My New Is250 Se-L Auto

[Gary Woodman]

Hi everyone,

I would first like to say a very big hello to everyone. I haven't been on here in absolute ages, to be honest I haven't had the time. I'm very sorry for neglecting you all. Hope all has been ok.

Well since my previous post GF03 ERV (Lexus IS200 SE Manual) has been replaced by RO56 NKH (Lexus IS250 SE-L Auto with Navi). It was sad to see her go on friday but by lord the 250 is quick. It's an absolute fantastic car, although I have found a few issues.

First off - When driving along and hit a slight bumpy patch I have noticed I have a squeak from the back (inside somewhere) possibly sun shade, any suggestions?

Second (and foremost) - my passend HID/Xeon flicks on and then goes straight back out. After a little bit of research on google it appears this is a common problem, and can be either bulb or ballast. I'm hoping it is the bulb, after some research the general opinion is to use Philips D4S bulbs, however I am unaware of what colour temperature they need to be, if somebody could supply with me some information, I would greatly appreciate it.

Unfortunately car did not come with manuals except warranty & care one.

P.S Pictures will follow.

Regards,

G. Woodman

[fjcfarrar]

Hi everyone,

I would first like to say a very big hello to everyone. I haven't been on here in absolute ages, to be honest I haven't had the time. I'm very sorry for neglecting you all. Hope all has been ok.

Second (and foremost) - my passend HID/Xeon flicks on and then goes straight back out. After a little bit of research on google it appears this is a common problem, and can be either bulb or ballast. I'm hoping it is the bulb, after some research the general opinion is to use Philips D4S bulbs, however I am unaware of what colour temperature they need to be, if somebody could supply with me some information, I would greatly appreciate it.

Unfortunately car did not come with manuals except warranty & care one.

P.S Pictures will follow.

Regards,

G. Woodman

If you bought from a dealer, this is 100% down to them - the lights have to work regardless of whatever warranty provided (or not). Even if you had an Owners Manual, the only information it gives is "D4-S discharge lamp". They are quite expensive from Lexus, but at least guaranteed to be the right ones. If time is on your side, you could always prove if it is the lamp itself by swapping them L-R - if the fault stays on the same side, it is likely the ballast.

[Gary Woodman]

Just been doing some reading on the forums, and stumbled across the fact that adaptive cruise control is an option on the IS250 SE-L. Is there anyway of telling if mine has this feature?

Regards,

G. Woodman

[Gary Woodman]

Just had a price for the bulb & fitting from Lexus Tunbridge Wells centre. £225 - bulb - £180. Can't believe it baring in mind they are only about £60 shipped on eBay. However tunbridge wells won't fit supplied bulbs.

Regards,

G. Woodman

[gordi]

If it was bought at a Lexus dealership why wont they replace the bulb and supply a full handbook & service book ?

[bigmick777]

Just had a price for the bulb & fitting from Lexus Tunbridge Wells centre. £225 - bulb - £180. Can't believe it baring in mind they are only about £60 shipped on ebay. However tunbridge wells won't fit supplied bulbs.

Regards,

G. Woodman

I got two philips d4s from the states for ~100 quid delivered. Got lexus to fit them both, which they did for free, however, car going back in tomorrow as the right one flickering and going off - previously it was the left one! Going to get them to check the ballasts and swap over bulbs to test....

I guess the bonus is with buying them from Lexus is at least you know they are genuine, new and would probably get a warranty on them.

[Gary Woodman]

Sadly car was purchased from a lexus dealership. Thanks for the tips everybody.

Can anybody shed any light on how to tell whether car has adaptive cruise control?

Regards,

G. Woodman

[LexusForever]

Just been doing some reading on the forums, and stumbled across the fact that adaptive cruise control is an option on the IS250 SE-L. Is there anyway of telling if mine has this feature?

Regards,

G. Woodman

if you have it, then you will have the same number of buttons on the right side of the steering wheel as you do on the left (where the mode button is on the left)and also the badge on the front of the grille is larger and not the standard chrome effect.

hope this helps. mine doesn't have it as i couldn't be bothered to wait for one to become available as they are not as common.

[Gary Woodman]

Just been doing some reading on the forums, and stumbled across the fact that adaptive cruise control is an option on the IS250 SE-L. Is there anyway of telling if mine has this feature?

Regards,

G. Woodman

if you have it, then you will have the same number of buttons on the right side of the steering wheel as you do on the left (where the mode button is on the left)and also the badge on the front of the grille is larger and not the standard chrome effect.

hope this helps. mine doesn't have it as i couldn't be bothered to wait for one to become available as they are not as common.

Thanks for the suggestion LexusForever. I shall be having a look in the morning.

[Parthiban]

Welcome to the club. As for the adaptive cruise, if you have it the Lexus logo on the front grille is filled in and is all shiny black (that's the radar). If you just have a normal logo then you don't have adaptive cruise.

If the bulb flicks on and then off, it's most likely a ballast problem rather than a bulb problem.

[Tango]

As for the adaptive cruise, if you have it the Lexus logo on the front grille is filled in and is all shiny black (that's the radar). If you just have a normal logo then you don't have adaptive cruise.

The logo is different on the cars with adaptive cruise control, but the radar unit is bolted to the chassis behind the badge, not in the badge itself. The radar unit for the adaptive cruise is also adjustable to alter the direction of the beam if necessary.

My own opinion is the adaptive cruise isn't that useful a feature, unless of course you're totally lazy or not that focussed when driving.

[Parthiban]

The logo is different on the cars with adaptive cruise control, but the radar unit is bolted to the chassis behind the badge, not in the badge itself. The radar unit for the adaptive cruise is also adjustable to alter the direction of the beam if necessary.

My own opinion is the adaptive cruise isn't that useful a feature, unless of course you're a totally lazy or not that focussed when driving.

Yeah good point, should have said the logo is the "screen" for the radar :)

I think ACC is a great idea though, on London dual carriageways speed goes up and down so much it makes normal cruise control pointless. I barely ever use my cruise control because it's not possible to do so, for me it has to be ACC or there's no real point of having cruise control at all.

[Tango]

The logo is different on the cars with adaptive cruise control, but the radar unit is bolted to the chassis behind the badge, not in the badge itself. The radar unit for the adaptive cruise is also adjustable to alter the direction of the beam if necessary.

My own opinion is the adaptive cruise isn't that useful a feature, unless of course you're a totally lazy or not that focussed when driving.

Yeah good point, should have said the logo is the "screen" for the radar :)

I think ACC is a great idea though, on London dual carriageways speed goes up and down so much it makes normal cruise control pointless. I barely ever use my cruise control because it's not possible to do so, for me it has to be ACC or there's no real point of having cruise control at all.

How can I explain? The adaptive cruise isn't progressive, you travel at the set speed until reaching the set distance (there's three settings) on the radar unit. It then activates the brakes and reduces power to match the car/truck/bus in front of you, so if you're doing 75 mph and the one in front is doing 50 mph it obviously feels like you're braking from 25 mph to 0. It's too harsh. Normally I rarely use brakes on the motorway unless it's absolutely necessary.

On the 250 I just flip the cruise lever towards me to disengage and allow the engine to progressively slow the car, and then flip it up to re-engage power when the car in front starts to move away or hopefully gets out the way.It's much smoother when you're in cruise mode and too lazy to use your foot on the accelerator. Fortunately the human brain still has it's uses:lol:.

[Parthiban]

How can I explain? The adaptive cruise isn't progressive, you travel at the set speed until reaching the set distance (there's three settings, perhaps four?) on the radar unit. It then activates the brakes and reduces power to match the car/truck/bus in front of you, so if you're doing 75 mph and the one in front is doing 50 mph it obviously feels like you're braking from 25 mph to 0. It's too harsh. Normally I rarely use brakes on the motorway unless it's absolutely necessary.

On the 250 I just flip the cruise lever towards me to disengage and allow the engine to progressively slow the car, and then flip it up to re-engage power when the car in front starts to move away or hopefully gets out the way.It's much smoother when you're in cruise mode and too lazy to use your foot on the accelerator. Fortunately the human brain still has it's uses:lol:.

Does it brake that hard? I've only ever tried it once on a GS430, and it worked pretty well on that car. It was quite smooth and gentle with the way it added or removed speed. Yes it is a bit annoying that it always uses the brakes rather than using engine braking but I thought the system worked quite well?

[Tango]

Does it brake that hard?

Well it does on the IS-F , but the closing speed may be a little higher too

[Parthiban]

Does it brake that hard?

Well it does on the IS-F , but the closing speed may be a little higher too

Haha, yeah that's more likely to be the problem

[bigmick777]

I got two philips d4s from the states for ~100 quid delivered. Got lexus to fit them both, which they did for free, however, car going back in tomorrow as the right one flickering and going off - previously it was the left one! Going to get them to check the ballasts and swap over bulbs to test....

I guess the bonus is with buying them from Lexus is at least you know they are genuine, new and would probably get a warranty on them.

Lexus have taken a look and suggested ballasts are the problem. They checked the parts and the only thing back is to replace the whole headlight unit at £600+ each! I have an extended warranty which they are now investigating. Weird thing was after re-fit of the old headlight bulbs / ballasts they stayed on with no flicker for about 20 minutes!

[ihpj]

To the OP:

It appears that you have recently bought this vehicle and you allude to the fact that it also comes with some sort of Third Party Warranty.

If you're having a problem with the car so early in your ownership, I would direct you to Consumer Direct and the Sales of Goods Act - both of which will afford you greater protections in your circumstances.

I wouldn't be fretting about any costs - but rather asking Lexus to quote for the work they feel needs to be done and then contacting the garage from where you bought the car and getting them to pay Lexus for the repairs. It would be interesting to here what your Third Party Warranty company says it will (or more aptly: wont) pay for as we've been having a discussion on this very forum on the issue of Lexus Warranty (which is expensive) Vs. Third Part products.

Good luck, but you are protected by Consumer Legislation that favour you as the consumer!

[shans]

Hi All.

I just joined this club today. Just bought a 2007 reg 250 ES-L auto with just 5250 miles on it (still has 2 mths manufacturers warranty on it). Great so far except that I kerbed the left front wheel when test driving! will leave it for couple of months until I get used (my wife will be driving it too) to it with no more kerbing before getting it refurbed. One of the keyless fobs is not working (key not detected). Should I be able to get it fixed/replaced from the lexus dealer as it is still unde warranty?

Hope to have a good time here sharing and knowing all of you.

cheers - shans

[MW70]

Hi everyone,

I would first like to say a very big hello to everyone. I haven't been on here in absolute ages, to be honest I haven't had the time. I'm very sorry for neglecting you all. Hope all has been ok.

Well since my previous post GF03 ERV (Lexus IS200 SE Manual) has been replaced by RO56 NKH (Lexus IS250 SE-L Auto with Navi). It was sad to see her go on friday but by lord the 250 is quick. It's an absolute fantastic car, although I have found a few issues.

First off - When driving along and hit a slight bumpy patch I have noticed I have a squeak from the back (inside somewhere) possibly sun shade, any suggestions?

Second (and foremost) - my passend HID/Xeon flicks on and then goes straight back out. After a little bit of research on google it appears this is a common problem, and can be either bulb or ballast. I'm hoping it is the bulb, after some research the general opinion is to use Philips D4S bulbs, however I am unaware of what colour temperature they need to be, if somebody could supply with me some information, I would greatly appreciate it.

Unfortunately car did not come with manuals except warranty & care one.

P.S Pictures will follow.

Regards,

G. Woodman

[MW70]

Hey Gary,

Hi everybody else - I just joined after getting my 2006 IS250 SE-L Auto MM (pic attached from a week ago) and am well pleased with it. I havent noticed any problems with the lights as yet (hopefully not something to lookforward to?)But I have noticed a bit of general creaky /rattling from the car when going over bumpy roads at slower speeds..(unfortunately the IOM is well endowed with poor road surfaces!)

How do you rate the ride/ road noise on your cars?

I find the engine is amazingly quiet - infact I have forgotten to press the start/stop button before getting out of the car a few times. I guess this is partly because I dont have the terrible inconvenience of having to turn any keys in doors or ignitions..

I'm looking forward to many happy years with it! Hope I can beat my 3.5year record for keeping any car. (A 1990 corolla 1.3 GLI saloon)

MW

[tinka]

I find the road noise is very loud, i hope it's down to the bridgestones, so i wll get some falkens, when the time comes to replace.

[MW70]

Yeah I hope so too! I've got el cheapo Sunny's on mine - the treads good but they do a lot of "thrumming" as you get faster. They'll be changed after I get a bit of use out of them!

You happy with the car otherwise?

[tinka]

Yeah, i think so, road noise is an issue, but other than that, i realy like it, the vented seats are a waste of time though, how's yours, Mpg has just turned 36mpg, over 2000 miles i think, so i cant complain about that.

I love the colour of yours, is it messa red?, i wish i could of held out a bit longer for one, a month after i got mine a red one came up with 14k miles less and 1k less than i paid, gutted.

[MW70]

Yeah, i think so, road noise is an issue, but other than that, i realy like it, the vented seats are a waste of time though, how's yours, Mpg has just turned 36mpg, over 2000 miles i think, so i cant complain about that.

I love the colour of yours, is it messa red?, i wish i could of held out a bit longer for one, a month after i got mine a red one came up with 14k miles less and 1k less than i paid, gutted.