steve2006

Complete motor units and the gears are available as replacements but the problem is that the wiring loom passes through the motor housing which would mean unpinning the plugs to pull the loom through then re pin into the connector. There is also a lot of dismantling required. A good used replacement is probably your best option.

I’m using this stuff now, easy to apply and easy to polish off.

I remember driving to a major power incident in Wick, got to Edinburgh and thought the Sat Nav was faulty when it said still 250 miles to go! Seem to remember a pub there called the Black Stairs?

I drain the sump first then filter off but given the filter is higher than the sump and should have a non return valve I can’t see is making any difference if you removed it first. Plus is’s easier to reposition the drain bowl with just a splash of filter oil in it than drag it from under the sump plug to under the filter when it’s full of oil and slopping around.

Hi Ceri and welcome to the LOC. 😀 At 4 years old and with temperatures now falling the prime suspect, I agree, would be the 12Volt battery. Personally I would take it to the dealer for a check and not one of the “Free Battery Check” places where one of their “load tests” could create additional issues with the car’s computers if the voltage falls excessively. Basically if Lexus mess it up the car is already there and they will have to sort it. Although I have a petrol V8 the fact it spends more time in the garage not being used than driven plus mainly local trips when it is usually kills my battery in 3-4 years.

Hi Andy and welcome to the LOC. Very nice choice for your 1st Lexus, what colour combination have you gone for?

Any updates on this problem Duke?

Another point worth mentioning is check your add ons that are often added but not required. Examples are driving other cars but how many other cars do you drive and how often, also bear in mind this generally only provides 3rd party cover with yet another upgrade (cost) to First party cover. Breakdown cover is another if you already have it. The favourite is “Free Legal Cover” no it’s not actually free is it just an enticement. Just check before buying what you are buying.

Lexus are like every other insurer just brokers, in other words they will sell you a policy which is under written by another company in this case. Policies are underwritten and administered by Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance UK Limited. Registered in England, No. 11105895. Which in turn is one of 5 Japanese insurance companies in the MS&AD Holdings group. Interestingly Kwik Fit have now started doing car insurance using the same underwriter so it would be interesting to see a comparison quote between them and Lexus insurance. Another point regarding “comprehensive” insurance is that the actual description is somewhat misleading. If you define comprehensive you find “including or dealing with all or nearly all elements or aspects of something.” However this is generally not the case with all the available add ons like protected NCB, driving other vehicles and legal protection amongst many others. Perhaps 1st Party insurance would better describe a comprehensive policy and paying in Yen would be cheaper.

Stumbled across this on Youtube.

Back lighting problems from the look of it, cheapo LED bulbs usually, radio interference not sure but assume the aerial is rear screen built in. Give me a call Richard or PM me 😀

I wonder if the same type of struts are used?

Hiya Richard, welcome back 😀

Unfortunately HMRC will get you on anything above £30.00. IIRC up to £130.00 you pay just VAT @ 20% over this you pay duty at between 1-5% then VAT on that total. This however doesn’t just apply to the price of the goods it also applies to the total cost with shipping. On top of all this you then have the courier “Admin fees” So if your total cost including shipping was say £300.00, duty at 5% ( very complicated system with codes) you’re at £315.00 add VAT £63.00 at you now have a cost of £378.00 plus the admin fee which seems to be excessive as most couriers charge a fixed fee of around £12.50. Main result is it fixed your Lexus and you still saved on a new unit 😀

I know it gets very hot there in Dubai Stan but do they only work on cars at night 😀 I only saw one LS400 a series 3 on the road between Dubai and the airport around where they are building/not building the new skyscraper or Burj Kalifa 2. What are the scrapyards like there, like the old UK ones when you could walk around and get bits off yourself?

I appreciate it was a while ago (2019) but has the free delivery been removed for LOC members, just looking to order some front and rear pads and delivery is £6.98?

Rumour has it the stuff used came from a local distillery and it was tested on old oak barrels first which were unaffected before use on the roads 😀

Looks mainly cosmetic rust and pretty sure structural rust would have been flagged on the MOT. I would be more concerned regarding the pipe works suggesting replacement of those shown and a thorough inspection of all the others particularly the rear brake pipes which are known for corrosion on earlier LS models. Scottish road salt eh!

So the top spec model doesn’t have the rear door lights! Cost cutting again I guess. This made me think when these measures began, if you go back to 1989-90 when Lexus first produced the LS400 it had every extra you could imagine as standard and it was rumoured they actually lost money on every car sold. LS430 and the move from a stainless steel exhaust to mild steel. 30 odd years later you don’t get rear door puddle lights. Are the blanking plates in the rear door for retrofit lights BTW?

Has a TSB been raised or does that just relate to safety issues?

Fair enough but if you can’t still get the car insured all it will be is a driveway ornament with a better chance of it still being there each morning, at least you can get cover for your garden gnomes! Going on previous posts regarding the security updates I think “offer” may be the wrong word when dealers either tend to avoid the issue or claim to know nothing about it. Have all owners of affected vehicles been contacted by Lexus UK to notify them of the offer or has a recall been announced?

Their refusal to answer the question posed and their requirement to have a Cat 2 system would certainly suggest that the current factory system is not therefore fit for purpose. Have a look at the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which amongst other things requires goods or services purchased by a consumer to be “Fit for purpose” If, as in this case the factory system is apparently not you surely have a legal claim against the retailer i.e. Lexus UK under the act. If you have legal cover on either your car or house insurance it may be worth asking them for advice. It may take a court case to get results here but if you were to win it then sets a precedent in law which in turn may help many other owners in the same situation.

Nice write up/tutorial 😀 I’ve got the Lexus logo ones ( already fitted on purchase) and the door mirror lights which fade up as you approach the car.

When I first purchased the Celsior 3 years ago the offside sidelight bulb was out and after removing the air intake I was just able to get to the bulb holder and replace the bulb. Yesterday I noticed the nearside one had now failed ( I know it only lasted 20 years!). To gain access on this side the headlight unit needs to be removed as there are relay and fuse boxes just behind it. Cue Google which revealed that Pre facelift models only required removal of a piece of trim, 2 10mm bolts and then after a bit of jiggling to release a push fitting out comes the light. It also revealed that Unfortunately with the facelift model there is now a bolt instead of the push fitting inconveniently fitted behind where the bumper joins the wing. The first video 20 minutes long involved removing the front bumper, the second one 9 minutes long showed how to partially remove the bumper so you could separate it from the wing enough to get to the bolt. Even this method involves removing part of the arch liner but certainly easier than a full bumper removal. https://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2005_Lexus_LS430_4.3L_V8/lights/headlight I will however warm up the liner first before bending it out of the way to avoid creasing it. The pictures below show the difference between the 2 types, the top picture is the pre-facelift ( plastic fastener) and the lower the facelift (bolt). I never realised that the headlight units are different until now.

Think yourselves lucky mine makes announcements in Japanese when I first start the engine. The voice is done by a very sexy sounding Japanese woman and I assume she is complimenting me on my good youthful looks and choice of car. It is for those reasons I haven’t pulled her plug out.