Rich_Bee

I have had some more of the issues than I've voted for on the rattle side but as mine will be gone in a month I've not bothered to visit to have them sorted. Mechanicals though have meant trips to the dealer.

Rich.

I have to say though, I too am already looking forward to the day my 220d finally goes.

Me too, the performance of mine seems worse now - fuel won't go above 37mpg even on huge motorway runs and first gear is just scary so pulling out quickly on roundabouts means superhero levels of braveness or massive clutch slip!

I've spoken to our fleet manager and am swapping mine for a 320d Msport estate which is due back into our 'pool' in Jan/Feb, it's 9 months old but I'm looking forward to getting it I have to say!

Well, lets put this into some presepctive. I have a 2000 Nissan Micra 1.4SE+ CVT Auto which I use every day as my driving school car. I cover about 35,000 miles per year. I believe that checking on that particular web-site where those figures came from, I put out 14 tons of Co2 per year. Compare that to the 5 tons my LS430 puts out every year, possibly even less as I do less than 10,000 per year, it makes my LS seem greener than a Prius and my Micra dirtier than a Kenworth truck.

I don't think you can really compare the CO2 from 35k miles of driving to the CO2 output from 10K The fact that the Micra puts out 60% of the emissions of the LS430 is enough I think...

Figures for the missing Lex

IS200....4.48 Tons of CO2

IS300...ranging from 4.93 Tons to 5.1 Tons as the quoted figures range from 256 to 265gCO2/Lm

Hi John,

The only fault could be a thermostat failure - this might be worth checking, or the electronic control function changing the heat exchanger/fan setting i suppose.

In your mail you don't mention just putting it on auto (don't have it on dual) and setting the temp to say 21. You'll need to leave it a few minutes to get settled but this should sort itself out. The only button to use then is the window one if you get steamed up/cold morning and then press this again to get back to normal. I only have trouble with mine when my wife puts the temp on her side to about 25 when we first get in because it's cold thinking this will warm it up quicker, when she only wants it on 21 in the first place

Rich.

There is another way of getting a bootliner - there was one in my courtesy car at the 10k service and the service manager commented when I brought the car back that he was amazed it was still in there, they don't usually last that long. The courtesy car I had for the 20k service didn't have it in when I took that back

I've flown loads of times with my keys (at least once every 2 weeks for the last 18 months) and the key's fine and the scanner operator has never asked to see them B)

You've done the right thing getting the test drives, just make sure they are long enough to give you a full opinion.

However, from your comments on comfort and quiet, with reasonable maintenance then maybe the Lex is for you. If it's a purchase (rather than company car) then I think the general concensus would be 250 Auto if you can stretch to it, it does the same mpg as the diesel anyway! If not poss, then the experience of the three you've highlighted will be different so it'll be interesting to see what you decide.

Rich.

I'm just over 4 weeks in - also appear to be having a 'starting issue'...........press engine start button when green, dials whiz round, check comes up on trip but engine does not even attempt to start.....have to press start button again. Have always assumed I hadn't got the clutch depressed enough but surely dials wouldn't whiz round if this was the case? Any advice appreciated on this one.......

Have you actually tried pressing the starter button without the clutch pressed It puts the ignition on to what was ACC, and on mine the dials light up and spin round. I was having trouble in mine early on, then I put the seat forward a notch (seriously) and all was fine.

If you have a good search you'll find most of these on here - mirror is normal as the bass is very powerful, high idling is normal (to get the cats to temp?) but should stop when the engine is fully warmed up. Not heard of the starting issue though, someone else may be able to help - mine turns over a few times but this can be a feature of the car rather than an issue.

Welcome to LOC.

Rich.

Don't know what you do at work but there are a lot of other things you stop doing on holiday as well as driving. If you use a PC, what a about swapping the mouse over to the other hand - that solved my sore arm and lower back pain a few months ago after getting the advice of a chiropractor (sp?)

Or do you drive gangsta style with a big lean back, arm on the window kinda look

I used the Mobil 1 0w-40 as it matched what the book said. Was £14.99 for a litre and it's the first I've had to put in it (has a red flashing oil low warning whilst on the M40 so was worried). Took the whole litre but I'm on 29k so almost due for a service.

Rich.

I agree, go through your own insurance - they'll try and repair it as standard anyway which is free - if it breaks then it'll be a new screen.

However, as mine has been in the bodyshop since Thurs having the paintwork repaired where the Autowindscreens fool screwdrivered the glass out and scratched both wings and A pillars, damaged all the under bonnet plastics and clips, and broke clips off th A pillars which hold the edge trims down - if they do repalce it I'sd watch them like a hawk if I were you

Not a lot of help I know but mine doesn't do this so it's not a normal 'feature'

On the whole it coincides with the headlights coming on too, though once or twice it happened (for example when queueing in traffic and being under a bridge in daylight) where the speedo lights dim, but the headlights don't actually quite come on...only happened a couple of times that I've noticed...

That's wierd as in mine the headlights can turn on and off on auto, but the dash can stay bright until it gets that little bit darker. The dash will only dim when the headlights are on however...

In which case I'm sure it's normal - just turn the dimmer switch fully clockwise until it clicks - that I believe over-rides the settings and it'll stay full on.

That'll do it, the reason you can overide it by turning the lights off and on is the different switching points for dimming - it goes dim at say 20% light level, but won't go back bright again until 50% (just example numbers to get the point across). So, if the light level drops below 20% it'll dim, but then the light level only goes back up to 30% they will stay dim - unless you turn the lights on and off and hey presto bright display as the light isn't below 20%.

For mods you need to speak to Tango..

The mpg sounds about right, they are not the best around town but the mpg will rise considerably as the mileage increases, mine had a big step change at around 5 k miles and then again at 10k./

Welcome to LOC.

Rich.

I would think a big displacement engine is the only way forward if you don't want turbo/supercharged.. Why not go for a Monaro V8, that'll have plenty of torque..or staying in the Lexus fold a GS430?

Sounds like they are getting there !

Have to say, I can't remember anyone mentioning parcel shelf/blind rattles before. Could be the blind or sub I suppose, keep us posted to see what they find.

Cheers.

The mute should be done on the amp now anyway which is in the boot I believe, so they shouldn't have to take the stereo out. If in doubt ask for a fitter who has worked on an IS gen 2 before. I work for a certain coloured phone company and can help get the right bloke to you if you order it through us...

Pictures below of the install and one of the area where the last one was taken out to show the quality of the work. Apols for Extralargebigness of the pictures!

Wow, that is immense! 750 bhp in a 3 series is crazy..........I like the idea of sticking that engine in a Z4 too, would be an absolute rocket!

I didn't realise the M3 CSL had 507bhp as standard anyway, thought it was much less (standard M3 is 340 isn't it).......an engine transplant seems a little excessive for an extra 43bhp........ :shutit:

You're right, the CSL is around 340/360 ish. Must be a typo somewhere, makes more sense when the increase is 200bhp CSL's are twitchy anyway, that'd be terrifying!

EDIT - just read it and get the point now, the standard M5 is 507, so they're comparing the stats on the M5 engine (standard to the modded one they fit) rather than the CSL's.

I originally had the Motorola IHF-1000 fitted which is the one Lexus would fit. It was not the best kit with poor sound and poor compatibility with most phones, had the button fitted on the centre console (there is a thread somewhere with it on). This kit has now been removed and left absolutely no marks or rattles (the stereo ended up coming out twice also as Lexus disconnected the mute cable when they replaced the stereo but the wire only needs to got to the amp now anyhow )

My replacement is a Parrott CK 3100 (soon to be changed again with a 3200) which I have had fitted under the right air vent where the dash join is - again great install, no intrusive fixings and very easy to use. As kits go it's much better as has the external display, full voice activation, holds your phone book so no need to touch the phone at all - they also do software updates to cover any compatibility issues that may occur in the future. Let me know if you want me to get a picture for you to have a look.

Rich.

EDIT - Found a piccie of the first install IHF1000 thread

A word of warning for those needing a new windscreen, I have had mine replaced and now waiting for significant repairs to put it right!

Autoglass came out to change the screen, a miserable git of a fitter started working on the car. I could tell he was in a huff about something as he chuntered on about how 'these Toyotas have too much plastic on them making the screens hard to fit!'. Anyway, I left him to his work and could see him from the office window, to be fair he had to take quite a bit of the under bonnet plastics off to get the screen surround out.

An hour later, job's done but he was moaning they'd only sent two left hand screen trims so he'd fitted the old one again as it wasn't damaged. I questioned that the screen looked 'low' in the body but was told that 'they fit them wrong in the first place'. Alarm bells were ringing now so had a check over the job, faults found -

Both A pillars scratched down to the primer/metal all the way up from the lever he used to get the window out

Both front wings damaged in much the same way

OS window trim had broken clips so was hanging off (this was the old trim)

NS window trim hanging off but this transpired to be the clips he'd broken off the bodywork after later inspection.

All under bonnet plastics loose (just laid on the engine) as he'd broken 12 clips that hold it all down.

Repairs are going to be around £500 paintwork, new screen fitment, and £40 for the clips for the engine cover!

If you have one replaced, might be worth watching the fitter for the first half an hour to make sure they know what they are doing - seems the new car issue and being part of the learning curve has hit me again

Mine has got worse in the last few weeks also. Anyone remember those rubber 'earthing' strips they used to hang of the back of old cortina's? Is there a more modern version available now?

Just a quickie. Three of the alloys on my IS220d have started bubbling up - I presume this is corrosion under the paint/lacquer. It's only minor at the moment, but it's in quite a few places. Is this something that should be happening so early in a car's lifetime? I don't remember it happening with any of the other brands I had before my Lexus.

Advice very much appreciated.

JFB

A common problem with Lex alloys (and maybe toyota also). A quick trip to the dealer and new alloys will be yours under warranty. :D

Rich.

Nah mate, I still have an email subscription service which I don't seem to be able to cancel - I've tried but can't even log in, as I was going to post up about the Japan North Event, so can't even do that!

Nice to see that edition of the Veyron! I've never seen that before - it's stunning and immensely powerful!

Nice one,

Jamie

Only joking anyway. Don't you love the fact he lives in one of the most expensive hotels in the world and that they put the rope barrier around the car when it's parked up B)

Also proves money can't necessarily buy you taste but hey-ho, each to their own