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ColinBarber

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  1. you can get pistons and seal rebuilt kits from Lexus and 3rd parties if you wanted to do it yourself. https://lexus.7zap.com/en/eu/lexus+gs/334510/gws191r-bexqhw/2/4707/476476b/#47731B Original parts from your dealer, or 3rd party parts from autodoc.co.uk or Rockauto. Not sure this will fix your fault code - you should really get the code read. But if the brakes aren't working correctly then you need to sort them out anyway. Try probably became seized due to lack of use - you need to apply your brakes hard every now and then on a hybrid otherwise the mechanical rear brakes don't get used.
  2. It will go faster and longer in EV mode (up to 44 mph in AWD and 71 mph in FWD) but not in EV drive mode, which is roughly the same and seemingly unavailable for much longer periods of time compared to the NX. The 4th gen hybrid is just marketing to make it sound more advanced. There have really only been 3 hybrid system generations for Lexus, which match the last three Prius generations, no Lexus hybrid existed which used the original Prius technology. If we are just taking about minor tweaks then there are 6 or 7 generations. I replied in general terms to comments made about the IS and NX. They relate to the UX too, just the specific numbers are slightly different.
  3. Any dealer. Obviously you can get an MOT done elsewhere if you wished for an additional expense, but it is included in the price of the warranty.
  4. If the battery is fully charged and in good health you should be ok for three weeks. If you are going to leave for that long then you are best to just place the panel on the dashboard so you get more light.
  5. Someone I know had an attempt on the two BMWs they have in the household a couple of weeks ago. Person walked straight up to their security camera and pulled it off the wall and then attempted to use a relay attack on the vehicles. What they didn't realise was there was more than one camera so they have footage of them going to the downstairs house windows to try and pick up the key signal, then putting the relay device on a pole and putting it near the upstairs bedroom windows. As the keys are always kept in a metal box when at home they were unsuccessful. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for one of the neighbours whose MB was taken in just a few minutes. There was a tracker on the car, in the morning when they contacted the company they were able to see the route the vehicle took to the coast before the signal was lost - presumably it a shipping container to be stripped for parts out of the country.
  6. It will be impacted by the tinted glass and they don't produce much energy to begin with. Possibly better than nothing but may only just slow down the rate of discharge rather than stop it altogether.
  7. Nothing unique to the F Sport. The shark fin is a telephone antenna. Won't be connected if you don't have a phone car kit installed. The DAB antenna is on the windscreen, near the rear view mirror. All CTs have some sort of high level rear spoiler which houses the AM / FM antenna. There is a second diversity FM antenna in the rear window.
  8. Most of the designs don't lend themselves to a permanent installation, which is probably why the instructions state what they do. But because of that you then don't know if technically they would be ok or not connected to the vehicle when it is running. Always possible to wire into the vehicle via a relay - normally closed contacts connected to the 12v battery but with the relay coil powered via an accessory feed so the solar charger is disconnected when the ignition is turned on. Where would you mount the panel though so that it isn't causing a distraction for the driver? Most 400h vehicles have rear tinted windows so the parcel shelf isn't going to work. Possibly on the sunroof glass?
  9. £995 for two years cover on an RX. That gives you the warranty, full AA European breakdown cover and two MOTs. It's only available to be taken out if the vehicle is under 10 years old.
  10. Correct, at which point it cancels EV drive mode - there is no ICE whilst the vehicle is in EV drive mode. EV drive mode and the ease at which it is cancelled varies a bit between vehicles. The IS300h when cold for example is limited to a max speed of 19 mph and only the very gentlest of throttle application will stop it from being cancelled. Once warmed up you can get to 28 mph (around 31 mph on the speedo) and apply a bit more throttle. If you keep below the max. speed and limit the amount of throttle then certainly you will remain running in EV longer than if the hybrid system engaged automatic EV mode - that's because the driver has explicitly called for EV so it will only cancel when it has to, whereas in automatic mode the vehicle will come out of EV mode when it is more economical to do so (hence the reason why forced EV drive mode is less economical than leaving the hybrid system to look after itself).
  11. yes, weld over the holes with steel plates. The damaged exhaust pipe section can be cut out and a new piece welded in. Replace the driveshaft. But you also need to understand what happened to cause this - driveshafts don't just fall out - so did it fail, is there a problem with the diff, did the diff carrier move/fail etc. You also need to be confident that the driveshaft hasn't damaged any of the suspension components and when all the work is done you will need to get the rear wheels fully aligned.
  12. Certainly possible to produce non-friction brakes that perform just as well as conventional brakes but not really using a regenerative system with Lithium-Ion batteries because the current produced would exceed the acceptable charging rate of the batteries and therefore you would need to get rid of the excess energy via heat radiators - and if you put in all that extra expensive you might as well just stick with the set up you see today (and you need a split braking system to pass safety regulations which the mechanical friction brakes easily provide). If we get you a new energy store (different battery tech/super capacitors) then it could be a possibility.
  13. Three things normally get the blame for excessive power draw on the SC430. The amp for the sound system (pull the radio fuse or disconnect the amp) Auto headlights (turn them off, don't leave in auto position) Alarm backup battery Not sure what would be triggered after 5 days to cause the excessive discharge. The only thing I can think of is the alarm backup battery becoming discharged and causing some malfunction that draws too much power from the main battery. The other two causes I'd expect to produce excessive draw immediately (or in the cause of the auto lights at most once you go through a light/dark cycle (e.g. overnight)).
  14. Confused by this. EV mode means the ICE isn't used at all.
  15. Agreed, 245/50/17 is almost identical in circumference to the Japan stock 225/60/16 wheels/tyres so speedo would maintain its calibration. 235/45/17 would throw it out too much, the lower side wall would probably compromise the ride comfort too much as well. The wheels weren't used on other cars in Japan though. The DHP was a UK upgrade at port of entry, the wheels being sourced in Europe made by OZ. This is similar to the GS300 sport which also had all the sport parts fitted in the UK.
  16. Just because a size is written on the box it doesn't mean that is what the cars were sold with. For a given wheel width you have multiple tyres sizes that 'fit'. What is the size of your wheel width, 7" or 7.5"?
  17. It is for driving in electric mode but it isn't something you should normally do is it is less economical to do so compared to the hybrid system determining when it is most appropriate to use electric mode or not. It's really just there to allow you to move your vehicle off a driveway rather than having the petrol engine start up, or to cut emissions as you drive slowly past a school. But I find it almost useless on the UX as it is nearly always unavailable, even when first starting before the petrol engine fires up - on other hybrid models it is more usable.
  18. No I don't think you need to do anything else. I've wifi turned off on the UX (it may prefer that if enabled), and on the iPhone under hotspot I have 'allow others to join' enabled. The UX is set to automatically connect to Lexus. When the vehicle is powered on, I get a hotspot symbol appear on my phone, telling me something is connected, and the vehicle can download settings, get traffic updates etc.
  19. IMO wifi hotspot is a poor option as you need to explicitly enable the option every time you want to connect your vehicle on your phone, otherwise it will be trying to connect to wifi networks rather than serving out its own wifi network. Why don't you use bluetooth hotspot? You don't need to explicitly enable it every time, once the vehicle has been connected the first time, uses less power on your phone and I've never had an issue with my wife's UX connecting to her XS or my 12.
  20. I think it is just the NX that remains in production with the accelerator hinged at the top. The CT does too but technically no longer for sale. I suspect with the long history of pedals getting stuck under mats for Toyota they are moving all new models to a bottom hinge design.
  21. To be clear, are you trying to connect your vehicle to your iPhone's wifi hotspot, or connecting your iPhone to the vehicle's wifi hotspot?
  22. Welcome back 🙂 Minus means less sensitive so it has to be darker for the lights to automatically come on. When you unlock the vehicle in the dark, via the key fob or touching the handle, then the front Lexus ticks and rear lights should come on (not the DRLs as they are a second stage of brightness on the Lexus ticks). This is the default setting, to disable this feature it needs dealer customisation (or customisation software (e.g. techstream, Carista etc)) - you cannot change the settings via the vehicle settings.
  23. There would be no effect on the regen braking system. Pads are excluded from the warranty, as are the discs if just down to wear, and therefore it doesn't matter if you use non-genuine parts or have them changed at a non-Lexus service centre. If you want to play it safe then purchase genuine parts from Lexus Parts Direct and pay for them to be fitted by an Independent. https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-rx/lexus-rx-phase-iii-2009-2015/lexus-rx-3-brakes-transmission/lexus-rx-phase-3-front-brake-set/ https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-rx/lexus-rx-phase-iii-2009-2015/lexus-rx-3-brakes-transmission/lexus-rx-phase-3-rear-brake-set/ I'd check your discs, they may be no worse than last year and aren't in need of being replaced.
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