sorcerer

You only have to breathe hard on the brake pedal in my 2005 RX300 and the lights come on, which is how most of the other cars I've ever had worked as well, so I'd say something definitely wrong. In all my other cars it's simply been a little microswitch above the pedal that makes contact as soon as the pedal moves but I'll bet there's some complicated ECU controlling the brake lights in a Lexus

It doesn't seem expensive, it is expensive. It may be a Lexus but it's still just an engine that has parts common to almost any other car engine, ie, pistons, belts, valves etc., etc., and as such, any competent mechanic worth his salt at any garage should be able to do this job with his eyes closed. The cambelt, water pump, tensioners and coolant were all replaced on my RX300 at a little garage here in Preston (not even a Toyota or Lexus specialist) for about £465 if I remember correctly.

Thanks Rayann, that's definitely food for thought although Jeff above seems to think that the Advance models will also have air suspension so can you (or anyone else) advise on whether that's the case or not? Jeff - yes, indeed, I hope I'll still be driving well after my 70th birthday

When our house sale goes through (hopefully in the next month or two) I'll have an absolute maximum of about £20k to change the car. Having been around techy stuff all my life I'm naturally drawn to all the toys, bells and whistles that the SE-L provides but I'm really apprehensive of the air suspension that seems to go with that model. Twenty grand (preferably less) will only get me a car that's already 7 or 8 years old but, at 60 years of age, it's likely to also be my 'forever' car that I'll keep until either I, or it, dies, which is why I really don't want air suspension. It just doesn't offer enough (or even anything?) over 'traditional' suspension, but it introduces a level of complexity that's out of all proportion to any perceived benefit it may give - and having travelled in cars with air suspension, I really don't see any benefit at all. Given that I may be keeping the car 10 or more years, that means that it may be 17 or 18 years old by the time I'm 70 and I really don't see the rubber air bags lasting that long without some major investment along the way. So (a) are there any SE-Ls without air suspension; or (b) if I have to buy a car with it, can it be modified to traditional coil suspension?

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Looking at that picture it would seem to be straightforward with the van at fault. The car was coming from his right so he should have given way. Having said that, the overarching principle is that if you have right of way, you should complete your action or manoeuvre only if it is safe to do so. I suppose that it could be argued that she wasn't paying due care and attention or she would perhaps have seen that the van driver was approaching the roundabout a bit too fast to stop and was on a collision course with her, so she should have stopped instead.

Can you link to the location on Google Maps (either street view or satellite view)? A lot of people seem to have problems with mini roundabouts and don't know what to do but the simple truth is that they are roundabouts and just like any other, you give way to traffic coming from the right. The van driver would be looking to his right and if no traffic was approaching he would have proceeded. Your friend should have been looking to her right where she should have seen the van and given way. Obviously, it won't be that straightforward or there wouldn't have been a collision, which is why it would help to see the road layout.

Now, that really is illegal. As has already been mentioned, a car speedometer will always show you going faster than what you actually are. A satnav is a very accurate device, a lot more accurate than the car speedo, so I'm surprised that you've never triggered any speedcams. You need to get that sorted as soon as you can.

Exactly, that's why I never use water - if my wife were to slip on the ice formed from the puddles I'd never hear the last of it. Far easier and safer to use de-icer.

Thanks Steve, at least it seems to be working now.

Come on you Admin/Mod-type chappies, every other board I'm a member of has this facility so surely it shouldn't be such a big problem to get it working properly, please.

Is it just my computer or has the post numbering disappeared again? It was there before the board upgrade then disappeared for months, came back a few days ago and now it's gone again, for me anyway.

I think he probably means India Pale Ale rather than IsoPropyl Alcohol

Change the battery in the key fob again. Presumably, you put a brand new one in but that doesn't guarantee it wasn't faulty, even though it was new. I may be wrong but I don't think the key receives any sort of handshake or acknowledgement from the car but simply sends a signal to the car for it to act upon. In other words, I don't think anything on or in the car is the culprit, especially as you say "I have changed the battery and instead of the led light showing bright when you push the buttons it just blinks on and off ?", which suggests that there isn't enough power in that battery to light the LED and send the required signal.

As Les says, most likely to be the audible pad wear 'alarm' as it's just a piece of metal designed to make noise that contacts the discs when they wear down to a certain point. Not sure why you don't use the parking brake - regular use keeps the drum rust free and avoids anything seizing up. EDIT: just seen your posting to say that you've only had it two months, in which case I'd say stop worrying and get it back for them to sort out under warranty.

I can't see them being legal in the UK but give us a link to the item Mark so that we can see more details.

No, it wasn't. Old school panel beaters/sprayers used to take pride in their work and it was a fantastic finish, very highly skilled work, but not anymore.

I would imagine that most people don't know they are SUV tyres if they are available in 'non-SUV' sizes. On my previous cars, I've just plugged the tyre size into a website and it comes back with a selection of available brands, from which I make my choice. If the website didn't specifically state that they are designed for SUVs, I wouldn't know.

I've had them on my RX300 for over a year now and I can honestly say they are excellent, they perform very, very well and really are great value for money. I may as well show my ignorance in such matters though because I'd like to know - what difference does it actually make? Is it 'wrong' to put tyres "designed for SUV and 4x4 vehicles" on a standard car? My reasoning would be that if they are good for the size and weight of an SUV then they must also be good for a car - is that not so?

They are indeed:

If the lights are the problem, why are you 'suspecting' the anti-theft module? Do you have any experience of electrical fault-finding? Do you have the necessary tools and test gear or at the very least, a multimeter? There are plenty of Youtube videos showing the correct techniques so there's no point in 'reinventing the wheel' and going through it here, but one thing I will say is that you can't just pick a random item and think "it must be that". You have to take a methodical, step-by-step approach to testing and fault location, otherwise it'll eat up a lot of time and perhaps even money too, if you start throwing new parts at it until the right one gets changed.

That's my understanding - snow mode is just for getting more traction when setting off to avoid the wheels spinning.

Might be worth a call to these people to see what they say. They came out to fit a rear set to my mate's VW and did an excellent job: http://cobracartech.co.uk/en/186-front-parking-sensors

I absolutely love the colours but can't be doing with the carrying handle on the back. Unfortunately, as much as I love the colour it's just not going to look right on an RX

Maybe this will help you: Reversing light mod.pdf EDIT: Sorry, just realised that it doesn't help. One thing I can say is that no trim should be held on with sticky tape, the trim is held in position with white clips. Just search Youtube for tailgate trim removal because I'd imagine that almost all cars use the same system or something very similar.