romaro

Over the last couple of days I've noticed a metallic rattling sound when I close the boot of my 220D. It appears to be the heatshield around the exhaust that's causing it - if I lean under the car and twang the heatshield, I get - as well as a few funny looks - a rattling sound as if it were moving against something (although it seems well fixed in, and not hitting the exhaust itself). Anyone experienced anything similar? Or know of an easy fix?

Yep, it's a feature of the climate control - it doesn't provide hot or cold air until it's sure it can do so. Mine manages either frosty or boiling in a matter of seconds though (regardless of outside temp), so five minutes does seem a bit long!

This is astounding!! After 6500 miles my average is 36 mpg. Most of my driving is on the motorway, 5th gear, cruising at 75mph. Not impressed. There really does seem to be quite a lot of variation between different cars - I don't think it's my driving, as I do like to make use of all that torque once in a while! :P Last weekend, we did a trip to my girlfriend's parents (Southampton to Colchester) with a fair bit of luggage, two passengers and air-conditioning on 99% of the time. Largely motorway and dual carriageway (although the return journey did involve crawling along at 10mph on the M25 for a while!). Like you, mainly 5th gear crusing at that sort of speed (with perhaps a brief burst in sixth at slightly faster...). Actually hit 1,000 miles on the clock during this trip. And overall average for the return trip? 52.7mpg.

The diesel is actually cheaper - by £245 across the range. :) I had a similar dilemma to you, in trying to decide between the two. Part of what helped me decide was calculating the difference in fuel costs. Based on 10,000 miles a year, with diesel at 95p and 92p, and a slightly optimistic 30mpg for the manual petrol and a conservative 40mpg for the diesel the difference is about £315 in favour of the diesel. Of course this does depend on the fuel prices staying at this level... I'd assume the service costs would be not dissimmilar for both the petrol and the diesel. I did read that the diesel needs something like a mere 4 or 5 hours servicing for the first 100,000 miles. I factored in the manual petrol being in the very top tax band, the fact that it's more expensive than the diesel and that the base model diesel (the one I went for) is only group 12 for insurance and for my circumstances it was approaching £500 cheaper per year to run the diesel. As it turns out I'm getting way over 40mpg! The highest I've managed is a little over 60mpg, but I'm comfortably achieving 50mpg most of the time.

The diesel is actually cheaper - by £245 across the range. :) I had a similar dilemma to you, in trying to decide between the two. Part of what helped me decide was calculating the difference in fuel costs. Based on 10,000 miles a year, with diesel at 95p and 92p, and a slightly optimistic 30mpg for the manual petrol and a conservative 40mpg for the diesel the difference is about £315 in favour of the diesel. Of course this does depend on the fuel prices staying at this level... I'd assume the service costs would be not dissimmilar for both the petrol and the diesel. I did read that the diesel needs something like a mere 4 or 5 hours servicing for the first 100,000 miles. I factored in the manual petrol being in the very top tax band, the fact that it's more expensive than the diesel and that the base model diesel (the one I went for) is only group 12 for insurance and for my circumstances it was approaching £500 cheaper per year to run the diesel. As it turns out I'm getting way over 40mpg! The highest I've managed is a little over 60mpg, but I'm comfortably achieving 50mpg most of the time.

Every new IS, whether petrol or diesel, has VSC! The 220D Sport has VDIM in addition to VSC. It's okay - no spinning off the road for you! 220D Spec Got a feeling the VSC light looks like a skidding car....

I think it's written this way because the 220D comes with either VSC or VDIM, whereas it's VSC right across the range for the 250s. But yeah, clear as mud! :P VSC - as explained by the Technology Explorer on the Lexus UK site: Even the best drivers can get caught out by a bend that tightens unexpectedly - or the need to brake suddenly in mid-corner. Either action can unsettle the balance of the car. That's when VSC steps in to help the driver regain control quickly. Sensors continuously monitor and cross-reference speed, steering angle, yaw rate and deceleration. The instant the system detects a loss of control, VSC steps in and momentarily dictates the individual braking force sent to each wheel. It also moderates the throttle until the tendency of the front to run wide (understeer), or the rear to break away (oversteer), is corrected. It's the kind of technology we hope you'll never need. But if you do, you'll be glad it's there. VDIM is on there too - though once you fight your way through the blurb, the only real difference seems to be it does a bit of steering for you too!

On the limits but travelling at 88 mph? Ah, of course - you must be talking about the Crawley just outside of Berlin...?? :winky:

Very nearly! I have the Brechin with the beige interior and am very pleased. I think the lighter colours lift the interior and provide a nice contrast. My only concern is how long I'll manage to keep it clean! I've already switched the light-coloured mats for a set of black ones - though I think the grey already has darker mats and footwells? Other than that, it's holding up very nicely to marks and scuffs (though I have bought a bottle of Autoglym Interior Shampoo that works a treat). As for outside, I love the Brechin - in my opinion it's subtle and classy. Easy to keep clean too!

At least you made the very excellent choice of getting an IS before you lost the plot!

Okay, I'll tell you - as long as you stop calling me Roonaldo! :) This figure was from a cold start, travelling through roughly 3 miles of city traffic and traffic lights, then on to clearer roads with speed limit of 30 to 50 mph and then the bulk of the journey was cruising around the New Forest at 40 mph - country roads which are quite up and down. And finally back through urban roads home. Was probably a little over half an hour in total. I certainly wasn't driving fast, but neither was I driving like a grandad! I actually hit over 65mpg at one point, but it dropped back down as soon as I hit traffic lights. I'm finding that once it's warmed up, the economy does improve dramatically. Oh, and that was when I had about 400 miles on the clock!

no no no - I'm sensible with Courtesy cars... The auto is supposed to be more economical than the manual, so your figures sound about right... I think you were saying your 220D is better than the petrol manual courtesy car by 7 to 12 mpg in town right? Rather than the petrol only managing 7-12 mpg! I'm personally glad that I went for the diesel without giving the petrol a test...I'm sure I'd have been too tempted if I had! I did give a lot of thought to it and to me the decision came down to environmental reasons and the potential cost savings (not inconsiderable (depending on your definition of considerable), even if you're only doing 10,000 miles a year) - and the fact that while the petrol is definitely offering surprisingly good economy and the diesel has been disappointing for some, there's still a fair old difference between them. And not that I'm one for gloating, but I appear to have accidentally pasted this image again: (well there has to be some compensation for that rattly old diesel lump up front :P )

How much, and where do I sign up?? :D

I would have thought you'd be able to choose Dutch on a German car. My car (in England) has the following choices: English German French Italian Dutch Spanish Swedish Danish Norwegian Portuguese This applies to the touch-screen buttons, pop-up messages and the voice guidance. The voice recognition selectably recognises English, German and French (though this might vary on the continent I guess).

Good find ! I've used Expansys before and they aren't the cheapest, but they are very good, reliable etc... Do you know if it permanently sticks, or can it be removed? I'm wary of sticking anything that won't come off again... It can definitely be removed! It sticks to the screen very well, but isn't actually sticky itself, and doesn't use adhesive. Doesn't seem to be using static to attach...so it's evidently just magic! From the PPC Techs website (it's the AG type):

That's a thought. Might have to look into that - thanks!

Well I think I've found the holy grail of screen protectors at last! I tried anyscreenprotector.com and fair play they were cheap and my custom order arrived the very next day. Alas, not really up to the job - flimsy and pretty much refused to stick to the screen! Instead I went for: This fellow I'd previously used them on my PDA, and they are a) extremely pricey but b) extremely good. One this size comfortably gives you three MLS screen-sized protectors (for any lucky people out there with 3 ISs). It feels nicer to touch than the screen itself, no air bubbles, improves contrast and seems to shrug off finger-prints.

Certainly are - as I mentioned, the cream ones in mine probably aren't going to cope with too many muddy shoes, so I was after a black set as an alternative.

Does anyone know how much a set of original mats is for the new IS? I'm thinking I might get a set of black mats, as the cream coloured ones in mine are going to fare well with muddy shoes!

The proof will be to try at 70mph in 6th...it's worst then.... Does 65 in 5th count? It used to be a problem at all road speeds for me, and this has seriously improved things. Shame I wasn't really paying attention to how I moved it - just random wiggling (which I'm sure should normally only be carried out in the back seat..).

Well after recently complaining that my rear view mirror vibrated, I seem to have cured it! Playing around with it I noticed it hinges in two places, and by moving the top hinge around a bit I seem to have solved the vibration problem completely! Not quite sure how I managed it, but thought I'd pass it on.

I found it awkward to select some gears for a while too (mainly 2nd), but already it's loosened up and isn't a problem any more. Agree with you on the rear view mirror too! Had a look at it today, I reckon it's the mounting that's causing it - rather than any inherrent vibration from the engine. I do have a slight, and I mean very slight, rattle from somewhere over on the passenger side - seems to be from behind the footwell/glovebox. Tempted just to leave it for a while, as it's not really bothering me. Anyone had anything similar, or have any ideas on the cause?

Have I got the hybrid version?

Assuming you have it, it's on the MM system itself! Hit the Help button that appears on screen after pressing the recognition button on the steering wheel. I think the Help option is only available when stationary.

I'm looking forward to it! Have to say I was pretty impressed with how fast it felt right from new but I can certainly see what you mean about how tight it is at first now that mine has a few more miles on it. Roll 1,000 miles! :) Mine's just the standard car (with the obligatory MM pack of course...maybe Mr Levinson is responsible for me not being able to hear the engine?) - so tall gearing. They did seem very strange at first (coming from a high-revving Corolla T-Sport) but I'm completely used to them now and they actually seem quite sensible to me. I think some of the negative press in that respect is coming from journalists who drive all sorts of cars day-in, day-out - they jump into a 220D and think "this is different, must be bad" (Or in some cases "this isn't a BMW, must be bad" :P) whereas I think it's just different!