flat AUX bat so I showed my neighbour where to charge it. All good now - Lexus MK could not be bothered to even call him back. Bren

Hi Richard The battery voltage is critical - if it is low then you have a problem. However, it is not the only or best indication of the battery's health. The Battery's ability to hold charge and deliver CCA or CSA if you are English (Cold Cranking Amps or Cold Starting Amps) are key. To test CSA you need a special meter - I think you mentioned Lexus RSA tested your alternator etc. they probably should have performed a CCS test (the AA would have done) - did they give you the results? I called the AA for a jump start of my old 430 (I needed to make my tee time at Woburn) and my started pack was duff. We got it running and charged a little but the CCA was low - bought a new bat on the way to the golf club. The battery life is a function of the number of charge discharge cycles and the depth you discharge to. It is not a great idea to flatten your battery it will affect its life. Temp is a big factor. If the car won't start don't keep cranking fix the problem and charge the battery after a few goes at cranking. Somebody mentioned using an AGM battery - check the spec and make sure of the CCA. My RX450h has one because of the stop start nature of the engine - however, it is not used to crank the engine only run the electronics - the engine is cranked using the traction battery but nothing works with out the ECUs. My neighbour has a RX450h and the AUX bat went flat - the car would not run. I showed him how to sort it out (the local dealer did not help). Your charging tester idea is neat - with moder car alternators you should never see the light dim and brighten with engine speed - takes me back to my old MKII Cortina in 1978. That was a cold winter :). Good luck with the bat - my apologies for the lecture, if it was boring - I am a test manager for a living. Bren

Very interesting thread - I think it was pointed out by John the Cat needs to be on the car if it was designed with one. Also note that an MoT certificate does not mean the car is legal to drive only that it passed an MoT test. About to get an MoT done - it still has Cats :). Bren