Herbie

No need to criticise, that's a perfectly good way of keeping all settings etc., and is a method that been in use since I started my apprenticeship back in 1974. No need to use jump leads either as you're not cranking the engine, only a few mA to stuff that needs it. Basically, a bit of bellwire and almost any 12V source would do the job.

What is this sorcery of which you speak?

That should be fine. As you say, an earth strap is an earth strap, nothing special about it.

What's HV?

Welcome to the club Philip. I'm certain that you'll get more responses in the proper UX group so never be afraid to ask as many questions as you like. Above all else, enjoy - and that goes for both club and car

These, along with other units like them, are very easy to install - they're just plug and play. All you do is to unplug a connector from the factory unit, plug it into the new one, and then plug in a harness from new to factory. It's basically a process of 'teeing in' the new unit between the car and the factory unit, so instead of wiring going from car > factory unit it now goes car > new unit > factory unit. The most difficult process is getting the trim off and getting to the connectors in the first place, which is where YouTube comes in. No matter what you're doing, whether that be plumbing, painting, changing a water pump on the car, fitting a new laptop screen or whatever, someone will have done it before and uploaded a 'how-to' video to YouTube that you can follow.

To use Techstream you need a miniVCI cable like this one from eBay and they usually come with a pirated copy of Techstream. I know you've bought an official licence to use Techstream, but have you downloaded the software from Lexus or are you trying to use the official licence key with the dodgy version?

Just sent you a PM Nick, hope it helps.

I've got a Grom Vline2 in my RX and it's quite good. However, it's also expensive and I'm not sure if it's suitable for the RX400h, so this topic may be of use to you:

Just ignore it and use something that enables you to use Google Map or Waze. Even if you have a map DVD that was just released yesterday, you're still using it with an operating system that is about 18 years old, clunky, counter-intuitive and well beyond it's use by date. You really cannot polish a turd beyond a certain point.

Oh well, at least we tried.

That PM I sent to you about a month ago should help with this Richard.

Ooh, that's one of my (ever growing list of) pet hates. It really grinds my gears and I would happily ban them from driving for at least 12 months!

Not quite sure who this was directed towards Stephen but for my own part I'll say yes, I've had almost any and every test known to man. I'm almost 66 now and I first became aware of these problems when I was about 15 or 16 and beginning to explore the world of pubs and beer. Before that I'd just assumed that all kids were the same and I'd 'grow out of it', but it wasn't to be. All my life I've been worried about bladder and/or prostate cancer because all the symptoms of it are quite normal for me. Hesitancy in getting the flow to start; weak and interrupted flow when it does start; an urgency to go but only getting rid of an egg-cup full when I do, and no matter how much I try to get rid of every last drop, there's always dribbling when I zip back up. Apologies if some think that's too much information but that's my normal daily life. Although the PSA test seems to have fallen out of favour these days I still have one every year anyway because my numbers are so closely grouped that it won't take much of an increase for me to get other tests done. For my age, any score up to and including 4 is considered to be alright and for the last six years my numbers have been (if I remember correctly) 0.55; 0.51; 0.52; 0.59; 0.52 and 0.51. At some point I may have had a 0.71 in there somewhere but it's all been below one anyway.

Hope all goes well Oiers, both the procedure and the outcome.

Make sure the service plug grip has been reinserted correctly and making good contact.

Just sent you a PM now Roger, hope it helps.

Good grief, this sounds far too complicated for me. I seem to remember that the old Economy 7 rate was given during the night when it was quiet and demand was low. It won't be long before there are no quiet periods of low demand anymore, so nighttime electricity will soon cost as much as daytime rates.

It could be if you're not careful. It takes about 20-25kV to strike the arc and about 80-85V to maintain it.

Are you sure you have it? I think it was an optional extra in 2009 and although you may have a button that's labeled as DAB, you may not have the optional module installed.

The plates that Lexus are now fitting do work but because they are not a Thatcham-Approved device they will have no effect on insurance premiums at all. To make a difference any device has to be Thatcham approved. Due to medical and health reasons (back injury, arthritic knees) we need an SUV as both my wife and I have difficulty getting in/out of a standard saloon. We tried other manufacturer's offerings but the RX450h was, by far, the nost comfortable and easiest for us. However, I see the very real possibility of having to change to something else if these insurance costs don't come down before March

The problem is that it's compound interest that just keeps adding up. If I can find the interest example they provided I'll post it here because it may help others in the future if they're thinking of doing this.

If we're going Belgian I prefer Palm Stephen, thanks

Ah yes, interest rates When I first followed your advice and got in touch with Nationwide, I think the rate was something like 2.8%; certainly under 3% anyway. Equity Release works on a lifetime interest rate, which means that whatever the rate is when you sign on the dotted line, that's the rate for the whole mortgage term. Due to a lot of faffing about (not our fault I hasten to add) which is too long and boring to list here, we move forward in time to the point where Truss and Kwarteng destroy our economy, Nationwide pull all ER products from the market as do some others, and we end up going with Key Equity Release Group. The mortgage lender itself is a company called More 2 Life and by the time we were ready to sign on the dotted line, the interest rate was 6.8% In the end it doesn't matter to us. It's still very affordable, we can do what we want and we can still stay here until the last one of us dies, no matter what happens to the value of the property in the meantime - but it's so damned annoying when none of the delays were down to us and knowing that we could (should) have got it cheaper.

I know what you mean and I appreciate the thought, but that would never happen for two very big reasons: One is my disproportionate homesickness. My wife comes from Carlisle so I moved up there to be with her. It's only 90 miles up the M6 but within two months I was desperately homesick for Preston. Not so much for the town itself because it's nothing special, but I couldn't stand losing all my friends, especially the dozen or so of us who have been meeting up a couple of times every month (at least) since leaving school in 1974. I've known these guys for 61 years, since we all walked into infant school at the age of 5. The other big reason is our health, which is the main reason why we needed a bungalow anyway. This bungalow is everything we wanted and more besides, but by a happy accident it's also close to the hospital, supermarkets, a pub, and almost anything we'll ever need as we get older and less mobile. We have made some silly or even bad decisions in our lives but we're both confident that this ranks amongst the best.