steve2006

I remember many years ago when Aviva was Norwich Union and their strap line was “ Quote me Happy”. I rang them for a quote and it was horrendous, they even tried to reduce the premium by trying to add my mrs on the policy despite her never having had a driving licence! My last 3 words to them before putting the phone down were “Quote me wappy”

Great, yes they should have them, seem to remember Lexus wanted over £8.00 each for them!

Hi Jen and welcome to the LOC. I’ll move your post into the wanted section as you will get more response from there I think.

Another member was after these the other day and Lexus wanted daft money for them, look on eBay for M10 copper crush washers. https://tinyurl.com/jfvfu753

Firstly if you’re not sure on the procedure I would suggest having it fitted by a trained mechanic. The new calliper will have no or very little fluid in it so once fitted with the brake hose reconnected you need to open the nipple and bleed the brakes. As the new calliper fills with brake fluid the air in it will be displaced by the fluid until it is completely full and then fluid will emerge from the bleed nipple. Close the nipple and top up the brake fluid in the master cylinder then bleed the brakes. Finally pump the brake pedal to bring the pads up to the disc. This video shows the process from 9.30 but watch it all. I tend to clamp off the flexible hose to minimise fluid loss but this guy just quickly transfers the hose from the old to new calliper. It’s not a Lexus but shows the basic principles.

I’m not surprised repairers of these clusters are few and far between when you consider the technology involved. The speedometer and tachometer needles are driven by 4 pole synchronous motors with the sine wave signal being converted to a PWM drive signal. All this to ensure the needles don’t bounce around whilst driving. A bit of light reading 😀

Where is the price coming from? It is listed around £150.00 and around the same from Amayama including shipping and VAT. Is it £350.00 labour for fitting then?

The police need get SOCO to print the car before it gets to Lexus then again afterwards.....a match would be great!

Yes very Phil, I took a look on the database for the location of the alarm system components and this showed up, even more disturbing if as the police suggest could be an “inside job”. I seem to remember some years ago when Ford Transits were being stolen by opening up the passenger door mirror and playing with the wiring inside it.

There appears to be an alarm component mounted within the front passenger door area so makes me wonder if they managed to access the wiring to it from behind the wheel arch liner and somehow bypass it. Where were your key fobs located in your house Shafiq?

Just like the supermarkets wiped out the “corner shops” these companies will do the same to any competition. All online from start to finish, online valuations, free collection from your home or business premises, free delivery. This must be the end for any independent motor dealers holding a small stock of cars, with auction prices now exceeding retail values due to the monopoly of BCA, WBAC and Cinch plus all the others now jumping on the bandwagon there will soon be a lot of building plots coming up for sale.

BBA reman appear to have mixed reviews but mainly good, it is a company I’ve heard of before and IIRC offer a “ lifetime warranty” on repaired items. The instrument cluster is probably the only part where Lexus actually sold individual parts for it like the PCB and speedometer unit albeit at their usual prices!

A very good point, not only is tread depth and correct tyre pressure monitoring essential but also the physical condition of the tyres, uneven tread wear patterns can indicate tracking errors or geometry misalignment plus under or over inflation. Cuts, bulges and punctures are not always obvious particularly on the rear sidewalls unless you get down close and personal. Tyre age is also important as contaminants on the road, for example diesel spills and the effects of UV can cause damage such as cracking and crumbling of the tyre. One place often missed is cracking in the grooves between the treads. Tyres do have a finite life both in terms of tread depth and age, I think most manufacturers recommend replacement around 8 years regardless of the remaining tread.

Hi Keith, I would start with ensuring all the doors, boot, sunroof and bonnet are fully closed. Are the key fob batteries and the car battery good? When were they last replaced? Have you reconnected the battery since and has it reset correctly?

“Yes your new Lexus ES has definitely arrived in the UK, we’ll take a look later, what colour was it again?” 😀

IIRC there are no such things as Lexus or Toyota discs, they may come in a nice Toyota box but manufactured by a 3rd party supplier perhaps Mintex or Ferrodo. If you want OEM LPD our resident parts dealer has both sets on offer at the moment with a decent discount. 3rd party choices are Mintex and other branded products, obviously for safety reasons avoid any unbranded eBay offerings with a lifetime warranty and guaranteed to warp and squeal within 500 miles.

Definitely the right way to go if it was a 50-50 insurance claim otherwise the increase in premiums would probably exceed the self repair cost. Ask Lexus Cambridge if they will match the LPD price too.

Hi David and welcome to the LOC. OEM Lexus would be your best bet but at their premium prices although you may be lucky with the club’s resident parts dealer “Lexus Parts Direct” if you don’t need them immediately try amayama.com who sell genuine parts from Japan or the UAE at around 50% of UK dealer prices. Even factoring in the shipping and VAT they generally come in with a good saving but can take a while to get here. Aftermarket try rockauto.com but again shipping plus VAT will apply. The RX400h was never sold in the USA but the RX330 was the same suspension. Moog appear to have a decent reputation and offer a 3 year warranty https://www.moogparts.co.uk/catalogue.html Ones to avoid are most eBay sellers with their cheap and suspect offerings which may or not fit and remain serviceable.

Only 3 owners but several hundred drivers, it certainly got some rag as a demo car when new, they had to clean the wheels after every test drive because of the brake dust.

You will need to first fill the calliper with brake fluid if new then bleed any air out so a master cylinder top up will be required. The uneven pad wear will probably be due to the seized calliper pins. Yes renew the brake pads also.

You need to clamp the flexible hose, there are specific clamps available but mole grips with the jaws padded with some cardboard will do the job, just gently clamp no need for a lot of pressure.

Hi Kenneth and welcome to the LOC, if you wanted Club Lexus they are over the pond in the USA but have funny names for things like fender and tires, stick with us and you’ll be fine 😀 When you say “not start” is it cranking or doing nothing? Does the alarm/immobiliser light go out with the ignition turned on or remain flashing?

Easy to check tyre age, look on the sidewalk for an oval with 4 digits, first 2 are week last 2 year so the example below was made in week 39 in 2009.

Sounds like a failed “crash for cash” attempt fortunately.

Also bear in mind some models have the adaptive lighting system so the headlights turn with the steering.