LenT

Hope you got it sorted to your satisfaction Graham. Any comment by Lexus regarding the repair? Or even the cause of the puncture?

Sadly, James, I’m inclined to agree with Hugh. Without the recourse of reverting to a Dealer, the cost and effort of repairing and updating this system - if even possible - may not be justified by the results. It does appear that the problem may be more than just a fuse replacement. Personally I find my Lexus navigation system to be the worst I’ve ever encountered. I use my Garmin instead - and I get four free updates every year! The fact that the audio system may also be part of the problem is, to my mind, a more significant fault and a far greater loss. But I quite understand the argument that if the satnav’s there, it should be working! At least it’s not badly affecting your enjoyment of the car.

! Apropos the point about expecting servicing costs to reduce with vehicle age,…yes indeed it is, John. Surely most things cost more to maintain as they get older. I know I do.

I presume that you addressed this question to me, Martin, as you had attached it to one of my posts. But I see that you've already had two far better responses than I could have given, so I hope they answer your question. I would add, however, that from the manufacturer's pov, maintaining the price differential as a marketing tool is not to be underestimated. It's also possible that if you were to consult the manufacturer's service manuals of the two brands, and try to relate them to comparable models, there might be some differences in details and labour times. As for you quoting my original post, maybe I didn't make myself clear. I was actually responding to your earlier statement: It was nothing to do with brand comparisons. It was to do with the expectation that older cars should be cheaper to service. I hope that clears that up.🙂

I believe that Barristers are advised to ONLY ask questions to which they already know the answer! Perhaps John follows the same principles?

Is that because you’re relating the cost of servicing as a proportion of the diminishing value of the car? Doesn’t the cost in terms of parts and labour remain much the same if the basic mechanical components remain much the same? In fact I can envisage situations in which the older car requires additional time - and even parts - to complete a comparable service. In my experience I expect to spend more maintaining an older vehicle than a newer one over the same period of time. Or am I missing something obvious?

I take it this is a purchase from a private seller, James, and not from a dealer. So it was ‘bought as seen’ ?

You’re……!!! 😡 Oh, the shame. Drat this autocorrect.

Your absolutely correct, Peter. I’ve just checked. Even Kwikfit states they won’t repair a run flat tyre. They are purely to get you to a place of safety or replacement at a slow speed. https://www.kwik-fit.com/blog/can-a-run-flat-tyre-be-repaired Strangely, Goodyear states its Run On Flat tyres can be repaired by those suitably qualified - but then states specific conditions under which it can’t. And finally concludes that they shouldn’t be anyway! So what was an RAC mechanic doing?

I think you’ll find that the puncture has to be within 75% of the central tread and not more than 6mm In diameter. So not anywhere in the side wall. Not sure what type of temporary fix the RAC did. They might have inserted a plug - called a string, I believe - from the exterior but that really is only temporary. A tyre repairer will take the tyre off and check the state of the inner surface. I then think they insert a tapered plug from the inside surface. If an emergency sealant type fix was used than many tyre repairers won’t touch it. And I think if the tyre already has one earlier repair, then they may not do a second. Personally, I would be inclined to replace the tyre. The only times I’ve ever repaired tyres was when they had inner tubes!!!

Actually Brian it just acts as a reminder that I should have spent time reading the 1100 odd pages of the two Manuals that came with the car. And not just concentrated on the racy bits. Don’t talk to me about kerbing alloy wheels. Oh too late…you just did! I managed to do that to both near side wheels in the first week. Mind you, the kerbs were hidden in snow. Our local Chips Away guy did a splendid repair job on the rims but it was obviously going to prove expensive if I made a habit of it. So I invested in a set of Alloygators and now any scuff is just a reminder of how much I’ve just saved. So if you were wondering what might make a suitable wifely present…. 🙂

You’re clearly smarter than I am, Brian. When I got my Lexus I was very impressed with the tilting mirror, never having had one before. But I was disappointed that it didn’t really show me enough of the kerb. So I’m slightly ashamed to admit that it took me some time to realise that once the mirror had done that little trick, I could use the mirror controls to reposition it! And it would return to that chosen position next time, too. But everyone else already knew that…. 😐

Drat! My error. It was the M25 on which my incident occurred. Maybe it affected me more than I thought?

With respect Ian, I would have thought that software updates might be the least of your worries. That you’ve had 120K miles trouble free without recent servicing is a testament to the Lexus build quality. But servicing is designed to prevent problems, not resolve them when they occur - as they eventually will. Also the lack of a Full Service History will have already severely harmed its resale value. So I wonder what has brought about your reticence to look after the car by means of regular servicing? I think you’ll find that most posters on this site will have a rather different view as to how to look after a Lexus. 🙂

Very sorry to learn about this, Pete. I hope you and any passengers emerged relatively unscathed. It’s a very unpleasant experience. My Accord was also written off on the M5, by an HGV changing lanes without looking. We walked away from that and were very fortunate to do so. But it did result in my buying the Lexus. So, every cloud….. Good luck with your search for its replacement.

How long have you got? ☹️ The simple answer is get an auto electrician to test everything. You could just replace the battery. But if the problem is that it’s not being properly charged or there’s a current leakage somewhere, then the problem will simply reoccur. if it’s an old battery that’s not been getting a proper charging, then it may just need a reconditioning programme from a decent battery charger, such as a CTEK. Other obvious, but sometimes surprising causes, are such as interior lights staying on. Or any lights for that matter. I’d eliminate all the other possibilities first before replacing the battery- unless it’s obviously so old that it’s worth investing in a new one anyway.

That’s one of the many reasons why I use my Garmin. Apart from not being prepared to pay significant sums for updates - even if still available- which come free four times a year with the Garmin. Having to wait until you’ve set off before you get an estimated time of arrival is not really conducive to efficient journey planning! Whoever thought that was a good idea? My Garmin calculates an initial ETA based on the type of route preferences selected. As you use the system the travel logs use the past data to further refine the ETA by making an allowance for your driving style. As you approach your destination it’s further refined by your rate of progress on that journey. And if slow moving traffic is reported further along the route. Now, how hard can that all be? 🙂

Sounds like a good first move. At least it’ll be someone who’s already done work on the car to your satisfaction, presumably. You may well be right about a Lexus dealer!

I use my Garmin, which is far superior in every respect to the system Lexus has fitted. Apart from which, I can download four free updates every year! It’s the most disappointing feature of the car and why a company that can install a Mark Levinson audio system can’t source a competent satnav is a puzzle indeed.

May I suggest that it might be more useful if you can narrow down the search area rather more precisely than just Greater London - if that’s where you’re located. Also are you looking for a Lexus dealer? After all, they would be more experienced one imagines at accessing the instrument panel. Or are you happy to let, say, auto electricians loose on your car? And have you ruled out who ever did the MOT? But most importantly of all…great looking cat!

As I understand it, it's the temperature of the exhaust gases that will be the more crucial factor. The cat has to get to between 200C - 300C in order to initiate the chemical reaction. That's why it takes a few minutes of reasonably high revs to reach it. No doubt that will be influenced by the fuel/air mixture, the general operating efficiency of the engine, how much unburnt fuel/oil is passing through the cat and the internal state of the cat itself. As the performance of the cat deteriorates, so the internal temperature rises. So while they may normally operate between 650C - 850C, a failing or clogged cat can go up to 1000C. So it seems that one clue as to what's going on internally is the state of the exterior. If the metal is clearly discoloured by high temperatures then that may well indicate a catalytic converter in distress!

Marlon, if you read the Manual page that I referred to - and Igor actually provided - you will see that by holding BOTH buttons on the remote you are actually resetting the system each time! By ‘both’ I presume you are referring to the open/close door buttons and ignoring the boot lid button. Go back to the page Igor provided and cycle through the options to reset the system - and then just operate ONE button. This may sort out your problem.

I’m naturally suspicious of eBay anyway, but it certainly sounds like you have good cause in this case, Dave. I presume you had been given no explanation as to the non-delivery of items for which you had paid or why your messages had been ignored. I guess that accepting a direct refund would have involved giving your account details to an individual who had already demonstrated their unreliability. As has already been mentioned, you’ve had your refund from eBay. So no reason to alter a deservedly bad review. If this seller had been genuine, they could of course have simply supplied the items to you FOC as compensation, with some story to explain the exceptional failure of service. For example, a COVID attack, short term in prison etc.

Well you were smarter than I was, Mark. Although I wasn’t actually responsible for the valve removal. Nevertheless this was the only time I had ever had this problem. Strangely the three other caps were all plastic but looked identical to the welded metal one. Of course back in the day, as I recall, all the smart dust caps were metal but we never had a problem with them seizing on the valve stem. That was because we knew about the many uses of Vaseline.

It’s possible that the door unlock function of the key fob has become changed. It can be reset using the key fob - apparently- and on my IS250 the relevant instructions appear in the Manual under the section headed: Opening and closing the doors and the trunk. If you don’t have the Manual I’ll get on to a different computer and try to insert a copy of the page. But it is a different series of IS250. Unfortunately the lexus.co.uk website only seems to provide Manuals for these cars from 2012 onwards. Although this is the sort of operation that may apply across the model range.