Bluemarlin

I used to use one of the hand car washes on a previous car, and it's true that the car would come away all shiny and clean for a few pounds. The trouble is that the damage caused by any careless use of a pressure washer, and the aggressive cleaners they use to shift the dirt, doesn't show up immediately, and will pick up any weaknessess in the paint. After a couple of years I had areas of clearcoat peeling, which I'm convinced were caused by this. I'd much rather someone else did the work of cleaning my car but, after that experience, I'm resigned to doing it myself. Once a year I apply a ceramic coating, and subsequent washes take less than an hour, so it's not too bad.

They do indeed, it's called the 10 year plus extended warranty, and costs around £500, depending on model. Not bad value considering it includes UK and European breakdown cover in the price.

If it looks ok now, then doing it is definitely worth it to keep it that way. Personally I gave the underside a coating of Dynax UB, and sprayed Dynax S50 into any cavities. I also took off the wheel arch liners and sprayed the arches with UB as well. For good measure, I gave everything a spray of ACF-50 once the Dynax had dried. The whole job took about half a day, plus 20 minutes the folllowing day to do the ACF-50. The Dynax stuff comes in a can with a spray wand, so is easy to apply, and the ACF-50 is easily applied with a pump garden spayer. I figure the Dynax is good for 2 or 3 years, but I re-apply the ACF-50 every autumn as it only takes about 20 minutes. Even an annual spraying of something like ACF-50 or Lanoguard is better than nothing, and takes less than half an hour to spray the underside, so yes, it's worth doing.

There are certain jobs, like a/c servicing, tyres, brakes, oil changes, MOTs etc, that almost anywhere can do, and don't require a Lexus dealer or specialist. As such, it's often cheaper and more convenent to use somehwere local. In my experience it's best to avoid not only the big chains, but also anywhere you've never used before. It's far better to have a relationship with a local indendepent that you use regularly for such jobs. If you don't have one already, then start by finding one based on recommendations or reviews and try them out with simple/cheap things, like an interim oil change, until you trust them. Although I get my car serviced by Lexus, I have a local garage that I've used for interim stuff on my last couple of cars, so know that they do a decent job and don't manufacture extra work. The pre warn me about any MOT stuff, and will ofen push it through if it's minor or 50/50, and are happy to just charge labour if I supply my own parts. Often though, it's not just about their ability, but also their attitude and willingness to do their best for you, so knowing they can be trusted to treat you fairly is priceless. Barring good fortune, that only comes by building a relationship. They seem fairly priced, although there might be cheaper, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing the job will be done properly, and I won't get ripped off, is the most important thing.

I would agree on pricing. Prior to taking out my service plan I got quotes from two independent Lexus specilists for servicing, and their prices were no cheaper than main dealer pricing. Independent (non specialist garages) tend to be the cheapest, so I get my servicing done by Lexus, but any interim stuff, that any competent mechanic can do, I get done by local garage.

Without a message it's impossible to tell. Usually a message comes up in (I think) the mileage/odometer window to tell you what the specific issue is, but in the absence of that you'll need to get the codes read to see what's triggering it. If it's happening when you're accelerating fast into a corner then all sorts of things could be triggered, like steering, traction, stability etc, which could either be a faulty component or a faulty sensor, but only a message or codes will tell you which.

No sense speculating, just get a decent garage to diagnose it. You don't really need a Lexus specialist for that, but the two I know of in the south east are Toyotec in Surrey and Japex in Herts. It might be an economically viable repair, or it might mean that your cheapest option is a litre of oil every 900 miles, but you wont know until you get it properly checked out.

No idea why it happens, but I believe that the red triangle is a master warning light that alerts to a number of things. These could be low washer fluid, tyre pressure, brakes, I'm not sure of the full list. Either way, when the llight comes on there should be a message in the text display box that tells you why it's lit up.

If you're going to do that then it's worth considering a service plan. It will fix the servicing price over its duration as well as spread the cost, and you can often get a discount based on length of plan. When I took out a 5 year plan I got 15% off.

Option A: Search online for what towns/cities have a Crit'air requirement. Search for how it gets enforced, whether they use cameras, police checks or wardens, and whether they issue on the spot fines for foreigners. Decide that you can either bypass the relevant towns, or take a chance that you won't get caught. Sit with fingers crossed every time you subsequently visit France, wondering if you breached the regulations on your last visit, and are now on some database and about to face a massive fine. Discuss on various online forums what might or might not happen under any worse case scenario. Option B: Fill out simple online form, pay 4 euros, put sticker on windscreen, and never give it another thought.

If considering a fuil size spare, give some thought to your tyres. If, like me, you have Michelin Crossclimates, then they are directional tyres, and so any spare would only be a suitable replacement for one side of the car. I've given this quite a bit of thought, and even considered keeping 2 full size spares in the garage to cover the directional issue. My conclusion is that a full size spare might sit around unused for many years, and so may reach the end of its "shelf life" before being needed, and thus an expensive contingency. In the end I've concluded that it's easier to either stick with the space saver, or no spare and tyre weld, and replace any tyres as and when the need arises. Just my opinion though, as choices will depend on how often you usually get punctures.

Swings and roundabouts Malc. These emisssions regulations also mean that German tanks are banned in French cities too, so no need for our guys to die on Normandy beaches again:)

I have one these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JG7ZMIW?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k0_1_9&amp=&crid=2RLHB1BCRI7SZ&amp=&sprefix=magnetuc+ It's a magnetic vent mounted holder. I've been using it for over year and find it to be very secure in holding my phone, as well a small (8 inch) tablet. It's also pretty unobtrusive. I agree with VFR too about the Brodit kits. They're expensive, but the ones I've had in the past have been good.

If it was just to get me home, or to a tyre shop, then I'd probably find it no more disconcerting than driving with a spacesaver wheel and tyre.

My thoughts are that the video is aimed at Americans who, until fairly recently, considered 3k mile oil changes necessary. In my opinion, annually or 10k is more than adequate, especially with synthetic oils. I would probably concede that 5k mile changes might be a little better for an engine, but am not sure that it makes any material difference. Assuming changes are done to schedule then my guess is that most cars will be killed by the cost of rust, accident damage, gearbox failure, overheating, electrical/electronic failure, or any number of other things, long before any engine fails due to 10k mile oil changes. If I want a car to last, I'd be spending my money on servicing it to schedule, transmission fluid change every 75K miles or so, and some kind of rustproofing, rather than changing oil more frequently than the specified interval. Just my opinion though.

If it helps, I got mine from the official site and it only took a week to arrive. Probably best to try that as, even if it doesn't arrive on time, it will only have cost you less than 5 euros. If I remember rightly, I believe the email receipt covers you if the actual sticker doesn't arrive in time. As for classification, put petrol and then you enter the Euro standard further down.

It was from Lexus Battersea, which is closed now, but part of Inchcape group.

I agree with you on the mining front John, and hope that other, cleaner/greener technologies will emerge as demand for not only products, but environmentally friendly solutions, continues to grow.

For driving around town 29 mpg is pretty good. MPG will also be impacted by how you drive, your tyres and what fuel you use. Mine is 13 years old with 107k miles and I get around 28/30 driving around town. 39/41 on motorways at a cruising speed of 60-65 mph, and 30-35 at a speed of 70-80 mph. That's on Michelin Crossclimate SUVs, and with Esso E5 petrol. If I put E10 fuel in those numbers drop by around 3-5 mpg.

I think the general consensus is that hydrogen is more appropriate for heavy trucks. As for EVs and batteries, then there are a host of problems if we look at what's available today. That said, if we were stuck with what was available in 1990 we wouldn't have iPhones today. Technology tends to find a way, especially if there's demand and sufficient money thrown at it. Apart from the fact that there's sufficient mineable Lithium to provide batteries for over 2 billion cars (albeit with somewhat questionable methods of obtaining it), technology to reduce the amount of Lithium needed, better battery recycling, as well as alternative technologies like sodium batteries, leads me to think that in the long term most, if not all, battery issues/concerns will ultimately be overcome. That's just my belief though.

Michael, it's not provided by a 3rd party, it's provided by Lexus. However, they don't seem to publicise it and so few people know about it; in fact even most dealers are blissfully unaware of it. Basically you have to ask the dealer to set it up and, if they're aware of it it's relatively plain sailing. If they're not, you have to get them to call Lexus for the details. When I started mine I called Lexus head office and got them to email details to the dealer, as they were unaware of it and how to set it up. The only criteria, apart from age and mileage is that the car is serviced by Lexus. They might also require an initial inspection, especially if previous service history was not main dealer, but mine was full Lexus service history and so they didn't bother with one. Given that it includes UK and Euopean breakdown cover, and appears to be a little more comprehensive than the Relax warranty, it seems quite good value to me for the additional peace of mind.

Best bet for a discount/flexibility would be a service plan. I took out a 5 year one and got 15%.

A couple of things. You might want to look into the Lexus 10 year plus extended warranty, which will cover you for up to 15 years/150k miles. Cost is around £550 a year, and includes UK and European breakdown/recovery. It's billed in 10 monthly installments. It's not widely known by all dealers, so you might have to ask them to contact Lexus to set up. If you opt for that then you'd need to service with Lexus but, if you take out a service plan it's not much more than using an independent specialist, especially as the hybrid health check (normally £60) is included. You have the option of monthly payments, and the price is fixed over the term, so it's worth taking out as long as plan as possible, as you can usually negotiate a discount. I got 15% on a 5 year plan. If the car is in good shape and running welll then there's not much maintenance needed beyond scheduled servicing. The only thing I'd recommend is rustproofing. If the underside is rusty then it'll need cleaning up first, but if not you could give it a good spray of something like the Bilt Hamber Dynax products, or ACF-50. Personally I removed the wheel arch liners and sprayed everywhere with Dynax, and then did the underside. Once that was dry I gave everything a good spray with ACF-50 for good measure. The Dynax on the wheel arches and underside took the best part of day, but that only needs to be done every two or three years. The ACF-50 takes about 20 minutes with a garden sprayer, so I do that annually. Top tips. Do the ACF-50 after servicing, as the garage won't thank you for the oily mess if you do it just before. I arrange to have my servicing done in September, so that I can apply the ACF-50 right after, in time for winter. Also, put some cardboard or plastic sheets under the car, as it will drip for a day or so after applying. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, others will come along with more suggestions.

It's quite versatile stuff. I use it on all the interior plastics as well as the leather seats, as it provides UV protection.

Given its name, what kind of rubbers do you use it on? 🙂