Cotswold Pete

This car is going to be too nice to drive if you ask me, but amazing all the work your putting into it.

I was once told many years ago by a native french speaker that female gender is used when it is an item that you put things in (la voiture, la batteux, la verre), where as masculine was when you put things on or the thing that you put in (whatever the female item you are going to insert it into), (le camion, le metro), Why it is le temoin, who knows, but maybe in years gone by women would not be considered to be fit to give evidence so it would have been a bloke.

Late reply- been off-line enjoying the nice weather to get some DIY done 'auto transmission specialist yorkshire'. I would check that they have Lexus experience, which any good one should do> The place I used in Glos loved Lexus as they knew how to build with longevity in mind, and had many a story about BMWs and why they should be avoided.

I would probably speak to a specialist in auto tranmission systems, usually the ones that can repair as well as service. I certainly used on in Glos for my auto boxes, and never had any problems, and also seemed to me to be no more expensive than getting a local garage with their not quite so specialist knowledge on the auto-box front. In google I can see 3 in and around Leeds, (appreciating Yorkshire is not a small county), so might be worth giving them a call

Been an amazing read ploughing through this post, and having tried the ES at Cheltenham along with similary priced end of range Avenis, and at the time being a 15 year LS400 user, and now a E360 V6 desiel owner, I kind of concur. Nice the though the ES was (certainly felt nicer than the Avensis) it did seem to me that I was not sure as was not sure whether going for a 15yr old LS460 or a GS was what I really wanted to do if I was not going to buy a new car (for the first time in my life). I really like my cruising comfort, as I do not drive on the edge (used to many moons ago - nearly killed myself a few times) but I want a car that can can get me past 'Mrs Grady Old Lady' pootling in her Nissan Micra when I am a little late for work. The LS would give a fair burst when needed, and the E350 is even better, but the ES seemed to lumber, and the top speed only 112mph seemed to be a mental barrier, it bothered me that if I needed real welly then it was not going to do it. The LS and the Merc I have had at over 125 for those really squeaky moments (never with the family in the car). So I would say the ES (IMHO) seems nicer to sit in than the E350 (13 years old), but for sure most cars of the last 10 years seem to be built to a certain degree by accountants counting the cost of plastic versus something nicer. May the debate continue and maybe in 10 years time I will be looking to see if any ES300s going for a song, and I can be a slow old g*t pootling along.

Agree with the 'dead easy' though Kansas in USA is even more chilled (and naff all cars outside of any town) As to the standard of driving, kind of agree but when it is bad it is as mad as anything you will see in UK

Malc, LS's are hard to give up, I had the joy for over 15 years. Been pootling about in Merc E350 since then, and no competition really (unless you count better mpg). I looked at ES, GS and various Toyotas and to be honest nothing set my heart going, and only reason for Merc is a mate of mine who had to give up driving was looking for a buyer. Best of luck in choosing your new steed

IMHO I kind of agree with their stance not their actions. It for sure does not make sense to have large polluting traffic jams as a result of their actions, so they are kind of making matters worse, and alienating people, and I am sure I would be spitting nails if I was caught up in one. I do recall many moons ago being caught in a tailback from some demo along Regents Street London on a Sunday when I was keen to get out of the smoke after a day being a tourist, and even then thinking how naff the fumes were as we inched along (and we did not have AC in cars in them days) Not sure how any government is going to notice of anything unless protest are allowed, and having just watched Paul Whitehouse and his programs about water pollution at least Londoners will benefit from a £4.2B upgrade to the sewers while the rest of us can enjoy more sh*t in our rivers. I feel the militant in me rising!!!

I wonder if as petrol burns hotter than diesel that even though the petrol is not going the car far it is enough to cause problems of a longer term if the hotter combustion does more than just damage the injectors. I might be talking twaddle, but just a though. FUnnily enough the other day I panniced as I had my wifes petrol mazda (my oil burner in getting a new wheel bearing), and having filled the Mazda up started thinking OMG I have put petrol in a diesel car. All the people I have known who have got it wrong have realised with 100 yards and pulled over to no long term effect, other than a red face and some more cash spent on making sure all traces of wrong fuel removed.

I wonder if we will get to point where taking your EV on Eurotunnel will be as much a NoNo as LPG seems to be. Mate if mine who is recently retired fireman said EVs are a real b*stard to deal with when they catch fire.

In my case the bank did call me as I had missed a credit card payment, but they would not tell me what it was for, and the number they told me to ring was different to the number presenting on my phone. So I declined to discuss anything as it smelt like a scam I then rang my bank and they said they were not trying to get hold of me, then the 'scammer' called back. Anyway after much faffing about (2 hours of my time wasted) it turned out it was all genuine, and the fact that I had missed a payment for the first time in 15 years seemed to bother them. I work in IT & Telecoms and so fairly aware of the tricks of the scammers, so am 110% 'alert', but my bank proved to be the idiotic exception.

Indicators the size of a gnats crotchet, this is my moan. Why do more and more car designers think that having a large LED array on the rear with blaring red lights is acceptable when the indicators are so small as to be naffing useless. I am not aware that the Highway code is about to change to say 'indicate if you can be bothered, but do not worry as your indicators will only be visible if the person behind is actually hanging off the bumper'. I know in theory you should be far enough away to anticipate, but more and more my old eyes have no clue as to what the modern EV or hybrid in front is thinking of doing. Apologies if this topic is already covered in this moan, but if it was, I suspect that back then the indicator was the size of 2 gnats crotchet (not one)

Not in my house, every room has a proper music system, even the TV room has the TV plumbed into a non-AV amp along with the 40 year old thorens record deck, a Yamaha cassette deck and an aging CD player (which I will now upgrade) played through some decent transmission line speakers . On the car front I had the Pioneer system in my 400, and in my current Merc 350 it has the Harman system. I would say the LS system had a better sound but part of that may be down to more solid build of an LS over a 350. I always wanted a Nakamichi cassette when I was young and poor with a mortgage, so never achieved that, but still have 600 cassettes to play, and though not as HIFI as the vinyl or CD. IMHO any car without a decent sounds system is never going to be a relaxing drive

Wonder if maybe the rear sway bars need a bit of look at. My missus always said the LS was bouncy and once I had the sway bushes she stopped complaining. Other than that not sure what it could be. I always found the LS hated certain road surfaces and was fine on ones that the Jag, Honda, Mazda gave rough ride, I always put it down to tyres, variety of wear in running gear and my mood for the day. Now I drive an E350 it is much quieter and better at ride than even the LS (which shocked me), but there is one corner I drive on every day where the 350 likes to skip a little rear end dance, where as the other cars held as tight as a train on the tracks.

More than a pound down I would say, as you have to factor in your time (which is not free) to find out that you have not saved anything. Good to see this moan channel woken up. My mona of the day would be working for a company where the first thing I got asked today is 'Do we have a process to know what the process is to be able to enage a 3rd party technician'. In the olden days it was called ask around and if no one has an answer then you either find someone who can make an executive decision or have the b*lls to make your own decision. Death by process, maybe that should be the title of one of the books I am going to write when I retire (along with a few other books bemoaning the naffing waste of time that consumes small companies who are trying to be BSI/ISO compliant - now that's a now money tree if you can get a job there )

Fascinating video, as his videos usually are. I had no idea about the concept of dimming via the ground wire, which sounds to me like a weird way of doing things. Best of luck with replacement unit

Paul, I do not know exactly what the 'really odd' ride experience was. In this case it was a comment that the owner of Osaka in newport made about a client who had driven down from the West Midlands as his LS was 'odd'. My guess would be that if the oil in the shock is not 'right' then you would get a level of wallowing that then turns into an odd stifness on heavy cornering as the oil compression gets it's act together. My first LS had completely shot shocks (never failed it's MOT), and it was wallowy all the time. And on my second LS when I had new new rear shocks (both sides - OEM) I noticed that tramlining was totally goen, so I read that as worn shocks have the oil as being 'too compressible', so end up making the springs take more of the strain. What kind ride are you getting?

I thought USB cigarette chargers had a max output of 24watts, so would mean a 120watt requirement would take 5 times longer to get the Xiaomi fully charged.

many moons ago used to get my Lexus serviced in Swindon then catch the bus to work, you had to hold your nose, as I assume some people (the night before) assumed the bus was a toilet. and the other day caught train to London, GWR Hitachi beast, with seats less comfortable than concrete, had a back ache for a week afterwards, so more and more I find public transport is not only expensive but darned uncomfortable. what we really need is a Star Trek transporter

We were coerced to go lead-free years ago, sometimes change needs to be driven by £££. But my view of EVs is not a bad idea, but not so sure they are the future, but if they can cut down pollution in towns then great (but does covering fields with Solar Panels and burning wood pellets - which are imported from USA really make for being really green). It would some how be nice if we did not need to use our cars as much, but even if countries where Public Transport is top notch seems like us humans like our metal boxes. Pretty sure when I retire I am not going to give up my V6 but just drive it less and avoid town centres as much as poss.

At my age you need lots of drugs to keep the old ticker going, not so sure selling them is a good idea, and strangely enough my missus keeps my 'stash' in order as i can be a bit 'forgetful'

Recently traded down from LS400 to Merc 350 (V6), wonder if I will last 3 years before I fully appreciate the error of my ways

Every cloud has a silver lining - other way around in our house I go off the deep end my missus tells me to 'chill' .

It can take a while to get used to large barge feeling, I live in the sticks where some lanes are just wide enough for an LS, and have driven around Bristol, Cardiff, London and Birmingham no problems. Having traded down to a Merc 350 I would say the LS length is not that much more but enough to make you think it is too big. My wife hated driving it even though she has driven transits and Shoguns, so maybe give it a bit more time, though an LS around town does drink petrol which is why if I was a city dweller i would be thinking more along lines of hybrid

My dad was AA member from 1964 to last year (so a mere 58 years) cannot ask him as he has now gone to that great car park in the sky, but makes me wonder if he got the same treatment with his fees