Spock66

It would be great for you to look into the Lexus Canbus issue which affects a number of recent Lexus vehicles being very vulnerable to theft, the insurance issue is a secondary effect. Although Lexus have developed a modification for the RX, they have not actively communicated this to owners and have done nothing for other affected vehicles. JLR seem to be much more proactive in addressing this issue. You could start with contacting Lexus Customer Relations cr@lexus.co.uk

I believe it's true for all 4th Gen RXs from the letter they sent me.

Mine is due next month going from approx £500 with LV to £800 with Hastings. LV are no longer insuring the RX, there were cheaper options from the comparison sites, but all companies I had never heard of and with quite a high excess. I also dropped business use as this seemed to add about £200 to the quote. But the landscape may well be different in September....

Could be the slider pins rather than the caliper itself.

If the battery capacity has dropped that much I would expect there also to be an impact on fuel economy as the vehicle will be using EV mode much less.

I would expect any competent garage to be capable of changing a radiator or hose if that is the problem, but clearly a Lexus dealership would give you most piece of mind the job will be done properly. There could well be a sensor on coolant level which would have caused the warning message.

Well unless you have a 24-hour security detail wherever you go there is nothing to stop getting your bumper / wheel arch ripped off. If Lexus / Toyota deployed a fix to all vulnerable vehicles then these attacks would start to reduce.

Are there any warning lights or fault codes? Has the Hybrid battery been charged?

The key factors in the physics would be number of cylinders, displacement and compression ratio. I don't believe how smooth and well balanced the engine may be would be a factor in the force required to crank the engine.

I would be very skeptical if it works for anything other than a very minor slow puncture regardless of the expiry date, just make sure you have breakdown cover in place.

As above the Hybrid system will manage the charge status and not something to worry about. When at the minimum charge (something like 20%) the engine will start (if not already running) and recovers to max normal (something like 80%) within a few miles of driving. You'll only ever get to 100% after extended braking.

I think duff battery, 11V is pretty much useless to start a big V8.

If you are competent with basic mechanics I'd start by flushing out the cooling system and changing the thermostat. Worst case it could be the head gasket.

Why purchase a car that costs tens of thousands and then not use the features provided just to save a few pennies?

If it's the same as the RX the manual says not to use a pin, I suspect you may need new washer jets fitted.

The Hybrid battery is 15-years / unlimited mileage (subject to the Hybrid Health Check being up to date), below extract from the Lexus website, this should also be stated in your service history booklet. For hybrid vehicles, the service will include a Hybrid Health Check to extend the hybrid component and battery warranty cover. If the vehicle is eligible for the hybrid components and battery cover will be included in the same Lexus Warranty contract until 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever is soonest. You can then independently extend the hybrid component and battery warranty cover for up to 15 years and unlimited mileage by having a Hybrid Health Check.

If the service history / hybrid health check is maintained you will have an unlimited mileage warranty up to 15-years. The hybrid system will not allow the hybrid battery to fall below a certain level, so the only way the battery would get flat is either due to a fault or left unused for a very substantial period.

I think it likely that there will be a significant rise in uninsured drivers at this rate.

EV mode is useful if you just want to move the car around your drive or in / out of the garage without starting the engine. I only ever use Eco mode if low on fuel, not sure it makes much difference anyway.

Apparently the UK government purchased the last 50 or so of the Rover P5b's and kept them in storage until needed which is why they were seen in use many years after production had ended.

A service plan is priced at the current list prices which are published on the Lexus website, you can probably negotiate a 10% saving with your local dealer.

Not recently but have driven down to Chamonix in the past in an unmodified car. Driving back on the French motorways I was sticking to the 130k speed limit, it was the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix, lots of British registered Ferraris and other exotica passed us like we weren't moving, must have been doing at least 150mph.

Not sure if the French construction and use rules would apply to a UK registered car that is just visiting? Surely if it complies with UK legislation you should be ok, yes there may be an issue if you wanted to register it in France.

I had a couple of Nissan Primeras 20+ years ago and they were very solid and reliable cars, I think Nissan have gone down hill as a manufacturer since the tie up with Renault. The X-Trail in particular scores very poorly on reliability.

Agreed, fuel and condensation would not account for the difference unless there is a major problem.