Bluemarlin

It wouldn't bother me to the extent that it would be high on my list of priorities, although that offside strut looks to have cracks in it. Looking at your other threads, its seems that there are few things coming to the surface that likely prompted the previous owner to sell rather than address. That being the case, the first thing I'd do is get the corrosion looked at fully to see the extent of it, and how much it will take to clean, patch up where necessary, and then treat. I wouldn't be looking to spend any money on other fixes/mods until I was sure that could be dealt with at a reasonable cost first.

I'll try and answer the ones I can. 3. If the TRC OFF was due to the low tyre pressure, it shoud clear after a few on/off cycles. There's no tyre pressure sensor on that model/year, I just check my tyre pressures every week or so. 4. 33mpg around town isn't bad, I get around 30 mpg (not in ECO mode), and 38mpg at a steady 60 sounds about right. I averaged 40 mpg on a very long run once at 60-65. I have found that E5 petrol makes a noticeable difference, especially Esso, which is zero ethanol. 5. I can't be certain but I think in the manual that there's a setting to change how the display switches screens.

Mine's not until November too Phil, so hopefully someone with an earlier renewal will come along with an update. It's a shame they don't let you take out the extended warranty over a longer period in advance, to avoid any increases, like they do with service plans.

My roadside assistance is included as part of my 10yr plus extended warranty, so does anyone know if the cost of this warranty has been increased this year?

Not sure I'd bother with the expense of a de-cat unless it was as a fix after the cat had been stolen. I honestly don't know the best course of action, and how common it is near you. I would imagine that Lexus would comment on it, but don't know if they'd refuse service, although I guess they'd refuse to supply an extended warrranty if you wanted one. MOTs are hit and miss as one tester might fail the mod, whilst another may not notice. I would think that you'd need to inform your insurer though, as it's a non standard modification.

I would say from the pictures that it would take more than the half day job that you linked to. There looks to be a couple of holes in one of the pictures that woud need to be addressed, so you'd need somewhere that would not only clean things up, but also remove any existing rust and fix where necessary before treating. Most places I've seen would need a couple of days for that, partly so it could dry properly after cleaning and before treating. Cost for that would likely be north of £700. I know this place isn't near you, and I have no idea how good they are, but I've added the link to give you an idea of what's involved and an idea of costs (prices quoted are ex vat I think): https://www.cskautomotive.co.uk/the-rust-prevention-centre/ I'd also suggest removing the wheel arch liners (at least the rear ones, which are easier) to see what it's like there. It will also let you check (nearside rear) if the fuel filler pipe and brake lines are corroded or not. It's possible that the cleaning and rustproofing would lube the suspension and cure the suspension noise, I know that spraying ACF-50 on the underside of mine silenced any creaks. Either way I'd wait it till it was rustproofed before dealing with that.

Because if they're of different ages then the tyres aren't the same anymore. How different they are will be dependent upon the tread depth of each, but essentially they will clear water at differing rates, potentially causing handling diifficulties. It matters less if the difference is between front and rear axles, but on the same axle it's best to have the same (or similar) tread depth. If they are different front to back then it's also advised to have the better/newer tyres on the rear axle, rather than the front.

I don't think wheel theft is as common now, but mine were a bit rusty and I did replace them as they weren't expensive. Also whenever I get my car back from a garage/tyre shop I always loosen the nuts and retighten them to spec.

I've averaged around 31mpg over the last 18 months in mixed driving. Best is 40mpg cruising at 60-65mpg. Thr first cold snap saw mpg reduce to around 24mpg, but that was in combination with a tankful of Sainsburys E10. Since switching back to Esso E5 (which is actually zero ethanol) mpg has increased back to 28-30mpg.

If it's anything like the RX, then maintenance mode can be set by pushing a few buttons in the right sequence, can't remember what but no techstream required. Once in that then the ICE will idle constantly. Be advised though, car should not be driven in maintenance mode. To revert back to normal just switch off and back on again.

Or one the marine sealants like Sikaflex, which are designed to withstand UV and salt water, and the bouncing around that a boat takes, so should give you the flex you're looking for.

I read somewhere that Toyota/Lexus actively encourage staff at all levels to come up with ideas for improvement, in fact I think they set targets for it. Nor is it the kind of scheme that just gets you a lunch voucher and a plaque on the wall for the month, and instead can result in thousands of pounds, based on the value of the idea to the company. I believe they also devolve power to anyone to be able to stop the production line if they see problem. Lexus take things to whole new level though. Here's a pretty cool video about their craftsmanship for those who are interested and have an hour to spare: [youtube] [/youtube]

I assume that you've checked and cleaned any drain tubes to make sure that water is draining out and not collecting. Not sure if the seal is available separately from the glass, but I'd be reluctant to apply a permanent seal to the roof as it would affect resale. If it's definately the rubber seal that's leaking then I'd try painting on something like liquid electrical tape or a flexible sealant, in the hope that it will seal any cracks/holes. Obviously that's easier if they can detect where the actual leak is.

Matched with a pair of 3 button high waisters, wide enough to cover the whole shoe 🙂

Me too. I hate heights, I barely made it through the 70's with the fashion for platformed shoes 🙂

As the article states, the 12v battery isn''t covered by the warranty by default, which is fairly standard. I can see why that's the case as a battery left idle for long periods will discharge and degrade, and doesn't mean the battery itself is faulty. The dealer probably handled it poorly by clinging to a mileage claim instead of highlighting how lack of use can affect a battery, but ultimately did right by the customer, so the article seems a little overly alarmist to me.

Personally I'd stick with a full size spare if I had one, as it's a lot more convenient in that it's fit and forget. I doubt the marginal weight saving would impact economy much. About the only reason I know for having a space saver over a full size alloy is where the spare is exposed and be stolen.

The letter Y is the speed rating of the tyre, whuch is the same on both, and the number is the load index. Y is rated for up to 186mph and 94 is a load of 670kg & 98 is 750kg.

If you want a book valuation then put the details into WBAC and that will give you an idea of the bottom end valuation for comparison. If they opt to write off the car then push for a repair as they might be willing to negotiate. They'll be more willing to do a deal if you don't need the hire car, as that costs them a lot..

GIven that you're in London it might be worth checking if the Euro emissions ratings are the same across the ages of RXs. 2009 are Euro 4, which is currently ULEZ compliant, but I'm sure I saw somewhere that newer models (not sure from what year it starts) are Euro 5. Given that the current ULEZ area is set to expand, it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that our beloved mayor will shift the goalposts on Euro emissions ratings at some point in the future.

I think Lexus would be able to confirm service history with VIN number. That said, if it's had services for the last two years, it's possible that one or two previous services were missed during covid, so I'd want to get that checked with Lexus. Some cars do rattle a little on cold start up, although I don't know what's normal/ok, but I suppose a lot depends upon how loud and how much. Hard to know without hearing it. As for the rust, there's bound to be some surface corrosion on a 10yr old car, although that looks a fair bit more than mine when I bought it. Check sills and wheel arches to see if there's any rust there too. If it's not too bad, ie non structural, then it woud cost about £600-700 to get cleaned up, treated and rust proofed professionally. It's possible that the corrosion is minor/surface rust, although it will need to be cleaaned up and treated, and that the service history turns out to be fine. Personally though, with doubts about the service history, and uncertainty as to the extent of corrosion, I'd be wary. At the very least I'd want an inspection done by someone like the AA or Clickmechanic, to give me a better idea of what I'd be dealing with. Of course a lot depends on the price too, although what may first seem like a bargain can quickly turn into a moneypit.

Put the car details, with the correct mileage into something like WBAC and see what figure they come up with. Obviously that would be a trade valuation, but will give you a ballpark idea.

Clearly a proper Ninja if you didn't spot it first time 🙂

Have you considered the slightly newer gas cookers, with a double oven instead of eye level grill? I have one, probably 15 years old by now, which is fairly basic, ie knobs instead of digital controls. The grill isn't eye level, it's just a smaller oven space above the main oven, which still has the overhead grill flame and grill pan, but also an oven flame at the back. This not only means that you can use it like an old fashioned grill/toaster, but also use the smaller oven space for cooking, which saves on gas. Not sure how much it saves, but I cook most things in the smaller oven now.

Agreed Vladimir, and hopefully the number of charging stations will increase over the next few years. Synthetic fuel could be interesting, although I haven't read up on it much to know the current state of play.