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Well it's nearly here and I'm looking forward to doing some B road blasting, fortunately where I live if I turn right at the bottom of the road there are miles and miles of Yaris GR roads. Plan to keep it stock for a while then it will be going up to Lichfield for a re-map, the nitro suspension conversion and an Acropovic exhaust. Everything you read about them in the revues is true.

Took delivery of my new Ux yesterday, traded in my 21 plate

Todays figures are 47.5 and 46.5 - continuing the slow but steady increase would like to go back to the old app. When I try to check on charge progress am still getting ERROR try again later, only clears after I get the Charging Complete notification

Hello All, I am writing this thread to help fellow future Lexus owners. There is an IS250 new buyers thread, but can't see one for IS220D. I have had the joys(not) of owning a 220D. I thought of writing this thread for new potential buyers of this car. If there was a thread for IS220D before going to test drive my old IS220D, I wouldn't have never got it, and would have just went for IS250 instead LOL! 🙂 PROS : * Very good spec for the year of the car - I have had the Sport model, which came with auto lights + wipers, memory seats, fully electric seats with lumbar support also. It also had a 9 mode sunroof, but I believe that was an added extra option. Very good sound quality (I believe it's the Mark Levinson head unit). Auto dimming rear view mirror + auto dimming side view mirrors which tilt down when reversing. Keyless entry and start + front and rear parking sensors. * Much better drive comfort than it's competitors - Especially for longer journeys, drive is very comfy and the car is very practical. CONS: * High Tax Costs - The tax band for this car is quite high, as it comes around £330 a year. * High Fuel Costs - The reported figures are 35mpg/City and 52mpg/Motorway for the non sport models and 29mpg/City 45mpg/Motorway. However, from my experience and Fuelly average checks, it will be hard to get above 35/mpg on a motorway run, and more than 25mpg in city. If you give the car a good run, you will be seeing around 20mpg in city, and 27mpg on motorways. * Gearbox Is Awful - On the Non Sport models, you will find yourself not being able to shift into 6th gear on motorways, as the RPM's are too low driving at 70-75mpg. On the Sport model, the gears are too short, and the 1st and 6th gears are useless. The gearbox stick is heavy and chunky, and quite uncomfortable to shift gears. There is a quite loud crunch when changing into 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears. * The Engine Generally Feels Underpowered - This is obviously a large car, and made for comfort, not speed. However the engine feels underpowered, when taking off as the turbo starts to kick in at 2k RPM's. In first gear, the acceleration is slow and sluggish. * The Engine Has Lots Of Common Faults - It has the Toyota D4D engine, that is being used in Toyota Avensis. The injectors do go bad quite often, and head gaskets go bad on them very often as well. The EGR valves are also known to get very clogged easily, and need regular cleaning (Easy job, if you don't mind getting your hands dirty). WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR ON THE TEST DRIVE BEFORE TEST DRIVE * Head Gasket Leak - When engine is cold , pop the bonnet and unscrew the oil cap. The oil cap should be nice and clean, with no frothy contents on it and milky like residue. Also, check the coolant level and colour of it, it should be topped to max and it should be nice pink colour. * Fuel Injectors Condition - Take the engine cover off, and start the engine. Inspect the engine near injectors and look out for any leaks. Put your ear close to each injector and listen out for any rattling or knocking sounds. If it has any fuel leaks, or knocking sounds, steer away! It will be very pricey! *Auto Lights/Wipers - Turn the wipers and lights stalk to 'Auto' setting. There is a sensor on the windscreen, in the same position where the rear view mirror sits. Cover it with your hands, and have someone else inspect the lights - they should turn on. Take a bottle of water with you, and throw the water on the windscreen, it should wipe it off. *Seats/Radio/Air Con/Sun Roof - Check that the seat can be moved front/back, back of seat can be moved fron/back, seat height can be adjusted. If the car has memory function, put the car in neutral, start the car, put the hand brake on and hold the 'Set' button and press 1,2 and 3. There should be a beep indicating the position was set. Check that the radio works. Also check that the aircon blows hot/cold air and that the sun roof opens if there is one fitted in the car. *Check MPG - Check the AVG MPG and Tank MPG indicated on the computer. Reset it, by holding the 'Disp' button on the AVG MPG button. Go for an extended test drive, and check the MPG displayed. It usually overstates about 1/2 mpg depending on tyres etc, so bare that in mind. DURING TEST DRIVE/AFTER TEST DRIVE * Brake Callipers - Walk around each side of the car and check for heat coming from brakes. Each pair of wheels should be the same heat, if one is hotter than other, callipers are seized and will require rebuilding/replacing which is quite expensive. Another obvious tell tale sign is the car pulling to a side. * Brakes - Check that the brakes are not spongy, and brake hard enough. * Oil filter cap seized - The cap, where the oil filter screws into may be overtightened and impossible to get out. Make sure to ask, if it has been changed and if you are buying from dealer, ask them to check it before sale. Mine was screwed on solid, and had to get a new oil filter housing, which took a very long time to find second hand, as breakers don't sell them separate, they sell them whole on the engine block. I have scrapped the car before fitting it on, so still got mine if anyone is after one! * Leaking shocks - Check if you can see any leakage coming from shock absorbers, expensive replacements but not a real issue - some owners have reported replacing them and hard to find. * Exhaust Smoke - As any diesel, do a hard acceleration while checking your rear view mirror - there should be no clouds of smoke left behind. If you can, have someone watch you while accelerating past them for any smoke - lots of smoke could mean lots of expensive fixes. * Clutch - Make sure that the clutch is not rattling or vibrating, when depressed. The biting point shouldn't be too low or too high, and there shouldn't be any fishy smells in the cabin. * Exhaust - Check that after test drive, there is no exhaust smell in the cabin or outside the car. This could indicate bad cat, and exhaust replacement is quite expensive for this and the IS250 model. * Rust - Check for general health on wheel arches and underneath the car. It shouldn't be excessively rusty. Hope this helps prospective buyers! My opinion is, that there is a reason on why these are cheaper than the IS250. I have had mine for a while, and there was nothing but issues. Bad MPG, high road tax, rear callipers were seized, front calliper was seized, there was an exhaust issue and more. I have ended up trading mine in for IS250, and the V6 petrol version is better on MPG, than the IS220D sport model :O. No DPF, no EGR systems to be blocked. If you want the Lexus, just go for an IS250, as it is much more better running costs wise to IS220D, and much more reliable. If you really, really want a diesel, switch to an Audi A5, BMW 520D or Mercedes E Class, do not go for IS220D, unless it has had new injectors, head gasket replaced, and DPF is clean. But let's be honest, if someone invested that much money in it, they will not be selling it LOL! 😄 HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE LOOKING TO BUY AN IS220D.

Maybe far too basic but get mudflaps i got the ones from aliexpress for £15 and fitted them myself... best thing ever given how much it rains in the UK

Tonight's recharge predicting 56.2/54.5 which is a new high for "non aircon" and slightly down for "without aircon".

Refuelled for the 10th time today since taking delivery in March 22 and covering over 12500 miles. Overall consumption since the last fill is working out at 73.3mpg resulting from fuel purchased and the cost of electrical recharges converted to the current cost of E10 petrol. The overall consumption since taking delivery and using the above method of calculation is 63.94mpg. With credit to Ken R for the wording. My last fill up was more than 2700 miles ago on 29 April.

I'm more than pleased with my SC430 from RW. In fact I have found a bonus while going through the paperwork. I thought the cam belt would need doing in the next 18 months as it was replaced back in 2015 at around 97,000 miles but I found an invoice for a cambelt change at 119,000 miles in 2019 which he has confirmed. Some lots more miles or time to go before I need to worry about it again. Still drives great with no warning lights.

It's a good point, plus will need to accommodate 2-3 times the volumes of cars, which at peak times can be pretty congested already. I would only ever fill up with £10 max at a motorway service station anyway given their extortionate fuel prices.

As someone who worked for Liqui Moly, I can truthfully say that additives make a big difference, BUT only if they are used as a preventative measure. People often turn to additives when it's too late and expect them to do miracles. This applies to all cars, diesel and petrol.

Morning All Sorry I have only just got around to update , have had plenty to do with this nice weather. So I got a Denso Sensor from Autodoc DOX-0238 DENSO Direct Fit Lambda Sensor Right, for pre-catalytic converter, M18x1.5, Regulating Probe, Heated, Finger probe, Lambda Sensor ▷ AUTODOC price and review Cost in total £77.63 I booked into my local garage I have used for the past twenty years , they have always been very good . I removed the under trays and Matt fitted the sensor in less than a half an hour on the lift and charged me £35 which I thought was brilliant . I cleared the code with my scanner and it has been running fine again since . So all in £113. Cleaned up all the undertray and fixings and gave them a coat of gloss black and put it all back together but had four fixings over so will have to look where I have missed when it is up on the ramp again for MOT this next week. Thanks oldjoe 90 , you must be about my age remembering Joe 90, I will have a look at opie oils website . I did see an offer on GSF car parts which was cheaper than Autodoc but no stock , funny how they have marvelous offers on things you can't buy aye. Anyway all well again for now. Have a couple of things to look into on the RX now always something to fix. Neilj

The Alarm is still working properly after replacing the sensor.

As you may have seen in previous posts, I made a jump to a different colour interior this time with the tan and so far love it. With no regrets. It lifts the cabin and changes the whole feel compared to my previous Mesa with black. I really would like the F sport blue (like yours Mincey) with the red trim, the so called Pepsi spec on other brands, but have to think of budgets. Aren’t we ES owners lucky that we even have the options of interior colour available at no extra cost

Todays stats 47.6/46.1. Slow steady increase each time.

They came from Europe so used to left hand drive cars 🙂

It looks very nice,much more RC DNA than LC. Won't sound like much as no V8.Performance should be"adequate" as the LC hybrid is fairly close to the V8. Sonic Red or Terrane Khaki for me.

I won't be ordering one.

Yeah - that was surprising, because I blew some black stuff out and wanted to check what it was and it turned out it was like 20 small black ants. Only two in the jet thought. My theory is that they somehow got into washer bottle, maybe an old story before I got the car... would be interesting to know how they made through washer pump and why they only decided to stay in passenger side jet and not both. Perhaps we will never know!

Well I'll start off with the intention of doing so.

Indeed I have ... and I shall ... although I hope that I don't ... if you get my drift 😄 .

Thanks for those pictures Tony, Nice! I have one with this colour interior on order.

Certainly worth it if you needed the hybrid battery replaced. Does seem strange though as I would have thought the same technology is used in Toyota Prius etc.

I’d like to think - perhaps naively - that market towns, villages and suchlike near to major routes would prioritise getting fast chargers and use it as a way of regenerating high streets. I’m thinking less grim motorway service stations and more small coffee shops in a pleasant urban location with plenty of options for shopping and leisure. The journey may become as important as the destination, much as it was in the post-war period when cars were less reliable and there were fewer motorways and major trunk roads. As a child, no trip to the coast was complete without a picnic stop in the New Forest or a trip to a restaurant for lunch or dinner (depending on whether on the way or the return) in Winchester or similar. Obviously what will actually happen is more chargers in out of town settings with us all condemned to faceless retail parks with nothing but Costa Coffee, KFC, Tesco etc. Perhaps we get what we deserve?!

Cracking bit of kit. Hope you keep enjoying it! My brother had one of the first in the UK, shipped it straight to Lichfield for a re-map, was an incredible light and nimble car, with amazing performance from just 1.8L. A proper thing. We've had a GR Yaris, with the circuit pack, in the household for the last couple of years. Again a phenomenal car. Sounds a bit lame with the 3 pot, but goes very well indeed (and stop just as well too!! brakes are huge). Road holding and handling are sponsored by Eco-stick - it is incredible. Only complaint is how high you sit, as a passenger, and as a larger chap, the seat has to be reclined more than I'd like to get my head in, not as bad on the drivers side as there is a little height adjustment, but not ideal. But this doesn't take away from the fact that point to point it'll be difficult to put any gap between this and more expensive and exotic machines. Super super car.

Test drive day is upon us, and I am feeling quietly confident regarding the outcome given the pedigree. The crowd went 'will he, won't he'. Watch this space and all shall be revealed.

Someone also called it "Superman Spec" 🤣

Thank you so much. I’ll study that with interest 🫢 Malc

To be fair the old app is saying the same now! And I’ve had an email from Lexus saying the car is at their ‘UK hub’ which I assume is Derby. Fingers crossed on the home straight now

Diluted APC with a cloth followed by a leather / vinyl sealant you honestly do not need to do it excessively. I would aim for once every 6 months or once a year if the car gets light use. Ive had instances using leather cleaners where they remove some dye from the surface on lexus leather / vinyl so I stick to APC now which seems to be much more friendly.

On the RX I believe the steel plate covers the headlight ecu in the wheel arch. Maybe the RAV4 has it mounted closer to the front bumper. I’d guess it’s the same principle - find it, plug in your dodgy electronics, steal car. I needed a cat 5 tracker for my Lexus insurance and I upgraded for £100 to include immobilisation - no fob, no start, so the theory of stealing the car and leaving it for a while to see if the tracker is being monitored won’t work - they’d have to rip it out on-site/where the car is being stolen from. I’ve seen what’s involved in accessing the wiring that’s immobilised while it was being installed and honestly there’s no chance of taking it without a tow truck, without my fob or without stripping out a LOT of the electronics to get anywhere physically close to being able to bypass the immobiliser. I can track the car anywhere and view speeds and I think I can remotely immobilise it via the app even if they’ve taken the fob. Recommended - but a sad state of affairs really that it’s needed. Hassle your dealers!!

you can get parts from Opie Oils in Cornwall, they will post to you, DENSO SENSORS were £50 . Have had everything for oil and filters change from them for just over £50 with shell oil. they have a web site.

Perhaps it's time to conduct a blind test similar to those they used by washing powder advertisers. Personally, I have never been at all bothered whether it is supermarket or branded fuel. This largely because I've physically watched tankers from all brands, supermarkets, et al being filled from the same storage tanks and notably at what used to be the Shell, then Mobil, then BP, then Petroplus, refinery at Coryton, Essex. In itself, petrol is a powerful solvent and I struggle to accept the marketing claims this fuel is better than that fuel. Perhaps a slightly different story with the advent of E10, but modern engine systems will and do adjust their timings according to the octane rating of fuel. When did you last hear your engine "pinking"? Essentially, if your engine was designed to run on a particular octane then that's all it needs and a higher rating will not magically improve performance because your knock sensor will adjust the engine timings accordingly. As for the detergents put into fuels, then I'd like to know what these are given they must be pretty potent when diluted by 6000 gallons of petrol held within a tanker. As ever with these debates one's experience is purely subjective, but I'm quite content to continue to fill up with Sainsbury's fuel given my mpg will only vary according to how my right foot feels on the day.

Yes if it’s as good as claimed. There’s not much in terms of required coverage as the car is very clean underneath…and Kurust spreads very well…so for a few quid job done.

I'm Spartacus

I,ve Seen The day where I would be have been Impressed with The speed and Acceleration of the Tesla,, But Not Now.. It Reminds me of the phrase " Never Mind The Quality Feel the Width " But good luck to the guy with the Tesla Would much Rather have a Slower More refined Piece of kit Like the Lexus.. Just my opinion of course.!!!

Yes Tim it would be wise to experiment with spraying to master your technique first. I did not want to - our have a garage - to do it that way.

Photo of alarm security sensor (with part number showing) located directly under the heated seats switch. You might have to put the gear shifter in Neutral and remove the wood trim to unplug the cable:-

Hi Malcolm, With the SC430 so far I have only found the one sensor under the heated seats switch and that one is not adjustable. As I said before there is at least another sensor somewhere or maybe even 2 which may also be the fault cause?

I know in my Mk3 Ls400 the solution was to a) keep metallic bits and bobs out of the centre armrest console and b) to turn the alarm button to zero/ right down when you get to it underneath the centre console as mentioned with access afore There was no need for me to buy a new sensor ...... just to wind it down ! Malc

Keith. While recently recolouring my leather seats I found the location of the alarm sensor. It is very easy to get at being directly under the heated seats switches. The trim is easy to remove, start at the back area near the armrest lock. Yes a mobile phone would be extremely close to this sensor when inside the central storage under the armrest - I don't know if this actually causes any problems though? I have purchased a tested replacement sensor from a breakers on eBay for £20.00. It is from a SC430 which did only 39,000 miles while mine has done well over 100,000 miles. However this sensor may not be the cause of the alarm fault as there is at least one other alarm sensor/ECU on the car - but I have no idea of it's location? I'll fit the sensor tomorrow and report back.

Ill try again on Sunday, thank you

So working from your code P0051…=BANK 2 SENSOR 1….. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324989376687 ScrewFix oxygen sensor sockets….. https://www.screwfix.com/p/hilka-pro-craft-oxygen-sensor-wrench/2369r

If you had bought one from Lexus..it would will be a DENSO product inside the box .

It's worth having the aerial working in my view. I would fix it. It even adjusts its length when switching between frequency bands. Others who don't rely on it for decent radio reception would disagree because it is not required, is old fashioned and spoils the look of the car when extended. FM reception is probably still okay as the SC has 2 antennas. Replacing the mast is a bit of a fiddly job from what I've seen and read but shouldn't take too long to do.

something metal in the centre console arm rest maybe ....... this sometimes affects the Ls400 alarm Malc

Most of IS220d issues are caused by people not using them correctly (same as most other diesels), diesels are just not meant to be used on short journeys in the cities. How majority of people are using cars? For short journeys in the cities! That causes all the usual issues - DPF, EGR, Injectors, Turbo etc. Now sure IS220d had the famous head-gasket problem, so that is potentially the only real issue unique to IS220d that competitors do not have. Your car being low mileage and you mostly staying on motorway, I honestly would not expect any problems to crop-up. This is how the car meant to be used and even rather awkward gearbox is much less of an issue when you staying at constant speed with cruise control on. The problems only start when people use these cars wrong and instead of fixing underlying issue i.e. having wrong car for wrong type of driving, they start messing-up with removing DPFs, EGRs etc. and getting into never ending list of issues.

That sounds like an absolute nightmare you've had on the electrical front, glad it's all resolved now! I myself am a new owner of an IS220D and I have to say, I couldn't be happier, yes the car has its foibles; long gearing, not hugely economically, but what car doesn't! Mine is serving me very well after the first 5k Miles of ownership, I'm averaging about 47/48mpg on 70% motorway journeys, 30% country roads/short trips. On single motorway journeys, if I set cruise control at 65-67mph in 5th gear it averages over 55mpg everytime (see images attached of most recent journey, showing tank average of 49.2mpg over approx 300 miles and motorway average of 58.6mpg over approx 110 miles) I've encountered none of the drama that many forum users have, engine is clean as a whistle, EGR and DPF function perfectly, zero smoke etc. Seems like you and I got the only decent IS220Ds in the country 😂 congrats on racking up 100k miles with no reliability issues and still passing MOT first time, my model has performed the same feat, 17 years old, 32k miles when I bought it, and passed every single MOT without even an advisory, with the exception of the last one before I bought it, that stated rear tyres were ten years old and were beginning to perish.

This comes up often and never fails to make me incandescant because dealers really should know better If you take a multimeter and put the positive probe on the "special" jump start post in the engine bay fuse box and put the negative probe to any unpainted nut, screw, bolt, or bodywork, it will show 12V. There is no hidden or 'special' 12V source in that fuse box, or in the engine bay, or anywhere else for that matter. The 12V you're measuring is coming from one source and one source only, and that is the 12V battery at the back of the car, in the boot. That battery and that 'special' jump start post in the engine bay fuse box are directly connected to each other by a big cable. Ergo, 12V at the front is exactly the same as 12V at the back and it makes not one iota of difference whatsoever, which you choose to connect your jump leads to. The one and only reason not to connect directly to the battery is that the battery can generate hydrogen gas and there is a very small risk of ignition and an explosion if the jump leads spark when being disconnected. After more than 45 years of driving and 'hobby mechanic-ing' and after asking family, friends, workmates and others, not a single person has had personal experience of this, nor have they ever heard of it happening to anyone else, so it would appear to be more of a theoretical risk than a practical one. In conclusion, both the battery at the back and the jump post at the front are absolutely identical and equally viable places to connect jump leads/battery pack to from an electrical point of view.

Can you do it again please Barry, as a proper tutorial with step-by-step instructions and lots of photos? Seriously though, good job, well done. I've always enjoyed working on my own cars and you do get a fuzzy feeling inside knowing that you've achieved something.