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Morning, Just in case anyone is interested 🙂 Just over a month now since I sold my beloved ISF and bought an FK8 Civic Type R so thought I would post a quick things I like, dislike, miss, regret and so on.... Historically, I have been a massive Honda fan which started when I was a kid in the 80's... Senna in a McLaren Honda, the dirt bikes on Streethawk (and Streethawk ofc) and then sat in a Honda NSX in 1989 as a 10 year old at the motor show with my Grandad which sealed the deal... At 21 I bought a 1998 DC2 Integra Type R which started my Honda ownership journey... I replaced the Integra with an S2000 at 25 which went well but didn't handle anywhere near as well as the Integra. The S2000 was replaced by a DC5 Integra Type R which was ace but I sold it to raise funds to move house and swapped it for cash my way plus my friends 1998 DC2 Integra Type R which reaffirmed what a great car the DC2 was (I was too young and not a good enough driver to appreciate my 1st one). Eventually, I went for something different, a Nissan 350Z. I loved the looks and the noise but it wasn't fast enough. It handled well but always felt like it needed another 50 - 100bhp to make it the car it should have been. A baby due meant the time for a bigger car... Queue the BMW 335i M Sport. Great car when it worked. Unfortunately this "Approved Used BMW" spent 11 weeks over the course of 12 months at BMW having turbos, injectors, fuel pumps, waste gates & lambda sensors replaced. Suffice to say, I am weary of BMW's. Went to replace the BMW with... shock horror... an FK2 Honda Civic Type R... Took the Mrs to see it and she wasn't happy... "You can't spend 33k on a Honda" was the response... queue my friend mentioning the Lexus ISF which I hadn't thought about and found one for 22k (I think it was) which the wife said was "much more reasonable" until she found out it was a 5L V8 but deal was done and it was on drive so 1 nil to me. 4 and a bit years and some 50k miles later, I longed for an FK8 Type R (possibly to do with Honda winning in F1 again) and one turned up at the dealer I purchased some of my previous Type R's from. A quick phone call and a socially distanced viewing at my house led to me placing deposit on an FK8 subject to test drive (I had driven one on an extended test drive before lock down so just had to make sure it drove and stopped). Put my ISF up for sale on here and Facebook for a fairly low price which took into account the TLC she needed. A pleasant chap from the Facebook Lexus group was in contact with me from the start and when I mentioned when it was due to go sooner rather than later, he drove down down about 260 miles the following day (in a pimp old school LS400 I might add) and bought my ISF for £200 more than Honda offered me in part-ex which I didn't mind as genuinely wanted it to go to an Lexus fan (he has an SC430 as well). So... Cutting a long story short... Few I like about the FK8 1 - Looks - I know they are subjective but I really like the look of it and always find myself looking at it when it's near 2 - Reaction - Good or bad, it turns heads. 3 - Handling - For a car that is the same size as the ISF (I think it's 5 cm shorter but wider than the ISF) it's a lot lighter and changes direction superbly. The diff is a masterpiece and I know it's a bit of a cliche but it feels more like a 4wd car than a Fwd car with the amount of grip it manages along with how it gets the power down. The adaptive dampers are great as well, comfort for when the wife and kids are in. Sport day to day. R for a track day 4 - Braking - The ISF brakes are great... the FK8 brakes are another level. I have also got the floating discs from the 2020 model to go on it before the annual Ring trip next month 5 - Tech - It's got all the gadgets being a GT. The head unit gets some bad press but using Android Auto it is fine - Spotify and Waze on main screen plus Google Assist works a treat 🙂 6 - Performance - Once moving.... it pulls and pulls and pulls. Not as quick off the line as the ISF but once moving, it is very rapid 7- Seats - They are great and the driving position is perfect. One thing I didn't like in the ISF were the seats. They weren't racy enough for me compared to an M3, RS4 or C63 that it was competing with. 8 - Running Costs - Tax is £150 a year compared with £580 or so, Insurance for me is £200 a year (ISF was 290) and obvious one is MPG (25+ around town and 40+ on motorway) 9 - The rear seats fold down so managed to blag it as being practical with the wife 10 - Best until last... The Gearbox... It's obviously a manual but it is a joy to use. Things I dislike about the FK8 1 - Noise (or lack of). The turbo spool and dump valve noise is quite cool but nothing compared to a V8. Exhaust note is non existent which is disappointing as there are plenty of cool sounding 4 pots out there (i30N, RS Megane, Golf TCR and so on). Exhaust on the shopping list. 2 - Niggles - Luckily under manufacturers warranty but she is going back in soon due to a few faults (all rain related). The auto wipers don't work, when it rains heavily the collision warning sensors can go off and I noticed condensation in one of the side lights by the front. 1st 2 issues are common faults. She was probably built the day they announced Swindon closing 3 - Interior (seats aside) - Not as plush as the Lexus in terms of materials and feels a bit more fragile than my ISF did. Also not sure I am a fan of the digital dash yet compared to some good old dials . Only one cup holder as well.... I am starting to sound old 🙂 4 - Wheels - 20 inch wheels look cool, but you have to avoid potholes like the plague for risk of cracking a rim. May have to invest in some smaller wheels in future 5 - Engine - It looks like a lawnmower (as in the actual engine). Did I mention lack of noise? It sounds like one as well Regrets 1 - Probably let the ISF go for too little money bearing in mind the price they are on AT but still got a fair amount more than WBAC 2 - I wasn't as bowled over on day 1 with the Civic as I was with the ISF but that was probably due to relief from getting away from the BMW. This was cleared up at Thruxton though where the Civic came into it's own 🙂 3 - The RCF - My buddy with an ISF keeps sending me links to RCF's which are now in budget.... I can't return yet surely 😉 Anyhow... it has been an absolute pleasure owning an ISF. I would buy another one in a heartbeat. In fact, a late one is on my list along with the RCF and GSF as things to replace the Type R with 😉

I've never needed to have any aircon work done so I can't give any personal recommendations, and I know you said you prefer Manchester or Liverpool but, given your lack of suitable places so far you may have to widen that out a bit. I live in Preston and there's a specialist near me that gets a 5-star rating from over 50 Google Reviews http://www.mrsheattransfer.com/ so might be worth a call if you're willing to travel that far. There's another one in Leyland that gets 5-star ratings from 13 reviews https://www.chillout-airconditioning.co.uk/

See https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/vehicle-service/#servicing - scroll down and select your car and you will see prices for all services - add up what yours will cost for the next couple of years. The service plan allows you to spread those payments over 24 months Interest free.

Auto Trader has announced the Lexus NX as the best hybrid car in their New Car awards 2020. Well deserved.

Well after being away from the Lexus fold for the past 18 months I'm back. My 4th Lexus. This time im in a 07 is250 SE-L which I swapped my diesel mondeo for. The Ford had to go because the diesel market is dying at an alarming rate. To put it in perspective. 6 weeks ago the mondeo was valued at 6.5k. In the past fortnight I've been offered between 4 and 4.5k. Well my 250 was up at 5.5k and a straight swap was made because the vendor saw my car and knew its potential. Anyway I've been looking mainly at RX400h or RX350 but the ones I saw were poor. My 250 yes is a 07 plate but a one owner from new and 78k with full Lexus history. It had to have Nav and ML. Its amazing how many is250's there are out there for sale but very very few with Nav and ML. I struck lucky. Mines Bkack with Ivory leather. Love how it runs. Ive been thinking of the 250 for a number of years but got either hybrids or Fords. I've a couple of questions. 1st is is their a recommended updated Nav disc? If so which is the better and suitable one? 2nd is the drivers seat electrics work but the seat memory doesn't. Passengers side works so I'm wondering if its a faulty bank of switches. Any ideas? I was going to put a Bluetooth adapter box in this 250 but I was very surprised to see it has an aux socket. The ML is outstanding. Just as good as the 14 plate is300h premier premium (that's how lexus dealer described it) I had a few years back. I know about the sticking brake caliper saga with these cars. Mine had new calipers fitted in 2016 20k miles ago. Pads look like new front and rear. I am however going to remove the calipers and de rust them and treat with a rust prevention liquid then paint them gloss black. Ive got Liv-Moly grease for the pins etc. So to anyone who remembers me Hiya and to those that done well you'll be seeing a lot of me. It feels great to be back. Do I miss that superb mondeo? No. Thanks for reading and I hope to get responses and answers soon. The Nav disc really really needs replacing with an up to date one.

A lot of info here inc list of specialists (at bottom) https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/air-conditioning/

It takes very little current to 'start' a hybrid. So little, in fact, that you could almost use a pack of 8 AA batteries to start the car (although that's not really advisable) so I doubt that it's the battery not being up to spec. By the sound of it you've not had the car long so I'd go straight back to the dealer and get them to investigate it. Having said that, if you're new to Lexus ownership is it safe to assume that you're also new to hybrids? If so, it may be worth having a look at post number 4 in the topic below, which gives a basic idea of how hybrids work and their particular foibles regarding the 12V battery:

I joined LOC in 2004 and think there was a proper in house search facility that Google then took over. May be wrong. My 2005 RX300 SEL original Panasonic battery was still working fine when I upgraded in 2018. Given that it was probably put in the engine bay in summer 2004 it did remarkably well. Now I'm reading all these threads about 450h 12 volt batteries. Clearly they're not lasting as long ? When I went to Milton Keynes to take my first look at the latest RX, I remember asking about the battery. Salesman had no idea where it was ! Alan

Hi guys and thanks. I've googled fir maps and seen on ebay TNS600 TNS700 which I'm unsure what they are. Also what ive seen is that all the discs I've seen are suitable only for gen.3 and 5. Now are these OK as my car is a gen 2. Pics of car below and last one I think shows the nav headunit.

‘OCD’ I prefer ‘CDO’ it’s a lot neater alphabetically!😂

Please don’t get the IS220 with your expected usage profile!

I can't help it. MY2005 V70 2.5T SE. 150k miles, not been particularly well looked after, £1k. Let the fettling begin

I noticed that Times Radio started broadcasting this week, supposedly targetting the Radio 4 audience. I thought it might be interesting to have a listen and see what it's like. I'm not convinced that Fox News in America, also owned by the Murdochs, has been an unequivocal force for good. But despite this, Times Radio might or might not turn out to be interesting. The problem is how do you listen to it when you have a Lexus designed DAB radio? Maybe others will be interested to hear how I managed to set it up. It turns out, after I did some research, that a likely reason early Lexus DAB radios are so hopeless is that Japan doesn't use DAB. Instead it uses some other digital standard. That being the case, when they implemented the DAB system for countries like the UK they probably didn't realise it was so hopeless, not having had any experience of how it should work for the listener. Anyway, as I discovered some months ago, the key is the “ensemble” or “multiplex”. Stations are grouped into a stream of data which is called a multiplex; each multiplex might group 10 or 15 stations. There are several multiplexes, some national, some local. A decent DAB radio hides all this technical stuff and simply displays an alphabetical list of available stations. But the Lexus set-up instead requires you to find the multiplex that carries the station you want to listen to. Knowing this, all I needed was the name of the multiplex that was carrying Times Radio. This is available on the internet but instead I used my DAB radio, switched to Times Radio and then displayed the info for the station. This told me that the multiplex is SDL National. Later, in the car, I turned on the radio and pressed the tiny button marked Radio repeatedly until the DAB screen showed. At this point you move the Audio Controller wheel to the right and select Manual, which will show the name of the current Ensemble or Multiplex. You then need to press the right or left buttons on the radio itself until you display the SDL National ensemble. Lastly move the Audio Controller to the right and select stations. Times Radio should now be listed among the stations on this multiplex. There's also a potential shortcut to save going through all the ensembles to find the one you want. If you have any of the stations broadcast on SDL National already stored on your presets you can go straight to this ensemble by selecting the preset and then select stations as above. Among stations you might already have on a preset from this ensemble are Virgin Radio, TalkSport and JazzFM. Here's a full list. I wonder if Lexus has made the DAB system easier to use in more recent cars.

Probably a safer choice of the two.

these maybe? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXUS-IS220D-IS250-05-12-REAR-DIFF-ARM-BUSH-BUSHES-FOR-DIFFERENTIAL-/180953613044 https://7zap.com/en/catalog/cars/Lexus/brand/10/0/LEXUS IS/LEXUS IS250%2F350%2F2%23%23D/Lexus/NUdPdWgreTV3VG9ZUGtTUlU1cHgvNm1GNnJqelpleE5CSFRvK2tYUGZNd253T1FSbjFaWnhUZ09YeFNhQzlYWGdxUVRzMG1US2pmdWdwL2JDNHBmMHVRQW91SXYzUm9qMlI4Z1R1SGhFYWZXdFRvWkVVbVpWUkhYN1kvZFNYYVdJMUR3Yzc2QjdTWU1hR0dVeThtK0pBPT0=/6bbffde8b5b8077d2d0a5796da6eea3c:6bab1c2b889c5ce59f54e9febd160e41/manufacturer/2->4101/4101---413952a

Didn't have the parking brake on ! Car was on level ground in the drive and I had forgot to put brake on,basic operator error on my part.I applied brake and video worked perfectly. Many thanks John and all others for their input.

Thanks guys for the feedback. I have declined the wrapped car and gone for the slate grey 2008 plate. I’ve paid a little over the top but it is being sold By a Lexus Main dealer with low mileage. Picking up on Wednesday.

Apparently yes.

What would be funny is if this one is off the exact same car when the seller says he sold the car without it 😀

I can't really complain, I've had it for 7 years now, hardly spent anything on it in repairs. I'm in Warrington, so Preston is equally as far as Manchester/Liverpool Rather than trawling the net, and ringing garage after garage, I was hoping a member could recommend a garage local to me. Unfortunately most links appear to be everything south of Birmingham. I'll give your links a try on Monday, and update with any positive results. Many thanks

It has arrived although their van tracker showed the van 20 miles away.

If anyone is looking for some tyres for their Lexus, Camskill are running a promotion at the moment buy 2 Michelin tyres £30 instant cash back, buy 4 tyres £70 cash back, which I think is more than the Michelin deal, I have just bought 2 x Michelin PS4 245/40/18 for the rear of my 2008 IS250, I also checked before i purchased them with the insurance company (Adrian Flux) to make sure my policy was not invalidated, they said "it was not a problem" Total price was £220.20 but with discount £190.20 inc delivery, plus £25 for fitting (locally) works out £107.60 fitted per tyre, I didn't think that was too bad, I think the promotion runs until the 12th July, just thought this might someone out.

I had a Water Pump go pop 5 years ago on a French Autoroute en-route to Spain. Nationwide performed admirably and then reimbursed me with every penny of my reimbursable expenditure Malc. One can only speak as one finds.

in all fairness it's only 30 mins Main Dealer labour plus the cost of one plug plus vat Malc

A great write up William. I must confess to casting my mind back to Tony Hancock`s "Radio Ham" as I read it !

Thanks James. I`ve had a 240GLT Auto Estate too, with Brown Leather seats and Electric Sunroof. A great car. It was followed by a 2 litre 460 GLT which was also reliable, comfortable and surprisingly economical. I always wanted a 940 Wentworth, but never went there and moved to Nissan Bluebirds which had 2 odometers and were ultra reliable.

same here I wouldn't say no either 😉

I think your type R looks great, especially in white, the wing at the back is a little OTT but that’s all that’s holding it back looks wise, but if you need the downforce on track then it’s definitely needed!

Thanks Herbie - we had a Kia Nero before the Lexus, but very different beast.. just trying to get my head around it all so very helpful.

Had the same, 2 nights running. My wife (Miss Marple) cracked it. Street lights go off at midnight, pitch black. Neighbour opposite has movement sensor security lights. Mr Fox walks past, turns the lights on, Mr Moth wakes up and flies about. Alarm goes off, and believe me, at 2.30am that alarm is loud.

I like older Volvo's. The phase one V70 though is quite good I have heard. Had a 1989 240 GLT auto estate for 10 years, 8 as only car and daily driver. Excellent reliability. Recovered once in that time as gearbox output bearing went. £400 to sort. Sold the 240 for £500, only paid £350 for it so got my moneys worth and covered 76,000 miles with me. Sold with 234,000miles For the last 4 years, I have a 1996 Volvo 940 SE LPT auto estate. Again great reliability and just keeps going. Now on 203,000. Used as my works van. Last week been tidying up the body and fitted some new AC O rings and replaced AC condenser clamp for a better condition one, so now have working AC. Looking for a 960/V90 grey leather interior as fancy electric adjustment front seats with memory function. James.👍

Useful review. Thanks. The Type R is on my (very) short list when it comes to change

GF is good value, but cover is free with certain Bank/Building Society accounts.

Bit late to mention it, but that the cable you've taped to the Boot hinge, could have gone inside the hinge area. The plastic strip (on my car) is removable and hollow

Used RAC Breakdown and Recovery for about 53 years These past few years it's been Complimentary .............. wonder why Yes I have called them out on a few occasions flat tyres a few times over the years coz i know for me it's a struggle and the jack on the Ls400 barely seems to hold the car ! Inconvenient ............... alternator going pop, 3 x now on 3 different cars and all at night and miles from home Ls400 ........... slid on bus diesel fuel spillage going round the corner off the A2 at Sidcup, slid into the grass bank, the RAC pulled the car out of the shrubbery and back onto the road while the police diverted all that A2 traffic to the next junction ....... that was fun for a few hundred other poor motorists 😲 EVERY time the service has been exemplary and amazing NATIONWIDE B/Socy recovery etc ....... don't bother, wouldn't respond to me positively when I slid into a hidden roadside gulley, told me to contact my insurers to arrange assistance ............... a passing farmer and policeman sorted me out as I was just blocking the country lane

I've had my 2008 V70 for over four years now and still only on 62k. Such a practical car. Mine has the 185hp diesel and it just has so much pulling power. A great car for me being a dog owner as well, plus I can get 3.2 lengths of timber in it!

Well done Richard. It just goes to show that there is incredible value out there if you are prepared to get stuck in. Enjoy.

Having recently completed a transmission fluid and filter change on my IS250C perhaps I can share my experience. When doing a transmission fluid drain I always like to leave the car standing for 24 hours or so to enable the fluid to drain down into the transmission pan. After first draining and then removing the pan, followed by the filter removal, I managed to get roughly 3.2 litres of fluid out of the transmission. I followed this with two further drain only sequences, again leaving the car stand for a day or so between drains, and managed in total to get 7 litres of new fluid into the trans. I sourced the filter, gasket and crush washers - all original Toyota items - through MegaZip ( https://www.megazip.net/zapchasti-dlya-avtomobilej/toyota/lexus-is-42401/gse20-57089/gse20r-aktlhw-9261920 ). I used the Toyota WS fluid from my local dealer. My car is only at 50K miles but is 11years old so I figured it was due. Hope this may be helpfull. Dec.

Same here with FX ordered Friday, weekend and UK Bank Holiday Monday on the doorstep by 1.30 pm Tuesday. Rockauto are very quick on dispatch I got an email within an hour telling me the order had been processed then further updates regarding shipping. Efficiency is top notch in the USA, you only have to compare queue movement between their Theme Parks and the likes of Alton Tower’s to realise it.

Could be the delivery guy as found a warm 🥰welcome at that address.

Mr Vlad! Welcome back! Was it 18 months already? No way! Time flies! Congratulations on a new car! Will you miss Mondeo interior space, economy and driving experience? 🙂

I shop at Aldi this is how I save money to run my Lexus lol

Lee, Great. Thanks. Alternator coming out tomorrow so will look into these also. Cheers.

Another thread with the same issue ! No one has ever got to nail this one 😞 Hopefully someone somewhere can after all give us their 2 pence on this somewhat unique but not totally rare one. Cheers 🙂

A really smart move Vlad. Do not go there as £93 could be a really small amount to pay in the context of a big mistake.

Hi all, thanks for all the replies. I picked up the silver ISF Saturday and to be honest I can hardly remember the RS4. I don’t miss it at all apart from the boot space, and to a degree the looks - it did look good in white - especially from the front, very aggressive. It was rare we really needed the estate levels of space, but I guess we will just have to pack a bit smarter and use the front seat (wife normally goes in back with junior) Swivelling car seat with Isofix is fitted, which was a struggle but not because of space but because I’m an oaf and hadn’t read the isofix instructions. Got just under 33mpg on the way back from Swindon, I could scarcely believe it. Rather less than 33mpg when I’m off motorways though.... The excitement when the noise kicks in is pretty addictive and just knowing that 5 litre is there, lurking under the swollen hood is a rather special feeling. I fancy an exhaust - but I’m out of excess cash for the moment. H&S with an x pipe anyone? Do they make a big difference to insurance?

Would prefer a hard top but I wouldn't say 'No.'

Looks ok from what is difficult to tell just from photos. It seems to have had quite a lot of rework in the past, I wonder if chasing the same fault or something different. I think the fact that you can make the fault occur by touching the wiring is probably the best place to continue the diagnosis. I'd remove a section of the black wiring shroud back to where you were moving the wiring so you can move each individual wire to identify which one has a problem. It could well be a break in a wire if the harness has been moved a lot in the past, or it could lead to a problem at the connector/pin - especially if the wiring is a little tight when fully assembled and there has been any strain.

Yes I had a nearside headlamp assembly replaced on my IS250C under the extended warranty. This was early 2016 and it was £700+.

Servicing basically will follow: Lexus-Essential-Care-Service-Content-1014_tcm-3066-448394.pdf Your coolant change interval will depend if it is pink or red.