Buzzz

Well, after nearly 10 years of being a Volkswagen man I took delivery of my Lexus IS-250 SEL MM Auto on the 31st October, detailed below is my experience so far, a tail of woes I am sure you will agree. Car collected, presented to me in an internal hand over room, actually made me feel rather special and a feeling of importance. My local Dealer had also fitted a rear spoiler and rear tints had been done by a 3rd party but had all been looked after by the Dealer, at this point felt rather proud and confident that I had made the right decision. Got the car home and noticed a few things: - Front drivers side scuff plate did not light up Front drivers side fog light did not work Front a-pillar trim broken Both b-pillar trims damaged Radio had severe interference when the heated rear switch was pressed Drivers seat damaged Rear scuff plates different, one was black rubber and the other was stainless steel The car was booked in for the Lexus Dealer to do a seatbelt recall and I thought fix these faults. When I got there the Service Department had no record of the faults, so I then had to sit there and take them through the story so far. After 2 days the car was returned, when I looked at the car again they had missed most of the minor points, had tried to repair the seat but you could still see the damage, they couldn't replicate the fault on the radio. This was very dissapointing from the number 1 in the JD Power survey, something that had been very important when deciding which car to buy. To then insure that I was not going mad with the radio fault I actually recorded what was happening on my telephone to prove that there really was a fault. So, the car went back in on the 18th December to have the following work: - Front a-pillar trim to be repaired Passenger side b-pillar trim to be replaced Drivers seat to be replaced Rear windscreen to be replaced (to correct the radio fault) Rear scuff plate (the rubber one) to be replaced with the correct trim Fit side bumpers as a goodwill gesture. I provided the bumpers, they would fit them. The car also had a recall on the sat nav? So, after many days of waiting, not really their fault I collected the car, the guy at the Service Department I believe was very sincere and had actually taken it upon himself to ensure everything had been done. I just felt really let down after spending so much money. In my communication with the Dealership I did say that I did not want to have to bring this car in until it needed it's first service after having all of this work done. Unfortunately the car will have to go back in as the disk they changed for the sat nav is faulty and has to be replaced. AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In summary, I love the car, but I have neaver had so much wrong with a car in such a short time, in fact it has been off the road for more than 15% of the current ownership time. Your comments would be apprieciated, also any suggestions of who I could write to at Lexus GB. I think the Dealer has been fairly reasonable but I just feel Lexus GB need to know that this owner of this car feels that you should not believe all of the hype?

Thanks, this is the same company as already mentioned, they only do the ARGENTO. This is why I was wondering if anyone knew the web address for Fox Design?

Thanks for that. Do you have a website for Silver Fox Design, is there anything on the fitting instructions? My car is Cadaxton Grey and GCP only seem to do one colour, I have e-mailed them , 3 times with no response so I think that's a fat no from them. If I can get to the manufacturer I can ask them. Hope you can find a web address for Silver Fox, have trawled the web but can't find them. Thanks in advance.

Thought I'd mentioned this before, and I think has 'Tel' because we both have the new (second generation) OEM mud flaps fitted, and they're not the same as the IS200. My 250 is in Cadoxton Slate/Smoky Granite Mica and the flaps are to all intents and purposes black, although they are available colour coded for colours other than Slate/Black. I think Tel had them fitted pre-delivery, but Lexus Bristol fitted mine at it's first service. They charged me around £158 for the four + fitting inc. VAT and before LOC 10% Gold discount. I'll take some pics tomorrow if anyone's interested... I too have the black ones fitted, the ones on ebay are manufacturered by Silver Fox Design, they have them in ARGENTO ICE SILVER and VELVET BLACK, they are both shown on an is-250. Has anyone purchased these and fitted them? Thanks.

Checked with my local dealer today, had never heard of these and told me they were not Lexus parts, I have found coloured mudflaps on e-bay, just waiting to see if they do other colours than those stated, anyone though had these supplied and fitted by their Lexus dealer, or know where I can get them from, my car is Cadaxton Grey? Any help would be apprieciated.

Sorry I don't have any pictures as mine is a 2006, delivered on the last day of October 2006. However, I did have reason to have a loan car a couple of weeks ago and that was a 2007 model. Basically, where the 2 switches are currently, 1 above the other and the blanking plate next to it. That is completely replaced by 2 switches side by side and illuminated (the switches). When I noticed this I enquired to see if there is an upgrade available, Lexus Reading informed me that it is a different loom and therefore cannot be performed. It's a shame though as the 2006 layout is difficult to see. Hope this helps and I am sure someone will post a picture eventually!

I have ordered these, just waiting for Sewell to confirm how they are fitted, has anyone now got them fitted, do they just stick on or is there drilling involved? These are NOT available in the UK, only in the States, amazing really, they have parking bays the size of Texas, here in the UK, not available!!

I would get this checked as I think you might find this is a fault. The car will lock automatically if you have opened it and not physically opened a door. I had this fault on my earlier car, (a VW), it was a faulty locking mechanism. Hope this helps?

The 2006 models had the switches mounted one above the other and they were not illuminated..Lexus actually listened to the customer complaint and fixed the issue on the 2007 model. I'd like to know if they can be retro-fitted because I still find (well I don't...no pun intended) the switches are difficult when not illuminated as they are tucked under the dash. I called my local dealership yesterday. Unfortunately, they told me that this cannot be done, it's a differnt wiring loom so the connections do not exist to replace the single switch with 2 switches and illuminate them, so it looks like it's torches at the ready for all of us who keep opening the fuel cover instead of the boot and vis versa!!

Can they be changed in a 2006 car? I picked mine up on the 31-10-2006, and like many on LOC I too struggle to see them. Has anyone asked the local Lexus dealer for an upgrade, wouldn't mind paying. Anyone done this?

Many thanks for that. I would also agree with your comment, stay back and let the stones hit the ground rather than the front of your car!!

Can't find this anywhere on the website, are you sure? The in panel box is $185.00, maybe you could post the link? Can't find this anywhere on the website, are you sure? The in panel box is $185.00, maybe you could post the link? It's okay, found it under is200, thought this was a thread for is-250 / 220?

Anyone found where you can get the storage bin that replaces that plastic cover in the control panel in the roof? You know, just behind the light / sun roof controls, what a waist of space when storage is so tight in the 250?

You should buy a product called Langka - it makes applying touch up paint trivially easy. You put enough paint in the stone chip, wait one hour, put some Langka on a clean cloth and wrap it around a flat plastic card - 5-10 seconds rubbing over the blob - perfect smooth flush result! It is just fantastic. Langka can gently melt away the excess touch up paint letting you smooth it out properly - but it does not affect normal paint. In fact if you rub for long enough you can remove the touch up paint completely - so if you really mess it up you can sort it out and start again. The key is to work on it within 1-2 hours of application before it cures to being too hard. Mark mspiteri, Any idea where we get Langka from ? Infinity......... Sorry for the late reply - but someone else already got there. I had purchased it from that Frost car restoration website. Mark Has anyone tried Langka on metallic paint? The instructions seem to warn about laquered paint and the fact that you should not use it? Any help would be apprieciated.

Welcome to LOC I have the Road Angel Plus, this unit is battery powered, single charge lasts for about 10 hours of constant driving, it switches itself off when the car stops for longer than 10 minutes so it is only on when the car has been started (has a switch inside the unit that monitors movement, clever stuff). It comes with the usual windscreen mount, a little like a cradle. It also comes with a small magnetic mount (the unit has a metal disk in the base that sticks to this, the other side is sticky and that just sticks to your dash, therefore the mount is not too obvious to the light fingered brigade!! This unit also has laser detection so highlights you to those men in little white vans!! This option can be switched off though so it is future proof Why did I buy this (I had a Snooper for nearly 5 years), no hard wiring, no false alarms, easy to move from car to car and it's future proof. So, enjoy your car, when you finally get it, I know I am, picked mine up 31st October.

But they were factory fit!! Lexus quality is more than a little suspect if it missed being discovered at the factory, again at the port of entry check, and also at the stealership. :duh: Not good at all...What did the dealer say? I must admit the dealership did not have too much to say although I did make the exact same point to them. The car also had damaged b-pillar trims and both of these have had to be replaced plus a scuff in the leather. All in all I was a little dissapointed that all of this had been missed, I only noticed it all when I cleaned the car at the weekend, after all the excitment of collecting a new car you start to see what you have really bought, if you know what I mean....... Anyway, dealership has replaced one of the b-pillar trims, awaiting the second and the graze in the leather is also going to be fixed at the same time.

For those of you who are interested, I took the car in today and they had forgotton to connect it!!

Try pressing the Door button in the roof to make sure. When off the footwell lights still come on but the main light doesn't and the scuff plates dont light...I had the same problem But the passengers scuff plate light comes on either with or without the button being pressed, I think it's a fault, but I could be wrong???

Picked the car up yesterday, and am still trying to work my way through War and Peace, also known as the manuals!! Anyway, those front scuff plates look good illuminated in blue, except the drivers side does not illuminate, now is there some weard setting somewhere or do I have a faulty one? I do hope someone can help as it would save me 4 hours trawling through the books!! Thanks in advance.

Just wondered how much you paid for the lip, inc tax and how much the Lexus dealership charged you for fitting? Considering taking the same route as my local dealer is also unable to source this part locally. Just one other thing, does anyone know what the American equivalent of Cadoxton Grey is? It's known in the USA as Black Pearl or Smoky Granite Mica whichever description the colour code is BO -1GO. The lip spoiler can be had for $199 (£105.85 at todays exchange rate). I'm ashamed to say after deriding it earlier, that I'll be hand carrying one in that colour back to the UK with me. It's currently sat in my hotel room in it's box. Has anyone actually paid for and taken delivery of one of these from the States? I have e-mailed the company in the US about a week ago asking for confirmation of pricing for postage to the UK etc, their system states that they will respond in 24 hours, that must be 24 Microsoft hours as I have still not heard anything. So, any idea how much the whole thing costs inc. delivery from the USA £????? Fitting in the UK by a Lexus dealer £?????? Thanks in advance.

Just wondered how much you paid for the lip, inc tax and how much the Lexus dealership charged you for fitting? Considering taking the same route as my local dealer is also unable to source this part locally. Just one other thing, does anyone know what the American equivalent of Cadoxton Grey is?

Isn't SACD and DVD audio roughly the same thing? And what is the actual difference between a CD and DVD audio besides the 5.1 encoding and extra capacity? I thought CD was uncompressed audio too? :duh: Now im not sure if it does play SACD as i think that is a Sony/Philips driven format. I have one or two SACD's in my collection so i will try them in the morning. SACD and DVD audio are similar but encoded differently not all DVD players will play SACD but all will play DVD audio. All of the SACD's i have are recordd in a format called Direct Stream Digital (DSD) Both DVD and SACD are multi channel audio. I think DVD video is the VHS to Sonys SACD/DSD Betamax. Its probably better sonically but nobody wants it. All CD/DVD/MP3/WMA/CDA etc. audio formats are compressed to differing degrees to reduce the stream rate from the source and get more on a disk or whatever its stored on. uncompressed audio is exactly what is says it is uncompressed so takes up far more room on a disk than normal CDA and is sonically massively superior to CDA or MP3 you here all of the music and all the harmonics not just loud notes that blot out the high frequencies. With uncompressed audio you may only get 3 or 4 3 minute songs on a standard 700mb disk. Infinity........... Just checked SACD in my Sony laptop and it wont play. As far as I am aware SACD is not supported in all DVD players, however DVD-A is, providing the player is quite new, so The DVD player in the IS250 should play DVD-A. If anyone gets the chance, maybe they could test SACD and post the results.

So it plays SACD as well!! Shame Lexus don't advertise the fact.

Have a Road Angel Plus working fine in mine without an external antenna if that helps Regards Barry Thanks for that, exactly what I wanted to hear! Looks like an order will be placed shortly for the Compact!!

Thanks for everyone's participation so far. But has anyone got a GPS based unit working on a new IS250 without the need for an external ariel? It would seem that no one knows whether the new IS250 has a heat reflective front screen or not. Thanks in advance