Boothby Coggles

I've had repairs done to my gearbox without any hassle or argument. A modified selector fork has been fitted to improve the change from 2nd to 3rd. It was "catching" and the new fork has improved it. This was done as a "satisfaction" issue under warranty. Unfortunately the re-assembly of the box seems not to have been done properly which caused further problems. The car is at the dealer at the moment and they are swapping the box for another one, without any argument. I just hope the replacement is not worse than what I had :o . I think what it probably boils down to is which dealer you use, some will be pretty good about it, others will try & fob you off. Get it seen to under warranty while you can. You ought not to have any problem with the dealer - when all is said & done the cost doesn't fall on them, Lexus pay them, but may be not as much as you would get charged outside warranty. Having said that, it might just be that Lexus are leaning on them to keep the number of warranty repairs down - it might be costing them too much .

I turned the 250 down for other reasons as well as the possible consumption issue, but I haven't ruled one out completely if I can find a decent on at the price I want to pay, (which ain't much). Having been out in the loaner again today on a 60 odd mile round trip on an "up & down hill" A road with enough bends and corners & I still got 37 or so out of it. I assume it was a sport as it has a metal brake pedal & left foot rest. The difference here between petrol & diesel is 8p a litre at the cheapest places, (88.9 & 96.9p) or about £4.05 and £4.41 per gal, (if I've got it right). On that reckoning 10k miles on the diesel is about £1010 and on petrol, (at an overall 35mpg), about £1260. £250 diff or so over a year ain't that bad for the extra satisfaction of having a V6 2.5 and a gearbox that does what it should do.

It's from the car, but if my 220 is anything to go by it's not far out from the true figure. Having spent my childhood trainspotting I have kept an extensive log of the true consumption of my last 6 or so cars. I always fill the tank & record the mileage & stick it all on a spreadsheet :o .

I've got a '58 plate 250 auto on loan at the moment & it did 38 mpg on a 40 mile run home from the dealer. My 220d did 40 mpg on the outward journey. I drove in pretty much the same manner both ways and used the same route. I was rather surprised at the 250 and at how easy it was, (far easier than the 220 ) to get this figure, especially as the official combined is 31 mpg. Does any one know if the official consumption for an '06 auto is the same? I imagine it could be a little bit lower. It will be interesting to see, as I recently walked away from a trade in of my 220 for an '06 250, partially because of the likely consumption on it. May be I shouldn't have . Thanks

cracking, shouldn't complain really I suppose...... The head honcho at the Lexus dealer I use rang me a week or so ago on another matter, but we got talking about alloys. He says the corrosion problem is restricted to the UK and does not affect the States, Scandinavia, Asia & so on. Lexus Japan did not believe there was a problem until a container load of corroded wheels were sent to them to prove the point. Supposedly the wheels are are now subject to a more rigourous manufacturing policy and if I remember correctly there is more lacquer put on them. He said he thinks that the problem occurs because we have a damp cold climate whereas other countries don't, e.g. Scandinavia is cold but is comparatively dry. He also thinks that it is possibly due to the grit & salt mix that is used on roads here rather than just salt. This possibly makes pinholes in the wheel lacquer which allows corrosion to occur. But none of this answers the big question: Why do Lexus (still?) have a problem which other manufacturers don't seem to have exactly the same thing was said about the wheels on the mk 1 Is200 the problem was found to be the manufacturing process, in that Japan uses mostly recycled aluminum, or more so that Toyota suppliers use Recycled aluminum If that's the case then some little man on the other side of the planet, with a liking for rice & raw fish, is taking the proverbial and doesn't think it worth the effort in rectifying the problem for another insignificant little island, once and for all

So have I - from Lexus Derby

cracking, shouldn't complain really I suppose...... The head honcho at the Lexus dealer I use rang me a week or so ago on another matter, but we got talking about alloys. He says the corrosion problem is restricted to the UK and does not affect the States, Scandinavia, Asia & so on. Lexus Japan did not believe there was a problem until a container load of corroded wheels were sent to them to prove the point. Supposedly the wheels are are now subject to a more rigourous manufacturing policy and if I remember correctly there is more lacquer put on them. He said he thinks that the problem occurs because we have a damp cold climate whereas other countries don't, e.g. Scandinavia is cold but is comparatively dry. He also thinks that it is possibly due to the grit & salt mix that is used on roads here rather than just salt. This possibly makes pinholes in the wheel lacquer which allows corrosion to occur. But none of this answers the big question: Why do Lexus (still?) have a problem which other manufacturers don't seem to have

Do you know if it's compatible with DPS4 and does it improve consumption?

I've recently started driving in the same way with a close eye on the revs. Yes it works, I got something like 46mpg on a run to Hull. BUT, for me it takes the enjoyment out of driving and makes it hard work driving with all the gear changing etc. If I drove it like my old petrol Volvo S60, which averaged 30mpg overall, I imagine the consumption would be not a great deal better than that which, for a diesel, is pretty poor and a bit too expensive.

I think this invaluable option has been on the Lexus site for some time, long before the bottom fell out of the market. Not surprised tha there have been no replies. It seems to me that that's the way Lexus GB work - Take the money, ignore the customer.

Lexus website is advertising a "Lexus Approved Pre-owned Week" from the 16th to the 23rd at participating centres. The big offer is 2 years free servicing bought during the week. It has to be worth a good few bob, depending on what the cost of the next 2 services works out at. I nearly swapped my 220d for a 250 auto with 30k on the clock yesterday but turned it down because of the, (in my view), excessive amount of stone chips and other paintwork damage at the front end. I'm glad :D I did and if I don't opt for some other make in meantime I'll do it through this. Anyone else intending buying in the near future ought to have a look, and maybe register with a dealer.

Have you sent in a SORN if you're having it off the road and not taxing it? They could well have you again if you don't

Welcome to the world of Lexus. I presume you have a manual gearbox. 1st & 2nd on the manual are renowned for not being what they could be. As for 3rd, I had some notchiness on the change between it & 2nd. My dealer fitted a modified selector fork under warranty and it's now better that it was, but not, again, as good as it could be when compared to other cars. The service manager and adviser at the dealer I use both admit that Lexus are "not very good" at manual gearboxes. I can't understand why when they are an offshoot of Toyota - the Avensis box is far better and, in comparison, a joy to use.

I didn't watch it as I've only got freeview, but I can go one better - I went to the top of the pass a year or so ago when I was on holiday. Damn cold it was as well - loads of snow about as it was the start of the winter season. The Indian Army were there with loads of trucks having snow chains fitted ready for the descent down the other side. Parked at the top was a Royal Enfield motor cycle, (the "modern" Indian version I assume) - must have been an interesting journey for the rider .

What do I like about the IS 220? The fact that I'm about to p/x it for an IS 250 auto :D However: I've had issues with the consumption until recently. It was in at the dealer for another matter a couple of weeks or so ago & I asked them to look at the consumption, and it's now had the latest ECU mod or whatever. The consumption now seems better as I got 43 mpg today on a 70 mile or so run back home from Kettering this afternoon. Having said that, traffic & weather conditions made me take it steady. If I'd been a bit more "lively" then I imagine it would have been somewhere about the 40 mark. I don't have any real problem now with turbo lag. That's down either to my having adapted my drving style to cope with it, or more likely, the fact that I use Millers Diesel Power Sport has helped. It's probably helped a bit with consumption as well.

I've been to the one at Hull today. Most of what they had on display were ex management cars with values & discounts in the windows. The only one that I remember the price of was an 06 GS300 for £18k. Whether this is a good price or not I don't know. The highest "discount" I remember was a RX with £11k off. Probably a 08 or 58 plate. They seemed to have a few people coming in so there is some interest. In fact, so far as I remember the salesmen's score board they're probably not doing too bad. Probably a dozen or more sales between them, with one having chalked up 3 new cars & 1 used. But then again, maybe they were buyers who would have bought any way at times time of year, just for a 09 plate. Nibbles were a bit on the skimpy side. Maybe the best had all been waffled yesterday.

All Clarkson did was to make two factual statements and one that was wrong. Yes, Brown does have only one good eye. Yes, he is Scottish. No, Brown is not an idiot. He's a lying, incompetent, devious, corrupt (morally & politically), cheating, thieving idiot.

The bottom line surely is without sufficient customers any company is doomed, as a lot of them are finding out, or are about to. There will always be satisfied & dissatisfied customers. It seems that Lexus, as a corporate entity, need to be careful that the latter don't become more numerous than the former

MOT for £55.10 . Locally it costs about £25 at most places, but it's too long a ride for you . I would have thought that if you ring around you could get it done for less somewhere else for far less

Likewise, I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's been. I've had cards inviting me weekends at Lincoln Hull. Have put my name down for Hull but am likely to change my mind about going. They never seems to have much stock there

Have to disagree with that - Mercedes at Lincoln, Boston & Grimsby are owned by Listers Group, who also own Toyota & Lexus in Lincoln.

I recently had my car in to Lexus Hull & whilst it was there I asked them to have a look at the consumption, as feel that it has been dropping since the 5th injector was done. When it was returned to me their driver had got 42.3 out of it on a 40 mile trip at an average of about 45mph, which is better than anything I had achieved. I had a run down to Leicestershire a day or so later & got about 37 on the outward journey & 42.4 on the return, by a slightly different route. The consumption difference, I think, was probably due to using 6th gear at about 74mph where I could on the A1, but didn't use it at all on the return. It's early days yet, but I will be interested to see if the consumption stays at this sort of level. The service manager at Hull had rung me after the work had been carried out. The ECU had been reset as was the case with your car I think, but he said that they had also carried out latest software upgrade as well. Question is, have they done that to yours as well as the reset?

Tonka, Just read the thread originated by your earlier post, in full. I'm a bit surprised that I had missed most of it. I have no faith in Lincoln, and I used to work for them as a part-time driver. Their inept sales dept shafted me in relation to the 220 I bought in Dec. '07. I won't go there now for so much as a light bulb. I have been using Hull instead, even tho' it's the thick end of 40 miles away, & Lincoln is less than a mile. Interestingly the local Mercedes dealer, (where I was also a driver), which is also part of the Lister's group take a whole different attitude to customers. Not only that, there are a few of the Merc staff who view the Lexus crew with contempt, and not just because of brand rivalry.

I will be in the same situation towards the end of March. I'm thinking about getting a quote from Warranty Direct which could well be cheaper. Question is, does the £680 Lexus warranty cover everything that the original 3 year one covers? Warranty Direct and others like them will probably be cheaper, but could exclude some of the things that Lexus cover. Maybe it's worth getting other quotes and haggling with Lexus over the cost. After all, in this economic paradise that Gordon Blown, (no, that's no a typo), has created for us everything is worth bargaining over .

I have had my car in to Lexus Hull a few times recently for service & warranty issues and must say that I am well pleased with them. They have to a great degree restored my faith in the much vaunted Lexus Customer service. After it had been in the last time the service manager rang me with full details and discussion about what had been done and even received a "follow-up" courtesy text message asking if everything was o.k. and asking me to give them a call if I had any further problems. Can't fault that. Far better service and care than I had received elsewhere.