matt-c

Unlikely to be nothing - most policies have an excess (£50, £60, £75 typically). As for Lexus approved - it doesn't get you anything. Firstly, if there's a problem with the new screen (for example, it leaks) Lexus won't rectify it, because they didn't fit it. Your warranty will be with the replacement company that they subbed the work out to. Secondly, if you want "Lexus Approved", and they use Autoglass, for example, surely then Autoglass are "Lexus Approved"?

Mark - J7 M11. It is a large organisation, but I don't like to type out the name in most cases. The internet is a big place, and many people watch ;)

Bren - the plastic cover, hate to say it, may have had a tab broken on it, which is why it keeps coming off. If this is so, then the replacement company should buy you a new one. As for not working even though the gel is there (it won't be new, as we're never provided replacements for it; it's classed as a reuseable part - essentially, because it is), that is a strange one, and may need to be put on diagnostics to find out why. Granted, in the non summer months, this job can be a nightmare. The rain is a major problem - water and glue don't mix. Same goes for snow. Sadly, even though I always explain this to the customer before starting a job on a day that it's been raining and looks like it will continue to - and even when I arrive and it's currently raining - many of them refuse to accept my warning is for their benefit, and rather think I'm just trying to get out of doing the job. Usually met with "Well, it's not raining much" or similar. I then explain that if they want me to fit it despite my warning, then I will do, but there will be no warranty offered on it should it leak, or worse, no compensation offered should they have an accident and are injured as a result of the screen not being fitted correctly. This usually gets the message home ;) Cold can also give problems with the glue, which is why the tech mentioned about keeping it on the dash vents. Personally, I don't do this as all it does is localise the heat to one particular part of the "sausage" (the glue "tubes" are foil wrapped sausages), but instead I keep the whole box of glue (12 tubes) in the passenger footwell, with the heater on, and my spare fleece covering them. This traps the heat in, and warms them all the way through. Creaking is to be expected on most cars after installation, on newer cars, it's a more and more common trend to but the inside trims (roof lining, a-post trims, dash) right up to the glass so it's touching. Problem there is many of these cars have leather, or faux leather plasticy covered trims, which when they rub against the glass, will make creaking noises. Fitters are reluctant to fit the screen so it sits slightly higher, as the customer - who's never looked around the screen before in their life, but as soon as they've had a screen fitted suddenly becomes an expert - claims it's fitted incorrectly as there's a "gap". Add to that, the fashion with new cars is to have the "floating glass" look (no trims around the edges of the glass on the outside, and the gap around the edge of the screen and the body work getting so much smaller with each generation of new model (honestly, the A5 and A6 Audi's have a ~2mm gap between the edge of the glass and the roof on the outside!) that you have to fit the screen at the bang on height otherwise it just looks wrong. On cars with exterior trims, such as the IS200, or Yaris, Avensis, etc, creaking is to be expected from the exterior trim also - especially since in most cases a new trim is fitted, and this is harder and less supple than the original as it hasn't "weathered" in The things you really need to look out for are leaking (obviously), and windnoise. Windnoise usually comes from incorrect glue line (ie if it has a gap, wind whistles in) and from incorrectly fitted exterior trims (including scuttle); wind gets in and around them and makes noise over x mph. It's why if at all possible, I'll push for a repair (on a stone chip) rather than replacement. I understand that it doesn't look as pretty, but it means that none of the original trims, scuttle, sensors, wipers, scuttle, etc etc have to be interfered with, meaning nothing can go wrong. I've repaired two stone chips on my own screen on my IS, and countless others on cars I've had before, rather than replace the screen - even though I'd love a new screen because mines weathered and pitted. But I won't change the screen until I need to, but rather repair it where possible. Bluesman - thanks, but I do enough mileage as it is! Maybe I should start my own company, specialising in Lexus/Toyota only screens, and just do Owners Club members cars? :D (actually, doing Owners Club members cars is one of the jobs I hate the most - I once attended a job for a member of the Ford RS Owners Club with a Focus RS, who preceeded to tell me that he only wanted a Ford dealer screen because "patent part screens (the ones we use - his words) don't have as many heater elements as the dealer screens". I then watched him count each and every heater element in the screen I'd brought (a non dealer screen) only or him to have to recant that statement when he realised it had the same amount of elements. He then stood over my shoulder the entire time, hawk eye'ing me, and reacting to every "crack" noise as I stripped the car down and refitted. People - cars make cracking noises when you take things apart; it doesn't mean I've broken anything!!! Wipers make the most awful "CRACK" sound when you pop them off the spindle - this usually sends OC members franticly looking for something I've broken. Sometimes I like to wind them up by muttering a discreet, but just loud enough to hear, "oops" while under the bonnet :D (ps, I'm not tarring all OC members as the above - thankfully it's the minority, not the majority. But there are some serious plums out there. Rest assured, after 10 years, 15,000+ windscreens, and working on nearly every make and model of car on the roads, I do kinda have an idea of what I'm doing ;) )

Panya, I'm totally in agreeance with you. I want my Lexus to remain as good as when it was first put on the road, but with the windscreen, if it needs to be replaced, Lexus won't import a screen from Japan, they'll use local dealers, Lexus won't replace the Lexus stickers you currently have, assuming you've still got the original screen. Autoglass did a brilliant job of my screen. More over, Lexus won't do anything except take your money. They'll just call Autoglass, or similar, and have them fit it, and then charge you double the cost for the pleasure

As a windscreen fitter of ten years, problems do arise now and again. Sadly, you only ever hear about the problem jobs on places like car forums or review sites, and not about the thousands of perfectly fine jobs. Here's a quote from a post I made in another thread about replacement windscreens I pride myself on being a good fitter; I've been doing it long enough, am still happy to learn everyday and don't think I'm a know it all, and actually care about the job I'm doing (of course there are some that couldn't give a toss, and just slap it in regardless; I actually do care about doing it, and do the best job I possibly can, often taking much longer on a car than is normally needed just to make sure it's as perfect as I can get it). But from time to time, a problem presents itself, and accidents happen. Regarding the rain sensor falling off, I'd need to know if it's the sensor that's fallen off the bracket, or the bracket that's come away with the screen. Because if it's the latter, it's not the fitters fault, that's a faulty product. I had a brand new C Class Merc on today, and did a great job replacing it. However, when I went to clip the scuttle into the tracking that comes glued to the bottom edge of the glass, the tracking twisted and bent. That's a faulty product, and completely out of my control. I spent a further 10 mins attempting to get the scuttle to sit in the tracking, but short of pulling it off the screen - which wouldn't achieve anything, since then it wouldn't hold the scuttle to the bottom edge of the screen - there's nothing I can do. So I showed the customer, explained, apologised (even though it's not my fault) and then pushed through a DMR report on it, and we'll be changing the screen for him next week to rectify it. Anyway, if the bracket has come off the glass, it's easily fixable by a windscreen tech. It takes about ten mins, and can be bonded on using mirror boss glue (two part liquid and spray activator glue, used to glue the metal bosses that mirrors fit to). I've done it plenty of times; ironically, the last time was on an RX... If it's the sensor itself come off the bracket, you'll be able to fix it yourself, or just take it into the branch that did the work for you and they will remount it. As for the sensor not working, it's entirely possible it's as simple as the "gel" missing from the sensor (if memory serves me correctly, the sensor on the LS has a rectangle of a gel like substance (not liquid gel, but more of a gum like gel) that sits between the sensor and the screen. If this isn't replaced, and I've seen it overlooked or missed several times, then the sensor won't work. Lexus are right; the sensor cannot be calibrated, because that wouldn't do anything. It can be activated or deactivated by the ECU. Merc's have a problem whereby if the sensor is removed from the screen and the ignition is turned on, the ECU thinks that it isn't working when it does a system check, so it deactivates it. Likewise if the sensor is unplugged and the ignition is turned on. This can only be reactivated by Merc by having a dealer plug a computer into the ECU and turning it back on. From memory, this doesn't affect Lexus', but to be on the safe side, I never unplug any sensors, or turn ignitions on until the sensor is reseated on the new screen on any car...

As said, cradle is the biggest obstacle to overcome. The guys over on the other forum aren't having much luck getting cradles made, and they'd be the guys to speak to as there's quite a few running SC's on there, and the collective knowledge about them on that forum far outweighs the knowledge on this forum. There's also a modification that has to be done to the nose or the clutch, or something like that, on the Merc charger, as it's different to the one TTE used. Again, the guys on the other site are the ones to talk to

You can request the screen be changed of course. A new screen, as Stuart says, is a fantastic improvement in visual clarity than the original; not because the glass is any different, but because the original is pitted and weathered. Mine is the same, and that's 87k. As Stuart says, Lexus won't fit the screen for you, they will subcontract it out to the likes of Autoglass or other name brand windscreen company. They also won't import a "Japanese" windscreen for it (the glass isn 't likely to be made in Japan anyway), unless it's for an out of production model or a specific import. For example, I had an R32 Skyline on many years ago, which is of course, a Jap import. To get glass for that, since it's so out of production, is Nissan only, and for that particular model in that colour (glass tint colours vary from country to country; UK spec for example is green, whereas the JDM version is grey or bronze) meant the glass had to come from stock in Japan. Minimum 9 weeks (or as much as three months) wait for the slow boat shipping.

:D

Check the fuse box in the footwell. If you've got a leak coming in, often that gets wet, and when electrical hubs get wet, strange things have been known to happen!

I should hope not; it's not a vegetable...

Take it back to WIM for a start

Yes, non-dealer supplied/stamped replacement screens come with heating elements in them

Sounds like something a wife would do!

Do a night time journey, especially on a motorway. The difference is insane - it's like seeing in HD for the first time! Sadly, with all the grin n **** on our roads, new screens don't stay so nice for long :( I'd love to put a new screen in mine, just because it's got nearly 89,000 miles worth of pitting and scuffs to it, but it's time and money at the end of the day. Yes, I can do it myself, but I still need to buy the glass and the trim, and then do it on a day off :(

Nah, it;s not a touch in job - it's taken a deeper chunk of metal out of it than the pic suggests. Definitely a filler, sand, smooth and paint job. Might get one of the mobile van guys round to quote on it...

Only an hour to change the screen, the other hour is the curing time. The glue needs to cure properly, and the car needs to sit still for that to happen, in order to be safe to drive. 1hour is the minimum driveaway time for a car with more than 1 airbag. If it's less, and you were involved in an accident where the airbags deployed, the screen would not be stuck well enough for the airbags to work (they work by inflating and using the screen to keep their position) Creaking is to be expected on most car, especially ones like our Lexus' and Toyota's that have a hard compound trim around them. This needs time to bed in and seat itself. It's faster in summer to do so, as it;s warm and the black trim soaks up the sun, making it supple. In colder months, like now, it will take longer.

After running around all winter on my scabby, flakey wheels, I refit my completely mint condition wheels this afternoon, and a couple hours later do this; Misjudged a kerb, and crunched the N/S/F while parking!!!

My new top tip is http://www.deadsara.com - love this band, their debut is awesome!

Having changed springs (and shocks) before, it's not too hard, provided you don't run into any rusted/seized bolts or hubs. Course, on my old 1986 Escort, this was all I ran into! And of course, it was easier to do on that car because the rears are simply wishbones the springs sit in, so can easily take out one bolt, let it drop down, replace spring, and use a jack to get it back into place. We did all the bushes at the same time, and to be honest, you might as well. However, I wouldn't be doing it myself anymore. It's just that bit easier to run it down to a garage, and have them put it up on a two-post lifter, drop all the suspension out, swap over what's needed, and refit. So much easier than doing it on the floor with jacks and axel stands.

The manual box in a 200 is one of, if not the nicest manual boxes I've ever driven (apart from 1st having quite a sharp cut off) and is a joy to drive. But I'm told the 5sp auto box in the 300 is also very very nice. So it really boils down to whether you want auto or manual really. I know the 200 came with auto, but it's a fairly sluggish 4sp, which when I drove, I wasn't impressed by. Yes, the 300 has a bit more power, to me that's a bonus, not a buying criteria. There are some other nice features to the 300; full leather, front armrest, chromatic mirrors, etc. Again, all bonus', as opposed to buying criteria (at least to me) If I came across a 300 in as nice a condition as my 200, that was as nice to drive and feels as tight and fresh as my 200, I'd be hard pushed not to buy it - because I'm getting lazy and I'd like to switch to an auto. The first 200's I looked at were auto's, but their 4sp box put me off, so I looked at manuals instead. A word of note on the 300 tiptronic systems - it's not a true semi-automatic box as you'd expect; the controls are actually limiters. But you can still use it as a semi-automatic for the most part that way, although nearly all I've spoken to about the system, just say they leave it in full auto and let the car take care of itself, and that the box is that good you really don't need the tiptronic controls.

I actually really like the RCZ, and that's uncommon for me to say that about a French car (since I get to take many cars apart and put them back together again, the French cars don't come up trumps here). It's only real problems are 1) it's FWD, where RWD or even 4WD would have been great, and 2) that huge Peugeot badge on the front. And that's not badge snobbery - it's just that it looks horrendous! There's NO need for it to be SO big; looks dreadful. Which is a shame as the rest of the car looks great! Never driven one mind, so can't comment on the handling or performance...

Yeah most do

I need to start using FB more lol

As far as I understand it, double locking the car deactivates the alarm and sets the electronic deadlocks; single locking the car uses only the primary door locks and sets the alarm. This is only what I've been told mind, so it may not be 100% true (I'd have thought that the alarm would be activated with either a single press or double press, and the only difference is that deadlocks are or are not activated) As far as sensitivity goes, I'm pretty sure the car does not have ultrasonic sensors inside, and so the alarm only responds to a door being opened (or boot, or bonnet), and as such isn't subject to "sensitivity". Unless your alarm is an aftermarket alarm from the likes of Clifford or Toad?

4 for £175 is cheap. Unless they were badly kerbed and/or had crap tyres