JeffL

Yes that's the brand we have now and I will replace with the same as the new ones will simply slide into the existing bases which are hardwired. No need for an electrician.

When we moved in to our bungalow 10 years ago we had new smoke alarms fitted in the Hall and the Utility areas. We also had Heat Alarms fitted in the Kitchen and Garage. These are all Mains connected with internal back-up batteries. I replaced the back-up batteries 5 years ago. All the alarms are tested once per year and all work fine. I have a diary note saying that the Smoke alarms have a sticker saying they should be replaced after 10 years, probably the same for the Heat alarms. My question is, is this really necessary when they test okay every 12 months?

I've just replaced the battery in my key fob and realised that the screws holding down the battery cover are starting to strip. I've tried to be very careful over the years when removing/refitting the screws by not tightening them too much but they do now need replacing. Where would I buy replacements? Part Number? I don't particularly want to go to a main Lexus dealer if it can be avoided as the car is 17 years old and I use and indy for servicing and repairs. GS300 year 2007. Thanks.

Is it possible to do this with a GS300 (2007) ?

My neighbour who currently owns a 3 year old top of the range BMW, ordered a brand new top of the range RX450 earlier this week. Got home, contacted his insurance broker, quoted £7,000 for insurance. Rang the dealer and cancelled the order! Where will it all end?

Another crazy, tunnel vision decision by LV insurance. My wife has a 19 year old Honda Jazz that she's insured with LV for as long as we can remember. Its value is so low, what's the likelihood of it being stolen? She received an email today as follows. Thank you for choosing to insure your HONDA JAZZ SE AUTO with LV= over the past year. We’re writing to you to let you know that, unfortunately, we’ve had to make some changes to our underwriting approach for your vehicle type. Over the past year, there’s been a rise in thefts of the HONDA JAZZ SE AUTO. As a result, we’ve seen a large increase in the number and cost of claims we’ve received for these types of vehicles and have made the difficult decision to stop insuring them. This means at your next renewal date on 11 June 2024, we won’t be able to offer you a renewal price. We will send a letter confirming this again in advance of your renewal date, the letter will explain that this is due to a change in our underwriting criteria. Please rest assured this won’t class as your insurance being declined, cancelled or voided, and you won’t need to declare it to other insurers. We never want to leave our customers in the difficult situation of having to find cover. However, we feel that continuing to cover certain vehicles would create a greater overall detriment to our customers by increasing pricing overall.

Thanks for the replies Malc1 and steve2006. I getting the vibe from you two that it's probably best left alone but inspected maybe once a year? Correct me if I'm wrong. 🙂

Just had my car MOT'd by the independent garage I've used for the last 25 years or so and it passed with no advisories (GS300 2007 with 97,000 miles on the clock). I had a look at the underneath while it was up on the ramp and asked the guy if all looked ok and he said all okay but there is some surface rust on the sills (this is looking at the sills from underneath the car). I asked what were the implications of that and he said it's unknown how long it will be before it's a real problem, they can look ok for a long time and then all of a sudden can start to disintegrate. I asked what can be done and he said they could underseal and I asked for a ballpark price and he said probably about £120 using such and such or about £220 using something else. Prices + VAT and I can't remember the names of the two products he mentioned. The dearer job is a better product and requires two coats and would look better. I wasn't very quick off the mark and I'm not sure if he's talking about underseal of the whole car or just the sills. Probably just the sills do you think? It was Saturday morning and the regular office staff weren't in so I'll speak to them next week, but before I do that I thought I'd ask on here for any advice and guidance on how to proceed. Thanks in advance.

Thanks Ken. So it's from the new current model of 350h/450h, not the 300h. Good to know. Let's hope the thieves also know it's not worth their while attempting CAN Bus theft!

Did your NX leave the factory before October 2021? According to Lexus, NX cars from October 2021 have a new security platform which they say means they can't be stolen via the CAN Bus method.

From the above link: "In October 2021 (introduction of NG NX), a new security platform started to be rolled out. There are no reports of theft using the CAN bus injection method on any model with the new platform." This appears to be saying that any NX leaving the factory from October 2021 cannot be stolen via the CAN bus. If true, how would a potential buyer of a used NX know for certain that it had the new NG NX security platform?

Not CAN bus this time......... https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/feb/24/smart-keys-car-crime-thieves-hi-tech-arms-race?utm_term=65dae5752f6f52a9e36b5b480d3fa79c&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email

Is it known if any other manufacturers uses the smart headlight ECU CANbus method? It would be helpful to know which cars/SUVs are not vulnerable to CANbus attack.

So the questions for me now are: Do the criminals know that the pre-facelift NX is not an easy target? and will the insurance companies fix their premiums accordingly? It would be interesting to hear from owners of pre-facelift NXs on this forum.

Interesting that pre-facelift NXs might be more difficult to access the wiring. Why do you think that might be the case Colin?