Herbie

Just received the latest newsletter from the Money Saving Expert website and thought this may be of use to someone: Free MOT at Halfords

Are you sure the problem is at the gearbox end? The reverse light switch is part of the neutral safety switch (makes sure that the car only starts in P or N) so are you getting any other symptoms to do with starting that would indicate a fault with that switch and have you definitely ruled out a simpler solution, like a fuse perhaps?

Yes - thread about it here (look for other posts by @BrightonRX300 for more details of his conversion):

I'm calling Occam's Razor on this one. No one can defeat the laws of physics and the fronts will always do the lions share of braking, so it can only be a different brand or grade of pads in the front that give off less dust than those at the rear.

According to my service plan I'll get three MOTs at £49 each - but I can get them done at my local bus depot for £29

Not sure I agree with that Roger, which is why I qualified my statement with "if you can afford it and want to do it then go ahead". If you can afford it and want to do it then it's not a downside. If you can't afford it or don't want to do it, then don't. Most car batteries will indeed last longer than five years, some quite considerably longer, but given the importance of the 12V battery in a hybrid car and the abundance of problems it can cause when it begins to fail, I think I'd err on the side of caution and replace it after five years if I could afford it, purely as a precaution.

'Preventative maintenance' it's called and yes, of course, if you can afford it and want to do it then go ahead. Having worked in maintenance all my life (first as an electrician and then a telephone engineer) it's the sort of thing that I routinely do as there just can't be a downside to doing it.

I think the best speed cam database out there is the one done by these guys https://www.pocketgpsworld.com/subscription.php (that links to the description page so you can see how good it is) It's just £19.99 per year, available for almost all stand-alone satnavs and both Android and Apple phones. The database is generated by reports of cameras by the public and if you happen to be the first person to report a new camera, you get a years subscription free. It also covers all the different camera types - fixed, average, red light, mobile etc. Well worth the money in my opinion.

Again - it's not an error, it's designed that way! The technology does exist to calibrate the speedo to perfection but they cannot do that, there has to be a calibration margin because it is illegal for a speedo to under-read. The fact that you could calibrate boat instruments is neither here nor there as I've never seen a fixed or average speed camera in the water and boats aren't subject to the road traffic acts, rules and regulations that road vehicles are.

Sorry then my friend, I'm out of ideas. Good luck in your search.

Sorry, my mistake, I read your post as 89 instead of 99. All I can suggest is that you email them or phone them to see when they will have more stock. I think they manufacture the struts themselves onsite, so they should be able to do something for you.

Here you go https://www.sgs-engineering.com/car-boot-tailgate/lexus/ls/gsc1592-lexus-ls400-bonnet-strut

That's exactly it. I've never had a car new enough to bother about a warranty before and I've certainly never had such a complex car before. It's five years old but looks and drives like it's brand new so if anything goes faulty then I think it's early enough in its life to warrant new parts, hence deciding on a warranty. As it gets older then parts from a breakers yard will suffice and my mate who's been a fully qualified mechanic for more than 30 years will be happy to do the work needed.

Only two things are needed, duct tape and WD40. If it moves when it shouldn't, use the duct tape; if it doesn't move when it should, use the WD40 😂😂

I don't know the answer but if the dealer will foot the bill then just go to them anyway.

DanD's correct. The AFS system just swivels the lights left/right as you turn the steering wheel, the levelling system is a completely different thing. Are you sure you've not just accidentally knocked the AFS switch and turned it off by mistake?

Thanks guys, definitely food for thought there with the Essential Care plan.

We decided that we would arrange an extended warranty for our RX450h, to start from February next year when this one (given to us by the dealer when we bought the car) expires. As you'll be aware, one of the conditions of having an extended warranty is that the car must also be serviced by Lexus. I know that Lexus is a luxury brand but I just wasn't ready for servicing costs like this. Although I've always had top of the range cars, they've always been at least 10 years old and I'm used to having them serviced either by a mate of mine at mates rates (full service on my old RX300 about £50 plus parts), or a trusted indy at slightly more than mates rates - just looking at this service plan quotation has just made my pucker valve cry out in fear! I admit I've led a sheltered life up to now but I'm so stunned I just have to ask - do the figures seem reasonable? This is from Lexus Teeside for a 63-plate RX450h with 39,800 on the clock (she got the mileage figure wrong) and I know they participate in the Club discount scheme so I mentioned it to her and I believe that these figures do include that discount. Also, I've always known items such as coolant change and pollen filter to be part of the service, not charged extra for. And I can get an MOT for £29 locally!

What's that round thing? Looks like an LPG filler cap but surely it can't be because isn't that the front of the car?

Yes, started by the same original poster:

Nope, a 3.0 went up to over £500 (think it's £555 on Autotrader)

It does indeed look like rainwater coming in but before you get too downhearted, have you used the screen washers lately? I know that the water pipe from the washer bottle to the rear screen goes up that pillar and I think there may be a joint there as well. Worth a look to see if it's come loose maybe?

I would guess not:

The best drying towel I've ever used: https://www.autobritedirect.co.uk/index.php/the-reaper-super-plush-drying-towel-new-hellshine-range.html

I can't confirm if there's a problem or not but what I can say is that the air suspension really isn't worth it in my opinion. It doesn't give any appreciable improvement over 'traditional' suspension but it does introduce a whole level of expensive complexity if/when it goes wrong. For me, there's two choices - forget air suspension altogether (which would be my choice) or go for a better example than this one if you're not happy with what you see. Personally, I'd go for the SE Navigator, which has all the toys, bells and whistles of the SE-L but without air suspension.