sjrainsford

Nope, it shouldn't be an earth cable going under the car. Earths are never very long on a car as the body is earth. You need to be checking key electric points such as inside the car, in case you've had water ingress. Especially if you've driven through water!

You could try disconnecting the EFI fuse for a few minutes to clear the fault to start with. If it returns you''ll need to get the code read to find out what the problem is.

Yes, running too high pressure alters the tyre contact patch on the road. The car will be more likely to slide with higher pressures. But if you hit ice, sometimes there's just no way out!

@Noby76 Flippin eck, I didn't realise the IS300 was that good on fuel!

I love my IS and will be sorry to see it go when I collect my company car in January. Have got to be honest I can't fault it. The 4 speed auto is lovely. Personally speaking it could really have done with an extra gear ratio, but not high up like most would expect. 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears are all great. Floor it and it hangs on to 3rd gear until about 100mph. 1st is the only real problem. Or rather the difference between 1st and 2nd. The revs drop too much during hard acceleration off the line. But if you're not chasing 0-60 times then don't worry. It'l still beat most cars off the lights and when at cruising speeds all you need do is push the pedal to the floor and the car takes off. I run in ECT-PWR mode rather than normal mode as the gearbox just behaves nicer and is more willing to change. It feels laggy otherwise. I've not noticed any increase in fuel consumption doing this either. It's been in that mode for about 6 months now. Plus ours tows our caravan great too. My average over the last 12 months is 28mpg. (every fill up recorded in software, including when having towed). And, as is the case with most IS's I presume, it's just so easy to own and live with. The only problem I've had is needing a new radiator (£55) and lambda sensor. Fuel and insurance aside, it's genuinely cheap to run. If I wasn't getting a company car, i'd run mine until it died. It's done 145k miles now and showing no signs of being anywhere near death yet. Reckon it's got as much power as when it had 50k on the clock.

Remove the wheels and give your hubs a clean with a wire brush. Then clean the seating faces of the wheels too. If the wheel(s) haven't seated correctly after they did your tyres or whatever then this can cause your vibration.

It shouldn't be the car. As in, mine is fine and I've checked the supply etc. It's worth checking there isn't anything wrong with the supply in your car in case something else is slightly iffy. To be honest though, I'd doubt it. I notice you're in Staffordshire somewhere, I'm near Lichfield and an electrical engineer. You'd be more than welcome to pop over if you wanted a second opinion and for me to drop my meter on to check everything is ok. As said before, there's no problem with the wiring on the IS200. The only issue is with the automatic headlight system, which can be damaged with HID lighting. This causes the healights to stick on normally though.

If they don't calm down after being on for a while then not normally. Also, don't leave your lights in Auto mode if using HIDs as they fry the ecu relay contacts.

I'd say it's more likely that if you don't see the fault coming up any more, then it was the fact that the car was stood for 4 months.

it will be the ballasts. Normally they may flicker a little just after ignition, but should be stable after a couple of minutes. if not, send them back.

I'd probably have a quick nose at the wiring to the sensor, as that one is quite exposed underneath the car. It's nothing to worry about day to day though, as they are only used for checking that the cat is working correctly, so don't directly effect fueling normally.

You need to remove the surround that goes all round the gear stick if I remember right, then you can get to the gear selector assembly. The electric mirror switch doesn't light up, neither do the window switches other than the Auto bit you mentioned.

In the sides like where the jack sits you will find a rubber bung in each. Remove them as the very first thing you do. Then it's more often than not the vents that exit out of those sides at about boot floor level. You just need to bung a load of silicone sealant round them. You can do it in situ, or it's easier if you can remove the bumper as you can pop them out and re-seal them properly then. If not the boot lid seal is another common one.

Hiya. As far as I'm aware, there isn't one on the IS200. The auto gearbox is controlled by the engine ecu, therefore the throttle position sensor can be used to tell where the pedal is. So in theory, a kick down switch isn't needed. Modern autos don't really need them. If I put pedal to the metal so to speak, I don't feel any change in the pedal but the car still drops to the lowest possible gear. If it's a cable operated accelerator on yours like on the IS200, then perhaps check it is all adjusted correctly.

Hiya, you've posted this in the wrong section. This is for the Mk1 Lexus IS. However, they don't show unless you have text encoded CD's. So you either need to burn them yourself, or use pre-purchased text CDs.

Yes, they don't tow too bad at all really. Mine will sit at 60mph all day long with our 4 berth on the back. The bulb failure may not cause you a problem. It starts to be a problem when you get bulbs go, for some reason after a replacement bulb is fitted it doesn't want to reset. Mine may have just failed.

Mine is now on 141k miles and runs perfect, and fully expect it to continue to do so. If you're looking at a 5 year plan though, you need to work out how much money you're really going to save. If you buy a smaller diesel you're more than likely going to spend more money buying it, so you'll need to do lots of miles to make that back - not to mention what you'll loose in depreciation. Your lexus has done all of it's depreciation now, and it won't go much lower. I personally say, it's not really worth it financially for the small amount you may save over the next 5 years. Don't forget other running costs too, the Lexus won't cost a lot as they don't go wrong much. But a Peugeot? Well that's another story!!

Oh well, it's nearly time to part company with my lovely IS200. Have got a promotion at work which means I'll be getting a company car. So keep your eyes open for those wanting an SE Auto with tow bar, xenons and ipod connectivity!

Yes it's not too bad. Any other questions let me know. All of the wires are on the left hand side of the boot. You'll need to take off the wheel arch area covering. Then the vast majority of lighting wires are right below the left hand tail light. The fog light feed is further back in the loom going to the boot lid. Also whilst you're there, the bulb failure detection box is hidden above the wheel arch. It pays to disable this whilst you're at it, as the extra electrics mix it up. I'm at work at the moment so can't remember which one, but you'll need to cut a cable or two going to it. You can't just unplug it. The tow bar itself is just a number of bolts. You'll need to remove the exhaust back box for access too. In the boot itself there's some box section rails, these are drilled through then a larger hole drilled in the top bit only so a sleeve can be fitted through. The instructions are pretty good. If you were closer you could have popped over and had a nose at mine to see what you're up against.

I fitted one nearly 12 months ago. I bought this one from PF Jones. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Witter-Towbar-for-Lexus-IS200-Saloon-1999-2005-Flange-Tow-Bar-/271100180808?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Touring_Travel&hash=item3f1ed47948 Good service, and not too difficult to fit if doing it yourself. It needs two mixed size holes drilling (which is a little tricky). The rest just uses existing fixings. I didn't bother with caravan electrics even though I tow a caravan. Just use the standard lighting electrics. That side is also easy enough to fit too as you don't need a bypass relay. What weight caravan will you be towing? The IS200 can do upto 1200kg if I remember correctly. It tows our 4 birth one that weighs about 1100kg fully loaded really well.

Yes, I'd doubt the O2 sensors being at fault on the basis that there are two for normal running (one per bank). I'd say the chances of both being faulty is pretty low, but obviously not impossible. It would know if one was faulty against the other and tell you. There is of course the post cat sensor, but that isn't worth worrying about in this instance. I'd be tempted to give your base sensors a quick test though, such as air and water temp and manifold vacuum etc. These play a huge part in the way the car runs. But I am surprised you're not getting any form of DTC set, the Toyota/ Lexus system is normally quite good an recognizing rough running. Also the VVTi system may be worth checking over.

Quick question, what's leading you to think there's a problem with your O2 sensors? And in response to your question, I have a similar one to the second one that was posted. You'll find most of them are similar, and it works fine with my Lex. They don't support live data though. The one you're looking at looks good for the money. I'd say it should work if my cheapo one does.

Same happens if you open the door if I remember right.

Ooh matron!

Yes, you can buy Toyota red direct from them.