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Pro's And Con's Of Running An Is300


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Directed to the IS300 owners really, but opinions welcome from others.

I realise the overall downside could be fuel ecomomy..... But has anyone ever had any major problems with their IS300? If so what was the problem and how much did it cost to fix and at what milage did te problem occur?

Things like auto transmission, are they reliable on high milage is300's etc ?

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Hi,

Im putting my neck on the line as ive not looked through the IS posts but id say you will get more power/Torque for your money but with same sort of mpg as the 2 Litre IS200 Engine,if i was buying a IS id go for the 3 Litre version :)

Nowadays as long as the Autobox hasnt been abused Eg,put into gear with lots of revs dialed in then smacked into gear(sure way of knackering the box)then you wont go wrong with a Autobox.

If you do buy a Auto version,to be on the safe side have the oil changed when you buy it,you really shouldnt get any trouble :)

Chips..

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Some minor niggles with auto levelling light sensors.

Fuel consumption is about 2 mpg less than auto IS200.

IS200 front strut braces dont fit.

Other than that A+++++ :D

Love the signature mate!!! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Nov 2005 - LOC Tank Starter Award

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I also moved from an IS200 auto to the IS300 auto. As mentioned in a prevoius post the auto levelling headlights gave some problems but the sensors were changed under warranty, apparantly some water had got into them, a common problem so I was told. Rear tyres seem to wear quicker (more power probably) and the usual IS problem of front tyre inner wear. Apart from that a brilliant car. Would not go back to a 200 now.

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I did 23,500 miles in my IS 300 between November '02 and April '05 and did not encounter any major problems.

The auto gearbox has been trouble free and I did use the semi-auto function and steering wheel buttons quite a lot, although not abusing it.

Fuel economy was pretty similar to an IS 200 auto.

The only unscheduled visit to the dealer was for a front wheel alignment. Car was pulling to one side quite seriously and it turned out to be a slow puncture. Both front tyres changed and the problem became worse... Lexus dealer did a check and re-alinged the front wheels and things didn't improve at all (costing £100+). A visit to Kwik-Fit and they re-aligned it for £10... problem solved!!

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As above.

Done 40K in mine, only problems have been headlight leveling (faulty sensor, replaced under warranty at 3rd attempt!) and sticky rear calipers.

Economy is about 2mpg less than the IS200 manual I had before.

Insurance was only about £60 more.

Servicing roughly the same.

No complaints - great car to drive.

I think the AT is pretty much regarded as bulletproof.

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only think i missed was the manual box, but hey wasnt to big a deal...

And there's a VB upgrade kit available that upshifts 36% faster than standard :D

Is there an echo in here or have you been on too much sun and stella Mike :)

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I went from a 200 to 300 and the 300 felt like a completely different car! Over 2 years of ownership never had a single thing go wrong, actually the car never missed a beat. I recently sold it for a bmw ZM Roadster which is quick, but the is300 is no slouch in comparison as it has quite a nice amount of low end torque. Fuel wise I noticed a few mpg difference from the is200 - no big deal. The best thing was the smoothness of the engine, it effortlessly makes good progress without having to work too hard, this meant you can cover huge distances without feeling at all tired. I must admit I miss it a bit. Good luck in your hunt for one.

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our beauty is 3 yrs old now. low'ish mileage at 25k. we swapped up from a 3 yr old IS200SE.

no problems whatsoever with the 300. the alloys were replaced under warranty a couple of months ago. approx 5 MPG less than the 200, servicing not that different & insurance about £70 more.

i normally start looking around again as the 3 yr mark comes up ('bored with that now, NEED something new to play with' syndrome!) BUT, love her to bits & it's going to be something REALLY special that gets me to change!

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