wharfhouse

Could be the position of the rear cam - is it possible to move it to another position and see if that improves it.

Ah, so more a seat design issue perhaps than the leather itself, which I would assume is the same leather as used on non-F Sport seats which if mine are anything to go by holds up fine.

On my IS 300h (2014 registration Executive - pre-facelift, so it's real leather) the leather is pretty much perfect all over - the only thing as above is some creasing on the driver's seat bolster due to compression from getting in and out of the car, and there is a small white mark where the seat belt buckle catches the driver's side seat back bolster as it retracts, but that could be easily recoloured. I don't do anything to the leather - generally the whole of the interior only gets cleaned by the Lexus dealer when the car is in for a service twice a year - I rarely have time to do anything myself. For 10 years old and 150k miles the interior all looks in nearly as new condition. The only thing that I have just recently had is a small split about 5mm long in the driver's arm rest where my elbow always rests (it's not leather there but vinyl) - I've just added some superglue to that with a black marker pen and it looks acceptable given the car's age and mileage. I can't comment comparing previous generations of Lexus cars as this is my first Lexus but compared to BMW and Honda (the other cars we've owned and run to high mileages) the IS 300h seems to be holding up similar to those.

I can't really comment on car ads as you only know from that what they want you to see. I would check the MOT history on both as that might help you to get a better idea of their history and maintenence. If you go and look at them then a thorough check of everything is crucial - maybe take someone with you who know what to look for - especially electrics to make sure all works (or if it doesn't you don't mind) - as any repairs wil be expensive and quickly take away from any savings you are trying to make towards a better car. Personally, if I wanted to be saving for a better Lexus to buy later this year I would buy something reliable and cheaper to run for 6 months that I could sell on without losing much money, such as a smaller Toyota. Though buying any car that's older always needs to be carefully bought with the head rather than the heart...

That's strange - I never have any issue with FM - at least for BBC R2 which I tend to listen to most when driving around the country. DAB is a little more limited but on R2 it seamlessly switches to FM as needed and I don't remember the last time I lost the FM completely despite driving all over the country. Have to be in some deep valleys in the mountains to lose it. I listen to Greatest Hits Radio as well locally around the south of England on DAB and have to move between Berks and South channels for that by having two presets, but that's due to the way DAB works (no FM Link for Greatest Hits as it's localised stations) but DAB is stable within it's transmission area and only starts to drop out near the edge of the area. The comment above about dash cams may be relevant though as I remember reading something about those interfering with the radio reception in some cases. Many years ago I had a BMW with a rear screen aerial and had a car phone fitted with the aerial on the rear screen and that caused FM radio issues - they had to move the aerial to the front screen to stop the problem.

I go to Bridgend a couple of times a year (from Berkshire) and from what I recall I found DAB reasonably ok on the M4 for Radio 2 in Wales - some switching to FM Link in the big dips but nothing out of the ordinary. As I'm not in South Wales for any length of time though I just use Radio 2 DAB/FM there rather than local channels. Up from the M4 to Pontnewynydd I would have thought DAB will struggle the further up the valley you get. However I would have expected FM to still work OK for much of journey on the main road up to there (it does for me in the valleys above Bridgend). Maybe some others in Wales may be able to add more local knowledge.

I have the Executive trim too. I've driven all over the country including South Wales and in general found FM ok other the deep valleys, but generally that's the same with all cars. However DAB can be hit and miss. If you listen to the main BBC Radio channels they are on a National DAB Ensemble and tend to be better to pick up and you can also use FM Link with these so if the DAB signal is lost it switches to FM seamlessly and back to DAB when the DAB signal is strong enough again. Probably worth going somewhere where you know there will be a good signal and scan for DAB channels there first to make sure DAB is working properly.

Sounds like a a sensible outcome - good for others to know calipers will be replaced under the Relax warranty if they have failed.

From the videos it sounds like the noise I had on Honda Accord when a rear wheel bearing needed replacing - that was quite a loud drone that changed pitch with speed of the car (not the engine) which if I am hearing the right sound on your video appears to be happening. Have you tried the left right steering as per my earlier comment to see if the noise is more prominent on one lock or the other? The other thing that can make that sort of sound related to the road speed is if the wheel alignment has gone out then the rear tyres can become "cupped" and the noise that the cupping makes on the road surface is a very similar sound. I also had this on the Honda too after a tyre place completely screwed up the alignment. I mention that as you said you had hit a kerb but the sound didn't come on immediately - but depends on how many miles you have done since then. Cupping can be felt on the tyres as you run a hand one way around and then the other - you may need a decent tyre place to diagnose that though - or have the alignment checked - if it's cupping you will also need new tyres after alignment. There is also the possibility of something rubbing slightly - maybe the dust shield on the rear brakes got knocked too when you hit the kerb and is now catching? Finally, when I noticed what I thought was a wheel bearing noise on my IS 300h I asked Lexus to take a look. Initially they said they couldn't hear anything, but it wasn't very noisy at the time (nothing like as loud as on my Honda, though similar in tone and just road speed related - also it was more prominent on one lock that the other) and so they offered me the chance to take a tech out with me to demonstrate the noise. Once he had "tuned in" to the noise (like I had) then he agreed and on further checking did indeed find a front wheel bearing was on the way out. Worth asking for a tech to ride with you if you haven't got any further forwards. If you haven't already found the culprit hope the above might help - let us know what you find.

See my replies above for how it works on my IS 300h. Can't pull it open when the car is locked but can when the car is unlocked. The rubber plunger is just there for assistance when pressing the flap to open (like cupboard doors).

Are you sure the Hybrid Health Check report is for your car - I ask because I had one for a different car once in the papers I received after a service...

The Tracker sounds like it's from: https://www.tracker.co.uk/ - I had one of those fitted back in 1997 to a BMW. It's interesting in that it's not GPS based but VHF - so not blocked in the usual way, and apparently even works inside containers. As you said, police cars are supposed to be equipped so that if a car passes them with an activated tracker they will pick it up - what action they will actually take in this day and age though I'm not sure, but in theory it might lead them to the source of crime. However, agreed that it's no substitute alone for the a CANBus fix and until that is in place I certainly wouldn't consider buying any Lexus / Toyota of the age where this is still a vulnerability.

Good point - I hadn't twigged on the recent purchase. If it was purchased from a Lexus dealer they usually come with 12 months Used Car Warranty which is very comprehensive and should certainly cover the caliper cost and possibly replacement discs/pads if the stuck caliper caused those to need replacing. As @Spock66 states if from an independent dealer there are other consumer rights that may come into play.

I have just had the same problem, although with more mileage on my car. I have a late 2014 IS 300h with just a shade under 150K miles and started getting some intermittent squealing and a slightly warm rear offside wheel. Took it to my Lexus dealer and they diagnosed sticking rear caliper. In my case I have the Lexus 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty that I pay for annually due to my high miles (so outside of Relax 100K miles limit) - it can be renewed until the car is 15 years old or 150K miles, whichever comes soonest. The tech reported that on the side with my sticking caliper the pads were down to 3mm but 9mm on the non-sticking side (the rear pads seem to last forever on a hybrid). The caliper was replaced under the Extended Warranty and I then paid £355 (incl. fitting) for new rear discs and pads on both wheels. TBH, although there was a lot of pad thickness on the good side, the discs were looking in pretty poor shape given my age and mileage - very rusty and becoming pitted - and before the sticking caliper I was thinking of replacing them anyway, even though the pads at the time had a lot of life left. I am assuming you have the Relax warranty in place on your car and so given my experience, unless the T&Cs of Relax are different, the caliper should be replaced under the warranty. What damage has been done to the pads/discs due to the sticking caliper and how long it's been like it is hard to know - if there is uneven wear on the pads or glazing then at least replacing the pads makes sense if the discs are still in good shape, and maybe replace the discs if they are heavily corroded and pitted (given their age). You can check prices for OEM discs/pads on https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/ to get an idea of parts costs. However, based on my experience (and looking at my invoice and the prices of parts etc.) then the £990 should be the total cost of one new caliper, and new discs and pads for both rear wheels, not just new pads, and hopefully the caliper will be under warranty so if just new pads are needed should be well under £200.

Excellent outcome and great to see Lexus replacing the hybrid batteries if they fail - seems to be rare that they fail but good to know that we are covered and Lexus do as they say if the battery does fail - I'm on 150k miles in my IS 300h and I keep it serviced by Lexus.

AWD has improved wishbone rear suspension, unlike the simple torsion bar the FWD model has.

I've never had any oil left in the car after a service in 10 consecutive services on my IS 300h. And so it's certainly not compulsory for Lexus dealers, even if a particular group of dealers wants all of theirs to do it. I know other marque dealers who do this but AFAIK it's always been complimentary (or at least not broken out on the invoice!). Also my car has never used any oil between services in 150k miles so I'd have rather a lot of unneeded oil by now...!

Yes, I've started doing a bit more work myself on mine - at least some small things to keep it running the best I can, but unfortunately I don't really have the time between work and personal commitments to have it out of action for any length of time.

Interesting things - in general the interior trim has held up reasonably well on my car - now coming up for 10 years old and 150k miles. Some things may be more age than mileage related and/or some over zealous application of cleaning / polishing substances though. Also, a lot of short journeys, especially around town, can mean touching many parts of the car in a few miles as much as many thousands of miles on the motorway where you just sit there and don't need to touch anything for hours. Paint swirls can also come from someone trying too hard to look after the car and not knowing how to. I've heard a lot of people complaining about swirls in their paint and yet I did a post about a year ago on my car after I decided after many years of "neglecting" it and it being washed more times by the dealer than by me how good the paint still was - no swirls etc. This was probably because I hadn't subjected it to lots of washing and it's never been to one of the hand car washes, or any car wash, for that matter. I noticed at my local Lexus dealer where it's been taken all it's life that they use the spray foam lances to wash the cars, so again no damage through dirty/gritty sponges etc. When I got my car at two years old with 40k miles on it there were a number of scuff marks on some of the hard plastics like lower door trims etc. and some marks on the drivers side door sill paint from someone catching it with their shoes getting in and out. Certainly more "wear and tear" than one might expect than in a well cared for car. However, I knew the history, as it was bought new and serviced on schedule at the same dealer that was selling it and the person who owned it was something to do with civil engineering and used the car for business. As I knew I would be putting a lot of miles on the car (as I also use it for business too) and not babying it and the price was a real bargain (which I negotiated down a bit further!) , I was happy with slightly less than perfection. If it's always been Lexus serviced you should be able to see the service history which logs the miles at each service. Alternatively, the government M0T website will show you the mileage at each MoT which may show any discrepancies (of course nothing under 3 years old though). Being a Lexus Select Used Car, then I would have expected then to have done the standard checks for clocking before selling the car through that scheme. Maybe time to ask them for that report, or indeed run your own report (I think they cost like £20).

TBH the issue is finding a good indy. I've been down that route with previous cars and found that although cheaper they skimped on many issues the main dealer did as part of the service - that even included one not changing spark plugs on schedule (even though they listed that they check change as needed) - started having problems with the car - took the the spark plugs out and found all of them were way past replacement so did them myself and the car ran fine again. I don't think there's any right or wrong answer - very dependant on the particular garage - swings and roundabouts.

The best test for a sticking caliper is does the wheel get warmer to the touch than it's opposite wheel after eg a half hour drive. If not, then I doubt you have a caliper problem. In my case one wheel was definately warmer (though not hot) although when the tech put it on the ramp and tried to spin the wheel he couldn't move it...! I didn't notice any pulling or anything adverse driving the car other than the intermittent squeal although I did think the mpg had dropped a little but that could have been due to too many other factors other than just the sticking caliper.

Yes - if you aren't happy with one dealer definately try another. A couple of decades ago I went through about 5 local BMW dealers until I found a good one - the rest of the dealers were diabolical though and looked down on their customers and wouldn't listen or accept any input on the problems I was trying to get sorted. We can only vote with our feet. Fortunately I don't have any complaints about my local Lexus dealer (though I know some others have) but if I did there are a few more I could try even if it meant an hour or so to get to the them.

Totally agree - the insurance companies on one hand point to their sophisticated algorithms that looks at all the risk factors to determine an individuals premium and yet on the other hand we all know that the pricing is simply all over the place. Clearly there are no "sophisticated" algorithms - simply pricing to what they believe the market will stand. I'm not saying they haven't had price increases to contend with but the whole myth about the algorithms is just that IMHO. The comparison sites are opening more people's eyes to that. Maybe the new government will grasp the nettle and bring in some changes - but I won't hold my breath... 😂

Good to hear you are enjoying the car. Have the wheels been refinished/painted? Some of the wheels on mine had been repainted - not by Lexus but by the previous owner before he traded the car in - presumably to get a better price. Unfortunately they weren't done very well - obviously just quick job for the trade in. They have got progressively worse each year - I keep meaning to get them refinished probably but haven't had the time as I use my car for both business and personal miles. What other things are making you think it may have been clocked - we might be able to share our experiences which may put your mind at rest.

If you do low mileage then a scraping noise on first setting off is probably just some corrosion on the disc surface which clears on the first few brake applications. You might be able to see the corrosion on the disc before you set off - it only takes a few days not driving, especially if it's wet weather, to form. In my case the brake squeal came on after driving for an hour as things warmed up. A sticking caliper will also cause the wheel that is sticking to be warmer to the touch than the others after you've been driving for a while. If all are the same temperature it won't be sticking caliper. Interesting that Lexus charge £100 to clean / grease the pins - supports the thought that by the time that's been done a few times might as well fit a new caliper if it fails. Low annual mileage though is probably more likely to need some additional brake maintenance like that though. In my case I don't know whether it was the slide pins or the piston anyway - the latter is also quite a common failure too (had that on a previous car). Will be interesting to see how long my other side lasts before it needs replacing.