Britprius

There is also an electric pump that pumps warm coolant from the engine to the heater matrix when the engine is not running in all the Toyota/Lexus hybrids, as obviously the engine coolant pump is not running with the engine off in electric mode. If the electric pump is not running the heater runs out of hot water "coolant". John.

I think Dean is referring to the fan sensor switch that is in the bottom of the radiator. The sensor for the temperature gauge, and reference for the engine ECU will be in the block or cylinder head. John.

The clutch damper is only a method of removing shock loads from the transmission. There is no mechanism to release "open" the clutch. It is designed to slip only when shock loads are applies to it, and as such should outlast the life of the car. The car holds on a hill by power being applied to MG2 (Motor generator 2) the larger of the 2 motors connected directly to the transmission output, and so the wheels. This is enough power to hold the car without the MG2 turning. John

The link fuses are not marked with the fusible ratings "this is only shown on the circuit diagram" as effectively the link is a series of fuses getting lower in rating as you go along the strip. From memory the first section in the Prius was rated at 120 amps so the GS could be higher, but it is doubtful it's normal running load is anywhere close to this. The cable from the battery in the boot to the front of the car is not very large, and on some vehicles is made of aluminium instead of copper. However it only carries accessory loads or charging current not having to carry starter motor current. Doing some extensive testing on the Prius charge currents of over 80 amps is possible under certain conditions so again on the GS this could be as high as 100 amps this in spite of the fact that a label on the OEM battery says "Maximum charge rate 5 amps". John.

The price seems high to me as there are many later GS450H vehicles with lower millage on the market with better performance, fuel consumption, cheaper road tax, and lower prices with no cam belt to worry about. Unless of course you really want a V8. John

Yes Steve the fuse is a bugger to change. I did one on a Prius for a friend, and it required the removal of the fuse/relay box to get at it from underneath. John.

I could be wrong but that looks like someones attempt at a cheap way of repairing the ribbon fuse that runs along the side of the relays just visible in the picture. The blown fuse has had wires soldered on either side and connected to the new block fuse. The fuse usually blows if a reverse polarity jump start is attempted. John.

The problem you have is with the "back light". This is a cold cathode fluorescent tube. It can be replaced, but requires careful dismantling of the screen. It is probably easier to replace the complete unit with a second hand unit for most people. John.

Buying the VCI will also mean you can also use it for other things such as TPMS registration, and altering light settings ect that you would normally have to pay for along with any fault codes that may crop up from time to time. I have used my VCI for over 6 years on my Prius the Lexus, and Aygo. John.

Get a Mini VCI with Techstream. This will give you the fault code while the problem exists, and at circa £20 will be much cheaper than a trip to the dealer. John.

I cannot get that to play, but the usual cause of a slight knock from the brakes is missing anti rattle shims. If the brake pads have any free movement in the direction of travel of the disks when the brakes are applied the pad rotates with the disk until it hits the caliper body. Jack the front of the car up, and get someone to hold there foot lightly on the brake. Try turning a front wheel backwards and forwards if you hear a slight knock that is the problem. John.

Were the two sensors supplied with the replacement exhaust? As it was one of these that was more likely to be causing the fault code. John.

Return the battery to Eurocarparts as it clearly is not the correct fitment. Not only does it pose a fire risk from shorting out on the bonnet, but is also an MOT failure being not fastened down. I must admit many battery suppliers list the wrong batteries for various cars. I had the same problem when looking for a battery for my Prius. Halfords tried to fit a battery with not only the wrong type of posts, but also orientated so that the positive terminal could easily short circuit to the car body "the battery being in the boot". John.

If the fob is shut in the boot the boot will not be locked as the car will sense the fob "in the same way as if it was in your pocket", and will open when you touch the unlock button in the boot catch. You can lock the boot with the physical key, but this would mean you have the key in your hand. This is what should happen in the same way if the fob is left in the car. The car senses the fob, and the car will open "if you could lock it" as soon as you touch the door handles. John

There is something wrong with your locking system. If you leave a key fob for the locking system in the car you should not be able to lock the car either with the door buttons or the other key fob. It should just beep at you as you try to lock the car in the same manor as if you leave the car in ready or accessory mode. John

Yes that is the centre section. Bank 1 is the drivers side or the left hand side branch in your picture above as I believe the exhaust is turned over "upside down". I doubt the split at the rear of the resonator is the reason for that code. John.

I'm with you. Although the GS450H has more than capable performance figures it can also be economical. My current tank average is in the low 40's on country roads with hills no dual carriageways, and no motorways. Although I am a great granddad I do not drive like one. Not at all bad when you consider my first cars were Mini's "the proper ones" 848 cc's, and 35 MPG if I was careful. Front tyres lasted 5000 miles. John.

Bob the link does not work. John.

A multi meter will not be of much help to you in determining the condition of the battery. After being fully charged it should register 4.2 volts, and after being discharged expect a reading of 2.8 volts. These readings however will not give the capacity of the battery. Replacing the battery is the only real option "without spending much more on equipment that can measure actual capacity", and this will tell you if it is the problem. John.

The exhaust Manifolds have one cat on either side. Then the centre section also has a cat in either pipe before they join, and enter the first silencer box making 4 cats in total. You will probably find having yours repaired or replacing it with a purpose made stainless steel replacement to be the cheapest options. John.

I have occasionally seen all full green bars, but never got to the point where regen stopped completely. In my Prius this has happened on many occasions causing the engine to speed up when braking and slowing down when acceleration is applied even though it is not actually running "being driven by MG1 (motor generator 1)" to burn off or dump power from the battery. John.

Alex. The first thing to do is to find which way the fans are blowing air. Hanging a piece of tissue or wool by the fans when they are running will tell you the direction of the airflow. It should be from the front of the car into the engine compartment. If this is the case nothing is wrong. If one or both fans are blowing out through the front grill the fans or motors have been changed. John.

To round off this post yesterday I did a trip up to Barmouth. The route the saga began on. On route there is a long downhill stretch ending at a large traffic island on the outskirts of Welshpool. At this point the HV battery was full solid green bars, and would accept no more regen charge the meter refusing to move into the blue section. After exiting the island the car went very quiet and went up to 60 mph in pure electric only mode for some considerable distance on the flat strait road into the town. Something I have never experienced at that speed before. Reaching the traffic lights in the centre of Welshpool the MPG readout was at 44.9 MPG tank average. A figure never seen before. This was on country single track roads with no motorway or dual carriageways. I continued the journey to Barmouth, and had a great day out with lots of sunshine. John.

I was going to answer your headline "as you are in the CT section" "Tow bar enquiry" with the words you cannot tow anything with the Lexus CT200H as it has a zero rated towing capacity even a camping trailer. All thanks to the EU. I now see you have according to your avatar a GS450H. This has a high towing capacity, but the only tow bracket I have found is through Lexus at an exorbitant price. I was lucky to find a used one for £100. You cannot legally make, and fit one on a car again due to EU regulations. The strange thing is the regulations do not apply to commercial vehicles vans, and pickups that are likely to be towing much greater loads. John.

Now come on be honest how many little screws did you have left over? I have an old HP Pavilion lap top that I have had apart so many times to re flow the soldering on one of the chips. I have added extra cooling fins to the copper heat sink tube, and an extra fan. This seems to have cured the problem touch wood. This is the laptop I use for Techstream. John