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Everything posted by johnatg
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This is the sort of oil filter wrench you need. As I said, don't try and use anything else. Also, when refitting the filter you need to torque it to no more than !8ft.lbs - if overtightened they are very hard to get off again. Car Oil Filter Wrench ×1 Removal Tool For Toyota Corrola Prius Rav4 Lexus ES350 | eBay
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Sceptics! Nothing wrong with that kit, except that you can get equivalent components cheaper, as Linas says. You will need to buy an oil filter housing wrench - don't try to remove it any other way. Changing the plugs isn't that hard - get hold of a workshop manual (available on line) and follow the instructions. I posted on here a step-by-step guide some years ago. Be aware that if you come to trade the car in at a Lexus dealer, they won't like that you don't have official Lexus service record and will offer a pittance (ah - I see 2007 so probably not a problem really) . But don't let that stop you - doing your own service means you know it has been done properly or at least to the best of your abilities. My cars (almost) never see a garage except for MoTs and recalls.
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Just a thought - you said in the original post that your ECU via Techstream wasn't accepting the codes. Were you putting them in as Decimal or Hex numbers? As I recall you need to put them in in hex. There are various websites which will convert the decimal numbers you have (probably) into hex format.
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The point of the Autel programmable TPMS sensors is to program them with the original codes from the old sensors, either automatically or by looking at the old sensor - the codes are printed on there. A tyre place should be able to do that with their programmer. (You need to find somewhere with a specific Autel programmer unit I think)
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Indeed it is too much. I do my own servicing - I use the checklists at https://www.kbb.com/lexus/gs/2014/maintenance-schedules/?vehicleid=392660&mileage=100000 - Kelley Blue Book. You can navigate to your car and mileage - GS means GS450h but the schedules apply equally to GS300h. OK they are US service schedules, but hey - these are the same cars - why should the schedules be any different from UK. They give a recommended list for every 5000 miles. PS to see the pages you may need to turn off any ad blocker if you use one - or open the link in something like Brave browser. 10 years = 100000 miles usually - here's Kelley's list for that service: Replace engine oil and oil filter Rotate tires and adjust tire pressures as required Replace air conditioner filter Replace engine coolant Reset maintenance reminder light Check installation of driver's floor mat Inspect wiper blades Visually inspect brake pads, calipers and rotors Road test vehicle US drivers are obsessed with tyre rotation - I try and equalise tyre wear so I replace all tyres at once but I don't do it religiously at set intervals. Do we even have 'maintenance reminder light'? I've never seen it. You can price the consumables needed - oil, oil filter, aircon (cabin/pollen) filter, coolant. I'd say approx £150 for premium brands but you can do it for much less depending on brands used. The rest is Lexus's premium for labour (and posh surroundings and coffee!) If you want the hybrid health check you'd need to pay Lexus as Notamech says. (I think they just do a bit of jiggery pokey with Techstream - it's the warranty they really charge for)
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Yes - mine is a Premier. I don't think it has heated/ventilated rear seats - as I remember there were only the two electrical connectors I mentioned. If yours does have seat heating / ventilation, there will just be more or more complex electrical connectors.But really just the same procedure as above.
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There's a video on YouTube - Car Care Nut - about changing brake fluid. Main points are: 1) It doesn't need doing as often as people think. Do it when needed - see 2). I do it every 3-4 years. 2) Get a tester - you dip it in the master cylinder and lights show if there's too much water in the fluid. Not 100% accurate but a good guide. 3) You don't need Techstream - according to the workshop manual you do, but apparently dealers don't use it for fluid changes. Even if they did, not all the fluid would be flushed from the ABS unit. 4) Use a vacuum extractor to suck the fluid out of each caliper bleed screw in turn, adding fresh fluid to the master cylinder as required. (They are quite cheap on Ebay) 5) Don't use old fluid from your garage. 6) Won't apply to GS250 but for hybrids - DO NOT OPEN THE DRIVER'S DOOR WITH A BLEED SCREW OPEN. So for a GS250 - you could use any trusted garage. For a hybrid, use a dealer/independent who knows what they're doing. I changed my brake fluid just recently following Car Care Nut's instructions to the letter - no problem.
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Emissions Failure
johnatg replied to J Henderson's topic in Lexus IS 250 / Lexus IS 250C Club / Lexus IS 220D & IS 200D Club
Yep - it's running mega rich. Won't be an exhaust leak - that would give a high lambda reading - too much oxygen in the exhaust. Unlikely to be the lambda sensors - if one or more had failed the car would resort to default values and lambda would be much closer to 1.0 And there'd be fault codes. Could be a spark plug but not very likely, or a coil but I think there would be fault codes with a coil. My money's on a leaking injector. It would be worth checking the spark plugs - 4 are easy and with luck one of them will be sooty. That may indicate where the sticking injector is, (if that's the problem) Live data on Techstream might help. In the normal course of events I'd think to put in injector cleaner (I favour Liqui Moly but plenty of others) and / or Cataclean. But your problem is that you can't legally drive the car on the road (except to a booked Test or repair place)- under the new regime the unexpired part of your old MoT is cancelled once you've got a failed MoT But all conjecture from here. Good luck! -
It's a bit of a mystery as to why these are so hard to come by. Dealers replace missing/damaged ones with different types to those originally fitted. I haven't used them but vehicle-clips.com might be useful See here: Lexus Car Trim Clips, Fixings & Fasteners — VehicleClips Part number 9046707201 is claimed to be for Lexus Engine covers and shields. Prices are given in US $ but they are based in Newbury - there a phone number so I guess you could call them and ask for a £ price. Let us know if that works!
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I'm somewhat amazed. Every car I've worked on steering wise has had replaceable inner track rods, usually known as Ball Joints. But the GS workshop manual says to replace the rack if there's a problem with them. The joints wear - but what really wears them is turning the steering wheel with the car stationary. It puts enormous stress on the joints so don't do it. The car just needs to be creeping forward or back as you turn the wheel to dramatically decrease the stress on the joints. You didn't do it when you had no power steering - ah - that's probably not most of you! 😐
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Since most services involve just changing the oil and filter and giving the car a coat of looking at, why don't you just change the oil yourself? That's an awful lot of effort just because the dipstick is a bit hard to read - it's not that impossible if you make sure it's clean and dry when you insert it then look for a difference in reflectivity between the wet and dry parts when you extract it
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Well, I disagree. Any oil is better than too low, especially when the car is going to get an oil change in a few months time. The Toyota or Lexus garage will use whatever oil to the correct spec is cheapest - I doubt that they will use Toyota branded oil. The service sheet in the workshop manual for the Mk 4 GS300h and GS450h has a whole list of acceptable oils: 0W20 SL (which is the preferred grade) 5W20 SN 5W30 10W30 15W40 SL, SM or SN 20W50 SL, SM or SN I would put in 1/2 a litre of the 5W40 fully synthetic. Once mixed with whatever is in there now the engine won't notice the difference. But it will if it's low on oil. (It's still got 6 litres or so in the sump) Incidentally, isn't the light for low oil pressure, not low oil level?
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Had my GS300h Mot'd yesterday - as I was paying and collecting my (pass) certificate, the tester happened to be in the office. He said to me 'That Lexus is a lovely car'. Couldn't agree more! 🙂
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I've had mine for nearly 5 years now and have had no issues, but I'm only on 60K miles. The one you're looking at is twice that mileage - you mention 180K kms - is it an import? or are you not actually in UK? Check the brakes - that the rears aren't seized (make sure they are not very hot after a short drive) Be aware that some trim levels (F-Sport and Premier in UK) have the bigger front brake discs and they are expensive (£400+) - I don't think there are aftermarket parts available. Other trims have the smaller discs and there's plenty of choice. My front brake pads lasted to about 55K miles - your car may be in need of an expensive front brake job after potentially two pad sets or it may have been done - check. If the 12v battery is a Panasonic it will be original and possibly on its last legs or it may have been replaced. The only batteries which are actually correct are expensive - ~£300 but compromises are possible so you could get down to ~£80-£100. Plenty of discussion on here about batteries. The car is too old for Lexus warranties but it would be a good idea to get a hybrid health check. A pass would indicate that the hybrid system is reasonably OK and give a traction battery warranty for a year/10K miles - not sure if that would apply if it's an import. There was a recall last year re the Fuel Vent assembly - check that it has been done. Do the usual checks - eg for clean oil and coolant - the coolant (engine and hybrid system) should have been changed last year - has it been done? Can't compare with a GS250 but I had an IS250 for 7 years. The GS300h has a much simpler engine - the plugs are easily accessible but the oil filter is a bit less so.