Linas.P

Both. It is slower than IS250 0-50 and only at 60 it really overtakes it (and IS250 wasn't particularly fast car to begin with) and on normal day to day driving it uses more fuel than RC-F (I am serious, it is that bad). Obviously, RC-F has potential to burn more fuel if it is really pushed to the limit, but that is ok, because RC-F is actually fast car and secondly in normal driving condition it doesn't need to be pushed to the limit. In my case it was dead which was too good to ignore indeed... and it played out perfectly. It was £15.5k for what was at the time 2 years old car. As well as "perfect colour combo" and fully loaded. So I thought to myself - if I don't like it at least I am not going to lose much money on it and as it happens I earned money on it. And it is exactly the reason why I think it will be though sell for £20k. Nobody in their right mind would spend £3k more on RC200t compared to RC300h. And that is even before we consider that RC300h is available for £17k from dealer who can offer warranty, finance and is obliged to fix the car in case of any issues with the car. That was another negotiating tactic people used on me when I was selling i.e. they would call and say - "yes your car is £2k cheaper, but you are private seller and £18,750 still has to be paid in cash without any warranty". However, in my case at least it was £2k cheaper, but now he is selling the car for £2k more! It just does not make sense. The one thing I know that market doesn't know is that the car is literally in perfect condition, or at least it was when I sold it 11 months ago with 5k miles less. So I think this is where owner would be inclined to ask for more money, however it will be hard to market the condition of it. So I made money on it, but not because I was selling it high, but because I bought it very cheaply and could still sell offer it for least money on the market and still profit from it. And when you car is the cheapest on the market there is certain advantage you get. However, to get more than dealers charge for hybrid... I don't see it happening - there are certainly nothing that good about specifically RC200t for people to chose it over 300h.

It is funny when there are so few RC200t and I notice my old one on sale, hard to miss really. Kind of weird feeling, reminds me of the car and makes me wonder whenever I should have sold it when I did. Barely 11 months later and 5000 miles of driving and new owner given-up on it as well. Which seems be weird considering car has every possible option, is in near perfect condition, FLSH and "perfect colour combo" (that is according to me and current owner). Basically what I am saying - I brought it as a dream car and was highly disappointed, from the discussion I know current owner brought it as dream car... and less that 1 year later is up for sale. I don't know the reasons, but I suspect the engine, gearbox and fuel consumption for no apparent "fun factor" will be high-up in the list. Still looks good thought: I am not sure about the price however, "good margin for negotiations" I think. When I sold it for £18k it was the cheapest RC anywhere and the only argument for price being too high was that the next one-up for £20k had only 40k miles vs 70k on mine, but mine had ML, Sunroof and better condition. Still took 6 months to sell. Now being listed at £20k I just can't see it happening, it is interesting as well considering that originally I paid 15.5k. But today there are RC300h selling for as low as £14k and fairly decent once with 40k miles still only £17.5k. I still wish all the luck in sale for current owner, but is hard to see it happening in current market. In short - I am just surprised how Lexus managed to make car which looks so gorgeous, has real appeal, but never fails to disappoint. With many cars it is true to say "don't worry it will grow on you", not with this one... doesn't even need a year to get disillusioned with it.

Yes, they are usually one of the best in terms of cost and shipping cost/delivery times. As well it seems when coming from middle east import tax is rarely applied, whereas it is more common when ordering from US. But that said prices always have to be checked with other sellers, sometimes it is cheaper to buy from US, sometimes from Lexus Parts Direct, sometimes for Middle East.

Just came across this topic... I believe some are now installed on M1 (since 2020), but aboard they have been installed for at least a decade (Germany, Netherlands to name a few). That said I was not able to find the answer to seemingly simple question - how close is too close? And I mean exactly! Because I am sure these cameras don't just decide based on HC 126 "Tailgating is where the gap between you and the vehicle in front is too small for you to be able to stop safely if the vehicle in front suddenly brakes." Because if we think about it then the rule can be literally anything - any distance where you can stop "safely" is not tailgating and any distance where you can't is, but how to define it before the accident happens... or doesn't happen. The way rule is worded basically reads - "if you crash at the back of the car in front of you then you were tailgating". Now sure there is some explanation for dummies and that is known as "2 seconds rule", but to begin with it isn't "2 seconds", but rather 1.5-3.5s depending on the speed you doing and then doubled on wet road and yet again doubled on icy road. Which... on motorway means 109.5m, or 219m when wet, or 438m when icy (70MPH~31.29m/s x3.5x2x2)! As you can imagine tail-gating cameras are definitely not issuing fines if cars is driving less than 109.5 meters away. Like literally nobody keeps such distance. The chevrons on M1 are ~35m apart, and keeping 2 chevron distance would make it ~2.2 seconds. Which is not in line with HC... and to be fair I don't believe tailgating cameras actually issues fines if you were to drive say 40 or 50 meters apart (that is still distance of 10 car lengths). I am certain that tailgating cameras works on either the distance or the time, but it is quite clear that it isn't 62m and I doubt it is 2 seconds either. Not only that it means that if cars are speeding they would get the ticket for tailgating which would be incorrect and unenforceable (and that is relevant because 80% of cars on motorway are speeding). So the question is - what is exact time or distance trigger for these cameras? It kind of seems weird... because one would think that if police would want people to follow the rules, rather than just collect the money, then the criteria for breaking the rules would be clear... Or maybe it isn't weird - they just want the money?

Kind of redundant for UK where we never had cars with square set-up sold here.

Perhaps I have not tried to "downshift" low enough, because in my experience engine RPM doesn't even change if you press it once. In either case we splitting hairs here the difference between downshifting and not downshifting is mainly the sensitivity of accelerator, smashing it all the way with or without downshift maybe make a difference of 0.1s for overall overtaking.

In principle Sat Nav is junk on mk2 regardless of the year, but putting it into perspective - if we take the best sat nav ever fitted to the car then it would still be maybe 4/10 compared to simple google maps or waze on the phone. So yes mk2 sat nav is 2/10 and mk3 maybe 3/10, but it is moot point - any integrated sat navs are junk compared to "live" navigation from google. So in principle the only way to have good sat nav is either Android Auto or apple carplay... and in some rare occasions cars came out with google maps already integrated. I only ever use car sat nav when driving long distances - like London to Edinburg, or London to Rome - basically it just points to general direction and that is good enough. But even then as soon as there is some traffic on the road it is always better to switch to phone as it will show fasters route, because it correctly predicts traffic, whereas even best built in sat nav does not.

Maybe you are talking about automatic box? On CVT it actually doesn't make the car any faster - CTV can change ratio almost instantly anyway and when your "downshift" on paddle actual engine RPM likely doesn't even change, maybe in cases like Peter mentioned where you have car in S and in F-Sport+. Otherwise what happens in my experience say coming into corner you downshift for "engine breaking", what is breaking is not actually engine but EM1 is doing regen, so it feels like car is slowing down, but not because of IC engine RPM. Then when you come out of corner it feels like it pulls harder, but in reality it is only accelerator pedal which is more sensitive because gearbox is set to different virtual ratio and EM1 gives all beans right away. Yet exactly the same acceleration can be achieved by simply flooring the accelerator. So going back to overtaking example on CVT, it actually would not make your overtake faster, however it feel like it because by "downshifting" you will do same overtaking by depressing half of the pedal instead of depressing it all the way. Yet if you would depress it all the way, the car will respond exactly the same in both cases. It is basically equivalent of PWR button on auto boxes. That said it would be 100% true for Auto box, come behind the car, put it into S, maybe drop one more gear with paddle and you are in 3rd, so when it comes to overtaking you just remove the time it would have taken for the box to change form 6th to 3rd and it makes overtaking faster.

It being CVT gearbox the "manual" mode is pretty pointless. However, as Peter said in certain circumstances they are quite enjoyable to use just because of instant response. I have used them on fast A-road and you can "brake" into the corner and change the gear down and then accelerate out of it. I really doubt it makes car any faster, but it feels like you are more in control. Apart of using it on twisty A-Roads at speeds ~40-60MPH they are pointless, I can't see any reason to use them in any other circumstances.

And even that would have little benefit if the issue is the tyres wearing on inside edge. Maybe re-mounting the tyre would be possible (so that inside is mounted on outside), but most likely not, because most 265/35R19 tyres are directional and have distinct inside and outside design which requires them to be fitted in certain way. Lexus only has rotation plan for AWD cars or cars which have square set-up, so tyres could be rotated IS250 AWD or IS250 on 16" wheels, or RX. But they can't be rotated on RC. Even RC350 now has staggered set-up so I even doubt tyre rotation is mentioned in RC manual... and if it is then it is misleading.

main/high beam is cheap (if memory serves £8), only dipped ones could be xenon which could be pricey.

There are plastic tweezers stored in Engine Fuse Box 1. Location of fuse boxes is awkward, but trust me that is nothing compared to how badly design combination fuse it. Times and times again this care proven to me it was not designed to be worked on, nor modified - the only saving grace is that they generally never go wrong.

When I want to check oil temp, I generally set timer after driving the car for 15-20min and then measure. After 20 min oil is still warm, but already settled. Smearing is kind of bad on all Lexus I had, but generally I am able to see where oil film was even if it get's smeared. I mean tube trick sound like good solution, my only point is that ... if you measure hot oil with simple silicone, then you may end-up with pieces of silicone tube floating in your engine (not ideal).

That sounds like interesting solution, however my question is - how do you measure hot oil and whenever it has to be some sort of special material (PTFE?) as oil should be measured at working temp.

I believe there are no dedicated or very limited adjustment in the rear (not sure if IS-F had 1 dimension of adjustment), but the reason why 4 wheel "adjustment" is needed is that front wheel alignment impacts the rear. So as far as I can remember it being done on my car - it is sort of backwards and forwards process, they adjust the front to be as close to spec as possible, check the rear and then dial the front back, repeated that few times until all 4 wheels where within "green" and that was best possible alignment. So in principle rear wheels can't be adjusted or there is limited adjustment, but all 4 needs to be monitored during the process. The difference is that if you book for 2-wheels adjustment, they won't even measure what happens on the rear and front adjustment can impact it. At least that is my understanding. Finally, I believe there are upgrades available which allows for some adjustment in the rear. But this is going into mods territory.

Actually, one more theory... which supports the theory that they were already worn just went unnoticed. If old bushing were indeed past their best, then specifically in IS and even more IS-F they are known to allow wheels to toe-out under braking, and toe-out is what results in inner edge wear. So this just supports idea that old bushings were allowing this to happen over-time and your front tyres already had excessive wear on inner edge before you even sorted out suspension. Whereas cords got exposed recently just as the tyre continued to wear. I would as well advise 4 wheel alignment as soon as new tyres are fitted. This is the best time to do alignment, as tyre wear contributes to alignment as well, so by doing it on new tyres you would give them best chance to wear evenly going forward.

3mm that is pretty much end of life for the tyre anyway, even if it is extremely evenly worn there would not be much left in it. So let's say 1mm is acceptable difference on the 75% of the tyre - additional 2mm on the edges, so it would be acceptable that tyre with 3mm across 75% would be completely bald on the edge. Worn to cords is rather excessive... but I guess what I am saying - you looking at relatively minor issue here. If it would be 6mm tyre and inside bald then it would be big deal. As for wear on the front, it may not be issue with suspension alignment, for example I have noticed excessive wear in the front inner edge due to speed humps (as I tend to straddle them). Now sure IS-F is not IS250, but same principles for alignment and tyre wear apply. Perhaps firmer suspension and bushings transferred wear onto the tyres?

Both are true, hence the previous suggestion of experimenting with pressures and monitoring tyre wear. I don't know about RX, but previously on IS I was running +3-4 PSI because that resulted in most even wear on the tyres. But not only that - each tyre will have slightly different wear characteristics, so sadly there is no universal pressure which would work for all, meaning wear needs to be monitored ad pressures adjusted to maximise grip, tread-life and economy. Generally speaking +/-2 PSI not going to have massive difference either way i.e. with -2 PSI tyre not suddenly going to be "under inflated" and cause significant wear on the outside and double the fuel consumption, nor tyre with +2 PSI going to suddenly wear the centre and aquaplane. But those are tendencies when over/under inflation is extreme or tyre are used for extended periods of time in that way.

Yes - I appreciate they should not clean the shock, but considering it is under the car and it will be dirty/wet they should take at least reasonable steps to conclude that shock is actually leaking and it is not just sprayed with some dirt. When shock is leaking it is usually quite obvious as there would be runs of grease-like (not oil) from the seal.

Yeah, in such case I would just claim everything under warranty, including the cost for diagnostics. It sometimes depends on how you approach them i.e. if you confident it is fault and it is covered under warranty and come saying "I just want to book car for warranty repair as there is fault with rear seats belts" they will probably just put it on warranty without much fuss. However, if you give them excuse by saying "I not sure what it is, maybe you can diagnose", then they may take chance to charge you (really they shouldn't, but such is life). Basically, they will take what is the lowest hanging fruit. I would probably contact the dealer before going to Lexus GB and just say that I would have expected for this to be covered under warranty and looking to clarify it with Lexus GB, just as a hint to let them sort it. Whenever it is or it isn't covered under warranty, that will requires deep dive into small print. When I had my seat motors fail on RC it was covered under warranty, so I can't see why seat belts wouldn't be. I guess they could try to fob you off by saying it is "electrical", but actually I would consider them to be "safety" as if seatbelt warning is displayed airbags would not deploy (I am not 100% sure if that applies for rear passengers as they most likely only have curtains). £95 would be half of hourly diagnostics fee which is usually £190 for Lexus (although I was told £180, £185 and £189 depending on occasion).

That happened to me - just in my case it was advisory "light mist". What actually happened - I was replacing pads before mot and used some WD40 on pins, somehow some of WD sprayed on shock. Thought it was pretty silly as it was quite obviously not coming from the shock and most of it was actually on the spring. Seems like they just wanted to fail you (halfraud by any chance?). Although care had many other things wrong, so perhaps not.

Isn't 2019 car covered under warranty still? It definitely sounds like you been fobbed of even if warranty does not apply for some reason. Besides this is first time I am hearing rear seats have a buzzer, front seats sure - it will ping until you go mad, but belts in the rear not mandatory so I am a little bit surprised there is buzzer for them.

Control arms should be the same, I am not aware of any suspension differences between IS250 and 220d. Headlights can be easily polished, you can use some epoxy to seal the leaking one if needed just for mot, but obviously replacement would be ideal.

Fuel Pressure sensors are as well known to fail in such intermittent fashion.

I personally like to use Dodo Juice SNP Leather cleaner and sealant. What Bill said is correct - even if it is semi-aniline leather it will be sealed, so do not use any creams on it as that will just attract dirt and shorten the life of the leather. I use Dodo Juice SNP because it does not have any nasty synthetic smell and it cleans very well, as well sealant has UV protection and matte finish (that is what it should be, rather than gloss). For regular care - just wipe with damp cloth, but if they are dirty then use leather brush and leather cleaner, it may seem little harsh, but don't worry about it that is how leather is cleaned. Once cleaned seats will require sealant, just spay it on the cloth and wipe it in. Good results every time.