Herbie

I think the sweet spot is probably somewhere between the two. There are plenty of no-name (or silly, obviously made up name) cheap Chinese ones out there that you really shouldn't waste money on, but I also think spending that amount of money is way OTT. I have one made by DB Power and a mechanic mate has one made by Suaoki, both reasonably well known companies with good reputations. I've used mine about 20 times (never on my own car) and, being a mechanic, he uses his much more. I think mine was about £60-£65 and his was about £75-£80 and neither of them have ever let us down.

As far as I know, all the Lexus high voltage traction batteries here in the UK are NiMH.

After some time spent this afternoon: LV renewal initially £636.70 down to £598.70 at discretion of lady at A-Plan Direct Line £506.24 AA £541.17 Co-op £660.41 Saga £675.89 This is for me and the wife, both 63 within the next 10 days, both retired, 12k miles/year, me with one SP30 speeding conviction, blue underpants, yellow/black stripey socks, 15+ years NCB (protected), comprehensive cover.

What about that other character with the SC430 that was 17 years old and only done 5,500 miles? He came in to "ask questions" and it's now sold and the whole thread has been deleted - so we'll never know how much it made in the end! That's more annoying to me.

Being as no one has replied to you Leslie, I'll say that yes, you can put photos on here to sell it but you have to become a Gold Member of the club first. At least that used to be the rule and I think it still is - if anyone knows different please speak up.

Just checked and my Lexus Breakdown Cover is part of my Extended Warranty, not my service plan.

Yes, that's true. According to Martin Lewis http://www.moneysavingexpert.com about 21 to 25 days is the sweet spot. Leave it to the last minute and they think you are unorganised and prone to making rash decisions that will translate into your driving. I'll try that trick with the AA, thanks.

I've literally just put the phone down after getting a call from my brokers, A-Plan. I'm currently insured with LV and the lady at A-Plan said that they were still coming up as the best price for me this time (due on 2nd Feb) at £636.70, which is roughly about what I paid last time if I remember correctly. My wife and I both had business cover but have now both retired so I expected quite a drop in premium and it was a bit of a shock to find out that having business cover or not is making absolutely minimal difference to the cost. Because we also have our house insurance with A-Plan, she gave me a small discount (just at her discretion) to bring the renewal price down to £598.70. I thanked her for her efforts and said that I'd get back to her in a couple of days after trying Direct Line, Saga, and one or two others that they as brokers don't deal with. By the way, this is for a 63-plate RX450h Advance, 11 years protected NCB, and with one SP30 conviction. I had hoped that it would have dropped under £500 after getting rid of business cover - how wrong was I?

And ironically, Lexus Breakdown is provided by the AA. It also means that you must be paying for two lots of cover. I know it's "included" but it's not free, the price will be baked into the service contract. Anyway, glad it's sorted now.

Why did GF turn up if you called the AA?

Personally, I would eat the cost of having a straight pipe put on and take my chance that it would pass an MOT. We know that hybrids aren't tested on emissions so it would be up to the individual tester if they noticed/ignored that a cat is missing. Once a straight pipe is installed, that would stymie any future attempts to rob the cat so there's just the one initial cost of having the straight pipe installed and I wouldn't notify the insurance or get them involved at all.

I have no idea I'm afraid - I've got an RX450h so never seen under the bonnet of a Soarer/LS400. I'd say it should be alright anywhere as long as you can get access to clean the area and make a good, tight connection.

Brilliant Martin, thanks.

I'd check all three relays for operation, coil resistance and contact surfaces.

Excellent diagnostic and fault-finding skills Martin, well done. I don't suppose you fancy sharing the details of your voltage logger with us do you?

I think I'd be inclined to just fit a new one.

Without a crystal ball? I doubt it Seriously though, it could be any one of a hundred things. You need to do some methodical, logical, diagnostics and fault-finding or, if you haven't got the necessary tools or skills, take it to a proper auto electrician - not a general mechanics garage but a time-served and qualified auto electrician.

If it's not a broken wire in the loom but the actual heating element that's gone, you can get a replacement heated glass on eBay for about £15 to £20 but it won't be a dimming type. If you want one of those I believe they are over £100 from Lexus - personally I'd give up on the dimming for that price

I got one from either Aldi or Lidl. I can't remember which it was but I'm almost sure that they've both sold compressors in the past. It was either £79 or £89 at the time and primarily bought for blowing out all the dust and crud from computers before I set about repairing them. It's been excellent for all sorts of things, including the car tyres. Highly recommended.

Having your own refurbished should be much cheaper than that if it starts playing up again.

It's possible I suppose but you need to do some diagnostic testing to confirm. Using a multimeter, do you get 12V to the brake light contact of the bulb holder when someone presses the brake pedal?

This is the one that I bought and I have to say it's excellent. Good, clear, easy to read and very accurate. Highly recommended.

I wouldn't call "less than 2000 made" as being common.

Sadly that wouldn't work John. When a battery starts at 12.8V and drops down to 9V within two hours it's definitely breathed it's last gasp - only thing to do now is to replace it.