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jonm

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  • Lexus Model
    IS200S auto

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  1. I chose to buy the 'S' new, and still have it. The major benefit is another inch of headroom because of no sunroof. The other benefit is a slightly softer ride because of the smaller wheels and higher profile tyres, albeit at the loss of some steering response. But it all depends what is important for you as the purchaser.
  2. Thanks for all the comments. Really useful to find out that other people have had similar problems. As a result I decided to tackle the two 10p sized bubbles on the nearside sill. The corrosion had spread under the stone chip paint, and I ended up with a 7cm long hole in the bottom of the sill. Fortunately the damage was quite localised, and the rest of the sill appeared sound. The hole was big enough for me to investigate inside. It seems that there is a design problem, with any moisture in the sill or in the C-post behind the rear door collecting in this area, with no obvious drain hole. The problem is made worse because I park on a slope, with the rear of the car lower than the front. It also appears that there is inadequate rustproofing in this area, with little if any wax inside this part of the sill. There is wax further towards the front of the car, and I think that when the car was manufactured the wax was injected through the hole sealed with a rubber plug below the front edge of the front door. So the wax may not have reached the rear of the sill. (There is another rubber plug inside the rear wheel arch (hidden behind the rubber dirt shield) but this appears to give access to another box section, which is an inner upper sill rather than the lower outer sill.) My local bodyshop welded up the sill and painted it for £200. They reported that the damage was very localised, and the rest of the sill was sound. My first spend on the car in 14 years apart from routine maintenance - amazing! I then rustproofed the area (see below). So - here are my recommendations for IS200 owners. 1 - inspect the rear of the sills for signs of rust bubbling under the paint. Look about 10 cm in front of the rear wheel arch. 2 - if you find any bubbling, don't touch it until you have checked your anti-corrosion warranty. Mine had a 6-year warranty, but someone on this website said they thought they had a 12-year warranty. If you are covered, take it to your local Lexus dealer for inspection. If you do investigate it yourself you may invalidate any warranty. 3 - if you are not covered and you have more than minor bubbling, the sill may be corroded and need welding. It may still get through the MOT because the stone chip paint masks the extent of the corrosion. But the area is close to the rear jacking point. 4 - I would recommend ALL IS200 owners rustproof this area, either after welding or for prevention. I drilled two holes in the bottom of the sill about 50cm apart (can be done with the car jacked up and supported), and also used the hole with a rubber plug below the front of the sill. Drill the holes just outside the flange. No point in drilling the other side of the flange as well, because it is the same box section. I used Dynax rust treatment, because it comes in a 750ml jumbo aerosol with a 60cm probe to get into box sections. Dynax came out well in a survey a few years ago, and I have used it a lot on my classic car. The probe makes it much easier to apply than Waxoyl, and the fluid seems to be more effective. While you are at it, lift the spare wheel cover in the boot, remove the rubber plugs in the bottom of the wells behind the rear wheels, and spray the area with Dynax. It took me less than an hour to treat both sills, bot a bad investment to extend the life of an amazingly reliable car.
  3. Chris This is very helpful. The pictures seem to confirm that the structural member is actually the beam behind, as I suspected. Now that the weather is improving I'll remove the wheel and plastic shield, and do some digging. Does the water come from the rear wheel, or is it draining from the main sill or another area? The car is normally parked on a slope with the nose higher, so water may be draining back into this area. I am rather surprised that if this is a common problem that there is not more about it on the forum. Because this area has a rubberised finish under the paint (to stop paint chips and corrosion from the outside), corrosion from the inside can be hidden until it is quite advanced. I noticed a slight bubbling, about the size of a 10p coin, a couple of years ago but thought it was just a paint chip. Now I wish I had investigated it and dealt with it before it spread. But - the car is 14 years old, and this is the first significant thing I have had to deal with. And I am old enough to remember how fast cars rotted in the 1970s. I'll let you all know how I get on with my repairs, but in the meantime any more comments on how to deal with it would be much appreciated.
  4. Hi My 2001 IS200 has rust bubbling on the rear part of the near side sill, just in front of the rear wheelarch. I've owned the car from new, and it has never been damaged in this area. I was surprised and relieved that it got through the MOT recently with no advisories. Before I start trying to eliminate this rust, has anybody else experienced this and how did you deal with it? I am guessing that I remove the plastic shield in the front of the wheel arch, but do I need to inject the sill with rustproofer once I have dealt with it from the outside. Looking at the workshop manual, it seems there is a big box section just inboard of this area, and the suspension trading arm locates on this. So is the sill corrosion just cosmetic? Any thoughts or advice great fully received.
  5. May I suggest you turn the aircon off for a few days, and see if you still have the problem. Other thought - try tasting it. Brake fluid is very bitter, and coolant is sweet and cloying. But dont try more than a brief taste! And then wash your mouth out. Regards jonm
  6. Hi folks I have just joined, after looking at the message boards for some months. I originally posted this in the Gold area, but it seems to ahve got a bit lost. So I am trying again in the new members area. I have IS200S which I bought new from Lexus Park Lane in April 2001. Not many S models about, but I went for the 'poverty' model because it has no sunroof, and so has plenty of headroom. Each time they give me a courtesy car at a service I curse the sharp ridge of the sunroof assembly which hits my head on each bump. Other advantages are a quieter and smoother ride due to higher profile tyres. Coming up to 60k miles, and the only significant problems have been alloy wheel corrosion (what a surprise!) and err3 on the CD. For the alloys, I now use Autoglym's Alloy Wheel Seal which does help - I apply it with a rag (to avoid contaminating the discs and pads) and try to remember to wash the wheels and reapply every three weeks or so. But what a pain - I never had this problem with Ford and Vauxhall alloys. Anybody tried the new CarPlan product which they say fills the small imperfections and hence stops corrosion? CD player was replaced outside warranty - thanks for the info on this website - it helps greatly to be forearmed when approaching dealers and Lexus. Now for a topic I haven't seen aired - foglight failure. When my car was 3.5 years old the front foglights started going dim. Not that I use them that much. Suspecting a faulty connection I dismantled one (a pain to get it out) and found the bulb was rusted in solid, so much so that it took many hours to remove (damaging the lamp in the process). Being an engineer, I investigated. The rear of the bulb has no special protection, which would be OK if it was under the bonnet. However, it is in the wheelarch. Supposedly it is protected by the wheel arch liner, but this has vents just adjacent to the rear of the foglamp. Result - rust. Lexus agreed to supply new ones even though it was out of warranty, and Park Lane kindly fitted them free. At my suggestion they also covered the rear of the bulb assembly with thick grease. Periodically I spray Waxoyl through the vents in the liner just to keep the rust at bay. Now for another topic. Wiper blades. From new my wipers made an alarming 'crack' noise at the top of the arc. Park Lane fitted new blades and arms, but shortly after the problem recurred. So I fitted Bosch wiper blades from Halfords, and that solved the problem. Front brake pads - I changed these myself following the instructions on the website, and found it very easy. I was very glad of the instructions because the other car I work on is 33 years old, and the design has changed a bit in the meantime! Pad slap (a knocking noise going around corners slowly with the brakes gently applied) seems to recur every fewo thousand miles, so I remove the pads and re-grease them. Any thoughts on longer terms solutions? Finally, my car is coming up to 60k and six years - so it looks like the 'big' service and a cambelt change. I had been thinking of trying Nationwide Autocentres for servicing, but am a bit reluctant with specialist work like valve clearances and cambelts. August's What Car magazine had feature on used executive saloons, and quite rightly their best buy is a IS200. For servicing they say that the Owners Club recommended an independent garage which quoted £450 for the 60k service. Can we be told who this is? I live in West London. That's all for now. Hope this ramble is of some use. jonm
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