LenT

Quite right John. A lamentable lapse for which I have been rightly admonished. 😔 Could not agree more! Critics rarely seem to appreciate that it can take years to change the way a Ministry works, to reverse or modify existing regulations and enact new Policies.. Like changing the direction of travel of a giant tanker, it can be a frustratingly slow and tedious process.

One of my regular moans, Philip. Ministers such as Jeromy Hunt, who served six years as Sec. of State for Health, are the exception. I don’t even ever recall meeting a Civil Servant in a Ministry who had an impressive science or medical background, or who had successfully managed a commercial business. In fact, the most impressive department head that I recall had been an officer in a submarine. And delightful company he was too!

As a past rider myself, I suspect that the horse-sense of the average Dobbin exceeds that of many a pedestrian! Or, come to that, some motorists. I recall riding behind a large ex-race horse down a country Lane, and approaching a bend, when a saloon decided to overtake despite being waved back. On suddenly encountering a car coming the other way, the first driver pulled in, clipping the hooves of the horse. Justifiably irritated, the horse lashed out; crumpling the passenger door and lifting the car into the opposite ditch. Clearly a horse more than capable of enforcing its rights.

Central Office of Information, John, if that’s your question? I had to liaise with various Ministries and create campaigns to launch the results of their cogitations to an eager Public. Interestingly, there was a change of Administration during my years, but the Civil Servants involved remained the same, so often very little actually changed. As one CS explained to me: “We actually draw up the Laws that matter and Ministers come and go.”

It’s certainly going to lead to more encounters between cyclists - and pedestrians and others - and motorists. The former seeking to exercise their new ‘rights’ and meeting motorists who hadn’t heard about them. As someone who worked for some years with the COI, they were notoriously inept at bothering to tell their paymasters (ie the public) abut new legislation. I recall presenting a campaign to support new legislation to Ministry officials, only to have one ask me “Why are we doing this? If someone breaks this Law, we’ll just lock them up!” I laughed….and then realised that I was the only one in the room who thought he was joking!

You could be right, Pete. This is the result of a 70 mile round trip yesterday. Just as well I hadn’t spent time the day before giving it the snow foam treatment. Just a minute….I HAD!!! 😩

I don’t think this news about changes to the Highway Code is going to improve your mood!! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/highway-code-changing-cyclists-get-even-priority-drivers/ (I hope the link works!)

I don’t think this news about changes to the Law regarding cyclists is going to improve your mood!! http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h1a621fb2%2C40d22b3b%2C37297561&WT.mc_id=e_DM1540396&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_Car_New&utmsource=email&utm_medium=Edi_Car_New20220118&utm_campaign=DM1540396&s=w_NijU78d5EoFTEBO3GR75uOoaT2fFEZKF5LMYzb1o0

I don’t have a hybrid, but maybe this Lexus page may shed some light on the problem. The lights coming on only suggests that the battery isn’t totally flat. https://mag.lexus.co.uk/lexus-hybrid-parked/comment-page-1/#comments But if you actually have a nine-year old battery, then its already served you pretty well. Maybe time to invest in a new one? And while you’re at it, a good trickle charger would also be a sound investment . Although other brands are available - I believe - you’ll not go wrong with a CTEK.

In a similar spirit - and as the post is simply headed ‘Miles to a Tank’ - I would like to offer another potentially irrelevant observation…. When I had the 2.2 diesel Accord, the potential mileage on a full tank was predicted as 660 miles. With the Lexus the figure is 330. Initially I thought the Lexus must have a smaller tank, so was surprised to see it was almost a litre bigger. Fortunately, consumption is not a consideration for me. Mainly because we appear to have stopped going anywhere! 😒

Good spot, Peter. If these are the expensive TPMS valves then it’s well worth protecting them with dust caps. Get plastic ones. Unless metal ones are heavily greased, they have a tendency to corrode on to the valve. Trying to remove them invariably ends in breaking the entire valve and replacing the complete unit. I speak from experience! 😫

It’s a handsome car and looks in excellent condition. Main thing is…are you enjoying driving it? The rear door does look different in your pictures. I also notice what appears to be a bubble under the rear door handle, if it’s not a reflection. is it possible that this door has been wrapped?

I have heard it said that size doesn’t matter - if that’s any consolation. Yes John! I had heard that they had another satisfied customer. 😁 Mine’s booked in for an Intermediate service next month, so looking forward to coffee and bikkies as enjoyed by Tony. They were suspended last time I was there, presumably on the basis that the entire process posed a viral threat to me - a typically thoughtful gesture, I thought at the time.

Never had a problem with storing cleaning fluids in the garage. I suspect that the freezing points of such fluids are probably quite low. I’ve certainly never encountered such a condition. Even the pressure washer is fine as long as it’s properly drained after use, so that there’s no water left to freeze internally. The garage is certainly secure enough to keep unwanted hands off my foaming nozzles. 😌

So… no snow foam gun, Neil? Or am I missing it?

Very sorry to hear that, Graeme. But you may have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a Prince! Unless you have a particular reason for not revealing too much, do you think it might help your cause if you gave some idea of what you’re looking for? Age, model, mileage, colour, price , any equipment must-haves… There is a website called howmanyleft.co.uk which claims to list how many examples of Lexus cars are still registered, which will give you a better idea of the size of the pool you’re fishing in.

I can’t help thinking that if Lexus had meant my car to have mud flaps, then they would have fitted them. Maybe the light spattering of road spray has an exotic significance that is beyond my understanding- and may even have a special name? But heigh-ho…solely on the basis of the exuberant reports by posters here, whom I hold totally responsible for my actions, I am on the verge of investing some of the cat’s holiday fund on acquiring a set. I do hope he won’t have cause to regret it.

Could be a good time to buy. According to WBAC, my IS250 is now worth, to them, only £4K less than I paid for it about 5 years ago. Now wonder I keep getting offers from my Lexus dealer to P/X it for a new model. Unfortunately for them, I now have the one that suits me just fine. 😊

The other problem you may find with the Michelins is that they only make one of those two sizes! I have 18” rims and that’s what I found, otherwise they would have been my choice. But fortunately Goodyear had just launched the F1 Asymmetric 5 which in some respects was superior and they have proved to be an excellent choice. And that seems a pretty good price as well. I also agree with all the comments made by both John and Rowley. I was actually being a bit restrained in my comments, but I can’t imagine a competent mechanic getting the the wrong tyres on the axles! It could all have ended in tears - so a lucky escape, I’d say! And it’s entirely possible that an resulting insurance claim might have been rejected if the tyre problem had come to light. I wonder if it happened when a previous owner tried to swap the wheels round ‘to equalise wear’? You can’t do that with the Goodyears either as they have a specific direction of rotation.

I would say that Asda is correct! The wider tyres go on the rear. They certainly do on my IS250. This should be confirmed in the Manual, if you have one. Or look on the driver’s door jamb where you should find a sticker detailing tyre sizes and pressures. You should find a distinct improvement in handling with the tyres on the correct axles! Hope this helps. Now what tyres are you going to fit?

£920! I agree. In fact if I was going to spend that much on a superior factory finish on a new car, then I’d be inclined to spend a little more and take it straight to a professional Car Detailer - as indeed many such buyers do.

Sounds like some form of ceramic coating. It would certainly be a sensible factory-applied finish to provide added protection to cars at the more expensive end of the market.

Very interesting, Steve. I did, momentarily, consider getting a D/A Polisher - but decided that if it need that much attention, at my age I’d prefer to take the car back to the professional who did such an excellent job first time round! I notice you mention applying a ceramic to the front bumper. I did consider having mine wrapped, which would provide more effect protection than the ceramic finish. But in the end decided that the very low mileage I’ve been doing would probably reduce the type of damage you describe- and I could always have it added later. So far that’s worked out fine!

Steve, you don’t mention it, so I wonder if you’ve considered going the snow foam and ceramic coating route? I use Modesta coatings and of course they have a much longer lasting effect than waxes. They are also much more resistant to surface scratches - although, as the guy who did my car detailing emphasised, I had to avoid those mechanical, swirl-making car washes from now on!

But does that mean that no SpaceSaver will fit? How about one for another model? My IS250 came with a SpaceSaver and it proved its worth when a valve was broken off by a helpful lad trying to remove a metal dust cap! Which was useful as the aforementioned gunk would have been useless in such circumstances. Or even one for another make? My Honda Accord also had a SpaceSaver wheel. I would have thought that as long as they have the same stud arrangement and offer a suitable size, then they can be interchanged. After all, they are only designed for low speed, low mileage temporary use. Perhaps the place to check it out is at a good tyre retailer.