Herbie

Well, that's obviously not good but if it were me I'd probably let it go. If they're playing tricks like this now, imagine how it would go if you needed to claim off the warranty. There's plenty of good examples around but, even if you have to wait a bit or travel (we travelled just over 200 miles for ours) it may be better in the long run.

They absolutely can be converted to LPG. We had ours done within a month of buying the car and it was absolutely excellent.

Hi Stuart, just sent you a message.

No, it's perfectly ok to jump start. Like I said above, there's even a dedicated jump start terminal in the engine bay fusebox and all you're doing is providing another 12V source, just like the one that's already there but with more 'oomph' in it. Have a read of this topic:

I think that's correct, yes. Remember that 'headlamp' is the term for the device itself, while 'headlight' is the term for the beam of light produced and distributed by the device (from Wikipedia). The screenshot below is from https://www.mot-testing.service.gov.uk/documents/manuals/class3457/Section-4-Lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment.html

I doubt that very much. My previous job meant that I've worked in Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Jaguar, Vauxhall, Ford, Seat, Hyundai and Kia main dealers and more besides, and not a single one of them had, or has, their own body shops. Without exception, they all send body work out. They may have a favourite place, they may have an 'arrangement' with a place or they may just send it to the place that can fit it in first, but they don't have their own body shops.

I may be wrong but I think it's not only that HID kits are banned but also that the bulb has to be appropriate for the housing. In other words, if the factory headlamp units are designed to have halogen bulbs then they must have halogen bulbs. It's not just about the light source itself (the bulb) but how that light is thrown out, ie, the reflectors, the flutes and the prisms and how they affect the beam pattern. Putting an LED in a housing meant for a halogen will affect the beam pattern.

Hi David and congrats on your new motor. We've had two Smarts in the past and were, in fact, one of the first people to have one in the north west. Reg No. was V836 LFV and was an import from the factory in France (or Germany?) where it had been used as a demonstrator and had just 3,000km on the clock when we bought it. Had four or five other cars between that and an RX300 SE Navigator and earlier this year we moved up to our RX450h. You'll love the car, they are superb. More photos needed in the dedicated RX forum when you actually get it 😁

Our car is used daily so I can't really see a problem with the 12V battery going flat due to lack of use unless (being as I'm the only driver) it's something medical that prevents me from using it. I'm assuming that the mechanical key would still open the driver's door but what about the tailgate? Can that be opened manually or is there an electrical latch that has to have power on it to allow it to open? My question arises because it seems to me that Sod's Law would come into play if the battery was ever to let me down, so instead of a nice summer day it's almost guaranteed to be a cold, wet and windy winter night. My wife's mobility scooter lives in the boot so it would be a major undertaking to get to the battery terminals to jump start the car. I know that there's a dedicated 'jumper terminal' in the fusebox in the engine bay but that's almost as bad for access because I'd have to deal with half a dozen little plastic clips that I would either break or drop somewhere never to be seen again, before I could remove the engine cover and get to it. My idea is to make up a permanent jump lead using eyelet terminals at one end that will be permanently connected to the battery, the other end of said lead would terminate in a socket located in a more accessible position in the car somewhere. If the tailgate can be lifted and the boot accessed without power, there's a cigarette lighter-type socket on the left side (next to the light) that I could remove and replace with something more suitable. If the tailgate can't be lifted without power, I'll have to look at mounting a socket somewhere else in the cabin, maybe even somewhere towards the front and wiring to the jumper terminal in the engine bay instead of the battery.

Excellent! Same colour combo as ours. I was told by a few people that it would be an absolute nightmare to keep clean but I don't care, I think this colour combo just looks so classy. Enjoy!

I've never had a car with air suspension but I know that there's been lots of posts about it over the years. If it's just the ride height system it's a relatively easy and cheap fix, anything more complicated and you'll need a mortgage - I've seen it mentioned that each strut is about £650 per corner. If no one else comes along to help, just try a search of this forum. Here's one topic that may help: And there's this guy who converted to 'traditional' coil suspension rather than spend astronomical amounts on fixing the air suspension:

I'm afraid that I haven't got any hard proof but can say that my RX450h is five years old and still on its original 12V battery as far as I can see. We've only had the car since February but it came with all paperwork and there's nothing for a replacement battery, so I reckon it's the original. It had 33.5k on the clock when we got it and now at 41.7k and it was first registered in November 2013.

The NX is too small to be a true SUV really, but I have to say that our RX450h is the best car I've ever had. My initial reason for buying an SUV was for medical reasons. A fairly serious back injury makes it awkward and painful to get in/out of a standard saloon but the RX makes it child's play. And I also like the higher seating position, not just because of my back problem but also for visibility.

This topic gives the instructions, but note that timing is everything 😁

No it won't, that can't happen unless there's something wrong with the traction battery and then you have major problems anyway and the 12V battery problem will pale into insignificance. In a normal car the battery is just used to start the engine. Once the engine is running and the alternator is spinning, the alternator runs all the car electrics and if there's enough surplus it will also charge the battery. In a hybrid, the 12V battery is used to get the hybrid system running and once it is, all starter motor and alternator duties are taken over by the traction battery. So, 12V source (say battery pack like above) gets the hybrid system up and running, which then uses a DC/DC converter to drop the 288V traction battery voltage to about 14V to start charging the 12V battery.

Or, you could have just used this guy on eBay who will supply a key already cut from a photo of your existing key and then you just put your electronics in the case.

Maybe folks should just stop overthinking things 😉 It's quite simple - one 12V source is below par and you're replacing it with another 12V source. As an experiment, someone could just try it - nothing bad will happen, it'll either work or it won't - and I'm 100% confident that it will work without the donor car's engine running. After all, what do you think happens when someone uses a battery pack jump-starter like I linked to above - they don't have an engine but they still start hybrid cars, and normal ones too.

Our RX450h Advance (in Celestial Black with Ivory interior) has 19" wheels and I can tell you that it's the best and most comfortable ride of any car I've ever had - and that's coming from someone who suffered a back injury so severe that I was medically retired from work. Must admit that I didn't know that ivory rubber mats were available either. When we bought our car it came with ivory carpet mats and black rubber mats so I'm not going to spend extra just to get ivory ones but it's good to know, maybe for future use.

In a hybrid car the 12V battery only powers the entry/exit system and it boots up the computers that are required to get the hybrid system into the READY state. Once there, the traction battery takes on all starter motor and alternator duties.

I don't understand the question. OBD stands for OnBoard Diagnostics and you can buy OBD readers that will read and clear fault codes. What, exactly, are you asking?

I'm not sure how this came about - perhaps someone failed to remove the relevant passage from the manual or something but I can tell you quite categorically that the engine of the 'donor' or second car does not need to be running when you start the car with the flat battery. With a 'normal' non-hybrid car the starter motor draws a current of at least 300A to crank the engine so it's desirable to have the engine of the second car running to ensure its own battery doesn't suffer and lose charge itself. Because a hybrid car doesn't have a traditional starter motor, the 12V battery in a hybrid car only has to power up the entry/exit system and also power up the computers necessary to get the hybrid system up and running and bring the car to the READY state. As you'll see below, my clamp meter is showing that these systems are drawing a current of just 15.32A from the battery of my RX450h to bring the car to the READY state, which is a hell of a lot less than the 300A or more needed for a normal starter motor, and is low enough that any 12V battery should be able to supply it easily and without the engine of the second car running.

Never used one myself but I believe they do work well. The only drawback is that a vacant frequency in your own area may be in use 10 miles down the road so there could be a need to constantly retune to an empty frequency as you travel up and down the country.

Just think how many hundreds of people see your plate every day as you drive around. Even if someone does clone the plate you've got the original, not the clone, so you'll be alright. Nothing to worry about.

Yes, everything works as it should. As you can see that's just a still grab from a Youtube video and it's been a while since I watched it but I'm sure the person doing it said that all things worked afterwards, including the steering wheel controls for volume etc.

Don't forget also that as you drive around, a frequency that's quiet and free in one area may have a radio station operating on it in a different area so you may end up constantly retuning.