br1anstorm

I have a 2002 IS300 SportCross. I have owned it since 2011, I am only the second owner and I have the service history. The cambelt (timing belt) was replaced in 2008 at 41,000 miles. The car has now done about 115,000 miles, so perhaps I should be thinking of replacing the belt again. Is it too soon to do so? How easy is it simply to check the condition of the belt? The actual replacement task looks like a garage workshop job, not a DIY project that I would want to tackle. If I do go ahead, I assume it will be important to use genuine Lexus/Toyota parts, as this is not something where it's worth taking risks with non-OEM replacements. Any suggestions on the best sources for a belt-replacement kit would be welcome. And.... is it necessary - or prudent - to replace the water pump at the same time? My own instinct is that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it..." . But if the belt is going to be changed, should I get the water pump (which is not that cheap!) changed too?

I have a 2002 IS300 SportCross. I'm just the second owner. The car had done about 60k miles when I bought it as a warranted used car from a Lexus dealer in 2011. It has now done 115k miles, mostly long distance motorway journeys. I now have it checked by my local independent garage (there is no Lexus dealer in my part of Scotland) and it passes the annual MoT with no issues. But I'm beginning to think hard about the front lower ball-joints, because serious experts posting on the forums suggest that they are a well-known weakness and they can fail disastrously with little or no warning. I'd rather take precautionary action before that. As far as I can tell there is no sign of an imminent problem. I had the suspension adjusted to the Tony Bones/WIM recommended settings some years ago, and the front tyres no longer wear excessively on the inner part of the tread. I've just replaced all the tyres anyway and they are balanced. The only issue I have noticed is a very slight steering-wobble or transient vibration when braking lightly at cruising speeds. It was evident both before and after I replaced the tyres. I suppose this could just be the result of uneven wear on front pads or discs, but it set me thinking.... So the question is: at this mileage, should I get the lower ball joints replaced anyway? And if I do so, will the suspension settings have to be re-done? My garage has a Hunter machine, but would (by default) probably rely on the standard Lexus specification, which we know to be inappropriate. My problem is that I don't have a record of the Tony Bones/WIM settings to pass on to my local garage. Any advice on the need for replacement LBJs - and comment/info on the suspension settings - would be appreciated....

Thanks to both chris @lexus22 and @ColinBarber. I've just been catching up after a week or two away. In fact after checking UK dealers (Lexus and Toyota) and Lexus Parts Direct, whom I have dealt with for other parts, it became clear that Amayama offered the best deal at about £12 delivered: half the price of other quotes. So I ordered it, and the part - genuine Toyota/Lexus - arrived by airmail from the UAE within less than a fortnight. I'm well impressed, and plan to fit it this weekend. Problem solved, I hope!

For the cabin/pollen filter take a look at this listing https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334808062362 . There are several others also listed. If I remember rightly that's the item I bought for my 2002 IS300 SportCross back in 2021. Key thing is to check the dimensions to be sure of getting the right replacement. The listing also gives a useful selection of alternative part numbers from other manufacturers which you could also use to search.

Just happened to notice this post. Although it's always worth checking what dealers or Lexus Parts Direct will charge for routine replacement items like oil filters, air filters, and cabin/pollen filters, it is usually cheaper and easier to do a search online for equivalent replacement parts. I bought a Bosch cabin/pollen filter from an online supplier not long ago: cost me about £9. And I think the last oil filter I got was either Bosch or Mann, also cheaper than the Toyota/Lexus one. On the separate question of how to fix striplights or similar extra items, the choice is basically simple. Either double-sided sticky tape, or velcro strips (which also have to stick to the car-interior surface). Otherwise, the alternative is to fix the lights or accessories permanently using screws, which is not a good idea as this obviously leaves permanent holes and damage when removed

An immediate update! I have cleaned off the grease and muck, and I have managed to find the part number for this mysterious rubber grommet. It is 90950-01809. And a quick online search reveals that it is described as a "Flywheel Inspection Cover". Evidently it fits the 1JZ engine in various Lexus and Toyota models. That's the good news. The less encouraging news is that it seems hard to source. Ebay lists suppliers in the US, Poland and Latvia, with the price anywhere upwards of £25. My local Toyota dealer quotes £23. It looks as if I can order it from Amayama for about £12 inc delivery to UK...... Can anyone suggest a better deal from a UK supplier?

I've been spending the last few fine days under the car. My 2002 IS300 SportCross was in need of some cleaning up and rust-removal, so I've been applying Lanoguard (but I'll leave comments on that for a separate post). I removed the various plastic undertrays/shields in order to inspect and access the underside of the car. Incidentally these undertrays seem to do a decent protection job. But while looking around the engine/transmission/driveline down the middle of the car, I noticed a very large rubber grommet - it is actually a blanking plug - fitted into the mounting bracket (or is it part of the casting of the engine block?) just forward of what I would call the flywheel (or the torque converter.?). And this 'grommet' was slightly ill-fitting - see photos. The lower lip is slightly buckled, and clearly some oil seeps out because the insulation padding on the undertray is oil-soaked. It looks as if the grommet covers a hole which gives access to the bolts on the flywheel itself, presumably necessary if removing/dismantling the transmission. Anyway, I pulled this grommet out. I noticed two things. First, it isn't exactly oval in shape: it is very slightly U-shaped, so will only fit one-way up. Second, the inside of the rubber surface had two fairly substantial "grooves" worn into it. See last pic. I can only guess that this must have been done by the heads of the bolts on the flywheel as it rotates. Now here's the question. What exactly is the part number of this grommet, as it seems sensible to replace it? It is clearly a very specific part, not a standard oval or circular grommet, because of its unique slightly curved shape. But I cannot find it in any of the various parts-catalogues I have looked at (including the Amayama website). It doesn't seem to be listed or shown in any illustrated parts-diagram.

Haven't been on the forum for a while, so I've only just caught up with this thread. Thanks, @ColinBarber for that advice and warning. I think I had also discovered that little technical point in something else I had read.... Anyway, time for an update. I have a really good local bodyshop so I turned to them. And (though it wasn't exactly cheap) I managed to source headlamp, washer, actuator, nozzle etc from Lexus Parts Direct aka Fish Brothers down in Swindon, who were very helpful. So my SportCross is restored to a decent state again. Now that the winter is over I'm getting it ready for some serious travelling in the coming months....

I just happened to come across a post recently which mentioned the sad news that Tony Bones of Wheels In Motion, the real expert in sorting out IS200/300 suspension geometry, had passed away in February 2022. Tony was the source of all wisdom on steering geometry, suspension tuning and wheel alignment. He actually re-worked and corrected the standard Lexus factory settings for IS200/300, which were wrong and resulted in unusual tyre wear. I think he also did similar work on various other marques, and was well known and respected by a number of owners' clubs. A very sad loss. I took my IS300 SportCross to his premises in Chesham years ago for adjustment, and what a difference it made. I was just reflecting on whether I ought to revisit for a checkup (it's a long trip for me) when I discovered that he had gone. So now I wonder: as Wheels In Motion itself has apparently ceased trading, or rebranded itself as Blackboots, and has apparently been taken over by ProTyre, is there anybody still there - or indeed anywhere else - who has the full details, and a technical understanding, of the modified settings which Tony Bones worked out and applied?

My IS300 SportCross recently suffered a minor impact which cracked the nearside corner of the main front panel. That whole bumper-panel has to be replaced - which is not too big a task. But there are two other bits of damage which seem minor but might prove expensive. I've noticed that although the headlight looks fine, the plastic 'bracket' piece at the top inner corner, where it bolts to the bodywork, has cracked or sheared (see photo). I suppose I could try to re-glue it with JBWeld or something similar but I am not sure that will be strong or stable enough. The alternative may be to replace the entire headlamp unit - and a new HID unit costs some £265 unless anyone can suggest a better, cheaper source.... The other headache is the headlamp washer on that side. The cap has gone, and the pop-up spray nozzle thingy to which the cap was fixed has clearly been damaged. From a study of various parts-lists and websites, it looks as if, when the bumper panel is removed, I may need to replace the "actuator sub-assembly" (p/n 85208-53020, I think), the little plastic bracket or frame in which the cap or spray-nozzle sits (8572-53020) and the cap itself. It seems as if the actuator sub assembly may be hard to find and/or very expensive. I might simply do without the washer facility and cap the hole in the bumper. Is that possible? It seems that even finding the cap, and the frame or bracket into which it fits, may be a challenge. Can anybody offer thoughts/advice? I read this very old forum post which dates from 2009, and I'm not sure whether the parts can still be found....

Thanks again, Len.... Yes, like you I had done a bit of searching online, and I had seen references to the "flap" and foam filters supposedly on the top of the rear part of the headlight unit. But I cannot see or find any such flap or filters as I look at my car's lights. I have also looked very closely at whatever photos and diagrams I can find online of the rear of the unit. None seems to show or point to any such flap. I ended up wondering if this flap and filter only existed on certain models - or maybe only on non-HiD systems (I think the IS200, for example has different light units). If anyone reading this can point to a picture which shows this flap and filter, I'd be very interested! I had also considered the possibility that a bulb may not be correctly or fully in place. It is really difficult to access the bulbs, other than the side-light one which I have removed and refitted a couple of times. I don't think any of the others have ever been removed or replaced. A badly-located bulb seems unlikely to be the route for moisture to get in, though of course I can't rule it out totally... Definitely no question of front-end impact. I've had the car for almost 10 years, there was one previous owner, and I have all the history. Tracing a tiny leak, a seal failure, or perhaps a hairline crack in the plastic (which I suppose is what I'm trying to do) is a real challenge!

Thanks Len - good to have the opportunity to discuss this problem. To answer your questions.... the problem is only with the left (passenger side) unit. The one on the right is fine and never shows any condensation irrespective of weather conditions. And I cannot see any chip, crack or hole anywhere on either the front 'glass', or in what I can see of the plastic moulded 'body' of the unit. So I can't work out how the moisture is getting in. The condensation doesn't seem to clear (or not very much) with the lights on. I haven't tried an extended period on high beam though. Do the HiD bulbs generate a lot of heat? I've done a bit of internet research. It seems that halogen bulbs - which have a filament which glows when hot - generate a lot of 'radiant' heat which then heats up the glass in front of it. HiD bulbs themselves do run hotter (in simple terms the light comes from a "plasma arc" within the bulb - like lightning or an arc welder - which has huge voltage). But HiD lamps have a lens or shield in front, so the heat is apparently not transferred forward or outward to the same extent. There is definitely no discolouration of the front 'glass' (the transparent lamp cover). I dried out the unit thoroughly by removing the sidelight bulb and using a hairdryer and plastic tube to blow warm air into the unit. The front glass was crystal clear. The condensation disappeared. But after the car had sat outside overnight (and though it was chilly I don't think it rained much if at all) the condensation was back.... In order to examine the headlamp unit fully - or to replace it with another one from a breaker - I will have to remove it. The presence of the screenwash reservoir and filler behind the LH headlamp means there's not much room to manoeuvre. I really don't relish the idea of having to take off the front bumper panel as well as pulling the front wheel arch to do so, which is why I was looking for a simple how-to guide to getting the headlamp unit out.

Five weeks and no replies, which is a bit disappointing. I have a follow up question. Can anyone advise on how to remove a headlight, ideally without removing the front bumper panel. There is an archived guide in the forum at .... ..... but the links to the various photos/images no longer work. If anyone can explain how to access those images, I would really appreciate it!

I have a 2002 IS300 Sportcross. I have never removed the rear lamp cluster. But I attach a screenshot of the relevant part of the [US] service manual. The instructions are pretty useless, but the diagrams may help....

Just a brief comment or two, as I have a 2002 IS300 Sportcross which has also needed a replacement condenser (the original suffered a pinhole leak). I was lucky in that I have a specialist A/C technician who looks after the aircon in my various cars. It is probably wise (but not necessarily essential) to replace the dryer if the system is 'opened' to the atmosphere and other new elements - like the condenser - fitted. While @Kiefelsis right to set out all the warnings about refrigerants etc, the reference to R12 is a red herring. All Lexus vehicles since at least 2001 will have a/c with R134a, which is still legal. The golden rule is not to mix, recharge or add any other refrigerant - and definitely not to put in any of the rubbish leak-stoppers or substitute chemicals. It is vital to have a tech do a full check, draw down the system to a vacuum, and refill with the precise quantity of refrigerant (R134a) specified and- equally important - the right lubricant oil. It's also very useful, when this is done, to do a leak test. This involves the addition of a fluorescent marker to the R134a which shows up under special (U/V?) light. This is because the molecules of refrigerant are very small and - especially if the a/c isn't regularly used - can escape through joints or hoses which can become slightly porous. The refrigerant will be lost again. So no point in a simple recharge if it all leaks out in weeks! Good practice reminder: it is sensible to run the a/c regularly, all year round including winter, to keep the refrigerant and oil circulating, to keep the seals lubricated, and thus minimise the risk of leaks. And - another tip - always worth changing the cabin [pollen] filter (it's fitted behind the glovebox and easy to access). It doesn't affect the actual a/c operation; but it can get clogged up and smelly. I did mine recently and I suspect it hadn't ever been changed. For less than £10 it's an easy DIY job.