Malc

I still thoroughly enjoy the excitement ( even at my advanced age ) of plodding along and taking the odd super fast car by surprise when i just " toe it " and fly away ..... likewise at traffic lights with a boy racer, or someone i know is just riding the clutch to chase away ahead of me, my old banger, and I put it into quick mode and fly away like a jet at my super acceleration of 6.9 secs 0 - 60 mph ( even now I believe ) and then continuing super acceleration right through to a speed limit thundering 70mph I was very naughty once, three people in a new Merc estate decided to play silly buggers with me and cutting me up on a dual ( duel ! ) carriageway. I let it pass until they slowed down and i overtook in the normal course, then they decided to start again ( being silly buggers ) so I then kept them in the outside lane not allowing them to pull into the nearside ( my ) lane and they got quite scared when they couldn't get anywhere near to overtaking me at some silly fast speed .... and they seemed to desperately need the security of the inside lane. Some Merc drivers eh ! Malc

It might just need a good burn up the Motorway to clear out years of carbon build-up. Maintenance is no substitute for use ............. I remember having, both very lethargic, a F reg Volvo estate and a BMW 318i coupe from 15+ years ago when i had my car sales business. I then drove both cars exceptionally briskly and through the gears, resulting in several loud bangs and plumes of black smoke trailing behind me.............. and the cars then driving with a new lease of life and like " normal " Too much molly coddling and not enough use, these are after all 4 ltr power machines, might have resulted in the situation you now have. But it's your risk whatever you do with it ..... others on here might have a different possible view Malc

no idea, sorry Malc

blimey, that looks a bit challenging...... i think I'd have a professional re-sit the screen in the existing strips/trims and you get the chance to clean them up without damaging them hopefully. That might remove the wind noise factor etc and make you much happier with the appearance too........ it's only money Malc

hey there's another thread about crap Lexus paint finish somewhere .................... they have dumbed down I'm sure. My original paintwork is quite brilliant with very few stone chips and on 194k miles and 22 years ... the black windshield trims and wiper arms are silvered, chipped a fair bit though and that annoys me too. My bro-in-law with a brand new RC had those black trims chipped after just a few days. Malc

hi John, when I had my 1994 M reg Mk2 Ls400 I didn't have traction control on my car, neither do I have it on my N re Mk3 1995 ! ( to my knowledge ) Do you have an ordinary Ls400 of that period ? or is it a rebadged Celsior and an import maybe ? And I've never heard of this Charcoal Canister thing either on these cars ........ what does it do and where might it be ? Thanks Malc

petrol gauge on mine when on orange shows the gauge/needle to be totally empty BUT when refilling ( as i always do to the top ) it's only ever about 70 ltrs and I know the tank holds 85.1 ltrs and therefore probably 100 miles left in it at the time. I'd have no hesitation driving around France for a few 000 miles tbh but i would always totally refill the tank .............. and avoid it getting to the orange light too. These cars are designed for Grand Touring in comfort and security. Malc

I wish the buyer would join this Forum and keep us posted ............. I'm intrigued to know the outcomes Malc

you see, you're being entirely logical here ............ you just have to imagine the impossible and unimaginable and then you might get somewhere close to the nonsense these insurers and brokers pontificate over .............. to disregard logic and arrive at their nonsensical conclusions Malc

yes, it's not that uncommon for me to hear this when I'm refilling her on a hot day, a second or two of a huge gush of " air " ......... I'm assuming it's a little vapour being pressurised and escaping when the cap is unscrewed............... not likely to be the issue i fear Malc

did you check the air filter too ? re petrol, you usually have about 100 miles left in the tank when the orange light appears Malc

when my front n/s UCA went I didn't notice any difference to the driving at all ! ........... it was picked up on the MOT a couple of months later BUT I did hear/feel a slight " tweak " on that side when I was driving up and down the Dolomites just before the new MOT and the UCA failure coming to fruition ... and at @173k miles I think Malc

hey, what's the mileage, anything less than 500,000 and a new MOT then it's a good'un Malc

hahahahaha,.................... with the older Ls400s the pedestrians can't even hear you approach and when it revs it's so quiet it sounds like a lamb munching grass in a field 100 yards away Malc

and no warranty company will cover " pre-existing " conditions ....... but you can ask them Malc

generally, and from the Ls400 etc forum, not having air suspension saves you a potential £1k a corner should it ( almost inevitably at some stage ) fail, sometimes piecemeal, one corner at a time ............... and should give you peace of mind for the future .... these are now relatively old cars and reading on these forums that Lexus itself reckons the life of components at 100k miles is ok and the likely warranty cut-off point ( apart from age anyway ) . ...........fair wear and tear after that wouldn't enable you to claim under a possible warranty................... worth bearing in mind .................... don't know about the comfort and gizmo level of satisfaction of not having air suspension .......... but the replacement cost per corner would tell me that coilovers are a good move !

any tyre fitter worth his salt will have a simple way to undo locking wheel nuts ! as i would guess any breakdown service attending you .... even though they always ask where the locking wheel nut key is before starting. It's never put anyone off when telling them " I have no idea " Malc

Air Bag Recall on my 56 plate Honda Legend completed on 4th May this year .......... they just had to wait for the stock to arrive ( like everyone else I guess ) Malc

doesn't seem a very expensive add-on cost if you're doing that activity ... it's only money Malc

yes, I heard this, and it used to be free asserts of only £50k ( a while ago I know ) BUT one would want to defray the risk, have it underwritten and maybe that wouldn't save too much really. I don't think I would want to personally take on a potential £1mn claim for killing a few people in a freak accident ! Malc

I've noticed year on year that the compulsory excess has increased on each of my cars .... it's an industry thing I think, not specific car related .... anything to reduce the likely cost of claims on your policies Malc

I doubt you'll get much luck with the auction house........... but best to try There was no major fault the moment you bid, the hammer went down, you paid and drove the car away ... was there ? How long after did the fault appear ? how many miles and time on your journey home from the auction house ? Malc

sounds like Lexus are sure " dumbing down " on quality over the years Mine was " fixed ", after unwarranted corrosion a couple of years ago or so . welded up £30 and after about 19 years ............. the remainder of the exhaust is stainless steel and I'm told " like new " There's very little incentive to my mind, reading all these Lexus Forum posts, to convince me to buy a more recent Lexus........... it's SAD Malc

I doubt that really is the final answer from Morrisons .............. have you some sort of household insurance or other policy that might cover you for potential litigious issues that you might want to pursue where harm has been done against you / your assets ? And just how prominent is that warning sign at the carwash ? Malc

a used BMtroublu over a later used Lexus .............. are you nuts ? Malc