Barry14UK

It might appeal to a small minority (at a price?) but I thought the way forward was to simplify driving with a push ultimately to fully automated cars, although more will consider that a step too far.

Well here are more details on specification and price in UK. If you look at the specked up price of £51K it seems like the Lexus version when available, will be very expensive and apart from being more luxurious will need to have better acceleration and range than the mediocre bz4x. It looks like these two cars will be the BEV counterparts of the RAV4 and NX but with lesser motive performance unless the Lexus version is well upgraded. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2022-toyota-bz4x-pricing-and-specifications-revealed

Some call this crabbing or side stepping and is experienced on hard lock to greater or lesser extent on all cars due to thrust and angle. There is a long thread on a Mercedes Benz Club site on this as some of their models suffer particularly because of other factors which means a class action is brough against MB. The make and type of tyre and compound can make a difference. I have pasted this from the thread :- "Car His - Denim Blue A220 AMG Line Premium / Hers - Obsidian Black R172 SLK55 C250BLUE said: How can I resolve this issue and what is Mercedes doing about this. Answering your questions in order: In the current colder conditions, you can eliminate the jumping on full lock by fitting winter tyres Nothing OK, I'll expand on the second answer. The sensation you're experiencing is commonplace on all cars running wide, low-profile, summer tyres in cold conditions. It's a function of the outer edge of the tyre needing to rotate at a different speed to the inner edge when on lock, and that's something that clearly can't happen. At low temperatures, summer tyres lose compliance and therefore have a noticeable "wind up then slip" characteristic that is felt as the tyre skipping or jumping. This is more prevalent when tyres are worn as the tread blocks have less "give", so even replacing the part worn tyres with new examples may reduce or stop the sensation, while swapping to winter tyres which have higher compliance in cold weather will almost certainly likely eliminate it completely. Note that while this issue on a RWD car is similar to that experienced by owners of the current 4WD Mercedes cars, the latter experience the effect in a more extreme fashion and as a result of a litany of customer complaints Mercedes have made engineering changes to some models to reduce (but not completely eliminate) the sensation, and have also offered some owners replacement tyres that are more compliant. For RWD cars it's just the way it is and you will either have to learn to live with it or swap to winter tyres at your own cos.t" Extract taken from https://forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/car-crabbing-judder-when-in-full-lock.256286/

The Sat Nav was one of the few disappointments on my car proving clunky and unreliable. I use a 6 inch TomTom which is so much better and comes with regular free updates and speed camera warnings. I did make a frame to support it, because it is relatively heavy, which may explain why using the normal sucker type fixing caused it to fall off the windscreen of another car I had twice.

very interesting - thanks for posting

Manufacturers are always looking at ways to cut costs so offering 'leather' as an upgrade at extra cost suits them. Then you have some largely followed testers who always make a point of extoling models that don't have leather seats or where non leather options are available for the benefit of those who believe it is more environmentally friendly and preferable to avoid using 'animal skins'. George of Autogefuhl, who does good and in depth tests, is a case in point and when challenged on this in comments gives a strong defence of his opinion. However, my preference is for good quality leather and being an old fashioned guy I prefer genuine wood dashes and cappings to the carbon fibre (fake or real) and colored plastic highlights generally substituted nowadays.

Some sort of road pricing needed. Those using roads most pay most, also discouraging unnecessary use. regardless of how cars are powered.

But what about major players losing interest/withdrawing as far as cars concerned but interest in trucks and heavy applications?

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business-environment-and-energy/why-hydrogen-no-longer-fuel-future

I think you are being hard on the OP. You don't have to adopt his idea although some might, particularly as there are situations where it could provide more stability with less chance of slipping. You don't always get a puncture whilst close to a dealers and the emergency services or garages are not always as careful as they could be in jacking cars. Maybe the guy changes his pads and discs and/or cleans areas under wheel arches more than you detractors. Scissor type jacks can slip and also damage cills (happened to me but not on my Lexus), also cills somewhat weakened by internal corrosion can distort unless pressure spread. So instead of deriding the idea, he should be thanked even if the idea doesn't appeal to you. Another aspect is such unthoughtful criticism may well deter anybody from posting an innovation that members might find useful. I use a puck but consider the clamp idea an improvement, so thanks for posting.

Glad my Hybrid is not a Mercedes. https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1556002/Mercedes-Benz-car-new-battery-price-Auto-Trader-Knighton-Leicester

I suspect it will not be long before a driver finds him/herself having to defend what is an unreasonable action of a cyclist or pedestrian that precipitated an accident. As well as likely increase in journey times cause by motorists having to give way whenever a pedestrian decides to step out, this is going to result in more pollution.

I don't know how or if this is factored in but by 10-12 years it seems likely that a new battery will be required as performance of original will have reduced considerably by then in BEV vehicles. This is going to be a major cost (even if battery technology improves) and with further ungreen implications. On the other hand, setting aside parts common to BEV and ICE, many of the latter will still be in use beyond 12 years with maybe a few minor parts for the engine and transmission and replacement of much less expensive 12v battery. So what I am saying is that one shouldn't just consider the life of a BEV battery but the whole cost in financial and green terms over the life of the car which could be much longer, (as in my 21 year old E39 BMW) for example.

If a small car like the UX does all you require and you find it sufficiently comfortable, I appreciate that it is unnecessary to have a larger one which can make parking more difficult, cost more to start with, run and insure and suffer greater relative depreciation. However, apart from the Morris 1000 I bought to learn to drive in (showing my age here!). all my subsequent cars, and there have been many, all previously owned, have been appreciably larger. I found this helpful early on when I conveyed a lot of building materials and camping gear even with a roof rack piled high. In my experience larger cars are more comfortable and I have got accustomed to this. Also, I now have back pain and am less supple with a large and heavy frame. I can forgo the sharper handling of a smaller car for the comfort of a larger one, especially for the long journeys I occasionally make. However, I wouldn't want anything larger than my 3rd generation RX450h, so would resist the temptation to change to the 4th generation. So we may all have particular and different reasons for our choice and priorities can change over the years.

One of the problems at present is that either the public chargers are a different type, to what you need, are out of service when you get there, or maybe others are queuing to charge. This means you might well have to use some of your almost expended energy going somewhere else. So rather than risk losing all power, you need to find a charging point much earlier, thereby shortening range. So having more battery capacity provides greater confidence. By contrast, this recent petrol panic buying apart, you know there are a multitude of petrol stations and in the event of one running dry, there is usually another just a few miles away. It is going to take time for the situation to change because there has been a surge in the uptake of BEV vehicles with more drivers seeking out charging points and there needs to be universal chargers and payment scheme, perhaps Tesla excepted as they have led the way for Tesla owners establishing their own network previously.

Did you notice how slowly the Tesla was going and how quickly it was passed so what would that translate to in normal use? Actually, Tesla are having to up their game as the Lucid Air with a range of 520 miles is said to go further on a single charge than any current Tesla offering. https://news.sky.com/story/lucid-air-dream-edition-electric-car-goes-into-production-in-us-with-a-520-mile-range-12425989

Also, looks from video to have excess vibration. Just as well Lexus will have to pay for remedial work. I would want to know what Lexus find and what they have done to rectify, (You don't want any further problems coming to light in the future that may be due to present problem), so seek assurance on this. I would also give it a long test before you accept it back. Assume you will be given a loan vehicle while this is sorted.

Is it also advisable to disconnect the 12v battery prior to welding have you established?

In a good engine a compression test should show a very similar good figure for each cylinder. testing each individual cylinder, one after the other. This is done by removing a spark plug and either screwing what looks like a large tyre pressure gauge in place or the end of spark plug or the end of a connector of compression gauge. The engine is then uniformly turned over either manually or electrically to obtain figurers. I have done this a number of times. If figure is lower in one cylinder it denotes one of several faults which will include defective head gasket, erosion of head material to water way or crack. This is less likely these days, although I have experienced it in the past and needed a second hand head cylinder head. But head gaskets do fail as one did on a Camry I once had which also caused water to overheat and overflow out of header tank. Pressure test on cooling system by radiator might also be helpful if build up of water in exhaust system can be excluded.

Suggest you remove oil filler cap and check there is no evidence of water mixed with oil on underside. Could you do a compression test on each cylinder? Sometimes a crack can close up as engine becomes hot. Hope it's not that or head gasket.

I have a 21 year old E39 petrol BMW which has quite a heavy draw on the battery so I fitted the larger size diesel battery but only use car very occasionally. I therefore use a 'Disconnect'* interposed between the battery negative terminal and negative lead. It only requires a couple of turns on the 'Disconnect' to reconnect and only means resetting the clock which I don't bother to do. It does mean the benefit of the alarm is lost while the battery is disconnected but any thief would have to break the door lock, the ignition and boot lock plus fit a charged battery. I then only have to very occasionally to bring the battery up to full charge using a trickle charger. Unfortunately, disconnecting the battery on my Lexus in this way would cause more problems so is probably not practical on more modern cars. * This sort of thing, https://www.amazon.co.uk/CZC-AUTO-Disconnect-Isolator-Vehicles/dp/B08C2WK32N/ref=sr_1_8?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&keywords=Car%2BBattery%2BSwitches&qid=1642461951&s=automotive&sr=1-8&ts_id=4919955031&th=1

Bosch is widely sold in UK and certainly a very good brand as it Varta, part of same company now. Yuasa also have a very good reputation. However, you can read stories of any of the 3 mentioned failing prematurely occasionally. Batteries need to be tested beyond voltage to establish if they are good with load tester and analyser and it is not clear whether this was done by Halfords, Also, batteries are supplied in various qualities by manufacturers and you need one appropriate to your application. If you don't have an analyser you could get this done independently and if battery is faulty get a replacement under warranty. This assumes battery has not been allowed to discharge to the extent that it has sulfated. I have used batteries from the three named (amongst others) on cars and additionally Yuasa on motor cycles, where they are probably used more than any other, all without problem for reasonable duration. PS. I currently have a Halfords (Yuasa) AGM battery in my RX450h.

This year the Lexus RZ 450e BEV is due to come onto the market based on the underpinnings of the Toyota BZ4x and Subaru Solterra. It is postulated that the RZ will have a larger battery and better acceleration, as well as a more upmarket feel. This may well take some of the sales away from the RX.