doog442

I own a 53 plate IS200 and have done for the last 4 1/2 years or so. One previous owner and currently has 67k on the clock.

Problems when purchased (4 years ago) - clutch and flywheel replaced - all ok now but it was a very slight slip. Knocking noise on front offside - still persists (every now and then) despite shocks and top mounts replaced.

I fell for the corrosion on rear disc plates noise and ended up getting a bearing replaced ( but was refunded the cost when the problem was revealed)

No other problems - Battery is getting a bit jaded but is still the original (nearly 8 years old)

My car's just been returned to me after having similar creaking and clunking investigated so haven't had a chance to see if they've sorted it, but the cause of the creaking was rubbers on the end of the trailing arms (I think) which they haven't replaced as they're expensive and there's no problem other than the low speed creak.

The clunking was put down to a corroded adjuster bolt that was almost all the way out, as I mentioned haven't tested it yet but they have told me it is sorted.

get some silicon spray and spray it on the antiroll bar rubbers(the d bushes)your noise will go away....

edit..Ive had the clunking for 4 years...not nice

I took a test drive in an IS300 and was blown away but couldnt afford it at the time. I never thought the IS200 would come near it, although to be honest wasnt really looking at performance, more the all round package. As a result was put off even looking at an IS200. When I eventually did i was really impressed with the IS200 and ended up buying one...you need to put your foot down to make it go (watch that fuel needle dive when you do).It doesnt really inspire confidence at the traffic lights if someone pulls up alongside, however not too many people try it on for some reason!!

I get about 360 miles to a tank around town.

double post

A quick update for you. The answer was simple, rear backplate rubbing on disc...but this came at a price and a whole load of grief and a fallout with my garage.

I only checked the front backplates not the rear, booked it in into the garage and told them of the symptoms, they said they would drive it and see for themselves. Later that day I got a £200 bill for supplying and fitting the bearing. Drove home and the noise was still present. They were adamant the bearing was shot! The next day they found it was the rear backplate rubbing on the disc. I asked to see the bearing but they claimed they had binned it. I then got a bit narky with them and they suddenly produced it. I took it away and got it examined and the bearing was sound, no sign of wear.

Eventually negotiated £111 labour back.

I wonder how many people get stung like this, it was 5 minute job to remove a wheel and push the plate back off the disc.

Just worth bearing in mind. There are backing plates behind the calipers front and rear. There was a thread on here some time ago about someone with a similar problem and he found the backing plate was making contact with the disc. I too had this problem with a previous car. The backing plates sits pretty flush to the discs and a small knock or a build up of corrosion on the edge of the disc and the backing plate and they make contact. Likewise if a disc is slightly out of true it will rub, hence the noise. Simply bend the plate back and problem solved.

May explain it for those who's noise comes and goes. Worth a look. I dont think its an issue in my case but will bottom this out first before removing calipers etc.

It sounds like a wheel bearing guys.

Jack the car up then spin the wheel and listen for roughness in the bearing,also waggle the wheel top to bottom and from side to side to see if there is play in the bearing,then repeat with someone on the brakes.

If the play disappears it is the bearing.

When cornering the load on the bearing is altered so the noise it makes also changes.

If the bearing seems OK check the brakes as it could be a sticking pad,seized caliper or warped disc.

cheers

Ive just had the car up on the jacks quickly , no movement but a noise that could be described as 'roughness'(could be pads!! )on both nearside and offside (dont have time to explore further as need to go out this pm). I thought previously about sticking pads / caliper etc but dont get any excessive heat build up on discs. I need to get the pads and discs off tomorrow i reckon and see if I cant eliminate this roughness.

thanks for your help

Hi

Quick question

I wonder if anyone would recognise these symptoms on my IS200 ? Im getting a whining noise when driving in a straight line that sounds like its coming from the front offside.Its gradually got louder. When I turn left it develops into a 'scraping' noise that has also got louder. Wheel Bearing?

cheers

Its been some time since ive been on here and how things have changed!!! :D

Quick question....LEXUS did a 60k service on my 53plate 04 reg IS200 12 months ago...the works...including cambelt etc. I had some grief when i purchased it 3 years ago but they did me proud with a couple of free services (inc the 60k)

The issue is that the 60k was negotiated as part of the #problem deal# and it was done at 55k........a year later and i need the next service (im now on 60k)

Clearly this will be a minor service and looking at the age of the car, mileage etc shall I go independent? I have an excellent garage nearby who could do the job no problemo. At this age and with an inde stamp in the book would it greatly affect resale value??

Hiya,

Very happy with my car so far, it's dealer warranty is going to run out in a few weeks time. I've got a renewal for £680 for the next year, can spread it over 10 months so the price isn't a problem... but is it worth it?

I know that it includes RAC cover, that's over £100, I guess it'll be peace of mind rather than anything really.. wanted to know what your thoughts were?

I've got an 04 IS 200.

It's had a few problems in the past - replaced battery, water pump replaced and key fob battery replaced by the garage... just this morning I couldn't get the darn thing to start, may be the starter motor or battery again... considering these problems in the past, do you think it's worth the extra bucks onto of the road tax, mot, insurance and sky rocketing fuel costs at the moment?

Many thanks,

Uzzi

I would say no.....battery problem aside(my 53 plate is still on original and i hardly use the car) Im struggling to say that I have ever seen a post relating to a faulty starter motor on an IS200 or much else that would cause me to spend £680 (havent searched so may be wrong )

Get the RAC cover for peace of mind, water pump is normal or usually precautionary when changing cam belt..key fob Battery are you serious :winky:

Hi all, (first post in a while!!)

Before I start, I'm not associated with the local garage, that's why I dont mention their name. I will if asked though :winky:

I'd just like to say that I've just taken my IS 200 SE for as service at a local guy in Royston (Herts) and I am beyond happy with the job they've done. I'd been putting it off for a while, and started to save my money for "The Big One".

Please, don't shout at me... I've got to 140k and my last service was at 96k. So, it was going to be timing belt, all the fluids etc etc etc..

First quote from Lexus Hatfield was £611 for the 100k service as that included the belt, and my local quote was £520. As there was less than £100 in it, I though I may as well take it to Lexus and get the works, get it cleaned and truly spoilt rotten for miles and miles of good running. So, I called them back and the lovely lady there has a quick word with the service department. They then recommend that I do the 120k service as that one has the spark plug change. "Ok, can't be too bad" I thought.

"So, that will be £737 for the service and £495 for the timing belt"

:blink: :blink:

"Errmm... sorry!? You've just doubled my quote in one sentence.. err.. how!?"

After a bit of "haggling" I managed to get a quote for the 100k service 611, plus the plugs... taking it to 850.

Thats right... £40 per spark plug. But thats ok, I was getting my brake fluid changed too in the 100k service.

So, I called the local place back up told them that I wanted the service and also needed new plugs and brake fluid. The quote went up to £530. *SOLD*!!

So I dropped it off last night (Friday night) to collect it Saturday lunch time (today). All good, timing belt, told me a few of the problems that need to be fixed (tyres wearing odd)(more tyres next week then!)

Final price: £507.35.. parts, labour and vat! Niiiiice!

I was very close to the belt going apparently.. check out the picture!!

Anyway, my main point is (if I have one) is that with an X Reg IS200 SE Auto is it worth spending £1.2K on a service when the same parts and job can be done for less that half price but doesn't have the official stamp on the books? What do you do, and would you have done the same as me (with the limited funds??)

Cheers,

Sven.

44k without a service? nice just goes to show these cars are bomb proof (even the belt did well)

I get all of my computer stuff from ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Computer/cat/Laptops

Good prices and customer reviews etc

I hear what everybody says, just because a road is clear doesnt mean you should do stuid speeds up them, however they always pick the wide open roads, they pick one in birmingham where there are no footpaths so pedestrians are very few and far between. but how many of these cameras or speed gun vans do you see by schools? because ive never seen one, or in well buils residential areas, i.e the road next to mine where 2 paticualr idiots who by the looks of them have just swapped their green license for a pink one and have decided they are going to try and beat their lap record of the circuit they have decided to make, but they wont put them there, because 99% of road users on this road travel at 30mph or below due to the width and shape of the road in parts. instead they will put not very well placed innefective speed bumbs, which wrecks everyones suspension!!

however just a small piece of advice ive picked up, camera enforcement vans, and speed partnership offciers by law have to display a portable speed sign approximatly 50 meters from their van, so if u see a portable put up speed sign, theres a cemera van lurking somewhere.

the camera vans work to a system,likewise so should traffic police. They dont just deploy where they feel like it. They are meant to deploy to accident black spots (can i say that! ) the idea being to reduce road accident casualties. - and speed causes accidents.

The main Issue is that believe it or not, a PRICE is put on the cost of dealing with an accident, a fatal accident can be up to £1.5 million in police costs, NHS, personal suffering etc ect...thats WHY the police , local authority and indeed the Government want to reduce accidents.

Likewise, after so many accidents in a location the LA will have a duty to make road improvements in that area, so more costs

This site explains it well and perhaps might take away some of the myths behind the reasons for camera vans

http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/advice/hig...cal_schemes.htm

In addition your local police may be armed with camera guns and will usually deploy in areas where the public perceive there to be a problem i.e if the residents of a particular street make representations about speeding cars you can expect your local bobby to appear with a camera gun in the area.

If i got a ticket from a police officer or a van I would like to know exactly why they were targeting that area, it would perhaps ease the pain of the ticket and give me some understanding as to why I got the ticket...

Hard luck mate, and yep the course is definitely the better option!

Were you done by a speed camera?

Well I have to wait and see if I can get on the course first but it is my preferred option, I'll have to wait and see. I was actually caught in weymouth just coming off of a roundabout on the Dorchester Road. I suspect they will have caught many people there because people speed up as they join the flow of traffic. Pain in the butt but I don't deny that I was speeding so fair enough, however I really do believe that literally every driver has broken the speed limit at some point!

I think the governement should have a policy in place where the fine and points represent the alleged crime, as opposed to a straight jump to £60 and 3 points. But hey it's my fault will it change the way i drive, no but it will change the way I drive on that one round about. Hope I get on the course though I'm genuinely interested to see what they go through with you.

thought is was impossible to break the speed limit on Dorchester Rd at this time of year :winky:

see they are cracking on with the by pass

its not a panel or part of the bodywork, its a component..someone will soon tell you exactly what but its nothing to worry about

auto

£200 full comp, max no claims £150 excess

old nacker....44

when Lexus did mine they put a substantive (and i mean proper) plastic type lexus sticker on the plastic cover with date / mileage etc, without anything like that or something in the book i would be cautious.

It does look in good condition, ive seen a few shockers on here, although only one incident where the belt apparently broke (and I think that was disproved in the end)

I have found someone who will supply pads & discs with postage for under £60.00 & found someone who will fit them for under £30.00, thats what I call a good deal.

I sourced my rear pads and discs from eBay for about £60 (pads are mintex)...fitting was £45

I havent read anything on here that would stop me buying an IS250

and i tend to read nearly every new post every day because im a saddo!

prices nudging up

all being masked by this political fiasco.....why do we let the press dominate our lives :tsktsk:

no mate, i doubt it very much. i'd be absoloutly amazed if anyone survived the actual crash to be honest mate, as unfortunate as that may sound.

flying is commonly regarded as the safest form of transport, but unfortunately its when things go wrong (which they rarely do in such a big way) that the sheer cost of lives gets into triple figures - i *think* thats the reason the new double decker airbus had a seat number restriction???

there will be no survivors - appears the plane went down in one piece due to the lack of debris - hitting concrete at an absolute minimum of 120 mph assuming free fall would be terminal.

the a380 can seat upto 850 people in a pure eco class cabin config but about 530 in the standard 3 class cabin config. Pax restrictions are based on the size and number of emergency exits normally.

the 380 might be coming to zurich in near future with singapore airlines.

theres a suggestion it either stalled or broke up at high speed due to freezing instrument receptors..either way it would have broke up

decent forum here

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/g...d.main/4437724/

this is a real shame

I dont know the people who have been banned by person, although I have always found their posts to be enlightening and informative. I also havent read all of the above posts so apologies if im repeating the views of someone else.

Whats alarming for me is that i frequent the Leeds united forum (waccoe) and LOC compared to that site has always been tranquility.

One thing they did on WACCOE was to give the mods ghost status ie ghost mod 1 2 and 3 etc so when it all went pete tong and a few words were exchanged a ghost mod does the business and nothing was personal

an idea for here...? I expect perhaps a waste of time as all the parties appear to know each other ...just a thought

hope all is sorted

regards

doog

driven both

the 300 must now be approaching 'classic' status

the 250 will never get beyond company car status

hi all just wanted to share sum info- most noises/knocking noises from the front end when going over bumps are the shockers AND the TOP MOUNT. these wear together and can cause some strange dull thuds when travelling over rough roads. if the shockers are in good oreder-i.e. no leaks, then id recommend changing the top mount first (ive done loads of these over the past 7 years). these top mounts hold the bearings encased in a rubber mount, the dull thud is the bearing case knocking on the mount body. if problems still persist then change the shocker too, these can wear in one place -some1 previously mentioned about the oil seal inside the shocker- this is what wears and the shocker piston itself has too much laterial movement first before its up-down motion when hitting a bump.

other nocking noises (if a more definate knock is heard) are commonly from the top and/or bottom ball joints. easily checked and replaced (though abit expensive to buy). these should be picked up on any free VSR from any lexus garage.

hope this helps.

thanks

Lexus did my top mounts but not so sure they did the shocks