Scarlet Pimpernell

A tricky one. You really need to see with an experienced eye... In cold weather, you do get "steam" which evaporates from the Exh. Jap cars with steel (cooler running) exhuasts get this quite alot. It's normal. However, you can get whitish smoky substance if for any reason water is getting into the cyl's, i.e. a blown head gasket or the like. The car could be harder to start, and may have misfire too...This is normally thicker and heavier, and with it you can sometimes get engine overheating. That's all I know if it helps. Happened to my 1979 Pug 104 1100 ZS (yes I am that old)... Normally this also means some oil and c**p goes into the water system too if you're really unlucky. So check the reservoir to see if you can see gunge in there... Does it evaporate away quickly, or does it linger in the wind? Also - how many miles have you done and what was the greatest distance driven in one journey so far?

It's a lot harder now, so I would be surprised if you get anyone to name anyone...the Police need evidence of where you had it made (and car boot sale won't work!!) when you do get pulled over, I'm sure...be careful mate, could cost you (like it cost my sis). 3 points and £400 fine (a bit harsh - but she had dodged a few digits too). She'll never do it again, and oh yes you will fail the MOT too...so you need 2 sets...one for normal use, risking PC Plod and another unmolested set for the MOT...when it's due! PS - my wifes old Pug failed the MOT - the 2 numbers on her cherished plate were too close to the letters, by 1 CM! The Police carry a measuring device...'cos they got nothing better to do...

Take it to McDonalds...I'm sure they will find a new recipe with it (alongside the Horse meat Burgers) PS where did you stick the Positive jump lead...? Mines needs a wash too...

Have faith...teething problems they are... Mine is somewhere in a factory being made at the moment. I complained to the dealer when I ordered it, and was assured that Lexus would be picking the threads from this forum (apparently they look at it all of the time...)... My reason for doing this was there was no excuse if mine had a problem and Lexus had a chance to fix it whilst on the production line...I was given an assurance all would be well... Regards quality of other marks...my old 2002/52 Audi was faultless...never had a problem...both trim and mechanicals were perfect right upto 46700 miles...and I would have bought one again if it was not for the fact that the new IS is a better car...and a new A4 was still 18 months away (ish)... Driven all the major brands in this price league and have to say that the Lexus and Audi are easily the best. I actually found the Merc C Class worst...and the dealers...well it's shameful...long story last year with Evans Merc in Leic (now Inchcape Mecedes of Leicester)when I cancelled my C Class...

The dealers are the best place to actually compare yourself, and with the new IS out, there are bargains to be had...no doubt many on this forum are willing to sell....

Thanks Lexusyd. Can't answer some of the questions, but the ad's slightly better than the UK one. I preferred the Drive footage video (the last one), where they show the car taking some scenic routes and on a race track. Just after the waterfall scene, you go back to the race track, drivers view of the road, and what feels like a twitch as he's approaching the bend (maybe it's just camera panning), but makes the car look as though it's on the limits of adhesion on standard road tyres...really cool bits (I'm easily impressed). I enjoyed that vid more then any of the ad's - use the link above, go to "multimedia gallery" and click on TV COMMERCIAL. Maybe that should be the ad...far more successful, just needs a couple of shots in there of the interior, MM etc...

Great pics, great car, well done...sooo coool

Gotta say it - the car's have a virus... :duh:

Left a message and got an email back - will settle the finance with the company this week...no news on my £6grand! Reaching for that phone... PS - thinking of changing the signature below to: "New to Lexus - and NOT looking forward to it..."

They sell as many BM3's as they sell What Car? mags... It outsells the Ford Mondeo (rep mobile) from time to time, and believe me the motorways are full of them.

...I know the feeling...I actually nearly bought a "Parka" the other day....and I need a shave...

As someone reasonably new to the forum, and the Lexus brand, I have to say that of any forum I have ever been a member of this one has been by far the best. There are so many great ideas, enthusiasm etc, knowledgeable people and the board and comitee let people get on with it, unless someones showing off about a tail slide......it's a breath of fresh air. I for one (as I'm sure you know by now) have spent the majority of my web time on here recently (need to get a life )...so apologies...but I just wanted to raise this topic if anyones willing/interested? So - the question is - what's the best thing you've learnt in the IS forum, how much cash has it saved you etc...?

If it's under warranty I would certainly claim if it's a defective part. Bit difficult if the lens is cracked though, but you could go and ask your dealer nicely. Not sure why yellow but fog lights always were yellow in my youth. Something about yellow light cutting through fog better, if i recall. Mine are too. It's a 4 year old car and, touch wood, no condemsation yet. IanB :D Could be a dodgy seal, or power washers which always seem to force water in ever where... Like Sodium lights on the mo'orwys, yellow lights do work better in the fog. Strange why SC has it and the saloons don't :duh:

Cheers - No to both - which is worrying me now...as far as I am concerned they are a reputable dealership (owned by Sytner) and I am in their care...Also there is a cherished plate to be retained which need to be done first, but again they are doing it... The problem is that I am dealing with a new salesman (AND I have some bad history with new salesmen when we bought the Honda Jazz...), but a very experienced Business Manager who is effectively handling the transaction. At the end of the day I am relying on his expertise/knowledge to make sure it all happens as it should... I'm gonna call him once I'm off my work conference call... PS I do have a "Purchase/sales" invoice effectively assigning ownership to them...so legally they've bought it.

This'll be a good test of the fab custmer care at Lexus...'cos they could just state "force Majeur" or however they spell it... Be easy with the Karcher...they easily damage rubber and especially sidewalls on tyres...which seem to start cracking prematurely once you've "lanced" them... Good luck...

The elipsoid headlamps on my A4 were really really bad...they weren't Xenon's. The 407 I had yesterday were the same, non Xenon Elipsoid. They were fab... On the Audi the "blue" auto levelers were (in my view pardoning puns) set incorrectly and the dealers maintained all was well...I was never happy, especially when the courtesy cars were fine... So I reckon it's the way they're set...at the factory...and 2 cars from the same model could be very very different.. Pursue the dealer/cust relations route if they are bad compared to another car that you have tested...

Never gets better does it :mat: Now they've had my old car (taken in PEX early) since Jan 14th. After days of shannigans with the form, I still haven't had the money for my old Audi. I had paid the obligatory £1000 deposit up front and was told that any excess balance after finance settlement (£6000ish) from PEX would come back to me to pay them in March on delivery of the new IS. Well my next installment for the finance on my old car is due on 10th Feb...and you've guessed it - no cheque! So I'm paying for a car I don't even have... :o Am I just a fussy fuddy dudd who's expecting too much...? PS emailed the dealer...

Here here - I'll never forget the time when my son dropped the sponge on the floor (he was 5 at the time ), immediately picked it up and carried on washing my Pug 406... The last thing you want to do is "push" the metal filings around... I know they're geekiy, but how about a bright blue Tarpaulin cover :P ?

You should be able to get a discount, I got almost £600, Jamboo got closer to £1200 I think. I also got rubber mats, umbrella, flowers for the missus and Lexus bear for the kids. If you're pxing get the best deal on px then ask for the discount. The car comes with standard mats, the rubber mats sit on top of these. Not sure about superguard, I'm not convinced it's worth the money. Good luck! Good luck indeed...! I took the view that cash in my pocket was better, so went for the max discount I could get. Yes - £1147 :winky: to be precise. Check out the latest offers on the web (www.broadspeed.co.uk, www.drivethedeal.co.uk are good - "drivethedeal" the best...and you can register as anyone you like...not even entering a real email address). Don't ask for this up front as you'll get less for your PEX, probably no flowers for the missus :duh: , no mats etc...use it when you feel confident you're getting somewhere and they are plain not budging on the pex (which is what happened to me). Rubber mats is the one I missed out on, and others on this forum have said that the Supaguard is a Suparipoff and only worth £15! (DIY I would say with a good polish and wax - see Koshime's diary). There are no mudflaps still for the IS, something you can normally get free on a new car, but again one I missed out on was the "push" for a free service pack (at least the first service) which is worth a cool £150ish. Also, remember that if you take finance from them, do the same, they all have flexibility in the rates and earn a wad of commission. You can now get as low as 6.1% apr...and the dealers will match that to earn their commission...but they will charge you £00's for set up and doc fees that banks and buildo's won't. Take that into account.

well, honestly if you dont like the ride of SE, how will you like stiffer Sport? As to the gearbox, just give it 5,000 miles and it will be smooth as butter, as every other Toyota gearbox... This is just so interesting... I drove 3 new IS's - 2 manuals and one auto. The Auto was spectacular - and the manuals very precise...not notchy at all...is it just me that thinks the gearbox's are all fine on cars that have all done less then 100 miles??? I drive lots of different cars all of the time (mainly Alamo/National rentals), and may be "new" New IS is just not as notchy as everything else on the road :duh:

I think this is where the lawyers get involved. They may be just being overly cautious to avoid any potential lawsuits. Yeah :D I know this is slightly orf torpic, but it's worth finishing this off. Well yesterday I had the use of a 407 SW 1.6HDi SE (yeah, small engined hearse) and tested the Cruise on that: On the A6, between A14 and Market Harb'ro' (towards Market Harb'ro'), fairly steep downhill approaching - a road I know extremely well - 8.45pm and not a soul in sight...slowed the car down to 40 at the top of the hill, set Cruise to 31 MPH and started to go down the hill in 5th, knowing it would probably labour. To start with the engine braking came in, then it got to about 34MPH, was labouring at steepest point and would not drop the speed any lower...dunno what that proved other than the fact there was coasting only with engine braking...no physical braking on a peugeot... This is the first time I have ever experienced it, and shows that normally the engine braking coupled to the gearing does it and there is normally no braking involved. And you need some extreme conditions in a manual for this to be a problem. I suppose, however, in an auto where the engine braking doesn't really do that much, the car drops gears too...? Hence the Merc solution that actually does this? Maybe they should have spent more resources on improving Customer Satisfaction, build quality....

Does the cruise control on the new IS actually apply the brakes to keep the speed at the set limit on a downhill section of road as per various Mercedes then? I have never driven anything other than Mercedes E-Classes that do this. Driven lots of cars with cruise (mainly hire cars of various types), never had to hit the breaks to slow it down and I do about 25000 a year to different parts of the UK...tell me differently...

The cruise should keep the car to it's "set" speed regardless of the hill... The deicer I am told is just like the rear windows, or heated mirrors/washers - so it will only get warm (mildly) if that. It's intended to "unfreeze" wiper blades, that's all...by raising the temperature enough to thaw the external surface. Nice to hear you are still enjoying the baby!!

Question Please: Can I ask everyone who's had a rattle on their new IS and had it fixed say "aye" and post back on here what the cause and resolution was...? As always (industry wide problem) collectively the punters know more about these things then anyone one dealer ever will... Hopefully Lexus will have taken notice already and are fixing these things in the factory...or now will be the opportunity (assuming they haven't fallen asleep on this thread)... -_- zzzZZZZ

My son noticed that (he's only 10!) too... That could be the dials on the Sport which differ...unless they're already planning a facelift...