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Got something similar this Christmas. Not had to use it yet but as you say, piece of mind, and quite a funky piece of kit too.

What a great car park! Hope it stays that way for you!

As above, ask them to redact any personal data Lexus Reading dealership were ok to do that for me recently when I bought a used 300h from them, to prove the service history details.

Interested to know if anyone’s got the headlight unit out and if so has a step by step guide. My old BM unit was a bit fiddly ... some reckoned you needed to take the bumper off, but with a bit of fleckling and the right angle and twist here-&-there, and the odd grazed finger, it was possible to get out!

So Lexus Reading had my car in for a few days and fitted the active damper under warranty without any quibble after I highlighted the technical release, so top work on their part. In terms of outcome though, it doesn’t really seemed to have fixed the issue. But I’m happy that lexus have done all they could on this, and so will live with it. It manifests itself most through 50mph restricted speed zone on the M4 smart motorway works, but maybe I’m being too fussy and deliberately listening out for the slightest noise now. Either way, I’m happy to live with it now, not quite the transformation that some others have reported, but I’ve badgered the dealer enough and am now just going to get on enjoying the car. Happy Christmas folks. G.

Yes, exactly that. On the whole I’m happy with the factory nav for most of the time, but I’ll often use Waze for the last few miles, especially when the rush hour traffic is particularly bad. I use it for the last bit of my my journeys through both central London and middle of Birmingham. It can find great little shortcuts off the beaten track when rush hour traffic is snarled to a halt. It seems so much smarter and up to date with immediately traffic delays than either the BM or Lexus navs.

Thanks all for the replies, great info. @Thackeray I’d hoped there was a smarter way than what I was doing ! Thanks

Being only a couple of months into hybrid ownership, I’m still in playing and exploratory mode! 🙂 Does anyone regularly use the steering wheel shifters to enhance regen braking when slowing down ? Does it make any real difference or not? Tried it a few times tonight, but unless I came to a complete full stop I found myself stuck in a single “gear” when time came to pull away again, so had to shift the gear selector in & out to revert back to auto mode. Seemed like too much faff, but just wondered if anyone uses it or if there’s any major benefits ?

+1. Waze is just better than most when you need a nifty way thru snarled up city traffic in particular, where both the beemer and the Lexus sat navs have a tendency to stick to main routes. There’s a reason loads of cabbies use it. Also as mentioned above, Spotify works well in the 300h, full functionality, solid connection.

A few months ago I came from an E60 BMW (530d) to an IS300h Executive. The two are not immediately comparable, as the IS is a 3-series equivalent rather than a 5, but my early observations are :- Interior – I prefer the Lexus. The quality of the leather is much softer than the hard Beemer stuff, and the cabin generally is brighter, more interesting and a nicer place to be. Whilst the infotainment is a bit clunky it’s not really an issue. The relatively high drive shaft and centre console actually reminds me of an old E30 318is I owned back in the day, and feels driver-focussed and much like a cockpit. Only real downside for me is the cheap & nasty plastic used on the lower door areas. Passengers I’ve carried in the car also prefer the Lexus, except for the weird placement of the cup-holders in the front, where the passenger rests their arm. Exterior – Marginally prefer the Lexus. I still love the styling of the old E60, but the IS styling is sharper and definitely more unique and individual than both my 5 and also the current 3 series in my opinion. Whilst the IS has that rarity factor though, it noticeably has less of a “presence” on the road than the E60. Ride – The Lexus is lovely and quiet and personally I love the CVT transmission’s smoothness, but it not even close to my 530d for driving experience, although not immediately comparable. The Lexus’s handling is surprisingly stable and poised though, but it’s definitely less well insulated from outside noise, both wind and tyres. It also seems much more sensitive to the road surface than the Beemer, and feels that tyre choice can make quite a difference here.

One of the key considerations if he’s thinking of a diesel is what type of journeys he’ll make. Modern diesels are fitting with a filter (DPF) to trap all the nasties from the exhaust, but in order for that filter to clean itself properly you need to be doing regular decent stretches of motorway driving ideally. Diesels are not suited to small journeys and local stop/start town journeys. Apart from the risk of the filter being unable to clean itself properly, a diesel’s fuel economy is optimised on long motorway hauls, not short local trips. So unless he’s got decent mileage to do, then as noted above, the petrol is250 may be a better bet. Cleaner and smoother too, although obviously more thirsty. Lexus aren’t renowned for their diesels at all, so I know where my money’d be going. Best of luck.

Thanks. I’ve written to them today and will share the outcome.

Conscious I’m reviving an old thread here, but does anyone have a link to this Technical Services Bulletin please? I’m sure my 300h has this vibration issue around 50mph, but when I mentioned the above “fix” of a dynamic damper to my local dealer, there was much shaking of heads and “not a UK issue sir” going on. Would be handy to actually send them the TSB. Has anyone else successfully had this fix applied under warranty?

@rayaans nice one, thanks

I like the Eagle F1, are they really noticeably quieter? Given that they’re quite a square profile rather than tapered I assumed they probably wouldn’t suit the 300h, but would definitely use them as my next tyre if they work well and are nice & quiet.

I think you’ll be ok with any LEDs, both side and main. The law is specific for HID/Xenon because unlike LED, Xenon light is not tightly directional, and can spray out and glare very easily if not properly fitted. Hence the use of projectors and the requirements for both self-levelling and lens washers, as even dirty lens can redirect the light beams and cause glare. LEDs are a much more controllable light, hence the fancy & intricate headlight designs with modern LEDs, which could never be achieved with the wild Xenon light patterns.

Thanks Shada, that’s a fair bit of repair work to do !

There’s a retail park near me that has a Wickes superstore in it, and that car park is an absolute magnet for rogue screws and nails. I always takes the wife’s car there nowadays .....😀

As a fairly new Lexus owner I’m slightly concerned now at some of the crazy expensive parts and repair charges on this marque!! The standard Servicing costs are already lively enough!!

Had mine for just over a month and I’m getting about 49. Mainly because almost all my M4 commute (50 mile round trip daily) is currently restricted to 50mph due to Smart motorway roadways, so it’s impossible to be too heavy footed. Because of that I’m in Eco mode for most of the time which is probably helping, and especially in the slow crawling traffic on the way to the motorway when I’ll put it in eco as much as possible, simply cuz I’m only doing 2mph anyway!

Now you’re talking !! 😆

Good luck with the repairs and yes it would be great to see some before and after pics. Sounds like a petrol hybrid could be well suited if you think that a modern diesel (with its need for mega motorway miles to stay happy) isn’t really the best idea. Be interested to know how your wife finds the drive with the cvt after the Vectra (manual?) ... or maybe you’ll decide she’s better off in a Volvo!! 😁

Hi Shada and welcome to the forum ! I changed from a diesel just over a month ago. An 08 530d to a 64 300h. My premium hardly moved, it went up a massive £12 to £360 (Direct Line). Good luck with your car when it arrives, I’m sure you’ll love it !

As Nemesis says above, the 17s aren’t exactly low profile tyres but I’m sure there’s probably still an impact of the colder weather on tyre walls compounds which might cause that skipping feeling, especially at the rare extremes of being on full lock I occasionally had similar sensations on my previous car. Ok, it was on low profile 19s summer rubber, but still it only ever happened in winter and on full lock leaving the driveway.

What I’m effectively after is to have the rear lights on when the normal DRLs are on. In DRL mode, you get no rear lights. Switch to side-lights and you get rear lights but the front DRL dims. I’m after the best of both worlds when it’s not really dark enough to switch the full dipped xenons on.