wharfhouse

It was as per a previous part of this thread "Choose vehicle signal check, and a number of items will appear including the battery voltage" - I went through most of the menus to see what was there but couldn't find much else of any use...

I decided out of sheer curiosity to find the "hidden menu" - I have a 64 reg IS 300h Executive (so standard nav). The combination on mine is to hold the menu button down (on the centre console) and then do the lights on/off three times quickly - it then pops up the "hidden menu". I also had a look at the battery voltage - with the aux on but the engine off it was showing between 11.7V and 12V - seemed to fluctuate up and down in this range. Not sure what that tells me! As far as I know the car has the original battery (I bought it just under two years ago at 41,000 miles from Lexus - always serviced at Lexus and no battery replacement in the online service notes) and it's now done about 63,000 miles. It's used most days on short runs with longer runs on average once a week. Never had any sign of problems with the 12V battery. There didn't seem to be anything else of much use in the "hidden menu" unless someone knows what else can be accessed...

I used to have OEM run-flats on a BMW - I think the rims were designed differently to stop the tyre sliding off when deflated but I have also seen other info about run flats being ok for any rims so not sure. I would have though the TPMS would indicate when a puncture occurred ok though. Although there are obvious positives to run flat tyres the downside is that they have very stiff side walls (so they can run when flat) which can lead to a much harsher ride - cars designed with OEM run flats have this factor engineered into the suspension setup but even then a lot of people complain about the ride quality of BMWs on OEM run flats...

At the age and mileage of the car I would have thought a new engine and hybrid system will come to more than the insurance write off value so if the insurance cover this damage then I would not be surprised if they declare it a write off.

Yes - something to do with limiting the revs on the electric motors

This is from the car's manual - I would assume "accelerating sharply" includes kickdown - when I have gone to kickdown it seems to go to pretty much max revs (more noticeable when in Eco) and as per this I would assume full battery output: 80 1-2. Hybrid system ◆ When stopped/during start off The gasoline engine stops when the vehicle is stopped. During start off, the electric motor (traction motor) drives the vehicle. At slow speeds or when traveling down a gentle slope, the engine is stopped and the electric motor (traction motor) is used. ◆ During normal driving The gasoline engine is predominantly used. The electric motor (traction motor) charges the hybrid battery (traction battery) as necessary. ◆ When accelerating sharply When the accelerator pedal is depressed heavily, the power of the hybrid battery (traction battery) is added to that of the gasoline engine via the electric motor (traction motor). ◆ When braking (regenerative braking) The electric motor (traction motor) charges the hybrid battery (traction battery).

The IS 300h was announced as Euro 6 compliant in April 2015... That means Which has left these comments on the car report for well over 3 years - they should at least clarify - I'm surprised Lexus didn't approach them given what they have said. Then again I don't subscribe to Which and don't know anyone else who does...!

In my experience I largely ignore MOT "advisories" (after checking the car myself) as they are subjective - I have seen "advisories" on one MOT then not on the next one! As for tyres tread depth I would measure them yourself as again I have seen measurements made wrongly by garages or recorded wrongly...!

That is normal - all cars under read a little so you can't inadvertently speed - not sure what the max number/percentage is but under reading is usually in the 5% to 10% range in my experience when checked with GPS.

Sure is!

At the end of the day, whether we like it or not, that's why we have to have standardised and controlled emissions tests so that although they don't fully reflect real world mpg figures they do at least compare apples to apples as much as possible - I take any other self appointed test results from any media publications with a pinch of salt as far too many variables involved.

I have a 64 Executive and have the 13MY version - I'm pretty sure you have the rotary dial to use the sat nav (not the mouse) and so have the Standard 13MY and not Premium. With the Standard sat nav there isn't anything you can download from the Lexus website and any updates to the sat nav have to be (officially) done by the dealer.

If Irish Lexus dealers charge the same as in the UK then it will be double that for servicing... Lexus fixed service charges are on the Lexus UK website https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/ - scroll down to the bottom and enter the model etc to get prices.

Concur with you on tyres. Was going to go to a local tyre place that I know are about the best in price but thought I'd give Lexus a call and see what they would charge as they say they will be cheaper than anywhere local - they were in fact over £30 cheaper for the exact same two tyres so went to Lexus - have to say I was surprised.

I don't think you can say anyone is "happy" but the parts cost is fixed (unless you can find an alternative source or non-OEM - for some parts that's possible but for many - especially Lexus specific - it's not) and the hourly labour rate is (as quoted in the above) set by the dealer and so the only variable is whether it really takes as long as the dealer says to do the job and if they can justify that. In my case regards the washer bottle sensor I would guess that (once you add in vat) that the sensor was probably in the £100 region and there was a couple of hours labour. As I said I don't know what is involved with changing that sensor - I tried to see if there was anything online but nothing for the IS. The work involved in other cars I looked at was anything from easy access, after removing a wheel, to a much more complex access of removing various parts of the bodywork and the reservoir. If for the IS it is more the latter then a couple of hours to test, disaseemble, replace, reassemble and test all works does not seem so unreasonable. I remember the story about the French car manufacturer that meant a visit to a garage just to change a headlight bulb as it required the bumper removing. The time to carry out what sounds like a simple repair is often more than it should be but is down to the issue of ease of access which is down to the design. I have used independent garages for previous cars and had mixed experiences. For straightforward servicing and jobs then they were OK though only did the bare minimum. However for more complex jobs they did struggle at times taking longer than they estimated and not alway completing a repair to the level I would have liked - for example breaking clips and not replacing them etc. I have also done quite a lot of work myself in the past on cars but have pretty much given up these days except for simple jobs as without the right tools and diagnostic equipment there are so many ways to end up getting stuck part way through and as I can't be without the car for a few days while I sort that out I have to weigh up the cost of using the dealer against the loss of my income when I can't deliver my skills to my clients because I'm stuck under a car.

Not so sure on that as they just gave me the quote after I asked them to look at it at the service - it was me who said that I had the extended warranty and would it be covered under that - they said they would check and called me back a day later and said that yes it would be. Without the extended warranty might have tried to beat them down a bit on the repair cost but as it is will never know if there was any room for negotiation 🤔

Of course if I chose to do it myself or possibly get an independent garage to do it I am sure it would be a lot less but that is what Lexus chose to quote and would have charged if I had given the go ahead. Without investigating further I don't know what was involved or what body work needed removing to get to the sensor. As it is they did it under the extended warranty so I didn't have to worry myself with any of that 😀

Oh yes if it helps I was able to pay for the 2 year extended warranty with 12x monthly payments interest free. As I was also getting the car serviced by Lexus for the extended warranty also took out a couple of years service plan where I pay monthly too. As I said I'm not very good at having the money ready for big bills so where I can try to spread big items into monthly payments!

Don't forget that the extended warranty cost includes full European breakdown cover for those two years, so depending on if you need this or how much of this you would purchase if you buying it separately take that part off in your thinking... With extended warranty it must be serviced by Lexus for the extended warranty to be valid, so if you are thinking of going somewhere else for servicing after the three years then it can't be used. A service by Lexus includes the Hybrid Healthcheck too which warranties the battery/invertor etc. for another service interval (usual 12 months or 10,000 miles, whichever is sooner), or that is £59 per year if you have it done separately by Lexus.

There have been quite a few discussions about extended warranty and of course there are different personal situations that will come into play as to its value. I took the 2 years extended warranty on my IS 300h when the original 3 year warranty expired as I planned on servicing the car at Lexus (has to be Lexus serviced for the extended warranty to be valid) and was happy with the comprehensive breakdown cover also included - and I'm not very good at putting money aside for the "just in case" scenarios! Earlier this year I stopped getting the indication on the dashboard that my washer bottle was nearly empty. First time was in all the snow and cold weather so just in case it was linked to that left it to the warmer weather but it was still not working. At the service I asked them to have a look and they reported that the sensor on the washer bottle had failed - the cost to replace - £462.48... Of course it's not a critical item and so without the extended warranty I would probably have left it, but asked Lexus if this was covered by my extended warranty and they checked and confirmed it was so just had it replaced under the warranty. One of the reasons I took the extended warranty was simply peace of mind - I know Lexus cars have a better reliability record than many makes (all?) and this was one of the factors in my choice of car, but all cars can develop faults regardless and I also know that Lexus parts can be expensive, probably more than some other makes. I was pleased to find that the extended warranty covered this.

F Sport only - others have more traditional twin dials (charge/rev and speedo)

If the incline is reasonably steep use the parking brake too which reduces the issue of the pawl binding that you are experiencing - having a high resistance regularly won't be good for the mechanism and cause wear I would have thought

On my 2014 IS 300h Exec (so 17" wheels) between 48mpg and 52mpg (as per the car computer) on average mixed driving, motorway, A road and towns (lower end in winter, engine has to warm up for longer and heat the car, and higher end in summer) - can get to 60+mpg on a free flowing A road running at 30-50mph and being light footed, and up to 55mpg free flowing motorway (at 70mph) and being light footed. Heavy footed (and Sport mode etc.) will drop this down quite a bit - more towards mid-30s

Generally unpleasant smells are caused by the air con being switched off (for example after summer) and there is some condensate left that then stagnates and breeds bacteria and hence the smell when it's run again. I don't think it's a particular Lexus problem but afflicts any car with air con and why I alway keep mine on (and accept the very small mpg hit - with modern systems it's not much and even in winter is useful in keeping windows clear from fogging up in damp conditions). However if you've had the system switched off or have recently bought the car then may be worth the disinfection but leave it on from there and you shouldn't have to worry again.

On all the cars I have owned I have run the air con at all times summer and winter (in Auto mode) and had very few, if any, unpleasant smells. Occasionally I have bought some air con disinfectant aerosol spray that is sprayed down the cabin vents, left for a bit and then the air con run with windows open for a bit to air it just to make sure all stays fresh. If you aren't experiencing any unpleasant odours then no real need to disinfect from under the car. On one car (BMW) the drain pipe blocked and so caused condensation on the inside of the windows so had to be cleared using compressed air but that's a different problem....