Mars

So my first call to another Lexus dealer and they say they can do the belt and tensioner on a fixed price menu for £395 inclusive of labour and vat. The idler they will not usually do but that will cost an additional £85 and maybe a nominal labour charge. So altogether it is coming in at around £500.

For a start I don't know of any reliable independents in my neck of the woods. Secondly I am a creature of habit and Lexus knows this car. I am not concerned about a full Lexus service history or resale value as I have already bucked that trend (one of my services is not with Lexus) and I intend to keep this car until it falls apart. I will start making enquiries.

Any ideas on what is a reasonable price on getting this done. My car is 12 years old but with only 58,000 miles on the clock. Lexus quoted £731 but will price match (I assume only with other Lexus dealerships).

I suspected a much as the car came out of the January service with no advisories.

Now I have to get a good quote for the timing belt, tensioner and idler. They quoted me £731 but said they would price match if I got a cheaper quote at another Lexus dealership.

All sorted. Lexus had a look and confirmed that I had no leaks on the radiator, hoses, expansion tank or the water pump. They also confirmed that they had changed the coolant in January 2015 when the car had a Major Essential service. I can only assume that the expansion tank was not topped up sufficiently. They have topped it up and it is showing at the maximum mark when the engine is up to normal operating temperature.

The issue as to whether the tank was filled with plain water does not arise for me as I have never had to top up since I bought the car in 2005. It has always had red coolant added when serviced.

Wissam I hope you get yours sorted.

Neither has mine. Only noticed it after the car was serviced in January but as I don't do a lot of mileage it has not been a problem.

Fill the expansion bottle up to the high mark and see what happens after a week or so

Don't worry Lexus will do that tomorrow.

Is it showing empty when it's supposedly full because you have got water in it instead of pink antifreeze??

No.

The radiator itself is full. The expansion reservoir is empty. Lexus will have a look and report back tomorrow.

Checked mine and there is no coolant in the expansion tank.

I will check mine and see as I think I may be having the same problem. Had it serviced in January and noticed that the expansion tank reservoir is barely showing anything when the engine is up to temperature.

Hey.

I have a Lexus IS200 2001 Manual. I have noticed that it was losing coolant, so I used a sealant poured into the coolant reservior. This was about three months ago. The sealant did its job. However, I checked the coolant reservior level it says its empty. By this I mean, the see through plastic did not indicate any water level. I opened the coolant cap, it shows me plenty of water. I tried to top it up but it overfilled. Now the radiator is full and it holds the water rather steadily. The mechanic wants to change the whole system, which I think is just waste of money and a decent radiator.

It is worthy mentioning that I get steamy windows on the inside, which according to my knowledge refers to heat matrix leak. But the most furstrating bit is the level of coolant showing empty while clearly it is full.

Any help is greatly greatly appreciated.

I think you are trying to top up the coolant via the radiator cap. You may also need to top up the expansion tank to the left of the radiator cap.

Yes they are beige and they are new. Bought them for my IS from Lexus Ipswich. I knew they were discontinued but my dealer did a search of all Lexus dealers a few years back and found a set for me. I have but never used them. They come with 2 fixing clips.

I have a set of genuine Lexus ivory mats. Never been used......

Had my brakes checked in August 2 and was informed that the front pads were 4mm worn and the rear pads had 4mm left (confusing). My car was serviced this week and mysteriously both front and rear pads now have 6mm left. I have previously been informed that I had a leak on the rear differential, an independent found no such leaks and despite being serviced subsequently by Lexus this fault was never mentioned again. They are all at it trying to make money off the poor motorist.

Will do. I am also trying G W Bridges a breaker in Pease Pottage, Crawley.

Anyone knows where I can source one of these? They are a Denso 188200-3581

Mine were painted on my is200

Yes perfectly exceptable price for refurb on the wheel pictured above. Sand and painting and a bit of filler is 40-50 a wheel.

My wheels are the earlier wheels which have the diamond cut edge. Its a major process to referb my style wheels. Firstly they are shot blasted then tig welded to fill any curb damage. They are then powder coated or painted. Then they go on a cutting machine to machine finish the rim and the outer edges of the spokes ,the machine has to be programmed to follow the contours of the spoke as they are not flat. Then is back to the paint shop for several coats of clear coat/laqure. Trust me if your paying 50 pound a wheel its paint and maybe clear coat. I had mine done years back at a wheel specialist they charged 360 ish for 4 wheels repaired and powder coated. All the mobile ones i contacted where about 40/50 pound a wheel.

OH by the way guys its not Lexus that refurb the wheels mine didnt come in any sort of Lexus logo box. Lexus simply buy a scrap set then send them out for refurb,then send them to you. Your old wheels must be returned to lexus so they can refurb them and sell them on again. I would mention the name of the company who actually do the work but i am not allowed to advertise on this site. Lexus left the company logo on the box the wheels came in.

It is well known that Lexus had a swap arrangement with Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes to refurbish their wheels. No secret there. When I bought my car the wheels were refurbished by them and I have used them since to refurbish a set of 18" Aero alloys I bought off eBay for £50.

You may wish to check the rubber "D" bushes on the front anti roll bars. Had a siimilar problem and Lexus found they were dry and just lubricated them which solved the problem.

Have you checked the brake pad wear sensors? If they come into contact with the disc and go open circuit it will activate the light. Best solution is replacement but at around £40.00 each not cheap, other way is to connect the 2 sensors wires together bypassing the sensor and turning off the light.

brake pads rear sensors ? Not on a 2002 IS200.

There are 2 bonnet pads on eBay at present.

The Aero's are 6 spokes and do pop up on eBay from time to time or you can check breakers.

And the Halfords camera is on clearance for £15 at present.

7 years for a Battery is extremely good but £95 for a replacement is a bit rich!