shapa

just an update on the spider tuning box.nearly six months and 9k miles the box is performing in the same way as when purchased.it does'nt impact on fuel economy during normal driving.it does give a good power hike which has a good linear delivery and is most noted in the midrange power band.a good buy imo.

dgman, could you _please_ answer about the insurance premium (or may be it is better to PM you? :) ) increase?

anyway, i'm going to call my insurance tomorrow to clarify everything as i'm very interested in the "tuning box"

"Also - would tuning invalidate the warranty?"

it should not...

as far as i remember (I'm not the citizen :) ), there a law in UK - lexus should prove that a breakage was caused by the tuning box...

the big(esst?) question is the insurance premium...

what is the "common" increase in the payment?

are all companies allows that?

to be honest, i'm enjoying the car, but it would be really nice to have more refine diesel engine...

I've seen that there is 2009-2009 navi disk availible.

Are there any significant changes? Is there anyone who got it?

Not a word from Lexus HQ though....

Ghm.

One question is.... In Russia, there is a law (actually, some laws are really good) - in case of repeating of the same trouble more than 3 times, it is possible to return any good back and to receive whole amount of money...

Are there any customer protection laws?

Situation is really ridiculous...

...One more week in the service centre.

...One more ECU upgrade, 5th injector change, fuel cap replacement, rear view mirror change, rattle removing, hand brake fixing...

Aah - forgot to say. Two complimentary bottles of wine from the Lexus.

Ok. Things are much better now. Sound like a fantastic - but for now I'm easily got 30mpg in a city, and able to drove at 3rd gear / 20mph - engine works much, much better now.

But - for how long? I've done that for the 3rd time... It looks like that it is a really good idea to replace 5th injector, reflash ECU and so on every 5000 miles. Ridiculous, but true.

Frankly speaking - it's a pity that it is impossible to join forces and to make some class action against Lexus - diesel model is more than worse, even official Lexus technicians are agree (but they don't like to sign anything, for sure :) ). I'm trying to fix the dashboard rattle for the sixth time already. I'm angry...

p.s. i've tried to test new Subaru Diesel engine... It's near from perfect. So much better than Lexus one... Really. But there are no any fancy toys either in Outback nor Legacy, and look && feel is much cheaper than Lexus - for the same price.

I was daft enough to buy a copy of Whatcar magaziene over the weekend and I noticed a section in the back about purchasing a used Audi A4. In the section entitled "What to look for" were problems of excessive oil consumption, problamatic central locking which dealers find hard to repair, clutch and gearbox problems which didn't go into much detail, and last but not least, dashboard rattles. Seems the IS is not the only premium brand car suffering with this problem.

Just thought I'd pop this up to see what people think.

heh.

i've been to lexus service 3 times already only with rattle problem - and it seems to be still not sorted out finally :)

it is going to be really funny...

yes, rattle is really annoying especialy in cold weather...

but - this is quite common trouble for many brands (sometimes you can hear some rattle in BMW too...)

It is much better to have something like tomtom 920 additionally - just because there is constantly updated camera location database + mapshare technology (you can download any updates immediately using you cell phone)

Regarding BMW - it is much harder to maintain camera location database in fresh state...

yes, 32MPG in mixed case...

on the motorway, it is normal to have 38-40, but 44 and better - no so rare too...

btw - funny thing, i've seen <20mpg just after 5th injector replacement too :)))

i've done that many times (at least 4) (for vaistech ipod adapter installation and for DVD/Nav mod)

it is quite easy to do...

there are no any screws definitely - only some amount of clips + some foam (anti-rattle perhaps)

use any plastic tool...

actually, there should be some photos which i were maid in progress - i'll try to find them.

Really good to hear such things :)

Hope everything will be really smooth - actually, I'm 99% satisfied by my 220D after previous servicing (ECU/5th injector/evereything else)...

MPG is quite good too now - it is really hard to imagine to have 36Mpg when you are travelling at 80-90Mph with roof-box and 5 peoples inside...

BTW Lexus Parklane is quite friendly - today i've received 3rd sms with notification that i should visit them at 22nd of this month.

What's 22 and 24 - dates? This service should only take about 2 hours.

Sorry...

Yes, dates :)

I'm asking about just because my previous "visit" (2 months ago) has been extended from 1 day to more than 7 days (no spare parts, too complicated tasks to do, etc) :)

Hope, this time everything will be faster...

Thanks for the answer.

My first service is booked at 22, but I'm definitely need to have my car back before 24 (going to travel to europe)

How long does it take normally?

Thanks!

This morning, driving over the Vale of Belvoir the temp dropped to -3 and my washwipe nozzles froze up! Has anyone else had this problem? When I got to Grantham the temp rose to -1 and I could use my washwipe again! Strange eh?

:) sounds funny for peoples who uses their cars (sometimes) at -50C :D

the answer is simple - use winter wash fluid, not summer one (and for sure - not water) :)

@Shapa

Is that for the Mark Levinson equiped car system?..or are you testing it for them?....or maybe you know somthing you would like to share with the rest of us.

actually, as they were presented firmware upgrade adapter for me - yes, it will be like a test :)

Just to say to those with SAT NAV/LEVINSON PACKAGE......I modified mine during the week and although I was not all that fussed about doing it Iam really glad I did .It just makes it so more usuable

What kind of modifications you are talking about?

Speed override? It is pretty simple to make some re-wiring...

Or something more interesting?

Had word from Vaistech and there ipod video adapter for Mark levinson equipped cars will be about another 2 months

funny, but i will receive mine next week (it is already ordered and sent)

one of the main developers in vaistech - russian too :)

so you'll see my opinion/review very soon...

Ghm... Audi? :)

May be it is the same driver? :D

btw it was an answer for a lexus adv. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4kBbIOZaGE

"Picked up a euro computer/DVD on eBay for $900"

Wow... 900$...

Actually, this is not a problem

You can buy (or copy :) ) an original european DVD with maps, and "mix" with US one

There are many Russian owners of imported (from US - IS250 AWD for example, or IS350) cars, and they are using modified (once again, this is software solution! no any additional hardware!) DVD disks with european maps...

The procedure is pretty simple - everything that you need is a:

1) European DVD

2) US DVD

3) Blank DVD-R DL disk

4) DVD-R DL writer

5) Some knowledges :)

In short, you should replace files

ALLDATA.KWI

INDEXDAT.KWI

and IDX catalogue on the US dvd image with files and catalogue from EU dvd image...

btw "DVD-R DL Verbatim MKM-001" is works 100%

Its a brand new car only 1200 miles on the clock now, its had ecu upgrade and driving conditions are mixed i'd say about 40% motorway and 60% urban

actually, i'd like to tell the same as others saying - when you are driving actively and "sharp" - the consumption can be twice worse than you are driving "carefully" - this is real life and no any magic...

for example - you can drive at second gear 30mph and your car will be really fast-responsive (like a "sport" mode in auto gearboxes), but you can drive 30mph on the 3rd gear (like a "normal" or "economic" mode) - and is will be not so "reactive" but much less diesel-hungry...

Anyway, it is a really good idea to check your 5th injector even on the new car... Personally i think that this is a manufacturing problem and they are (lexus) still fixing it only in services

44 AVG - it is far from realistic

before upgrading ECu and changing 5th injector, it was in about 30 in mixed, after - ~36 (and in about 40-42 at motorway)

So probably first of all you should try to visit lexus service...

Does this only work on the IS or will it wrk on my RX?

Be great if they could integrate the controls into the touch screen controls.

It works perfectly on the IS (either lexus one, or vaistech) and you can fully control (well, using playlists only :( ) an ipod from a touch screen and steering wheel

Unfortunately, it looks like exactly the same way to control an ipod - using playlists only :(

And it seems that DICE adapter works the same way... Am i right?

Finally, it is ready :)

What do you think about? To have 160GB ipod with let's say >300 films onboard? For sure, you'll be able to control your ipod music too...

http://www.vaistech.com/

I'll try order and test one ASAP

It was done at Lexus Parklane (and taken 8 days!!! to do everything, but it was a problem with some spare parts)

Wow.

What can i say?

There is a big difference... Really big. The car is much more enjoyable to drive in the city...

Even on the 1st gear.

Actually, it feels like a new, different car :)

And (finally!!!) it is possible to use 6th gear at motorway in the UK. And no more vibrating mirror :)

So, i do recommend to _everyone_ who has 220D to do those changes (if not already) - but you should _insist_ to reprogram ECU and to check 5th injector - just because i was refused to do this at Lexus Twickenham, and agreed (but with some arguing) at Lexus Parklane.

Their technicians were very confused about vibrating mirror, ECU, injector...

It is a really good idea to print some pages form this forum and to show them when you will drive into a service :))

Anyway, at least one London lexus service is familiar with those problems already.