Fed Up With My Car

[Diapason]

Hi all,

I'm starting to tire of problems with my (2000) IS200, and I'm on the verge of moving to Audi/BMW/whatever just to see if that brings any better luck. Basically, in my year and a half of ownership, this car has annoyed me more often than not. Given that I bought the car from a small dealer who I later found out doesn't have a great reputation, it's possibly a lemon. You be the judge:

1) For starters, I simply couldn't get rid of steering wheel wobble. Wheels were balanced and re-balanced at various places to no avail. I couldn't find anywhere on this fair isle who would even entertain the notion of balancing them while mounted on anything other than the centre hole. I've lived with steering wheel wobble for several months now.

2) I'm still convinced that from time to time, and sometimes for extended periods, then car doesn't drive as well as at other times. When brought it to Lexus they could find nothing wrong and the mechanic said it felt okay to him, but I'm sure I'm not imagining it. Sometimes it just feels "freer" than others. The give away is the car's response when you take your foot off the throttle. When all is going well, the car continues on as before and the engine gradually slows. On other occasions, merely lifting off the throttle feels like I've thrown an anchor out the back, as the car and engine suddenly slow. It's hard to know what mood it's going to be in on any given today. It can be "fine" for weeks, but then revert back to its sluggish behaviour for ages. It's not great for my sanity.

3) In recent months, judder on braking got worse and worse. A mechanic friend put on new discs and pads and also got another friend to balance the wheels. Surprise surprise, steering wheel wobble was greatly reduced (virtually nil except for a tiny trace around 100kmh) and it was great to have proper braking again. My happiness was short-lived. It's now about 8-10 weeks (and about 1000 miles) later and the judder is back. I haven't been doing anything untoward with the car, and I've been very careful not to sit on the brakes at traffic lights, etc.

4) There's a sound on turning left which suggests a damaged wheel-bearing.

5) My mates' cars (Saab 93, new Passat diesel, Volvo something or other) all feel quicker, more refined and sound quieter than mine.

Basically, I've pretty much had enough at this stage. Maybe I've got a lemon (quite likely, in fact) but the whole reason I bought a Lexus was because I don't want to visit the garage every couple of months. I think this car has to go, but now I'm left with the problem of what to buy instead. Budget is a priority, and definitely doesn't stretch to the new model IS. The thing is, I'm not sure I want another IS200, as I've kinda been put off. I'm tempted to look at a beemer 325 or the like, despite the fact that I never wanted to be a beemer driver.

So, there we are. I'd love to hear people's opinions on what I should do now. Should I look elsewhere for a while, maybe returning to Lexus when the bad taste is gone? Should I just pay up and get another IS200 and hope these problems were a one-off? What would you do?

Si

[Adie]

You've not damaged the actuall wheel at all???

[Russdx]

i drove audi befor nice cars

alot more gadgets i found then the lexus they got a cool little matrix display on the dash gives u ALOT of info about the car n *****

still prefer my lexus is200 tho :)

[Diapason]

You've not damaged the actuall wheel at all???

Not to the best of my knowledge, but there may be previous damage that is only now coming to light. Certainly the wheels looked round last time I saw them on a balancing machine!

Si

[1972pixie]

The brake judder could be caused by a seized calliper, which could be warping the disc.

[Moffet]

The brake judder could be caused by a seized calliper, which could be warping the disc.

A sticking caliper could also cause the performance issues you mentioned...

[Diapason]

The brake judder could be caused by a seized calliper, which could be warping the disc.

Absolutely.

I'm not disputing that the problems can be fixed -- of course they can -- but I don't want a car that requires stuff to be fixed on a regular basis, and I don't want to spend any more money or time trying to chase down problems with this car. Unfortunately, I don't have the know-how to sort these things out myself, so I'm always depending on others, which means money. My piece of s**t Polo never had anything like these problems!

Si

[swfcdan]

in reference to point 2 and maybe no help to you i think the same

but ive noticed the engine is far more resposive when i use Shell petrol and i also seem to get better MPG

[peter026]

Take it to the doctor..............Then get a GS, mine will be 10 next year,and never had so much as a wheel wobble :D

[p3ter]

Hi all,

I'm starting to tire of problems with my (2000) IS200, and I'm on the verge of moving to Audi/BMW/whatever just to see if that brings any better luck. Basically, in my year and a half of ownership, this car has annoyed me more often than not. Given that I bought the car from a small dealer who I later found out doesn't have a great reputation, it's possibly a lemon. You be the judge:

1) For starters, I simply couldn't get rid of steering wheel wobble. Wheels were balanced and re-balanced at various places to no avail. I couldn't find anywhere on this fair isle who would even entertain the notion of balancing them while mounted on anything other than the centre hole. I've lived with steering wheel wobble for several months now.

2) I'm still convinced that from time to time, and sometimes for extended periods, then car doesn't drive as well as at other times. When brought it to Lexus they could find nothing wrong and the mechanic said it felt okay to him, but I'm sure I'm not imagining it. Sometimes it just feels "freer" than others. The give away is the car's response when you take your foot off the throttle. When all is going well, the car continues on as before and the engine gradually slows. On other occasions, merely lifting off the throttle feels like I've thrown an anchor out the back, as the car and engine suddenly slow. It's hard to know what mood it's going to be in on any given today. It can be "fine" for weeks, but then revert back to its sluggish behaviour for ages. It's not great for my sanity.

3) In recent months, judder on braking got worse and worse. A mechanic friend put on new discs and pads and also got another friend to balance the wheels. Surprise surprise, steering wheel wobble was greatly reduced (virtually nil except for a tiny trace around 100kmh) and it was great to have proper braking again. My happiness was short-lived. It's now about 8-10 weeks (and about 1000 miles) later and the judder is back. I haven't been doing anything untoward with the car, and I've been very careful not to sit on the brakes at traffic lights, etc.

4) There's a sound on turning left which suggests a damaged wheel-bearing.

5) My mates' cars (Saab 93, new Passat diesel, Volvo something or other) all feel quicker, more refined and sound quieter than mine.

Basically, I've pretty much had enough at this stage. Maybe I've got a lemon (quite likely, in fact) but the whole reason I bought a Lexus was because I don't want to visit the garage every couple of months. I think this car has to go, but now I'm left with the problem of what to buy instead. Budget is a priority, and definitely doesn't stretch to the new model IS. The thing is, I'm not sure I want another IS200, as I've kinda been put off. I'm tempted to look at a beemer 325 or the like, despite the fact that I never wanted to be a beemer driver.

So, there we are. I'd love to hear people's opinions on what I should do now. Should I look elsewhere for a while, maybe returning to Lexus when the bad taste is gone? Should I just pay up and get another IS200 and hope these problems were a one-off? What would you do?

Si

A number of years ago I had an identical problem to yours on a brand new Ford.Eventually after many re-balances the problem was completely solved by a tyre expert who had seen this problem before. Each tyre was removed from the wheel and between about half a pint to a pint of water was removed from each wheel.Apparantly tyres are filled with air at the point of manufacture not via the normal valve but via something that fits between the tyre and the rim. This enables a tyre to be inflated in next to no time by high volume air pressure lines. These lines pass vast amounts of air and they have water traps in them to remove the moisture from the air .If the traps are not emptied at the correct intervals ,hey presto, a tyre filled with air and water that produces exactly what your getting. I don't know if this is your problem but your symptons are so similar to the ones I had it may be worth a look.

Peter.

[dangerous brain]

I know how it feels to be ****** off with a particular car. Especially if its your only way of getting to work (one of the reasons I have always had at least one spare car for over 5 years now). A mate of mine recently had a tyre problem with judder just like you describe. He put new tyres on and it was still the same. Transpires it was still the tyres. Not sure where his tyres came from or yours either.

What I would do if I was you.

Find someone that will swap you a known good set of wheels and take your car for a drive.

If that produces the same symptoms you can rule out the wheels.

Then look at the brake calipers http://www.brakesint.co.uk/ These people do very good prices on calipers.

My bet is on a sticky caliper here. I'll tell you why. WHen you brake a fair amount of heat is generated. If you brake heavily and then at the end of the braking run hold the brake pedal down what will happen is this: the heat you just put into the disc will start to rapidly dissapate, the area where the brake pads are still in contact with the disc is insulated from the cooling air and will not cool as fast as the rest of the disc. brake discs are only made from cheap cast iron and the disc will micromecally distort around the hot/cooler area. Do this enough and the disc will warp causing wheel wobble.

Stock supra J-spec brakes are notorius for this. Now I am not saying you do this kind of braking but a sticky caliper is going to cause the same problem. Couple that to the fact that you feel like you are losing performance and I'd be tempted to go out on a limb and say you have at least one dodgy caliper.

[tyrrp]

So, there we are. I'd love to hear people's opinions on what I should do now. Should I look elsewhere for a while, maybe returning to Lexus when the bad taste is gone? Should I just pay up and get another IS200 and hope these problems were a one-off? What would you do?

Si

There is an IS 300 for sale in Lexus in Galway. Would be a nice upgrade if the money was right.

IS 300 Galway

[Diapason]

Thank you all for the feedback. I am now pretty much intent on getting a new car one way or the other, but the question is should I get another Lexus? Am I to take it that the general view is that I've just been unlucky and should stick with another IS for the time being?

I'd spotted that IS300 in Galway, tyrrp. In fact, I've been eyeing it for a while. There are a few things that would put me off, though. First of all, the 300 seems extremely difficult to shift in this country, so I don't know if I'd ever be able to sell it on. Secondly, I'm not sure that I want an auto, even with the flappy paddles. Finally, I'm not sure I'm willing to pay €1109 in tax every year!! :o

I recently spoke to a Lexus dealer who suggested I should trade in my own car, get a newer one with the spec that I want (leathers, etc.), and get a super-charger put on. That sounds tempting, but I just want to be sure I'm not going to be facing these little balancing/brakes/temperamental sluggishness problems again. I want someone to tell me my experience so far is unusual and that if I buy another I'll be delighted...

Go on, save me from BMW!!!

Si

[tyrrp]

Thank you all for the feedback. I am now pretty much intent on getting a new car one way or the other, but the question is should I get another Lexus? Am I to take it that the general view is that I've just been unlucky and should stick with another IS for the time being?

I'd spotted that IS300 in Galway, tyrrp. In fact, I've been eyeing it for a while. There are a few things that would put me off, though. First of all, the 300 seems extremely difficult to shift in this country, so I don't know if I'd ever be able to sell it on. Secondly, I'm not sure that I want an auto, even with the flappy paddles. Finally, I'm not sure I'm willing to pay €1109 in tax every year!! :o

I recently spoke to a Lexus dealer who suggested I should trade in my own car, get a newer one with the spec that I want (leathers, etc.), and get a super-charger put on. That sounds tempting, but I just want to be sure I'm not going to be facing these little balancing/brakes/temperamental sluggishness problems again. I want someone to tell me my experience so far is unusual and that if I buy another I'll be delighted...

Go on, save me from BMW!!!

Si

Right then. I'll be the one to say it. You are just unlucky.

I got a 01 executive at the begining of the year and it is faultless. Only thing that has happened is the beading on the leather of the drivers seat has snapped but it is 5 years old. Car is completely silent.

Now as a comparison my wife drives a 01 318 which has almost the same engine size (a 4 pot though). It creaks and squeeks. Has no power off the mark and wallows around (just passed the NCT though).

It's up to you.

(have to agree about the IS300 though. The only thing that put me off was the yearly road tax. Auto doesn't bother me though as my 200 is. My opinion is that if someone was kind enough to invent something to save me energy then I should use it. Also, anyone can match the 0-60 quoted for an auto but only the best drives can match a manuals)

[crazylex]

I haven't read all the replies, but I would say that you have a sticking caliper.

This would explain poor acceleration, but more or less definately explains why when you take your foot off the throttle you hit your head on thesteering wheel. I had the same problem - and so have others.

What happens when you are on a very slight slope. Does it roll ? When you are moving very slowly, say up to a car infront at lights does it grab ?

Probably explain why you have wheel wobble also. The front calipers have two pistons, if one is sticking it will "throw" the caliper off balance hence the wobble.

If the caliper is sticking you would also get a clunking noise when turning at very slow speeds when manouvering to park etc.

As for changing - I did and would not go back . But ......... I still drool at the look of an IS200/300

[Diapason]

I haven't read all the replies, but I would say that you have a sticking caliper.

This would explain poor acceleration, but more or less definately explains why when you take your foot off the throttle you hit your head on thesteering wheel.

Thanks crazylex, but I should have said this earlier: If I engage the clutch this doesn't happen. Car rolls normally on slopes from what I can tell, and I've tried jacking the car up and the wheels spin freely when you turn them. I thought for ages it was a caliper problem, but the evidence now suggests that it isn't. Well, there may be caliper problems, but I don't think that's the full story.

If the caliper is sticking you would also get a clunking noise when turning at very slow speeds when manouvering to park etc.

Never had a problem with that, to be honest, and I've been listening carefully!!

As for changing - I did and would not go back . But ......... I still drool at the look of an IS200/300

Interesting that you say that. Personally, I no longer drool for it, and truth be told I think it looks a little dated. However, I always liked the interior (controversial I know) and for some reason Audi/Beemer interiors leave me cold.

I should probably just test-drive lots of things and see if that leads me back to Lexus. It may, and I'm somewhat encouraged by the feedback in this thread.

Si

[Y2Kanjar]

Hi all,

I'm starting to tire of problems with my (2000) IS200, and I'm on the verge of moving to Audi/BMW/whatever just to see if that brings any better luck. Basically, in my year and a half of ownership, this car has annoyed me more often than not. Given that I bought the car from a small dealer who I later found out doesn't have a great reputation, it's possibly a lemon. You be the judge:

1) For starters, I simply couldn't get rid of steering wheel wobble. Wheels were balanced and re-balanced at various places to no avail. I couldn't find anywhere on this fair isle who would even entertain the notion of balancing them while mounted on anything other than the centre hole. I've lived with steering wheel wobble for several months now.

2) I'm still convinced that from time to time, and sometimes for extended periods, then car doesn't drive as well as at other times. When brought it to Lexus they could find nothing wrong and the mechanic said it felt okay to him, but I'm sure I'm not imagining it. Sometimes it just feels "freer" than others. The give away is the car's response when you take your foot off the throttle. When all is going well, the car continues on as before and the engine gradually slows. On other occasions, merely lifting off the throttle feels like I've thrown an anchor out the back, as the car and engine suddenly slow. It's hard to know what mood it's going to be in on any given today. It can be "fine" for weeks, but then revert back to its sluggish behaviour for ages. It's not great for my sanity.

3) In recent months, judder on braking got worse and worse. A mechanic friend put on new discs and pads and also got another friend to balance the wheels. Surprise surprise, steering wheel wobble was greatly reduced (virtually nil except for a tiny trace around 100kmh) and it was great to have proper braking again. My happiness was short-lived. It's now about 8-10 weeks (and about 1000 miles) later and the judder is back. I haven't been doing anything untoward with the car, and I've been very careful not to sit on the brakes at traffic lights, etc.

4) There's a sound on turning left which suggests a damaged wheel-bearing.

5) My mates' cars (Saab 93, new Passat diesel, Volvo something or other) all feel quicker, more refined and sound quieter than mine.

Basically, I've pretty much had enough at this stage. Maybe I've got a lemon (quite likely, in fact) but the whole reason I bought a Lexus was because I don't want to visit the garage every couple of months. I think this car has to go, but now I'm left with the problem of what to buy instead. Budget is a priority, and definitely doesn't stretch to the new model IS. The thing is, I'm not sure I want another IS200, as I've kinda been put off. I'm tempted to look at a beemer 325 or the like, despite the fact that I never wanted to be a beemer driver.

So, there we are. I'd love to hear people's opinions on what I should do now. Should I look elsewhere for a while, maybe returning to Lexus when the bad taste is gone? Should I just pay up and get another IS200 and hope these problems were a one-off? What would you do?

Si

Dude I have the same symptoms on my ford... but I know the reason why it's doing it.

I crashed my car (in a bad way) and got it repaired on the cheap. So all the setting and liniments are fcuked. well that’s what I think .

You should sell it to on or dump it and buy another Lexus to get he full experiace

[Diapason]

You should sell it to on or dump it and buy another Lexus to get he full experiace

Yes I'm starting to come to that conclusion alright. I'm especially taken with the idea of getting one and adding a supercharger, so it doesn't just feel like I've paid big money to buy the same car...

Si

[Y2Kanjar]

i do would go for superchared lex but i can't aford the insurance. i'm getting shot of mine and hoping to get a IS200, what will you get know

[fatpieman69]

There's nothing worse than having your confidence undermined by a dodgey product. maybe there is something wrong that many will not be able to find so you will never get it right unless you see the right person at the right time. It certainly looks like you've tried everything! I brought a lexus IS200 off e bay in feb, I am no mecanic but all i did was drive it, looked at everything I could think of (buying guide on this forum) checking its service book and doing a check that it was not an insurance write off (e-bay can provide the reports) and drove it home. I have had no problems. I didn't have to spend any money on it since I got it (I'm fussy so had the wheels refurbed and scratches removed) It's gone straight trough it's MOT yesterday and I love driving it whenever I get the chance. I wouldn't swap mine for a BMW or a merc (Audi's are the best german car but just a bit bland IMHO). Like you, I like to be different. If I was in your position and worried I would perchase one from a lexus dealership and if there's any problems they will sort it, if they don't Lexus GB will.

Please don't let your experiance put you off completely but anyone on here will understand if you did change to another make.

try a GS if you don't want to 'spend money to have the same car'.

hope you get your problems sorted in good time.

Craig

[Y2Kanjar]

I wouldn't swap mine for a BMW or a merc (Audi's are the best german car but just a bit bland IMHOCraig

would you swap it form my ford mondeo...:)

[fatpieman69]

I wouldn't swap mine for a BMW or a merc (Audi's are the best german car but just a bit bland IMHOCraig

would you swap it form my ford mondeo...:)

perhaps not but I'd be tempted if they bring out the IOSIS! I think all fords are looking pretty good but Ive known loads with reliability issues.

[Y2Kanjar]

perhaps not but I'd be tempted if they bring out the IOSIS! I think all fords are looking pretty good but Ive known loads with reliability issues.

Well the one i have had has never given be problems - apart from the once i have made...:) i was looking in to ford but i'm sick of them now.....

so no swap... it's only 11 years old and got 182,000 on it. you'd be mad to miss out on a bargin...:)

[fatpieman69]

perhaps not but I'd be tempted if they bring out the IOSIS! I think all fords are looking pretty good but Ive known loads with reliability issues.

Well the one i have had has never given be problems - apart from the once i have made...:) i was looking in to ford but i'm sick of them now.....

so no swap... it's only 11 years old and got 182,000 on it. you'd be mad to miss out on a bargin...:)

Nah, sorry. I love my IS.

many thanks for the offer though.

[Y2Kanjar]

it was worth a try.....

it's so hard to find a lexus......