Gruntfuggly

Thanks Ian - I'll take a look tomorrow.

I just had a look on the OEM head unit and there doesn't seem to be a socket for it? Have I accidentally disconnected it?

Ah - I think I've seen it. Do you know if I can get away with connecting it to the switched output (blue and white) from the headunit?

I replaced my head unit with an after market Pioneer, using an amp bypass cable. It all works fine, however, the MW/FM reception is now pants, which I am assuming is because the aerial is no longer getting power? Does anybody know which wire from the original loom carries the power?

Cheers - I think I might just go for one of them!

Oh hang on - it looks like this one is £42 because it's already painted - they'll do one in any colour for £135...

Doh! That's exactly what I want (except in black). Why couldn't I find that when I looked? My eBay foo must be deserting me... Thanks for the link - I've sent a question to see if they have a black one, but it says its the last one unfortunately.

I've been looking at the standard grille on my car and I can't help thinking it's a bit of a minger. Why did they not use the same mesh pattern as the lower grille? Has anybody had any experience with one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-2005-LEXUS-IS300-JDM-ALTEZZA-ABS-BLACK-1PC-MESH-GRILLE-GRILL-01-05-NEW-/370883838607?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item565a66428f

I'm no mechanic, but I reckon that might be either the exhaust gasket or maybe a cracked exhaust manifold. I had virtually exactly the same noise as that on my Calibra, which turned out to be a cracked manifold.

I think I must have a car that's been well looked after cos I'm getting 440+ out of a tank without trying too hard. My journey is 35 miles each way and 50% dual carriage way/motorway and 25% B roads. It's only done 50k and my driving style isn't particularly conservative - maybe I should try an ultra conservative tank and see what it will do...

If you can wait a couple of weeks, I'll be swapping the head unit of mine for an aftermarket - so you could have the leads if you want them...

I'm waiting for the new lead to arrive - the suspense is killing me... No sat nav, but I'm hoping that means it's easy to fit. :)

Ah - should have done some more research: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/82809-lexus-is200-stereo-harness-adapter Looks like that's what I need. So what is the problem with the autoleads one? Think I'll get the decent on anyway...

OK, so I got the dremel out and some glue and managed to cobble it all together, but when I went to attach the wiring adaptor it was the wrong one!? The connector in the car has small pins, and there is only one connector. The adaptor that came with my kit has two connector and the pins are quite thick. Could somebody do me a massive favour and point me at the correct adaptor on eBay? (and I hope it's not the one that's currently on at £1000 - wtf?)

Well mine's black, so I've got to vote for that. :D

OK - thanks for that. I was starting to worry. I've emailed the shop I got it from and got a standard "we've sold hundreds and this is the first one that's been a problem" response, so I've asked if they'll look at some photos to confirm I'm not making a mountain out of a molehill...

That looks exactly the same as the one I've got - did you have any of the issues I've had? I hope it's not just me being incompetent. I've fitted plenty of head units in the past, but you never know...

Sorry to bring this up again, but searching didn't really reveal any answers for me. I've just bought an adaptor kit to fit a standard head unit, but although the kit looks well made on the surface, when I tried to put it together I had several problems. First, the attachment of the lower 'pocket' to the front of the surround is rubbish - the bits where the screws go in are semi circular so hardly grip at all - the pocket just fell off again when I was putting the cage in. Second, there is hardly any material for the cage tabs to engage with - the top part is so thin that none of the tabs worked - this is a standard Pioneer cage with plenty of tabs too. The sides of the surround are the opposite - too much material so that none of the tabs can even be bent. Lastly the gap for the cage itself is too big - there is a gap of about 1-2 mm above the cage. Has anybody else had these sort of problems? From looking on eBay and the links people of posted on here, the kits all look like they come from the same supplier, so I'm worried they are all the same. I was really disappointed because I wanted to get the new head unit fitted last night, and it felt like I was assembling some really poor quality parts. I would be ashamed to put them in the car - I could just imaging the whole lot rattling and squeaking away, when the rest of the car is so well put together it's almost silent!

Well the airbag warning light turned out to be a lose connector in the center console - the garage I bought it from sorted it out, which was handy. Now that's fixed, I'm much happier. Ordered a new stereo - although I'm surprised how good the factory kit sounds. Just seems like something from the stone age with a cassette deck! Anyone got any good advice for fitting a DAB aerial? I'm considering a glass mount, but I'm worried the rear window heater is going to be a problem. I could try a magnetic mount on the boot, but I'm not sure that will be great either. The last option would be a proper panel mounted aerial somewhere, but I'm not particularly comfortable with the idea of some audio shop making holes in the body....

Not sure if this is the correct place to post this? I got fed up with having to find the "Mark Community Read" link on another IPB based forum when I'd read everything, so I wrote a Chrome extension that adds a button in the URL bar to do the same thing. Anyway, I just noticed it works on this forum too. If anybody wants it, you can install it here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mark-all-as-read/nliklkiohhibhjmaieekoajmpkmajick Might be useful for somebody else too!

I just bought one off eBay for a bit less than that, but to be honest there's not really anything in there that I hadn't worked out from just playing with the car. Could have probably not bothered. Do you want it for "completeness" or just to look at? If you just want to borrow it, I could post it to you....

Hi Guys - thanks for the welcome! I'm glad to hear it's 'normal'. As you say Chris, it doesn't do it if I change carefully - perhaps a more chilled driving style is the way to go B) I'll see if I can upload a few pics later. In the meantime, I've got a couple more questions if you don't mind? - is there a way to make the windows go up and down without needing to hold the button down the whole time? On my old Calibra, if you hold the button down for a few seconds once its got to the bottom, it enables it - I was wondering if there is something similar? - what are the two round 'nubbin' things on the dash in front of the steering wheel? I'm assuming it's sensors for the automatic lights? I've ordered a handbook off eBay (it didn't come with one and I couldn't find a download) so I guess these questions can be answered soon anyway...

Hello everybody Just bought an IS200 sport last week. Only 51k on a 52 plate. I'm very pleased with it, but I've got a couple of questions. When shifting up from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd, theres a low quiet thunk from the gearbox. Is that normal? It's not there shifting down, and it might be there in the higher gears, but I haven't noticed it. Secondly, the airbag light comes on after a driving for a while (half hour or so). It's going back to the garage for them to check it, but I was just wondering if anybody has had anything similar? Cheers, Nige