Herbie

Ford Granadas as used by Cowley in The Professionals and also Reagan and colleagues in The Sweeny. I had each generation of those until they changed to the jelly mould Scorpio.

In my personal opinion, both the camera prices and the fitting prices are way over the top. There are many, many dashcams out there and all do the same job. Personally, I went with the Viofo A129 Duo which, as the name suggests, is a front and rear system. Very small and discreet it can be left in situ 24/7 and is hardly noticeable from outside at all. I fitted it all myself and it's an easy job for any reasonable DIY'er. I can understand that you may not want to start dismantling a brand new car so if you don't want to DIY, just take it to a good auto-electrician or car audio specialist. There's nothing Lexus-specific about dashcams - all cams will work in all cars.

This topic has been discussed before and, like Peter above, I shudder to think how much they'll cost to replace if some scrote breaks one off while it's parked up somewhere. I think a 'standard' mirror is approaching £600 so if one of these is ever needed, be prepared to sell a kidney or some other body part That looks to be a beautiful car you've got there Julian, enjoy it to the full.

As far as I know, none of the Lexus OEM systems can handle FLAC files but I may be wrong.

Before you spend any money, have you tested it to make sure it's the heating element at fault? Might just be a loose connection/broken wire. The one Ian links to at Aliexpress looks alright but be aware that for that price, it won't be photochromic glass so it won't have the dimming property of an original. Personally I don't like the dimming feature so I could live with that but if it's important to you...

There's a reason why we in the computer industry always tell people to switch it off and back on again. A fault condition can be held until power is removed. Once the power has been interrupted, things have a chance to reset and the fault often clears.

Yes, applies equally to all Lexus hybrids.

I'm sure that what you're feeling is just the torque of the engine spinning up but even if I'm wrong, I don't think there's any need for concern. If the car is in D and you lift your foot off the brake then it will creep forward, but there's nothing wrong with holding your foot on the brake to prevent that.

What isn't working or what symptoms are you having? What I'm getting at is that some wiring harnesses and connectors are fitted at the factory but not used unless a certain option is chosen or a variant calls for it. For instance, I know that my car (a Luxury) doesn't have a HUD but the wiring and connectors are all there because the next variant up (F Sport) does have it and it was an option on the Luxury.

Hi Nick, is it your first hybrid as well as your first Lexus? If so, you may find the following information to be some help. If not, I apologise if it appears that I'm trying to teach my granny to suck eggs. First of all, hybrids don't have a traditional starter motor or alternator, or anything that would normally be driven by a belt from the engine because the engine doesn't run all the time - imagine being halfway through a turn and you lose power steering because the engine shuts down! Instead, it's all driven electrically. The 12V battery boots up the computers and gets the car into READY mode, equivalent to switching on the ignition and having the engine idling in a conventional car. At this point you can drive off on battery power alone if you so wish, but these aren't electric cars and you'd only get a couple of miles (if that) before the traction (hybrid) battery was effectively flat. When the hybrid system wants the petrol engine (ICE - Internal Combustion Engine) to run, it energises Motor/Generator 1 (MG1) and uses that to spin the ICE up to 1,000rpm before applying fuel and a spark to fire it. In a standard car the 12V battery is charged up by the alternator but we don't have one. Instead, a device called a DC/DC converter steps down the 288V from the traction battery to about 14.5V to charge it. The converter/inverter uses the same process for other systems like the power steering which, if I remember correctly, uses 48V. The aircon compressor is driven by a 500V 3-phase AC variable frequency motor and the two hybrid transaxle motors MG1 and MG2 are both 650V permanent magnet motors. Talking of the aircon compressor, if the system ever needs to be regassed, make sure that you take it to an aircon specialist (or, of course, a Lexus dealer) who knows about and can deal with hybrids. The reason for this is that, although the refrigerant gas is the same as any other car, the lubricating oil isn't. As I said above, the aircon compressor is driven by an electric motor and the motor windings are immersed in the oil for cooling purposes. Standard compressor oil is called PAG oil but it's a low dielectric oil which means that it conducts electricity and it will damage the motor windings. We need to use ND11 oil which is a high dielectric and won't damage the windings. It's been shown that as little as 1% contamination by PAG oil can, and will, cause problems. Maybe not immediately but it will. Ideally, a specialist should have a dedicated ND11 machine so that cross-contamination with PAG can't happen. Although it's perfectly alright to jump start a hybrid with a standard car, NEVER, EVER, do it the other way round - you may get away with it but it's not worth the risk. The 12V battery in any car is only used for starting and then the alternator or equivalent takes over the running of the 12V systems such as lights, radio etc., etc. When jump starting the 'donor' car should have its engine running before the 'recipient' car attempts to start. This is so that the recipient will draw on the donor alternator, not its battery. This is all fine and dandy for a standard alternator because it can output anywhere upwards of 300A and a conventional starter motor will need every Amp of that, but our DC/DC converter can't supply anywhere near that amount and if it was asked to do so it may well expire with a very loud bang and lead to a very expensive repair. It's a very bad idea to run out of petrol in a hybrid but if you do, make sure to put in 10 litres before trying to start it and be aware that if you have more than three unsuccessful attempts at restarting, the hybrid system could lock out and need a dealer to reset it. At traffic lights or other holdups, if you think you'll be moving in a minute or two, just leave the car in D with your foot on the brake. If you think it'll be a while before you move again, put the car in P and you can take your foot off the brake. However, don't put the car in N because the hybrid system doesn't charge the batteries in Neutral. Sorry for boring you but now, above all else, enjoy the car.

The only thing that strikes me is that that is obviously a female connector but I can't see a corresponding male thread on the part you linked to above. Maybe something like this one that comes with adapters (and is also cheaper) may be a better bet.

Don't be alarmed by the name "Lexus". Yes, it's a Lexus but it's also just 'a car' with an engine, gearbox, suspension and so on, just like any other car on the road. You certainly don't need a Lexus dealer or even a Lexus specialist to work on it; just ask family and friends for personal recommendations of which garages they use and go to one they trust. If you become a Gold Member of this club then you get a discount card to use at Halfords. In my personal opinion it's of limited use because Halfords is often overpriced and our discount only brings the cost down to what you'd pay elsewhere anyway. Having said that, they are open later than most other places and that's probably the only time I ever use them, i.e. if I need something immediately when other places are closed. They are OK to buy 'stuff' from (such as cleaning products and polishes etc) and tools, but I would never let a Halfords employee anywhere near my pride and joy with tools in his/her hands. Times may have changed, I don't know, but it used to be that the spanner guys weren't/aren't time-served mechanics but just folks who've attended a couple of in-house training courses for a couple of weeks and then are let loose on the public.

It's designed that way. I'm sure Google will show you more info but this topic covers it fairly well: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-4th-gen-2016-present/810554-gray-area-in-panoramic-view-monitor-4.html

Your money, your choice, but I wouldn't let Halfords even change a bulb, let alone do a service.

I'm sure it's because the navigation system gets its time signals from the satellites.

The battery gauge on that screen isn't a true reading of the state of charge of the actual battery. We, as the end users/drivers only get to access 60% of the battery capacity so, in overly simplistic terms, think of it as having another 20% below the bottom and another 20% above the top. The screen is only illustrating what's left of 'our' capacity. Given that, I don't think there will be a problem in getting the car started but, as Peter said above, there is a possibility that a dealer may have to be called to get it started, albeit a small possibility.

Is it a whip type, a bee sting type or something else (photo?)? To be honest I'm surprised it has an external aerial as my 2005 RX300 had it integrated into the rear window. EDIT: Yes, sorry, just seen the link to the Amazon one and I was getting mixed up. Ignore what I said above

Satellite navigation works on a time base so when it talks of "system time" I would imagine it's referring to the satellite time. Everything should be automatic in regard to the 'navigation time' - the satellites can't be wrong or all hell would break loose.

It is where I live - currently 74p/litre.

That's a very worrying statement! Fuses only need replacing if they blow, and they only blow due to a fault (with maybe a very, very, occasional exception) and even then, usually only one circuit or fault at a time, so how come you're replacing multiple fuses?

Fair enough Tariq, so it's just like Flashlube then.

I've never had a BRC system so I don't know, but what I can say is - any system that squirts petrol onto the valves/injectors is just defeating the object of LPG. Flashlube have a system that electronically squirts lube in as and when, but the whole idea of LPG is to cut down on petrol usage. Also avoid any kit or system that supplements the LPG with petrol (or even switches completely back to petrol) when the car is under heavy load, i.e. throttle wide open. That's just the mark of a poorly designed system or someone who doesn't know how to pick the best components or set them up properly.

Given that the OP was about 6 weeks ago this may all be resolved by now but, if not, I strongly suggest you do it yourself. Most of these units don't require any cutting or soldering of wires and usually come with all harnesses needed. It's just a matter of unplugging the old and plugging the new. As for removing the trim and getting at the connectors, there's a 99% chance that someone has already done it and videoed it, so just look on YouTube. Before retiring I used to repair computers. Desktop towers are easy but laptops can sometimes be difficult due to hidden screws or having to follow a set sequence to strip them down, so if I was faced with one I'd never seen before and it just wouldn't come apart (even though I'd removed every visible screw) I looked on YouTube and there it was - the 'Tube never let me down

The Black Belt Barrister explains it very well:

^^^^^^ This.