doog442

Great thread.

Nice pic mate..granite sky ? The best colour if you ask me B)

That is whole solid heap of a car you have there kid...enjoy :winky: It looks brilliant as well. They turn heads everywhere, as you will find out.

Changing the dual mass flywheel makes a massive difference mind. Lexus tried to fob me off by telling me it was normal but once changed under warranty (7 years ago)I have had no problems since.

Nice pics. Makes feel like falling back in love with beast (same colour- Granite sky). Haven't washed mine in 6 months but they have a hell of a paint job on them dont they.

snow mode ? :D .. seriously foot nearly down ? Ive never had course to put my foot 'nearly' down in 7 years as it is still as tight as anything and pulls like mad.. Plugs ? Ref brakes pull over and feel the alloys, if the brakes were binding they would be hot.

Its the shocks and something to do with the oil viscosity inside them. Historic problem that Lexus would never acknowledge, like inner tyre wear. Its nothing to worry about, just turn the stereo up.

Only seems like yesterday I took a 54 plate IS300 on a test drive, What a car, blew me away as I hit the motorway on it. That was 2007 and they wouldn't budge an inch on 14K (Mazda garage in Soton) .

Did the previous battery suddenly die ? Your battery may be a dud, exchange it and see what happens.

Cheers lads, the Bosch fitted fine..all is good

Well it lasted 9 years but it died the other day. The same happened last year, stuck it on charge after topping up the distilled water and got another 12 months out of it. I have had it on charge with a bloody expensive do it all battery charger for 36 hours now but the charger is telling me its a dead duck but it did the same last year. The problem is that I only use the car a couple of times a week. I can get a Bosch 60 amp S4024 for £57 with the 15% off http://www.eurocarpa...0057&0&cc5_1002 worth it ?

The blueprint filter seems to be holding. I thought it was still leaking but it was clearly residue from the sump tray where a pool had gathered on one side...its oil carnage under there. I have used Blueprint on the wifes Hyundai over the years, oil,air filter and brake pads with no issues. As for the Unipart, I still have no idea if the part was U/S or they failed to tighten it... I am after a refund as the car is a mess, the drive is a mess but they are as slippery as anything. The complaints dept questioned why I wanted a refund when I now had the oil in the engine!!...I said for the mess and the 9 hours over 2 days they had the car. They said the regional manager would call me and obviously he didnt, so I rang another branch asking for his name and number but they fobbed me off, obviously been told to bat people off. Lets be honest this bunch stink. The manager at the branch I went to told me before the carnage that these oil changes are a loss leader, the idea being that Head Office advertise it to get punters in so other faults can be found, his complaint was that when they found faults customers didnt get them done. Lesson learnt

a quick update: They replaced the filter but its a mess down there and still appears to be leaking. The have replaced the oil filter with a blueprint filter . You know what the muppets did? They left a massive wad of blue tissue in the sump guard, obviously in an attempt to clean up the mess...unbelievable..and how far from the exhaust manifold? I now face buying a Toyota part and taking the car to a garage to get this re-done. National Tyres have basically told me to swivel but i will deal with the later.

cheers...I thought I had seen something before on here but the grey matter is going So I take it that you have now changed your mind about Unipart filters! #9 doog442 Posted 30 September 2008 - 08:42 PM Advanced Member Members 304 posts Lexus: IS200 SE Location: Please Select Nothing the matter with unipart,they will handtighten it, clean with a rag and away you go :winky: did the SRI proud but clearly not up to the job nowadays...

cant do this multiquote thing

4 litres at Asda for £35 (Castrol edge)

cheers...I thought I had seen something before on here but the grey matter is going

So was it a case of Unipart filters now being no good or had they just fitted an incorrect Unipart filter? they had fitted the correct filter but looking at the other post above it appears there is a problem with Unipart filters. I am more upset about the drive - speaking with National Tyres Head Office tomorrow. as stated before anyone has a dig Ive had a back operation so cant do jack - should have just got the Toyota filter and told them to use that.

Avoid these cowboys. On line you can get a Castrol Edge 5w 30 fully synthetic oil and filter change for an IS200 for £38. I didnt jump into this, due to a back operation I simply cannot get under the car. Needless to say they made a right pigs ear of it. I woke this morning to oil all over the new driveway so returned the car. I got under the ramps with them and saw that the oil filter was leaking badly, it was done up tight - it just didnt fit. It was a Unipart job. I argued the toss with them and asked them to fit a genuine Toyota filter, even as a gesture of good will. They refused and ordered another Unipart job. When I complained about the drive they simply told me to complain to Head Office as it was Head Office who come up with these cheap offers and the offer includes Unipart filters - so they argue its not there fault. Great customer services eh! I will take it further with National Tyres when the car is back - its still with them 4 hours and counting for a simple oil change!! As I said avoid at all costs...probably find they have put cheap oil in as well.

********************** WARNING ***************************** In relation to my post above about NATIONAL TYRES.........DO NOT USE THEM. I awoke to a new block paved drive covered in oil as was the underneath of the vehicle. Having taken the car back they state the UNIPART oil filter is defective!!! They are going to replace the oil filter. I insisted they put a genuine Toyota filter but they refused stating the offer is for a change with a UNIPART filter...what tosh, there is a Lexus dealer next door and you think out of good faith they would get a genuine not leakable part ..... You learn by your mistakes......ignore these cowboys.....as for the drive, its not their problem, take it up with Head Office

I had the same done on my IS200 today at National tyres the price was £38 using Castrol Edge. I was talking to the guy in charge and he said that he wasn't making anything on the oil changes. He said Head Office run the promotions just to get people in and hope that other things are picked up (at least he was honest) . He said that they do a cursory check looking for things but most of the time when pointed out people dont get it done anyway. I watched the process, heard him shout to the mechanic when he was getting the oil, it needed Edge 5w-30 but we just need to take their word for it that is what they use. I would normally do oil changes myself but have had a back operation. Asda bang next door to National Tyres were doing 4 L of Castrol Edge for £35, which is cheap. So 4.2 litres of edge, new filter and them looking for faults (didnt find any) for £38 plus oil disposal etc seems ideal.

Great car. I took a 53 plate IS300 for a very long test drive back in 2007 when it was up for 14K at a dealer....loved it but settled on the same plate IS200 for 4K cheaper at the time. If I didnt have my sensible head on I too would be looking around for one. How do they stand in the tax / VED stakes....?

I still have the same battery, now 8 years from new. I had to give it a charge for the first time during the last cold spell and also topped up the distilled water for the first time ever. Anyone else still on the original?

To be fair I rarely use the car, 69K on a 53 plate, however after 5 to 10 minutes I have noticed a slight smell of burning oil. No obvious leaks from anywhere and its not using oil...does it just need a decent run or could it be something more serious. cheers

An IS on wintertyres works perfectly. I'm climbing a 1 in 5 gradient here in ice... that is exceptional. I couldnt even get up a slight slope on the snow with my Potenza's last year.