3 MSF

Hi... strange one this I too have MM; whenever I start the car up in the morning or after a stop somewhere, the air-con setting and temperature are as I left it. You can set side-to-side temperature differences, but I'm unaware of a de-fault return setting. If anyone does, you'll find out very soon. If not, looks like a trip for a free 'latte' at one the worlds best dealerships :winky: - Mark

From a safety point of view, I would suggest the best place for boiling a kettle is the kitchen for a cup of tea :D whilst you nip outside and try the 'Febreeze' thing! - Mark

Tango - thanks for saving me half-an-hour :winky: - Mark

I've just come off the back of three Beemers for many of the reasons above. Truth is, you shouldn't need to be pampered by your dealer, and you'll see them even less with BMW as the servicing intervals are more favourable. If you're buying a diesel and want to 'enjoy' the ride in driving terms, my personal choice would be the BMW by some distance, and probably with an auto box (come on Lexus, you've really missed a trick here), but from a petrol point of view, I honestly believe that the Lexus does it 'better' in many, many ways. That's my humble opinion :) - Mark

:D ...high mileage; I thought you were going to say 100,000 +! Lexus quality, warranty and legendary after-sales service; enough said :winky: - Mark.

Bob, the anti-dazzle mirror won't be a problem; I actually find it more annoying with the Levinson System bass making the mirror dance! I have Cadoxton Slate with Grey Leather - beautiful combination. I've found that I'm always looking back at the car whilst walking away after parking it because it's such a good looker! My previous BMW 330 Ci Sport was very nice, but not as nice as the Lexus. I have a friend with a 220 D, and he took that after owning a Merc CD220, and he says the Lexus wins all around, hands down. He's had it over a year now and still enthuses about it. It's a difficult personal choice, and if you don't mind spending a little extra on fuel, the V6 Petrol Auto is a dream to drive, and the economy is exceptional (hence the lower tax than the diesel) All your suggestions sound good, so I'm sure your ultimate decision will be a good one. I moved from BMW to have something a little different, and I'm happy I made a very good choice (see every JD Power survey that's going :winky: ) Good luck in your choice - Mark.

Lexi or Lexii is NOT the plural of Lexus. The plural of Lexus is Lexus. You don't get Mercedi or Mercediis. The only person that uses Lexii is Alan Partridge. ... yep, it's like 'fish'; the plural is 'fish'. The plural of 'Lexus' is 'Lexus' :) - Mark

The 'seal print' can ideally be checked by spraying 'crack test developer' onto the rubber sealing strip and closing the door very slowly until it's level with the rear door (so as not to overclose the door and get a false reading); it's useful to have a plastic straight edge (ruler or similar) to use as a flatness reference. The crack test developer (available from RS Components in a spray can) leaves a powdery deposit on the weather-strip. As you compress it against the body panel, it leaves a powdery print that will show you how much seal contact there is (seal print) and can be wiped off easily. You may find an alternative material to use, but I've found the NDT crack-test developer (widely used in engineering to check materials for hair-line cracks) to be the most effective. DO NOT USE CRACK-TEST DYE, USE 'DEVELOPER'! Should you find the print to be inadequate, there are typically three 'easier' solutions: 1. Slightly loosen the screws that hold the door-lock striker loop onto the 'B' pillar. Mark around the striker with a pencil, or put some tape on the panel surface to remove later, so that you can confirm how much you've moved the striker by tapping it 'inwards' and re-tightening it. Don't hit the striker directly as you may inadvertently damage your panel / paintwork. It's best to place a wooden block or similar against the striker and hit that with the hammer. You should normally need to move the striker only 1 or 2 mm, and only if your front door is slightly proud of your rear door. If you move the front door more that 1 mm inboard of the rear door, you could cause a secondary wind-noise phenomenon (so best not to, just in case...) 2. If setting the door inwards might give you poor front x rear door levelness, you can tap the body panel flanges outwards until the seal-print is adequate. 3. Ask the dealer to do it for you; they should have all the right tools available to hand. Typically, door closing force will increase a little, but that's because you're now compressing the seal more to get a good seal and countermeasure your wind-noise problem. Hope that helps! :winky: - Mark.

... I have the same annoying 'feature', and had the same with previous cars other than Lexus, and yes, is's caused by bacteria (similar to Legionella bascillus!) Don't worry though, it's just an annoying smell, best dealt with by having the air-con system treated with an anti-bateriacide. Problem is, it's not inexpensive, and the smell comes back after a while (so the Halfords can sounds worth investigating) Good luck, and let us know how it goes if you try the 'can' :) - Mark

Owners handbook, page 370. This is a customise feature than can be effected by a Lexus dealer. - Mark :)

Guys, you'd be amazed at the root cause for any number of vehicle 'wind-noise' concerns. When Lexus develop a new model, Engineers from the Design and Quality Assurance Divisions are allocated ownership, responsibility and accountability for wind-noise performance, usually targetting a performance level equal to or better than that of the currently considered 'best-in-class' vehicle. This activity is typically supported by the use of hand-held ultrasonic emitters and receivers that can tell you very accurately where there is an air gap / leakage path, especially around the door, moon-roof and windcsreen portions of the vehicle. As the issue seems quite common (my vehicle included) you might think that this is the accepted engineering standard; I don't think this to be the case. Small component / assembly process variations in volume production can cause pockets of non-conformance that may go undetected, as every vehicle isn't tested at speeds up to and beyond 80 mph, where the issue seems to manifest itself. To locate your leak path (if you have one) you may be surprised to know that cigarette smoke is a useful indicator when travelling at speed. The noise is often created by air leaving the vehicle, not entering it. This is caused by the pressure drop that occurs on the surface of the vehicle as its speed increases and the air inside the vehicle travels to the position of lower pressure. This is also the reason why smoke is drawn out of the window when it is left slightly open when the vehicle is moving, as opposed to being blown back in :) Noise created by air-flow against the window itself can also sound like leakage, when it is in fact being transmitted through the door glass itself (typically 4mm thick). To counteract this issue, Toyota developed front door glass for the original Avensis which was 5mm thick to tremendous effect. Anyway, interesting as this may be, and before this becomes a reference thesis, here are some suggestions for the most likely potential root causes of your wind-noise concern: - Poor fitting glass runs (rubber seals in frame) - Poor glass profile to seal profile in frame - Poor 'fitting print' of door-frame contact surface area to door opening weatherstrip / seal - Air leakage adjacent to the door frame inner profile where it meets the door trim upper portion (around shoulder height when seated); there is usually a block of soft, closed-cell sponge positioned here to prevent air leakage, but it may have been fitted slightly out of position. Taping-up the glass / glass run meeting portion will usually tell you whether it was poor fitting glass runs or poor glass profile x glass run. If removal, cleaning, lubricating with silicone and re-fitting don't work here, you'll probably need new components to improve the condition. Frame to seal print should ideally be around 8~10 mm wide, but as low as 5 mm should still afford you a good seal, but anything less should be counteracted by adjusting the door fitting condition slightly inwards(usually with the door-lock striker (latch loop on door aperture panel on 'B' pillar). A gap in the print will indicate a leak path. Leakage through the top of the door trim will need rectification by re-positioning the hole-filling sponge, or adding more sponge (whichever is easier) I hope that's given you a few ideas to follow up :winky: Let us know how you get on; good luck! Mark

Good economy? Well, the ticking noise is caused by the extremely high pressure in the fuel injectors. The pressure assists the optimisation of the fuel charge and its spray patternisation, minimising fuel waste, and thereby supporting fuel efficiency. My 250 SE-L Auto has never shown below 30 mpg over a tank, and has regularly given me 38~40 on a run; I'd suggest after my previous car that that's good economy :) Mark

... it's your high pressure fuel injectors (the price you pay for good fuel economy) :)

... I'm going back a long way now, but some years ago I bought a brand new XR3i. On the day I was supposed to pick the vehicle up, the dealer rang me and explained there had been a problem during the PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) and that they needed a couple of days to get a new part. I found out from a friend that actually worked in the Ford main dealer's body-shop, that some idiot had dropped a barrier on the roof of the car on the transporter. That couple of days was to do a roof repair, which I confirmed from the masking tape left in the roof drip channel, and the clean edge of what was obviously a resprayed area (very good job though; much less orange-peel than the rest of the car...). I can also assure you that a bumper repair and respray can be effected in a couple of hours with the right equipment at hand, such as a dealer that's used to 'dinging' motors in their care, so you could have a job on here to 'prove' anything. My suggestion to you would be to play the goodwill card with Lexus; I've found them nothing but supportive. Good luck! - Mark

... I too have the petrol IS250 V6 with auto-box / paddle shift (yes, it is a V6, no mods required, honest! :) ) and I 'give it a bit', and have never seen below 30 mpg, with 38~40 on a cruise. I can see why the 'intelligent' auto is more economical and with lower emissions than the manual version. If you've not driven one, you have to try it; it's a dream :winky: . - Mark

Toyota have a massive warranty history when it comes to alloy wheel blistering / corrosion. The head of the design and manufacturing divisions responsible want their back-sides kicking . My dealer said they hadn't heard of the problem with the new IS (I'm certain I'm not the first...), so I'm waiting a bit to get them exchanged nearer the end of my warranty period to maximise the benefit with what will hopefully be 'counter-measured' wheels. Toyota / Lexus should speak to BMW who seem to have cracked it (I've had three over a space of ten years, totally ignored and therefore 'abused' their alloys, and never had a single problem :winky:) Mark

... don't kid yourself about BMWs and Audis not rattling...and as for Lexus overlooking this particular issue, well, I think they know about it now. The cracking noise I'm sure is the centre mounted speaker, and there is a fix. I had the same problem with my pre-owned '56, and Lexus (Derby) dealt with it immediately, as they did for the occasional rattle around the passenger side register (air vent), where the wire harness can catch against the plastic trim surround. They actually had the whole dash out to deal with any other potential issues at the same time, and you wouldn't know it had ever been out, apart from the fact that the car is eerily silent now (I can now hear my watch strap rattle if I drive over bumps; now that's quiet!!) The reason I think Lexus know about this is because the loan car (brand new) that I had for a couple of days whilst the dash was removed was absolutely silent. My BMW330 Ci Sport Coupe still had cracks and rattles that BMW couldn't fix when I sold it ... Mark

... not sure if you have the sweet auto box, but if so, you can hit the button in neutral and Mr Levinson continues to blow your mind :D Mark

Paul, do you have trouble parking...? :D Sorry mate, couldn't resist :winky: Nice plate :) Mark

Hi, I'm 42 - apparently the meaning of life and all things... :winky:

Hi to all! Just moved on from a fantastic 4 year affair with a BMW 330Ci Sport................and couldn't be happier! The IS250 SE-L is a more refined vehicle that does many things so much better than the Beemer did, but don't get me wrong, it was a great car, as were the 323 and 328Ci's that preceded it. I found the site whilst looking to see if there was any web advice on CD player issues - LOC dropped straight out of a Google search. I've had the car for three weeks (11 k on the clock): dash area rattles completely countermeasured by dash removal and felt / foam strategically positioned (official reworks?) - technicians did fantastic job, no marks anywhere; CD changer replaced - no quibbles. Everything now fine, and the dealer really has bent over backwards, handing over numerous latte's in the process! Lent me a new IS250 for a couple of days whilst repairs effected; no rattles at all, so the permanent countermeasures must be coming through as a running change in production vehicles. Again, couldn't fault the dealer (Lexus Derby - new dealer with largest showroom in UK) - they even gave me an engraved Lexus 'L Finesse' watch on collection of the vehicle!! Glad to join the Club - hope to deliver a positive contribution, and maybe be of some help to someone every now and then :winky:

Chaps - felt the need to add to the discussion here. I've just picked up a fully specced IS250 SE-L Auto thinking that the mileage I cover wouldn't justify the need for a diesel; one of my friends has a 220d which regularly gives late 40's / early 50's performance re. mpg, bettering his previous Merc C220D! My petrol auto offers early to mid 30's, and I'm typically driving only short distances (some of them to the dealer...) Sounds like the petrol on average might be the better choice? Very disappointed to hear about the poor diesel performance in what is otherwise a fine vehicle. Another friend drives an A4 1.9Tdi, regularly topping 45mpg, as does the BMW 320d. I heard from my dealer that there had just been some new ECU downloads for improved diesel performance (mpg); I hope they're not the ones previously mentioned that seem to have made no difference. The Lexus Engineers won't been sitting still on this one - let's hope their striving for 'Customer Delight' delivers the goods in the not too distant...