Herbie

A trickle charger like the CTEK that Peter mentions above is the absolute best way to prevent the 12V battery going flat in the first place. Unfortunately, not everyone has a garage or driveway or indeed a power point near where the car is parked, so second choice is a solar charger, but you have to be careful to get one powerful enough as a lot of them aren't. Finally, if the battery does go flat, something like this jump start battery pack would get it restarted. This is the make and model that I have and although I've only had to use it on my RX once, I've started a few conventional cars with it and it's absolutely brilliant.

Is that a thing in UK cars now? I thought it was only USA but could never understand why we didn't get it.

But surely, it doesn't surprise you, does it? This is the result of Covid and supply chain issues, with severe shortages of chips and lots of other stuff (think how many ECUs in just one car) and it's also the main thing driving the price increases of used cars, because no one can get a new car in the timeframe they want.

Absolutely no point in claiming on the insurance for that because: Your excess will probably be equal to or more than that Your No Claims Discount (say 60% for example) will be lost if it isn't protected Even if it is protected and you keep it, when you come to insure next time your premiums will go up so that instead of getting 60% discount on, say, £1,000, you'll get 60% discount on £1300

<pantomime voice> Oh yes it can! </pantomime voice> I'm afraid that turning off the supply is one of the basic protocols for smart meters. Of course, it can't control the individual circuits, it's just a 'whole house supply on/off' variable, but the capability is there. As far as I know they haven't used it yet because there are huge implications for people using medical equipment in the house and so on, and I think they're still trying to work out the legalities and practicalities of it all. To be honest I don't think it'll ever be needed domestically, because a lot of commercial and industrial high-consumption users often take a deal to have preferential rates on the understanding that if push comes to shove, they will reduce demand when requested to do so.

Hi Alex and welcome to the forums. You'll get a better response to your questions if you post in the dedicated LS400/430/460 forum (not really sure why there's a 'New Members' area). I'm sure it won't be long before someone can help you. Enjoy the forums and more importantly, enjoy the car

Climate Control is a 'set and forget' thing. You simply set the cabin temperature to whatever you want, press the 'Auto' button and the car takes care of everything to achieve and maintain that temperature for you. When you start from cold there will be a short delay before any air starts to blow and when it does, it'll come from the footwell area. Hot air rises so it's the quickest way of warming up the cabin. Similarly, on a hot summer's day when you start the car, it will blow air from high-level vents first so that it cools on its way down. What symptoms are you seeing that makes you think it's not working properly?

That will also happen. They already have the ability to remotely control the meters and if demand is such that blackouts are iminent then they will use 'rolling blackouts' to manage the balance.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, voice recognition is absolutely abysmal so save all the frustration and pulling your hair out and just either enter with joystick/mouse thingy or, better still, use Waze on your phone. Last time I tried with the Lexus system it was to make a call. Me: "Dial 01772 765432" Lexus: "Dialing 834. If this is not correct....yada yada" Me: Call "01772 765432" Lexus: "Calling 47297. If this is incorrect....." Me: "AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" I then installed a Grom Vline 2 and have lived in serene bliss ever since. Using Waze for navigation: Me: "M33 4AB" Waze: "M33 4AB. Ok, got it. Let's go." And that's it. Done, dusted, and on the road in no more than one minute.

Mine sometimes picks up the speed restriction sign on the back of a lorry

Is there a motorway in close proximity? I've sometimes had the opposite happen, when the car has, for example, displayed a 30 sign but I was actually on the motorway at the time.

Yes it is. It'll no doubt be slightly different but by and large, the basic principle is the same. Just be careful with the retainer clips on the A pillar trim and try not to break them. If you haven't already got a set of plastic pry tools like these then I'd suggest you get some They're very useful for doing stuff like this and once you have them, they'll come in handy for all sorts of things

In a domestic setting the whole reason for smart meters to exist is to allow micromanagement of supply and demand. They already phone home once or twice a day but that's now being ramped up to every 30 minutes (I've also heard that every 5 minutes is on the cards too) and peak times will cost more than off-peak. I suppose the same will apply to EV chargers at supermarkets, service stations or wherever as well.

Sorry John, only just seen this. 1. The cameras come with 3M adhesive pads in the box so I'm using them. 2. No, I didn't drop the roof lining, that's a really big job. If you put your fingers at the front edge of the roof lining and windscreen, you'll be able to pull it down slightly, just enough to insert the cable. You can then just go along with your fingers, working towards the passenger side A pillar, just pushing the cable up into the roof space. I took off the A pillar trim so that I could feed the power cable down towards the fuse box in the passenger footwell (sort of behind the glove box) and also keep feeding the cable to the rear camera into the roof space while working towards the rear of the headlining (you'll probably need to take off the B and C pillar trims as well). 3. I use a 128GB Samsung Endurance Pro card. 64GB is a bit small because, although it just fills the card and then starts to rewrite from the beginning again, they only have so many read/write cycles. The Samsung Endurance Pro cards are specifically designed for dashcam/bodycam/security cam use and are amongst the best, if not THE best available.

Then surely it's got to be the 12V battery or the connections/wiring from it. Have the 12V battery load tested - it may show 12.7 off load but when loaded that may drop like a stone. If you're sure the battery is good then carry on as below. When the brake pedal is pressed and the power/start button pushed, there are two 12V relays that act as an interlock. If there isn't enough power in the 12V battery to energise those relays then the hybrid system can't be started and nothing will work. Make sure the battery clamps are clean and tight (take them off and use sandpaper/emery paper/steel wool to shine up the battery posts and the mating surfaces inside the clamps. Follow the cables from the battery to wherever they go and do the same at that end. Check body and engine earth straps and also check for continuity of cables as well as voltage. Is it getting TO the fuse box and also THROUGH the fuse box? It could possibly be the main fuse that's blown. Not from a Lexus GS450h but this is the type of fuse I mean:

Presumably it doesn't go into READY mode so it should be showing warning messages and/or flagging OBD codes up. You need to read the codes and tell us what they are, otherwise we're just randomly guessing.

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Some settings for the power back door can be altered from the multi-information display (in between the power meter and speedometer) so might be worth a look in there. Also, there's this:

Good grief, there seems to be some really nervous drivers in here. Are you sure you want to be on the road at all? I passed my driving test in the instructors Austin Allegro and after that, the only thing I'd driven was my dad's Morris Marina. However, on the very first day of starting work on BT I was given the keys to a Commer van. No if's, and's, or but's, it was required for the job, so get used to it. Within a week they needed the van for someone else and I was given a more appropriate vehicle, a proper jointers wagon, the Bedford TK: No dramas with either one of them and they were both as easy to drive - and park - as cars, although the Commer vans were notoriously unstable. If anyone does happen to be a nervous driver, why not book a couple of refresher lessons with a good instructor?

Only just seen this topic so it may be too late but there's no need to buy leak detection fluid. Simply get an old jam jar or similar, put some water in and a squirt of washing up liquid, then use an old 1" paintbrush to apply the solution to any suspect areas. You'll soon see bubbles forming anywhere there's a leak.

Always great to hear a success story, well done mate

Never feel silly to ask questions Matthew. As someone once told me, "The only silly question is the one not asked."

Yes, you do need it. It's the headlight level sensor, nothing to do with air suspension.

You need the wiring diagram to see what's upstream of the 10A heater fuse. Domestic consumer units here in the UK have one big cable coming in that connects (via the main switch) to a busbar that provides power to all the individual fuses/circuit breakers, but I don't know if car fuse boxes work on the same principle. If they do, it would suggest a break in the busbar but that seems unlikely. I would look upstream on the wiring diagram and take it from there. Check for continuity, not just voltage.

Wireless charging is more hassle than it's worth. It can be stopped by the thickness of a case or protector if your phone is in one.