fredsmith

Update: well, something unexpected has happened. I took it to a small local independent garage. When I told them Lexus had said I needed new driveshafts at a cost of £2K, they laughed and that was before they’d even looked at the car. Anyway, when I returned later on, the mechanic said he wasn’t sure there was actually anything wrong at all. He agreed there were signs of grease but saw no evidence of a leak or any damage to the CV gaiters. He even hoisted it up again and invited me to take a look around the underside of my car. (First time I’d ever stood under a car, and found it a bit unnerving!) He'd given the axle and driveshafts a thorough clean and rubbed off the surface corrosion that Lexus had presented me with photos of. He's asked me to bring back the car in a couple of weeks and he’ll take another look. If more grease has appeared, then we’d take it further. If it’s still clean he reckons there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll update further after that. 
 

Once again, thank you everyone.

On 9/28/2023 at 8:40 AM, ColinBarber said:

The driveshaft is one piece from a Lexus point of view - the cup cannot be removed/replaced. This is a picture of a replacement shaft taken from Rockauto - about £70.

Hi Colin,

sorry to be a nuisance but can you provide a link to that part please? I’ve looked at Rock Auto and can’t locate it. 
 

I've booked the car into a local garage for tomorrow and will see what they say.

Thanks for the additional info which is a bit more encouraging. This is a really great forum and you guys have saved my sanity several times over the years.
 

One thing though — before I took it to Lexus I did get a full service from a local garage (well, one of those Formula One Autocentres) and asked them to look at the CV gaiters. The guy seemed to know what he was talking about and said (I scribbled some notes at the time): 'the CV boots seem fine, but there’s a sort of metal cup that goes over the joint and there’s CV grease leaking from the metal cup. But I can’t get the metal cup off to investigate. It probably needs a special Lexus tool'.
 

Which is why I went to a Lexus garage. They didn’t take it apart either, just did an external check before telling me I’d need two new driveshafts which would cost about £2.5k (inc about £1700 for the parts).

They gave me two pictures which mean nothing too me but here they are:

is it the view of the forum that the work really does require special Lexus tools and knowledge, or should any decent local garage be able to sort this out? 
 

A long shot — does anyone know anyone in the East Sussex area they could recommend? Otherwise I can try talking again to another local garage that might be more clued up.

Thanks people. Maybe I can avoid ditching my 15-yo IS 250 after all.

On 8/21/2023 at 8:53 PM, ColinBarber said:

The gaiter itself isn't available from Lexus, only a complete drive shaft at the cost of around £850.

Over on rockauto.com third party complete drive shafts are between £65 and £80, but you have the extra cost of shipping and import to add. Not sure if there are third party or refurbished ones available directly in Europe.

Thanks. I took the car to a Lexus dealership. They took a look and told me I need 2 driveshafts at a total cost of around £2,500 inc labour. Looks like I’ll be buying another car. I can’t justify spending £2,500 on a 15 year old car with a book price of around £1500. A shame. The car is in good nick and drives very nicely apart from this issue.

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

I'd have thought with your 15 year young car that any competent garage would be able to source an appropriate gaiter and do the entire job BUT not the one you've just asked, clearly

Looking back at the old bills I've inherited with the " new to me " Mk1 Ls400, the CV gaiter cost £168 to fit  in Nov 2018 .........  no indication of the cost of the gaiter itself .. maybe that was included !

I'd have thought a suitable generic gaiter would be fit for purpose   BUT leave all that to a competent garage ........  where you get your car regularly serviced maybe ?

Good luck 

Malc

Thanks, that’s encouraging. I’ve just moved back to the UK after >12 years in mainland Europe so I’ve no established garage here. From what you say, sounds like I should 'gaiter' another local garage and get another opinion. If generic is ok, I’ll feel happier. Cheers.

Hi Everyone, can someone enlighten me here please? I am totally car-illiterate. I’ve owned my IS250 from new in 2008.

My wife had the AA replace my left rear wheel following a recent puncture. The AA guy told her: "the CV joint gaiter is leaking grease, so probably needs a new gaiter. The garage will need to take out the drive shaft to re-grease it before putting it back."

I asked a local garage about this (unfortunately no Lexus garage anywhere near me), and the guy sort of shook his head uncertainly and said I probably needed a special Lexus part. Is this true, and is a Lexus one easy to get hold of? If not, would a generic gaiter do the job? I have a service soon and would prefer to bring along the required part rather than ask them to source it for me (unless someone advises that this would be a better idea). Any other helpful comments for this car dumbo? Is it true that they have to take out the drive shaft? Sounds like that could be pricey.

Sorry for sounding so stupid, but a big thank you to anyone who might be able to assist.

48 minutes ago, Herbie said:

I'm not sure just exactly what is happening but I think you're becoming bogged down in the "which fuse" thing.

Fuses are rated for the current they will carry all day long. So a 7.5A fuse will carry 7.5A all day long and never break into a sweat. It would take about 10A or even more to make it blow.

The power requirements for the Nextbase 622GW are 5V @ 1.5A. I don't know what the requirements are for your satnav but I'd be very surprised if it took the fuse to breaking point.

I hate to say it but I think you have a fault somewhere rather than just using the wrong fuse.

Hi Herbie,

Thanks. You're right, the topic has meandered a bit. I'm actually quite happy with the installation of the dashcam (until told definitively that it's wrong). The issue is that I've twice used the dashcam with the sat nav (which is powered by the cigarette lighter socket) and twice the latter has stopped working -- fused the first time, according to the garage, and presumably fused the second time again. This seems like more than a coincidence as nothing else has ever fused in 12 years of owning the car. So I guess my more general question should be: what could be the explanation for this, and the therefore the solution -- given that I'm an electro-idiot. As shown in the photos, the dashcam is wired to the passenger side fusebox while the fuse for the cigarette lighter is on the other side, and seems to have no connection to the dashcam. So I'm trying to understand what's happening here. Thanks.

6 minutes ago, LenT said:

 

Checking up with my Manual....it doesn't have a fuse layout for the two  boxes in the passenger compartment!  Astonishing!

But I did a little searching and came up with this:

Fuse Box Diagram Lexus IS250 / IS350 (XE20; 2006-2013) (fuse-box.info)

I have assumed - possibly incorrectly! - that yours is a lhd Lexus. So although you refer to passenger /driver side, the fuse box with the cig lighter fuse is under the glove box and is shown as No.10.  In other words, not the fuse on the driver's side that you identified as the cig lighter.

As the fuse box diag. shows, the fuse next to No. 10 is No.11 which is identified as the Power Outlet - which I suspect is the permanent live supply which NextBase recommend is used for a hardwired connection. - as per the NB link I provided earlier.  This could be checked with a small electrical screwdriver.

It certainly looks like Halford Man has introduced a lead to piggy-back off a socket - and It may well be the cig. lighter.  I think Vladimir and I are both of the same mind that your problems stem from trying to run both items off the same power source.

If HM has used the cig. lighter than the Power Socket (according to this diagram ) is next to it - so simply swapping the two around will restore the cig. socket to a single outlet and give the dashcam a permanent power supply.

Finally, the NextBase hardwire Kit is a £20 extra accessory.  I don't think it comes included with the standard 622GW and the difference appears to be that the lead incorporates a Battery protection system that cuts off the camera if the voltage drop too low.  It appears to have a small black box attached to it with a blue light that indicates that there's power to the camera.  So you should know if you have that or the camera has been installed without the benefit of this kit.

Hope this helps a little more!

 

I'll have to read your post again Len for the finer detail but my car is a British RHD. The Halfords dashcam hardwiring was to the passenger side. The 10/11 cigarette lighter/power socket  are on the driver side.

10 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Ok I've just realised something. Is your car a Left hand drive? I'm not sure if there's a difference in which fusebox does what between left and right hand drive cars.

However the top photo. That looks about where I have my piggyback fuse located. Does your piggyback back fuse contain a 2amp and a 10amp fuse?

No, it's a British RHD. I'm working in Switzerland at the moment but brought my car over. TBH, I don't know what the amps are for the piggyback -- I'm finding it very hard to get to it at my age!   

On 4/7/2022 at 5:20 PM, Mr Vlad said:

Ok. Then as you've started and Len it's probable that the fuse used for the dash cam is the one for the cigarette lighter. When you get time then have you'll find the cover not on the fusebox as the piggyback fuse sits too high for the cover to go back on. Use a torch by the way as visibility is poor without one. Hopefully you've got the owner handbook so you can see which fuse was used for the piggyback. It would be a Red 10amp fuse by the way. Swap the piggyback fuse to another 10amp fuse. Be advised the fuses are the micro type. 

I've finally managed to find the fuses and take some rather blurry snaps.

You were right -- the cover was not on either.

The Halfords guy was definitely doing something on the passenger side when I saw him working on my car. I presume that's  the cable seen running to the passenger side fusebox. 

On the driver side is the fusebox with (highlighted) fuses for cigarette lighter socket and the other power source found in the armrest. the lower blue one is probably the one added by the garage last month when I asked them to look at why the socket wasn't working. (I didn't know then what I know now about fuses!)

The question is what's best to do here. I can replace the fuse again (presuming it's blown) and run the sat nav off the armrest power source instead. A bit inconvenient as the armrest won't close with a device plugged in there. Or could I reposition the dash cam cable and plug it somewhere that wouldn't affect the main cigarette lighter socket? I'm reluctant to fiddle about too much in case I do something serious to the electrics. If no one knows for sure I guess I'll have to find an auto electrician. Thanks for any insights. 

58 minutes ago, LenT said:

I’ve come across a couple of YT vids that might be helpful.  One is a NextBase production; the other by a guy using the same NB hardwire kit and making the point that he’s using a ‘constantly powered’ fuse supply.

I suspect that the problem has been caused by wiring the dashcam to the accessory socket.  Anyway, hopefully these may give you a better idea of what to do.  The one problem that occurs to me is that although, apparently, Halfords sell this NB hardwiring kit, it may not have been used in your case.

Even if it has, they may not have given you the other parts of it.  Anyway, hope this helps!

PS: other videos are available!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wml4-DJ0YuM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ImX6OEJccwo

I can't be 100% sure about the cabling used but I'd give him the benefit of the doubt unless I knew otherwise. I didn't stand and watch everything he did but I was there at the start when he opened the box with the new dashcam in it and he certainly took out the hardwiring cables and peered at them purposefully 😀. Thanks for the videos, I'll take a look.

Thanks, both. I can confirm that the dashcam was wired to the fusebox on the passenger side but until I go and have a look later I won't know if it has a cover or not. 

Mr Vlad - yes, the sat nav is not built in. It's a basic Garmin powered by the cigarette lighter / accessory power source.

Len - Yes, if this persists I'll talk to Halfords though I'm about 1,000km from the nearest branch for the next couple of months so hope to resolve this before then! TBF, the guy seemed to know what he was doing and was pretty helpful but I hear what you say.

6 minutes ago, LenT said:

Well I'm not an autoelectrician - hopefully one will be along soon! - but I've had Garmin satnavs and BlackVue dash cams in several cars for some years. And I wouldn't run them off the same power point.

Mind you, I wouldn't let Halfords fit it in the first place - but that's just a personal view!

I run the Garmin off the 'lighter' (accessory) power supply because it's only used occasionally and is removable.  However, I run the dashcam of a different point in the fuse box that is always live - even when the ignition is off.  This is because the dashcam has a 'Parking Mode' which - as the name suggests - will be activated by people, proximity and impact even when the ignition is switched off.

In other words, I would suggest that it's the dashcam that should be wired so that it's constantly available, whereas surely you only use the satnav occasionally.  

Looking at the NextBase website, I see there is a 'Series 2 Hardwire Kit' which I presume is what Halfords would have used.  It claims to have a voltage limiter built-in to prevent the battery going flat, so you just need to find a different fuse that you can piggy-back off that is live when the ignition is off.

I don't know your model, but there might even be one spare.  I suggest that you don't use any supply point that serves something crucial - in case it blows that fuse.

Hope this helps until an expert comes along!

Thanks Len. I've read both points of view regarding the always-live set-up. AFAIK, mine doesn't use that mode. The way the Nextbase works (I believe) is that when I want to use the parking mode to capture activity when I'm away from the car, it uses the charge in the device which will run for 3 continuous hours or so, and obviously longer if it's not constantly being switched on. In other words, good for parking in a quiet spot but less so if parked on a busy road. But anyway, at the moment I'm happy to keep it this way as I've heard people complain that parking mode can drain the car Battery, regardless of what's supposed to happen.

The question is whether I can sort this out myself (being a total non-expert) and more to the point, how I sort it out. Is it possible that the dashcam and cigarette lighter are on the same circuit? How would I know? And if this is the case, can the dashcam be connected to some other circuit? Is there such a thing as a 'spare'  circuit and spare fuse ready to take an additional electrical gadget? I appreciate you may not know the answers, I'm just sort of thinking out loud. Of course, I could just take it into a garage but it would be good to sound as if I knew what they needed to do. (I'm in Switzerland, so an additional problem is that I have to explain this in imperfect German!)

Hi All

I have a Lexus IS 250 2008. I recently had a Nextbase 622GW dashcam fitted and hardwired (by Halfords, using the Nextbase wiring kit). dashcam works fine but after my first long trip I realised that the cigarette lighter (which I use to power the sat nav) wasn't working. Took it to my local garage and they said the fuse had blown, and replaced it. Everything was fine with the sat nav for a couple of weeks, a period when I wasn't using the dash cam. But a couple of days ago I once again was using the dash cam with the sat nav, and once again the cigarette lighter appears not to be working -- presumably fused again.

Has anyone else had trouble combining cigarette lighter/sat nav with hardwired dash cam? I'm not knowledgeable on electrics but I'm presuming that the system is getting overloaded somehow -- is this because the fuse used by the dash cam is the same as used by the cigarette lighter? Is this even possible? Can it be solved by a different type of fuse (I did say I'm an idiot in these matters). Or is there some other explanation / solution?

Thank you for any pointers.

Makes sense, thank you.

That's what I figured 😉.

I totally believe you, but I'm still a bit puzzled by the Type 68 vs Type 69 references in other threads. The Bosch links posted earlier seem to contain no reference to different types. Maybe the 027 replaced the 026 Type 69?

Anyway, thanks. I'll take a punt on the S4 026 and hope it does the job. 

Thanks JH, so I just order the 026 and turn it round? 

Dear All, long time no post.

I'm confused. As will become manifestly clear very soon, I'm not much a of a mechanic but the local Lexus garage want to charge me about £350 to supply and fit a new Battery (I'm in Switzerland) for my IS 250 (2007/08). They did this previously, 3.5 years ago, and the Battery has, they say, only a 3 year warranty so I'm not falling for that again.

After reading and re-reading all the posts I can find, it seems I should be going for Bosch S4 026 Type 68. But here's why I'm confused -- every S4 026 I see has the positive terminal on the right: https://www.bosch-automotive-catalog.com/product-detail/-/product/0092S40260 and no mention of Type 68 (which everyone here says is the correct one) or Type 69 (apparently the wrong one). And I've seen messages saying don't get the S4 027 as the terminals are on the wrong side.

OTOH, the Bosch site itself says that the correct Battery for the IS 250 is the S4 027, and as hoped, the positive terminal is on the left: https://www.bosch-automotive-catalog.com/en/product-detail/-/product/0092S40270 

BUT... both 026 and 027 seem to have the terminals at the front whereas mine has them at the back. 

Am I going nuts? My car has the positive terminal on the left. Is that the same as everyone else? If so, surely S4 027 is the correct one?

But will the front terminal cause a problem? And perhaps a very stupid question, is the Battery not a uniform shape i.e. can I not simply turn round a Battery whose terminals are the wrong way round?

Thanks for any enlightenment!

Hi All

I live in Switzerland, and it's time to buy some summer tyres.

I'm planning to buy online (www.reifendirekt.ch) and get them delivered to a local garage for fitting. But am a bit lost looking at the vast choice of tyres for my IS 250 (205/55R16). All the usual makes are available, plus several I've not heard of.

Any advice on what to go for / avoid? Or is it a simple case of the more you pay the longer they'll last?

Any insight / pointers would be gratefully received.

Thank you.

Fred.

Depends on what size you got. OEM 17 should be easy to source. The 18's will be harder.

Try ebay or your local breakers.

As long as it is not bent or cracked you can always buy a used one and have it refurbished locally.

Thanks. It's 17 I believe.

Can anyone advise please?

I am in Switzerland, and recently had a minor slide when coming down a steep snowy road in my 2007 IS 250. My front wheel hit some grass banking and I managed to damage it. I broke one of the 'spokes'.

Took it to the local Lexus garage who say that one new wheel will cost 770 CHF, which is £512 at current exchange rates!

This sounds totally ridiculous to me. Everything is a bit more expensive here (for instance about £450 for a major service) but really, 512 for a single replacement wheel (not even the tyre) seems crazy. They said this is the price quoted by Lexus in Brussels which I'm presuming is some sort of European spares hub (?)

Can anyone shed any light on this costing, or offer an alternative idea? It wouldn't be the end of the world for me to stick the car in my garage for a few weeks, and arrange the purchase of an alternative from a cheaper source. A cursory Google search suggests that I could get something far cheaper if I could be bothered organising it myself.

If I was to order my own, does anyone have a recommendation for what sort of wheel(s) to buy, and a good source? Location doesn't matter as long as they will ship here.

Thanks in advance. I'm a total car-phobe when it comes to this sort of simple practical matter. I am normally happy to leave to to the garage but this seems way over the top to me.

Fred, I have never bought a tyre by only looking in the car handbook for information. I always get on my hands and knees to find out the manufacturer and read the information on the side of the tyre then marry the two together. I've never had a problem doing it this way.

If, and the occasion hasn't arisen, the tyres on the car differ from the spec in the handbook then further investigation would be warranted.

Years ago some disreputable used car dealers to shod a car with anything that was at hand, whether that still goes on I don't know.

If you can't glean the information yourself I would suggest having a word with the Lexus dealer you either bought it from or who services it for you.

Fair enough - that's what I would normally do (the peering at the tyres bit). It was only that I won't see the car for a few days and I wanted to try and get these tyres ordered today. But it can wait. You're probably right. Cheers.

Could some kind person assist please?

I want to order some new summer tyres online for my IS 250 (standard petrol model, bought end 2007), but the car isn't here and I can't be certain of the tyre size.

I just had a look at the Lexus UK site and it seems the current IS 250 has two different specs for front and rear, which seems odd. Could be because of alloy wheels? Not sure.

Can someone tell me what size tyres I should be ordering for my model of the IS 250? It is the bog-standard model; no special sporty branding.

Any assistance appreciated.

Maybe you could buy a used pair from ebay and install them yourself? I've seen American-spec ones go as low as £100 a side and I'm guessing the beam should be pointing in the right direction.Just a thought...

Exactly.....our american friends are always changing/upgrading thier lamps, buy a pair of thier discarded lamps on eBay.....or put a wanted on the US Lexus site.

Thanks - good idea. I guess I have to be sure that the US ones are the same spec as the Swiss authorities demand. They are notoriously picky.

Is it different in Switzerland because in the Greek islands you can bring your UK registered car in for 6 months before you have to register it with the Greek authorities but if you take it off the island for a day then bring it back the 6 months starts again, so can you not do the same in Switzerland by popping into say Germany for a few days?

Hmm. Interesting, but sounds too good to be true for Switzerland. I'll inquire, but would be astonished if it was that easy.