ColinBarber

Different and more expensive: https://blog.lexus.co.uk/lexus-paintwork-look-good/ Just don't scratch it 😮

Nice 🙂 Although the RC F doesn't come in USB 😉

Other than the front and rear bumpers (the metal bar not the covers) I don't believe there are any aluminium body parts on the series III RX - certain the doors and sills are varying grades of high strength steel, and the arch behind the door is non high strength steel. The outer shell of the door can be purchased/replaced rather than the whole door & frame - depending if the frame isn't damaged - needs some welding and painting. A complete door from a breakers may be easier/cheaper, especially if you can get one in the same colour. Definitely looks like the sill will need some fabrication work.

No, it doesn't pick up radio directly, it will stream from a mobile device either using Bluetooth or AUX input.

Good luck, not too many about these days. Not that many were sold in the first place 😞

Yes. 04465-0W200 and 04466-0W080 - just as expensive as the stock ones.

It became standard this year, for vehicles arriving in the country around the March/April timeframe. The software for 2019 and 2018 models to be updated for CarPlay is expected in the next few weeks.

No. If it is from the brakes then that could be a piston that is a little sticky which should get fixed under warranty. The standard pad squeal which happens when the brakes are lightly applied is unlikely to be fixed under warranty. There is a TSB for the RC F and LC500 where they swap the pads with ones with a different friction compound but that doesn't apply to the GS F for some unfathomable reason and they will only consider a swap up a certain amount of pad wear, by which point Lexus feel the owner has had enough time to decide (high performance track pads or ones that don't embarrass).

By purchasing now you are locking in today's prices but expending money before you need to. Typically Lexus revise their warranty pricing at the start of the calendar year, but in theory could do it anytime - and prices could decrease, stay the same or increase, although a decrease is highly unlikely. Given you aren't far away from a warranty renewal I'd probably do it before the end of Dec to get the 24 months for £995 price, but wait for the service plan until nearer the time or if your dealer makes you a good offer (worth asking them for a price and then stating you will hold off for now to see if they do try and persuade you). But this is really a personal decision.

you need to contact the warranty administrator: Lexus Customer Services, TWG Services Limited, The Aspen Building, Floor 2, Vantage Point Business Village, Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, GL17 0AF Tel: 0330 100 3299

Rotors are around £85 each which seem to be full OEM spec: https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/lexus/rc-gsc1-usc1/107866/10132/brake-disc?brand[0]=65&utm_source=LexusOwnersClubUK&utm_medium=ForumLinks and EBC pads are around £120 per set (front or rear) - so around £600 for all 4 corners. Cheapest genuine Lexus parts from LexusPartsDirect would be around £1130, and you would end up with squealing pads 😞

Possibly not because there isn't a voltage drop on startup as with a conventional vehicle.

All very inconsistent. The RC F specifications states you can use 95 RON. The GS F states you should use 98 RON, but you can use 95 if 98 isn't available. The LC states 98 RON or greater (which is around 94 octane using the America rating system).

You won't fail an MOT on an emission reading with a hybrid because it won't be tested. Even if it was it should pass if the primary cats are up to temperature. What you might fail on is "Emission control equipment fitted by the manufacturer: missing, obviously modified or obviously defective". Now the person conducting the inspection isn't going to know what the underside of every make/model looks like so it would be difficult spot this but a flexi-pipe or poorly welded pipe may not pass, and you possibly wouldn't want to get an MOT done at a Lexus dealer where the inspector is going to be more likely to know what the underside of a 400h is meant to look like. MOT aside, there is a legal grey area. Just removing the secondary cat shouldn't change the emissions that much to fail basic emission standards but it 'could' push it over a CO2 tax limit or not pass a specific Euro emissions standard that the vehicle was originally tested to. I don't know enough about those standards to know if the cold running performance is taken into account or just once fully up to temperature - I'd assume there is a reason for the secondary cat otherwise Lexus wouldn't go to the expensive of fitting one in the first place.

Depends on your definition of best quality. Early V2000 systems had less video bandwidth compared to Beta. They had some good features but considering it launched years after the competition it should have had improvements.

Yes

I don't think it really matters. The engine compartment points are there in case the battery is flat and you need power to open the electrical lock on the boot. But it is easier to put cables into the engine bay than in the boot where the trailing wires will press against the boot seal and potentially damage it.

If there is a definite drop in power then something must have happened, and whilst it could be the pre-cats breaking up and partially blocking the exhaust that would be a bit of a coincidence. I would start my investigation with the things that has just been change e.g. has the back box failed and clogged?

I've owned an IS200, a GS300 and GS430 plus driven the IS300 a number of times. The series I IS has a much better handling chassis compared to the GS300 - in terms of refinement and ethos the best way to describe it is the IS200 is a Toyota, the GS is a Lexus. The IS300 bridges the gap, and the IS chassis needs the extra power the 2JZ provides. The auto box was good at the time, but like all Lexus' boxes it is designed more for refinement rather than sporty performance.

It's a little bigger. You get about 1cm extra in length and whilst the 450h vehicle is 4cm wider than the 400h, the narrowest part of the boot up to 15cm wider because the rear suspension is different and doesn't intrude into the boot space as much.

Found some more information on the subject from the 400h documentation:

Yes. Although not just me, Toyota are. Or to be more precise, the mechanical brakes are used whenever the braking force requested by the driver exceeds the capacity of the regenerative system - which is anything other than light braking as you can see from the power meter.

I think like Lexus dealers it depends on who owns the franchise and the individuals that work there. I've not owned a MB for a number of years but when I did the local dealer I used provided a service that was better than my local Lexus dealer ever has.

In the last ten years Mercedes had been getting better, seems they are falling back again. Poor old Nissan, I guess that's what happens when you team up with a French manufacturer.

No. I don't believe your GS can display Google Maps or Waze sat nav, or control Spotify or has voice recognition as capable as Google to change the navigation route, reply to text messages etc. All possible if you have Android Auto.