jonthetourist

Hi Barry I believe there is a Lexus specialist in Swindon where the guy actually owns an LS430 which he has converted. May be called Gas and Go, I am not sure. Good luck Jon

I have just transferred contacts from an LG3 to my 2004 LS430. Many thanks to the OP. Jon

I can't comment on your personal experience, but if it's so hard, how come so many people manage it? Young people in the UK are twice as likely as their counterparts in other rich countries to be so seriously ill or incapacitated that they cannot work and must live off disability benefits, an international study on welfare has found. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/nov/24/young-british-claim-disability-benefits

"IDS has made it acceptable to attack/slander the sick the unemployed and the disabled." That is definitely bollix. I think there is universal support for the idea of supporting those not able to support themselves. But there are legitimate questions to be asked before handing out financial support.

It is a cracking and demanding course Jon. I play at Harlech. Let me know if you want a round and I`ll treat you if I`m available.Regards John (19) That's a lovely offer. Thank you. We take this house, owned by the Trefeddian hotel, every year for the first week in august, between my family and my sister s. This year I have some teenage boys who are keen on trying golf, so I am thinking maybe Machynchleth to take them?

Not this year, but i have in the past. Its fabulous, and i was chuffed to play to my handicap.

lovely drive up to Aberdovey for a week - 28.6 mpg - and then walking into town last night spotted a very nice grey 05 LS430 on a house drive. This little town must currently have a very high proportion of 430s! Jon

Welcome to the club. There could well be a problem. There are three routes to entry. Turning the key in the lock, pressing the button to unlock, and having the unlocking happen automatically as you approach the car. A new key will cover the first, but the other two need programming. You might suggest you will buy once you see the new key working? Good Luck Jon PS All caps is SHOUTING on the internet . . .

Very nice :)

OK, John at panic keys was not convinced he could do anything with a Smart key, but said he would talk to some fellow locksmiths and see if anyone else knew anything. Meanwhile I got a strong recommendation for a guy close to me in Malvern, who I went to see yesterday. It's interesting spending time with a locksmith, as they do a lot of thinking, while being regularly interrupted by people with emergencies. I also learnt quite a lot. What I thought of as a key actually has 5 functions. The plastic shell and the metal blade physically turn the ignition and the door locks respectively. A chip inside communicates with the immobiliser to enable the engine to start, and then there are separate functions for remote unlocking (press the button) and proximity unlocking. Anyway the upshot was a partial positive. My new master key is now recognised as a master by the car and I drove home on it. It allowed me to reset functions on the dashboard computer like elapsed time, which the valet key does not. But it is not communicating with the vehicle for either unlocking method. So my next step is back to the dealer to see if they are now able to help via Techstream. I will keep you posted in case this is relevant to anyone else. Jon

Way under your steering wheel - you are best kneeling outside the car to look - are two small buttons. One resets the tyre pressure monitoring, the other turns the smart key system on/off. Hope it's that simple Jon

Might you have nudged the button under the dash and switched the "smart" system off?

I have had a brief discussion with John but he was busy and it was a bad line from France so we only agreed to talk again at the end of the week. Fingers crossed!

Hi Colin Thanks very much for this. An enquiry has gone in to panic keys this evening. I will let you know what happens. Jon

Thanks, but one of the questions is answered with you need a master key. :(

It appears that the new ECU is a lot less expensive than the labour to fit it. The dealer quoted me 8 hours labour.

Thanks. Either way, I owe you a beer!

Thanks Mark I have done quite a lot of searching. That member is no longer active and as he said, it took a while to find someone. I am confident there are people out there, just looking for a recomendation Jon

Hi all I am looking for a recommendation for a locksmith who has experience of resetting a Lexus ECU to accept new keys. There is discussion of this on US forums, but not much for UK. Lexus have supplied me with a new master key but can't make it work because I don't have an existing master. Their solution is a new ECU, at considerable expense. Interestingly, the technician who told me this this morning said I wasn't even the first person he had had to give this message this week. They can reprogram more recent cars, but not mine without an existing master. This makes me think other people will have found a way. here is an example of some US commentary: I am a locksmith and run into this all the time, never, never go to a dealer for key problems with a Toyota or Lexus, unless you want to pay out the *****. On the 01-02 Sequoia, the immobilizer system is built into the ECU. Luckily for you they are resetable using a scan tool with the proper software. You should never have to replace the computer on any Toyota/Lexus when you lose keys. All of them can be reset to accept new keys (most dealers don't know this, so don't ask them). Some can be done with scan tools, some require removal of the ECU or Immobilizer unit and can be reflashed to accept new keys. I do it all the time, I reflash them for my local dealers and auctions, this is a hell of alot cheaper than replacing the ECU at $1100+ Anyone? Jon

Has anyone used aftermarket parking sensors on an LS?

Sorry, talking at cross purposes here. I was asking about the parking sensors on the bumper, as per the last part of my original post.

I thought they were a lot more than that. When I go in for the key programming I will get them to see how many I need. Thanks a lot Jon

Thanks Steve Yes, Carl said it's ideal to do it at the same time as you have already paid for the getting access part of the process, which is the expensive bit. He also said people tend not to notice when it has failed, but really notice when it has been replaced. If anyone can suggest aftermarket substitute sensors which I would be grateful, as I know they can be much cheaper than OEM.

You make a good point, I think. When I took my 430 in for a health check I asked about stopping the retracting steering wheel because I had read it could fail, and another fault I had read about but can't remember. Carl, with 40 years of Toyota experience, said mine was the 2004 facelift and the issues were sorted. Jon

I thought I would start a new thread following my lengthy discussion about finding and importing a car from Ireland, and the financial advantages, to talk about the car itself and my plans, coming to Lexus for the first time. The car is a 2004 LS430 which has now done just over 1,000 miles in my hands and very nice it is too. On Wednesday it is going in to a bodyshop I have used before to get the bumpers resprayed, and a couple of scuffs polished out, plus the alloys re-furbed. I have had a health check from an independent Lexus / Toyota specialist in Newport which was positive, and arranged to do all the servicing in one big hit, as with the mileage at 97,000 it is definitely timing belt time. However the oil is looking very clear from the last service in September so I am going to leave it for a couple of months. There is a little bit of judder under braking, but nothing serious and I can live with it for now. Carl also said there is a fault recorded on the little valve that allows extra air under acceleration, so that will be replaced, along with all the fluids and the V belt. Budget is £1k for everything. I negotiated a discount because the car only came with one key, and Lexus have supplied a new master key for £138. Even though I had to produce proof of ID and Ownership the key doesn't work until it is coded in, which is also due Wednesday, at a cost of £25 from the dealer. Fingers crossed that all works OK. I took three folks to the airport the other day and they were very positive about the space and comfort. The only cloud on my horizon at present is the error message from the front parking sensors, so I am running with them switched off. Replacement looks like a rather pricey job. Several of them look like they have oxidised in some way. So far, so good, in conclusion. Jon