Do Not Sell My Personal Information Jump to content


Leaderboard

  1. olliesgrandad

    olliesgrandad

    Members


    • Points

      4

    • Posts

      1,344


  2. ColinBarber

    ColinBarber

    Global Moderator


    • Points

      4

    • Posts

      18,273


  3. royoftherovers

    royoftherovers

    Established Member


    • Points

      3

    • Posts

      10,874


  4. steve2006

    steve2006

    Global Moderator


    • Points

      3

    • Posts

      13,683


Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/28/2020 in all areas

  1. Last night my IS300h racked up 150,000 miles Im the second owner and have done 91,000 miles in the last 23 months. I have all of the previous service history from new so I though I would share some stats: So far its had 12 services (one every 12.5K) ever since I have had the car I have been changing all the filters on every service and it has only been run on 0W20 oil, it has has 2 sets of denso plugs replaced and is now on its 3rd set. Its had its EGR cooler cleaned out. I bought a secondhand one and cleaned that out, then on a weekend I replaced my original with this one. What a nightmare of a job that was!! But one that I felt was required I have paperwork for 7 complete sets of tyres, although they were not all replaced at the same time and in my ownership I have suffered 2 punctures that rendered the tyre useless, one of them on a tyre the had only done 800 miles. The car has been run on either Continentals or Falken tyres and since i've had the car I've only ever run the tyres at 39psi and they wear pretty evenly. Ive never had to have the tracking or alignment done and the car still tracks true. Ive done 2 diff oil changes and one gearbox oil change, the engine antifreeze has been changed. currently I am considering changing the inverter fluid but I have heard horror stories about getting airlocks in the system and bleeding is supposed to be a it difficult. All of the suspension is original, there are no rattles or squeaks and the ride is still very comfortable, everyone who travels in the car is impressed with the ride quality. Brakes, this is one area where Toyota/Lexus always seem to suffer, and my IS is no exception, its on its 3rd set of front discs, 5 set of front brake pads, 2nd set of rear discs and 3rd set of rear pads. It currently has EBC grooved discs and EBC pads on the front and genuine discs and pads on the rear. in the last 5000 miles I have replaced both rear calipers as they were seized and the fronts have had new slider kits fitted. The interior is spotless, mine is the SE spec so only has the half leather, the seats are still supportive even after a 500 mile round trip to London, on the cold mornings I do miss heated seats though. I know the infotainment system gets a slating but its not that bad, I have the premium stereo with the mouse controller and it takes a bit of getting used to but ive now got the hang of it although the sat nav can be a bit hit and miss with its routing at time, and the stereo gives good sound quality. Mechanically its still brilliant, it uses very little oil between services, it has a very small weep on the crankshaft front oil seal and this is the reason for the oil use. I can still get over 55mpg on a run and 45 mpg around town. It still pulls like a train, especially in sport mode. The Hybrid battery appears to still be in good condition, I have recently acquired techstream and am interested in interrogated the battery to see how well the cells are holding up Air conditioning is ice cold, its never been recharged Niggles/issues: There are only a few niggles I have, one of them is there is a rattle from the passenger seat when there is no one sat in it, I have a feeling there is. wire looks in the seat. The front bumper is absolutely spattered with stone chips and needs a resprayed at the same time the leading edge of the bonnet would benefit from a bit of paint as well. that aside the overall paintwork is in really nice condition. The wheels are typical Toyota/Lexus quality, the paint is flaking and the wheels now need refurbishing. The front edge of the O/S chassis leg was found to be quite rusty, this has now been rectified by a bodyshop after Lexus decided they would not do it under their body warranty. So that's the first 150,000 miles, I reckon I will see 200,000 miles in about 13 months time. Would it recommend one? Yes, Would I have another one? Very possibly, but would prefer a GS300h next time as they have a slightly larger boot which would work better when doing airport/ferryport runs, but if I can't get on e at the right price/mileage then ill happily have another IS300h
    2 points
  2. Really the only thing specific on the IS to look for is corrosion on the disc braking surfaces, especially on the rear, or a rough braking noise feel at less than 5 mph, which indicates a sticking calliper. Also that the footbrake is working correctly as some owners tend not to use it, allowing it to seize up.
    2 points
  3. In view of lack of response from Megastore, (battery importers for Hankook in the UK), I chased them today about the possibility of importing the Hankook AXS55D23L for us. They said due to lack of demand for this unusual size they would not consider it unless an order was placed for at least 100, so it looks like that they won't help us which is disappointing. I have emailed the Belgian battery company to see whether they or one of their branches would be prepared to ship to a UK address and if so at what cost and when and whether at a group price to individual addresses. I will post when I get a reply.
    2 points
  4. Simplest way to put it is they use the small battery to power the electrics that switch on the big battery. Small battery flat means no go
    2 points
  5. Mine also had a missed service but it didn't stop the Lexus dealership giving it an extended warranty. The car has been serviced regularly. I wouldn't let it bother you to be honest. With is age and the mileage you plan on doing the resale value shouldn't be a consideration either. Just my opinion of course.
    2 points
  6. Welcome to Europe's Leading Lexus Club! Please Enjoy!
    1 point
  7. Gen 1 was built well for the time and mechanically the gen 2/3 was ok but poor build quality elsewhere and a weak chassis, and the gen 3 in hybrid form has poor reliability too. Gen 4 is such a step up in all department, but it comes at a time where plastic wins over metal, and what metal there is, is thinner so perceived build quality is less but such a better car. I'm not sure about the ES being partly responsible as the two models co-existing for 29 years - it didn't just come along and took sales away from the GS. But with the drop in overall saloon sales, the ES being cheaper, and FWD being desirable in states that get a lot of snow, the GS suffered the most.
    1 point
  8. Who purchases a new car and then invalids the three year warranty after 11k miles by not servicing it? I'd steer clear. The engine will probably be fine but, assuming the service history is accurate and nothing was done until 34k miles, it is an example where the owner isn't looking after the vehicle - probably abused it, used cheap tyres/brakes etc. Plenty of CTs around, walk away.
    1 point
  9. Couple more pictures showing Apple car play - Main Apple menu on screen, and Google maps satellite view - will need to set everything else up.
    1 point
  10. I bought a mint set of the blade design from @NothernDan (thanks Dan) as spares but thay are so nice I haven't dared to put them on the car. 😬 I ended up having my own wheels refurbished instead......and then went and scuffed one of the rears. 😫 so will maybe swap sometime soon. That said I do like the later design you have but have never seen a set for sale. Can a man have too many spare shiney wheels I wonder 🤔
    1 point
  11. Lee i think this is great piece of kit! I should get it long time ago. Now, lets hope your battery can take and then hold the charge! 🙂
    1 point
  12. My previous car was the FWD Honda Accord 2.4 with 190bhp and that was more fun to drive on the limit than the RWD IS300 I had before it.. I think there is this notion which gets thrown around about RWD cars being more fun to drive and although there is a fact on this, some FWD cars can be just as fun if not more predictable on the limit in certain driving conditions than RWD cars. Although its sad to see the GS model go, the writing was on the wall due to it being outsold by other models in the Lexus lineup and they had to make a decision. 4th gen GS although modern lacks something in my eyes. i feel gen 1 to gen 3 were the better built GS's to be honest.
    1 point
  13. Hey guys, after a long departure from posting and working on the car I am now back with some time to start getting the car on the road. Previously I had a mk1 NA GS300 but I moved on to the Aristo V300 vertex which has been sat still for the past 8 years due to changes in jobs and lots of travelling and as you know a modded V300 does not like to be a commuter car as it returns terrible mileage. I have got it back up and running this weekend, after 7 years without a start it went after charging the battery, changing the fuel and cleaning the plugs first turn of the key, so now begins the road to getting an MoT and progressing on with all of the things that have been on the back burner for such a long time. As I have been out of the loop I will have a ton of questions on the who what where and whens of what is good and what is not but at the moment the plan will be to get the perishables done and some general tidying up carried out as its all a bit tatty at the moment. Catch you on the forums
    1 point
  14. Hi Mark Emjay82 I agree that due to amazing reliability of the CT I wouldn't think it would have a lasting effect on the car. You could use the patchy servicing as a bargaining tool as previously mentioned. I do around the same sort of mileage as you mentioned of around 18-20K a year for my work in mine. I'm always banging on on here about how reliable they are and I have covered 168K now. I bought with 116K about 3 years ago, Now mine did have the full history as it had been a company car, although sometimes they weren't done exactly on time. For peace of mind I then booked a full 100k service at Lexus Chester after I buying it and asked them to give it the once over and to let me know if there were any issues and there was just some wear and tear stuff. Hope this helps. 😁
    1 point
  15. there's someone within screaming distance .......Love that comment
    1 point
  16. I'm the same. Axle stands to back up a trolley/trolley to back up axle stands. I'm never particularly happy under the car. I also make sure there's someone within screaming distance I've got a fairly sturdy pair of ramps that were always great for the FWD Saabs but the rear wheel drive GS is a nightmare to get on. Try to drive on and invariably one of them moves.
    1 point
  17. Herbie, that's very useful info about the batteries, many thanks. I'll get a jump pack and keep it on charge in the boot or somewhere, for emergencies. Barry, I can't use a trickle charger, as I have to keep the car on the street.. maybe a solar powered one would do the trick? Does anyone have tips for reducing drain? Would disabling keyless-entry help?
    1 point
  18. When the engine is not sufficiently warm, the ECM uses internally stored default values for the fuel trims. This is open loop operation. When the engine is hot and a preset coolant temperature is reached and the O2 sensor is hot enough to give a good signal, the closed loop operation comes into effect and the O2 sensor is used to adjust the air to fuel ratio. The base line for both short and long term fuel trims is 0%. Lean conditions are represented by positive values and rich by negative values. Fuel trims are generally considered good if they are within + or - 10%. Most manufacturers will set a trouble code when the fuel trims either or individually achieve a value grater than 20% for a prolonged period of time. Wrong engine timing will influence the fuel trims. Chris.
    1 point
  19. The Toyota system essentially only cycles the battery through about 60% SOC I believe which massively helps reduce degredation. The other thing that kills batteries is rapid recharge and discharge rates. Even our base Tesla will dump over 300KW of energy on demand from a 75kWh pack, and recharge at close to 2C. The latest 300KW chargers from Porsche are doing over 3C sustained charging, that kind of energy transfer is what kills battery packs. Up until recently Tesla had a fantastic reputation for making HV that lasts, but all that has changed in the last 12 months. It's now clear abused lithium ion packs simply cannot last the test of time, Tesla are actively limiting charging speed, pack capacity via software changes to get out of mass warranty claims which would bankrupt the company over night!! https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/sudden-loss-of-range-with-2019-16-x-software.154976/ Compare this to how well a Toyota Prius lasts over 200K miles, the difference is night and day. We were all set to replace our IS300H with a Model 3, we even had one on order!! But am really glad we cancelled the Tesla order and keeping the IS300H, the battery data coming out of Tesla in the last 6 month is rather worrying, and Tesla have been very aggressive in keeping that data out of mass media streams with lots of NDAs been used/legal threats to various sources. If you want guaranteed reliability (Warranty or not), the Lexus/Toyota is in a league of their own. Compared to a plugin in hybrid or full EV you really have no worries on the reliability front!! Having owned an EV now since 2015 I have a nasty feeling battery gate (for full EVs) will be main automobile industry headlines come 2025. All that money VW has spend on EV development post dieselgate may all be wasted!!
    1 point
  20. Good write up thank you. I'm about 116k behind you and don't see myself catching up anytime soon - particularly in the current climate!
    1 point
  21. I guess thinking the norm should be every 10,000 miles or every year- whatever comes the soonest. I see some upto 4 missed missed services.
    1 point
  22. Look in the owners manual page 494 "do-it-yourself maintenance" you'll see illustrated a trolley jacking point under the front and under the rear of the car, either will lift a pair of wheels off the ground. Personally I still place axel stands as a precaution should the trolley move or collapse. Don't fancy being under a car reliant just on the trolley.
    1 point
  23. What; is the car ? is the current mileage ? who is the seller ? What warranty is being offered ? What MOT does it have ? How many previous owners ?
    1 point
  24. Are these stats from the service book or online? Who supplied the car. Might be worth talking to their service department.
    1 point
  25. These are a very reliable car. My first advice would be to check that the car has been properly prepared for sale. Lexus dealers in my experience can be a little lax on proper preparation compared to others. Try and buy a car that has been sold and serviced by the same dealer and ask for a redacted printout of work on the car. The online records are helpful but from experience don't show everything. Lexus warranty is great. Try and get an extra year thrown in if you can. I have owned a IS300h and they are a good car. £20000 should get you a fine example. Do have a long test drive in the car you want to buy as seating comfort varies between vehicles. If you are considering an f sport this is important as the seats are quite firm (mine was an f sport). Later versions I have driven appear to be better on fuel economy. I am sure if you buy the right car you will be pleased. Good hunting 👍
    1 point
  26. Pending a diagnosis on my instrument cluster and delivery of a few bits and pieces I have been doing some work on the paint, which seems to be responding well: Whilst I was fiddling around with the aerial I noticed there was a little bit of rust, so that has been addressed. It just needs basecoat and lacquer now. The bonnet and boot have suffered over the years, with lots of blemishes, such as this: This is the colour of my white polishing pad after doing just half of the bonnet. I assume it is dirt, and not black paint, because the paint is lacquered. Still, the bonnet is starting to look better, as least from a few feet away! Ideally the bonnet and boot need repainting, but that will go on the backburner for the time being, although I'm sure it will be easier than repainting the Mercedes 420SEC I did a couple of years ago.
    1 point
  27. Check all the moving parts are free (cable, latch assy) and make sure the release knob fully returns after pulling it, spray some lube around the latch.
    1 point
  28. AGM batteries can operate in partial state of charge but what kills them is being left very flat or on a small parasitic load. As soon as you try to recharge them from this state, lead metal is plated out onto the surfaces of the glass fibre mat separator. This causes a high resistance short internally in the battery and stops the battery holding a charge as normal. From the description above, this is what has happened.
    1 point
  29. Sounds like a plan. I don't plan on driving mine too much in winter. It's done under 30k so I'm just enjoying it when the weathers nice. Would like a spare set while I get my wheels possibly refurbed. They not kerbed but need a good wheel off clean and soak and contaminants embedded into the surface. I'm going through it making it like new slowly but surely haha.
    1 point
  30. Just looking at that engine bay convinces me to hold onto mine as long as possible. I can just imagine the service manual........remove upper engine cover, remove lower engine cover, remove front air intake, remove the 16 vacuum pipes, remove the 12 electrical connectors........you can now fit new wiper blades.
    1 point
  31. can confirm they just need drifting off.
    1 point
  32. Lol its a lexus remember coupled with the fact that it seems to have been well maintained and looked after 😃👍
    1 point
  33. With the roadside assistance included in the extended warranty you only need to get the bare minimum insurance . I was surprised when I was looking for insurance ( fully compl) the drop in premium when I said I did not want any road side assistance,, car hire or European cover which, of course is all included in the ext.war..
    1 point
  34. Hi Its the same with the LS430 - hit with hammer and they eventually do come off
    1 point
  35. I used autosol on mine a few years ago and they came out almost as good as new 🙂👍
    1 point
  36. Don't know about the GS450h ones but on the IS250 the official way was to just hit them with a hammer from behind, but there was no space to swing so the easiest way was to lever against the silencers with a crowbar or similar. There were no clamps, just claws. They are probably stainless steel - you can clean them up and repolish with a lot of patience.
    1 point
  37. It really depends on the age of the car and if you intend to drive it until it dies or sell it on. I used to love working on my own car and over the years I've had engines in and out, stripped down, repaired this, that and the other, and done all my own servicing. My back injury now prevents me from doing any of that and, of course, if you service it yourself you don't get the stamp in the book. My point is, Lexus labour charges are extortionate but, once a car gets beyond a certain age, why would you take it to the main dealers anyway? There are many excellent garages and mechanics out there and things like cam belt/water pump changes, brakes and other routine stuff are their bread-and-butter jobs, well within the scope and capabilities of any decent mechanic worth his salt, at prices far more reasonable than Lexus main dealers, so in that scenario, an expensive extended warranty may not make sense. The killer for me, although I do have an extended warranty at the moment, is the requirement to also have servicing done at the main dealers as a condition of the warranty. I'm more used to paying "mates rates" for servicing and it was quite a shock when I had to pay for Lexus servicing. However, my car is still young enough yet to justify the warranty so hey-ho.
    1 point
  38. Hi I would definitely recommend it. Furthermore you get 2 free mots for the duration of the warranty. Whatever model you drive, the Extended Warranty covers the cost of most parts and labour – just like the original warranty on a brand new car – and offers all the reassurance and peace of mind that you expect from Lexus. On the LexusCare Approved 2-4-1 warranty you have the additional benefit of the cost of 2 MOT Test’s** (re-test is not included our car had £4K of repairs to be completed and it was covered by the warranty. This the link if you want to read more. https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/ExtendedWarrantyBroch_PAGES%200319%20FINAL_tcm-3157-1768928.pdf
    1 point
  39. Good move. My 2017 car had a water pump replacement under warranty (dealer gave me the paperwork). That job on a gen 4 RX450h is over a thousand pounds most of which is labour. Toyota water pumps are notorious for failing /leaking so I think you have made a wise decision.
    1 point
  40. I've just received an email from Lexus, they've extended my free roadside assistance for three months due to Covid 19 with no charge! Now, being cynical I could say that I will probably never need it. But what a nice thing for them to do! Every time I get in the car or deal with Lexus I'm impressed.
    1 point
  41. It's called good customer service(looking after your customers)👍👍
    1 point
  42. I was just about to post the same thing. Very nice of them
    1 point
  43. The Lexus YouTube video is a great help. I am on my 4th Lexus having started with a 2014 IS300h f sport. As a high mileage driver I find that using eco apart from in traffic or cruising at a steady speed is counter productive to economy. If you dig around my old posts you will see my real world consumption figures. I have had more recent IS300h as loan cars and they are definitely better on fuel. Let's face it you are getting diesel mpg from a petrol and that's great (I'm comparing with my last Mercedes a E250 cabriolet which got mid to high 40s generally).
    1 point
  44. I traded a Honda Civic 1.8 iVtec for my Lexus. I didn't drive the Civic any differently to the Lexus in that I don't thrash around like a boy racer. I got about 28 to 32 to the gallon out of the Civic in winter, I'm getting a good 38 out of the Lexus, but in far more luxury.
    1 point
  45. Many thanks to everyone who posted these useful hints and tips. I see that my experience is in line with those of others, so I'm content. I never believed those ridiculous peak consumption figures quoted (and even repeated in a recent road test video of a model identical to mine.) Without a doubt one has to get used to driving a hybrid, and I'm still learning. As it happens we're off to Scotland in early May, so I'll keep a note of the data and post it here in due course. Thanks again Anthony
    1 point
  46. As Phil above says do not use EV to try to improve your MPG. It is fine for swapping cars round on the driveway so that no fuel is used. It must be remembered that all of the energy from the car comes from petrol. Driving in EV mode reduces the battery state of charge. The computer them makes engine then not only power the car along, but also has to charge the battery using more fuel. The idea is that the battery should be charged from energy that would normally be wasted such as braking, coasting down a hill, or on overrun. This kinetic energy has already been put into the car from the engine, and reclaiming it uses no fuel. There are occasions where the computer will make the engine produce more power than is required to keep the car moving, and produce some electricity. On these occasions it is because it is calculated the engine will be running more efficiently at this higher output, and save fuel by putting that little extra energy into the battery for later use. John.
    1 point
  47. You are missing nothing Anthony. Take a long trip up to Northumberland or Dumfries and Galloway or Edinburgh and report back please.
    1 point
  48. I use mine as a taxi, so most of the day it is trecking around town, I average 43-45mpg. On fast a roads with little stop start I can get that to early 50’s and today I’ve just done a run into London from Devon and the trip computer is showing 57.9mpg The change from “normal” to hybrid did require a bit of thinking about things like braking/slowing down and accelerating. If the light are changing I coast into the junction in order to regen as much as possible and also accelerate as gently as the traffic will allow in order to keep the battery powering the car as much as possible. Mid to late 40’s during the winter is quite good, I’ve noticed a 5mpg difference between summer and winter as I’m using the lights/wipers/heater a lot more in the winter Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
  49. I have a spare 17" spacesaver wheel and tyre free if it is any use to you and you can collect from Derbyshire, came from a 97 LS400.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...