is200 Newbie

Copper grease is the wrong type to use - its too abrasive and will soon turn into a dry sludge mess (when taking your pads off have a look at the squeal shims and this will be the result of using this type of grease on the pins - you will see how unsuitable it is.) I used to use Castrol LM but have recently purchased the proper stuff from Lexus Birmingham at £10 a tube but worth it when you think it can save you up to £1000+ if your callipers seize. It can also be used for your next re-grease. I posted a guide on how to re-grease the calipers (both front and backs) - you will need to remove the rear caliper , not just swing it out of the way to grease both pins. Its honestly not a hard job and wont take you more than 20 mins per side if you take your time. Once you have done it you will realise how easy it is to do, As its your first time then just take your time. As John has said above about the pins and remembering how they go back - if you take a photo of how they are on the caliper then you will have no issue in remembering the way they go back in.

Brilliant - Thanks Mouser As it stands at the moment I washed it again at the weekend - it wasn't as hot this weekend and I managed to clean it early in the morning before the sun blasted it. It came out better but the following day the water marks were still visible but not as bad. I could do the clay routine in a garage but at the moment its a bit full of garden bits. I do however have a garden vac that I could use if going down the route of doing it outside. I do have a power washer but don't tend to use this but maybe I should give it a go. I usually wash it with washing up liquid (not the best idea to start with I guess) dry with a chamois and then rub down with a micro fibre cloth (I don't tell my wife I do this !!) At this point I have used a carnuba based wax - usually the Dodo brand which does give good results. Having used the Turtle Wax with no good results I would not use it again. I think the issue is the washing as the marks are in the shape of water drops as if they have dried on the paint. I will have a look at the video link and see wwhat my next step should be - the bag idea is a good one. Thanks for the info - I will re-post when I have done with the results

I use something similar - a one way check valve. Easier to do yourself without relying on someone elses help. Let us know how you get on. What type of grease are you using?

You need to take it off as you need to add fluid during the process but don't run the reservoir dry. Just rest the cap on top of the resoviour to stop any dirt getting in.Do one depress of the pedal and check the level and top up if required, repeating as you go along. The cap on the reservoir is only a rubber push on / pull off type (not a screw on one. Other people may have other ways of doing this but I have done it this way for years. Make sure you have a small funnel to pour the fluid into the reservoir as its quite easy to get the brake fluid on your bodywork if pouring from the bottle.

On the old IS200 I had there was an emerging issue with a noise that sounded like it was from the front of the car but actually it was from the rear - there is a You Tube video that someone recorded in the states and it showed the noise that was spot on to the noise I experienced in mine - would be noticeable round corners and this started as a sort of ticking noise and progressed louder to a squeal. It was found to be coming from the groove in the disc where the dust shield sat on the rear brake disc. All that was involved to get rid of the noise was to clean the groove out as it became, over time, rusted up and also the dust shield did the same in that it rusted up also. Cleaning with a dremil / wire brush / sand paper did the trick. You would need to check this model to see if it had the same set up but it could be the problem??

Hi Allan Did the noise start after the new pads were fitted on the rear - sorry, just read your first post so it wont be an issue with low pads.

Hi Chris I used to read of members experiencing this - they would replace a suspect coil on these only to find another one goes or had gone. It was a recommendation I read a while ago on one of the posts that if one went then it would be a good idea to replace them all but this is expensive. If you do suspect one has gone then buy one new one and work your way in replacing each with the good one and it will highlight the bad one. It only really works though if you do suspect or know one has gone. An OBD scan like Steve has said above would diagnose this better. You can sometimes notice the bad one as the seal on the top of the coil can crack. Be careful when taking out to check as if I remember correctly there's not a lot of wire to play with.

Process of elimination from what you have said would eliminate the front discs / calipers / pads problem. You would experience a vibration / shudder in the steering l if the discs had warped / calipers had seized or caliper was sticking. I would start to look at the rear assembly - wont do any harm to strip and clean the caliper assembly down and to re-grease the pins. While doing this check the piston operates freely. Your pad pin guides should be loose enough to pull out but not excessively loose. They also need to be loose to act as part of the pad guide when braking so they need to be clean. Take these off and run some sand paper over them to remove any rust to get them clean. I would not have thought these would routinely need to be tightened as there is a securing spring attached to both to stop the problem of them loosening - check you actually have the securing pin which locates itself through each pin. There is NOTHING on the caliper assembly that would require routinely tightening - routine cleaning, yes, as described by a lot of posts in describing how to do the pins. I am not sure but there are another set of clips on the brakes to secure the pads which could, if the pads were too low, start screaming when applying the brake to a point where they would be constantly screaming if the pads were that low. It would be worth your while in buying some caliper grease if doing the work on the calipers (£10 from Lexus Birmingham for the proper stuff) Also - not sure if you are aware but the rear discs also act as a drum brake - as well as the pads there are a set of drum shoes within the inner disc itself.

Is there any vibration felt through the pedal or steering when braking?

I think I pressed "post" just as you keyed in the full stop. Something I should have mentioned ... the temperatures will be different comparing fronts to backs - I am not sure of the split between the front and rear braking but sure its not 50/50 so you need to compare opposites (differences between the two fronts and the two rears)

Like Allan said above - I was going to say something stuck in your tyre treads? Does the noise speed up and slow down or is it a constant tick...? I have found out that the easiest way (or one of the ways) to check to see if they are sticking is look for the following Under normal driving put your foot on the brake peddle and very very gently keep you foot there and you will feel initial resistance which will give way and you will feel the pedal travel a bit. To me, that's been an indication when I have suspected a sticking calliper or piston, usually on the fronts. The slight "give" you feel is the piston or caliper moving slightly from where it is stuck. You can easily tell if the calipers are seized by comparing the alloy wheel temperatures after a good run. They should all be relatively the same temp but if one is hotter than the other then there's a good chance that one is seized. Someone else on the forum had a noise from their wheels, especially when turning and it was found that the slide pin was rattling - when they took it to the garage to have it checked, they tightened it up and the noise disappeared, I cant see how that could happen but tightening it cured it for them..

Let us know how you get on with it

Looks like the same one that's in mine - there are 4 multi wire block connectors and another single wire connector - a total of 5 connector blocks. Why would the previous owner have removed that - surely they would have realised that the radio would not work? Have you checked everything else is there - spare wheel / jack / tools ... do you alloys have security bolts and if so do you have the security bolt key? It sounds like the previous owner has not looked after it - did you have the fluids and filters changed. Also have you looked at the advisory note on the MOT to see if there is anything recorded?

That one has a different label to the one I have on mine (see picture on previous post) - possibly due to it being American stock Will check how many connectors in mine tomorrow,

.. If only the value went up with age !! Also - why does your car insurance go up the older your car gets? I cant figure that one out.... Maybe if a few more people knew about the reliability of these and the fact they can take the high miles in their stride and if people started buying more of them the value of the cars would hold a bit better when selling..

The amp is located on the right hand side under a plastic cover. The amp sits vertical with the wires plugged into it on the side of the unit If your car had the ML system originally then this is where the amp would have been located. The amp that matches up with the ML head unit is the Mark Levinson - Part number 86280-0W360 It should be generic for the 2005 to 2010 IS250 but do your checks first. There are a few on ebay - serious money ....

I agree with John - they are easy to work on (well for most parts) If you are confident in doing it / have the time and space to do it then why not. I think in doing the work yourself it gives you an understanding of how the car works which is a good thing and if you do buy the proper parts and the good stuff then you do know what's being put into the car which is piece of mind to me. The only time in the past 5 years of ownership that I have put a car into a dealer was my old IS200 and that was a precautionary measure to have the cam belt replaced. I think if you are keeping the car and plan to do a lot of miles in it (take it over 100k) then no matter what the history is then its not going to matter if it has a history or not as a majority of garages will steer clear of high milers as the perception is still there to avoid them - only the few in the know about these types of car can confidently buy them.

Did you see it working before you bought it? Not sure if Lexus code these to the car but if they did I would not have thought the sat nav would work.... The ML amp is in the boot on the right hand side under a plastic panel but not had a need to remove it so would not know if its fused or not. Did you say the music was working on the old unit before you changed to this one?

Just received a tube of the grease that Lexus use to lubricate the slide pins - its not actually known as Lithium Soap Grease but Rubber Grease - Part number 08887-83010 - from Lexus Birmingham for £10 per tube. Tube is the size of a tooth paste one so it will last a good 4 to 5 years if greasing all 4 corners of the car. A good buy. It states its good for 1 year after the production date .... is this the case?

Thanks Janey

From what I have read there are a few types of paint - some cars have "soft" paint, some have "hard" paint - the "soft" paint is easy to mark but easy to remove small marks from. The "hard" paint is harder to mark and harder to remove marks from... Lexus has the soft paint (so I believe)..? I do wash my car regularly and also use a wax - I usually use a carnuba wax, Dodo Juice is the one I have used with really good results. A few weeks ago I washed and waxed it but found it hard to get some water marks off it - it was a hot day so the water drops had dried before I got to them to wipe off. I have washed it since and used the Turtle Wax ICE which is a nightmare product - went on ok but when wiping off it just moved around the car like vegetable oil leaving smears, will never use this again! Anyway - I was thinking to get the water marks off I would t cut the car and then go back to the wax I was using Anyone had any experience of this and have any recommendations. I had followed the thread of claying a car which I think is another option..

Mileage is now 77,535 - 91 miles on from when I checked the oil last week. I have done 546 miles since the oil change back on the 7th of June - I had used used Castrol Edge this time whereas I used to always use Castrol Magnatec. The level is still constant and while the oil is still clean there is a slight tint in it now - noticeable from when it was first changed Picture below

Thanks Ishaq I have read the thread and mine closes on the double lock but I don't mind this as it shows to me the car is secure when walking away from it.

I bought one from Michael a few months back, followed the instructions when fitting which were very clear and had no issues with it - a vey good mod for the car. Thanks Michael. It was harder to re-fit the door card than it was to fit the unit !!

James ... Never had the spinning bolt (yet) Not had the problems with the copper slip but I agree that its very messy. I have actually ordered a tube of the proper slide pin grease from Lexus - expansive at £40 per tube but I think it will be worth it compared to the replacement of the callipers if they go again - what am I saying ... should be When they go again !! I think the grease I am using is reacting with the rubber boots as they seem to lose their shape a bit and don't secure well onto the recesses of the pins and I can only put this down to the grease , also the rubber top pin slide washer fitted to the pin does the same. I am currently using Castrol LM grease to lubricate these.