nevarthur

I'm positive it is 60,000 miles for the belt, have you just chosen to get the cambelt done or are they telling you it should be done? If so, that maybe suggests taking it somewhere else mate. Nev

Maybe. Do you think new valves all round and see how I get on, or could a garage fix small punctures like that? Cheers Wozza. Nev

Hi group, I have an IS200SE with 17" alloys that has half worn tyres all round, Dunlop SP9000s, the Lexus spec ones. I tend to lose as much as 3 psi a day on one of them, a couple of psi on another, and perhaps just 1 psi on another. The 4th seems to be normal loss, just a psi or so maximum, never more. It's quite frustrating, and means I have to have a manual pump at home and I check pressures carefully before a long journey. Does anybody have opinions about whether punctures that slow can be fixed, or is there some sort of sealant that could be used, please? I am saving up for new tyres at some point, but probably wouldn't bother with these Dunlops again. There was a Which? test recently and the Dunlops didn't get a sniff of being a Best Buy! I personally think they're way too noisy. Cheers everybody, Nev

but you will have a reactance within the windings and that has physical resistance so there is a slight load and the higher the current the higher the reactance... but 2 pages on " i reset my ecu" .... jeeeeeeessss I know, didn't mean to be so banal, just curious about the effect. Nev

I don't actually know if the IS200 auto is an adaptive box. Please does anyone else know? Otherwise, I will hunt out the owner's manual and see if that says. Cheers, Nev

I like your posting style, and you seem to know what you're on about. As regards my reset, I've just got back from Cambridge, and I've done 300 miles since putting in the maximum fuel I could. A big change for me is that the fuel gauge needle is only just registering under the halfway mark, rather than hovering somewhere around the quarter mark as I would expect for the kind of driving I've done this weekend. (Mostly at 70 mph with the cruise control on). I also feel, and I know it's very subjective, that the car is slightly more responsive. For the sake of giving an accurate picture though, I feel I should say that I filled up in France with 98 RON juice rather than my normal 95 RON, and then when I got back home to Ashford I topped up with around a hundred miles worth of 95 RON. Then I pulled out the 2 fuses mentioned on the forum, and left the car for 10 minutes before returning them. I swear I can feel a difference, and think I may well fill up again from now on with 98 RON. Honestly, even though it might be wishful thinking, the car feels really good. For myself, so far, I'd recommend resetting the ECU. Nev

with the air con on it will have little or no diffrence to your MPG Logic suggests to me that if the compressor is working off the engine, and I can hear the engine load up when the aircon kicks in, then surely the engine must be working slightly harder. However, it would be impossible to quantify unless you had a control car with no aircon and all other factors remained the same. My personal feeling is that the small amount of extra fuel used is worth it for the comfort of having a nice temperature in the car. I do wonder how much extra fuel the car would use towing the dodgy aerodynamics of open windows down the road so I'm sure that must offset the aircon fuel a bit. At the end of the day it's hardly worth falling out over it. The car I own is a 2001 SE Auto and it only had one owner before me, so I'm assuming if my driving style is radically different to his, then I may see some sort of difference in MPG or performance having reset the ECU. Nev

Done it about 5 minutes ago! I've been fascinated by all the talk of resetting the ECU in various posts that occur from time to time. So finally, bearing in mind that I'm a bit of a numpty when it comes to mechanical stuff, I've had a go! So far, I haven't driven the car, so I'm curious about whether I will feel a difference, or whether I will notice a difference in the MPG. I just returned from driving the car down to Tuscany which was a round trip of 2021 miles, and my MPG was 33 for that trip. I'm actually quite a slow and smooth driver so I'm surprised it was as low as that but various trips into the mountains on tiny roads, and crossing the Alps at altitude probably didn't help the fuel consumption. Anyway, if anyone's interested, I'll post my impressions. Cheers, Nev

I had my IS200 serviced there about 3 months ago. I also had a lot of extra work done like cam-belt and asscociated bits and was very well pleased with the whole thing. Hi If you don't mind me asking how much did it cost you? Do you know what their hourly labour rate is? Thanks :D :D :D I don't know what the hourly rate is. The total cost of what I had done was around £1700 That included 60,000 service, cam-belt, tensioner, water pump, bypass hose, seals, new discs on front, new pads all round, new front tie bars, regas aircon system, spark plugs, 2 lower suspension arms, and all the labour, obviously. I'm quite fussy, and wanted all genuine parts. I hope this helps you.

Lol. By coincidence, my dad used to rally drive those things! Thanks for the other poster who mentioned the clay bar thing. I've been reading about it and it sounds like the only thing that might work so I will give it a go. As for the guy who wanted to know about ABM, seriously, give them a go. I particularly liked receiving a full run down on everything that had been replaced, along with being shown all the old bits etc. It's also only a few hundred yards to the railway station.

I had my IS200 serviced there about 3 months ago. I also had a lot of extra work done like cam-belt and asscociated bits and was very well pleased with the whole thing. I have one possible reservation. I only washed my car thoroughly the other day for the first time since the service, and discovered some fine whiteish over-spray pretty much all over the car. It may not have come from there at all, but I can't think of anywhere else I've been that could have done it, as it's fairly evenly distributed all over, so I'm fairly ****** off, but obviously don't know who to be ****** off at. Might be just worth mentioning it to Kevin (the boss man at ABM) by asking if they have any plans to spray something while yours is in there, but like I say, I have no idea for sure that it was done while my car was there. I would still take my car there, and will do so, but if anyone knows how to get rid of over-spray when T-Cut doesn't seem to work then that would help my mood!

As it's a couple of months down the road on this thread now, this may not help but if you take your motor abroad every now and then, then Swiftcover.com are not only cheap, but also have an arrangement where if you don't go abroad for more than 3 days at any one time, you get fully comp rather than 3rd party only without having to get your green card in advance. This assumes you have fully comp! It's all on-line though, and I have had no experience of having a claim with them. Hope this helps someone.

Used to race karts in my somewhat younger days but still go out of my way to find tracks wherever I am as still love it ...have karted in Perth Australia, Singapore, Celle Germany, Houston USA, Prague Czech Republic, Majorca, Norway and Cyprus as well as tracks in the UK. My son started at the age of seven at Castle Coombe kart school, but he seems to have found other interests now he's turned 18 Whoa that's some experience in karting! I think i'll make that one of my life goals too... so far i've done Milton Keynes Daytona, and Budapest :D Ok, I've done Buckmore Park in Kent, Letchworth, Streatham, Bayford Meadows at Sittingbourne, and a massive circuit in Bacau, Romania!

Hi mate. There is another very low cost alternative for you to consider. I use a company called Auto Aid, and I read about them on Moneysavingexpert.com. It's always sub contractors that they use, and you pay them, then claim it back off Auto Aid. Read about them, don't just take my word for it, but if you don't break down very often, then £32 a year has got to be work looking at.

Good luck, I hope it doesn't cost too much money! If you ask, and perhaps even if you don't, he'll keep all the old parts and then go through them with you. I appreciated that a lot, as you can then sense whether everything that was replaced was fair game.

Would love to have come along, but unfortunately was driving through Stratford and into London at 230kmh! OK, it was testing a train, not in my car, but sorry I missed it anyway. When's the next one?

Call me Nev, please :D In total, I paid £1680, but don't let that put you off, I had a lot done! I think it was £247 all inclusive for the cambelt, which is a genuine one, and I got what I regard as an honest appraisal regarding the state of the tensioners and rollers. There was also evidence of water leakage around the water pump, (which was shown to me) so I had all these things done, plus some suspension bits. With the service since I picked the car up, I have been very happy, it feels like stuff was done, which sometimes you don't always get that feeling eh? If you need any more help, just let me know. Obviously, we all get on with people differently, but I found this place very friendly, but most of all, very capable.

Hi all, As it happens, I just had my car done by ABM a few days ago. I needed a 60,000 mile service, I knew a couple of other bits needed doing and I wanted some semblance of Lexus specialist care, but I didn't want to pay the wince-causing sums being demanded by the Lexus main dealers. I did a search for Lexus specialists, and this came up with ABM or Albin Motors which is their full name. When I spoke to them on the phone, the guy sounded helpful, and knowledgable. When I dropped the car there, I felt the car was in safe hands, as apparently they were all ex-Lexus people there. I can't know that of course, but they did all seem competent and I have been full of praise for them to my friends. I liked the way my options were presented to me for the work that was either required immediately, or that which could wait until the next service. I felt that Kevin, the guy you'll deal with, was very thorough when we went through all the bits that had been replaced, and was good on the phone explaining what needed doing before that. There's no doubt that my service cost a lot of money, as I had a lot of work done, but I'm satisfied so far that it was done properly, with the right bits, and all the work needed was fair. I also feel it was done at a labour rate more in keeping with a six year old car. So I didn't get a curtesy car, big deal. It's very near Lower Sydenham station, so no problems there. I will without a doubt be using them again. Cheers, Nev

I agree with this post, you should check out Auto Aid. If you're not sure about it, you can read all about it on Martin Lewis's excellent website moneysavingexpert.com and there some of you can find out why most financially astute people are pretty sceptical about bank accounts that you pay extra for.

I have an IS200 SE which I absolutely adore; I can't leave the front door without admiring it sitting on the drive! I drive Eurostars for a living, so have no real need for speed in the motor, I bought it solely on looks and a reputation for reliability. Having found this forum though, I realise there's an enthusiastic following for the IS200 and I'm glad to be a part of it. I'm married, to a girl from abroad, and luckily for me she agrees that the Lexus is a good looking car, so she let me have one! I'm also a big fan of moneysavingexpert.com and suggest anyone who doesn't like big companies getting all their money without earning it properly should check it out. I have already received a bit of help from fellow forum users, cheers Wozza, and look forward to trying to help someone else but with my limited mechanical skills, not sure how I'll be able to do that yet! Cheers everybody, just off to the back garden for a Barby with some nice Leffe and some teriyaki pork steaks! Nev

Just bought it mate, thanks for the link. Nev

Helped a lot, I've just bought it!! Thanks for the link, hope it fits :P Cheers, Nev

Thanks very much for the info and offer of help. I looked at the pics of your install, which seems to be nicely done mate. As regards speakers, you've probably got a lot more than I would ever need! :D I actually have a 4 year old Alpine head unit that cost about £450 then, and also an MP3 6 disc changer for the boot, and if I could get those into this car without the head unit looking dwarfed in the space available (I like your setup where it looks like you get a little cubbyhole below the head unit), I would be happy, for now. Whilst I have some good gear on my home system, I don't feel the need for too much in the car, my posing days are over, so I think the standard speakers would suffice, so long as I'm getting the best out of them and they aren't being starved of power. It's looking like I need to find someone who can use one of these magic cables off Ebay to connect my head unit to the standard amp, then install and connect the MP3 changer into the boot, and finally mount the head unit in to a space twice as big as I need it to be with some sort of blanking plate, that doesn't look stupid. Hopefully, that's do-able, what do you think? Cheers for your help, Nev

Thanks for all the responses from everyone, your experience is definitely going to help me get some things clear in my head. As it is an SE model that I have, it looks like the Ebay cable is the way to go, for now. The other problem is apparently getting hold of a fascia blanking plate to reduce the hole to single Din size, I'm led to believe. Presumably, the car audio place I enquired about is not quite inventive enough to sort these problems out so I need to look for somewhere more adaptable maybe. I'm trying to wade through the help that everyone else has offered in this thread, and as there's been so much of it, I will take a bit of time to digest it all, so thanks once again to everybody and please don't be offended if it looks like I've ignored your offer of help. Hi mate, I'm on Park Farm, and maybe you could tell me about your install and where it was done, if it was all local, that could be a great help, cheers mate. Nev

Hi all, Had a little look and didn't find the information I needed so apologies if this problem has been covered a lot previously. A car audio company in the Maidstone area has told me that they need to look at my car before they can agree to install a replacement because they say that it's possible on some models that they may not be able to do anything at all! Whilst conceding this may be the case, I just thought that since there are some pretty knowledgable people on here someone may know how I could identify if I have one of these unmodifiable cars, and wherever there any options at all for me should it be the case that this firm can do nothing for me. I would be extremely grateful for any help that any of you could throw my way, so kindest regards, Nev