kev dood

could be a dodgy steering rack/box or maybe a rubber bush creaking?

cheers. Won't be this weekend as busy. Think will MOT it and see what happens (Basingstoke Tyre and MOT Centre is £30). Have jury service coming up so gets in the way a bit!! Have to delay service til Feb I guess.

if the weather stays like today (i.e. around 2deg) then I might try it - just need to order the parts. Lexus are around £25 for the front pins and boots! Then need the grease too. Where abouts in Basingstoke are you then? I am Hatch Warren. Maybe you could PM me your tel. no. or something incase I come a cropper?? Seized pistons are not good as might then need to get the refurb kit which is around £70 for rears and £90 for fronts from Lexus!! Gulp!

One other point, the IS200 doesn't have slide pins on the rear, just a pin to secure the pads. Shame the front is not the same. i do wonder if my rears are a little seized then really!!

Ah, thats handy. How long do you think it will take - dunno if I can do more than a couple of hours in this weather!! I thought those part nos were for the GS300, which although should have the same pins as I think the calipers are the same, I would want to double check. Maybe its worth me checking first to see if one is stick before doing all this work!! Guess you just pull the pads out and see if carrier moves!!?

ummm, what they are meant to do and what they do are usually 2 widely different things though! Also, Lexus are not servicing it so dunno what ABM usually do as part of service! Doesn't pull much to the right so hopefully will pass an MOT ok. Just want to try to keep the costs down really and thought would do them myself. But not in this weather!

No probs - found it. refurbing slide pins

there is a guide on here somewhere showing how to do it, can anyone point to it as I cannot seem to find it again!

I know there have been a few similar topics but I am not sure which one might best cover my situation. Last year ABM kindly told me that 3 of my 4 caliper slide pins were seized and therefore only one pad was really making contact. They freed them all up and I have never had better brakes. But, probably due to my little use of the brakes on my short run to work, I think they my have seized again. I notice when braking that the car pulls a bit to the right. And when doing around 10mph and braking hard, the front right wheel will lock easily. Now, my question is, is this due to it being the only one really working and the other 3 having seized pins again (therefore a lot of braking force is being put on that wheel), or could it be something else, such as stickign caliper etc? I have felt wheel after driving (and disc) and neither seem hot, indicating that the caliper is not seized I think so I am thinking it could be sliding pins again. I am hoping to replace them all instead of just freeing them and cleaning them. Could someone advise of the full list of part numbers for the pins, rubber seals etc etc needed for a 2001 (X) IS200? Maybe Chris if you see this, could you let me know prices? Also can I get these from Toyota as Lexus are not so near to me! My concern is that I have an MOT due very soon and if it fails I will either be gettng very cold or paying money to ABM to do it (I would rather not have to as I am capable of doing it myself - just wrong time of year). It is due a service too, so maybe its easier to just get them to do it all?? Anyway, any help would be appreciated.

out of interest, how much did all the replacement slide pins etc cost? I might have to do mine!

all IS200's have brake booster (or servo!) From 2001 I think its a little different, but they all have on. :-)

ta muchly

Does anyone have a link the the knowledge base section to replace the sliding pins? I had a look but couldn't find it! Plus, what about ideas for cost of parts? I think the dust boots cannot be removed so that will need changing too. Are the pins easy to remove - I have heard they can break easily - is that correct?

here ya go. rear_pads.pdf

The brakes on the IS200 can actually be very very good. But, I have had similar spongy feel or even a sink after a while. After a service where I mentioned it they found that on several corners the calipers were seized so only the inner pads were contacting the discs. After they did some freeing and cleaning they were 100% spot on, the best I have ever had. Though slowly due to my short run to work with very little braking, they have started to get worse. However, I find that if I am sat stationary and push very hard on the brake pedal a few times. This seems to free them up a bit for a while. Originally I thought it might be the servo!! Have them bled properly too as that doesn't help.

ha ha, good point!! S-max is nice, very big though!! Guess thats the point though eh! :-)

umm, good point about boot access, that rear window doesn;t half limit things!! Guess they want you to go out and buy a verso!!! Which is possibly what I might do, though the Honda FRV looks nice.

To update, I have just come back from Halfords where the fitted a Maxi-Cosi Priori XP. Verdit was a No Go due to possible risk of buckle crunch. Issue is that the length of the buckle seatbelt bit is too long which brings the height of the belt clip above the base height of the plastic base. In an accident there is a risk that due to the sideways pressure of the belt it could damage, snap, open the seatbelt. For obvious reasons this is not desirable. For info, my car is a 2001 model, X-reg, registered in Jan 2001. I think this is why Maxi Cosi do not show any result of the IS200 on their website. Either different model years may have slightly different length belt clip belts or if you use the rubber seat protectors then maybe it helps? Why oh why couldn;t they have put isofix on the car from new or earlier!!

ummm strange. When I called them, they did say that it wasn't actually tested by them and you should go by the fitting advice from say Halfords etc! I may try Halfords for a fit of this seat then cos its an excellent seat. Maybe the people at Mothercare were mistaken. When I looked at it when it was fitted, it did look fine, apart from the height of the top of the seatbelt buckle was just above top of the seat base thingy. But then I didn't think that would be an issue, but woman in Mothercare did! But then I have the half "suede seats" and not full leather, and maybe with the gripper mat, its a little firmer so doesn't sink in so much? Ho hum. It will be nice when we can have a world that is consistant.

Lexus must know what is causing the higher than normal current drain when the car is off. I am betting they cannot fix it easily (read cheaply) so they are stalling. You could badger them into fitting a leisure battery which will drain slower. A solar trickle charger is not much use if parking indoors, plus why should you have to pay for it. Who will warrenty any damage caused by a failure?? I agree, its poor that Lexus don;t care about customers spending large amounts of money on their cars. I feel Lexus have gone a little down hill over the lat few years. Is it complacency?

cheers guys for the options. I have been down to Mothercare and tried the ones I was interested in and some others with not much luck, hence my posting! The Priori XP is not recommended for the IS200 by Maxi-cosi, hence a no go there! Buckle Crunch is where the buckle is resting on the car seat frame. With the priori xp the buckle does this and is also higher than the frame point where the belt goes under the "seat" of the seat. This is bad as in an accident the seatbelt buckle can open, leaving nothing holding the seat in. I don't want to buy any old seat as some are really really poor!! The Which? website shows some shocking videos or badly made ones!! Isofix fittings on the IS200 only came in mid way through 2001 which is why mine hasn't got them! boooo. It cannot be retrofitted, asked Lexus. If only Lexus had made the seatbelt buckle "belt bit" shorter or placed the buckle further back towards the backrest there would be no problem! It appears they dont take much consideration to these things when making a car! Maxi-cosi say that the Tobi might be ok but should be test fitted. Was a little loose but am sure with some force it would be ok. But the little lever that tensions the belt is very very close to the seat belt/buckle. The hunt goes on it seems!

BUMP!! Come on guys, some of you must have kids aged approx 8-xx? months old! Help!!!

I know ages ago when i asked similar thing at Reading, they said the wiper rubbers were included in one of the services. Maybe they couldn't change the rubbers cos the blades were no longer lexus ones, though you would then expect them to change the whole blade incl metal body! numptys.

I need help!! Been down to Mothercare to try a few baby seats (namely the Maxi Cosi Priori XP, Tobi and the Britax Evolva 123 and First Si - these all get good ratings on the Which? test baring in mind they are not isofix). I now have a problem. None really fitted that well to be honest, as the Priori XP risks buckle crunch as does the Evolva 123. So, what group 1 (9-18kg I think) seats do you guys use in you IS200/300's? My car is a Jan 01 X-reg with no isofix unfortunately! Also, does anyone know if the Isofix fixings can be retro fitted at all? Thanks in advance.

ummm, not quite true though, as a lot of battery chargers supply a constant or pulsed current so they can fast charge a battery. A trickle charge is just a lower current limit. If you imagine those wopping great fast chargers that can zap your battery to charge it in 5 mins (some garages have), then thats how they work! Wack a battery with 5-10-20 Amps or so and it will gain charge pretty quickly! A battery is a low impedance so will take whatever current you give it - though the more you give it, the worse it can be for the battery! I guess Lexus are saying that if you connect a 6A max supply up to the battery then it will take all 6A which is possibly not what the lighter section is designed for!???