Jack300

Had the same thing with a mates Nissan - I recall he got a part from a scrap dealer as the only way it was supplied (new) was as part of the handbrake assembly. What we need is a UK braker that specialises in the IS model - anybody know one? Cheers Jack

One other thing about warped disks - it tends to happen mainly on auto cars rather than manuals ...the auto driver breaks from high speed (heating up the disks) and then sits there with the break still fully on as the car is stationary. The disk then has the opportunity to cool at different rates ie slower under the pads causing them to warp. Manual drivers do it differently as they invariably sit with the car stationary out of gear. Good luck Jack

Watch out for that flat tyre thing - as the car sits on the tyre stationary, it flattens the tyre a little - and if you check it for roundness, it looks severely flat. You need to check the tyre when it's warm, immediately after a run, not after it's been standing for a while. You can check the rim though - jack up the car, usual precautions, place a paint tin next to the wheel and a screwdriver on the tin pointing at and very close to the rim. As you turn the wheel you'll see if it's out of true. You can do this to both sides of the rim. Good luck Jack

Once had the same and it was dirt compacted into the vents of the front ventilated disks. Long shot, but you never know. ...another long shot is that the rear gearbox support mount is sagging and lowering the front of the propshaft causing it to run out of true. Like the ventilated disks posibility, it's easy to check - jack up the drivers side of the car (take all usual precautions) and get underneath with a trolly jack and piece of wood. Place it under the gearbox, loosen the 4 12mm nuts that are holding the alloy support member to the gearbox mount and jack up the gearbox and fit about 4mm of spacers between the support member and the mount. Lower the gerabox and tighten the 4 nuts. Road test - and if it improves put a rear gearbox mount on your shopping list. If it dosn't then remove the spacers, happy in the knowledge that your rear gearbox mount - and prop are ok... Good luck Jack

interestingly - when I'm on LPG the mpg guage still thinks I'm using petrol even though there's no petrol being consumed. Therefore it's calculating the assumed mpg from whatever sensors. I think that the fuel guage does something similar as sometimes I have near half a tank full and other times I have near a quarter of a tank - all whilst not using any as it's running on LPG... ...meanwhile back in Poland, if LPG is half the cost of petrol, you will (almost) get twice the miles from LPG as you will pertol - when comparing the costs. Good luck Jack

Get the LPG sorted - forget petrol. Just keep a quarter of a tank of petrol in it just in case you run out of LPG. My 300 does the equivalent of 49mpg - when you compare the cost of LPG to petrol. There's no real noticeable difference in performance but you do notice the extra tank of fuel in the spare wheel well. Question is, the difference in the price of LPG and petrol as great in Poland as it is in the UK? ...if it is then stick to LPG. If not, get used to the poor fuel economy. Good luck Jack

I get the turning noise - tried to get a fine paintbrush in there with a tad of oil on it but couldn't. I assume it's the horn connection. Good luck Jack

I used to put 'thin' oil in a car when I first bought it - to clean out those 'difficult to reach' internal parts - and then change it to a thicker oil (as specified) about 3k miles later. I can't say wether the thinner oil did what I expected of it but, I can say that the engine was noiser on the thinner oil. ...that's a piece of useless information for you. Shell Helix Ultra (5W 40) - just done an oil change in my IS300. £5 per litre - ebay (plus del). Good luck Jack

Shame about all of that plastic under the bonnet - where's the engine? I wanna see all of the metal bits - all of that technology and design engineering that makes these cars so great! Good luck Jack

...don't worry - the lights will come back on again. Silly to say this but you need to find out what's wrong and replace the faulty part. ...you can in the meantine clean everything from intake manifold internals inc throttle body (carb cleaner spray), plugs, and any breather pipes etc - as it won't do any harm. Good luck Jack

Nice one! ...my son bought me a set for my sportcross last Christmas from Lexus and they cost close to £70...

Sounds like you need to invest in a code reader. I bought one from ebay recently - £25, works a treat on my 300 sportcross. ...can't remember it's name but it's bright orange. Good luck Jack

It might be a sticking solenoid on the starter motor. Here's what happens... You switch on and the solenoid on the starter motor pushes a gear forward to connect the starter motor to the engine - to turn over the engine. If the gear that the solenoid pushes dosen't connect then you get the click that you hear - it jumps out just as quick as it jumps in. You try again and this time it connects and the car starts. ...try taking this description to your mechanic - he'll know what to do. Good luck Jack

I bought a CD off ebay (very cheap) and printed it all out - it fills 3 very large ring binders... Good luck Jack

...blinking-heck! Labour on my belt change last week was £58, plus the belt kit - £135 - all plus VAT. Needless to say, non Lex garage. Cambelt changes must be one of the most common things garages do - there's nothing in there that warrants big money... in my opinion. Good luck Jack

Jap ...you need the IS300 - you'd also be able to shift down gears via the buttons on the steering wheel ...and then up when the increased revs no longer deliver the desired acceleration. Again - sad, but true. Cheers Jack

Not sure if the 300 belt is the same as the 200 belt, but I've just had it changed on my 300 at 6 years and 58k miles (whilst converting the car to LPG) and the old belt came off looking like it'll make it to 100k without any problem. The garage even gave it back to me saying I could always use it to get me out of trouble - mind you he didn't say what kind of trouble. Wether it's 60 or 100k, it's not worth taking the risk - as after 60k, you'll be driving always wondering when the belt is going to snap... Good luck Jack

Here's an alternative... Clean the exhaust pipe and then apply a liberal amount of Tcut to it and let it dry. Do it again if it's streaky. What you get is a matt off-white effect - like a powder-coated heat resistant paint finish. It looks good - to my eye. Sad but true.... Good luck Jack PS - you can do it to the insude of the pipe too.

Janet I see no-one has replied so, if this helps, I've just had the timing belt replaced on my 58k is300 sportx at the same time as having it converted to LPG - and I asked for the old timing belt so that I could see it's state - it's an 02 car so 6 years (at least) old. The old belt is in fablous condition and to quote the mehanic 'you could use that again to get you out of trouble'. I've replaced timing belts myself before and I can assure you this one shows no sign of wear but you can tell it's been used as it feels more flexible that a new one. So, still not the answer you want, but, if the 200 belt is the same as a 300 belt - which I assume it is, and all the parts it touches are in good condition, it looks to me that changing them at 60,000 miles on a is300, whilst being good practice, isn't absolutely necessary. ...of course every car lives in different conditions and is treated differently so take this as just my experience. Good luck Jack

High speed brake judder could be worn bushes in the front tie rods - assuming the Lex has front tie rods... Mines fine so I haven't had the chance to check but - on a previous rear-wheel drive car I had it was a common problem... Good luck Jack

I've got the same in my 300 sportx. In a previous life (before Lexus) I had lots of propshaft problems - and as the theory is the same - here's a brief overview. If the vibration occurs at slow speeds and feels like a flat-spotted tyre, then it's a sagging rear gearbox mount that's at fault. If it starts at higher speeds normally 50+ then it could be the centre support bearing failing. If it's neither of those then it could be wear in the CV joints. They have to be tight and notchy so that they transfer the power at the right time (in the rotation cycle). Looking at the rear gearbox support bearing of the Lex, it's well designed and dosn't look like it'll sag. I've tried spacers to lift it but they made no difference. The centre bearing is supported by a flexible rubber doughnut - if this hardnes (and eventually cracks) then you'll get the vibes you are experiencing. But, it's hard to check this without removing the prop. Assuming that it's as well designed as the gearbox support then we can eliminate this and go straight to the CV joints. If you remove the prop and they are loose (or the prop has lost one of it's balancing weights) then you'll need to send it to a place like The Propshaft Clinic (Doncaster way I seem to remember - have a look on the web) and they'll either replace them or tighten them - and rebalance everything - inc delivery budget for about £100 - £120... Good luck Jack

Used to have this on my previous car - Nissan 300ZX. Turned out to be the seals in the shocks. Remedy was to lift the concertina rubber dust covers on the shock and spray the chrome bar with silicone spray - then do all of the rubber components under there too - any rubber bush you can find, front and back. It's basically stuff drying out with age. As I did all of this to my Lex when I bought it, it dosn't creak - I'd recommend you do it every 12 months. Good luck Jack

...worn seals in the clutch master / slave cylinder? Mines an auto so just guessing... Good luck Jack

...long shot but it'll be the hinge pin that's worn. From my experience these are hard to remove but, if you can remove it, replace it with the bottom one from the passenger door - assuming your passenger door has far less use on it than your drivers door... ie it won't be worn as much. Good luck Jack

Sorry, it should say 'I've not owned a Lex LONG' ..6 months in fact... Cheers Jack