SH20

CORRECTION. My error, the handbrake operation on an ES does clamp the actual disc brake on the rear wheels and not like a 2007 LS460 which did hide a pair of brake shoes inside the rear disc. I had my wheels off the car today for their fortnightly clean and took a minute to look at the rear disc arrangement. It's clear that there is a mechanised electric motor that looks like it operates a piston housed in a separate black plastic housing, nothing to do with the brake calliper pistons. The electric motor must engage some sort of piston to force the brake pads to grip the brake disc and hold the car. If you use the brake hold function like me, once you press the accelerator the electric motor must receive an electronic signal and releases the hydraulic pressure and the brake pads release the discs. No sign of any old fashioned levers or cables.

We need to understand what full connected services are. I will ask Lexus tech help via their website "ask a question" Maybe FCS is for specific countries.

Jean, interesting !!!! I did exactly what I said. Following on from first thing today. I went out and connected my phone for the first time using hot spot, blue tooth and roaming data and connected the wi fi via my phone. Drove to the shops with the wi fi icon lit up and a good signal strength showing all ok and functioning. Stopped the car after 10 mins turned off and locked it. Came back out and started normally only this time no wi fi icon lit up. Signal strength was showing 2 bars but no wi fi icon lit up. Decided to check my phone first and for some reason the hot spot had turned off. I turned it back on and immediately the wi fi icon lit up and all was back to normal. Not sure why my hot spot turned off. I will contact Lexus tech help tomorrow and ask if they can suggest why a smart phone can turn off the hot spot. I am to make a journey tomorrow so once I start the car for the first time and connect I will monitor during the 2 hour trip if my phone maintains the wi fi connection or if the phone switches off the hot spot function by itself. What a load of bother technology is.

Went out to my car today to see if the two new travel journeys I sent to my car a couple of days ago would download via the system's internet connection of my phone. I turned off my phone's wi fi connection that I use at home and then turned everything on my phone that connects me to the car via my phone. I turn on hotspot, blue tooth, blue tooth tethering and roaming data. Not really sure if all 4 functions are needed but I turn them all on anyway. As soon as I reversed out of the garage the wi fi connection was made and a couple of signal strength bars was visible. The system immediately began to download the two new journeys thus proving the fact the auto internet connection was on and doing it's job. However because of your comment I will specifically check now when i make the next journey I undertake to see if I lose the connection should I stop, turn the car off, leave the car, lock the car and then come back to it so as I can witness if the wi fi connection re connects automatically. I'll let you know.

Is internet auto connection switched to on? Route: Setup-Online-Internet Auto connection On/Off ? I understand what you are experiencing as the little wi fi logo in the top right hand corner of your screen doesn't light up even though signal strength might be showing 1,2,3 or more bars lit up. It's the only explanation I can think of. Sorry if you already know auto internet must be switched to on.

Not sure about the miles and kms Pete, I will check the routes in my system and see what they show and get back to you. Re: The thing about the dealer showing you the features is more about them showing you how to set up. I don't know what other features there are. Remember the USA get Alexa and all that stuff that allows the system to talk to home devices etc while on the move, not something we get in the UK

Not sure if I'm reading your problem it right but type this link into YouTube if it doesn't send you straight to YouTube. It's the Lexus video covering all aspects of enabling your journeys to be seen in your multi media system. https://youtu.be/uHeo8xnPd9U

Once again the US gets the rear rubber floor mats as an option. I just wonder what possible marketing reasons do Manufacturer's give one country one version of the product and not another. Saw a video on YouTube on Lexus accessories and it showed rear rubber mats for the ES, other things like small branded tote bags with various aids in it are kept for one country but not another.

My error, realised I did a quick clean of the front screen recently with a cloth that had polish on it. De greased the screen and wipers are now quiet.

That looks like a bolt cover for a front seat. Have a look at the front seats where they bolt to the floor, front or rear bolts have a plastic cover to hide the floor bolt

It applies the handbrake electronically. The handbrake is a pair of old fashioned brake shoes which sit inside the rear brake disc just like a brake drum but the actuator to pull the shoes on is totally electrically controlled. The rear brake disc and calliper are conventional looking but the handbrake bits are hidden inside the rear brake disc.

I've seen a lot on USA ES videos and heard a lot about Apple car play or Android Auto, something the US seen to get as standard but don't really know what they can do, although the new 2020 NX will have ACP now I believe, but if you can obtain background system updates when you are on the move via the e store icon after clicking the Apps icon surely the retrospective upgrade for ACP or AA is possible wouldn't you think?. If so I wonder at what cost. Like JW says buying a £40K + new Lexus and being told your new car can't be retro fitted with either ACP or AA will be hard to swallow. I know nothing about either of these much talked about App systems and haven't been educated by anyone who has either one of them so what am I missing I wonder?.

Can we have the info as to where you purchased the cable please Pete, website, price etc. This would do very well for my nano ipod and I will be able to place everything in the drinks holder and have nothing showing, my intention all along.

Didn't think those nylon plugs still existed. I remember in the late sixties early seventies you could by a kit with a supply of 3 inch long nylon strips that you inserted with a T bar tool which the plug slid onto and then dipped in a tin of special lubrication and you simply pushed the nylon strip into the puncture hole and twisted the T bar tool and then extracted it. The two visible bits of nylon were then just cut off. Back then though that was the repair. A few years later that type of repair option was effectively banned in favour of a traditional vulcanisation repair from the inside and those quick repair kits disappeared. I guess when we have a recovery company that we can call on, John's experience is a great service and I agree nice to be able to drive off with the original wheel in a serviceable condition. Maybe as I was in the motor trade a space saver just means I'm not faced with using the inflation kit and goo or calling someone out. Yes changing a wheel on the hard shoulder of a motorway can be a bit hairy.

Before I collected my ES my dealer grabbed a new copy of the hard copy ES manual he saw lying around at the dealership and sent it to me. As you know if you take delivery of a new ES you get a service record book only. I ordered the hard copy sat nav manual as well at £38 so I have 3 books in my glove box now. I know manufacturers want us all to go online and down load stuff to our smart phones blah blah blah but one or two of us simply like to leaf through a manual when the need arises.

I thought I was set up after speaking with Lexus and technically I was but the car's multimedia failed to connect with the internet due to low signal strength. Although I know that the wi fi hot spot and blue tooth need to be switched on my mobile I didn't appreciate the signal strength of the wi fi connection had to be so strong. I ended up driving half a mile before I saw a message on the car's screen saying connections are now enabled which then allowed me to see the journeys I had sent to the car from my home PC.

Alison, it's true that a dealer won't be able to supply a space saver on an official new part basis because the UK spec did not include the option for one so no part number exists as far as UK part numbers are concerned. The US get an alloy space saver as standard. It's really about weight saving rather than cost. My previous car was a GS450h which had a pressed steel space saver as standard. I did not keep it when I traded the GS in for the ES but simply went on to E Bay and typed in space saver wheel for Lexus GS. These space saver wheels get very little use even when a person gets a flat . They are very plain and stand out against the alloy wheels on the car. Most people get the flat repaired and then the space saver goes back in the boot. The E Bay wheel cost £40 with free delivery and I made sure it fitted the front and rear hubs when I got my ES. It did, so I can now use it if I get a flat. The tyre inflation kit in your boot will work fine once you work out how it should be used but the use of the goo inside the tyre tends to result in having to buy a new tyre instead of a £25 puncture repair. You also need to buy another canister of goo for future flats. Some people say the goo that inflated the flat tyre can be removed but the likes of Kwik Fit, ATS, Halfords etc won't entertain removing the goo in order to fix an ordinary puncture, they will just say you need a new tyre hence my wish to have an old fashioned spare wheel. If you look for a space saver on the internet make sure you look for Lexus ones as they have 5 holes to match the 5 holes of your ES alloys. You could always buy a GS450h space saver from a Lexus dealer but it will cost at least £200 incl a tyre. The dealer will still ask you for a registration number and/or a chassis number and of course your car is an ES so he/she will just get confused as to why you are wanting a GS part when you own an ES. The tools you have in the boot enable you to get a wheel off the car so if you discover a flat or a slow puncture on your drive or in your garage then remove the wheel at home and then get a mate to help you deliver it to a tyre firm who can repair it providing the offending nail/screw etc has not punctured the tyre too close to the edge of the tyre. £25 puncture repair for a little hassle getting the wheel to kwik fit is better than £150 for a new tyre. If you are out and about then the tyre inflation kit would have to be used. Space saver tyres run at around 60 psi tyre pressure, much higher than the 35 psi your current wheels/tyres run at. It's because the space saver tyre is skinny. Hope this helps..

Lexus took me through the wi fi pairing of my phone in my ES today without any problems. The track pad needed to be swiped in the set up screen to reveal the additional options, the wi fi option for example. So all paired up and phone is now registered via the My Lexus app. Now possible to send new journeys from my laptop to the car.

If the dent is close enough where the headlining can be just eased down a little these techy guys can use long spooning irons with assorted tips and if they can get a purchase they can spoon the dent out by caressing and working the dent from the inside. If access is restricted then they use glue sticks. You won't even know there was ever a dent.

Jean, don't panic. A dent in a roof is an easy fix. Your dealer will know specialists who are often referred to as Dent Master Specialists/ Franchises. Something called a glue stick is temporarily bonded to the affected dent, various diameter glue sticks are used dependent on the diameter of the dent. Small dent small glue stick. Large dent large glue stick. Although it is glued to the dent area a special releasing agent is used to release the stick without any sign it was there. The attached glue stick has a small slide hammer slipped on to it and the dent man will slide the weighted body up and down so it gently lifts the dent out. Once released any minor high spots are gentle tapped with a nylon punch and then the area is cleaned up without any paintwork required. So go on to YouTube and type in glue stick repairs and be amazed what this process can do. I brought over a firm from the USA once who specialised in hale stone damage where a forecourt of new cars were hammered by a ferocious storm of golf ball sized hale stones causing multiply dents to roofs, bonnets and boot lids in the main. We authorised very few new parts to be fitted, all or most panels were repaired by glue stick technology. Do you know this company track storms in the US specifically to know where there is likely to be hale stone damage and then go in with multiple teams to assist dealers sort out the damage and the Insurers are happy to pay rather than fit new panels.

Having watched an idiot's guide to linking your smart phone to the car's multimedia system on YouTube I must be an idiot or my entry level ES300h does not have the tech to allow me to link my phone via wi fi. Not talking about pairing the phone. Already done that, straightforward. The video clearly shows how to pair your phone and then the next thing is to pair the wi fi function and the video says select set up and scroll down to wi fi on the left hand side of the screen after activating hot spot on your phone But there is no wi fi listed to click on and therefore the wi fi pairing step can't proceed. Do you think it's because my car has the smaller 8.5 inch screen? After pairing the wi fi you would then need to link the multimedia system to your My Lexus link account. This link is the video on YouTube. Any obvious things I should have done first? Lexus supply a hep line number 9-5pm which they say will allow a tech to talk you through the process while you are in the car so maybe I will end up ringing that. https://youtu.be/uHeo8xnPd9U

Been a while Mark since I saw a comment from you on the forum. I think that now I have bought my first ever new car the days of looking for something to do are not so crucial to me. Having said that I am thinking of making an adaptor to fit the top of the scissor jack supplied with the car. The jacking plates I have permanently fitted at the 4 jacking corner points enable me to use my large trolley jack at home and for the dealer to lift my car up without damaging the sill flanges. However I carry a small mini trolley jack in a case in the boot which takes up space and is quite heavy. It will be a sort of flat cup design that will enclose the jacking plate but will then pivot slightly to allow for the angle change as the car rises on the scissor jack. Usually a wooden mock up is best before a metal copy is made. The photo of the jacking plate shows it on my LS, one for each corner. I simply take them off each time I change my car and fit them to the next car.

Anyone fitting a dash cam that you want to turn on and off in sync with starting and turning off the engine should piggy back off the 20amp windscreen washer circuit fuse (yellow) located in the small fuse board in the passenger footwell. There is a very handy earth point just were the carpet ends in the passenger footwell. Simples. Be warned though when you unclip the nearside screen pillar trim to fed the camera cable down the inside of the fabric covered trim the very unusual clip arrangement at the top of the trim is awkward to relocate if you want the pillar trim to go back perfectly. I had to order a new one at £4 from the dealer to ensure the trim snapped back fully home.

Found it Rayaan, you were right it's in the passenger footwell tucked away on the extreme left hand side up against the A post inner trim panel. Looks like it holds about 15 fuses and my local dealer said they pick up the necessary ignition controlled fuse from there to power the official Lexus Nextbase dash cam. I will now install my hard wire kit and abandon the 12 volt aux socket which powers my dash cam just now. Thanks everyone.

Hi Thomas, I saw your video a while back while waiting for my ES. Great video. Wouldn't have known at the time that you are a forum member. Keep them coming. Steve