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I think the automatic wash came in at the October(ish) 2001 facelift - I'd rather press the button. Not sure about unless this a refinement on later models?I think my handbook just says dont use them when the level is low (to avoid damaging the pump) - irritating as there is no fluid level warning.

I got my Goodyear F1's from mytyres.net - seemed very efficient, no problems. Dealer fitted them for me while swapping pitted alloys, so no cost on that.

Leaving the battery to go so flat will probably have caused the plates to become sulphated and you might not be able to recharge it by any means. Chances are that it wouldn't bump-start either - no power for fuel pump, ECU etc. Your brakes will probably be horrible and the handbrake might be seized on too.

Mine drops out a fair bit on FM (RDS retuning maybe?) certainly much more than previous radios. I mostly listen to CDs, so I've never bothered having it looked at.

Glad to hear it's sorted.

Your best hope (apart from running a feed from the front) is that the loom is pre-wired for tow-bar electrics and has a heavy supply already - I don't know if it is or not, but someone on here or a dealer will.

Should be interesting - I was quoted "3 to 4 weeks" in November, they arrived last week (11 weeks later). Good luck anyhow.

Comes on with the heated rear window (on my 2001, dunno if it's different on other years).

The only problem is the torque-convertor getting hot - it's more "transmission friendly" to put it N or P if you're stopped for any length of time. On the other hand, I think most manufacturers expect that it'll just be left in D and build the tranny accordingly. It's courtesy to other drivers to use the handbrake instead of keeping your foot on the pedal (particularly at night).

That's true. In my experience it makes bog-all difference, apart from throttle response - I sometimes use it in heavy traffic 'cos it's easier to drive smoothley. If there's no grip at all in snow, like the other day; 1st gear at tickover (foot off the pedal), one wheel just turning slowly on the ice then I find turning the traction control off and hoofing it in 2nd or 3rd is the only way to go - I've got a set of chains now for when it's that bad

I had a small amount of kerb damage on two of my wheels - they never mentioned it, but it was very minor. Depends on the opinion of the dealer I think - a colleague of mine had quite a lot of kerb damage on all four wheels after 2.5 yrs and 50k, but they were replaced no problem.

Well today I had mine replaced (35k miles), they also fitted my new tyres (F1 GSD3's) and did a wheel alignment. New wheels look very nice - my old ones had a lots of dark spots in the lacquer but they were nowhere near as bad as the pic in the other thread. Only downside was waiting 12 weeks to get em. bloofire - I didn't have to push at all; just mentioned the problem at the 30k service and when I picked the car up they said "We've had a look at them and ordered a set of replacements".

That all sounds about right - the voltmeter on the dash is heavily damped so it will react slowly to changes. If you can get your hands on a digital voltmeter you can get a more accurate reading because if it is really going up to 15v that might indicate a problem with the voltage regulator (but that's in the alternator anyhow).

Snow mode and traction control are useless if it's more than "slightly slippy". It's just taken me about 10 minutes to get up our road (about a hundred yards). As soon as I got to the uphill section, wheelspin... traction control... more traction control... stall. I had to reverse past a row of parked cars to let a taxi (front wheel drive of course) get through. The only way I could move was to set off in second (plenty wheelspin, traction control off) then stick it 3rd and move uphill at walking pace (speedo said about 45) . I got past the parked cars and thought "Sod it, I'll leave it here". So, I maneuvered near the kerb and put the handbrake on - as soon as I took my foot off the brake, the bl00dy thing set off backwards with the rear wheels locked . So, basically I had to get it in the drive or, try and slide it all the way to the bottom of the hill - no thanks. At this point, the taxi came back the other way and stopped to tell me to "set off in 1st gear mate" - Yeah, thanks for that :duh: Anyway, with much wheelspin I finally got it home - tomorrow I'll stay in I think :hohoho:

Not strictly true - the lights should always be brighter with the engine running as the output voltage from the alternator is higher than the battery (by about 2v). You will always get dips in voltage when switching on a heavy electrical load (HRW etc) or the revs drop momentarily (AC compressor switching on etc). Maybe if your idle speed is low you aren't getting enough juice from the alternator. What does your voltmeter read? Should indicate about 14v under "normal" conditions. Of course, if you have everything switched on then the voltage will fall away at idle anyway.

Presuming all lights (not just the panel) are affected - could be your idle-speed is too low. Does it do it in D or Neutral or both ?

They're just the Sport springs - 15mm drop.

That applies to ANY cat'd car if you run it for a very short time and it doesn't get through it's warm-up cycle - excess fuel can get left in the cylinders and it then won't start again until it has cleared. That's why sometimes the engine will crank for ages before firing. Many calls to breakdown companies are caused by people moving their cars 10ft and then not being able to start them afterwards - don't do it... it's bad. That being said, I find my IS is reluctant to start sometimes for no apparent reason.

Hmm, I don't think I'd agree with that but it is susceptible to tyres and alignment - who's been doing the geometry check? dealer or independent? Mine tramlines unbelievably at the moment (needs new fronts) but otherwise handling and grip are excellent. NotoriousRev (I think) had similar stability issues but I don't know if he found an answer (apart from buying an Impreza :o )

This article was in the Telegraph's Motoring supplement about a month or so ago.

and Autocar are still saying it will happen this year (1st Jan issue, p25).

Not at all :) Seems rather common this - dunno why, you don't expect it on a car of this "class" do you

I think all the things on the dash like warning lights, MPG meter, Rev Counter are controlled by the ECU. As the car was still running OK, I guess it may be a wiring loom/connector problem - just guessing though.

I've heard of this before so it's not a wind up. I think they can even nick you if it's on a drive... :duh: I'm fairly sure they can only ticket you on the "highway" - a drive or other private land should be OK. Still a bad idea though (without extra security), even if it's deadlocked they've only got to smash the glass and bye-bye motor.

Just to be awkward; My fronts wore down very evenly except about an inch on the outside edge of the nearside which was almost bald after 20k. I was told that it is common for IS's to scrub the shoulders off. I just paid £94 for F1 GSD3's (but that's not fitted) - fitting will hopefully be courtesy of the dealer when they change my pitted alloys