Nuther Newbie!

[Enright]

Hi all,

I just got a gorgeous black IS200 Sport yesterday.

It's got a bit of a chequered past - it was registered in Northern Ireland so doesn't have an age related plate (which nicely hides the fact that it's 10 years old).

The owner just before the last one is currently spending time at one of Her Majesty's long stay hotels for buying and selling naughty things. As a result of not being able to drive it around the exercise yard (!!!), and with the most recent owner being a poor student from Glasgow, it's only done 67,000 miles.

I'm really pleased with it, but as with any 2nd hand car there are a few niggles that I'd like to sort out:

The wheels will be coming off and going to Total Wheel Works in Nottingham for refurbishment.

I've got a flashing Traction Control light and the ABS light is on, apparently due to a dodgy left rear sensor.

The CD player has the standard ERR3 message, yes I know - "they're all like that sir"!

I've only 1 key for the car (but at least it's a master), so I need to get at least 1 more.

There's no space-saver spare - only a full-sized wheel which won't fit in the wheel well, and there's not much of the original toolkit left in that area either.

I want to change the cam belt ASAP and make sure it has some nice fresh Mobil 1 in.

Then the bodywork need a good T-Cut and polish all over, after too many lazy trips to car washes.

I'll be looking out on eBay for a nice set of original mats to keep the carpet in good nick.

Oh, and for some strange reason the front fog-lights refuse to work.

Finally I'd love to retro-fit Lexus Sat Nav at some point - another scouring of eBay I reckon.

I hope I don't sound like I'm nit-picking too much, because it really is a great car which SHOULD last me years.

Is there a workshop manual that I can download via this site, or can anybody help with any tips in the above list (particularly the traction control)?

BCingU

En :-)

[BenIS]

Hi mate welcome to the club!

This might sound silly but have you lifted the back plastic moulding up to try and fit the spare wheel in (it goes underneath). As with the err3 code, from what i have read, alot of people have had it and there are a few articles on here about it.

I live in nottingham aswell mate, so if you see a 03 reg silver is200 with black wheels and red lexus logos give us a wave! Ill keep any eye out for you!

p.s i had my wheels powdercoated at total wheel works and they did a top job. Great value!

[Enright]

Aha, the job list is starting to go down!

After an awful lot of T-Cut and Colour Magic today, my new baby now looks and feels very smooth.

It turns out that some numpty had put a 235/40ZR17 on the spare, so THAT'S why it wouldn't fit in the wheel well! I need to get it, and one of the rears replaced ASAP.

I found that the fuse for the front fogs had blown, so I replaced it and ONE of them started working. Oh well, at least I'm half way there!

Please can anyone paste a link to where I may be able to download a manual?

BCingU

En :-)

[TonyGoose]

You can find a complete set of manuals here ...

http://bahamutcars.free.fr/workshop/

Have fun

TG

[Enright]

Thanks for the link Tony, but it seems to have confused the hell out of my computer!

Sorry to be a pain, but are you sure it still works?

BCingU

En :-)

[TonyGoose]

Thanks for the link Tony, but it seems to have confused the hell out of my computer!

Sorry to be a pain, but are you sure it still works?

BCingU

En :-)

Just tried it again and seems to work ok ...

Pick model from list which for IS200 takes you here http://bahamutcars.free.fr/workshop/IS_98-05/index.html

Then dig around the collapsible menus on the left hand side to find what you're looking for.

What's not working for you ? Wonder if it's a browser issue ... Here's a quote from the page ...

"Please note that these manuals have been designed for Internet Explorer and could not work correctly with other browsers.

The IS manuals have been modified to work with Firefox but are not 100% finished."

Which web browser are you using ? I'm using firefox V3.6.3 with Windows XP which seems fine ...

TG

[Enright]

Yes, I think you're right - it IS a browser issue.

I'm using Windows Vista on my laptop and Internet Explorer 8, but I tried it on my PC which runs XP and it still did the same - wierd.

Hey, are those manuals on CD that you can buy off eBay for about a fiver any good, or just a rip off of something that's available to download for free?

BCingU

En :-)

[lexynik]

the manual i bought off eBay was a rip off as it just contained a link to the mentioned above site - no internet = no manual !

i already had the link for free from here - as far as im aware the bahatma manual is the one and only tool around and its free ! - btw i never had a problem accessing it before but last three days since i read this post and tried to post a link up it wont work for me at all ! im using vista - never had a problem before,,,it just comes up as page not found

EDIT - Just tried the link from tony goose above and worked first time - maybe the one i have bookmarked from ages ago is out of date,will update my bookmarks accordingly

Edited May 31, 2010 by lexynik

[kevinsgs300]

welcome to the club

[Enright]

Aha, the job list is starting to go down!

After an awful lot of T-Cut and Colour Magic today, my new baby now looks and feels very smooth.

It turns out that some numpty had put a 235/40ZR17 on the spare, so THAT'S why it wouldn't fit in the wheel well! I need to get it, and one of the rears replaced ASAP.

I found that the fuse for the front fogs had blown, so I replaced it and ONE of them started working. Oh well, at least I'm half way there!

Please can anyone paste a link to where I may be able to download a manual?

BCingU

En :-)

Hmm, isn't it strange how so many of these jobs can end up being related?!?

I've learned an awful lot about my new Lexus this week. Like for example that it was shorter than it was supposed to be, and from both ends too!

The spare wheel wouldn't fit into the wheel well because the boot floor and the rear panel were crumpled - I literally had to bash them back into shape. However I managed it, and from outside you'd never know that there had been a problem.

The front held a few surprises too. There was hardly a single fastener holding the engine undertray to the front valance, or holding the inner wings inside the wheelarches. Not only that, but the reason the front foglamps wouldn't work (and that I'd got ABS and Traction Control warning lights) were that some complete IDIOT had spliced the offside foglamp wiring into the nearest ABS sensor with bullet connectors!!!

So replacing the rear sensors as per the previous owner's advice was just a complete waste of money. All I had to do was repair the butchered wiring.

The local Lexus dealership reset the ABS ECU for me, but this was before I'd had chance to properly solder the wires and so it threw up another error code within 5 miles. Does anyone know how to clear fault codes and reset the system without incurring costly visits to the main dealer?

Then I can start really enjoying my lovely new car.

BCingU

En :-)

[lexynik]

disconnect the Battery earth for ten minutes i think

[Enright]

disconnect the battery earth for ten minutes i think

Thanks for the quick response Nik - that sounds reasonable (and very similar to what I'd heard from the local garage).

I'll give it a go - when it stops raining!

BCingU

En. :-)

[lexynik]

not a problem - send the rain down south its right sweaty down here - theres a couple of fuses you can pull to get the same effect but do a search on here for the info if you like - some say 20 mins of fuses out to reset everything for sure

[Enright]

not a problem - send the rain down south its right sweaty down here - theres a couple of fuses you can pull to get the same effect but do a search on here for the info if you like - some say 20 mins of fuses out to reset everything for sure

Oh that's even better - I'm getting fed up of having to re-program my radio stations, and losing the numbers on my trip counter!

BCingU,

En :-)

[lexynik]

yeah the fuse method saves having to do that

[lexynik]

Its HERE and HERE

[Enright]

Thanks very much for your help, but doh! I found the fuses and removed them for the required time, but on replacing them the ABS light was still on and the Traction Control light was still flashing.

Are you sure that method doesn't just clear engine ECU fault codes? Or does the engine ECU also control the ABS and Traction control?

This is doing my head in - I'm going to just have to go back to the main dealer tomorrow and ask them for a proper diagnosis (which I thought I was getting first time round).

BCingU

En :-)

[lexynik]

hhmm sorry it hasnt done the trick - as far as i know disconnecting the Battery earth or the two fuses does the lot - have you tried the Battery earth method ?

failing that i would try and develop a good relationship with the SERVICE MANAGER at whichever lexus branch you go to as he is the guy who can do you lots of little favours - i saved £500 on original quote from lexus by haggling ever so nicely with my service manager and now he cant do enough to help - it would be so much easier if haynes did a manual to cover the 200/300 tbh

[Enright]

OK, I've made further headway. Through doing a search for "ABS reset" I found a topic which contained the following link:

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47053

It makes for pretty good reading - firstly because it nailed the resetting method, and secondly because it narrowed down the problem to exactly where I thought it was by confirming it with a fault code 31.

The problem still isn't quite fixed yet (damn rain again!), but I'm now absolutely sure which sensor and wires need to be checked and possibly replaced.

Also, I just had an offer on a replacement stereo (one with the CD slot at the top) accepted, so no more ERR3!

Let's hope I've now broken the back of the job list...

BCingU

En :-)

[Enright]

Please could someone answer a question for me please?

Unfortunately my car didn't come with a handbook, so I don't know exactly what some of the warning lights on the dashboard mean.

Yesterday I noticed that my handbrake warning light had come on while driving.

I thought that the micro-switch under the handbrake lever had possibly developed a fault, but after testing, it's fine.

My next thought was that the brake fluid might be low, so I topped it up. No change.

My last thought was that it could be a brake pad wear indicator, so I took off a front and a rear wheel. Not only had the pads got plenty of life in them, but I couldn't even find any wires for brake pad wear sensors.

What I have found out is that the light goes out after the engine is first started and the handbrake released, but as soon as you brake using the pedal, it comes on again, and stays on until the engine is stopped.

Can anyone look in their handbook to see if it answers why, and what is triggering it?

BCingU

En :-)

[TonyGoose]

Have you checked all the brake lamps ?

Either side and any centre one too ...

TG

[Enright]

Have you checked all the brake lamps ?

Either side and any centre one too ...

TG

No I hadn't. I gave it a go, and sure enough, the nearside one had blown.

That's good knowledge for the future - thanks.

BCingU

En :-)

[tonyr5500]

Please could someone answer a question for me please?

Unfortunately my car didn't come with a handbook, so I don't know exactly what some of the warning lights on the dashboard mean.

Yesterday I noticed that my handbrake warning light had come on while driving.

I thought that the micro-switch under the handbrake lever had possibly developed a fault, but after testing, it's fine.

My next thought was that the brake fluid might be low, so I topped it up. No change.

My last thought was that it could be a brake pad wear indicator, so I took off a front and a rear wheel. Not only had the pads got plenty of life in them, but I couldn't even find any wires for brake pad wear sensors.

What I have found out is that the light goes out after the engine is first started and the handbrake released, but as soon as you brake using the pedal, it comes on again, and stays on until the engine is stopped.

Can anyone look in their handbook to see if it answers why, and what is triggering it?

BCingU

En :-)

hi there, not sure about the IS but i had the same thing on my ford cougar a year or so back it turned out to be the abs ring on the front wheel had a crack in it may be sumthing eles but worth having a look tho in case!!