SH20

Hi Malcolm, may I ask if you can clarify what type of battery do you think I have in my ES300h, (Separate Post) . I am not convinced that Lexus customer relations were right when they said my ES has a AGM (Absorbent Glass Matt) type battery . All AGM battery videos on YouTube talking about AGM batteries show them to be sealed for life with a no spill design, no top up plugs and the letters AGM clearly showing. My battery has top up caps for the 6 cells and I can see the top of the electrolyte when I look down into the cells. This would suggest my 12 volt battery is a flooded lead acid battery and also has no markings whatsoever indicating it's AGM. This is relevant for this thread as my Ctek charger has an AGM option that can be selected but I opt not to select when I charge my 12 volt battery. I'm not saying Lexus don't fit AGM batteries but I'm not convinced my car has one. So if you can top up a battery is this because it must be a flooded lead acid type battery? Moreover, the battery has one clear window top up plug currently showing blue when you look down it. Blue means battery is OK. There is a little traffic light key on a sticker on the case and if the indicator cell turns clear the battery requires topping up , if it turns red it needs charging so if you need to top it up how can this be an AGM battery. I would have thought Lexus would clearly mark a battery as AGM if one was fitted. Any thoughts?

My Ctek MSX 5.0 has charged my ES300h a few times in the last few weeks and there have been no issues regarding auxiliary electrics while driving to the supermarket once a week. As BoutTime says Ctek chargers are smart and monitor what the battery's state is before deciding what it needs to do to get the battery fully charged. The old type chargers could easily fry a battery if just left on charge constantly whereas once a Ctek charged battery has reached full charge the machine knows not to keep charging and lights up the green fully charged LED, number 7 on the display. Moreover Lexus UK customer relations replied to me when I asked about using smart chargers on Hybrids and they said it was ok to used trickle chargers while cars are spending more time sitting around and not being used so much. They even sent out an email to registered Lexus owners advising the method to make sure your car's electrics are ready to go by saying turn on the car with the green ready light lit and the hybrid battery will top up your 12 volt battery. The engine may fire up but this is ok and it will cut in and out while charging the 12 volt battery. The only issue is the car needs to be in the ready mode for around 60 mins. I would rather use my Ctek just to save time and not have the engine cutting in and out.

As stated many times buy a Ctek MXS 5.0. Ctek make the best battery conditioners bar none. The 5.0 refers to 5 amps, you can buy 7.0, 10.0 amp versions but all will do what you want. Ctek has now produced a traffic light dongle which connects via cables with eyelets and gives an instant indication of battery condition. the 3 led lights flash separately dependent on actual battery strength, so green flash = OK, amber = get ready for a charge soon and red = needs charging. Bought for £12 on E Bay and is a genuine Ctek accessory.

Of all the cars I ever owned my 2015 LS460 SE L gave me the most pleasure when I would show off the engine bay and surprise onlookers as to how neat and tidy Lexus made the engine bay area. I am freakish about clean engine bays and when I first encountered the under bonnet look of the LS I was so pleased. Talk about 2 minutes with a quick detailing spray and the job was done. I now have a new ES300h and there is no comparison of course, so much exposed pipework where dirt gathers, it takes me an age to clean. I really miss the LS but things move on and I think the ES hybrid is so good. I never did have the courage to consider the LS600h only because my knowledge of hybrids was zero back in 2015 when I was looking for a LS.

Your F Sport looks really good in blue Dave, very smart. Yes I agree the wheels on Lexus cars clean very easily.

I accept black paint will always give the most reflection compared to other colours like white but the ceramic coating does give the deepest reflection as per the photo.

Very smart Ed, I thought about Mesa Red last year but I have this thing about black paint and tan coloured interiors so opted for that instead. If Lexus had offered a similar version of British Racing Green it would have been green and tan but the green Lexus offered in 2019 was not something that ticked that box so black and tan it was. Black paint can look like a black mirror if correctly looked after and Red also has that deep reflective quality that we all like. Nice wheel contrast too. Can't work out what interior you have.

Will do Jeff, I've just ordered a cordless hand held blower with a nozzle air speed of 150mph to initially blow the bulk of the rinse water off the car after future washes. Going forward I want to minimise contact with the paint and revert to minimum hand drying with high quality drying towels. This will keep swirls and micro scratches to a minimum I hope.

Yes Ed, forgot to mention the Gtechniq C2 which is great for follow up quick detailing which effectively buffs the ceramic coating. If you dilute it also, 1 part C2 to 20 parts water and spray it onto the car's surface or on your micro fibre drying towel/cloth when the car is still wet after a wash it lubricates the panel as you remove the surface water. The towel picks up the water but the C2 makes the cloth glide over the wet surface to minimise drag. I had a LS460 in 2015 in Siena Red so your Mesa Red NX must look great with a ceramic coating.

My ES300h is painted in solid black paint and as such is the best colour for reflection but the worst for showing micro scratches and swirls even with very careful washing and cleaning. I bought it new and started a comprehensive detail the very next day I got it home. Dealership valet department staff don't have a clue how to prep a new car. So after 7 months I took a long hard look at my paint again and decided to detail the top coat again, the intention this time was to end up giving the car a coat of a quality ceramic coating instead of relying on a quality wax. So long story short after the paintwork was washed, clayed, machine cut of the top coat with a mid point foam pad, polished with a mid point polishing pad and then fully degreased I was ready to apply the ceramic coat. It is absolutely safe to say that once the car has been prepared it is safe to apply the coating. If you can apply a liquid wax and polish it off with quality micro fibre cloths then you will find applying a ceramic coating a lot easier. GTechniq's CSL needs one application only and goes on like you have applied a thin film of oil. It looks like an oil film and after approx. a minute you must then begin to buff the area you applied the coating to. No heavy rubbing, just medium pressure, turning the folded micro fibre cloth 3 or 4 times each time making sure it is a fresh side till you can no longer see any sign of the coating. The application and buffing are completed in seconds rather than minutes and the coating needs an overnight curing period, at least 12 hours preferably inside somewhere like a garage. The micro fibre towels are toast however because the residue you remove effectively dries as crystals of ceramic in the fibres so become useless for car cleaning. There must be dozens of coatings out there but believe me the various GTechniq coatings are amazing and CSL is without doubt the easiest to apply. If you leave it too long before you buff the panel you will have a big problem because it cures quickly and requires heavy machine cutting to remove it. At £85 for 50ml it sounds pricey but will cover a very large car and give 3-4 years real paint protection, much better than the best waxes. Watch YouTube on GTechniq Crystal Serum Light to see how easy it is to apply after proper preparation.

Time to let this one go I think. Every video on Youtube talking about AGM batteries show sealed battery cases, no top up plugs and all of the narrative talks about a no spill aspect to AGM. All of the AGM batteries are clearly marked AGM and although I appreciate the fact a solution of electrolyte is still used in the matting construction I can understand why they say no spill if the matting holds the fluid in the fibres. My battery is clearly a flooded unit if I can see the top of the electrolyte when I look down the top up plugs and an instruction label says top it up if the clear plastic top up plug turns clear but is ok if blue and red when it needs charging. If I can top up the fluid then it can't be an AGM can it? I was only ever after how to charge it with my Ctek after one member first raised the point about an AMG setting on the Ctek charger. Thanks to all who took the time to comment and offering the technical info on 12 volt batteries, I appreciate the education.

I'll need to take a photo as the main label has numerous numbers/letters spec etc,

So despite an e mail from Lexus UK (Customer Relations ) who said Lexus fit AGM batteries in their hybrid cars I'm asking all you guys who are far more knowledgeable than I to comment on what type of 12 volt battery do you think is in my car has please. Consider these points first: There is not a single reference to the letters AGM on my battery's stickers, absolutely none. It has removal flush fitting top up plugs for all 6 cells for electrolyte top ups I can see the reflection of the liquid electrolyte in the cell when I removed one of the top up plugs and peered down it If, as I'm led to be believe by the various internet sources on AGM batteries the glass matting, whether its in a roll or a flat configuration, is impregnated with electrolyte, most of which is rung out before final assembly so only between 2-5% remains behind but all actual fibres of the glass matting are completely coated, hence the lack of top up plugs and have no need to be topped up and therefore become sealed for life batteries with AGM technology. My battery is fitted with one clear plastic top up plug and when you look down it the colour blue is obvious. In the smallest of print one of the labels stuck to the top of the battery shows a traffic light picture and says, Blue = OK, Red = Needs charging, Clear = Needs topping up. Do you think guys, as I do, that my car is actually fitted with a normal flooded lead acid battery?. Every Youtube video talking about AGM batteries clearly shows the letters AGM in big letters on the examples being used for the demonstration. Given that the hybrid battery engages the engine and the 12 volt battery is used for all the obvious ancillary electrics I would ask why would Lexus need to use AGM batteries anyway for hybrids. You can tell I'm like a dog with a bone on this subject but at the minute I'm not inclined to believe my car is fitted with an AGM battery. Who cares I hear you ask, I agree. In these awful times trying to be normal is nigh on impossible but thinking of something else during these terrible times is helping to keep me sane. Any comments on batteries would be useful.

That sounds really hairy Mark, exploding batteries. I'm just waiting for the ctek dongle with the conditioner traffic light feature so I can connect first to see what the device is telling me as to whether it's charged or depleted. Question: was it practise back in the day to rapidly charge a bank of wet lead acid batteries or was there a special reason for the rapid charge?

Just heard back from Lexus Customer Relations. ES300h cars are fitted with AGM batteries. Now I can charge with my Ctek using the correct setting.

Thanks Mark plenty to think about but from what you have said even more need to know what battery I have in my car. I've asked Lexus what type of battery my car has and waiting for them to send me the info. Is it or isn't it an AGM battery. I want to charge it correctly using my Ctek charger which allows me to select AGM as a setting. Just to be sure Mark can you clarify your comment "Even sealed wet lead acid batteries should be charged to avoid gassing because you can't top the electrolyte back up." Should it be: avoid charging a sealed lead acid battery to avoid gassing if you can't top up the electrolyte. Sorry I'm being a bit thick here. My battery looks like it has plugs that can be removed and one which is a little window currently showing the colour blue when you look down it. Not sure what blue would mean, I wonder if it should be green to indicate fully charged. As I said previously there is no label or letters that suggest it's AGM and the battery itself is hardly a large battery compared to batteries my LS460 or Jaguar XJ had. Tried attaching a couple of photos of the battery but wouldn't load for some reason.

Thanks guys for all the info, you all have so much knowledge about these sort of things, very grateful. I have checked my Ctek charger and as John correctly says there is a AGM indicator light which comes on if you press the mode button several times. However the 12v battery in my car has no markings to suggest it is an AGM unit because I'm assuming the words contains sulphuric acid means it is a lead acid battery. Please let me know if my assumption is wrong. Thus ensuring that I will not be engaging the AGM mode on the Ctek. I have just ordered the dongle traffic light indicator that Farqui (Lee) mentioned off eBay for just over £11 incl postage. It seems like a good idea to be able to just look at it and wait to see what colour led flashes , red = needs charging, amber = will need a charge soon and green = fully charged. I saw the same Harry's Garage YouTube video on storing cars which included a piece about this smart device. Thanks again for the help

Thanks Britprius for your reply. Zotto, is AGM a battery brand name or an electrical term abbreviation of some sort. Also what would be the proper setting be on a Ctek charger I wonder? Lexus advised me today after I sent them an inquiry about using a trickle charger like Ctek. The official Lexus technical answer was that it was ok to use an external charger but if you leave the car in ready mode the hybrid battery will top up the 12 volt battery in the boot. It would need to be in ready mode for about an hour once or twice a week. However if the hybrid battery is a bit low then the engine will automatically start to keep the hybrid battery topped up in order for the hybrid battery to top up the 12volt battery. Don't really like the idea of the engine stopping and starting just to keep the 12 volt battery topped up. I'll use the Ctek if Zotto can clarify the setting query.

I've used a Ctek battery on all my cars over the years, simply the best conditioners out there. My 12v battery on my ES300h is in the boot but have never coupled my charger to the battery in 7 months. Does anyone use a Ctek charger on their hybrid Lexus? I used it all the time on my LS460 just to ensure the battery was always fully charged. Not sure whether a hybrid needs to have the 12v battery on a Ctek conditioner/charger. Any thoughts?? You can now get a Ctek toggle device which is fitted to the battery by a pair of wires but has a traffic light LED display showing the health of the battery at a glance, green for fully charged, amber for get ready to charge and red for battery needs charging. I'm asking these questions because of the restricted use of cars now which means my car sits in the garage for long periods.

I guess even Tesla who, I agree, lead the industry on electric vehicles but even Tesla still can't give customers cars that will do 500 guaranteed miles before a charge. Moreover the quality issues of their build is way behind the long established car makers. Saw a video on Youtube on a brand new Tesla with delivery miles on the clock being examined prior to a significant amount of detailing including obvious thin paint, dirt nibs and sanding marks all over the car. Lexus will always give quality but in years to come the industry will have either sorted battery technology and therefore range or they won't ensuring electric cars will only be for the school run, local shopping trips and round trips of a 250 miles so you can get back home to charge up. Any manufacturer who can assure their car will do 500 miles or more before a re charge will corner the market. i hope it will be Lexus.

On the same theme about windscreens, I had to repair a windscreen chip in the front screen of my ES300, I've done only 2500 miles and ended up buying one of those kits off ebay for £6.99. Whole repair took 40 minutes including curing times of the liquid glass. It was one of those kits with a hollow post that you stick to the glass over the damaged area and the liquid is placed in the hollow post, about 6 drops. You induce a vacuum by means of a supplied syringe and wait 10 mins then you pressurise the liquid using the syringe also and wait 20 mins. Then you remove the post and drop a tiny amount of the liquid glass on the chipped area and cover with a supplied piece of film. Force out any air bubbles and either bright sunlight or a UV lamp over the next 15 mins cures the glass repair and finally you peel back the film and using a supplied blade you remove the very thin film of liquid glass that spread out under the film of plastic. Perfect repair and left no obvious signs of the original chip. Autoglass charge Insurance Companies £50 for similar repairs but of course they have to cover overheads. Do these chips early on and they won't start to grow from vibrations as you drive around avoiding a chip turning into a crack.

Considering a UX all electric? I am after I trade my 2019 EX300h in after my PCP ends. However by 2023 if Lexus have not done something about the range by 2023 and still offer the UX which will do no more than 300 miles then No I will stay with a hybrid. If by 2023 Lexus have got their battery technology further on and can offer a min of 500 miles range then Yes, however there is one more criteria for me and that is Lexus will have to do what Tesla have done and have a designated Lexus only charging network across the whole of the UK. Tesla have 16000 charging stations in the US and each station has around 25 charging points so plenty of opportunity to recharge. Moreover because the network is Tesla's there is no dependency of outside suppliers for the electric and the payment system is much simpler. In this country we have at least 6 electric suppliers all insisting you have their app on your phone and that you have an account with your chosen supplier. My friend was caught out when he tried to charge his car at a motorway stop only to discover the charging point was not one of the 3 suppliers he had an app for so ended up calling out his recovery agent. 3 apps on your phone and 3 separate payment accounts on your phone, No Thanks. That is why Lexus need to follow Tesla's lead in this country and develop their own charging stations, coupled to a contactless debit or credit card payment method. Simples.

Member Holiday seems to have answered the point about what Lexus Insurance will do when the Insured asks for Lexus glass to be used when they were with Lexus Insurance. The dealer calls in a national windscreen company for their specialist skill set and the dealer supplies the Lexus glass. Lexus were happy to pay for the Lexus glass but why wouldn't they?. Using another Insurer like Churchill will trap you into their terms and conditions regarding glass claims were they say use our approved supplier but if you insist on using a Lexus dealer they will only pay £150 towards the replacement. This is common practise so for me I will be judging a quote for Lexus Insurance versus the cost risk if I use another none Lexus Insurer. NB Lexus Insurance are not the Insurer, they will use an underwriter to cover your car but because you go through the Lexus Insurance route you have at least the support of Lexus UK when it comes to making glass claims. Be warned also about crash damage and if you insist on a Lexus approved bodyshop which is not on your none Lexus insurer's list the small print may say your excess will be bigger. It's all about control of repair costs. I know, I worked for Direct Line long enough, a sister company of Churchill both owned by Royal Bank of Scotland.

I'm going to ask Lexus for a car insurance quote at my renewal date but have just sent them an email asking them what do Lexus do when handling Lexus insured customers who submit a windscreen claim. Do they sublet to any of the existing firms we all know of.

Thanks Pete, I get it, I'd forgotten that you can scroll up and down in the "i" information read out. I have left the power direction display on for so long I forgot you could scroll up and down. Many thanks Steve