Mincey

Yay! The postie brought the new V5C this morning. Plate transferred across, insurance updated - all took 5 minutes max. It's a shame that the V5C took so long to arrive and it couldn't be done online. Still never mind, roll on lunchtime. Out with the screwdriver to whip the old plates off and on with the new ones via the sticky stuff.

Many thanks!

I'd be interested in the aftermarket auto folding system please, although I'm petrified about cutting into any wires (I'd probably pay someone to do it if it's not plug and play!)

Sadly not! It's a shame that all the mirror foldy tilty cleverness is lost by not having them 😞

I did think this might be the case. My old IS250 SE-L clearly spoiled me!

Thanks to you both - I'll have a look in the morning. It's bitter out at the moment!

Do the door mirrors only tilt when the car goes into reverse if memory seats are fitted (IS300h F Sport)? I can't get mine to perform (I've tried selecting left and right mirrors to no avail) so I'm guessing they're not fitted.

That does sound more sensible than two long horizontal strips.

Not yet - I've got the retention certificate, but no means of transferring it to the new car yet (unless I'm missing something....). I thought I needed the V5C for the new car.

Many thanks - that sounds like the best idea. I think my worries about not getting them on straight (especially on the boot) are fading now as I've put the new ones against the old ones and they are the same size. A few bits of masking tape around the edges of the old plates before I take them off to act as a guide should make the job easier. They're already taped up ready so I'm just waiting for the V5 to hit the doormat.

Whilst I wait for the postman to deliver my new V5, I'm facing a dilemma. Do I follow the advice of the dealer and stick the numberplates for my personal registration on, or drill and screw them on? This may sound like a stupid question, but I was thinking that drilling and screwing them on, using the current plates as a template for the holes, would be the best way to get them on straight and central. Does drilling holes mean the plates are more likely to delaminate? (I've read the bit on the new plates which says "only drill from the front")

Day 2: Despite much trying, I can't get photos on a FAT32 USB stick to display on the screen (it plays mp3 from the same stick - I've posted my woes on another thread). I also can't get Lexus Link to work - where's the serial number for the navigation system? I checked a video on YouTube and my nav doesn't have any "online" options which I can find. This is not an issue though, I can live without it. I've put my LOC stickers on the rear quarter panes. This meant sitting in the back for the first time. Now, I'm 5'11" and have probably had more than my fair share of pies, beer and wine over the years, so I'm quite a lardy chuffer. Even with the driver's seat in my normal fairly reclined position (not quite Detroit Leaning), there's still acres of legroom behind in the back. I was very impressed. Took the Bread Knife to several garden centres this afternoon to look for Christmas ornaments. As we were paying for some old tat in one of them, I saw my IS out of the window waiting in the car park and it really did look the business. I'm still a very happy bunny. Oh, and the other good thing is the instant boot opening. Press the button on the boot lid and it opens, not like my Gen 2 which had a few seconds delay. Tick VG.

Holy thread resurrection Batman! I'm trying to view photos (don't ask) in the car. They're on a FAT32 stick. There are some mp3 files which the car can read and play, but it won't see the photos. Any ideas anyone please? Edit - it sees the mp3 files in the root, but no photos in the root, or even the folder which some more photos are in. I'm confused.

I used mine for the first time on Saturday (it had barely landed on my doormat). The girl serving me hadn't seen one before and had to get confirmation from her manager that it was ok. Fair enough I thought. I then had to tell her how much the 15% discount came to. Luckily it was only 15% of £11.60 for two lots of screenwash and some Rain X....

First impressions: wow. I love the auto high beam headlights. The LED lights are amazing. Mpg - an enthusiastic drive back from Leicester resulted in 46.2mpg. Performance and comfort are satisfying. Handling and the feel of solidness on the road are better than my IS250. Tonight's homework: RTFM!

Just having a last tidy up in the IS250. A quick hoover, dust, make sure that only the manual, service book, touchscreen cleaner, touch up paint and wheel nut remover are in the glove box, empty the centre console, check the door/seat pockets etc. Locked her up then thought "did I check the CD player was empty? Three discs were inside which I'd completely forgotten about. I wonder how many discs every car dealer in the country inherits ever year?

Absolutely. And that's why the first and only time I tried left foot braking in an auto (not my IS250 I hasten to add) I too decided to stick with instigating stopping procedures with my right foot afterwards. My wife has driven autos since day 1 and left foot brakes. She naturally thinks this makes her a better driver than me, as you'd expect. She has been driving an Ioniq for the past six weeks. I collect my IS300h tomorrow. No doubt she'll be "teaching" me how to drive it at peak efficiency before the day is out....

How about one of these? It would save getting your hands dirty: https://www.soundracer.se/?p=98

Here's the new girl. Currently counting down the seconds until 1pm on Monday. She's coming home a day earlier now.

121,500ish in my July 07 IS250 SE-L. Had a new exhaust (ouch!) and air con compressor. Other than that it has just been pads, disks, one set of plugs and routine servicing. It has been almost 12 years of totally trouble and hassle free motoring and I have enjoyed every mile. No squeaks or rattles either. Edit: forgot that I had a new battery too 2 years ago. Drove around for a couple of weeks before I worked out how to make the windows work again...

Interesting - it's a shame that the refurbished wheels turned out just as bad. Mine look absolutely awful now.

Idea duly stolen 😊

I wish I'd had mine done. I had three (or was it four?) replacement sets on my IS250 when it was under warranty. I asked whether the wheels were as bad on the IS300h when I traded my IS250 in and was reassured that the supplier had been changed and all was fine now. Apparently at one point, wheel changes were pre-authorised whenever an 2nd Gen IS came in for a service!

Definitely - roll on Tuesday.... I'm sure she will. I will be sad to see the old girl go though. A last hurrah in Sport mode down the A47 and some serious amber on the rev counter on the dualled bits will be a fitting send off I think.

After nearly 12 extremely happy, exciting, reliable and fulfilling years with my trusty IS250 SE-L, "that" day finally came today. With a heavy heart, I traded her in for an IS300h F Sport at Lexus Leicester. I had the exact same "I have to have this car" feeling when I got into the F Sport as I did when I got into my IS250 all those years ago. I'll miss her. I'll miss the roar she makes when I push her loud pedal to the floor. I'll miss the smile which is always on my face when I lock her after we have been on a long journey together. She's been a faithful friend over the past 121,500 miles. We've had many adventures together. She's saved my life on more than one occasion. She was Vmaxed on the A1M after my wife had a serious accident at work and I needed to get to her in a hurry, and she didn't bat a headlamp washer. She has been victorious in many battles with German opposition over the years. She is probably the only IS to have transported an HP A0 plotter from Runcorn to Dewsbury. To friends and colleagues, she was known as "The Car With All The Buttons". I hope she's not scrapped but finds someone who'll enjoy her for a year or two more. She's barely run in. Now the wait until Tuesday when I can collect the F Sport home begins.