Picked Up My "new" 250 Today

[JamesG]

Hey guys,

Picked picked my new IS250 SE-L today.

Its great and I love the ride the auto works great, love the smooth ride, no funny noises, although there are a couple of issues.

The passenger mirror doesn't swivel up or down, but does go right and left. It appears to be pointing down as if is stuck in reverse mode.

Also it only came with one key, and the lock on the handle won't work it beeps one longish beep when pressed, I'm hoping this means the other key is still inside the car. Also it starts with my key inside the house, which means there should be a key inside somewhere. I have pulled up the back seat, did my damn'dist to look under the front seats, short of removing them on the weekend.

Anyone here any ideas, could it be hidden somewhere or is something that could sniff it out some sort of wireless device.

O and the drivers head light goes off by itself a few times i noticed it off this evening, i can switch them off and it comes back on.

Anyway, here's a pic from Tescos parking lot.

More to come.

James

[Midlifecrisis]

Looks real nice , enjoy!

[dpz46]

Hi James, looks a nice motor we had ours about a month now. Cannot fault it.

Did you buy it off a Lexus main dealer? Just wondering because it does sound like the key is hidden inside somewhere.

[JamesG]

Hi James, looks a nice motor we had ours about a month now. Cannot fault it.

Did you buy it off a Lexus main dealer? Just wondering because it does sound like the key is hidden inside somewhere.

Thanks, no I got it from an Independent dealer.

[Carl911]

The headlight is probably a duff ballast. Can be bought of eBay for £80 but a pain to fit due to tne fact you need to remove headlight and take it apart as the ballast is part of head light construction.

If your lucky it might just be a bulb but your diagnosis sounds the same as my car which is a faulty ballast. That said, mine has been doing it for a year and I've still not got around to sorting it out-lol

Carl

[JamesG]

The headlight is probably a duff ballast. Can be bought of eBay for £80 but a pain to fit due to tne fact you need to remove headlight and take it apart as the ballast is part of head light construction.

If your lucky it might just be a bulb but your diagnosis sounds the same as my car which is a faulty ballast. That said, mine has been doing it for a year and I've still not got around to sorting it out-lol

Carl

Thx for the info Carl,

Now theres some thing about these lights that confuses me, do you know or anyone else, the difference between Xenon and HIDs? If I intall HID's I have to install a balast. Now I have read on some forums theres no difference between Xenons and HIDs. Could I not then just install an HID blub (I had 8000k HIDs on my previous car) and use the internal balast?

I have seen some youtubes about cutting a hole in the light cover to fit the cables for a balast for HIDs upgrades.

Thanks again

James

[JamesG]

Found the key!!! Yay tried 1 last dig around before bed. Was stuck between passenger seat and central tunnel, and the door button works and unlocks by touch.

Just need to sort the mirror and headlight issues, will most likely have to claim on the warranty.

James.

[ahmedali44]

Its same colour as mine except its petrol @ mines a diesel @ same spec ur very lucky u found key its very expensive to buy around £300 nice cars to drive

[Hondaman]

The headlight issue is the bulb, not the ballast. It's a common fault. Buy a new set off eBay and look at the the youtube tutorial on how to disassembe everything to fit them. It's a fiddly but easy job. Done mine recently.

The mirror fault is also a known quantity. Apparently the motors for adjusting the glass use plastic ring gear which get jammed. Both of mine are jammed, so I'm waiting for better weather before I open them up and have a go at fixing them. Once again, there is a youtube video on this subject. Are you sure you don't already HID''s ? If it has headlamp washers, then you already had HID's.

Well done for figuring out the key issue! Lovely car; same spec as mine I think.

[normski2]

You should not be thinking...How can I sort out these problems? Your first action is to inform the dealer you purchased it from that there are some problems with the car that you would sorted please.

Make a list and put it in writing to the dealer. You must have had a warranty of sorts at time of purchase.....3 months is usually the minimum.

If you do anything right now I would suggest getting 4 of the key fob batteries off eBay ( probably cost £3 delivered...or less). Change both key fob batteries now and note the date, keep the spares in a safe place. They can last anywhere from 1-2 years. You could also wait until you get the visual warning on the dash...it will tell you 'key Battery low'. Changing the key fob Battery is easy and you don't need to get them resynchronized or anything like that.

Just remember the key thing if take the car on holiday!! Don't have the spare key stashed in a case in the boot when you board the cross channel ferry.

Most of all.....enjoy the car, they really are lovely to drive.

[Silver Arrow]

The headlight is probably a duff ballast. Can be bought of eBay for £80 but a pain to fit due to tne fact you need to remove headlight and take it apart as the ballast is part of head light construction.

If your lucky it might just be a bulb but your diagnosis sounds the same as my car which is a faulty ballast. That said, mine has been doing it for a year and I've still not got around to sorting it out-lol

Carl

Thx for the info Carl,

Now theres some thing about these lights that confuses me, do you know or anyone else, the difference between Xenon and HIDs? If I intall HID's I have to install a balast. Now I have read on some forums theres no difference between Xenons and HIDs. Could I not then just install an HID blub (I had 8000k HIDs on my previous car) and use the internal balast?

I have seen some youtubes about cutting a hole in the light cover to fit the cables for a balast for HIDs upgrades.

Thanks again

James

HID and Xenon are pretty much the same thing - you won't need to fit an HID kit as your SE-L should have factory HID's.

The only confusion comes when you start looking at eBay, and see all those cheap Xenon bulbs - that have a standard H7 Halogen bulb with what they claim is Xenon gas in side them, and a blue sweet wrapper to give a whiter light.

HID's and Xenon's don't use a standard bulb with a filament - instead they "arc" light between two points; the Xenon gas in the bulb is used to discharge the light - very brightly. The bulbs are normally D2S, or D4S etc, as opposed to H4, H7 etc. They have ballasts to ignite and regulate the current - and as stated above that is probably where the problem lies.

Your best bet might be to swop the existing bulbs over left to right first to prove that the bulb is OK.

PS - Bi-Xenon's are where both dipped and main beam are Xenon's.

[JamesG]

The headlight issue is the bulb, not the ballast. It's a common fault. Buy a new set off ebay and look at the the youtube tutorial on how to disassembe everything to fit them. It's a fiddly but easy job. Done mine recently.

The mirror fault is also a known quantity. Apparently the motors for adjusting the glass use plastic ring gear which get jammed. Both of mine are jammed, so I'm waiting for better weather before I open them up and have a go at fixing them. Once again, there is a youtube video on this subject. Are you sure you don't already HID''s ? If it has headlamp washers, then you already had HID's.

Well done for figuring out the key issue! Lovely car; same spec as mine I think.

Thanks, will have a look at youtube. It does have headlight washers etc and adaptive headlights, I thought they should be Xenons.

Cheers J.

HID and Xenon are pretty much the same thing - you won't need to fit an HID kit as your SE-L should have factory HID's.

The only confusion comes when you start looking at eBay, and see all those cheap Xenon bulbs - that have a standard H7 Halogen bulb with what they claim is Xenon gas in side them, and a blue sweet wrapper to give a whiter light.

HID's and Xenon's don't use a standard bulb with a filament - instead they "arc" light between two points; the Xenon gas in the bulb is used to discharge the light - very brightly. The bulbs are normally D2S, or D4S etc, as opposed to H4, H7 etc. They have ballasts to ignite and regulate the current - and as stated above that is probably where the problem lies.

Your best bet might be to swop the existing bulbs over left to right first to prove that the bulb is OK.

PS - Bi-Xenon's are where both dipped and main beam are Xenon's.

I am quite good at fixing electrical things, am an engineer at heart and sorta good with the hands, I should be able to manage swapping the bulbs. I have seen videos of removing the engine covers,(have noticed theres a few clippy things missing from the engine covers) and air filter box to get at the headlights. I know the difference between Halogens and HIDs and (dodgey cheap halogens with blue coating). Its the difference between HIDs and Xenons that gets me,( I think they use a different gas?) but was wondering if I get say 8000K HID bulbs, should they be a straight bulb swap as the internal ballast should start them?

Cheers J.

You should not be thinking...How can I sort out these problems? Your first action is to inform the dealer you purchased it from that there are some problems with the car that you would sorted please.

Make a list and put it in writing to the dealer. You must have had a warranty of sorts at time of purchase.....3 months is usually the minimum.

If you do anything right now I would suggest getting 4 of the key fob batteries off ebay ( probably cost £3 delivered...or less). Change both key fob batteries now and note the date, keep the spares in a safe place. They can last anywhere from 1-2 years. You could also wait until you get the visual warning on the dash...it will tell you 'key battery low'. Changing the key fob battery is easy and you don't need to get them resynchronized or anything like that.

Just remember the key thing if take the car on holiday!! Don't have the spare key stashed in a case in the boot when you board the cross channel ferry.

Most of all.....enjoy the car, they really are lovely to drive.

Thanks Norm,

Yes I got the three month warranty and extended it! I have informed them about all the issues, and they want me to bring the car into the garage next weekend. Its just I'm not sure I want some dodgey mechanic that doesn't actually know much about a Lexus trying pull apart the mirror and figure out the problem is (I doubt they will take it to Lexus as they have an in house garage). If I can do it, without too much trouble, I would rather do it myself, any major mechanical issues I will happily let them deal with it. Like 1 of the tires has a puncture it was flat in the show room and they had to pump it for me to test drive. Then when I picked up the car, they said they looked at it and the cap wasn't on!! I look at the sales lady and said the cap doesn't hold the air in! (In my head, Do you think I'm stupid!!) but I let it pass, she gave me some sorry excuse I can't remember. I will get them to sort it out tho when I take it back.

Thanks guys,

James

[JamesG]

Well I just took the mirror housing off pretty easily, a bit of tugging on the glass, 4 screws and it was off. Even in the cold and dark under a street lamp.

There's a white plastic housing for the gears and motors, not sure how this comes off tho. Looks like three plastic pins hold it on to the metal back plate (white pins in the holes), not sure how to unlock them tho. The gear housing does appear to have some release tabs to open it but getting it off could be a problem.

After reading quite a few posts, most ppl have just had the whole mirror replaced under warranty, Lexus don't seem to want to try fix the issue. Others have said GM etc had just fixed the same issue on their cars rather than replace it.

I couldn't find any youtubes on how to re-grease it or get it out.

Here's a pic of the housing and the pins.

Cheers,

James

Credit for pic to Mister T on ClubLexus.com, Forgot my camera :shruriken:

[normski2]

Take a look here. Scroll forward to about 7 minutes in and you can see how to dismantle the wing mirror.

Hope that helps

[JamesG]

Take a look here. Scroll forward to about 7 minutes in and you can see how to dismantle the wing mirror.

Hope that helps

Thanks Normski,

He just shows how to remove the mirror housing and change the bulb, I have already pulled the mirror housing off, as above, its the white plastic gear housing attached to the metal back plate inside the mirror, that I wasn't able to remove.

I was hoping to remove the gear housing and open it up and give the gears a clean and regrease. I can just see the worm gear that sticks out to move the mirror up and down, it appears to have grease but I can't see inside, it looks like it works though a 'sealed' hole that should stop any dirt entering.

I have manually moved the mirror to the desired position now. It still moves left and right but not up and down.

Cheers,

James