Scarlet Pimpernell

(From the general forum) Dazzle

For front fog lights, if they're properly levelled and aimed, they shouldn't be blinding at all. They're designed to have a low and flat beam which penetrates a few inches above ground level and should never be aimed upwards. Rear fog lights are a nuisance because it seems that 90% of drivers don't know how and when to use them... the worst ones are at night in the rain. L. ..and 3 days after the last misty day...

Headlights

My Audi A4 was doing this in the summer last year :o . It was still under warranty. The dealers had to "hard" reset the window settings (!). Cured it. :winky: Basically it's the anti-jam facility having a cardiac...or so I was told and the reset was like what the doctors did to Tony Blair when his heart was Tachiacardic...stopped it beating and started it again using a shock :o !

Mr Morse is spot on... My bro' inlaw spent £356 on the Supaguard, and in a year it was "sheeting" water. I started a thread on the car detailing and care part of the forum last week or so. I took Mr Morse's and Mr Singh's advice. In the end I bought the Klasse product (sold as carlack68 all in one here in the UK) and a tub of P21S Carnuba Wax. Total cost £34 odd quid from www.carsparkle.co.uk incl delivery...Ordered at 1430 on Friday, delivered at 0810 Saturday! Washed and Chamoised the car. Applied one coat of the Carlack68, took approx 1.5hrs, to the wifes Honda Jazz (which was in a state, believe me...only been Turtle waxed thrice in 3 years, and never "sealed"!). There's no point in applying 2 coats, as it just takes it all off. The Carlack removes anything you've previously applied, but is non abrasive. I was surprised at how easily it went on and came off (you have to let it "haze" or cure for at least 20 minutes but no longer than 45). Allowed 24 hours for the Acrylic to set in and then gave the car one coat of carnuba wax... Only word of warning is to note that Carnuba takes ages to set. The instructions say you can wipe off immediately, but it's like beezwax, just gets pushed around... So - Get your self some clean old towels, and a couple of clean/new Microfibres.. old towels to take off as mush as poss, then a final buff with Microfibre. I typically let it stay on the panels for 30 minutes befire starting to remove. Goes on easy and comes off easy... The car looks stunning, most of the "swirls" gone too (it's dark Metallic green...), and I cannot believe what a good job was done!! I reckon this will last ages, and from 500ml of Carlack, I could do my new IS and my Bro in laws Merc S class... The Carnuba will last for at least 10-20 applications... PS - you can "layer" multiple carnuba applications to get depth of shine. That's the plan - next 3 washes will be followed by a Carnuba waxing regime... Oh yes, buy something nice for the missus with the money you've saved....

Damian

Erm....it could be me, but I can't find the joke on the link ? Maybe that's the joke Reach for my wig....

Excorcist

It arrived in the post within 24 hours... Experimented on the wifes Honda Jazz -Carlack68 treatment, then the next day P21s Carnuba Wax...only had chance to apply one layer of the wax, but boy did it shine. You could see the creases on my face... Then the wife made me go shopping and it rained on the car

But surely not at Stop Signs. That would be taking things a little too far IMO. Si Instant fail if you dont put handbrake on @ lights. Also, i would like to add that my dad owns a Merc Vito Van (2005) and his has a footbrake. Has to hold it on the cluch every single hill, as it is a mission to try to release it when moving away. Some negatives here:I am going to check mine again as I do not even get TRC light but the car feels solidly held & moves forward smoothly. TEL Sorry this goes on a bit - logically speaking, because the foot operated handbrake ( :duh: ) would be impossible to administer when standing AND then quickly taking off at a sharp incline, and trying to dip it to release it, Lexus have gone for this snazzy device. If they say it should work, then it should. And I would make them fix it if the car does roll back more then an inch or two. Simple. If it gives a TRC light if you apply the hand/footbrake, then I think it's 'cos the system is not designed for use with the hand/foot brake and the manual should be clear. One or two other makers have dabbled with this, and abandoned it (Isuzu and Subaru??)...let's hope Lexus get it all working OK. But I really don't think it was designed to be used with the hand/footbrake during normal driving. It would be darn dangerous!! When talking about the highway code (in a manual), yes you use the Handbrake at almost all red lights, but what does the automatic driving test state? It's "bad" practice to use the handbrake whilst in anything other then P or N in an auto... All this 'cos they wanted to keep the centre console clear of one small lever...which we poor plebs with the manual call a HANDBRAKE in the Diesel. As I suggested earlier, use that left leg! PS - when I tested the auto (Lexus and C220CDI Merc) I just didn't bother with the footbrake...just used P when I switched the engine off and then applied the foot/handbrake when I was about to get out...I think it's a nuisance having the handbrake where your foot is...biggest problem is you still call it a handbrake and not a "Parking" brake (maybe that's why they call it that - should only be used when you "Park" the car!).

Done in less than 1hr, chuck all your Halfords rubbish in the bin, get P21s Carnuba and a couple of Microfibres - well worth the cash!! The result is spectacular!

Nice one mate! That's the problem with this forum - too many good ideas and you spend all your cash! I tried the Carlack68 yesterday (Carsparkle.co.uk) on the wifes Honda Jazz as a practice for my IS when it arrives. It's the Acrylic sealant All In One. It's like "glass" now, the best that cars ever looked. Works wonders! Raining today, but am just about to head off to the garage to apply Carnuba Wax...the car's sitting in there as dry as a bone... Gimme summit to do today!

Thanks Javeed - saw that - but there are underlying issues too, such as lack of comm's from Lexus to the dealers about some of the teething troubles, or the dealers are lying. Leicester Lexus claimed that had not heard of any problems. I would have thought a company the size fo Toyota/Lexus would have info notices or buletins, or even the dealers version of this forum that we can't see. 'cos without that I cannot see how they can communicate. I will wait and see if there are more things to put on here before sending. If there is no more then I will have to assume that it is a small proportion only...and maybe it's not worth it? I've also noticed that the "Improvements" Thread that was started has stopped too...so may be we're all loving the new IS too much! PS - with all of that hype I would have thought that Lexus would take EVERY complaint as seriously as possible..I think you've been fobbed off, which is not what Lexus' legendary customer service would be about as far as me a new Lex customer thinks... PS - Is it really that good, or is it the fact that the cars are so reliable that they've never been tested, and they're not in reality better than the competition? I know some people have had wonderful service, but then so do some BMW customers...

I thought long and hard about where to start this. Steve is correct, it's use is not high, but what has struck me is that the problems which have really got the dealers puzzled and inconsistent are the ones on the new IS (rattle, seat belts etc). So as this is the hot IS forum overall capturing the problems and people feelings, I thought it was the best place too... I'll wait until all comments have stopped and then may be email this thread over to Lexus GB...

empty

I feel it for you - there is no way I'd allow the Guinea pigging of my car!! A lack of communication on Lexus's part...even if there is a small number affected, the least that Lexus can do is have a mechanism in place of "bulletining" the dealers with a fix (just sounds plain stupid to me).

Plague

Dear Jamboo, Thank you for your interest in the test at IQTest.com. Your general IQ score is: 117 I was disturbed 3 times by my wife today while doing this test...that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Another one that gauls me is that they always say: "..get a finance quote from your bank and we'll match/beat it..." Why the 'eck can't the dealers just give you the cheapest possible price? How can you trust doing business with anyone (Lex or not) if that's how they treat you? I was promised call today from Jon at Leicester to confirm the finance they could offer - nothing...so I have now taken 6.5APR fixed for 2 years (3.35% flat)...good deal or what...? And oh yes, no Doc fees which always come to between £150 and £200 at the dealers... PS that was my bank which offered me the deal...signed and delivered the form to my bank manager by hand!

So the moral is if you can't pay ram the barrier down!

pellets

Good point. The timing of the car (november delivery) was not by coincidence; It was a ploy to get all of the orders in for March and the new plate. That's why we see such a small number on the road. I think Lexus only really wanted to build them based on orders, plus a few that were early builds (and may be 30% or so had MM?) which don't have MM. In reality, people from other "german" brands are coming over in floods (me being one) 'cos the car is so good. The thing is that people have been taken aback by how well made the new IS is and how much classier it is inside. The old IS was good, don't get me wrong, but it was a Toyota (and even sold as that in Japan and the far east) and "different" with all of that chrono dialing and shiny plastic. The new one is more conservative inside and that's what most people want and will appeal to those who have bought boring germanic cars in the past (again me being one). People have waited for the new car to come out, and due to pricing, the german car brigade must be coming over in numbers realising that for the same price as a basic 3 series, you can have a fuully kitted IS, well made, with MM for the same money... So, I expect that we will see hoards of them on the roads throughout March-May. If we don't, then the dealers have no excuse for slacking off and not being able to get dates for delivery etc. I don't think it'll ever compete with the BeeEm on numbers game, but I do think it will hit sales targets...and it will hurt Audi and Mercedes Benz. PS - I've seen only six so far...and I've travelled a lot since November...

Wipe

.....absolutely agree----and all the more reason for constructive comments like yours on this post so that WE tell 'em - i.e. the ones it matters the most to and without whom they'd be working at a BeeEm garage!!!!

Likewise - guess it's the same team in Reading! :D Looks like we experience a wide range of customer service across UK - maybe time for Lexus GB to intro the "Mystery Shopper" to help the failing dealerships improve their customer service performance. resting on laurels could be a problem (just ask Mercedes Benz)! Inconsistency appears to be a key issue, and I agree the mystery shopper is a good thing... But you guys that have good service - can I ask if you've actually had a major problem with your car and the dealers have really shone, given youthe benefit of the doubt, bent over backwards etc? If so what was it? A major concern is a lack of ideas when things go wrong, and the engineers and sales staff faff around 'cos they don't know! That's not what we pay (or Lexus GB under warranty pay) 'em for...