Jack300

On really smooth roads there's a fine vibration coming up through the seat. It dosn't feel like wheels or balancing and it's characteristics dont change with speed or braking. I had similar much much worse problems with my previous rear wheel drive car which turned out to be a rear gearbox rubber mount sagging (with age) causing the prop to run out of true. ...so I'm experienced in what an out of true prop feels like. On the Lexus, it's very mild but definately there. Any one with similar problems know of a fix - replace the rear gearbox mount for instance? ...thanks in advance. cheers Jack

50k on a sport cross and I can feel the prop vibrating. Is this common? Is there an easy fix? ...always looking for an easy fix.... thanks in advance. Jack

check the accelerator cable where it joins the intake manifold - it can be slack ie the first part of your pedal travel is taking up the slack and not affecting the engine. Simple fix - remove the slack by tightening the cable via the adjusting thread (can't think of it's name).

non interference, that's good news. I did the cambelt on my previous car, a Nissan 300ZX normally aspirated variant, and it took a long while. Looking at the belt on the 300 sport cross, it looks in very good condition - are these engines known to be kind on belts?

When did you buy it? Within the last year or 2? If so, there's a chance that the previous owner had had it changed as the belt approaches it's 6th year. Got any old bills that can confirm this? My car is 5 years old and I went through the old bills last night to check on what had been done by previous owners, but no luck re cam belt - so, next year it'll get changed. Good luck Jack

There was a post on here recently that discussed poor fuel economy and as well as a bottle of injector cleaner in a full tank of fuel, Lexus recommended that the guy used carb cleaner in the intake manifold ie clean up the butterfly? valve etc. Evidently it worked. Worth a try - aerosol can from Halfords. Good luck Jack

...anyone? Is it easy to change the oil in an IS 300 auto box? thanks Jack

...so I can assume cam belt and tensioner, anciliary belt, plugs, engine oil and filter, gearbox oil?, air filter, cabin filter - and a tune-up - and the wash and vac. Sounds ok as the parts alone must cost £350/£400... Anything I've missed? Cheers Jack

...same company - 2 different outlets? - look at the email address of the grange operation - same as the lonsdale name.

I'm new to Lexus (2 weeks and 1 day) - so what did you get for your £570? Cheers Jack

I've an IS 300 SportCross with 5ok on the clock. Serviced at the right intervals by the 2 previous owners (I've had it 2 weeks). Apart from the stamps in the book, I've no bills etc, nor have I any lists of recommended items to change at specific service intervals - so, looking at the gearbox dip stick, it's red but not as clear as it could be. Anyone know if the gearbox oil will have been changed in 50k miles? ...and, assuming I need to change it, is it difficult etc? ...any internal filters that need replacing? ...and of course what's the spec on the oil. Sorry for all of these questions, and thanks in advance for any help. Cheers Jack

...this info might not be of any use but I've had fuel starvation problems in an other car (currently own same 02 sports cross as your dad) and it was a fuel pump. Bearing in pump was going and when it got hot, it expanded and slowed the pump so that there wasn't enough pressure to get the injectors to work. Once it's cooled down then it was ok - untill it was hot again. Thing is, it took a long run to get it to fail - so, as you live in London and the cars an 02 and only done 17k miles, maybe your dad only does short runs, and maybe it only fails on the occasional long run... Good luck Jack ...if your dad gets fed up with the car and wants to swap it for one with no problems - and 50k on the clock, just let me know.

Just got a camera detector from Road Pilot. It's the hard-wired variant. I think it'd be best placed in or on the top right of the dashboard tray. Searching through posts, it seems as though I can remove this by simply tugging at the air vents - it comes off the dash horizontally rather than vertically - any one know? So, once I remove this will I be able to find a suitable 12v feed ie only on when the ignition is switched on? Alternatively, if anyone has ideas where to mount the (it's about the size if a matchbox) screen, I'd be happy to hear them. many thanks Jack

...could be something as simple as tracking needs adjusting, but if it's damage, then it's best to have it checked by experts. Good luck Jack

Tony - yours was a red TT? ...I seem to recall an illustration of the red baron? Tomorrow marks the 1st aniversary of Lexus ownership - one week and counting... So far I'm well chuffed and the cars behaving impecably. It could do as you say, with a bit more grunt, but maybe that's not really the issue here. Good luck Jack

...earthing kits may be subjective - I had one on my previous car and it did improve engine response and general engine smoothness - but only a little... As I bought it secon hand at £25 it was worth the punt... And if one came up for the IS300, I'd invest in one. Good luck Jack

Just bought a 02 sportcross and with the bills I got from the previous owner was an item called bead sealing, front wheels. I looked it up and it's used to seal the tyres to the rims when the alloy wheels start to corrode insides, preventing the tyres from sealing properly. Think it cost £15 for 2 wheels inc re-balancing. Worth a thought. Good luck Jack

ok thanx for that i will give it a try...i guess wd-40 would be ok for the job?? I personally wouldn't try WD 40. It's prone to causing parts to rust (strange but true). Use Silicon lubricant - Halford etc sell it. You can use it on most rubber parts to lubricate dry joints, it'll cure squeaking belts and it'll blacken black plastic trim parts too - it's good stuff - try washing the engine bay and when dry give it all a good spray with Silicone - not sure how to spell silicon(e) - it'll look like new(ish).

...worth a try, worked on another car of mine - the shock absorber vertical chrome bar (sorry about lack of technical description) the one that goes into the piston body of the shock - normally hidden under a dust cover - spray that with silicon lubricant. Also spray any part of the front suspension where there's a rubber bush. Had it on Jap imports - everything's too dry, works a treat - I do it now as a matter of course, everytime I have the pleaseure of crawling under the car. Good luck Jack

Gentlemen ...thanks for the kind words of welcome. I'd better do some reading before I start asking obvious questions. Cheers Jack

Just to say hello - sold a '97 na 300ZX last week (after 7 years of Z ownership) and bought an '02 IS300 SportCross. I relied on the Z forum for info and insights as I like to do most servicing myself - looking forward to this forum, hope I can contribute in a positive way. So far it's interesting to see just how much technology has advanced since the Z was invented and also it's scary to note just how much salt damage there is on the undersides of a UK supplied car vs an older Jap import.... So, here we go, Lexus all the way. Cheers Jack