Jim1977

Free trackers being fitted by Lexus from 1 August is being discussed on the NX Facebook group. I know no more than this, eg which models, time frames, whether this is for all owners or just on purchases of used cars…..the info on that group is from a dealer

We had one fitted by Telford Towbars using the official Lexus wiring kit about a month ago. They got the kit from Lexus Parts Direct. Was about £975 from memory for 13 pin detachable swan neck, and they came to me in Leicestershire.

Definitely proper plates with printed green strips, virtually all my driving is in commuter traffic so often sat there able to see stationary cars 😄 As an aside there are rules around the size of the stripe and how close it can be to the first letter on the plate. Unless it was being stuck over a blue EU strip there is not enough room on a standard plate to fit a strip of legal width and allow a legal spacing to the first letter. Not that anyone seems to care about plate legality especially if you are randomly adding a green flash to your plates!

I have seen this a fair bit around Leicestershire for a few years now. From a people carrier, to a Clio, even a truck. Generally normal rather than premium vehicles, and all moderately old cars, over 5 years old. Very bizarre, not sure what statement they are trying to make. They will have gone to the trouble of buying these replacement plates for their car.

They are a professional set up there, they have the proper lifts etc and the bays are always immaculately tidy, re the sensors, I didn’t think there was a way in the 300h to see the tyre pressures in any of the screens, just the yellow low pressure warning? My wife’s UX shows all four wheels but can’t find anything similar on the NX

Not sure I’d bother if I had to pay I agree, but Costco do this by default at their tyre bays.

Quick update, my mpg was between 38-39 over recents tanks. Filled up immediately after the tyres were fitted at Costco and this tank is averaging just under 43 mpg. Anyone else found cross climates improved their mpg compared the the stock Yokohama’s?

As above, if anyone is needing some all seasons for their NX, just had 4 fitted at Costco for £508, including balancing, fitting and nitrogen. Had my 3rd service and first MOT at the weekend and that flagged the fronts were down to 2mm. Main dealer price to fit was north of £700, so a good saving to be had at the minute.

One option to consider is go through insurance, then sell on the car before your next renewal is due, swapping for something you can insure more easily

It won’t, got a Disklok too as a visual deterrent. Not sure what else we can all do really. Even once Lexus roll out the fix (any time if they stick to their mid April promise), it could be some time before people stop dismantling the front corners to attempt theft.

I’ve sent you a DM Ronnie

I had a Ghost 2 fitted to my 300h several months ago. No issues works as intended. No battery drain issues. I contacted Autowatch who put me in touch with a local installer, who was great. I wanted a one man band to fit it, not a big national.

2021 Premium Sport is £180 VED unless you get one with both a colour option and the pano roof. Only had it a few months and averaging 38 mpg so far, driving as carefully as I can. I think low 40’s is realistic rather than mid to high.

Hi all, any advice please for removing or concealing a scuff on the dash. This is the soft touch plastic, with a matt finish, and this has polished up. Looks worse in the pic than in reality, have to catch the right angle and light to see it. I wiped over the whole dash area with Dr Leather on a micro fibre cloth. No other marks from doing this, so either it was already there, or there was a small particle on the dash that got pulled across it. Thanks

In the end I went for a 2021 Premium Sport. These were a roll out model loaded with a lot of kit. Also under the £40,000 VED limit. The car is not tuned in any way for sport, it just has the cosmetic sport features (diamond cut alloys, black grill and mirror caps). The interior is black and white. Very pleased with the colour combo.

Yes, by security hardware, I’m reading this to mean a new “box of tricks” is being added to the car to encrypt the Canbus network. If so, this is great news. Hopefully the crooks will get the message fairly quickly not to bother damaging the wheel arch any more once they know all cars are being recalled

This is Canbus theft, not relay theft from the keys. A pouch does not protect from Canbus theft sadly. Would need an immobiliser fitted to stop it.

The Lexus official response was that security hardware was being rolled out for pre Sep 2021 cars. This being in additional to the headlight plate. Lexus said customers should contact their local dealer to book in for both to be fitted for free. Ive just emailed the head of parts at our local dealer to try and book in 😂

The One show is covering Lexus keyless thefts, in the watchdog segment. It’s out the bag on BBC1 prime time now…. Showed RX being pinched on CCTV. Worth watching if you missed it. Lexus were approached by the BBC and said they were shortly fitting “security hardware” for pre Sep 2021 cars. This, and the plate, would be fitted for free. Customers should call their dealer to book in.

The UXe is a lovely car and we have no regrets with it, but it is not an efficient EV. The range displayed is arbitrary rather than a reflection of previous journeys. To know your real range you have to divide the number of miles covered between charges, for battery percentage used. You can only see the percentage in the app, nowhere in the car (bonkers). My wife is getting a theoretical max of about 115-120 miles at the minute with the heating on. If you have the above info you can calculate your efficiency. Number of miles travelled divided by percentage used. Multiply that number by 100 = real range on a full charge. Divide that real range by 45 (usable battery size) = miles per kWh efficiency. My wife is getting 2.6 - 2.7. As a comparison, our Soul EV would be doing close to 4. We would be getting 120-125 miles around now, so slightly better range with only 30kWh of usable battery. All of that said leccy is cheap at night and the Lexus is a much nicer car. Just a shame they are so behind the curve with full EV’s.

That’s where a home battery comes in. Charge it in the off peak window at 7.5p at the same time as the car is charging. Use the stored energy to power the house all day at the off peak rate. You are using the battery to time shift so you use no (or barely any) peak rate electricity. With solar too, aside from Nov-Feb you can generally charge the battery from that, in a few weeks I will be switching from charging the battery at night on off peak to just filling it with solar.

In terms of the electrical safety of regular use of a granny charger, I can recommend the Speak EV forum. It’s a discussion point that crops up a lot and there are a fair few electricians in the group. There is certainly not consensus on the issue. The best advice seems to be that if you want to rely on the granny charger as the primary method of charging, the circuit for the socket being used needs to be investigated. Is it on a ring, is it a spur off a ring, is it something dodgy like a spur off a spur. Is it a radial circuit. What else is on the same circuit sharing the supply etc The granny is going to be pulling over 2kW constant draw for many hours, likely at night, unattended. This comes down to risk judgement. Would you happily leave a fan heater running all night on full power while asleep, and do so using the same plug and socket several times a week for years. It will likely be ok, but think of it in those terms to judge the risk. Personally, I would suggest getting a Zappi or similar spec home charge point. Aside from the safety, which is a subjective point as detailed above, you unlock the convenience of charging far more quickly, and the ability to take advantage of cheap time of use products like Intelligent Octopus Go. You’re not going to get your money back on the cost of the install in cheaper electricity, but the convenience and safety are metrics only you can judge the merit of. You may decide that once you’ve enjoyed the electric experience, you want a full EV as a second car, and the Zappi will better suit that. Once you get a car with a plug, many will start to consider how they use electricity, and often solar panels and a battery follow. Funds allowing, an EV (or PHEV), solar and battery are together greater than the sum of each part. We did this some years ago and even running an EV our annual electricity bill is less than a tank of petrol. If you decide to switch to Octopus feel free to use my £50 referral code “Warm-Burn-664”

What car just did a YouTube video testing the RZ til it ran out of juice, plus the UX electric and 10 other cars. Both cars averaged 2.4 miles per kWh, the UX actually went 10 miles further.

I can recommend Kamei Corvara roof boxes, from the roof box company. Excellent quality and 6 year warranty on them. They open from both sides.

That’s ridiculous I feel your pain. Yes 1977 is my birth year, so still in the sweet spot of not too young or old. My dad has seen similar hikes due to his age. In fact, I experimented with adding him as a named driver to see if it affected the premium for the better (in the past it had and meant he could always use my car if needed) but this time round adding him would have taken the premium to well over £600!