I've been looking at a few 2000 reg IS200 Sports recently. One thing I've noticed on any cars with over 60k miles on the clock is something funny about the clutch.

When depressing and releasing the pedal there seems to be a point (approx. half way) where there is some sort of restriction to the movent accompanied by a slight clicking noise in its movement at this particular point.

I had a good nosey around under the dashboard on the drivers side but didn't notice anything unusual.

I'm hoping that someone here can fill me in as to what this could be and the seriousness of this fault as I'm sure someone else has came across it. As these cars are 2000 and therefore out of warranty, I don't want to buy one and end up forking out for expensive repairs.

Thanks in advance,

Gavin

Sometimes when I get a problem with the clutch:

At traffic lights in neutral.
Put clutch pedal all the way down.
Try to enage first gear and can't get it in - as if the clutch hasn't released.
Lift clutch all the way and put it down again and everything is fine.

This problem seems to be different from the one you're having and is there all the time with every single depress/release of the pedal.

Might be a lubrication problem? If you're looking to buy from a dealer, it's something you could insist they address before you buy.

Had exactly the same problem with my new IS200 SportX.... I also noticed the clicking feeling / noise disappeared if I released the clutch with side-wise pressure - not a very comfortable way to drive!

Took it back to the dealer and they sorted it out while I waited. They said it was the carpet mats catching the pedal; and they'd adjusted it. Call me cynical but when I looked at the clutch pedal before (sticking my head in the footwell and pushing it with my hand) I couldn't see anything catching on it.

I agree with UKPulse, if you're going to dig into your pockets - get the dealer to fix it first. I drove my car with this problem for 4 days and it's very, very irratating!!!

I may be wrong but I don't think this problem was anything to do with catching on the carpets. I'm nearly sure that due to the higher mileage on these cars, it must be something worn somewhere that needs adjusting/replacing. On cars that I've driven with 20 - 30k miles this problem was not there and the pedal movement was fine.

Gavin

The clutch pedal problem you describe sounds exactly like the one I had. The dealer said it was the carpet mats, I wasn't convinced but didn't care because the car was less than a week old and they fixed it!

I noticed that if I applied sideways pressure (to the left) when I released the pedal, the 'click' disappeared. So I personally think it was a case of tightening / adjusting something on the pedal mechanism itself (I hope)!!

I have exactly the same problem (my car's done about 52000 miles) so I climbed over the passenger seat and pushed the peddle down with my hand and sure enough it was catching on the carpet. You have to push the peddle down quite hard for it to happen.

Seems that it could be same problem as I have. Mine has done 84.000km. My clutch are having an enoying sound and starts to feel hard to get in after driving for some while.

Have a look at this link: [url="http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=64&t=4232&hl="]http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...f=64&t=4232&hl=[/url]

Would be greatful if anyone has an answer to this problem.