true blue

Hi tongue in cheek Buy a cat!! I also run an MX5 which is not used in the winter but kept in the garage and it is a common problem with me and fellow Mazda club club members.You are lucky no damage was done as they like the insulation from electrical wires (oil in the PVC apparently) and expensive damage can be inflicted .I use mouse traps, with success with as many as 4 in one week with no sign of their presence.Cheese is an old wives tale my tests prove small pieces of Kit Kat or peanut butter .They seem to be harvest mice brown with long tails . good luck Dave

great effort Texas ,I have had the car years and never gone as far as that ; I also have a T shirt ' proper dads don't read instructions '😀 you get my vote for a badge Dave

Hi and welcome I'm glad you are pleased with your IS 250 they are a great car and wear their age very well, so you should have many more miles ahead of you if the routine maintenance, which is well covered on this forum is carried out With regard to the diff ,as far as I am aware ,LSD was not fitted ;if you check the build codes on the label on the passenger door post Trans/axle code ends in B03A =open B03B=LSD Dave

Welcome Neil ,this is a very friendly forum I'm sure you will find what you need ,I have a 250c which I have had for 6 years and I know my way around the car fire away Dave

Great result ;there are competent engineers out there ; the problem is finding them as they tend to be small outfits tucked away somewhere .Similar thing happened to us on holiday in Devon in a Volvo a few years ago ,I was able to remove the alternator in the hotel car park and find a brush holder had broken get a taxi to the auto electrician and have it fixed in 2 hours .I don't bother to carry tools any more in the Lexus ,I will rely on the breakdown guys .Enjoy the rest of your holiday Dave

Hi it looks very good and I agree that the price was not excessive for this standard of work .I think you have hit the nail on the head when you say the 6 odd quid washes are causing the initial problems as the quality of the products used is usually rubbish including the material used to rub your paintwork ,likewise the dealers will pay the minimum for the valet.The last couple of cars I have part exchanged have really shown up the poor preparation as my old car was far superior to the newer one I bought .I never let any of these people near my car ,to such an extent that on the rare occasions I use a dealer I tell them and leave a note in the car that I do not want it cleaned. The damage that can be done in a few minutes can take hours to rectify Dave

Hi I have run a 250C for 6 years and have to agree with Linas.P regarding fuel consumption ,the car is a great cruiser and loves long runs when you will get 40+ Mpg. I have done all my own servicing and the car runs great ,all replacements have just been normal service replacements .With the roof down some tyres can seem noisy I like goodyears Look for a good Service history with proper bills of items replaced not just stamps in books (I have bought from main dealers before with stamps for jobs which have not been carried out or not carried out correctly).The prices are quite firm and they were not popular so you may have to pay a premium for a good one .Look outside the Lexus main dealers if you want to save money ,I bought mine from a Merc dealer who after he had driven it 170 miles up to me said ' I don't think I have charged you enough for this car even though it has the wrong badge on the front !! ' If you want any further help just ask Dave

Hi thanks for that link Steve ,I am is the process of changing the coolant (after 10 years ) and while all the plastic is off I thought I would change the serpentine belt and the idler pulley ,I was not sure on part nos so your post has put me straight .once again Lexus price for a bearing they don't make in a pulley seems excessive ,I will chance Ebay without a Chinese bearing ! Dave

Hello and welcome Baz Great choice ( I'm biased ) having owned a 250C for 6 years .This is a great forum with plenty of helpful members ,I do all my own maintenance so we can assist with this car which from all accounts is very reliable . I am keeping this car for a few years as I cannot think of a replacement that suits our needs Enjoy Dave

Hi yes tend to agree with madasahatter If the roof opens and closes correctly (get someone to operate it while you watch and listen outside) smoothly and without any obvious problems and you cannot see any broken or bent teeth on the geared quadrants that operate the roof then I cannot possibly see how they can predict the life span of an electric motor.The electric roof is always a worry in the back of our minds as an expensive item to fix but in my experience of Japanese electric roofs ( I also have a MX5 retractable hardtop )most problems stem from micro switch failure and/or adjustment .Certainly contact the supplying dealer with your concerns and maybe a 2nd opinion if there is another local Lexus dealer but in my experience some Lexus dealers whole aim is to relieve you of your cash and I would want a proper substantiated diagnosis Let us know how you get on Dave

Hi I have been looking at tyres but not your size ,I don't know if this is any help but ATS are running a promotion at the moment in your size they list pilot sport 4. £313. for 2 P Zero rosso £363 for 2 this seems good to me. other sizes are available. on the offer Cheers Dave

Hi David and welcome to a great forum ,I don't think you will be disappointed with the IS 250 .Mine is 10 years old ,I have owned it for 6 and a half years and it is brilliant .I carry out all my own maintenance and apart from routine work the car has been 100%.The sat nav is a pain ,I asked about the HDD update when I took it to its only main dealer visit for the airbag update and they didn't seem keen due to problems they had encountered previously .It my be worth checking your car has had the airbag recall done and also check the Service history when the car gets to this age it may be due bigger jobs such as coolant change (10 years) or spark plug change 60,000+ or serpentine belt change ,I mention this as I have just this W/e changed the belt on the side of the road locally for a friend who thought the belt had been changed but it broke at 112,000 miles and was obviously original !. I don't have too much problem with the sat nav as Mr Vlad says and I use WAZE app to fill in blanks . Enjoy your new motor Dave

Wise decision for peace of mind especially as summer has arrived with a vengeance I expected. more postings on air con problems !! Dave

Hi just a thought for PRT68 Paul if you intend to do a lot of miles on the French motorway you could consider the E Movis tag it can be rented for approx 8 euros a year and you can drive through the tolls in a dedicated lane and pay the bill when you get home - solved all our problems been using it for over 10 years .The euro tunnel group usually have an offer of a subsidised tag .I agree the ferry is more civilised ,we have been using the ferry for a few years now since idiot French protestors set fire to piles of tyres at the rail terminal and delayed our trip (If you want to protest the French are professional !! ) Dave

Hi we usually tour Europe a couple of times a year in either the MX5 or the Lexus 4 week trip but this fiasco has changed our outlook We will also watch what is happening .we wanted to go to the circuit des Ramparts rally in September in Angouleme a great car show with vintage cars racing through the town but I think that will go on hold until next year. I propose to sell the MX5 and keep the Lexus so all trips will now be carried out in comfort (tough decision but I don't need 2 cars and 2 nd hand prices are rising every week ) Never been to Poland etc as mentioned by Herbie sounds interesting for a complete change any Recommendations ? Stay safe. Dave

Hi I always service my own cars ,good link from Steve ,the job is straight forward but my advice is make sure you can safely get the car to a good height to access the filter housing and it is supported on stands or ramps .The filter is loose in a housing not a sealed canister so you will need the correct tool to remove the housing cap ( do not try to remove the housing with any other tool /stillsons etc ) and a good length bar for your socket as this housing WILL BE TIGHT ! ,make sure your receptacle for the used oil is big enough as there is 6.5 litres of waste oil . Use a new sump sealing washer Dave

Thanks guys ,I only brought it up because I had not come across it before ,as you say I have my refund and no harm done ; with regard to counterfeit goods ,that is a real problem ,especially in areas of safety; brakes ,steering etc fashion goods don't concern me , Dave

Hi I have been using E bay for a few years mostly O K but of course careful of scammers and chancers.I always check the feed back on the seller for peace of mind .I recently ordered a couple of parts for a bike I am converting to an E bike ,with the current situation anything to do with bikes is difficult and there were no local stockists, this on line shop advertised U K stock and quick delivery checked 98% good .Got the usual thanks for your order ,then nothing for 4 weeks no replies to E mails etc ,contacted Paypal immediate refund ,now the point of this post ,the transaction was still open so I sent in a fair polite low feedback ,the seller has just contacted me saying he will pay me and send me a form to change my rating to a favourable one ; I did not know this was a feasible option and it now undermines my perception of selling on E bay or is it a scam to obtain my payment details ? I sent back an E mail explaining poor service was his problem not mine Dave

Mr Vlad ,most of us enjoy a bit of fun as you have described ,and for sure the engine benefits from it .In my youth! this was known as an Italian Tune Up Cheers Dave

Hi oh dear a can of worms opened here ,I don't want to get too involved in this but I do have one question for Linas where does he get his figures to. substantiate ' headlights on 24/7 make it much safer to drive on the continent ' apart from the fact that this is not proven ,for many years I was a motorcycle instructor for the local council and daytime /running headlights was always a bone of contention until they were made compulsory .The only proper documented tests to this theory I have seen were carried out by 2 American states where the results showed an INCREASE in collisions with lights on .The conclusions were that knowing lights were on lulled riders into a false sense of security ,and if you are not paying attention and looking you will not see ,lights or otherwise Dave

cheers Len , been there ,done that with British sports cars ,had MX5's for the last 21 years ,best fun for your money ever should be available on the NHS 😀 Dave

Hi my advice with the tracking problem would be to find a good independent tyre depot who has a Hunter machine and knows how to use it .Once the wheels are balanced and the tracking set up properly you should have no further problems .I have had many issues on various cars over the years regarding alignment and trust me there are a lot of ' technicians' out there with no idea .Any tyre issues that need addressing will be dealt with when they are inspected and balanced .Check the web site Align my car for recommended guys in your area Dave

Hi Len 2 good points raised there ,legality my French is basic ,but I will tell you a story ! I also have an MX5 and we regularly use that on the continent as well with a group of friends .A few years ago one of us got a blowout on the motorway ,it was not a instant deflation so 6 of us in convoy were able to pull over and stop as we all have the same car 1 person carries a spare wheel with luggage distribution between us as there is not much room in an MX5 .We jacked up the car to start changing the wheel ,the road was quiet, a young French guy stopped to enquire about are welfare we assured him we were OK .I did notice him on the mobile as he left ,5 mins later the Gendarmerie arrive full inquisition breathalyser etc I explain I know what we are doing show him the replacement wheel so he phones up the Polizie (main men) they arrive complete with a secretary and we go through all the questioning again this time documented ;Eventualy they decide we can't do this ,I have replaced the wheel so we are escorted off the motorway to the nearest most expensive cash only tyre depot .No further action taken .I tried to find out from the tyre fitter about the legality issue ,but according to my translation this happened because we did not ask for assistance which meant one of his relatives who runs a local garage did not benefit from the job Back to the Lexus the wheel is vertical hard against the back of the front seat not ideal secured to the bottom halves of the rear seat belt but we also have 2 bags strapped to the back seat if the hood is down so yes we could have problems Dave

HI just seen this topic ;I have found that if the car is parked on a slope in the rain some water can seep into the boot through the seals at the bottom of the rear quarters ,this happens to me but very little water I am looking at new seals or making supplementary seals to fit below the seal actually in the boot from thin draught sealing strip Dave

Hi as far as I am aware the 250C has auto rain sensing mine has ;with the stalk in the auto position an infrared sensor behind the mirror switches on the wipers .Easy to test just run some water down the screen close to the centre with car switched on .It may be that a new windscreen has been fitted ,a non Lexus replacement screen does not always have this function ,another problem with non Lexus screens is they may not have the heated screen area where the wipers park .The fitter who put a new screen in for me told me this and I insisted on a genuine ;screen made his life easier as it came with a full set of spacers and edging strips Dave