Tulpen

Lexus in Holland...... Phil, The Lexus is a rare sight in Holland. Mercedes, BMW and Audi have, pretty much, got the market. You might see a few IS, the odd RX, but the LS is the rarest. In the last 3 years, I've seen one 400 and one other 460.

Mike, Here, in Holland, it takes a day to get an MOT. The time taken to do the actual inspection is the same as the UK but the garage has to phone the local MOT Standards Office to get the certificate authorised. The Standards guys often visit garages to look at the relevant car and check that the inspection was done properly, before authorising the certificate.

'How come you changed to an LS..........' John, Get someone to take you for a ride in an LS.......you'll want one :)

Mark, I don't know if you travel overseas much, or hire cars when you are there but, you will find it MUCH easier to rent a car in some parts of the world if you have one of the 'picture' type licences.

Graham, I'm waiting till your 50th before I do anything special :)

I have the 'passenger airbag' message on my 460.

Try the US Lexus forum.......there are guys on there who do all sorts of weird things to their cars.

Mike, It was a trip of a lifetime. We started in San Francisco and finished in Miami..........it took us 6 months :) Being retired........and having no kids or 'previous', is just great.

Jacques makes a very valid point about 'privileges'. It can catch you out if you want to rent a motor home. The difference between a 5000kg and a 3500kg vehicle can really cramp your style. Incidentally, last year I rented a motor home in the States. It was 32' long and weighed 9000kg........and all on a standard UK licence!!!!!

I'm almost 100% certain that all 460s are on air. Some of the earlier 430s were on coils and, in the States, some of the 460s were on coils but, in Europe, the 460 was supplied on air only.

Also, the 460 seats have cooling as well as heating so there must be an aircon duct of some sort as well. I haven't really looked under there so my knowledge is limited.

Ambermarine, Thanks for that......my knowledge base has now increased. :)

Talking about our 'glorious V8 engines'.......... When my car was in for servicing, they gave me a CT 200h to run around in. Not a bad car, definitely a Lexus and with lots of goodies. Compared to the LS, though, it was pretty gutless and the throttle needed to be pressed on to get any performance. When I got my LS back, I just breathed on the accelerator and let the V8 do its thing. I was 'home' :)

Stuart, On the US 460 forum there is info about a coilover conversion. Talking about the US forum, these guys seem to get a lot more problems with their cars than we do.......I wonder if, because their cars are made in the US Lexus plant, there is a 'different' build quality at play. The Lexus Technician who did my 60,000 mile check seemed a bit surprised when I asked him to do the extra checks on the suspension. He told me that he hadn't encountered these problems at all - admittedly, there aren't many 460s here. Malcolm, Like you, I loved my Mk3 and I hope you get many more years out of her. As you know, your enemies are other drivers........anything more than a slight dink is going to make the repair un-economical :(

Hi Graham, I think the point about tyre noise is that 19'' wheels are the originals on the 600 (ie as designed by Lexus). On the 460, the originals were 18'' but the previous owner of my machine decided to 'up' that to 19'. It's not the size that matters (where have I heard that before) but the deviation from the original Lexus design. BTW, on the US forum, they have guys running 460s on 22" rims........how do they turn the wheel?

In another thread, Spacewagon52 says 'Personally, I like the LS 460 but members on here say they are not as good as the 400'. As far as I know, there is only one member on the forum who has ACTUALLY OWNED a 460 and thought it inferior to the 400. I had a Mk3 for 15 years before changing to the 460 so I thought I would give you my observations on owning both. My Mk3 was RHD but, in 2012, we decided to move to Holland. Getting the Mk3 registered here would have been crazily expensive so we disposed of it and looked around for another car. We had a 2009 RX 400h for a few months but, as my wife said, 'It's not an LS' .....so we went back to the garage and swapped it for a 2007 LS 460. The 460 had 60,000 kms (40,000 miles) on the clock and had been used first, as the garage demonstrator then, as the personal transport of the franchise managing director. As you can imagine, it was immaculate. Like the 400, the 460 is the main car in the family........used to go to the shops, pick up cement at the builder's merchants, and to enjoy on long trips. People sometimes ask if I find the 460 superior to the 400. I don't consider that a valid question........ALL LS models are superior automobiles. Do I think the 460 is an improvement on the 400? My answer to that is 'Yes, in nearly all aspects'. Things I really like: The automatic parking brake The 'Brake Hold' facility. The heated AND cooled seats The 'looking round corners' headlights The Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) 8-speed auto gearbox Lots of electronic toys Lack of timing belt - it has a timing chain. Although there is no servicing time, I do realise that it will have to be checked eventually. On the US forum, there are 460s with 300k on the clock and no timing chain problems. Things I miss: The 'secret' storage box under the driver's seat The cassette player (I'm an old sod) My 460 is noisier than the 400 - but there is a reason for it. When I bought it, it had the optional 19" tyres fitted. I've been in one with the standard 18" wheels and, in my opinion, it was as quiet as my 400. I'm, actively, trying to source a set of 18"wheels and tyres. There is much talk about 'all those electronics - they're bound to go wrong'. Well. back in '97, when I bought the Mk3, I was amazed at all the electronics and thought 'they're bound to go wrong'. :) In 15 years, the only problem I had in that department, was the lighting behind the radio. Let's face it......things have moved on from the days of semaphore arms which, if you remember, hardly ever worked! I was in a 2014 Ford Focus the other day and was amazed at the amount of electronics which are fitted as standard. I've been commuting between Holland and Scotland for 3 months (selling our Scottish house) and this week I came back with the car because it needed its Dutch MOT (at 90,000 kms - 60,000 miles) This is the 'Big' service and includes changing the plugs. Because of the problems reported on the US forum (upper and lower control arms, air suspension) I asked the garage to pay particular attention to these and let me know. They found nothing untoward.....what they did find was worn wiper blades and low battery voltage. Since the battery was only 2 years old (and supplied by Lexus), they replaced it under warranty. Like most responsible car owners, I check the oil and water every week. Now, this amazes me.......since the last service, a year ago, the only fluids I have had to top-up are the fuel and windscreen wash. The engine and hydraulic oils have remained absolutely steady, as has the radiator water. I check the tyre pressures on the TPMS and they have remained at 2.6 bar (cold) all year. This is a VERY easy car to own and monitor. In an ideal world, I would have bought the 460 for 'everyday' and kept the 400 for nostalgia :) Prices for the 460 are falling and are (or soon will be) in the affordable range. For what it's worth, I thoroughly recommend it. And.....for those of you still awake......thanks for sticking with me :)

Ah well, it was worth a try........ Talking about manuals; I often have a read through the Owners Manual but I wonder.......has anyone ever read all the way through the Navigation Manual. I know I haven't :)

Steve, Thanks for the info. My glovebox is still OK but I wonder if the problem is the Owners Manual. I noticed that in my (Dutch LH drive) car the manual fits no problem, whereas in the UK ones, it seems a bit 'stuffed in'.

Between 1990 and 2005, I visited India at least twice a month. If I had the required literary skill, I could probably write a book on the place. Malc and Jon have made two very valid points in; NEVER, EVER, drive in India and the fact that, although desperately poor, they are very friendly. I'll just pick two of the many driving stories I have: I wanted a car to travel 30 miles the next day, so I arranged a car AND driver at the desk in the hotel. I insisted that it had air-conditioning. 'Not a problem, Sahib'. Next morning, there was an Austin Ambassador-based taxi with 'Air Conditioned' on the side. When I climbed in beside the smiling driver, I noticed the heat was stifling. This was the conversation...... Me: 'Can you turn on the air conditioning please?' Driver: 'Sahib, it is not working'. Me: 'I asked for a car with air conditioning'. Driver: 'Sahib, it HAS got air conditioning - but it is not working'.............. On another occasion two of us wanted to visit an old fort about 40 miles from Delhi.......again in an Austin Ambassador taxi. We were soon in the middle of nowhere with not a soul in sight. The car coughed and steam belched from under the bonnet. We got out, the driver lifted the bonnet and it was obvious that the head gasket had blown. Our quizzical looks were met with 'Not a problem, Sahib'. The driver went to the boot and took out a bucket with minimal tools in it. He then undid the head bolts and lifted off the head. In the meantime, as if by magic, a crowd had gathered - I have no idea where they came from. We then noticed that the 'head gasket' was, in fact a piece of cardboard with 'Carnation Milk' still visible.......there was a split in it - the leak. He gave the bucket to a young boy with instructions to go and get some water. In the meantime, he went to the boot and re-appeared with another piece of 'Carnation Milk' cardboard, then using a knife and with the old gasket as a template, proceeded to 'manufacture' a new gasket. He dropped it in position then replaced the head. The head-bolt tightening sequence was instructive......starting at the front, he hand tightened the first nut - then torqued it using a 3ft long bar. He carried on till all nuts were fitted - this is the head tightening sequence in India :) The young lad had returned with, what looked like, a bucket of diluted mud.....this went in the radiator. Off we went to enjoy the old fort. We made it back to Delhi with no more technical problems. Happy days!

Now, now, Malc, Your Luddite leanings are showing again..........long European miles are easy peasy in ALL LS models :)

Mike, It's possible that there isn't enough of the pigtail left to stick up from the aerial body - I had this happen to me. I got round it by removing the interior trim from the boot adjacent to the aerial. The motor will be exposed and there is a panel on the side of it which can be removed. That will allow you to see the worm drive and what's left of the pigtail. A bit of fiddling will get the old bit out. To fit the new insert, replace the panel (but first take heed of John's excellent advice - note which way the teeth point) then just feed the insert into the aerial. When you feel the teeth start to bite, switch off the radio and the insert will retract into the motor.

Mike, As I've said elsewhere.........if you can find a scrapped Camry from the late 90s, the insert is exactly the same as the 400. When I had a 400, I renewed my insert (twice) using one from a Camry. And, before you ask, I was stupid enough to take the car through a car wash with the aerial extended.........twice!

Have you tried the US forum? They, usually, have great DIY tips - complete with pictures.

Rudy, I thought peat was the 'fuel of choice' in your part of the world. :)

My 460 has a sun roof (or to give it the Lexus name, moon roof) and, although I don't open it that much, I do like to slide back the cover in the winter and let the light in. I think the fact that the LS has both A/C and sun roof just shows how Lexus like to give us all the extras..........as part of the basic package. Colin, I'll take your word for it that it is now an option - but I've never seen an LS without a sun roof.