Brian R

As the title suggests, the hybrid cooling fans run constantly in my LC500h, and I'm quite happy to accept that as a fact of life, assuming they are supposed to. However, I would normally expect any cooling fan to activate when the need arises. I'm also intrigued because last week I did quite a bit of motorway driving and again the fans ran constantly. Just to let you know, I find it all but impossible to manually engage EV mode, but I can see and sense when it works in sympathy with the ICE. Being new to hybrids I would welcome and be grateful for any observations from those more experienced with their idiosyncrasies.

Try viewing this video for assistance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJHiQT8Aq8s

Yes John, I can well believe that and to my mind another classic situation where the consequences of ones actions are not thought through. I fear/know we are going to see far more of this in the coming month/years as the climate/tax change agenda kicks in. Meanwhile, don't even get me going on about "heat pumps" as the way forward!!!!!

But surely so many new cars simply do not have a wheel brace let alone a jack. Reality is the manufacturer wanted to reduce costs, reduce emissions and therefore decided a can of gunk and a portable compressor is the order of the day. Had this on so many of my cars I've lost account. The little Honda run around we currently have did not originally come with a spare, but someone put one in the boot, so definitely not OEM. Suppose I ought to declare that to the insurers 😉 for fear they dream up a reason not to pay out. It really is a joke when you start to analyse matters.

I can well understand your concerns Ej and perhaps to put your mind at rest you should pop into your local Lexus dealer and ask for a hybrid battery check. I seem to recall a check is circa £59 or free if done during a service. Takes about 1/2 hour to complete and thereafter you'll know if there is anything fundamentally wrong, or you need a chill pill.

Sometimes I do wonder where this notion that everything should be notified to an insurer comes from. To be honest, in the real world, an insurer would be hard pushed to refuse insurance on matters that have no bearing on a claim. I am sure if they were challenged, they would struggle to justify any payout refusal if they ever did refuse in the first place. So, 90 plus percent of cars on the road use "normal" tyres and remarkably they are deemed perfectly acceptable. You then replace your also perfectly acceptable run flats with "normal" tyres and these are now said to be unacceptable. Is this really the case? I honestly believe against this scenario any refusal to pay out would be rejected given run flats do not a safer car make, they make a puncture a less inconvenient matter. All too often I have heard so much that is absolute nonsense. The one that always sticks in my mind that National Trust members should get permission or advise their insurers they have put a NT sticker on their windscreens! Really whilst we know or at least believe insurers should be notified of everything including whether brake pads are OEM or as is more likely non OEM, in reality it doesn't work like that. Last year my sons MX5 (wonderful car) was T boned. His car had much attention lavished on it and had a number of features that I know would not have been advised to his insurer. In practice his insurer was very good and following a bit of negotation they paid the full retail value of the car which incidentally was written off. No mention whatsoever about this or that mod but if one were to believe the hype that is all too often generated and amplified by forums, they wouldn't think twice about refusing a pay out. Finally, and given another all too often scenario as follows. You buy a second hand car and it looks stock. However, from what others here have suggested, you should now have the car forensically examined to find out with is OEM and what is not so you can advise your insurer. Does this happen in the real world, no, of course it doesn't! Surely even a court of law would not reasonably have expected you to go to that extreme! What if the car has a valid MOT (yes, I know this is a bit tenuous, but please bear with me) which indirectly deems it safe to be on the road and yes I know on the day of the test. Did the MOT tester check whose brake pads were in use - no of course they didn't and nonetheless it passes its test because what was on the car passed testing standards deeming it to be safe. Exactly the same with tyres and by way of an example my BMW run flats aka "ditch finders" were replaced with far, far safer (at that time) non RF's. That car went through 6 or 7 MOT's with absolutely no reference to "incorrect" tyres and for that matter that particular car was also fitted with what were obviously non standard (albeit BMW) wheels which were also never disputed. Remember whilst you are in contract with an insurer said insurer cannot invoke terms that are beyond ridiculous and do remember you are invariably asked to answer policy questions "to the best of your knowledge".

Interesting to see the above videos especially given I too have a Sonic Titanium finish on my car. Have to say sometimes when I look at it all I can see is silver and other times a greenish hint or a golden silver. Still not quite sure what is the best regime for putting a sparkle on it, but one thing that does help is Carplan "Super Gloss Number 1". Seems to get little press or recognition, but I've used it on 4 off my cars over the last 5 years, two of those were white Jaguars, a titanium sliver BMW and now the LC. All have most definitely benefited from its application, albeit I will concede it ideally needs 2 coats to bring out the shine. Very easy on/off and well worth the effort.

The week before last, my son bought a Honda Civic R to replace his series 1 BMW. The Honda has only 29k miles on it, but its appearance would have suggested 129k. Full of swirls and other visual imperfections, all of which more readily showed up on its black paint. We washed it twice, clay barred it, washed it again, he machined polished the entire car except the roof, washed the car again, and then I followed through with a quality waxing. Got to say it looked the mutties and as a 29k mileage car should. Extremely hard work that achieved a fantastic result, albeit we now figure it needs its bonnet resprayed given the number of chips in the paint! I still have some doubts about the 29k but its MOT and service history is impeccable so I assume the paint quality is as bad as is suggested in an above video. The point is the time and effort we spent on that car were more than rewarded given how it now looks. I also suspect we upped its value quite significantly and knowing my son it won't be too long before we find out is that is the case!

Got to admit I have become totally reliant on sat nav when some 30 years ago I would travel throughout the UK and always found my location using traditional maps. Couldn't agree more that sat nav gives you no sense of geographic location, but it is superior when it corrects any navigation mistake you may make. Funny enough, just this week we were obliged to use paper maps to locate certain very out-of-the-way places. It made me realise my temporary navigator, i.e. the wife, will never replace or even begin to compliment my acquired knowledge or that of the sat nav!

I'm of an age when I used to watch circus clowns amusing everyone with their backfiring banger. I simply can't understand this current penchant for "pops and crackles", just make me think of clowns.

I thought this might be the result given the experience I had changing from RF to normal on my BMW. I'm really not a fan of RF and it's normal tyres for me when mine need replacing. On the BMW forum, RF's were known as "ditch finders" and for good reason. The very stiff suspension BMW are so fond of only served to make the car twitchy on good roads and outright appalling on wet ones. In fairness, those RF's on my current car are acceptable, but nonetheless inclined to tram line on wet roads.

Apologies for not getting back sooner, the day went on far longer than it should have. Right, the other dent person recommended by my son is: Darren Tel no. 07946817947 Apparently he lives Chipstead/Kingswood area. Hope either the above or the aforementioned Tony Angel can assist.

The fellow I use is Tony Angel aka "dentAngel" Phone number is 07788666102 Location Horley, Surrey. Just a thought, I know he has regular business with various folk and you might be able to suggest a mutually convenient meeting point rather than travelling to Horley. Worth putting to Tony and see if that works for both of you. I'll also be seeing my son later this morning and I believe he too uses someone and I think he is very happy with them. I'll ask and advise.

I've cheerfully used a PDR (paintless dent repair) fellow for some years now. In regards whether this might affect any warranty then the clue is in the description i.e. paintless. Assuming a pdr is possible, then there should be absolutely no evidence any such repair was ever made. I'm near Gatwick and the fellow I use whilst not cheap always does a superb job. With the best will in the world you will pick up the odd dent and pdr offers the real prospect of an invisible repair for a fraction of a body shop alternative. A Google search will reveal any number of repairers, but look carefully at their respective reviews. Would happily suggest the fellow I use, but I doubt he would need to work beyond a 10-mile radius of Gatwick.

Don't want to worry you Len, but I've got a DA in the garage. I didn't buy it, but my son seems to have gifted it to me. Perhaps there's some ulterior motive going on here and he's morphing me into a "detailer" a bit at a time!

Must admit Len, I would be in the snow foam first camp all day long. I learnt all I know from my son who is something of a perfectionist when it comes to cleaning cars. I'll also confess he walked away with the Karcher when he left home and frankly I couldn't be faffed to replace it! So I am now a 2 bucket man (with grit guard don't you know) and copious amounts of unmetered water. I've convinced myself I'm protecting an investment, and strangely that engenders significant enthusiasm in my cleaning quest(s). Actually, thinking about it, I would enjoy it regardless!

Alternatively, use the one on the Lexus web site. I did, and it is the only one that A. works and B. produced the right spec. Should hasten to add this was for my Lexus and I suspect it might not work on other brands.

Had mine serviced on Wednesday just gone and as I always do, I checked the oil on the stick and for quite a few moments I honestly believed it hadn't been filled up! It does seem to me that Toyota/Lexus oil is particularly clear, with no discernable colour to it. I'd also say it's good to be driving petrol again given I have had diesels for the last 16 years (albeit not exclusively) and their oil turned black within minutes of it being changed! That's not to say there was anything amiss, but just that in my experience it is a characteristic of diesels and doesn't help you gauge the condition of the oil.

Hello Joel Having a "Sonic Titanium" paint on mine I'll be most interested in how you get along. I know one day in the future mine will almost certainly need some paint repair and it will be useful to have a benchmark. Normally I use a body shop that has never been phased by exotic colours and even the wonderful Mazda red which I believe is a similar paint process to the titanium. I will however say they know how to charge but when you see the effort they put in then you shouldn't too surprised.

Something of a conundrum this one. On a previous car, a BMW Z4, with run flats, the ride was uncomfortable and with terrible tram lining. The handling was frankly scary and very unpredictable. On the Z forum, the fitted Bridgestones were known as "ditch finders". Within weeks of ownership I changed to normal tyres which transformed the car. All run flat negatives now replaced with superb handling and crucially no tram lining. I will however concede the LC run flats are far superior to the experiences I had with the Z especially given they too are Bridgstones! However, in the wet I can readily detect tram lining on the LC and I will seriously consider putting normal tyres on it when the time comes. I'll do what I did with the Z and carry a can of Holts Tyreweld along with a small compressor, neither of which take up any real space. This nowadays is of course considered the norm by many manufacturers. Curiously, in all the years I have owned cars and miles driven, I struggle to remember how many punctures I had to contend with. I would think maybe 3 or 4 at the most, and I'll be the first to suggest I may have been lucky in this regard. Furthermore, I can well understand why some would be reluctant to ditch their run flats and the inconvenience a puncture in a normal tyre could cause. If you do go down the normal tyre route, the perceived wisdom is that one should notify your insurance company if you make this change. Usually this has no impact on your premium, but nonetheless it needs to be advised.

Looking at the quality of play we have seen from England, then I honestly believe they will prevail against Denmark. Importantly, the players in this team want to win, whereas too many times in the past the England teams should have been sat with the spectators!

Good man!

Completely agree with you and good to see England making the most of their talent and the obvious respect they have for Southgate and his management. Perhaps too soon to dream but who knows........

Feel for you Richard and I know how annoying this must be. I have to say when I saw the damage I could see that our local and highly regarded wheel repairer would instantly quote £100 all in and make a faultless repair. I would also add the pain is likely to lessen as the days go by so if you can take your time getting it sorted. BTW, our wheel people are in Crawley so probably too far for you to contemplate but just in case, here are their details: Wheel Works I've used them on numerous occasions and the quality of their work is brilliant!

As part of my intention to get familiar with the brand I've been watching the turn round times on these cars, and it seems to me that in recent weeks there has indeed been significant selling activity. Perhaps even along with something of a price hike on a like for like historic basis. If I remember, there is currently one at a few pounds shy of £50K whilst others seem to provide an entry point (before negotiation) at around £52/£53K. Given the state of the second hand car market right now then I'm not surprised, and again sports cars tend to do well in the summer months and the psychological £50K barrier is now broken regularly.