Scarlet Pimpernell

The widths are the same - just the rear tyres are wider Alloys are 17x8 if I remember correctly

The new IS is just as bad The beemers very good on the other hand - the new ones with DTC "ON" are not too bad - in fact the traction control actually does what it says on the tin...really surprised!

I would say BAD Mine cost £150 for 10k, and £290 for 20k - so over 40k I would have estimated £920ish - but does the £1000 cover brakes too?? If not, it's not worth it...they take all yer money up front and the discount sounds like a joke (i.e. there isn't one)... rang lexus hanley..waiting on them to ring me back..brian wasnt there. the intial price on the plan from birmingham was £1200 and after "discount" £1026. in mean time will ring bham to ask what it includes as well as mileage... Chandru - I recall a member on here had a 2 year deal for £1200 which was fully inclusive (which I think is a ripoff). Read the small print...

I would say BAD Mine cost £150 for 10k, and £290 for 20k - so over 40k I would have estimated £920ish - but does the £1000 cover brakes too?? If not, it's not worth it...they take all yer money up front and the discount sounds like a joke (i.e. there isn't one)...

Wouldn't touch it without driving it...and even then, if the salesman says "...oh it'll improve with a few 000 miles..." just tell him to prove it (i.e. let you have one with 5000 miles on it or so...which they won't b able to find straight away LOL I fell for that one....

Firstly - your problems appeared to start with the "new saleguy" and lack of training - which is the dealership issue - not Lexus directly (though of course he represents Lexus...) Guys - I have found very little difference between any of the Sytner (owned by Penske USA, and not Frank Sytner) garages - as an example... Audi in Nottingham appeared to be the best overall - but I have never experienced their after sales BMW and Lexus in Leicester are a total joke (actually on a par with the Leicester Audi when they were by Fox, and are now Sytner too) The worst thing Lexus did was "split" Lexus from Toyota. They tried to make it into a standalone marque and are now beginning to pay the price - even though it's been a few years. The dealership Quality has dropped to what is deemed acceptable by the "franchise management" that runs it and, for example the Fiat dealership that may also run within franchise, and therefore not quite what Lexus aimed for.... The other side of this is that one or 2 recent Lexus models have been poorly designed - the diesel being one - with a list of recalls and issues as long as your arm. As each car owner discovers a problem, they go to the dealer where they are let down by the "human" attitude, fixes after fixes, tweak after tweak, etc etc, only to discover even more issue coming out of the woodwork... The only thing currently, in my view, that Lexus dealers are very good at is the no quibble approach with warranty work. No questions - replace it...which is great. But the more "diesel" type issues they get, the more they will start to target dealers to reduce the number of warranty claims, and there won't be much left between BMW, Audi, MB or Lexus...that's the fear!! So far my Beemer hasn't had to go back for anything at all - it's run perfectly, but I know it'll be hassle if I do...the only advantage is that I have a shed load of Indies I can go to too!!! Having said that - for all you Leicestershire based Lexus owners - Sturgess Nissan (Who are Excellent) also service all Toyota' to manufacturer spec - they might even do your Lex...

Is this from a dealer? If the car doesn't have history with a dealer or a stamped service book you don't have warranty!

I doubt it...not after all this time... Adrian Pearce (a member here) did manage to reject his, after going to a Mag (Can't remember whether it was Autocar or Whatcar), but even then it was a lease car and Lexus replaced it for another at the same monthly rate (though upgraded it to SEL???). I think it was on Honest John's website too...you might want to have a go and site that example... People make it sound easy when it comes to rejecting cars...in reality it ain't. I tried after only 4 weeks of sucking on my Lemon and got no where...though some people on this forum have (with other marques). Good luck matey.

errrm...you say it failed to start and came up "With Check VSC???" If that is the case, you really need to speak to your dealer.

The reason why they said "sell it Privately" was because they don't want it. It's a bad time for selling, bloomin' brilliant time for buying... If you are replacing it Simon (against any brand), you will be able to haggle hard. Sounds like you're not replacing it?? Small cars are holding better...

More common actually than you would think - A modern car (especially Lexus) has a huge amount of electronic stuff, which is "ticking away" even when the car is switched off and locked up If just before a "holiday", you do a lot of short trips, especially in the winter with lights, wipers, heated seats, heated rear window etc all on, the chances are the your battery isn't fully charged anyway... So when you leave it for a while, it could go flat a lot quicker just doing the "ticking" stuff then you would normally think is acceptable.

This is absolutely true of any Forum anywhere...but it does have some major advantages! What it does (and is invaluable) is prepare you so that you can actually go to a prospective purchase (dealer or whoever) and ask some pretty difficult questions, and tst the car properly...and then watch them deny that there are any problems at all.... It's then up to you to make the decision... I used 3 forums and read some of the threads about problems quite intently...and then bought my current car with my eyes wide open... If it wasn't for this forum, several IS220d owners might have left Lexus altogther when they changd their cars. A few have ditched thm for the IS250 Auto, and for good reason and rationale... I considered the IS250 SE/SEL Auto...

Auto every time. As a young'n you might like stirring the box a bit, but don't fret - the Auto has them paddles behind the steering which are quite fun...and once you'v had a manual, you can't forget how to drive them - it's like riding a bike. The other thing- the Jazz has a lovely light gear change, not notchy at all, but the Lexus manuals that I drove can feel a bit heavy at times...Lexus make fantastic Auto's, Toyota make great manuals...

I'm sure the recall letters are primed. Can you imagine what would happen if there was a fatality, or even a minor bump being attributable to this? It does sound like most failures have happened at slow "manoeuvring speeds" - so hopefully they know the cause, which batches/manufacture dates it affects etc

You do have to switch it on, but you'll find it probably already is. IIRC, you can say "TMC On" with the voice commands...??? Anyway, thought I'd add to this discussion... I was never 100% with the TMC on the Lexus. I chose to ignore it and more often than not found there were very short delays if any, and quite often there were NO delays...or back it up with AA Roadwatch... Once or twice I followed it - it took me off the A road or motorway, and by the time I had got to the roundabout/down the slip road it was re-routing me back on to the same Road so I lost all confidence. This incidentally was after the 2nd whole unit (even screen included) was installed. The BMW TMC appears to be better because it shows you, by small markers, how bad the traffic is (the closer they are the more of a standstill there is) and you can decide to ignore it - but it's only as good as the information sent via Classic FM and how the Car's Nav is programmed to deal with it. The best one though is the one on my back up Satnav - the Garmin. Always re-routes logically and seem up to do date. Personally, I would never again buy a new car and specify the Nav - the aftermarket ones are 10% of the cost, and offer heaps more functionality (albeit without a Gyro (electronic compass) and Speed pulse (from the wheels) sensors). The standard sound system on an IS is actually quite good (on the Beemer it's lousy) - though the camera, Bluetooth and MLS are very good, and worth the £2700 or so I paid on top of the IS list price alone...so as a 2nd hand car, I would say buy one with it - you only pay £1000 or so more, and you get all that functionality....

And this one....LINKEEEE

There have been at least 2 owners in the past on this forum who have had to have a new steering rack fitted under warranty - both where the steering Power Assistance just dies and you can't turn the steering at all. Luckily neither owner was at motorway speeds when it occurred... Anyone else remember this??

I've only ever had this problem on my Lexus and Audi. None of the other cars ever have. Both makers swapped them FOC under warranty (Lexus twice, though I had to fight with Audi - the wheel had a small kerb graze no where near the bubbling/corrosion and they wouldn't swap them. mentioned trading standards and they changed their mind).

Lexus are reliable overall (as most Jap cars are). My new car from the german side will have to have to an extended warranty should I keep it beyond 3 years, though they can normally develop trouble after 5 years (Turbo's etc). With Jap cars you feel you don't need to... The key one is what will you 220d owners do once your car is out of warranty (and they will be starting to come out now)? Many of the fixes so far were done as recalls (therefore free), and I'm hopeful that should more work be needed LexGB will continue to fix things under recalls... Just seems like a can of worms to me with the oiler... As far as 250 owners are concerned, you could ride lady luck...

Nice one mate - looks brilliant. Give it a good detailing session - something like 2-3 coats of Carlack68 sealant Glaze, and a couple of coats of Carnauba Wax (R222 or P21s). It'll stay cleaner and be easy to look after. It probably won't need a polish as the dealers should have done that for you ;)

My new car will beat the official figures if I try, so I'm not one who thinks the figures are unachievable. My old A4 took 10000 miles to loosen, and then could beat the figures every time. The Lexus did too, from 5-9000 miles then went down hill.... When I tested the new A4, it was just about achieving the claimed figures with only a few miles on the clock. it comes down to 2 things: Your driving style The "mechanics" of the car and how well it's running (injectors etc). Modern diesels are very complex - they have to be to beat the emissions rules. The quote about slower driving means more fuel is a larf... The comments about the Lexus manual saying use 6th over 75 is to do with the tall gearing, not economy. The engine labours at anything less than 70 on the non-Sport badly - which is not good for the engine or box. It must feel like it's pulling a truck...

Well done GaryC I must warn you though...you have to go through a couple of seasons to be sure. I went for up to 3 months after fixes with everything much improved, then the weather changed (hot or cold seasons) and all hell broke loose again. Never had the "felt" though, so may be this will do the trick. Good luck.

Only seemed to happen when the heater came on, and the dealership told me it was the plastic demist vents creaking

Mine was one of the first where the dealership tried to put in HD Foam in, re-positioned the dash etc. Nothing really worked, and in the end the centre console was getting creakier and creakier. Some of you may recall - I even took a video of the creaks and gave them to the dealership. Made no difference. The bottom line is that some of the cars (especially the earlier ones) do have a problem with creaks and rattles that are difficult to totally eliminate. Some dealers are more competent than others at removing them too... Mine had 3 or 4 including the buzzing from the B post which was literally driving me up the wall in the end (and it had been in several times)...and a Passenger seat which rattled when no one was sitting on it at between 65-70 MPH (6th was completely out of the question). Long journeys became tedious and I actually stopped using it for business, which is why it had lowish miles in the end...that coupled with poor consumption meant it had to go... For anyone buying one - drive it carefully, in the cold weather with no heaters on from cold and the stereo off, listen out - and then when the engine is fully warmed, put the temp up to 23degs and drive around listening for creaks and groans from all parts of the cabin. As the plastics expand and contract with the temperature, you'll hear it if it's there, and loudly, and some may not go away once they start. Also, look out for the "high water mark" on the cover of the A post inside the cabin, where the dash meets the A post cover. A line on the felt type cover shadowing the dash could be a bad sign. That high watermark on mine was the amount the dash would expand and contract and when it was hot you couldn't see the line at all. It was approx 5mm... Many cars do creak and rattle when cold, but a Lexus that rattles will be loud and you really will notice it as being odd... My current car from the devil is 99.9% rattle free - the only slight noise being one minor "crack" from the windscreen vents when it warms up, but it's like 10% of the loudness of the Lexus one (which sounded like a big stone hitting the screen), and only happens when it's minus degrees and occasionally...

When you put it like that....quite! It also reminds of the (previous) Mazda 6 too. It' just the front which makes it look odd, with A posts that go into the headlights (almost)...