audi al

Hi all, I had a difficult time with my is250 auto last winter so bought some autosocks.Had to use them last saturday on a very steep hill in France when we ran into heavy snow.Had to stop on the hill because a lorry was stuck in front.Reluctantly I had to leave my cosy seat and attempt for the first time fitting the socks.I have to say I agree they are very difficult to fit due to lack of clearance and tyre width.I managed to get them more or less on and decided that was the best I could do(the sock was not right over the inside but on the beginning of the curve of the wall if that makes sense)I pulled off on the hill without any problem at all and was very impressed with the grip.The socks actually fitted themselves perfectly with the rotation of the wheels as it states in the instructions.We drove a further 12 kms with them fitted and didn't have a hint of slipping,although I was very wary about making sure I ran with the wheels in the snow rather than the slush line that was starting to form in case of wearing them out.We were 350 miles from home so didn't know how much I might need them for. In my opinion they were worth the money and apart from the fitting difficulty would recommend them.

Hi, My IS250 had the same tappet sound as yours, it also over the course of a couple of years had the brief rattle on start up.This happened on no more than 5 or 6 times.As my warrenty runs out at the end of May I decided to mention it to my dealer when it was last in for 30,000 mile service. The techs could not find anything but with a massive stroke of luck, when I went to collect it, the rattle occured when the service adviser went to get it for me. They then investigate on their dealer network or something and told me it could be one of three things, but whatever it was the engine had to come out and be stripped to gain access. I was very reluctant to have this drastic work done but agreed anyway.To cut a long story short they replaced all the cam followers and both vvti control units. The loan car was a brand new 250 and the engine was markedly smoother than mine was.I can now say my engine is just as smooth as the loan car and I realise how noisey mine had become. The service manager said they had fitted the latest version of the vvti units and my engine is now to latest spec.When I picked my car up they said they had a second car with the same problem,a car they had taken in part exchange made the same noise. Take your car to the dealer and get them to talk to Canterbury Lexus (who I cant praise high enough for their excellent service) they are now experienced in this problem. Sorry to be so long winded, but I hope this helps. PS My car was returned as new and you would never have known the engine had been out. Al

I recently had this come up on my 07 is250. The dealer said it needed a new oxygen sensor.On the day I took it in for the job to be done they told me they had just had a notice about this possible fault from Lexus and that the solution was to replace the main ecu.This they did (or so they told me) and luckily it is still under warrenty, I hate to thnk what it cost.If yours is out of warrenty you should argue that this is a fault that they have been notified of and get them to hopefully change the ecu for nothing or at least reduced cost. I assume my dealer was telling me the truth about this notice but others on here may know different. My car went in on the 15.1.09 and thats the date they said they received the notice from Lexus. Good luck with your dealer. Al.

Hi all, can anyone help please? This morning I had a pheasant run in front of me while I was doing 70mph, unfotunately for the pheasant it didn't survive and unfortunately for me it managed to break the plastic grill underneath the number plate.There was no other damage luckily but I have now got to replace the grill. Now for the questions. Can this grill be easily changed without taking off the bumper? Is it a dealer job or DIY? Does anyone know how much they cost? Has anyone got a spare one for sale? Thanks in advance. Al.

My car is also a 2007 is250. two weeks ago I had the same thing come up on the display as I was driving.VSC means vehicle stability control. When the dealer checked it they said it was showing the oxygen sensor had a fault.When they had the car in to repair they told me that they had just received a notice from Lexus saying that if this fault showed up, they had to replace the ECU.This they did and my car is fine now. When it had the fault it still performed absolutely normally except for the display showing "check vsc" and a couple of warning lights as well.The dealer said if was ok to drive with the fault showing

Does anyone know if there is a fix for the b post seat belt area rattle/creak? My dealer has had three goes suposedly to fix mine, the first 2 times they "added padding" both times to no effect.The latest time involved fitting a new trim and seat belt top link.It is now worse than ever.The dealers seem to think they have found the problem, change something and then hand the car back regardless if it has actually cured the problem complained about in the first place. Has anyone actually identified what is causing this creak? Mine only does it when I am going over a rough bit of road and it is so annoying, given the state of the roads it is creaking most of the time. The last two loan cars were 58 reg, one with only 150 miles on the clock, and neither of them had this noise. Both cars also seemed quieter than mine so there must have been some changes to suspension ect. When I got to work I checked the tyres of the loan car because it was definately smoother and quieter road noise than my car and was suprised to see they were Dunlop sport max the same as mine

When I test drove an IS my first choice was diesel that was until I actually drove it.Stepping straight out of an Audi A4 diesel into the 220d instantly showed that it wasn't for me, not a patch on the Audi and very strange to drive. The salesman afraid I was about to walk suggested I try the 250 which I did.Even though I was determined I would stick with diesel forever, the 250 was a no-brainer.It was excellent, smooth,silent and reasonably quick. I have owned it now for 18months and 18k miles, average 31mpg doing my regular journeys to work etc.The most I have seen is 36mpg on a long trip abroad, not the best but 90mph isn't economical in many cars is it. I have had no problems whatsoever and its just going in for its 20k service. The dealer has been very good in the main and I only hope they continue to be so. The only time it feels sluggish is when it is cold, the engine management does not allow you to tear along.When it is warmed up it is plenty quick enough for most people( 0-60 in 8 seconds isn't slow) Go for the 250 auto if you have any and you wont regret it.

Bought my car 14months ago for 26k, now I find one the same age without MM with only 5000miles for £13250 in autotrader. Its a private ad, is it real or a scam? A girl at work spotted a top of the range beetle cabrio well underpriced in Autotrader.On enquiring she was told the owner had moved abroad and the car was in Germany with him and if she deposited the money for it in a third party bank account suggested by him he would bring the car back for her to see.If she wanted it he would leave it and arrange for the money transfer. Needless to say she did not reply but then got an e-mail supposedly from Autotrader to say the offer was genuine.She phoned Autotrader who said they do not contact potential purchasers and only carry the ads. This was obviously a scam but the ad looked good with plenty of pictures of the car. http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/c...mp;max_mileage= I hope the link works, I'm not good at this type of thing. If it is genuine, I am well p....d off but still happy with the car.

My is 250 auto gives 33.5mpg (avg mpg on board computer over 10,000)on my regular usage and even since this last week keeping the power button switched on I am still gettin 32.9, very happy. My A4 multitronic only returned 38mpg so with the price difference petrol to diesel probably no more expensive on fuel

Hi everyone, I've had my 250se auto for just over a year now and have just got round to switching on the power button and leaving it on.I have tried it before but just for short times. It certainly makes the car more lively and it still uses all six gears so economy so far does not seem too much worse. My previous A4 multitronic was very lively in sport mode but would not change into sixth at all so economy was knocked back quite badly. Does anyone else leave their power switch on all the time?

Hi, I wish it was for the whole service, I was charged £98.45 +vat for 7.3 litres at £13.45 +vat per litre. They really cant refuse to use customer supplied oil and as long as it complies with the spec recommended by Lexus there can be no warrenty issues. Its quite common among Audi owners to do this as some of them are not happy with the dealers rip off prices. Bear in mind also that the dealers buy in bulk so no way does it cost them £13.45 per litre. My first service which is only a glorified oil change was made up of the following, Labour .60 hour £66 Engine oil 7.30 litres £98.19 Fuel conditioner (whatever thats for) £9.95 Environmental charge £12.95 Engine flush £9.95 Oil filter kit £8.30 Screenwash £0.89 Drain plug gasket £0.83 Total £207.06 + £36.24 vat =£243.30 In view of the above if I can save a bit on the oil I think its worth it.

Hi everyone, my IS250 has now done just over 17000 miles and the second service is looming.My dealer charged nearly £100 inc.vat for 7.5 litres of oil at the first service. No way do I want to pay that again so I thought I would get the oil myself and tell them to use that.Can anyone tell me what oil they have used that complies with Lexus/Toyota spec. and does not affect the warrenty? I was in Costco last night and you can get full synthetic oil at around £31 for 4 litres, also do I need synthetic oil, I seem to remember that synthetic oil is not required.Any help appreciated.

Hi, I managed to reverse into a Gold Wing earlier this year (dont ask) and the only damage to the car was the chrome trim on the exhaust fell off.It appears to be held by small tags off metal. all I did was push it back on and its been ok since.In light of this you might try pushing and wriggling then pulling it off, it may work. It's easy to put back on. Al.

Had my 250se auto MM since last September when I bought it as an ex demo 07 with 3K miles. Changed from an A4 sport avant multitronic diesel. I went through a period of doubt, had I done the right thing? Now after 9000 miles and 7 months I am totaly smitten, this is by far the best car I have ever bought. This is after my last 5 cars [ 3 Mercs and 2 Audis) all purchased new. My mpg is not too different to the Audi which never returned the advertised mpg. My contact with the dealer has been totally positive, 1st service was just over £200. It went in for 2 days recently to have 2 dash rattles fixed [ they told me the fixing brackets had been modified].When I picked it up the rattles have gone completely and the car looked like new valeted inside and out. When I got home I noticed a damaged wheel and cut tyre,I thought I would end up with a battle on my hands with the dealer but they replaced wheel and tyre without fuss. I should say I am lucky not to have had a bad experience with either the Merc dealer or the Audi dealer.

Shoggy asked "Why would Lexus consider Hybrid for the IS when they have targeted Diesel ?" My dealer also said the diesel had had an upgrade earlier this year to "improve" things. he said if someone wants a diesel they will happily sell one to them but it was really aimed at the fleet market. Hybrid is the way Lexus is going with all its range apparently.