Herbie

Yes, that's ok. When thinking of conventional cars the donor car should have its engine running so that the alternator does most of the work, which is fine because alternators can squirt out up to 300A. Hybrids don't have an alternator but use a DC/DC converter instead, and that can't supply anywhere near as much current as an alternator can and it could be damaged if the recipient car tries to draw too much from it. A conventional starter motor will draw upwards of 300A as it cranks the engine but a hybrid only needs about 20A because all it's doing is booting the computers to get the hybrid system up and running into READY mode. If you did need to jump start a conventional car with a hybrid, either take the battery off the hybrid and take it over to the other car, or at least disconnect both cables so that the hybrid is completely isolated from the 12V battery.

I don't know that particular answer but does it matter? Before getting our RX450h we ran LPG cars for about 15 years so we had no spare wheel because the toroidal LPG tank always sat in the spare wheel well. We carried a can of Tyre Weld goo for small punctures and had breakdown cover for something bigger.

Try looking for YouTube videos that go through the process.

I've never personally done that David so I'm not sure. I can't really see what benefit it would give, to be honest. I can see a use for leaving the donor battery connected to the flat one for 5 or 10 minutes. That would give the flat one some charge of its own first, so that the alternator doesn't have to work absolutely flat out as soon as the engine fires, but I just don't see any advantage in having the key in the 'on' position.

Not in the car John, as it hasn't got the Android Auto upgrade (and I don't know if it ever will get it) but I do have it on my phone. It's a brilliant app. If I visit a town that I've never been to before I just park up (multistorey, open, wherever) and get the 3-word reference for where I am, then I can go sightseeing or wandering wherever I like, knowing that I just have to put in those three words to get directions back to that exact spot. Also very handy for wifey going shopping and me doing something else. Whichever one of us finishes first, we just text the 3 words to the other one and say, "I'm in the pub here". No need for road names or asking locals if they know where such-and-such a pub is. I think it's excellent

I doubt it. A fellow member on here (can't remember who it was now though) went to buy a "new" battery pack for his IS300h but coudn't. There is no part number or EPC (Electronic Parts Catalogue) entry for a 'brand new, straight from the factory' battery pack; you can only buy a reconditioned/remanufactured pack. Having said that, the plastic cases and the copper bus bars don't deteriorate so they can be reused. The main part of any battery is the chemicals and materials that actually generate the electricity. They do have a finite lifespan so as long as they are replaced then you have a 'brand new' battery anyway.

You could if you either take the battery out or just disconnect it from the car before using it to jump the other one. The problem potentially arises if the recipient car attempts to draw too much current from the hybrid's DC/DC converter but if the hybrid system is off or the battery is completely disconnected from the hybrid, that's fine.

Your profile says that you also have an SC430 so take the battery off that (or use jump leads) to start the LS?

One very good reason to go for it and worth paying the £80 for alone, is the ability to install the What 3 Words app. Imagine being in the middle of nowhere. You have a sudden onset medical issue that means you can't drive any further. You know you're on the A4958 but it's a long road and you have no idea just how far along it you are. What 3 Words divides the whole world into 3m x 3m squares and it's so accurate that the front of your car could be in one square (say eat.press.foil as an example) while the back of the car could be in another square (maybe fork.can.pad for example). When you call for an ambulance you can give them the 3 words and they know exactly where you are.

I know what you mean and I do agree - to an extent. Having spent more than 40 years in maintenance, first as a time-served electrician, then as a telephone engineer and lastly as a computer technician, we have to believe what our test gear tells us. Of course, test gear alone will only take you so far and knowledge and experience have to be poured into the mix as well.

You don't say which side the ride height sensor is for but there's a whole complete brand new one for the left side at £78 here on eBay. Given that it's usually either the adjustable bar or the electronic sensor itself that gives the problem, I'm sure you could dismantle these and use them on the right-hand side if that's where you need them. If not, you can buy each item separately also on eBay. No idea about the fuel pipes, sorry.

These cars are very reliable and although it may be 10 years old, there's no reason why you shouldn't get at least another 10 and probably more out of it. Really, the question is - if the car was working perfectly would it suit my needs for the next 'x' amount of years? If the answer is yes, I think you should do as the others suggest and talk to Richard at https://www.hybridbatterysolutions.co.uk/ As the saying goes, "Better the devil you know". You could sell it for peanuts in its current state and someone would do the work and get a decent motor, while your replacement for it may turn out to be a bag of spanners.

As long as you're using a smart charger, and you say that you are, then charging in situ will be fine.

That really is not a very good idea for at least a couple of reasons, one of which would be your safety. Why would you think that without doing some diagnostic testing and investigation? You may change the battery on the strength of that message and then be two or three grand out of pocket because it wasn't the battery after all. Have a look at this topic to give you an idea of why you shouldn't just jump to conclusions and what you should be doing instead:

I've never heard an electric motor noise under heavy acceleration as any noise has always been drowned out by the petrol engine revving highly due to the way the eCVT works. And don't forget that the RX is basically an estate car with no separate boot to help with noise deadening/travel - it will always be louder in every respect than the LS600hl.

You've got me thinking now David. Maybe they fold down rather than come out, I'm not sure now.

Sorry Keith but I can't agree with that. How can a gas "lose efficiency"? It's a sealed system and contains nothing for the gas to chemically react with so the gas cannot be changed in any way chemically, nor can the pressurisation/depressurisation of it affect it physically. The only thing that can lead to inefficiency is a loss of gas that presents itself as the aircon not getting as cold as it used to.

The thing about the 7-seater RX is that the last row of seats can be taken out to provide more luggage space. If we could afford one we'd have it in a heartbeat. We have no kids but when we drive into Europe for our holidays, it's a bit of a struggle to get the wife's mobility scooter and four weeks-worth of clothes in the normal-sized boot/luggage area.

No Peter, but unless you're chasing a parasitic drain then it doesn't matter as it's really only an indication, not a serious test of anything. To properly test a battery you need to load it and I can't see the Ctek unit doing that, nor does my voltmeter.

It depends on how much money you want to spend, I suppose. Given that you've got a 2012 RX I know that your centre console will be the 'two-tier' type, which means that you could buy a USB voltmeter and easily install it in the bottom like I did. I got it for a few quid from eBay and to install it I just connected it to the 12V power socket next to it. So this voltmeter or a similar one (just search eBay for car USB voltmeters), plus this chart, will basically do the same thing as the Ctek for about £30 less: I've just bought one of this type to replace the dashboard/centre power socket (next to the wireless phone charger) in my 2018 RX:

This advice comes up often but in more than 40 years of driving and owning a few different cars, I've never, ever, ever had an aircon service done, or a regas done, unless gas was leaking. I've had cars for 10 years or more that were as cold on the day that I sold them as they were on the day I bought them. Like I said earlier, it's a sealed system so nothing should need to be 'serviced' - if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The fact that yours isn't getting as cold as it was would suggest to me that there's a problem allowing gas to escape. I think if it were me, I'd go to Lexus because of the possibility of a problem that may come under the warranty. If it doesn't work out, you've paid over the odds compared to a local garage but not a huge amount.

You're right Steve, but there was a twinge of truth in it in the sense that, even if I had nowhere to go and no specific reason to use the car, I would invent reasons to drive it. As most of you know, we got our current car about three weeks ago from Lexus Teeside and I'm so impressed with it that I'd sleep in it if I could

Presumably, the way it communicates with your phone app would be by means of a plug-in dongle in the OBD2 interface? If so, would it be permanently powered and so another drain on the battery?

It's most likely that it just needs to be regased and if that's the case, a local A/C specialist would indeed be able to sort it out for you. NB: Make absolutely certain that they use ND11 oil or equivalent, NOT 'normal' PAG oil. However, the aircon is a sealed system and should never need to be regased unless there's a problem somewhere that's allowing gas to escape, in which case you'd be wasting money by taking it elsewhere and not seeing if the Lexus Extended Warranty would cover it. Well, that's a perfect example of 'fence sitting' isn't it? Sorry

Just sent you some info by PM that may help you Barrie. As your starter for 10, is the INF code 768 like below?