steve2006

As Phil says, battery disconnected ( you may have to reset the windows,seats etc and if the radio is coded make sure you know it). The airbag system has a back up supply so if the main car battery was damaged and inoperable during a crash the airbags would still deploy, the back up system runs down after 10-15 minutes so you can work on or near the components safely. Anything with a bright yellow plug is airbag related.

Welcome to the LOC and a great first post! Regarding the wheel well rot, did you find a lot of caked on mud around the arches?

Does it have the reclining massage rear seats? If it does you may find,at the press of a button in the rear armrest that the front passenger seat folds away to allow more rear legroom.

From what I have read the blue paint is actually “sandwiched” between two clearcoats which may be the reason behind the chip repair problem. The clear coat is apparently “Self Healing” but of course the paint pigment once damaged is unfortunately not. ”Touch up paint is not available for your RCF Sir, may we suggest you purchase one of these just in case”

Just noticed the prices you quoted are from Lexus. From that I would go aftermarket on the radiator, buy the strut from Lexus at £91.00 (bargain price!) then buy the lower arms and bushes from Amayama (big difference between £200.00 + VAT each and 82.61 + VAT +Shipping and £2.50 for the bushes) then go aftermarket with the air filter, maybe Blueprint brand or similar. Maybe £300.00 labour at a good independent to fit everything, sort the brakes (if needed) later. As for the “warranty” seeing as you bought it over the phone you should have 14 days to change your mind and receive a full refund....this would almost pay for the repairs!

Prices below are for genuine Lexus parts from Amayama. 16041-20354 £384.00 04438-48100 £55.30 48520-49895 £175.67 48068-48020 £82.61 48069-48020 £82.61 48818-48021 £2.50 (Each) 17801-20050 £31.84 Total £817.03 but then add import VAT at £20.00 £980.44 plus shipping. Probably work out around the same price as ECP but these are for genuine parts! Talk about UK rip off prices the bushes! Another possible cheaper solution is to give Lexus Birmingham a call, they sell many parts online and may offer a decent discount.

Regarding the UK climate and use of road salt. As soon as I bought the car I made sure any mud around the arches was cleaned out and always have an “underbody wash” done at the local car wash once the gritting season is over ( I never have the full wash process with those flappy brushes they simply reprogramme the machine for the under wash only). Once that is done, allow the car to dry naturally outside then you can easily check underneath and carry out any required remedials to the protection. I noticed the full stainless steel exhaust system...pretty sure the UK versions at this time had only mild steel systems on them? Here’s mine before purchase as seen in the Autotrader advert in November 2005, paid £3750.00 with a certified conversion mileage of 38,000.

Yes the mats are very thick and heavy even when compared to UK specification ones and I think they are mainly wool, I washed mine once when I first got the car in the bath ....they took a week to dry! The transmission tunnel mat is also unique as you mention, they even have velcro strips on the bottom and join onto the floor mats in the rear. Your boot mat should also have Celsior written on it.

This OSF knock, does it by any chance disappear when you break gently when turning into a junction or is it there all of the time?

I’m presently working in the utilities sector and the main thing they tend to look for is customer service skills, how to initially contact customers by phone, door step protocol on arrival, introduction of yourself and complete customer satisfaction. Technical skills don’t get mentioned as they want to train you to their standards. Another interview technique is role play where you are briefed for a specific scenario and then you are asked to act it out. A favourite interview question is to provide an example where you have gone beyond your expected boundaries to deal with a situation to produce a positive outcome for the customer. A lot of companies like words such as “within scope, moving forward and positive work ethics” if you can drop them in during the interview.

Hello and welcome to the LOC. I wouldn’t recommend using a secondhand nut. The hub nut should be freely available at Lexus dealers for around fiver, part number for LH is 90179-22022.

Or if I read correctly somewhere make you remove the tint there and then.

Interesting article, did the trader make a reasonable effort to prevent the car being driven away? https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/spares-or-repair-dodgy-trader-tricks/

Just a thought Michael did you pay the balance in cash or on a card?

Oh dear, now I’m fully convinced about this car.

No the earlier model has flange joints to the back boxes, the later ones are push fit and clamp joints further towards the front of the car. I have a good complete back section if you want it but will need collection from Derbyshire.

Hello and welcome to the LOC. It sounds like the engine has been run with no coolant so has overheated, were there no dash light indications before it stopped? Could be very serious and if the engine is seized you would probably be better off with a secondhand replacement.

Wow you’ve clay barred the underside of your car ! 🙂 only kidding.

Excellent tutorial, thank you for doing it. Make sure the 10mm hex key is fully inserted into the drain plugs,clean any crap or rust out first, this will help prevent the hex key from sliding out on turning which could round off the plug. I also used a breaker bar. Buy a “Turkey Baster” and use this to suck the oil out of the bottle and then squeeze it into the fill hole if you don’t have the pump.

You need to convert to JDM now Phil it’s not a “Coolant Reservoir” but a “Reserve Tank” this is located behind the twin cooling fan bracket but may be hidden under a cover. Red arrow.

“Finally we have managed to get rid of that Toyota Celsior parked at the Fukushima nuclear power station” Don’t forget your geiger counter Phil 🙂

The MOT certificate I feel is valid...the fail items were dealt with resulting in a pass, the advisories are just that and although these issues need dealing with they do not affect an MOT pass. Regarding the tyres, I would imagine the size fitted are 1 cheaper than the correct size and 2 a budget brand. Many home insurance and motor policies have legal protection cover also which may cover any costs if you progress your claim against the dealer. Given the comments by Lexus it confirms my suspicions regarding accident damage, from the receipts for mirrors and body work repairs it seems it was not put through on an insurance claim so no marker, this would probably have been a Cat C halving the book price of the car had insurance been involved.

Good news Phil, The garage have managed to get your car from the first floor to the ground floor, could you please ring them for the test drive.

That could be due to the system....when a used vehicle is first imported the MOT is done using only the chassis number then once passed the registration document is issued and a number plate for the approximate year of manufacture is issued. The number plate check would therefore not show up until the next MOT. Mine was first registered in Japan in January 1994 and got an L registration here in the UK but could have been an M registration. Another anomaly is when parts websites ask for your registration number to obtain the correct make,model,year from it the chances are a grey import will not produce any results....the joys of owning a JDM import 🙂

Just had a peek at the MOT history and the car must have had the fail items repaired/replaced/adjusted as it was retested and then passed on the same date. Advisories remained. So it was MOTd Malcolm. Still a bit strange in that it has UK plates but was “an import from Southern Ireland” looks like it was taken over there but kept on UK registration to avoid the massive tax on cars over there then resold and brought back to the UK with maybe an unrecorded accident whilst in Ireland. Michael did Lexus take a look at the other suspension part remaining as an advisory on the MOT or any mention of accident damage when they did the brakes and are the rear tyres new?