Britprius

The shade on the GS450H works in the same way, dropping when you select reverse. John

The unbraked towing capacity is 750kg no matter what vehicle you tow with. It needs to be braked to go higher than this. Unless that vehicle has a lower towing limit on the plate inside the door. Some cars have a zero weight limit in which case they cannot be used for towing. John

The sill lights are illuminated by LED's, and as such are not made for replacement. They normally will outlast the life of the car. I fitted some to my Prius about 5 years ago. From memory they cost about £30 for a set of 4 on Ebay. John

Unfortunately TPMS is now compulsory on all new cars. The systems used however are not that clever. It can take quite a time for a pressure drop to register inside the car because the information is transmitted at intervals to reduce the drain on the sensor batteries. Additional information is also transmitted "tyre air temperature", but I have not seen a system built into a car that uses this. However there are aftermarket systems that do display the information. These systems can be bought for less money complete with 4 tyre valves than a set replacement tyre valves. I cannot understand why this old technology has not been replaced. A small magnet or series of magnets mounted near the inner wheel rim " say on the outside of the break caliper", and a coil mounted on the inside of the rim would produce enough current to charge a rechargeable battery or capacitor to permanently run the system. In fact the monitor could be mounted permanently on the wheel and ordinary rubber valves used. Maybe the manufacturers are making to much money with the system as is for any change to be forthcoming. John.

Took the GS450H in for it's MOT today. It passed without problems, and only one advisory for a rust bubble on the outer skin of the nearside rear silencer (no leak). So all is good for another years motoring. John.

My brother inlaw used to be a fuel delivery driver for BP. His normal bulk filling depot was at Kingsbury off the A5 near Tamworth. At this depot you can see just about every fuel tanker of whatever brand filling up from the same lines. This includes all the well known companies, and super markets. The only additive that was added to his fuel loads was a red dye to turn ordinary diesel to red diesel for heating and farm use. After filling with diesel the next call was always customs, and excise. They checked the quantity of fuel and it's colour to ascertain what duty would be charged on that load. Many people do not understand that the higher the grade of petrol you buy the lower it's calorific value (the amount of energy it contains). John.

There are so many cars around with HID's fitted in standard reflector headlamps with poor cut off, and I have yet to hear of anyone failing the MOT let alone being stopped by the police. The MOT generally tests for headlamps dipping down, and to the left to avoid blinding motorist in the opposite direction. Main beam does not require to be non dazzling in it's use. Technically you are correct as the beam headlamps were not designed for HID's, but the same applies to the fog lights. Neither are marked on the lens as being for use with HID bulbs. A requirement under EU regulations. I could try some LED bulbs in the beam headlamps these would also be technically illegal, but they should match the color of the dip beam HID lamps nicely. John

Sounds like an air leak to the inlet manifold for bank 2. John.

Happy you got it sorted to your liking. I have been considering changing the fogs to HID's. I did this with my Prius to good effect as the light fittings were all metal with glass lenses. Are the GS fog lights metal or plastic? As I am a bit concerned with them melting although this should not happen with 33 watt HID's against 55 watt halogen bulbs. I too have a number of HID kits doing nothing. I am also considering fitting HID's in the main beam lights as although these light up the road well are very orange compared with the dipped headlamps. I have some 4300K, and 5000K bulbs. I know there is a short time delay "from cold" for the HID's to come to full brightness, but I do not think this will be a problem. In the dipped headlamps I have fitted D2S 55 watt bulbs, and ballasts improving the light output without any glare because of the excellent cutoff. On the very rural roads in the area I live the OEM dipped lights were woefully inadequate going from main beam to dip for oncoming traffic put the area in front of the car into near darkness. The Prius halogen dipped headlamps put the Lexus to shame. John.

After some discussion with my present insurer "Hastings Premier" I have renewed my insurance with them. I just wish they would give there lowest figure each year in there renewal notice instead of having to ring them quoting there own figures on renewal sites. With a reduced excess, and extended breakdown cover to cover not only recovery of my car, but also my caravan if required, and a 24 hour hire car if needed. This with complete cover for just about everything else at a fee not far off my estimated £280 actual figure £284. This to me is a very reasonable price. John.

One, and a half hours labor is ample time to change discs, and pads. Once the wheels are off there is only one bolt "slide pin" to undo. The wheels actually hold the discs in place. Any reasonably equipped workshop would have the car in the air and the wheels off in 5 minutes. Dealer prices for some work can often be totally unjustifiable as you have discovered. John

There has been a considerable increase in fuel prices from November so your getting less fuel for your £30. John

EV mode should not be used to try to improve economy on the road. It is useful to operate EV before the engine starts when cold if your doing a manover such as changing cars around on the driveway. This saves a cold start when most fuel is used. Using it on the move is counter productive in the long term. The electric drive system is primarily there to assist acceleration from rest "the period that most fuel is used when the engine is warm". If you use it to drive the vehicle on it's own, after a very short distance the engine will have to start to power the car as well as recharge the battery with all the associated losses. Every time you change the energy type there is a loss. Petrol to mechanical, mechanical to electrical, electrical to chemical, chemical to electrical, and electrical to mechanical to drive the wheels. The electricity from the battery comes from the petrol engine, and as such has losses in the process of running the engine to turn the generator (a loss) to charge the battery (a loss) to discharge the battery (a loss) to turn an electric motor (a loss) to power the vehicle (a loss). All this when the engine could have powered the vehicle in the first place. I know some of the energy for the battery is so called regenerated from the inertia of the vehicle as it is slowed down, but even that energy came from the petrol engine originally. John.

I have not had this problem on the gs, but did have the problem on a Mazda 6. I was able to remove just the pump motor . I then replaced the brushes and the bearings in the motor for very little money. An alternative to this would be a replacement from a breaker. John.

I have just replaced the rear discs, pads, and break shoes on my GS450H. I replaced the discs because of rust. They would have resurfaced easily there being no ware lip. However I was able to buy a pair of Quinton Hazel rear discs for £20. EBC break pads for £20, and Mintex rear shoes for £18. The rear shoes were worn to about 2mm due to rust inside the drums acting as an abrasive. The new shoes only have about 4 mm of thickness to start with. I could have used the old shoes, but by the time they had bedded in on the new drums there would not have been much lining left. I have never had a problem with any of the well known branded discs. The choice of pads is subjective depending on the way the car is driven, and your expectations on pad ware disc ware, dust, noise, and pedal feel. Again sticking to known branded products should not give problems. Some of the cheap unheard of brand pads can be very bad bordering on dangerous. My preference is for the pads to ware giving long disc life, but I am not heavy on brakes. John.

The company I am with "Hastings Premier" send me a renewal figure every year with a high quote. This has been up to £200 more than the previous year. I check on the price comparison sites and get the figure quoted on those, and then ring them directly quoting the figures. They then have always reduced the quote to a figure below the price comparison sites. When I buy car insurance I do want breakdown cover, NCB protection, Courtesy car, miss fueling, glass cover, and a few other items. Being in my 70's along with my wife, and disabled "nothing that affects my driving" if I am a long way from home I need the assistance that others may not. Loosing the key fob for the Lexus can not only disable the car it can cost a three figure sum to get mobile again. If the car breaks down, and I have my caravan in tow. I need assistance that can deal with this. If the car is disabled because of an accident I need a hire car. I do not have a second vehicle. Hastings do cover for all these eventualities along with Hotel expenses if required at to me a realistic price £257. Both my wife and myself have over 21 years claims free, no driving convictions or points, and live in a rural low crime area that attracts low premiums. When I spoke to the gentleman at Adrian Flux I asked for fully comprehensive insurance, and was asked if I wanted NCB protection. I said yes, and was given a quote as in my previous post "I also gave him the figure I was paying, along with the cover I have". I then asked for the quote in writing (Email) which he did. It was only at this point "after reading the Email figures" that I found most everything was excluded. Not exactly fully comprehensive. None of this was revealed in the phone conversation. In fact I can get the car insured with more cover than Adrian Flux on the comparison sites for less than £200. Adrian Flux may well be good at getting insurance for modified vehicles, and classic cars, but I do not wish to be paying a premium to reduce other peoples cover. A premium of £300 is not a no go figure for me, but with a £500 excess, and with little or no additional cover included it is not remotely competitive. John.

Being insurance renewal time, and after reading some of the comments on LOC I contacted Adrian Flux for a quote on my GS450H. I was very disappointed with the renewal quote at £300. At first site not to bad, but this was with an excess of £500, and with non of the things like breakdown cover, loan car ect. Adding all the extras I am currently insured for would have increased this figure by another £175. This with the LOC discount? Looking on price comparison sites I can get insured with everything covered including "Key Care" and "Miss fueling" with a £250 excess from 7 different companies ranging from £297 to £303. Last years insurance premium was £257 a figure that I expect to rise slightly this year (£280?) i'll keep you informed. I have yet to contact Lexus insurance, but that is my next port of call. One other point to now consider even if you pay extra for "no claims protection" you premium can go up if you make a clam even if it is a not at fault claim. If this occurs it stands to reason any extra premiums for however many years the increase stands should be recoverable from the third party. Why should you pay out extra in premiums for something that is not your fault? John.

Try A company called "Big Red LTD" they are in Worcester. They specialise in refurbishing calipers, and also supply repair kits slid pins ect. Telephone 01905 428793. I have nothing to do with this company, but have had good service from them in the past. John.

WD40 was designed to be an anti oxidising compound for rocket casings. Originally put on sale as "Rocket 40" by the American government as it was the 40th formula tested. It's name was changed to "WD40" WD being the war department. It contains both solvents, and lubricants being designed to stay on metals after the solvents have evaporated. John.

One of my mini's had the registration 17 BOK probably worth a fortune now. The registration, not the car. John.

A classic mini did not have wind down windows! It had two sliding windows. Non of this new fangled stuff although some did have heaters. A little black box in front of the gear lever with little flaps that you closed if you wanted to demist the windscreen, and a cord that you pulled to open the doors. A button on the floor to start the car, and certainly no power outlet or cigarette lighter. It did have the battery in the boot, now where have I seen that on modern cars? You will be telling me next your sons mini had syncromesh on all four gears. John

As you say that is the simple solution, but the audio quality as terrible. The stereo separation is almost non existent, and sound quality is almost as bad as an FM converter. John.

P0430 = catalyst bank2 below threshold. There is a bodge fix for this. If you disconnect the Bank2 O2 sensor wire where it goes into the ECU and connect this input to Bank1 O2 sensor the system sees a good input for both banks "the Bank 1 sensor", and regulates the fuel accordingly. Replacing the O2 sensor for Bank 2 is the correct course of action if the problem still exists the cat is suspect. A cat cleaner and a fast run "may" cure this. John

The 2006 GS450H does not have an audio input socket. However the system you envisage would work with much dismantling. You also have to overcome the small problem that the casset player needs a casset in it to switch the audio to the player. I have been looking into this problem myself and have come up with a possible solution. The amplifier in the boot receives it's audio in by way of a SPDIF (Sony Panasonic digital input).via the rear most blue plug. You can buy "audio" to "SPDIF" converters on Ebay for a little over £6, but beware most converters are the other way round "SPDIF" to "audio". Breaking into this single wire should be relatively simple, and give the best possible sound reproduction. You may need to use a relay to switch the audio but this could be controlled by an audio input socket with a built in switch. Plugging in the audio lead would operate the relay. If you do not wish to use an audio lead you could still go the blue tooth route. Feeding the audio from the blue tooth converter into the SPDIF converter. It is possible you may be able to find a blue tooth unit with SPDIF output. John