Do Not Sell My Personal Information Jump to content


vudu

Members
  • Posts

    25
  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

Forums

Events

Store

Gallery

Tutorials

Lexus Owners Club

Gold Membership Discounts

Lexus Owners Club Video

News & Articles

Everything posted by vudu

  1. how come the TRD filter is so much more expensive ($80) than the Airinx II one ($33)?? Are they for different applications?
  2. Just to let you know, I went to Lexus Croydon yesterday to have a look at it, fully expecting to take the train back home and be without the car for a day or two.. I insisted this time that someone come into the car and see for themselves. One of the guys comes out, switches the engine on and off repeatedly about 10 times in a row, and notices the voltmeter gradually go down to about 9v.. He said the battery's probably too weak, and offered to replace the battery under warranty! Good thing he did cuz my warranty runs out in a couple of weeks! The best part, of course, is that the problem has disappeared!!!! Thanks guys for all the advice/info!!
  3. If I know I'm gonna be stuck for a while, then I put it in N just to give my right foot a break.. but I don't think you're doing any mechanical damage to leave it in D all the time. The transmission is designed to handle that! but I find that in heavy/slow moving traffic, I use the SNOW button as it makes the car less sensitive when accelerating behind that oh so slow bus!
  4. Hi Gordon, A set of black-finish silicone wipers for me please! IS200 1 x 22" and 1 x 20" at £27. I understand that payment will be thru LOC? paypal?? Thanks!
  5. I've been looking around for the new CD since my local dealer won't sell it for less than £155 (Lexus Edgware Road) since they don't do discounts.. but I might give Guildford a call. Was the discount for LOC members? I'd be interested in the postcode feature (if it is actually there) because the '99 CD I've got seems to have trouble locating certain industrial estates/rural roads. Has your GS300 got the same satnav system as the IS200 (CD-rom version)?
  6. I've had a close look at the instruments over the weekend and these are my observations: 1. On cold, the engine idles at around 1,250rpm (no lightings probs) 2. When warmed up, the engine idles at about 750rpm (dim lighting) 3. Warmed up voltage is about 13.5v 4. Upon revving gently, voltage slowly goes up to 15v or so and then slowly goes back down to 13.5 and lighting goes back down proportionate to that change. I've booked the car in with Lexus Croydon again (the ones who changed the alternator) for the 10th of Feb. This time I'm gonna make the guy come in the car with me and show him exactly what I mean. Hopefully, it'll be a cloudy/dark day!
  7. And don't forget INSURANCE COSTS!! Group 17!!! Well, that and the fact that you're effectively paying 24 grand for a hatchback!
  8. ok, will get back to you guys about the figures (idle speed, voltage, side light only, etc).. have to wait till it gets dark though cuz I ain't got a garage! :( what I know for sure is that it doesn't always happen, but when it does, it's b****y annoying! in the meantime, I'll put the idle speed question to the dealer and see what he says..
  9. Lexicon, it happens in both D and neutral.. kev dood, I know what you mean when it dims a little when turning on the rear demist, but the problem occurs quite often (during night driving only obviously). And YES, I have the same thing with the odometer display! left side is brighter than the right! I haven't really noticed any unusual readings from the voltage meter, it doesn't really change when I accelerate and brighten up the instruments. Although I'm somewhat relieved that someone else has had this issue, it does seem strange that kev dood's car which is only 2 years old has it as well.. <_<
  10. well, both dealers checked the battery and said it was working fine.. as I said before, there's also a brand new alternator in as well. Surely I can't be the only owner in the forum to have experienced this. I hope not! I'm by no means an expert in electrics, but would a higher capacity battery do the trick? or is that not getting to the root of the problem? could it be a fuse issue?? Calling all anoraks! Help!!
  11. Hi all, I've got a 2000W IS200 SE with 39k miles on the clock.. I've recently noticed that the instrument lights in the speedo and on the centre console are a bit dim at night on idle, but when I press on the throttle, it all brightens up again. Has anyone had this issue before??? I've been to 2 seperate dealers (Edgware Road and Croydon) and they both said they "fixed" it, but a day later it's exactly the same!! Ok, so maybe a 4 or 5 year old car might have this problem, but mine is less than 3 years old and bought from Lexus Canterbury! I would go directly to them if I could, but it's a good 2.5 hour drive away.. Should I go to other dealers?? or keep pestering the ones I've already taken it to? Bearing in mind that the original warranty runs out in March (I've got the approved one till November), I'd like to get this thing fixed!! Croydon replaced the alternator, but made no difference.. Thanks for any info/advice!!
  12. Went to the car the other day to do the weekly supermarket stint. Used the unlock button on the remote and the car's alarm went off. Got in quick, stuck the key in the ignition. The horn stopped, but the alarm siren kept going and the car wouldn't start. I realised that the battery must be dead cuz I accidentally left the reading light on the night before. That, combined with the first snowfall in London for ages probably killed the battery off.. since the car came with 1 year's RAC, I gave them a call... they said it would be 1hr15mins before someone could come (good thing I was home!).. then miraculously, 20 minutes after I hung up the phone, the orange van pulls up.. he jump-started it and it was perfectly fine... only one thing, he said I had to drive round for at least 45 mins to keep the engine running so the battery could recharge or something... so I had to take a HUGE detour to the supermarket which was only 3 miles away! but hey, at least I had an excuse to spend 45 minutes in the car (I normally only do short trips) so I shouldn't complain! PS. RAC recovery= top service (at least for me!) :)
  13. I hope they didn't design the ECU using Windows!!!!!!
  14. hmmm... not too crazy about the wheels (current ones look better I think)... but I LOVE those blue-ish headlights!! are they HID???
  15. Too bad they're introducing digital cameras to replace the film ones.. if I remember the tv program correctly, the pictures get send digitally to the processing centre or are stored in an on-board hard disk or memory card! Is there no end to this madness?!? :duh: I'm SURE that the police (and of course the public!) would be better off spending all that money fighting street crime instead of charging people who go 10mph over the limit in a perfectly capable car with such great brakes and handling as the IS200!! Ok, so people do get killed in 30 mph zones by speeding cars, but WHY on motorways??? Look at the German limit-free autobahn safety record! Sorry about the ranting, it just frustrates me seeing those cameras on the motorway, especially on calm roads..
  16. I've got a March 2000 registered model (bottom loading CD slot), so I guess that would explain the bass-heavy issue.. Keep those settings coming! I'll see if they give a more rounded sound that what I'm currently using...
  17. Just picked up my car from Lexus Edgware cuz of a strange creaking sound from somewhere in the car. They got a technician in and asked me to drive around to locate the source of the prob. He said it was probably the plastic lining surrounding the underside of the sunroof (the black one). He said it wasn't unheard of, and said he would want the car for 2 days to roadtest and order parts (2 whole days without my IS200! Nightmare! )... But, since it was still under warranty, they replaced the plastic surround at no cost. The other thing I noticed was that on the speedo cluster at night, when I step on the throttle from idle, the dash lights brightened up a bit. Told the dealer about it, and after the sunroof they rectified that too... They also noticed that the water pump was leaking slightly and put a brand new one in under warranty too! Brilliant service, but the car came back a bit filthy (ash-like flakes near gear shift probably caused when replacing sunroof lining above). So, if you notice any "creaking" while going on uneven surfaces, it could be the sunroof.. you don't have to live with it!
  18. Hi all, Just wondering what everyone else's settings are for the IS200 SE speakers? I've got Bass at -2, Mid at 1, and Treb at 2.. but it's STILL a bit bass-heavy (the rear ones). I know I could take the bass down even more, but it doesn't seem normal to be listening to speakers with such a negative bass setting! I've never had to do it to other cars. On the contrary, I often pump UP the bass in my dad's LS400 whenever I get into it..
  19. Lexus Edgware have quoted me £154.95 for Jan '03 CD when it comes in.. would discount-giving dealers offer the CD for less?
  20. Hey, count me in on a "backup" copy B)
  21. Yep, exactly the same on the IS (only driver's side speaker mutes). Just increase the voice volume if you want. I think you press Menu and then you can twist the knob on the sat nav controls to increase/decrease.
  22. I dropped by van Aaken yesterday.. did any of you know that BMW go there to get their cars modified? at least that's what the guy said.. anyway, I found out that the smartchip they have is in fact a SMARTBOX which sort of plugs into the existing ecu. the guy says that the IS200 can't really be 'chipped', rather this box just alters the fuel timing or something of that nature (I'm no techie so..).. The advantage of this is that when I go to Lexus for servicing etc I can literally plug the box out and there's no trace of any mods when it goes in for servicing.. the price they do it for is £295 total.. not bad! However, they DON'T use a rolling road as TDI does so that may be why it's cheaper.. although they would recommend it at £55 per hour so you know exactly what improvement you're getting.. If any of you are wondering about experience, they've had these smartboxes for about a year and a half, the one for the IS200 for about 6 months.. no probs from other cars fitted with it (it comes with a 12 month warranty anyway).. plus they can get a Jetex replacement performance filter for about £30 (fitting free). I reckon that's all I'll do really.. don't wanna add a sports exhaust if it's gonna make the car louder (that wouldn't be the point of a LEXUS now would it?!?!).. plus mine's got the nice crome tail pipe anyway.. Oh, by the way, I DID try to drive to TDI the other day, but the sat nav made me go through the city of London.... I wasn't even half way and it had been about an hour and a half in serious traffic... I gave up. maybe I'll brave it another day.. :(
  23. one more thing the new spec models have is curtain airbags... my March 2000 model doesn't have that (A-spec).. but hey, if you're involved in an accident that's so serious that those babies have to blow up, it probably won't make that much of a difference... I agree with the others, no point getting a brand new or nearly new model, 2 year old examples are virtually identical.. I personally went to a main dealer for mine even though there are quite a few private ones.. you can get a very nice non sat-nav SE auto for £15k (asking price) from a main dealer, so depends on your priorities..
  24. I'm definitely getting Gold membership ASAP if it can help keep costs down.. hmmm, so looks like the alterpower may not be worth the extra strain on the battery, unless I get a heavy duty battery fitted maybe? the reason I'm looking at chipping and performance filter change is cuz I don't wanna add any significant weight to the car (it's heavy enough as is!).. plus an induction system might kill my insurance premium, I dunno.. how much will the TDI unit be? The other nice thing with van Aaken is that they say they can remove the chip for me for no extra charge if I come to sell the car later on, which is cool. Can TDI do that as well? or will I have to be the guinea pig here?? ;D air filters come out easily too, so.. basically, I would welcome your thoughts on any light mods that can be easily removed and won't break the bank/insurance premium!!!! :D
  25. Hi everyone, I picked up my w-reg IS200 SE Auto yesterday from Lexus Canterbury. The hand-over was brilliant. I would recommend them to anyone. Even more importantly, the car was fantastic! The sat nav works like a charm, taking me right to my front door in London.. I would like to do a few mods to the engine though. I've read the discussions on TDI's UNICHIP, and it looks like on the whole it works pretty well, but some of you have had probs regarding stalling, idling, etc.. plus it's about £600 to fit I think. I spoke to the guys at van Aaken Developments, and they do a smartchip unit which can give between 5-10 hp and better fuel mngt.. the nice thing is that they'll do it for about £300+VAT.. any of you guys had experience with them? It would be nice to get similar results to the UNICHIP for half the price! Also, van Aaken have got the Racelogic Alterpower mod which uses the car's alternator to get a few more hp's when you floor the car, and it's pretty cheap to fit as well. Anyone had one of those fitted? finally, which performance air filter (long life) can I use which can give me noticeable improvements in power? I think that's all I'll do to the car for now! oh, and I'm getting colour-coded rear park sensors fitted at a dealer this week.. Thanks for any feedback! Vudu PS. GREAT forum btw! I've learnt a hell of a lot about the car even before taking delivery of it! :D
×
×
  • Create New...