Familiar Clutch Squeal

[Britishtex]

I have the same problem as many people I have read about. There is a squealing noise when my IS200 is idling or when the clutch pedal is not pressed down. It seems to be getting more frequent. I have made an appointment with Lexus but didn't know if there were some things I needed to know before I went. I about had a heart attack when I read the pricing from people and seeing as I haven't had this car for long, hate the thought of having to spend a fortune.

Has anybody taken their IS to the dealership and actually had this problem fixed? If so, how much did it cost and is there anything I need to know before I go?

I don't have the facilities to fix the problem and even if I did, am not confident enough to actually attempt it. Thanks for any help!

[krisby1]

hmm, the wife has been saying her car is noisy when cold too, so tonight I went out and had a listen, and sure enough there is a noise, wouldn't describe it as a squeal though, but definitely disappears when clutch pressed, and apparently stops when cold, so she tells me. I don't think clutch is end of life though as the bite point is mid range.

Having the car fixed over christmas whilst we away though, had a failed attempt at the timing belt in August, so leaving it with the mechanic again to try less common ways of getting the crank bolt off, but will get him to replace fluid with MT-90 whilst he has it, I'm hoping that will get rid of the whine and smooth out the 1-2 notchiness, but I don't expect it to get rid of this odd whine at idle in neutral, but I'll let you know if it does.

[Steve]

Put the car in fifth, clutch down, start it, keep the hand brake on and slowly lift up the clutch; if it stalls before your foot is off, the clutch is fine, but could be a bearing.

Or you could have tightened a drive belt/pulley too much and it's only squeaking when there is no load on the engine...