m4rkw

Fuel filter is another possibility. If it was run dry all that gunk in the tank will have been sucked into the filter, possibly clogging it up. Since it was technically the garage that ran it dry I think I'd probably take it back to them first and just say "hey something's not right with this, wasn't doing it before" etc and see what happens.

It could be the fuel pump actually, normally the pump is cooled by the fuel in the tank so it's a good idea to always leave a decent amount of fuel in there to keep it cool. The head pressure also means it doesn't have to work anywhere near as hard when the tank is full compared to when it's nearly empty. If it was run dry there would be an excessive amount of heat generated by the pump which may have caused damage. A fuel pressure test would tell you if that's the issue.

It's not a good idea to let a car run out of fuel, especially one that old. All the crap at the bottom of the fuel tank will be sucked into the engine. I doubt it's a timing issue, any reasonably competent garage would verify the timing through the computer before giving the car back to you. Then again a competent garage would perhaps have noticed it was low on fuel and put some in it before leaving it running. I don't know what may be involved in fixing it if it is caused by gunk going into the fuel system, but lesson learned don't run out of petrol!

It might be worth giving a local vehicle locksmith a call and asking them, lots of them have suppliers for aftermarket keys and they know all the programming stuff. If the price is right it could save you a lot of hassle, and potentially expense if something doesn't work. I got a spare key for my wife's old Nissan from car keys online, then called the local guy to come and program it. He said he could have supplied the same key for slightly less.

I had my brakes done recently at a Toyota/Lexus specialist and they recommended Brembo brakes over OEM as they're of similar quality but have a much better warranty, two years I think, and according to them warranty issues are much easier to deal with than with Lexus.

Also with yours being a hybrid there may be additional things of relevance that I don't know about. Maybe someone else will chime in here.

This kind of thing is actually more common than you might think, I’ve heard stories that from some manufacturers brand new OEM parts often don’t meet the manufacturer’s own specifications and have to be sent back. The average DIYer has no way to test most stuff so would never know. With aftermarket parts it’s probably even more common.

If you're pretty handy and follow the correct procedure you can probably do it yourself, I always take mine to Toyotec to get that done as I'm pretty useless with most car repairs and I want to make absolutely sure it's done right. I don't want to worry you but 120k is a lot of miles to have put on the transmission with the original fluid, it'll be well and truly burned up by now and there may already be some damage. You may want to check the fluid that comes out of it for metal shavings. Hopefully that won't be the case and if it's shifting ok then that's a good sign, just bear in mind that when manufacturers say the fluid is "sealed for life" they only really care about the car making about 100,000 miles, beyond that they don't care - the car's well outside the warranty period by then and if it fails and writes the car off they can sell you a new one. If you service it properly and it eventually fails sometime after, it was the 120k without servicing that killed it, not the service. But hopefully that won't happen and you'll get a load of happy miles out of it. Actually that's another reason to have an experienced tech do the service, if they're good they'll test drive it before and after and make sure there are no issues like the shift points being wrong or delayed engagement etc. I don't know if you have a lot of history with the car but if the paperwork doesn't seem complete it's possible it has been done at some point, you may want to pull the dipstick and see what the fluid looks like. If it looks pink or dark with a hint of cherry red then that's good fluid, chances are though it'll be dark brown/black and smell burned.

If you're going to do it yourself make sure to look up and follow the correct procedure. I think you usually need to get the car hot before you drain the fluid, only use the correct fluid from Toyota, nothing else, and replace the filter if it has a replaceable one.

This may be helpful:

I'm not 100% sure but I think it's probably 88625K on that diagram (interior thermistor), in the dash somewhere. Look on youtube maybe there are guides showing you how to get to it.

http://europe.toylexparts.com/lexus/242520/ale20l-aeflxw/494w/009/4/8715/877782d Not sure if that's the exact right model but it's probably close enough.

It'll have a cabin temperature sensor somewhere that's probably malfunctioning, either that or wiring to it. If the reading from that sensor is too high the car probably thinks it's constantly 40+ degrees so will always blow cold unless you select HI which bypasses the temperature check and just says "make as hot as possible".

That makes sense - I have a sunglasses cubby.

What does the ambient temperature readout say? Is there a point where it crosses a threshold and becomes hot/cold? You say it's cold at 29, what happens at 30, 31, etc? Is there a gradual warming or is there a single point where it suddenly blows hot?

If it’s out of spec send it back and buy from Lexus

On most cars the manufacturer likes to say it's "sealed for life", which is technically true, because when the fluid's all burned up it's done. It's just a question of whether you want the life of it to be 150k or 350k. At that mileage it should have been done at least once, ideally twice. If it hasn't then I would do it ASAP if you plan to keep the car as that fluid will be pretty dirty by now.

Underwear DVDs? hahahah You can look for the parts here: http://toylexparts.com, once found, put the part numbers into ebay which may yield aftermarket alternatives. How many miles are on the car? You may want to change the transmission fluid if it hasn't been done. Mark

Where did you get the replacement MAP sensor? New doesn't always mean working..

Welcome to the forum Paul, hope the new toy brings you many happy miles

I did once try to use techstream to add a key on mine but it didn't work. It wasn't a legit copy though and I had an aftermarket key for a JDM import with a different frequency.. so who knows why it didn't work. In the end I had the transponder on my existing key cloned by an auto locksmith.

I think there’s a “forget all except this one” option

Mines a JDM Harrier though.

We're staying in Hamilton for a few nights near a friend of my wife's and then in a "bothie" in a forest for a week. Can't wait. Was meant to be going to france but the quarantine thing scuppered it all at the last minute. It's okay though I like the rain haha

My car wasn't listed there at all but they were still able to send me a key that worked when I asked.