Farqui

Crumbs, all those rivets/screws must have taken sometime

13 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

And no, it's not mine.

That's a given, as it's not a Saab Richard 😉

Take a look here for location and pic 

and here 

Hi James, the GS450h has been good to me over the past couple of years and returns 35mpg on average (tank-tank calc's). 

Best tank I've seen was just over 40mpg average and worse ever was 30.5mpg.

I only drove an IS diesel briefly and the GS rides very nicely and goes like stink in comparison. 

The hybrid function works really well and can get the average mpg up if the conditions are suitable. 

Road tax is £240pa.

Here's another RC-F rebuild video series that just starting.

Once again with front end damage, becoming a common theme...

@GolfMk1Vr6, yes the Hybrid Healthcheck has recently been extended to 15 years and does cover the mk3 GS.  My vehicle missed a years check when it popped over the then 10 year limit but the local dealer confirmed it was still valid to continue.  The traction Battery can also be repaired by independent specialist s much cheaper than dealer prices.

I've had my GS450h for just over 2 years and it's been a great car, comfy, reliable, powerful and is a real sleeper.  

The dampers are known to be weak but I've found that my local dealer blatantly lied about leaking shocks which I knew were bone dry.  They were also inspected by a local engineer, have since passed 2 MOT's without issue and drive just fine.  So take dealer reports with a pinch of salt.  For the record my car has had some shocks replaced under previous owners (were they needed?) and the vehicle is now approaching 120k miles.

As the mk3's are getting on a bit now, the exhausts often blow but the car still runs quiet.  I had the rear and middle section replaced with a stainless custom set-up for a fraction of the OEM cost (which isn't stainless).

I thought APSSS was a rare option and is a pricey to repair, my local indi recounted a few costly stories to me over a brew.

The mk3 GS boot is small but works well for the two of us.  When we trip to the continent we pop on a back box which then easily accommodates 4 folks with their luggage.

I find that the hybrid set-up and CVT work well together and means that neither the engine nor motors are particularly stressed, which I hope bodes well in the long run.

If you have any other questions then fire away.

A great choice 

Enjoy 

Yikes...sorry to read this 'news' Vlad, not good.

I hope that you get it sorted quickly and with minimum fuss.

My GS has the exact same spot flagged as an advisory for a few years. So maybe it's a common weak area across the range? Lexus highlighted them on it's initial health check and I'm shocked to see the dealer cost to repair. When mine need work then I'll sort them myself.

Your story sounds familiar, I started looking into dent repairs over a year ago but other jobs/life took priority. No doubt there are similar stories with many of us.

Had a paintless dent repair (PDR) chap visit us at home today and he's has done a great job.

MrsF's VW had 3 dings (top of the front wing, side of a rear arch and flat of the tail gate) and he'd fixed one well before I managed to make him a cuppa!

My GS had a dink towards the front corner of the bonnet, which he eased back into shape.  It's alloy which took him a little bit longer.

PDR is a fascinating process which I could watch all day and his 20yrs+ experience showed.

For anyone in the midlands that's interested I can highly recommend Adey / Dents First, details at; http://www.dentsfirst.co.uk/  I heard of him via my local detail guru who makes use of his services.  I have no affiliation with either company and mention it purely to benefit anyone who's car has some daily driver dings.  I'll leave him to price up each job but I can say that he was very reasonable.

I apologise for the lack of pic's but these dents were really difficult to capture!

My hybrid cooling system doesn't appear to have a 'sock' filter like the IS 300, instead it has a 'pad'

Darren, those prices are eye watering and you're right to investigate alternate options.

None of the items require specialist skills that need a premium rate.

The brake lines is probably the worst job but only because of the time involved making up the replacement lines.

Do you have any reputable JAP specialists nearby?

No, that looks pretty clean, but don't forget the gauze filter in the trunking

Haha, really?

I'd like to claim that I knew that and set up the gag but alas I cannot #musttryharder

I've had to re-read the price several times, I hope they've done a good job and it lasts. 

Heck at that price, I'd have it done annually and not wash 'em in between!

Locally I'd been quote £50 a wheel, un-seen and that's for a blow over with the tyre eased back.  I didn't follow up.

I only see 3 refurb'd alloys in the pictures, so is your GS really a Reliant Robin in disguise? 

Yeah, Tamworth is nearest for moi.

Wow, they look really nice now.

That's by far the cheapest refurb prices I've seen, especially for a full tyre off job.  Let me see where my nearest outlet is...

Did you keep the TPMS valves in and let them handle their removal/refitting?  Fingers crossed they were swapped over without any issues.

What colour did you opt for, as near to stock as possible?

A 'wagon' eh, a practical choice 

Cleaned my hybrid cooling fan at lunchime, it wasn't too bad.

The cool air piping has pads along it's length, presumably to let a bit more cool air in right?

Does anyone know if the cabin to boot pipe can be removed? I would like to clean the rear parcel mesh.

Mine wasn't too bad.

You can source back boxes from 3rd parties at more reasonable prices e.g.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F112434510850

Welcome to the forum Jim, the GS450h is a great car.

I had a similar issue when I first acquired mine and Lexus didn't even quote for a replacement with their silly prices, they offered to weld it up #surprised! 

If your exhaust is still in reasonable shape then a decent garage should be able to repair it.

If not, then Tony Bank (Leeds) made me up the rear back boxes and middle sections including cat's for around half of what Lexus quoted you.  So hunt down a local specialist exhaust shop for a quote, it may surprise you.

Exhaust pic's here; 

Good luck getting it sorted and do let us know how you get on.

Excellent news Pete.

Were they OEM or aftermarket dampers?

On 5/27/2017 at 3:07 PM, Britprius said:

I have often thought that the hybrid battery cooling systems use the wrong criteria for turning on the cooling fans. As things stand the fan or fans are turned on by battery temperature, but this is a bit of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. The fans not coming on till the battery is already warm or hot, and even then they turn on running slowly increasing speed as the temperature goes up. The battery cell core temperature will be much higher than the outer shell.

Surely it would be better if the fans were turned on by ambient temperature cooling the batteries before they get warm. The sensors are fitted on the under side of the modules meaning the core temperature can have risen considerably before they turn on the fans. On certain models of the Toyota/Lexus hybrids "the Prius, the CT and possibly more" it could be argued that using the AC helps cool the battery as the air intake is in the passenger cabin meaning cooler air is used when the AC is on. Of course the energy being drawn by the AC must offset this to an unknown degree.

Of course the battery temperatures should be taken into consideration, but early intervention when ambient temperatures are high must help in keeping temperatures down.

I think we are lucky in the UK that our climate is reasonably moderate compared to parts of Europe, and the US where heat is a major factor in early battery deterioration.

John.

John, that's an interesting idea.

The hybrid cooling fan can be controlled via the Hybrid Assistance app; https://hybridassistant.blogspot.com/2017/12/fan-assistant.html

Quote... "The Fan icon is now a 3-state toggle; every tap will rotate between:
OFF - fan controlled by the car
MANUAL - forced ventilation
AUTO - Hybrid Assistant will turn on or off according to temperature"

I've only briefly tried this function and it did kick my cooling fan in to what seemed like overdrive.

That's a great write up, well done [emoji106]

How much does your mpg tend to drop?

So if you clean it every 6 months, that seems like quite a lot of dust/etc.

Mine hasn't been cleaned in the 2.5 years I've owned the car, so you may just have inspired me. Especially as I need to get into the back of the boot to double check my suspension tower bolts are still tight.

I know what you mean. Today mine clocked 323 miles in 3 countries, with 4 adults, luggage and seemingly endless nosh (back box). She never missed a beat [emoji106] No complaints from the passengers either, a surprise glass of Prosecco may have swayed the lady's [emoji1787]

I got nervous passing the spot where my rear tyre let go last November tho. I did thoroughly check all 4 corners a week before leaving this time tho.