steve2006

Mmmmm, Iam a little confused as well, the screen shot shows the vehicle as having UK plates so I would assume this is a recent UK MOT performed since purchase and registration or was the car being used on UK plates in Southern Ireland? Looking at the suspension fails it makes me wonder if it hasn’t been involved in an accident in the past as well as a previous uncaring owner who didn’t even check the tyres.

Option 5 ? https://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/LS460_customer.pdf

It’s a holder for the flare, it is a requirement in Japan. The flare itself is normally removed from the holder before shipping on safety grounds but the black plastic tube it is stored in usually remains. https://bj44.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/jdm-emergency-flare/

Given the problems of getting under the car and spraying treatment on it I would go for professional treatment where they remove any loose rust,apply a converter then a sealing coat, all the process is guaranteed and costs around £500 or so.

I think all is good

Hooray...I’m not the only UK Celsior owner in the club anymore 🙂 Recently mine has been getting a lot of attention, yesterday I was struggling to find a parking space and a BMW driver came up to me, paid compliment to the car and asked if I would like his space as he was leaving. Leave the badges on it makes the car unique,fun trying to read the Japanese service history....and take a look under the passenger footwell, there should be a flare tube mounted on the left side.

Has the car got a current MOT? Sounds like a basic dealer “Get out of jail card” move here....so if you had paid another £1000.00 this car would have been warranted against every minor fault, niggle and totally safe and roadworthy but because you haggled the price down you have no warranty and a dangerous and defective vehicle not safe for road use. It’s the exact same car except for the asking price, the price paid changes nothing, a stamp on a receipt changes nothing,there is no get out clause for no warranty. OK you were aware of the brake pad/disc problem before purchase but certainly not the engine problem....so the vehicle is not fit for purpose and the rubber stamped declaration you signed is worthless. Alittle bit out of date but https://www.dragon2000.co.uk/trade-sale-sold-as-seen/

OK no problem. The picture shows the bracket for the number plate labelled 52114A, as mentioned it is colour coded to the bumper and this should be Black 212 on your vehicle, if this is correct the part number is 52114-50120-CO priced around €70.00.

Advanced cam timing could be as a result of a worn tensioner/timing chain slip on the cam gear, does the engine sound noisy at cold idle? What is the present mileage? As other members have suggested I would be seeking redress from the seller although if this was a private sale your options are severely limited compared to a dealer.

Looks OK in the pictures and I assume you are aware it is a cat D insurance write off? Taking the cat D into account not a bad price, check it very carefully for the repairs carried out and remember the marker will make the resale price lower and put many potential buyers off.

Hello Jay and welcome to the LOC. The number/licence plate is mounted like yours here in the UK, the part is colour coded to the bumper and is called the “Front bumper mounting extension bracket.” Paint code should be black 212.

Arrr the 2 reservoirs....they are both for the windscreen....the normally placed one is for the screenwash the one at the front is for rinsing the screen with plain water after screen washing. IIRC the wiper stalk has a push button on the end for one function and is pulled back for the other. The only problem with the colder UK climate is the front rinse container may freeze and crack if it contains only plain water in the winter, I therefore fill both with screen wash plus if one runs dry you have a back up. Did you get to see the de-reg certificate this will show if the car has ever been written off or damaged, also has it been converted from KMH to MPH, JDM vehicles are speed limited to 180KPH (113MPH) unless delimited in the UK.

These components do have a defined life span which is generally given in hours of use by the manufacturer so yes it would be a good idea to replace them before they reach that stage but this is difficult to define time wise unless you monitor how many hours the car has been driven. Other factors also affect the lifespan like heat, humidity and vibration, the cooler the better....Lexus ECUs tend to be placed remotely which is good...the worse place where many are located is the engine bay. As an example these components are used in the power supply of LCD televisions and a common failure is due to heat exposure which can happen with as little as 2 years use so 25 years proves the reliability and durability of the components used by Lexus.

I could explain the effects of ESR on electrolytic capacitors but do you have the time 🙂 This type of capacitor contains paper and a liquid electrolyte ( hence the name),all this is encased inside an aluminium can and plugged at the base with a rubber bung to seal the contents inside. As these components age the ESR ( Effective Series Resistance) increases....increased resistance produces more heat. heat increases the pressure inside and forces the liquid out at the weakest point (the bung) which being corrosive causes damage to the printed circuit board. The capacitor value also falls which then adds to the problems the ECU suffers from as a consequence.

Until a few years ago I insured my JDM import with non mainstream insurers, I seem to remember Flux and Performance Direct being the main ones for around the same price as a UK specification model but for the last 3 years I have had it on a “classic” policy which cost me less than £200 a year with mileage limited to 3k a year. The aerial on the bumper is called a “Fender Pole” and as other members have mentioned it is used as a guide when pulling out of tight spaces, on mine it is manually operated by a switch and utomatically retracts when the ignition is switched off, the tip does illuminate when the lights are on but the bulb is normally failed and non replaceable. In addition to the non leather interior you may also find no sunroof/moonroof (better in the Japanese climate) and unless the system has been converted the sat nav may be very useful for a tour of Tokyo assuming you are fluent in Japanese. These cars tend to be a higher specification than UK models but most parts are the same. The underside should be like new but carefully check everything works as designed, also be aware that many vehicles were written off in the Tsunami and some were irradiated from the power station! If you do go ask to see the english translation of the Japanese De-registration certificate.

The Celsior ones are even rarer as there are subtle differences between them and the LS400 ones like no EGR system so I am fortunate to have a spare acquired many years ago. There was also an aftermarket ECU called MINES which 12 years ago could be bought for around £100.00 which are now fetching many times more in price. Headlight covers, smoked and clear indicators were all cheap and available (I have a new set of clears if anyone wants them) but as the cars age parts are become more difficult to source. From experience I know one of the suspect capacitors causes the engine revs to become limited to around 3000RPM which is probably the problem with yours, I take it the ECU has gone to LS Cowboy? I am also hoping to be able to offer door accuator repairs on an exchange basis very soon which again is a very common fault on Lexus vehicles, just waiting for the parts to arrive for approval and quality.

I guess anything is possible but you need to look at 2 angles, firstly will a later unit physically fit into the dash and secondly can it be wired up to work? A few years ago you could purchase purchase RHD LCD panels from the USA but unsure of the current position.

If I knew you wanted it recapping I would have done it for you, I did 2 1994s last week for the same guy who has fitted the engine in his Land-cruiser. This is my soldering station with fully variable temperature control and interchangeable tips.

Sorry only just seen your post, my tutorial was based on the Celsior which has no passenger airbag so slightly different procedure, good to hear you have managed to get it out though.

Hello and welcome to the LOC. Sorry to hear of your exhaust problems unfortunately Lexus moved from stainless steel systems (which tend to last the lifetime of the car) to mild steel. The section you will need consists of both rear boxes and the connection pipework to the mid section, Lexus price is around £600.00 but a better and cheaper option would perhaps be a custom made stainless steel replacement. The link below lists several companies on ebay who offer this service or maybe try a google search for where you live. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=lexus+rx450h+exhaust&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xlexus+gs450h+exhaust.TRS0&_nkw=lexus+gs450h+exhaust&_sacat=0

It took me about 2 hours to change one, add another 30 minutes for the other one so 2 1/2 hours labour but probably less with a fully equipped garage and not a driveway. Removing the rear seat takes around 15 minutes, base simply lifts out, seat back is four bolts then lift up and out, parcel shelf unclips allowing access to the top mounting bolts. Springs should be around £80.00 each.

That’s how I’ve always done it plus I hold the release handle out when pressing down the pedal down then release it to avoid ratchet wear.

TBH there’s not much friction material on them even from new and 4mm sounds fine, all I have ever done with mine is give the friction material a good ruffing up with some sandpaper and clean the drums out of dust. I would assume your mechanic has fully backed off the adjuster before trying to fit the drum over the shoes?

As per Rayaan’s post but also ask the dealer about the mileage difference when you take it in.

Most Lexus cars have heat shields over the exhaust boxes, the bolt holes tend to rust allowing the shield to drop down onto the box causing rattles so I would check for this situation. If you can gain access to the fixing bolt removing it and then replacing it with a large washer usually provides a good repair.