rap03

Hi to all my Lexus friends and the UK. It has been quite awhile since I posted any comments over here, but just thought I would have to put this one in. Finally, Australia will have the IS350 by the end of the year. Maybe you need the yell a bit louder up there in the UK and ask why it is not being taken to the UK. http://www.lexus.com.au/news/2010/12165254...-FOR-AUSTRALIA/

Hey guys. You might be better off waiting a little longer. I have contacted a company here in Australia (Advanced Ice - and it's not the drug type) http://www.advancedice.com.au/index.php , who recently announced via a Lexus magizene about the iPod kit (and Aux connection for other MP3 players) , but what I asked them was where they were at with having a USB connection and playing (using the car system) off a Flash drive/external hard drive. They responded that they should have this out by the end of the year. Here's hoping. You can then do away with any player and put all your music on a 20/40/60/??? external hard drive and have full control off the car system.

Well, I for one, like the idea. The one shown looks a bit ordinary, but I feel there is a great need to introduce one. My wife has a Mazda 3 (SP23) hatch as she likes driving a small hatch, so if Lexus were to introduce a resonable looking hatch (not like a corolla) then we would probably replace the 3 with one. Otherwise, it could be an Audi A3 as her next car as she wants to move into the luxury field but wants a hatch. Also, the way Lexus have slowly increased the base price on the IS, they need to introduce a product in the lower range again to attrach first luxury buyers. This people now go for the Audi A3, BMW 1, or heaven forbid, the Merc A & B series. Get out of a "box shaped" design and look to more sporty-swept back look. 5 doors of course.

It must be something with the 220D or European/UK cars. I have the 250 and even at level 2, I can hear the pommy chick's voice ok. :D Stereo is only at around 10 or 11. I would hate to think how loud the Sat Nav would be at 7. Also, it is a little sad that they didn't put a mute buton somewhere. Wife has a Mazda 3 and there is a Stereo mute button on the Steering wheel controls!

Rennis. I have found that playing songs that have been compressed at 128bit either on iPod device or off CD sound poor in quality. If you compress at 192bit they sound the same as CD quality. Also, turn the volume up on the iPod device and not on the car stero, as the other way around tends to sound distorted as well.

They've also gone for a shark-fin aerial.

I had a Motorola E380 and it connected every time without any issues. I could only download one phonebook entry at a time. I have changed (upgraded) to a Nokia N80 (all the latest bells and whistles) and after setting up the bluetooth connection, connected ok. But I have fund that it doesn't always connect when I get in the car, and I think it maybe because the phone connects to my laptop while I am working and then when I go to get into the car, it still thinks it is connected to the laptop and hence won't connect to the car. I simply go into the phone's bluetooth settings and turn off and on and connects to the car, no problem. It also re-connects ok each time I stop and start the car after that, until I go back to my laptop and get a connection with it. Also, I have found with the N80, that I was able to transfer all the address book to the car in one go.

ha55anx. Hey buddy, I really feel for you, and it is sooooo much worse when it isn't your fault. I would suggest that as it isn't a Lexus body shop (only an approved one), that maybe you take it straight to Lexus garage after you pick it up and get them to do a once over on it. After all, it's under warrenty and you want to make sure they are ok with the repairs and warrenty maintained.

Hi Mike. Very upsetting to see your issues. I had a problem this morning when I tried to get in (unlock) my car by just putting my hand in the dorr handle. Both sides, and it wouldn't open. The key fob buttons worked. This is the first time this has happened in a spot I have parked the car many times before. On you window opening issue, this must be related to the same frequency interference that you are getting with not opening the doors. I believe your dealer should be able to change the frequncy of your fob and the car sensors. Also, looking at a document I got off the US owner's webssite, the dealer should be able to disable the feature where you hold the unlock or lock buttons to open/close the windows. Having said that, after seeing your problems and the car being drenched, they need to do some serious replacement of interior to get it back to new. I am not 100% sure, but I think the RF frequency they are using for these systems is the same that is used by remote garage door controls, cordless home phones, etc. If I am correct, and it is that frequency, Lexus, needs to upgrade there technology and move to the new (higher) frequency range which has a bigger spectrum and less overlap. Hope you can get some positive results from the dealership.

Darren. Make sure that the rating is at least the one specified (or better) for the car. If not, you could run into insurance issues if you ever had an accident.

Matus. Yep, had squeaky seat. Started about a month after I got the car. They tried 3 times to fix it. Believed they greased the joints or whatever. On the forth time, they ended up replacing the seat. Had the new seat in for about a month or two and now it is also squeaking. Have left it for about a month or so now and still squeaks. Will be asking to fix (again) shortly. Just waiting on the towbars to be certified down here in oz.

Always been partial to Blue myself, but after seeing Jamboo's Red one, would have to say that would be my preference if it had been an available colour downunder.

Good Choice on the GS. If there wasn't such a big difference on price here in Oz, then I may have considered. On the mirrows, like Jamboo said, you get used to the size and they are very good when driving. Lexus could go very innovative in this department and replace the mirrors with small cameras (like the reversing one) and display the images on small screens on either side of the dash or positioned around the instrament panel. This would save on external mirrors, no adjustments of side viewing required for different drivers, not have to turn your head to check for objects, and give better viewing of side traffic as cameras can cover wider angles. They could also replace the rearview mirror with a camera & Screen as well.

Hi Jamboo. Sounds like the dreaded "whole dash out" issue. They had to take mine out to fix the problem. Was around the centre speaker and they couldn't get to it by taking the MM system out. BUT, 3 months later and no problem with it, so looks like they nailed it on the 4th attempt. Unfortuneately I have got a squeaky seat back. And it's the new seat! Good luck, matey.

Can only play MP3s and WMAs off CDs. They won't play off DVDs. This is direct info from ML themselves (and through testing).

Martin. There is heaps of room in the front. I am 6'2" and I don't have the driver's seat all the way back. If I have people in the back, I can still move the seat forward and not really feel too uncomfortable. Short trips are ok. Depending on who you have in the passenger seat will be the test for the back seat person. As the glove box and knee airbag area make the dash low on that side, you might find having the passenger seat too far forward is an issue. Having said that, I don't think you need it too far forward to accomodate a tall person in the back. Take your mates down to your dealership and go for a test drive. I am lucky. No kids to put into the back (only the four legged fur covered type, and they don't complain about space).

alan. Lots of factors could be adding to the differences. As the guys have said, the temp of the day, aircon on, when (time of day) you fill the car up (colder in the morning the fuel is more dense), whether you are using standard unleaded fuel or high octane levels, the type of driving on the day will change the the usage, and how much you use crusie control as it will use more fuel. Also, even though all the cars have about the same amount of miles, some may be a bit looser and hence perform better. These may have been driven "harder" before you have gotten to them. Best I have got on a long drive was around 7.5l/100Kms. Average around 10l/100kms around town.

Colm. Interesting question. The standard system is based on the Pioneer systems, so you never know. THe ML system doesn't play MP3/WMA off DVDs. Have tried this and also asked the techos at ML. Haven't tried trying to copy the sound tacks from DVDs onto a DVD to see if that works. Have to look into that.

I have upgraded to new Nokia N80 and works fine. Also able to send whole address book.

I have the IS250 Sport. To say whether the Sport is better than the other with the tyres/wheels/surspension, etc, I can't really comment as I haven't driven the other models. The sport only comes with seat warming and not cooling. Don't know if that is too much an issue in the UK. They must have it this way as the material stays cooler :duh: As for keeping it clean, the material has been designed by Italians for the high end sport cars and has been developed over 20 or so years. The produst is supposed to wear better and easier to keep clean over leather. So far, the minor spills I have had have cleaned off very easily and no marks left behind. I have the light grey interior. One thing you will find with the new IS is that when you have water off the roof, it will drip into the car when you open the doors. I makes a wet spot on the seats but drys fairly quickly and doesn't leave any marks. As for reliability, I have done 16,000ks and had no issues. Only issues have been with reported rattles, squeaky seat and seatbelt recall that have been fixed. I have an early release model.

Well, let's hope when & if it comes, they have fixed all the rattles, squeaky seats, seat belt issues and have up to date Sat-Nav maps, then the owners can concentraite on their speed. :D

Hi Jamboo. Great report. I could be over in UK (mainly Scotland) next April, so may have to get some tips on what to see up north. Back to the car, yes, the red (whatever colour it is termed as) would be outstanding in a crowd. We don't have that option down under. Speaking to the lead mechanic last week, they tell me that the computers in the car adjust the cars performance based on the driving it's been doing. Hence, the long drive at high speeds adjusts the performance to this and now you have noticed improved performance back at you local driving. I had the same experience after my long (3000k) holiday drive. If you go back to suburban type driving, over a period it will adjust back. Don't know the reason why they do this, just what I was told. As for the maps, they tell me they come from a local (country) provided service. Here in Oz, they use Whereis. So, you may want to find out what mapping service they are using on get onto them about the lack of POIs, etc. Also, I agree with you about the boot size. Even extending part of the boot lid opening down lower (to level with the boot floor) would be a hugh assistance.

Infinity. I wouldn't like the car to switch off as soon as the key went out of range, as I sometimes get out of the car to open/shut gates (yes guys, no automatic openers here , yet!) or put rubish bins out, and leave the car running for the 5-10 seconds it takes, so I would hate to be starting the car everytime I do that. Also, if you have it so it locks when you walk away and there are people still in the car (yes, they can unlock the doors), but do you want this everytime you get out and walk away. You may as well have it unlock for you when you get close, like the puddle lights coming on. They should be features that are customisable for the individuals. I agree with you all, that everything (except Gov. regulation things) should be able to be changed for the individual.

John. I have the latest Nokia N80 and it can transfer the whole address book to the car. It does some checking on Bluetooth connections that are in range first, but after selecting the car, the transfer worked perfectly. Also, I believe the IS250 Bluetooth is the 1.2 version.

jimglasgow. There are 2 sensors that stop the DVD player showing video while moving. The first is the handbrake sensor and the second is the motion detector. These are wired into the back of the video/sound unit. The only "hack" to override these is a hardware hack that involves taking that unit out and doing some re-wiring. Cut and clip. Here is a link to a posting on how to do it with photos. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...000&hl=hack There has also been a posting on the US webiste about getting a TV module for it as well, but the company hasn't responded to my emails. There has also been a lot of discussions on voiding/not voiding your warrenty, if you do the hack. Good luck