OldTrout

Interesting. The 450 HID bulbs are 35W and I don't think they are very good. Bitprius also is not impressed and is investigating replacing them with a different bulb. I am waiting to hear the results of that trial. John

Robert, In my 2007 version, Sport mode stiffens the dampers and sharpens up the throttle response. By sharpen up I mean a little movement of the pedal does a lot more than in normal mode. I don't know if the steering is altered. Like you I wondered if the AFS was actually working because I can't tell. The lights that move are the dipped beams not the main beams so it is going to be easier to see if main beam is not on. I know my little platforms on which the dipped lamps are mounted can move both up and down and side to side. The dipped beams have a flat upper cut-off and this does not go up on nearside which makes it harder to spot sideways movement. Are you happy with your dipped lights? John

By knackered do they mean the slider pins are seized? Knackered brake pipe? How? Taking the callipers off carelessly? Seized callipers are usually replaced under warranty I think from reading this forum. If they do replace them ask for the old bits as they can probably be repaired. If you don't want to repair them somebody on here would and the callipers could be useful to someone else. John

My understanding is that Bluetooth versions are backwards compatible. i.e. the features in version 1 are supported in version 4 but not vice versa. So the SE should be able to do what I can do with version 2 on my GS. Can you try it out before you buy? John

I have 2007 GS450h and my wife's iPhone 4 and now 4S couple without bother. Calls come in OK and calls can be made OK using the numbers I have entered into the car's memory. (Just the speed dial ones whilst moving. These are the only ones I have put in.) I was unable to get numbers in the phone's phone book to transfer to the car. I don't know if this will be the same for the SE. Bluetooth changed to version 4 on the 4s phone from version 2 on the older iPhone 4. The SE has bluetooth version 4.2. I do not know if this will be a problem but others may comment. John

Just back from 50th consecutive MoT at the same garage - Summertown Garage on the northern edge of Kidlington, Oxford. Lovely people. Passed and no charge! Will I and/or the car make it to the diamond? John

Gold Member 28 194 posts Name: John Lexus Model: GS450h SE-L Year of Lexus: 2007 Location: Oxfordshire Posted March 13, 2016 · Report post I don't know how big your dog is but mine is medium about 18Kg. My wife found a Kleinmetall Allside car seat cover. This hangs from the front and rear head and rests with the base on the seat. It can be half or full width and works a treat. It can be removed in moments leaving the back free for humans and completely free of everything that comes off the dog. It wipes clean and is waterproof just in case although I have never tested this. Here is the cover on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Allside-Carseat-Covers-145-140/dp/B000A217OG/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1457863048&sr=1-3 I have no connection with the company. I'm just a very satisfied customer with satisfied passengers who have travelled in the back when the cover was removed. John

Here is what can be done with an 8 litre V10. Beautifully executed. And it had a tax disc. John

A tiny exhaust leak into the cabin could also cause sickness. So tiny that smell does not detect it. Must be very rare these days with better made vehicles but worth checking if all other possibilities are rejected. John

I think so too. Every single nut was very tight. I cannot believe they were tightened with a torque wrench. My local tyre place uses a torque wrench on every nut and has done for many, many years. Recently a friend was sent by the maker of prestige car to a main dealer in Europe after the maker had supplied a replacement part under warranty two or three times in quick succession for the same car. Why was the replaced part failing? My friend observed while the part was fitted. The mechanic did the nuts up without a torque wrench despite specific instructions on the torques to be used. When he was asked why he had not used a torque wrench he said he did not need to as he had a calibrated arm. He was then instructed to do it properly and the part has not failed. Perhaps we have calibrated arms in garages here too. John

Thanks Rayaan. Confused came up with slightly better price from Quotemehappy than the other two did. As I was struggling to the web page to add key cover the phone rang with very helpful Welsh lady to say they were only an on-line company! Got it to accept key cover and am now covered having reduced my premium by £140 or so. Now for the MOT. John

Just doing the renewal exercise. My present insurer sent me a renewal letter. The cost included a "renewal arrangement fee". They also told me that my excess had gone up.. They did not say how much but that it was set out in the Schedule which I could look up on line. I would have preferred them to have stated the new excess in the letter. So far I have tried uSwitch, money supermarket and compare the market. uSwitch did not come up with anything better than my present insurers but the other two did. The results are much the same for both of them and the best was roughly 30% below my present company. Interestingly, I forgot to add my wife (medical condition, DVLA aware, no restrictions) at first and when I did the quote went down. I need to see about protecting my NCB and adding key cover tomorrow but otherwise so far so good. I will also mention that I reported the August swipe to my bumper to my last company. No claim was made as following advice on this forum almost all of the damage was polished out. This "incident" is mentioned on my schedule though. John

Thanks for all the suggestions. I went for solutions 1 and a variation on 3. A replacement key from EVO was £16.97. (I made a mistake in my original post by adding the postage which was included.) However, I still could not get the nuts off and was in danger of damaging they new key. These were on wheels that I assume must have been removed to replace the dampers a week ago! I went to my local tyre place and with a long wrench and a big hammer three nuts were loosened. The fourth was more difficult. It eventually yielded with an impact wrench but I do not now trust the new key. How would I have managed a puncture? I took a punt on a used set of Toyota nuts on eBay which looked the same. Part number PZ4AK-EV906-00. (£7.95 with postage.) The mating parts of the key and nut look much more robust. They are the same size and I have now replaced all four of my original nuts and tightened them with torque wrench to 76 ft-lbs - thanks rayaans. The origin nuts (and the Toyota ones) have a steel sleeve which prevents the use of a left-hand threaded nut remover - the sleeve would just rotate. If the fourth nut had not yielded I do not know how it could be removed. The nut is hard and drilling it would be difficult. If the sleeve could be removed a smaller nut remover might work. But if not? Perhaps once a year we should check we can actually remove the wheels? John

Yes the affair is resolved. I had assumed TWG had forgotten or deliberately ignored my last letter. Over a month when doing their utmost says it all. I hope I have nothing to do with them ever again. John

Whilst my dampers were replied on 23rd. Jan I had an NX300h Luxury for the day. I chose the NX as it was the only one of IS, NX, RX, CT and GS that they had available that I could sit in without having my head forced onto my chest. However I have to say that after about three hours I did find the headrest uncomfortable. I did find a sentence in the brochure about seats designed for the larger European frame or words to that effect. But not big enough for this European. I did have plenty of headroom even with the panoramic roof. It is just the headrest which only just high enough and pokes forward too much. I hope my 2007 GS lasts a very long time as none of the current Lexus UK range is suitable without modification. (I've not tried the LS or even seen one for that matter.) John

Post script 1: The replacement dampers were fitted on 23rd January (two days short of five months). The ride home was uneventful on the relatively good surfaced M4 and A34. Then I got to Oxford. The ride over what passes for roads in this city was hugely improved. So much so that if I was not also a cyclist I would have wondered if my verdict on the roads was overly severe. It's not. The roads are awful. The 1989 dirt road up to the summit of Pikes Pike in Colorado was a billiard table in comparison. Post script 2: Yesterday I had an email from The Warranty Group. I had written to them on December 22nd after they mailed me to say they were pleased they had resolved all my issues but if anything was outstanding they would do their "utmost" to resolve it to my satisfaction. Their utmost was not very good so I wrote to Lexus(GB) and got a resolution to my complaints within 48hrs. After just over a month (how long would quickly have taken?) they just repeated themselves: As wear, in service deterioration, is not supported by your warranty this is the reason we are unable to assist with your vehicle repair. Additionally, our Motor Team Manager has confirmed the extract from your terms regarding this: ''We will not pay for the cost of repairing or replacing any Protected Part that suffers a Mechanical or Electrical Failure as a result of wear and tear.''

I thought I would do some preventative maintenance by greasing the slider pins on the rear callipers of my 450h. However I could not get the locking wheel nuts off on either side. I thought I would try again after the dampers had been replaced on the assumption that the wheels would have been taken off and thus it would now be easier. It wasn't and worse the nut key has started to break up. My options would seem to be: 1) Replacement key. This is £23.07 including p&p from EVO Automotive Solutions. Then get local tyre place to remove nuts with impact wrench and I will put them back with torque wrench. (What torque?) 2) Replacement OEM nut and key set. I can do this from a breakers with four spare normal nuts for £25. (From Lexus I assume it would be a lot more.) This would leave me with problem of getting the old ones off and possibly the s/h kit may be worn. 3) Replacement non-OEM nut and key set from eBay. There seem to be sturdy looking ones for sale but they all have 60 degree tapered seats and not flat as the originals. I would still have problem of getting the old ones off. 4) Replace locking nuts with plain ones which at least would not look so awful. Do wheels get nicked these days? I would still have problem of getting the old ones off. 5) Do 1 and then 4. I need the benefit of other's experience here. Perhaps the keys do just fail with use and are best availed. Please advise. John

Jamie, Glad you are enjoying it. Be careful the speed doesn't creep up too quickly and you don't notice because it is quieter. Very easy to do. I'll try and answer the locking problem as I was misled by the salesman and it was a year before I found the deadlock bit. Imagine the car is locked. With key in pocket you walk up to it and pull the handle not touching the little black button. You may have to let go and pull a second time if you are too quick. If you are slow you will hear it unlock before you pull the handle. If the door you open is the driver's door the seat, wing mirrors and steering wheel will go to your chosen positions if you have set them for the key. (The other key can have completely different settings.) None of the other doors will unlock. If you open any door other than the driver's, all doors unlock but driver's setting will not happen even when you open the driver's door. You will have to set them using the little buttons in the door just above the window buttons. When you leave the car and want to lock it, with key in pocket shut the door and press the little black button on the handle. You will hear the doors lock and the various lights flash. Press a second time to set the dead locks. Of course you could use the buttons on the key fob to unlock and lock and dead lock. I personally don't since I believe this will protect me from a scam that has been operating certainly in Oxfordshire car parks. Flood the area with the right frequency RF and it saturates the car's receiver so it can't respond to your fob's signal. Unless you spot that the lights didn't flash you go shopping or whatever thinking the car is locked. Theives then nick your car and worse the insurance may refuse to pay as car was left unlocked. Others will answer the other questions. I'm off to see Endeavour.. John

Update to the original topic of warranty refused. I wrote to Mr Paul Van der Burgh managing director of Lexus (GB) with a copy to Mr Akio Toyota the President of Toyota. I had an immediate reply from the GB end saying they would look into the matter and a resolution was offered less than 48hrs. later. The reply said that they agreed with the decision of The Warranty Group. It further added "I appreciate your views that you believe this is a premature failure to the shock absorbers. Unfortunately, we are not in agreement as we believe that to have them replaced at this age and mileage is not indicative of a manufacturing defect nor is it unreasonable for these components to need replacing. I would convey that shock absorbers do not have an indefinite lifespan and are a consumable item." However they did make a fair offer to replace all four dampers for very much less than I can now buy the dampers so I accepted. It goes for repair on January 23rd. I asked that the wording on the warranty be clarified in respect of dampers. They replied to say they would pass this to the warranty company. (If I have understood correctly, the warranty company is owned by Toyota but the administration of the warranty is done by The Warranty Group which is independent.) I am sorry if I have let some of you down. I could have declined the offer and also taken the case to the ombudsman. I have had five months of hassle during which time I have avoided driving as much as possible - just 1400 miles. The MOT becomes due next month and I assume it would have failed on all four dampers. Managing without a car at all would have been even more difficult. John GLV6: Radford. Nows there's a name from the past. Are they still in business? Steve206: I am old enough to remember Sabrina cathode ray tubes. Their slogan was "well out in front".

No 5 Excellent idea. But I can't see any numbers on your replies. John

Jamie, You are correct. 292 + 197 does not equal 342. Others will correct me if I am wrong but I think the implementation of the epicyclic gearbox means that at times you can have all 197 electric + some petrol (from standstill) or all 292 petrol + some electric (when you floor the pedal when already moving) but there is no situation where you can have 292 + 197. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Synergy_Drive John

Hi Jamie and welcome. This forum is a wonderful source of information and the 450h is indeed very impressive. If you read some of the other threads you will see that the dampers of the 450h are perhaps its weakest point. Inspect all four thoroughly for any signs of oil - even misting which rapidly becomes leaking. The dampers are very expensive (£311.40 each today) so if not satisfied have them replaced before you buy. Do not rely on Lexus extended warranty to replace them especially if the car has done more than 100k miles. Others will comment on the facelift mods. John

That looks more like a cut - it's quite neat. Any idea what caused it? John

John, Many thanks. It had a major service at which leaking shock absorbers were noted. At that time it was on a warranty that came with it when I bought it. It was valid for three more days. I took out the two-year extended warranty that day. The first rejection of my claim was that it was a pre-existing condition because they thought I was on the new warranty rather than the old one. The salesman did not mention at the time that pre-existing conditions would not be covered. I know this is normal insurance practice but perhaps it should have been mentioned. The second rejection of the claim did say that because I knew about the misting on shock absorbers at MOT time six months earlier, it was "wear and tear". Not mailed HJ yet but will do. Thanks. John ps apropos "dampers" or "shock absorbers": the dampers exerts a force which depends on the speed damper piston. If the piston is not moving there is no force. In the equation of motion of the spring and damper unit, this force is called the damping term so "damper" is a good name. The name embodies its function. "Shock absorber" more accurately describes the coil and damper unit. I thought it probably was Americans riding roughshod over good English. In the old days of thermionic valves, Brits called them "valves". This describe their function - they control the flow of current. The Americans called them "tubes" which describes what some of them looked like but gives no hint whatever of what they do. Fortunately, "tubes" did not catch on over here. It's too late for this stuff!

It would be good to have clarity. For the claims man to say shock absorbers have reached the end of their useful life by a mere 113k miles and therefore we will not pay is clarity, but not going to go down well. I notice that the Lexus on-line shop has just raised the price of the already overpriced 450h shock absorbers by 14%. The set of four are now over £1200. John