Britprius

Did the parts guy give you a price on the new screen wash tablet? Imagine the saving on transport alone for carrying around a tablet taking up less space than a match box, and weighing next to nothing compared to the bulk of 5ltrs of liquid weighing 5kilos, and needing a substantial container to hold it. John.

In part I agree with what Phil says above, but this does not explain the high cost of parts while the particular vehicle part ordered is still in production. It also does not explain the huge sale price on items that are obviously very cheap items to make, and are available in other countries at a fraction of the price being charged here in the UK. The high cost of replacement parts is not a new phenomena. Back in the days when British cars had mostly Lucas electrical equipment Lucas supplied parts "starters, dynamos, distributors, and many more products" to the car manufacturers at factory prices. There profit came from the replacement parts market. This market was substantial particularly because all the parts no matter what vehicle they were fitted to were essentially the same be it Ford, BMC, Vauxhaul, Rover, or Rootes. However the cost of these replacement parts even allowing for inflation was nothing like the cost of even minor items today. Just look at the price of an OEM sump plug washer from Lexus. This being the same item from 20 or 30 years ago as it is today. Why is the paper oil filter element that is used on many Toyota/Lexus cars more expensive than the disposable canister type filters that have a very similar paper filter inside a metal housing with a thick threaded steel base, and often a non return valve? Spark plugs are another over priced OEM product. I know the today's new plugs have precious metal electrodes, but the amount of this metal used is tiny, and modern production systems will have bought the cost of production down considerably to what it was 50 years ago when plugs cost £1 for a set of 4. Now more like £50 for 4 plugs. John.

I worked in industry on automatic production lines "mainly industrial robots". A lot of my work revolved around press feed work where a coil of steel was fed into a press in precise steps with anything up to 6 steps. Each step took the material through a different stage in the press, and after the last stage a finished component "apart from paint" was ejected. Both the above items would be made in 2 or possibly 3 almost identical steps. The difference between the 2 is in the finish. The baking tray would have a far superior finish to the sump pan. The material cost would be possibly 50 pence per item. The press tool cost would be for the baking pan circa £20K to £25K for the sump £25K to £30K. The press would operate at around 30 strokes per minute producing one item per stroke. This includes any holes in the item usually done at the first stage of the press. From this you can gather an approximate cost of the items at the factory gate if you add on labor, electricity, and any other overheads bearing in mind the production time for an item would be less than one minute per finished item. The tooling cost is the largest outlay, but you have to divide this cost by the number of items pressed by the tool so 100K items would work out at between 20 pence, and 30 pence per item. Obviously the more you make the cheaper they become. The baking tray would be made in larger quantities, but have a much more expensive true enameled finish. The sump would have a basic oven dried paint job probably without even an undercoat. John.

This could be a problem with the "clock spring spiral" in the top of the steering wheel. It consists of a plastic ribbon coiled up with thin wires embedded in it in the form of a clock spring. It's job is to allow the rotation of the steering wheel while maintaining the required electrical connections from the steering wheel control buttons, and switches. In time the embedded wires can crack due to metal fatigue as the spring is wound in either direction. It is unlikely that this was cause by an airbag change as the airbags removal only requires a couple of holding screws removing, and a cable connector disconnected on the back of the airbag. Nothing is touched in the wheel itself. If the clock spring is at fault it is highly likely that other steering wheel controls will start to fail as the weak spot in the coil progresses. The clock spring is sold as a complete unit in a housing with plug type connectors at the inner, and outer ends. It comes locked in it's central position, and has to be fitted with the steering in the strait ahead position. This is so that it has the correct amount of free movement for the steering wheel left, and right turns. once fitted the locking device is removed. John.

I cannot rely help with the ticking noise apart from checking the condition of the drive belt, and pulley. It may just be the color rendition of the camera or my computer monitor, but the brake fluid looks very dark in color. A fluid change would help stave off possible future brake hydraulic problems. John.

To everyone on LOC have a great new year in 2020. John.

Hello Mike. Welcome to LOC. A great looking car you have there, and something I am sure you will like more each day you drive it. Lexus are legendary for there reliability so you should have no concerns on that front. Enjoy your driving. John.

The power steering on the CT is electric powered. It is not an unreliable system, but can like any other components have problems. It is possible you may have a suspension ball joint problem or the steering may need to be reset "A zero point calibration". Being an obvious safety concern it would make sense to get it checked out professionally. John.

I am still waiting to hear from the insurance, but the car is booked in to have the work done on the 06/01/2020 if it is not written off. A loan car "Mercedes C class" is also arranged for that date. My understanding is that even if the car is written off I will have a loan car anyway until I receive a settlement check, and then for a further 5 days. As soon as I know any more I will post it here. John.

When I lived in Sutton in my late teens, and driving. used to go out close to Alrewas to the car sprint circuit at Curborough, and the Swan with two necks. I belonged to the Shenstone, and district car club. One of the oldest car clubs in the country. Meetings were held at the Bull at Shenstone. You have traveled considerably in your life. John.

Hi James. The school is still there, and very sort after as it has very high results. As you know the area has lots of history. I live in Castle St a narrow lane with old black, and white cottages that leads up to the derelict Wigmore Castle. A lot of the cottages were built for the industry of the day like candle making, the saddle maker, and nail maker. The castle was blown up to stop it being captured in the war of the roses. The people around here are very friendly, and helpful. If you mention in the local you need something next day it appears on your doorstep, and people have time to stop and say hello. Going into the local shop run, and staffed by volunteers is not just a matter of picking up what you want, and paying for it, but more a social event. They serve tea or coffee, and fresh locally made farm pies that they will warm for you if you wish. Of course everyone around knows whats going on, but that is small village life. What area of Birmingham are you now in? I grew up in Bournville, and Sutton Coldfield. John.

If the battery has been disconnected or discharged the windows will need resetting. They will not work from the drivers door only from there own switches. Open the window to about half way then close keeping the switch operated for about five seconds after the window is closed. The windows should then work from the drivers door. John.

I bet I see him in my local "The Oak" the nearest pub by miles. Bromyard is not that far away. We are further west almost in Wales only a couple of miles to the boarder. John.

It's the one with a big dent in the OSR door. Problem is Leinthall does not have a pub!! I have a number of friends in Leinthall, but in that area almost everyone knows everyone. John.

For the information of other LOC members Wigmore "where I live", and Leinthall Starks "where Houghy lives" are only about one mile apart. John.

I am closer than you think. I am in Wigmore. I have a new set of tailored mats in black for an RX450H, and I think they fit the RX300. If they are of any use you can have them. John.

Ask the dealer to install the latest maps to the navigation as part of the deal, as if they are original they will be 11 years out of date. OEM updates are not cheap. John

Tony I am sorry to say this , but your unlikely to get much assistance here with making illegal modifications to your exhaust system. The mods you are anticipating would both be an instant MOT failure with the new regulations, but perhaps you already know this. John.

Hi Dan. Welcome to LOC. I also live in north Herefordshire near Leintwardine is that far from you? I rarely see Lexus vehicles out here just one SC430 that is local to me possibly because there is no dealer within 50 miles. Post you issue, and no doubt someone will have advice for you. John.

I am going through this exercise at the moment. If my car is written off I will buy it back "keep the salvage". I can repair the car for a fraction of the salvage value, and although it will have a category "N" status this will have little impact on it's value given I can show pictures of the damage, and repair if I were to sell the car. I also know the car well, and all the work I have put into it. As far as parting the car out is concerned this could be profitable in the long term, but you have to ask yourself how many diminishing number Is430's are there still on the roads that will need your parts being the reliable vehicles that they are. Wheels, and tyres may go quickly as may the front seats if in good order, but engine transmission, lights, and body panels may hang around for years. John.

Sorry I cannot help with pic or part numbers, but have you tried a programmable remote as these are available cheaply. John.

What grade of oil did you use for the oil change? The specification for your year of vehicle is probably 5W30, but at this time of year 0W30 is probably a better choice being less viscose when cold allows for quicker circulation. In my 2007 GS450H I use 0W20 oil, and at the next change I am going to try 0W16 as this is supposed to give better ware protection and improved fuel consumption figures. John.

No but it's easy to turn the controls round. The problem is it's not automatic, and they are only going to make manual versions. John.

The GS450H from 2005 on has a LSD as standard. It may be possible to fit one of these to the IS300H, and there should be plenty on the SH market at reasonable prices. John.

I agree this is a strange fault. I think the best course of action would be to get the ECU's checked for fault codes either existing or pending as this should give some guidance as to where the problem lies. John.