ColinBarber

Yeah that is a mistake in the brochure. 223 wasn't offered on the RC F from the factory in any country at that time, it is 217. The Lexus UK name for 217 is Celestial Black, Starlight Black is the US name. The others are correct and the only ones offered by the factory until MY18. Then both blacks were dropped and replaced with 223, and the yellow became available.

The hybrid health check in the UK (part of a service, or available separately) covers your hybrid battery for 12 months/10k miles and will be issued for vehicles less than 15 years old.

Stops them being easily nicked. 👍

Nope, not that I'm aware of.

depends how you drive it I guess 😉

These are the colour codes and names available on the UK RC F between 2014-17:

yeah, this is where we get into charging losses. The amount of energy consumed is more than the amount that ends up in the battery due to losses in the cable, on-board charger efficiency, vehicle's on-board electronics controlling the charging using power etc. Typically a 10 to 15% loss is expected using these type of chargers.

Yes, although ATF doesn't really get contaminated as it is within a sealed system and under less frictional stress compared to gear oil. The main reason brake fluid is changed is because it is hydroscopic and will rust the brake lines if not changed periodically - this isn't an issue for ATF. for the 6-speed transmission in the face-lift SC430 it uses a foam filter inside a plastic housing - you cannot really clean and reuse it.

If the battery is at 30% then you need 12.67 kWh to get to full capacity as the battery is rated at 18.1 kWh (excluding all the charging losses). The onboard charger is rated at 6.6 kW, in theory you could be putting 7 kW into the vehicle if the supply voltage is 245+ v. You may see times vary between location and time of day as supply voltage can vary quite a bit. If you are seeing a charge time of between 2.5 and 3.25 hours then you are probably at the maximum possible. Anything beyond that and it would suggest that full capability hasn't been negotiated correctly and worth reseating the cable or try another charger.

There is a lot of speculation about transmission fluid and what lifetime means. Is it 70k, 120k, 200k? If your vehicle is under a warranty, be that original manufacturer's warranty or an extended/supplementary warranty such as Relax, then as per the service schedule that you need to adhere to you don't need to replace the fluid if you are on the normal schedule, only inspect every 4 to 6 years. If you are on the severe schedule (a lot of towing, using vehicle as taxi etc), then fluid should be changed every 60k miles/6 years. Once you are out of warranty then just because Lexus have stated it is lifetime doesn't mean you have any comeback if the lack of change causes a problem. The 'lifetime' fluid situation seems to have come about for two reasons. One, it was a bit of an arms race with each manufacturer claiming longer and longer times between replacement and therefore running costs of the vehicle is cheaper than the competition. Two, removing the possibility of oxygen, dirt, moisture or the wrong fluid being introduced or incorrect fluid level actually improves transmission reliability over allowing regular fluid changes. You have three main ways to change the fluid: a pan drain and refill is the safest but only removes about 1/5 of the total fluid within the transmission, so you either need to repeat multiple times (but never fully replace everything, just dilute) or just do it once every 20k miles to maintain a freshness to the fluid. If you just drain the pan into a measuring container, then you could just replace with the exact amount of fluid without going through checking the level. If you drop the pan and change the filter then you definitely want to check the level. drain the pan as above then use the transmission's pump to pump out fluid via the transmission cooler lines, 0.5 litre at a time and refill until you start to get clean fresh fluid coming out which would replace nearly all the fluid. Use an external flush machine - which may use too much pressure or reverse flush and stir up dirt that people have commented on. I'd only consider this if you have transmission issues and as a last attempt to fix things before having to resort to a transmission rebuild. No special tools but there is a procedure that needs to be followed to check the level, including putting the vehicle into a special mode that will tell you when the fluid is within the correct 10 deg temperature range then checking the level with the engine running. As to whether you should or shouldn't do it. The only Lexus I'd 100% recommend it would be for the series I RX300 with the 4 speed transmission, as the clutch material seems to wear away and contaminate/clog the transmission so a fluid change and/or external filter is a good idea. Otherwise there is no question that the transmissions get a bit slower and jerky over time, valves can start to stick which fresh detergents can help with - these transmissions can still carry on working for 200k+ miles but if you want optimum then consider doing a fluid change. Personally if I had a Lexus that I planned to keep I would do a pan drain once it was 10 years old and then every 20k miles, only using the recommended Toyota fluid.

Both 24mm I believe. The drain plug part code is 90341-18057 and needs gasket 90430-18008.

that's why he has never seen one 😉

Most people seem to say it has prevented a theft once the shield is fitted, but does happen. One person over on TOC has had their cat stolen with the official catloc installed: https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/191812-catloc-are-they-worth-it/?do=findComment&comment=1584184

Toyota/Lexus hybrids are identical to their petrol vehicles in exhaust design. Primary cats in the exhaust manifold/downpipe section within the engine bay and secondary cat(s) underneath. A RX400h is no different to a LS430 in this respect.

Your 2002 series I didn't have electric power steering, whereas the series II does - I think that is what the dealer meant. But I cannot recall many people complaining of this so I don't think it is a 'common' issue. Hopefully others with a similar aged vehicle can confirm.

No they don't, apart from a couple of rare examples - CT200h cruise control functionality funnily enough is one.

No, and even without adaptive lights, any Lexus with HID or LED headlights have a flat beam which doesn't need deflectors.

I'm taking about a CVT. If the engine is running at a higher rpm then it is able to deliver power more quickly than waiting for the engine to spool up. The time it takes with the CVT is less than an auto, but there is still a lag.

Yes, it is only activated for a short time if you aren't in S and press the accelerator. When you aren't in S mode, the paddles are really only there to provide engine braking to assist with slowing down, not accelerating faster.

the harder outer coating of the plastic lenses is removed when you sand them down. If you spray with a clear-coat lacquer after you have polished them it will last a few years before needing to be done again.

you can download the owners manual and nav manual from here: https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/about-my-lexus/manuals

getting ready to overtake someone is the only reason I've used it in the past, so the engine is already revving higher as the road clears and you start the overtake.

I believe it depends on age. After the facelift the non-ML systems had the extra centre speaker by the windscreen but didn't previously. Most of the speakers themselves are different quality between normal and ML.

Yes, they were a separate registered company in the past trading under Lexus GB, but majority/wholly owned by Toyota GB. Now they refer to themselves as Lexus UK:

Most cars are quite close at 0-30. Maybe only a second between them which can be eaten up by reaction times, feeding in the power to slowly, a bit of traction control kicking in, tyres etc.