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Whilst my IS 300h is off the road for some bodywork repairs I have the use of a new Mercedes C200 Sport (the petrol version). I have driven a lot of BMWs previously (small and large engined) and my wife had a Merc at one time and I have enjoyed all of them - all have been petrol - no diesel. When I test drove the IS 300h I was sold on it and bought one immediately. Having not driven anything but the IS 300h for a year and now stepping into the Merc it was a big surprise (given the list price is about the same as my IS). The Merc sounds like tractor! I had to do a double take to check it wasn't a diesel! In comparison the IS 300h is just sublime in it's quietness and smoothness. The Merc has the 9 speed auto gearbox which shifts ok when driving smoothly but as soon as I want to accelerate quickly there is a delay and a load of cog swopping as it has to move down a few gears and then rather a lot of noise from the engine as it kicks into the higher revs whereas the IS 300h in comparison just feels like a wave of power (even accounting for the slight hesitation the E-CVT has). With the auto stop-start on the Merc it's again quite a jolt every time I take my foot off the brake and the engine restarts to pull away rather than the smooth electric to engine transition pull away of the 300h. And for all of the bad press over the IS navigation and infotainment system (I have an IS 300h Executive so have the rotary nav not the mouse) the nav in the Merc is definitely worse - really slow to start up, laggy, hard to input addresses etc. and looks worse on the screen. I don't see the rest of the infotainment being anything better than the IS either. I also don't find the seating in the Merc (although it has bigger bolsters and more moving bits) anything like as comfortable as the IS when on a longer journey and the dash has a few bits of black shiny creaky plastic... As I said I have driven and enjoyed BMWs and Mercs before Lexus and I am sure in isolation the Merc is a great car but it was a real surprise how much I have got used to the sereneness of the IS and how agricultural the Merc now feels in comparison. It also amazes me how the motoring press can actually give the Merc C200 more stars than the IS 300h from this experience - I guess real world living with car is a big difference to a thrash around for a day or two. Petrol consumption-wise I get between 48 and 52 mpg all the time in the 300h in a mix of driving (again despite the motoring press slating it for the mpg their lead footedness gives - and I don't hang around either) and driving the Merc in the same way as the 300h it's 2 litre petrol engine is giving me 36mpg - not too bad but way off the IS 300h figures for about the same real world performance. As a private buyer I don't have any company car policy or BIK etc. to worry about so am free to buy what I want and this experience was an eye opener for when I look to replace my current IS 300h..! It's surprising what, after a while, we take for granted and how the little niggles we might have are put into context when trying something different.

Just had a quick look around for any cheap LS parts and came across this...now spot the obvious mistake. No prizes but just for fun, which vehicle does it actually fit?

All us builders look forward to Friday lunch time dav . Guinness time . 👍

Flytvr nicknamed mine the white beauty. So that's her name

Over the 6 months+ I've owned the car the sat nav has always orientated the map to the North. It took me a while to adjust but I've since learned the live with it. My previous car had the setting as 'heading up', which made more sense to us. Last weekend mrsF stops gawping out of the window and starts moaning about the sat nav orientation. You know the sort of thing, 'thats no good', 'I can't understand where we are' or 'which way to go?', etc, etc. I shrug, drive on and tune out...as normal Then she simply presses the North symbol (top left) and boom the display now shows 'heading up'! I'm kinda embarrassed that I hadn't already tried that myself. Worse still, mrsF now thinks she's a tech whiz!...and she won't let me forget it #sigh She forgets that the true 'tech whiz' crown is still owned by our almost 4 year old grand daughter. Maybe this post will save you the pain that could be saved by *ahem* prodding it. PS: who reads manuals anyway

Robert I should have said in my previous post you can just push the pistons back in the normal way when fitting new pads. At bar minimum though before doing anything disconnect the battery and operate the brake pedal till it goes hard. The manual says to pull the 2 ABS relays, but without power, and no pressure in the accumulator reservoir you will be safe. After fitting the new pads operate the brake pedal again to push the pads up to the discs. Do this before connecting the battery as otherwise it can trigger a brake fault code. This is not critical for you as you have Techstream to clear the code. John

Doesn't he just, and is full of his own self-importance. Maybe he should consider buying a car where he actually fits in the seat He does have some fair points, but I think as others have said if you are a serious track guy you tend to look for something a lot lighter and chuckable, hence I have my MR2. But i am by no stretch of the imagination a serious track guy. I see the RC-F and IS-F more as GT cars.

Actually, the way the throttle was being stabbed is reminiscent of @Mark G‘s driving 😜

Small update....... Now you see me........ Now you dont........ I had the engine stand ready to bolt it onto but the bolts i have are not long enough to get through the stand holder and the block. Easy enough to pull the engine out, i removed the a/c condensor to make life a little easier. Going to find some longer bolts tomorrow and get it on the stand.

Any IS300h owners which have cars out of warranty (more than 3 years old) had major issues? I’m going to keep my car for another 10 years, I’ve had it since new and so far no warranty issues at all, I was going to purchase the warranty today but it’s just so expensive, not sure I can justify the extra. I’m doing 15k miles, if I get the warranty I need to use expensive Lexus servicing every 10k, if I don’t bother I’ll just get the car serviced at a local independent who I trust once a year or 15 k miles, I’m comfortable running the car more than the recommended 10k/12k service intervals. Using very rough figures below, would most agree in my case it’s not worth buying, I’ve saving which I can use if I need repairs, the short service intervals and high Main dealer service cost is what’s putting me off. Warranty cost £450.00 per year: Over 10 years 150k miles £4500.00 Lexus service cost every 10k – 15 services required: 7 x main services at average £600.00 £4200.00 8 x Minor service at £275.00 £2200.00 Total £10900.00 Independent service 15k – 10 services required: 5 x Main service £300.00 £1500.00 5 x Minor service £100 £500.00 10 x AA/RAC cover £75.00 £750.00 Total £2750.00 I’d be paying almost £9k more if I kept up the extended warranty, would I have £8k of repairs in 10 years? The difference in value between a FLSH and just FSH at 10 years old will nothing. Seriously thinking not bothering with it, particularly as the Lexus should be a reliable car.

Currently, my rather old and rusty [I prefer the word 'patina'] E36 328 is sat at a garage awaiting someone to figure out why she wouldn't start Friday night...not the best way to begin the weekend! As the car isn't exactly worth a lot, if the bill to fix her is close to what she's worth, is it now time to start the ISF search? :) Part of me want the BM back on the road as I don't want to rush finding the perfect ISF, but as I've been driving the same car for the past 8 years, I am looking forward to getting a new car!

Big rat she looks stunning, just something different and a real head tunner.

That's what I love about Lexus cars....not being noticed!

Been to look a the carbon orange RCF at Preston . Absolutely gorgeous.

Me too, I'm an engineer so I can't be posh!

Big rat good time mate . Us builders need a nice sunshine break. Considering the weather we have to work in the winter

The 'Kemble Grand Tour' is round the corner from you. Ideal opportunity to meet IS-F drivers and cars.

I'll have a go at this. 1974 VW Beetle 1303 - My first car. £600 and terminal rust. My dad was so taken with it (another ex-Beetle owner) that before I passed my test he used to take it to work. He even had it the day I passed my test and I had to wait for him to come home before I could drive it on my own! 1965 VW Beetle 1200 - Loved this car. This is the one I should have never sold. A Deluxe in Java Green. Saw me all the way through college, my first jobs, met my wife while I had it, had our first kiss in it I never used to give a second thought to jumping in it and driving half way across the country. At a steady 55. A Mitsubishi Colt Mirage of unknown year. It used to be my grandad's and was a sort of beige colour. Sold it to a guy called Brian who it turned out, was a bit of a s*x pest. That's all I really remember about it. 1994 Citroen AX Dimension - Our first brand new car. Cheap as chips, we dressed up really smart the day we picked it up. Citroen were giving things away even then and the offer was a mobile phone and a contract with Vodafone. A massive Nokia which is still kicking around somewhere and my wife still has the original number give or take a 7. An Astra 1.7 diesel estate. My first company car. Hateful. 1999 VW Golf 1.4S - Really wanted this. Loved the look of the MKIV and to echo First_Lexus, it broke. A lot. And like First_Lexus I got another one out of VW but it wasn't the same. 2003 Skoda RS - Wow! What a car. Loved every second. First car I properly went to town on. I even bought out of the lease so I could do even more stupid stuff to it 2006 Audi A3 2.0TFSI S-Line Quattro - Dull as ditchwater. Golf in a posh frock. 2008 Saab 9-3 1.9TiD Vector Sport - We had our first child so I had to be sensible. And bought a saloon. Idiot. 2011 BMW E91 320d M-Sport - Lovely car but rattled. So badly they took it away and gave me a... 2013 BMW F30 330d M-Sport - Again, lovely. But by then my anti-tech attitude was sinking in. Not really bothered about a car with a built in browser or adjustable suspension settings, they're all just gimmicks imo. Mixed in with all this there have been a succession of family wagons which have all been very good. A Touran, an S-Max, a B-Max. I always enjoy the multi-seat family stuff. It's like that scene in Get Shorty. 2014 Volvo XC90 Executive - Now this car I like. It's noisy, thirsty and slow but it goes anywhere, swallows everyone and their luggage, cruises comfortably all day long and would survive a nuclear strike. I also like Volvo's desperate attempt to keep up by cack-handedly trying to add things like Bluetooth. It works but in a way that would make other manufacturers laugh at it. No piano black interiors or glossy touchscreens here, just grey plastic and dot matrix displays. And so now it starts getting silly. I ditch diesels entirely because they're hateful and soulless and I start buying other Volvos and pretend they're for my wife when in fact she takes the XC and I drive a succession of V70s because they have silly mileage and still work. And even though all the Ford era bits are a bit **** and break you know the car will do a squillion miles and still be just as smooth and comfortable as when they were new. Then all of a sudden I had to have this Toyota...

I believe it just sets how hot the seats will go in Auto mode (and possibly also how cool they get in ventilation mode, although the manual is unclear on this) i.e. the extremes of temperature range that Auto mode will use. The default is 3, which I found to be more than enough last winter - it was definitely enough to feel a borderline-uncomfortable burn on a cold day. You've cranked yours up to a trouser-igniting 5. Brave man!

That's not a valet key Ratty! @Big Rat

Eight years is long enough, time to treat yourself!

Hi Ed - good to see a familiar avatar. I've had my Lexus for just over 6 months now and it is truly a fantastic car albeit with the same dislikes as most members on the site.

From the beginning... 1988 E Lada Riva 1200L. In beige. Mmmm, nice. Bought for me by my Father to learn to drive in so I didn't have to use his car or my Mum's car. Not cool, despite my "Street Machine" magazine "awesome" sticker on the back. An early attempt at irony...1980 Vanden Plas 1500. An Allegro with a big grille and a leather interior. And walnut picnic tables. Far too cool for school. 36k miles but terminal rust in the chassis. Shame. I rather liked this one.1988 Mini Mayfair automatic. Given to me by my Mum when she upgraded to a new Nissan Micra (mainly because the Vanden Plas above failed the MOT). Went to Mini 30 at Silverstone in this one. She was a bit slow for the track though...happy memories even so.1985 Austin Montego 1.6HL automatic. Great car. Loved it. No rear seatbelts, and you could fit a surprising number of people on the rear bench when needed. My first University chariot, I had some 'fun' times in that one...1991 Rover Metro 1.1C. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Everything in the world went wrong with this one. Gear linkages. Paintwork. Electrics. Seats. Rubbish. Still the only car I've ever crashed. I didn't want it but my Father decided it was more 'sensible' than my Montego. Sigh.1993 Daihatsu Charade CXi 16 valve automatic. And the "16 valve" was so important it was in red letters down the sides. An absolute peach, I loved that car. Should never have sold it, but my (now ex) wife wanted something more practical, so we bought a...1996 Hyundai Accent 1.5GSi automatic. Very good. Reliable. Practical. But never as good as my Charade. And very dull. Nothing more than an appliance.2000 VW Polo 1.4S automatic. Nearly as bad as the Metro. VW took it back and replaced it due to all the problems. Hopeless.2001 VW Polo 1.4S automatic. VW provided a new replacement for the previous pile of poo Polo. No problems with this one, but by then I wanted a...2001 MINI One automatic. The demonstrator from the dealer, so no waiting list for me. British racing green, with two tone beige and black leather and lots of options. Wonderful.2004 MINI Cooper automatic. Still have this one in the garage 13 years later, and with only 12k careful miles. Every extra ordered except the John Cooper bodykit, and I went to Plant Oxford to see it built. She's only been driven in the rain twice. Sad? OCD? Guilty on both charges. My second car for the weekend.1974 Mini Clubman automatic. A genuine 12k mile, one owner, classic and I still regret selling it again 5 years ago. This was a third car for other weekends!2005 Renault Scenic automatic. Practical and cheap, I needed an everyday driver to go in and out of London so I didn't have to use either of the Minis. Lots of bits fell off, but my niece had it for years after I traded up, and it is still going in the Aylesbury area despite some pretty severe punishment. 2009 VW Tiguan automatic. Never again VAG, never again. Ever. EVER! Good at first, but then kept going wrong, ending up destroying the gearbox in the third lane of the M1 after just 40k miles. Had a hole in the drivers side carpet, the touchscreen was patchy and the paintwork quality poor. If only everything in life was as reliable as a...grrr.2012 Honda Accord i-DTEC EX automatic. Brilliant. Just brilliant. One of my better decisions...a truly superb car. But a change of job meant that after 50k miles it had to go as I didn't need a diesel and potential DPF issues. 2015 Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC automatic. An odd one this. The Twilight Blue paintwork had an issue with 'bleaching' noticed at just a few days old. Honda replaced it, almost straight away. I'm not sure how many other manufacturers would have done that. 2015 Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC automatic (take two). This time in White Orchid Pearl, I had a happy 22k miles in this - a really excellent car - until i fancied a change.Which brings me to my Lexus NX Sport. I don't think I've missed any out...

I only had mine fitted for a bike carrier so can't comment on cooling options, sorry

I have a 2010 RX450 and recently had a towbar supplied and fitted by PF Jones, an ebay site. No cutout to the bumper at all. It's a detachable swan neck. Give them a phone, they were very helpful. Total was about £400 from memory. Can't be sure of RX300 but I'm sure they will know. Just checked their website, there is a non detachable model with no bumper cuts. https://www.pfjones.co.uk/lexus-rx300-closed-off-road-vehicle-02-2003-12-2008-brink-swan-neck-towbar.html

Some additions to the torque settings. Front lower steering knuckle ball joints 2 holding bolts 89 ft/lbs. Ball joint nuts 64 ft/lbs then turn (tighten) till cotter hole align max 60 degrees. John.

They sure are looking at this old gurning idiot 😂 Big Rat

Cheers for all ideas, I have a local place that fully alligned my last LS, so will have a chat with them, but also would consider a drive to Chesham, as heard good things about Wheels in Motion, and from this part of the world, is a lovely drive.

😀 Bottom line, it is up to you 😀 Describe the right ‘ISF’ for you. We are listening 😜

Is it just me that thinks the concept of having a service after a certain number of miles is a bit daft? Even though my odometer may have moved 10,000 forward since the last service the engine hasn't been running all that time! Surely it would be better to have a service after a certain number of hours of running instead? Am sure that the technology could cope with that!

The ISF crowd are a strange lot! Get an LS400 instead!

Might be worth asking the AA for a quote as well as the main dealer?

I can also recommend wheels in motion at Chesham, Sorted my is200-worth the journey.

@Peckerdo you have Lexus warranty? If so, you I'll have the top aa cover which I believe will cover you for a lost key....

The info in this thread should be made into a sticky thread and/or How To guide.

The brake system is complicated because it cannot use a servo running from the inlet manifold depression as the engine at any one time may not be running. Further the hydraulic brakes are not used all the time when braking. Regen braking being used instead to save the energy "controlled by the foot brake pedal" that would be normally thrown away. So the system has to have a brake simulator built in to the mechanism. For your laptop Maplins do a cigarette lighter plug in adapter with various voltage outputs, and plugs to power laptops from the car or a 12 volt car battery. Alternatively New laptop batteries can be bought on Ebay for around £10 depending on the model. If you need any other torque settings for the car let me know, and I will do my best to find them. John

Pete I had this problem from day one on my Mark 4 I went through a new tyre in 8k miles wearing the shoulder away. I had the car at Lexus who blamed the tyre and said the alignment was ok .I had it up on a teletrimy laser gizmo in Barnstaple and two visits to tyre suppliers who said it needed a new tyre. I then took it to Kenny Miller( motor engineer )in Glasgow a specialist in building racing cars who fixed it and the problem was camber and toe in. The lower arm as an adjustment on it which is initially factory set but any serious knocks (potholes kerbing) at the front end can put that out and no amount of adjustment anywhere else will sort out the problem. Mine was two degrees out on negative camber and combined with misalignment on toe in created the end of two perfectly good tyres. I can still see the initial markings he made on the lower arm setting guage and they are now two marks apart to get the car properly set up. 15k later and there is no adverse wear on both front tyres.

For me - 1. He says he is an expert track driver, but doesn't want to turn off the traction control..........hmmmmmm! 2. I do however agree with some of what he says. The F models don't seem to have evolved like the German equivalents. Don't get me wrong, in the real world the Fs have ample grunt (especially for people at my skill level), but he does have a point from a marketing perspective, Lexus have not kept up. Personally, I think the IS-F with its NA V8 was born at the tail end of that era, whereas the the RC-F and GS-F missed the boat. Arguably they should never been built as V8s. The world apparently demands forced induction. I've said it so many times, apart from a modern interior the GS-F offers very little over the IS-F (especially for the money). As others have said, after the IS-F, would I buy another Lexus........possibly a GS450h as a daily and when LC500 prices drop........ Finally, 'geeeeez' that guy loves his own voice!!!

It is real, so is this one, damn solid cars. 👍

The brakes on the GS450H along with many of Toyota hybrid cars cannot be bled properly without Techstreem or a suitable service tool. It also requires the removal of the two ABS motor relays. Failing to do this can mean the loss of fingers as it is possible for the brake system to pressurise without the key fob being in proximity to the car. Opening the drivers door can initiate pressurisation. If this happens with pads removed the caliper pistons can be pushed out resulting in loss of fluid, and air entry. You have been warned. John.

Robert. Torque settings for wheels, brakes, and shock fitting. Wheel nuts 76 ft/lbs Front Brakes:- Caliper bolts 58 ft/lbs Rear Brakes :- Caliper bracket bolts 40 ft/lbs Slide pins 18 ft/lbs. Shock absorber mountings:- Front shock top nut 21 ft/lbs Top ball joint nut 64 ft/lbs Bottom shock through bolt 81 ft/lbs tighten bolt holding nut still with suspension loaded. Height sensor nut 48 inch/lbs Rear shocks :- Top shock nut 13 ft/lbs Bottom shock through bolt 81 ft/lbs tighten bolt holding nut still with suspension loaded. Bottom arm to hub through bolt 81 ft/lbs tighten bolt holding nut still. John.

I imagine turning the adjuster a click or two will either free up or lock up the brake disk. That'll be a good hint. But I take your point and will try to look it up later.

I doubt very much the American will have the reliability from his American car just wonder if he will tell the long term truth about that, theier build quality is a joke, so much for his large following and many track days and so on have clearly not taught him very much about engine characteristics and long term reliability. Big Rat

If they are anything like the RX400h make sure your key fob is nowhere near the car or the brakes will prime any you won't be able to push the pistons back to get the new pads in.

I thought this logo was the nurburgring but it seems it's the outline of big rats M&S steak....

I changed my disks and pads a while ago. When I removed the rear disks, I thought the hand brake shoes were looking a little thin, so I ordered new. When they arrived, the new ones looked the same. Both rear calipers were seized, which is a common fault. Care should be taken when bleeding because the pedal doesn't go down to the floor, it's electronic. By the time you've realised whats happening, all the fluid is in the jar. :) But if you don't encounter those problems, the task is no different to any other car.

Been playing around with Prisma!