mick77

Thanks for this, I'm taking it to Lexus tomorrow for a check - I will update on here with news of anything they find (or don't find!)

Lexus said the tyres were very soft, so I shelled out £450 for four new Dunlop Sportmaxx and thie has certainly improved things, though it is still not as sure footed as my old IS220.

Thanks for this, I'm taking it to Lexus tomorrow for a check - I will update on here with news of anything they find (or don't find!)

Hey guys, I was speaking to a company up in ballymena about getting this done on the is220d, apparently it isn't possible on this car and the only thing I can do is get a tuning box, is this true? I'm sure I heard guys talking about it on here somewhere.

I think they are right, but I got a Tuning Box when I had my 220d - it was about £300, super simple to fit and gave improved performance mid-high range, but not much low down, i.e. still had that terrible "lag" when pulling away, etc. Fuel consumption stayed pretty much the same (they said it would improve it...) so not sure it was worth it and eventually took the thing off and sold it on e-Bay. After having it for a year I did notice the slight dip in performance after I removed it but not much. My view - not worth it (also invalidates the warranty and ups the insurance premium by a little).

i had 2 new ones put on by kwick fit, the front ones were bridgestone potenzas and the new ones they fitted on the rear were bridgestone turenzas, i only noticed weeks later when i washed the car. i called into kwick fit and told them and they said it wasnt a problem having two tyre types as they were both bridgestones, i e-mailed bridgestone to confirm this and was told that is was dangerous to mix tyres even there own brands. they kindly did me a report stating this and later contacted kwick fit to advise them on mixing tyres and the safety issues.

kwick fit got in touch and changed the tyres to all matching.

Thanks for the replies. I think I will get them changed to match.

How old is the car and how many miles. If it feels like that it doesn't sound right. You should be able to drive "keenly" on any type of road.

It is 2007 (56 plate though), 29500 miles. I think I will take it to Lexus for a check in light of what you say. Thanks.

don't worry about going round corners at that speed, i assure you the car won't run away with you, it is one of the best handling cars i have owned or driven. i regularly drive down country roads and have pushed mt 250 se-l at lot harder than 40 to 50mph without so much as a twitter, unless you have really bad tyres lol.

just relax and let it do its thing, it is far more capable than you will ever need :)

I have to say I don't agree so far, my old IS220d was much more stable. Taking bends at higher speed in the 250 feels like I am in a boat! Tyre pressures are correct, maybe it is just a soft suspension but I don't have anything like the same confidence in the 250 as I did in my 220d unfortunately, and it is certainly less fun! No doubt the 250 is built for civilised comfort only...?

Re the previous post, as an Advanced and "response" trained police driver I do know how to take bends but (just for example) in the "quick flowing series of fast bends" type roads which usually suit and allow continuous on/off throttle control mid corner it just does not feel right at all, as I say the car is rocking like a boat and does not feel glued to the road like other cars I drive, maybe it is just a characteristic I need to get used to or maybe a sporty Beemer would suit my driving style better (I'm not a mad boy racer though, always drive to the car and conditions - honest!)

As above, it's perfectly normal. I'm confused what you think the fault is though, even in a manual if you're cruising you'll shift into as a high a gear as possible, keeps revs low and saves fuel.

What do you mean it'll run away with you if you do 40mph in 6th?

Thanks for all the replies, I'm suitably reassured.

Re the "running away" comment, in a manual car if you take a sweeping bend in say, 3rd or 4th gear you have the speed in check because of the limitation of the gear range but if in the same manual car you were in 5th or 6th on the same bend you would not have the limit of a lower gear making sure the car didn't "drift" round and start going faster than you would like if you know what I mean. Thats why I was worried seeing 5/6 gear displayed even on bends! In other words keeping it in a lower gear gives more speed control on a bend. I know it makes no difference on straight run and is better to be in high gear then, as mentioned in one of the above posts.

I know I can always use the manual overide in my automatic on such bends but it seemed a bit daft to have to do that. Anyhow, if you all think it won't be a problem that's great.

Thanks again

I've just got myself an IS250 SE-L auto and when I am going along in "Drive" I have been watching from the display what gear the vehicle is selcting as we go along.

The worrying thing is that all I need to be doing is 40 mph and the car goes into 5th gear, and it will go up to 6th gear at anything from 45 mph upwards!

Surely this is far to low a speed for these gears to be automatically assigned - I don't want to be going round a 30-40 mph gradual bend for example in 5th or 6th gear - it may run away with me!

Is this normal for the car or do you think I have a fault?

Any views/expereinces would be gratefully received before I call Lexus.

Many thanks

I've just brought an IS250 second hand and the front tyres have different tread patterns. One has the diagonal trad and the other just the "straight" tread lines (not sure of the correct terminology!).

The garage said that was fine and that is how it passed it's MOT but the handbook says all tyres should have the same pattern.

Do you know if this is an issue I need to address?

By the way, driving it today in the rain, going not very fast I promise, the car felt all over the place - very unstable and gave me no confidence whatsoever, unlike the IS220d I traded in which was very sure footed. I'm beginning to wonder if I have made a mistake...!

Thanks for the replies. Many ads for Lexus IS250's state CVT so that is odd.

The only reason I'm thinking of changing to the 250 is because it is in my view more "refined" and quieter than the 220d, maybe altogether a bit more civilised if you like. I have to say that unlike others on here I have had no problems with my 220d, it is a lovely car, 55 plate with 60k, though I've only had it 15 months. There are some good deals at present on 250's, even the full spec I am looking for (SE-L with MM) so though I don't really need to change if I can snap up a bargain now I'll probably go for it.

I have to say though that although like all the Lexus diesels I suffer from the "lag" when pulling away, the torque is very good at middle/high speed and suprisinlgy given the praise I read about them on this forum the 250 seemed a bit more sluggish in the same range if you needed to put your foot down so still not 100% decided!

I'm looking to change my IS220d for a IS250. Browsing through the car ads many are 250 CVT - hope it's not a silly question but what does CVT stand for?

I follow a general rule. Every modern diesel is waaaaay toooooo complicated! EGR, DPF, MAF, Turbo seals, injectors etc - just too much to go wrong. In a Lexus IS220d you expect reliability, but to be honest there are only a few cars that have not (edit) been very reliable.

Mine was one - 2007 IS220D SE with MM - the car didn't really have any problems. If you want to enjoy an exec diesel buy one. But. Buy a manufacturer warranty to go with it for as long as you own it, and make sure it has 6 months to run when you sell it too.

I think over the next couple of years all these 2nd hand "modern" diesels will start having issues that are expensive to repair. Simple pimple. They are too complicated in order to meet euro emissions standards, so good luck!!

Which is why I am changing my cars before manufacturer warranty runs out. Having said this, my current car is oing vry very well. Settled to averag MPG day in and day out now of 46.5mpg, average since Purchased = 47.4mpg (doing less long journeys now). But I have to take it out every so often on a proper run to clean the DPF - that is key. It will only regenerate when it gets hot, which is why the IS220d revs to 1250 RPM when cold. It wants to warm up quickly to make it run more efficiently.

My next car ill not be a diesel as I don't do the miles and I am looking forward to the G3 IS which hopefully will be a Hybrid. We have just bought a Prius T4 hybrid (new model) last week. I am getting use to it, but it superb. Just rattles a lot! Horrible dash. Haven't driven it much because of weather.

thanks for your advice, gunther.

Any Extended warranty should be purchased before original 3 years warranty run out? mine will end next week

YES - do it now. You have two choices:

Lexus - will be best, but this will be expensive! But. Probably worth it!

After market - such as WHAT CAR? or WARRANTY DIRECT - both will be cheaper, an I think people on other forums do buy these and say they are OK - but personally I would go with Lexus! You buy an expensive car, so there's no point skimping on peace of mind. Jst make sur you ask them what it DOESN'T Cover

Very thanksful

Just check my V5 logo book, warranty has run out today. Do not any chance to extend it.

Its only cost 210pounds per year from Warranty Direct. ^^

The manufacturer warranty on my Lexus 220d SE-L ran out 31 Dec 2008 but they let me buy an extended Lexus warranty 3 month later at the end of March! At that time they were also doing a special deal, 15 months for the price of 12, so £680 for 15 months which is good. So it may be worth contacting the Lexus warranty people or your dealer to ask if you can still get an extended warranty - and if there are any offers!

Checked this morning - the postcode entry is still the same as previous discs, meaning you can only enter the first few characters. eg: S26 5

That is a REAL pain - what on Earth are Lexus thinking?? Big disapointment.

Hi

Most cars these days have electric mirrors that auto fold in when you turn the ignition off but it seems with Lexus I must press the fold-away button each time - or do I?

Does anyone know if the mirrors can be programmed to fold in automatically when ignition is turned off / fold out again when restarted?

Thanks

I meant if you know approximately where you want to go you can zoom in to street level, place your pointer on the location and get the GPS co-ordinates. I used this to get to a B&B in the Peak district last weekend and it worked perfectly.

As the meerkats say "Simple"

Not so simple I'm afraid - when I place the pointer on the location I get nothing!!

I have managed to turn off that damn annoying seat belt noise though, I do wear my belt on the roads but i do have to move my car regually at work and it was driving me nuts with it going off when i was only driving 100'!

Ben

How did you do that Ben? I really want to do the same.

You need to go on a website that converts the co-ordinates from decimal to degrees. If you already know the address or location there are various sites that will give you the co-ordinates by zooming in on a map and then placing your pointer to the location you want.

A good site I found is this

Lat & Long locator

But this website does not accept a post code search...

Also, even if I select the UK and type in an address I get a reult from the USA!!

You need to go on a website that converts the co-ordinates from decimal to degrees. If you already know the address or location there are various sites that will give you the co-ordinates by zooming in on a map and then placing your pointer to the location you want.

A good site I found is this

Lat & Long locator

But this website does not accept a post code search...

Some people on this thread mention putting in the GPS co-ordinates directly.

How do you put these in on the MM ?

Destination button>>>>>>>Screen 2>>>>>>>Co-ordinates

Confused - what do the geo codes look like? If it is, for example something like 51.916784 / 1.265530 then this does not fit into the MM search facility for co-ordinates. It takes the first 1 or 2 numbers, automatically adds "DEGREES" symbol and then does not have enough fields left for the rest of the reference...

Any ideas what am i doing wrong - are the numbers I'm looking at in the mapping link the wrong ones?

Thanks

No experience on lexus but I had a bmw 120d and put on a Dragon tuning box - easy to fit and exactly as you have described.

Manufacturers claimed to be about 30-35bhp added. Dont think it felt as much as that and found it made little or no difference in low gear.It did not improve turbo lag but it certainly smoothed out acceleration and car was a bit more punchy higher up the gear box.

Not sure on emissions but it improved economy - there was 8 different settings on it - towards economy or performance - I had it set bang in middle and got 49mpg regularly in mixed driving compared to 43mpg before fitting so easily paid for itself.- Think new cost was about the same £350 but mine was second hand.

Insurance - I would definitely declare it - they will do anything to avoid paying out .- Wont make much of an increase if any. Maybe budget for about £30 extra .

hope that helps

Thanks for the replies - Insurance quoted just £25 extra but Lexus said it will invalidate the warranty so i might just cancel the warranty! I'll let you know how I get on with it.

I'm considering getting a tuning box from DTS chiptuning. Basically a small box that plugs directly into the common rail and enhances BHP by about 35, improves fuel consumption (as the engine does not have to work so hard beating the awful lag the 220d gets when you accelerate in low speed) and apparantly due to the higher than really needed tolerances built into the engine does no harm whatsoever...!

They cost about £350 and sent in the post to fit yourself. You unplug the plug from your common rail, plug it into the little box and then just plug the little box into the common rail and connect the box to the Battery also.

Has anyone had any expereinces of these, good or bad?

...this is the first time I had to replace since I bought the car (new)...

If you want to take the Lexus extended warranty option then you must do so before the factory warranty expires. If it lapses, by even one day, then you cannot get the Lexus product.

Not so, my factory warranty ran out 31 Dec and not until March I took out a Lexus extended warranty (special offer - 15 months for price of 12) with no problem.

It does have post code input, not full, but first half plus 1 digit from the second half.

I think it's in the "input town" section.

Thats a bit rubbish though isn't it? Typing just one digit from the second half can turn up lots of roads. Are even the latest Lexus Sat Navs so restricted? These days I beleive all Sat Navs can zoom in right to the full post code location.

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...

Also - would tuning invalidate the warranty?

Most Sat Nav's enable you to enter just a post code, this is usually the easiest way to find a location but why does the Lexus Sat Nav not have this option (or am I just being very stupid by not having found out how to do it?).

Can this be added, i.e. a Sat Nav update? My car is a 55 plate 220 SE-L

Tks