Herbie

It can be done and some people have indeed done it, but I have to admit I wouldn't be brave enough. The hybrid is such a complex beast anyway, why tempt fate by adding another layer of complexity into the mix?

Sorry Bernard but the phrase 'snake oil' comes to mind. If you really want to save fuel and make things better engine-wise, convert to running on LPG. By far the cleanest mainstream fuel, much better for the engine, better for the environment and better for the wallet.

If you leave the OBD dongle connected all the time, some of these have been proved to drain the battery.

I'm a time-served electrician, having done my apprenticeship in a factory. When the factory closed down I got a job on what was then known as Post Office Telephones and became a telephone engineer for many years. After a back injury saw me medically retired, I went self-employed doing computer repairs, until I retired last year. All my working life has been spent in electrical/electronics maintenance - about 47 years of diagnosing and tracing faults in one form or another. It doesn't always make sense to members of the public, especially if they aren't very 'tech-savvy', but it's nigh-on impossible to trace a fault if it's not present at the time of inspection. Even a 'really real special specialist' will struggle to find a fault if it's not there. We have to believe what our test gear is telling us and what our eyes and ears are telling us, and if all those are telling us that everything is alright then the job sheet gets 'NFF' or 'No Fault Found'.

No it doesn't. My car was first registered in November 2013 and it's an Advance without ML. It was added to Advance in August 2014.

Just sent you some info via PM now John.

Just sent a message to you now Ajay.

Have a look here https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+repair+denso+alternator If it's brushes, voltage regulator or rectifier then these are easy enough to replace yourself.

So how does that work then? The phone may be on but if the car is off then there's nothing for the phone to interact with, ie, no Bluetooth, wifi or anything else for the phone to have a connection with.

1 - This cable from eBay will work just fine. It's not from the same place I got mine but it is exactly the same and I've used mine a fair few times so I know it works. 2 - Techstream itself doesn't require drivers. The drivers are for the cable and allows the car and the laptop to talk to each other.

I think the lifting of the tailgate is achieved by a mixture of both the lift motor and the gas struts. The motor powers the upward motion with the struts assisting, so that the motor doesn't have to carry the whole weight of the tailgate. The struts then hold the tailgate in the open position. The best indication of failing struts is that the tailgate won't stay up. Another indication of failing struts is that the tailgate begins to lift but it only manages to open a few inches and then comes back down.

Good result Jean-Christophe, I'm glad you've got it sorted out.

Well, first of all, I suppose you need it for setting up the camera or more likely, for instant playback if needed. The Viofo cameras also include a phone app and link by wifi so the screen on the camera itself is a 'belt and braces' backup in case your phone fails to connect at a time when you need it to. Secondly, my camera is positioned on the passenger side of the rear view mirror and is 99% covered by said mirror, which means it doesn't present a distraction. Thirdly, and most importantly, the screen should blank itself out after a maximum of three minutes (adjustable up to that 3min max), so again, no distraction when actually on the move. This is a legal requirement and the driver can be fined heavily if a dashcam screen, DVD screen or any other type of screen can be seen while the car is in motion. Therefore, in this context at least, there is no difference between the overpriced 'Lexus' cam or the Viofo.

You'd have been better off with Viofo for £154 and either DIY the installation or a decent autoelectrician would fit for about £50. https://www.amazon.co.uk/VIOFO-Cameras-Detection-G-sensor-Parking/dp/B07DHKLH4F

The absolute best thing is to use Techstream, which is the very same diagnostic software that Lexus techs use in dealer workshops. However, I'm 99% sure it's Windows only, not Apple. If Apple can run virtual machines then you'll be able to run Windows 7 or even Windows XP in a VM. You'll need a miniVCI cable from eBay or Amazon and most of these will come with a pirated copy of Techstream. I can't condone the use of pirated software but you can freely and legitimately download it from here https://www.lexus-tech.eu/DiagnosticTools/Setup and pay for a block of time to use it. Either way, you'll need that cable so it's a matter for your own conscience where to go from there.

You don't say where you are but I'd guess not in the UK. Standard petrol here is 95 octane so 87 wouldn't do it any good and that's if you could even get it.

Sorry Alan, I completely forgot! Thankfully Radu came to your rescue, sorry again though.

Sorry, my mistake, but I'm sure you'll get the gist of what I meant 😊

I'm not sure that's true. The Extended Warranty is a nationwide thing and you can take the car anywhere to have warranty work done, but service plans are dealer-group-specific. I've just taken out a service plan with Lexus Preston, part of the Vantage Group, which means that I could get my servicing done at Lexus Leeds because they are also part of the Vantage Group. However, I couldn't go to Lexus Bolton or Lexus Teeside, both of which I believe are part of the RMB Group - different franchise and different financial entity.

The alarm, the immobiliser, the clock, the radio presets/memory, seat and steering wheel memory will all consume power when the car is parked up. This is called the quiescent current draw. Batteries will also naturally self-discharge, even when sat on a shelf and not connected to anything.

You're welcome Mike

Mine's an RX so you'll have to adapt the process for your own car, but I'm sure you'll find a suitable location to site the socket:

Respectfully, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Any battery on any car, if left for long enough will go flat, whether that's a Lexus, Ford, Kia or whatever. Toyota/Lexus made a bit of a mistake by only using small-capacity batteries and not putting it in the owners manual what the possible consequences might be. You know about it now so you can deal with it appropriately. If you feel embarrassed by always having the bonnet/boot up then either use the car more or follow Toyota's advice to put the car in READY and Park for 60 minutes a week. Alternatively, keep it connected to a trickle charger or do as I did and install an easy access jump start socket somewhere in the cabin so that you can sit in the driver's seat while you use the jump start pack and don't need to go into either boot or bonnet. I know and understand that it's not an ideal situation and not what should be expected of a luxury brand, especially when a car can cost north of £60k, but it's a fact we have to live with and if that's all that's wrong with the car then I don't mind putting up with it.

Only a guess but I reckon the wind will make quite a noise through those cables.