biffobear

Changed my 250 SE to Osran Nightbreakers last year, improved light output but still not as good as HID's. One of the Nightbreakers failed after about 4 months so off with the Engine Covers, Air box, Washer filler tube - I put the standard bulbs back in which I seem to remember looking up as being long life bulbs. Now the dark evenings are back again thinking off a light upgrade, last 2 cars had HID's and I must say I miss them! - have to make an SE-L neext car!!

North Disc and Central Disc sold to someone in netherlands for £20 each + postage, East Disc to someone in Greece for £37 + postage. You can also sell your existing older disc for a few pounds. Think that the discs are also used by some toyota models as well Avensis, Prius fitted with TNS700 Unit Hope this helps

I used http://www.lexus-mapupdates.eu/ to order updated Sat Nav Disc set for my 2006 IS250 in December last year. Confimation details that came back for the order included:- Order Details: Part Number:PZ485-X03EU-10 Disc-identifier:86271-0W063;86271-0W073;86271-0W083;86271-0W094;86807-0W064; Quantity:1 Total cost all inclusive:Euro 158.99 Used the Disc for Western Europe and sold the other 3 discs on Ebay Had tried one from Ebay previosly which turned out to be a copy, this failed (would not read disk) after about a month

I had front wing & rear bumper done on my IS300 here: http://www.perfect-finish.net/our_services.html Not the cheapest and not the most expensive but did a good job. Car had previously been touched up by one of those companies that do it around your house, unfortunately the paint had changed colour over time in the sun and started to craze. Because there was one tiny spot on the wing that had not been rubbed down, the new paint had a very slight imperfection in it - they took it back in and re-done the wing without any arguments. Overall a good profesional service. Hope this helps

Watch out for the extra length -I recently took home a GS450h thinking it wasnt that much bigger - wrong!! over hung onto the pavement where as my IS300 fitted nicely between wall and did not overhang onto the pavement. Tried an IS250 which also fitted OK, so i'm in the process of buying one now :) (IS250 SE MultiMedia) Might also be worth looking at the boot, GS450h has a tiny boot because of the battery pack - check out if the GS300 is that much better. The IS300 is a wonderfull drive, smooth and swift without any fuss or drama, but the GS was a smoother ride over bumpier surfaces and even quieter inside. Good luck!!

Difficult car to let go of. Trouble is you have to drive it to garages to try out other cars, and by the time you get there you dont want to sell it - Only bad point on IS is the mpg. No point trading it for some Eco box, wont enjoy it as much and probably end up spending a load more cash getting it for a lesser car. Certainly keeping it for the foreseeable future; might let it go for a RX400H thought, when the price is right

My key started breaking up (casing) a few weeks ago called in to a local locksmiths and they supplied and cut a new key and transferred electronics while I waited for £50 - only downside was that there was no Lexus Logo on the case just a blank area where a Toyota Logo that came with the key could be stuck if required.

Hi there, Got my 300 Ltd Edition in October 07 only problem was an intermittent fault on the Headlight leveling sensor a week or so after I collected it, which meant the HID headlights did not self level correctly all the time, sometimes stayed too high - dazzling other drivers . Mine had been standing a few months before I got it so might have stiffened / seized up. as there is a mechanical link from the sensors to a part of the suspension. To check, switch on lights first then turn on ignition ~ you will see the headlight beams rise and settle at a (non-dazzling) level; there is also a warning light on display Other than that, no problems, and 22 - 23mpg around town on short commutes

Just for anyone who can understand it and compare it to WIM settings, here is the printout from the alignment on my IS300 IS300 Geometry Setting Hope the link works OK

I had the problem with front tyre wear on my IS300, I had 4 new Avon ZZ3 tyres put on at 30122 miles. and over the following months the fronts wore quite badly on the edge, where the tread pattern had worn away to the tread wear bars. I went to Lexus Coventry who recommended a full alignment be carried out and a pair of Dunlop SP9000's (Lexus type) be fitted on the front. This was carried out at 34624 miles; and the car was tranformed it felt much better to drive, better handling and a much nore direct feeling to the steering. I have kept an eye on the front tyre wear since this and all apears well, no noticable difference in wear across the tread. On the cars recent service at Lexus Birmingham with mileage at 38347 Dunlop fronts were reported at 7mm Inner 7mm Middle and 7mm Outer tread depth on both front tyres, rears at 4mm inner 4mm middle and 5mm outer (Avon ZZ3's); so I am satisfied with the outcome, but what made the biggest difference is a difficult call -tyre choice, alignment or both? My driving is mainly around town commutes, along with 1000 miles to ireland and back fully loaded on the new tyres. Hope this helps :)

Signed, also posted on NissanPrimera.net Spread the word........

Had my IS300 since October, averages around 22 - 23mpg on my daily commute of 7 miles (mainly urban) to and from work with a few local journeys at the weekend. On a couple of couple of recent trips of 140 miles, average went up to 29mpg cruising between 65 & 80mph. Overall more or less what I expected, might try to get a little more mpg at my next (40k )service by specifying full synthetic oil and getting the air filter replaced as doing this on my previous car (2.0 Nissan Primera) seemed to improve things by a couple of mpg. I too was a little worried by the increased fuel bills, but at the end of the day you are sitting in and using a wonderful car which is an absolute pleasure to drive; if I am going somewhere in heavy traffic with difficult parking I just use the wife's Micra!!

Just joined the club, and decided to relate my experiences so far. Decided a couple of months back to change my 7 year old Primera Sport+ for something newer. Went to local Toyota Dealer to look at an Avensis and got roped into a test drive the next week. When I turned up it took an hour to go throught paperwork preferences, examination of my vehicle for trade in etc etc before i actually got to sit in the car and eventually drive it. Car was OK but the overall experience left me unimpressed. Next door was the Lexus Coventry dealership, so I walked across to have a look. 15 minutes later I was driving an IS300 sportcross and I was a convert to lexus! Over the next few weeks I test drove an IS200SE Auto (lovely engine sound) and an IS300 at other dealerships,always being treated well and with no pressure to sign on the dotted line. Settled on getting an IS300 (my choice ) which had to be in a silvery colour (wife's choice!!). Eventually I got a 53 plate IS300 Limited edition from Lexus Leeds, which I bought over the phone without seeing it ,as I felt so confident about the brand and the way the vehicle would be prepared. They even gave me a reasonable valuation on my car over the phone without seeing it - mutual trust?! Travelled up to collect the car a couple of weeks later - car was immaculate, wife got flowers and a lovely long drive home to get used to it! First downer came 2 days late when the headlight leveler warning light came on - lights failed in the up position so dazzling people, had to resort to sidelights and front fog lights in the dark. It took 4 days before I could get it sorted out at Lexus Coventry, they replaced front and rear axle leveling units whilst I waited. After a few weeks of ownership whilst checking tyres I noticed that the 4 tyres fitted were Yokohaha Parada 215/40/17's while the spare Bridgestone was a 215/45/17 . Rang the local dealers and they confirmed that the tyres fited were a non-standard size; ride height would be slightly lower and speedo would be slightly out. From my point of view the spare would not really be usable, so I contacted Lexus Leeds and explained my problem to them. Upshot of this was that they offered to pay £400 towards 4 new tyres of the correct size!! Car now fitted with 4 Avon ZZ3's - more wet grip than the Yokohamas!! Car itself is brilliant, quiet ,silky smooth power when required i'm still getting used to the handling charecteristics, my Primera handled extremely well but had a very harsh ride - need to test the IS in the day on quiet roads to see if it can achieve the same or better levels in comfort! Only minus points are fuel consumption (expected) getting around 23mpg on mainly short commutes to work and small boot size. Overall I am over the moon with the car, it will be very difficult to go into other brand main dealers after the Lexus experience; if they did a small car I'm sure my wife would trade her beloved Micra in for it. Difficult not to smile when in the car as its so relaxing to drive, I'm sure i've got more curteous to other drivers and I don't need much of an excuse to find to nip out in it (must get the paper/bread/etc) I think the IS will be with me for a long long time - or are the other models Lexus models even better?! Finally full credit to all at both Lexus Leeds and Lexus Coventry, long may their excellent service continue.