Lexus Is 200 Giving Off Heat

OmadMac31 · July 29, 2009

Hey, I'm a newbie here!

Ok so I have a Lexus IS200, 04 model, Manual, LSD. Love it! I have it a coupe of months now, bought it from a Lexus dealer.

It's my first Lexus (first RWD car too)

Anyway on Monday I was parked with the engine running outside my mates' house and he commented on the amount of heat coming off the car in and around the engine area, coming out from the front arches. My mate is used to cars, drives rallies, owns classics, so for him to comment on it did sound some alarm bells.

Firstly is this normal for the IS200?

Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

Cos I have been slightly worried since I got it.

It ticks and clicks itself cool after every drive, regardless of the distance or the weather.(I live in Ireland so it mainly rains)

Also the handbrake is quite loose. I've got to pull it waaay up or the car rolls... can't figure how to get in to tighten it up though! lol

Any help with these is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Paradroid · July 29, 2009

I'm sure it's fine. Was the weather warm, did you have the air con on? Had you driven it hard or used the brakes a lot?

I can't say I've noticed a lot of heat on my IS200, but on previous MG ZS180 I noticed it a lot, because it's basically an old Honda Civic with a 2.5 V6 squeezed under the bonnet. That got hot!

clifton 94 · July 29, 2009

Hey, I'm a newbie here!
Ok so I have a Lexus IS200, 04 model, Manual, LSD. Love it! I have it a coupe of months now, bought it from a Lexus dealer.

It's my first Lexus (first RWD car too)

Anyway on Monday I was parked with the engine running outside my mates' house and he commented on the amount of heat coming off the car in and around the engine area, coming out from the front arches. My mate is used to cars, drives rallies, owns classics, so for him to comment on it did sound some alarm bells.

Firstly is this normal for the IS200?

Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

Cos I have been slightly worried since I got it.

It ticks and clicks itself cool after every drive, regardless of the distance or the weather.(I live in Ireland so it mainly rains)

Also the handbrake is quite loose. I've got to pull it waaay up or the car rolls... can't figure how to get in to tighten it up though! lol

Any help with these is much appreciated.

Thanks!

hi was the fans running when the car was running if they where then this will draw air through the rads and this is probably why you felt heat from the arches

to adjust the handbrake you need to put the car on level ground chock the front wheels then jack the car up put axle stands under the car and remove the rear wheels release the hand brake if you look at the rear hub there is a small rubber bung between the studs pull this out then turn the hub till you can see the adjuster this will look like a small cog turn this cog with a screw driver till the hub does not move then back it off till the hub turns freely then do this to the other hub once this is done use the handbrake a couple times and make sure the hubs still run freely then just put bungs and wheels back on good luck if you cant do this just take it to a garage this is only half hour job hope this helps

dave1 · August 1, 2009

Hey, I'm a newbie here!
Ok so I have a Lexus IS200, 04 model, Manual, LSD. Love it! I have it a coupe of months now, bought it from a Lexus dealer.

It's my first Lexus (first RWD car too)

Anyway on Monday I was parked with the engine running outside my mates' house and he commented on the amount of heat coming off the car in and around the engine area, coming out from the front arches. My mate is used to cars, drives rallies, owns classics, so for him to comment on it did sound some alarm bells.

Firstly is this normal for the IS200?

Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

Cos I have been slightly worried since I got it.

It ticks and clicks itself cool after every drive, regardless of the distance or the weather.(I live in Ireland so it mainly rains)

Also the handbrake is quite loose. I've got to pull it waaay up or the car rolls... can't figure how to get in to tighten it up though! lol

Any help with these is much appreciated.

Thanks!

My old GS 300 used to tick/click as you describe. It was the heatshield (over the cat I believe) cooling down. As you have only had it for a couple of months I would suggest that you take the car back to the dealer for them to sort out the handbrake under the warranty....unless you have done megamileage since you purchased it. No idea about the heat issue though, maybe get the dealer to check that as well.

kallabungo · August 3, 2009

Yes the is200 does give off mega amounts of heat in comparison to some other cars and this also leads us to this issue with the air intake and its positioning. I have noticed that in the recent hot weather the car has considerably lost its responsiveness and having the induction pipe directly over the engine was never a good idea in any aspects!

They do tick like a bugger when you turn them off and this is perfectly normal. I personally wouldnt worry about the heat from the car but if your quite interested in its life and getting the best performance out of it i would work towards trying to force some nice cold air into the engine, whether that be induction, custom ram air or super/turbo charging.