Robertb

It may be my imagination, but there is a hill on the M40 where the car usually shifted down to 5th with the cruise set to maintain speed. Since I've started using the v-power it doesn't shift down. No noticeable change in fuel econ, but the car feels a bit more eager. The main thing with the 'super' fuels is the extra engine cleaning additives etc so I reckon it could be many fills on a car that had been run on boggo supermarket fuels before one begins to feel the benefits.

I removed it, but it wasn't it that was rattling. In the end I fixed it by wedging a short length of rope between the screen and the dash- worked a treat!

That's perfect Matt- thank you.

That's the one- there is a speaker in there though

I had the dash rattle fixed the other day by Lex Reading, and its fine, but the centre speaker panel is now rattling v slightly. It stops when I gently put my finger on top, so it might just need refitting, or some lube around it. Its a shame as the car is now otherwise completely rattle free! Can anyone tell me how to remove the centre speaker panel it so I can have a bash at it? Thanks, Robert.

I was told not. Also when I later called RAC they would not suspend it until my other cover had expired.....had only renewed other cover 2 months prior. That's my problem. Only renewed my AA last month! At least I'd be able to have both the AA and RAC working on the car if it did brake down. That'd be cool, you could trigger a race and place bets on who gets there first to pass the time...

Normal, although to be fair the one I had in a 57 loan car sounded like a bag of nails, the one in my Oct 05 car just whirrs gently.

I noticed (having read the car's manual properly for the first time at the weekend! Yes, ran out of things to do in the snow...) that the 250 autos have a Hill Hold Assist function; if the car rolls back, the car will hold itself automatically on the brakes, and release the brakes when you accelerate away. Alternatively, just hold the brake with your left foot, accelerate gently, and release the brake when the drive takes up. I've never used the handbrake in an auto, except for the occasional use to make sure it doesn't sieze up.

Just a quick sunday afternoon walk down memory lane for anyone who's interested... My father ordered one of the first LS400s in 1990- H737 VWP if its still about. Grey with grey hide. At the time it seemed to have come from a different planet to the Rover 827 Sterling that he had before; paint like glass, everything seemed to have been designed to feel just as it should, and stunning build quality. As a 17yr old, the thing that impressed me most was the stereo, as well as the electroluminescent dash. And the engine was something else altogether- it literally felt like it was not running as you pulled away from idle. It felt very fast, and I remember Dad saying that it was surprisingly economical. But it was the astonishing hush at motorway cruise and around town that always impressed, as well as the muted rumble of the V8 when you held it in gear. It always attracted a lot of friendly and curious attention. The Lexus dealer (which was in a corner of the Worcester Toyota dealer at the time) was very good, and Mum was most impressed when one day the driver's seat broke (the seat back would not come back up and twisted) and she rang them at 5.00 on Friday evening in a panic as she had to be somewhere for the weekend- they said to bring it straight in and 3 technicians fixed it there and then, late on friday evening... it did have a few other issues (creaky front suspension) which were always sorted painlessly. A Toyota loan car was always provided, including one time a Hilux pick-up truck! I did drive it quite alot which always felt good, and one fateful day, I was driving it back oddly enough from the GS launch evening with my folks, when a Ford Sierra lost it on a bend and ran head-on into us- luckily no-one hurt- but the poor car was in a state- we were in mourning! It was all repaired, but Dad sold it soon after and bought a Jag 4.0 sovereign- a very charming car, but seemed to have come from a different age... I wish I could find all the literature etc that I had at the time- Lexus sent out magazine tests and a video, I think from Top Gear. And the brochure was a work of art. Anyway, many years on I have my own Lexus, an IS250 SE-L and there are a number of similarities in the design detail and style... it seemed a happy circle when Dad drove us back from the Pub last summer in it, 18 yrs later!

Has to be said the tesco finest warranty looks good, but then add £100 for the RAC cover and the differential closes, still a £150ish saving though. It would be good to have an expert opinion on comparison of the scope of cover, also to have a conversation with the Lexus dealer to see how in practice it would work dealing with them. When I asked for my auto-dim rear view mirror to be replaced, I said it "felt creaky and rattled a bit". They also replaced the indicator/full beam stalk because I said it did not feel as well-damped as it should. Both were replaced by the top chaps at Lexus Reading with out question, or charge, and I reckon that was well over £550 worth of work, and that is why I went to Lexus because they seem to genuinely care (Lexus Reading at least) that the car meets my lofty expectations and they've certainly made a loyal customer out of me. I wonder if Tesco would be quite as tolerant of the 'pursuit of perfection' as Lexus themselves, or their approved warranty co.

I think also there is the fact that if you have an official Lexus wty, the service between the dealer and the official wty co will be seamless, rather than to-ing and fro-ing between a 3rd party warranty co that doesn't want to pick up the tab... I had a cracking BMW 330Ci which I ran from new and 90k miles- it only needed a new abs sensor in the first three years so I didn't renew the wty. It then needed a drivers door lock mechanism (£150 fitted) from a specialist in the 5th year so definitely quids in there... not sure with the lexus though as they aren't cars specialists seem to want to work on. And then there was our '03 Audi A8, which needed a new engine. AARGH- warranty expired ages before, but for some reason Audi picked up the tab without question.

Just had some wty work done on mine, including a new rear auto-dimming rear view mirror. Saw the invoice- £485 for the part! So it wouldn't take long to rack up a £680 bill... I think I'll go for it, esp as it effectively includes £120 worth of joint RAC cover.

Looks the same at Coventry too- all worked on in the same shop

I think the beep is when the VSC activates i.e. stability control, whereas there is no beep when the TRC traction control works.

I have a 57 reg IS250 SE as a loan car. It sounds different to my 55 reg 250 SE-L- the newer car sounds more 'growly' and has less of a 'whine' overlaying the engine note under acceleration. Has anything meaningful changed in the engine at all?

Welcome! Cold weather performance of IS is not a strong point... I've only been to Lexus Reading for work, who are excellent, but I dont know any Kent dealers. Have a look on the dealer guide on this forum, see if anyone's commented. Did you buy it privately?

Sorry- don't know why its duplicated my post- can Mods delete it? Oddly enough, I have a 250SE this week as a loan car whilst my SE-L is in for some pre-warranty expiry bits. Whilst the SE is very well specced, it isn't quite as silly as my fully specced SE-L! I now realise I couldn't do without... -Rain sensing wipers -park distance control -bluetooth And I quite miss... - the heated screen round the edge bit as the wipers kept freezing yesterday - adaptive cruise - autodimming mirrors - Reversing camera (great for reversing out of the drive whilst the car is defrosting, wish they fitted one to the front!) And surprisingly I didn't miss... - adaptive Xenons - Big stereo- but then the standard one is excellent - satnav, but then I knew where I was going - voice control - sunroof, in fact there was less wind noise without And surprisingly I missed... - the LED Lexus logo - the wood trim

Oddly enough, I have a 250SE this week as a loan car whilst my SE-L is in for some pre-warranty expiry bits. Whilst the SE is very well specced, it isn't quite as silly as my fully specced SEL! I now realise I couldn't do without... -Rain sensing wipers -park distance control -bluetooth And I quite miss... - the heated screen round the edge bit as the wipers kept freezing yesterday - adaptive cruise - autodimming mirrors - Reversing camera (great for reversing out of the drive whilst the car is defrosting, wish they fitted one to the front!) And surprisingly I didn't miss... - adaptive Xenons - Big stereo- but then the standard one is excellent - satnav, but then I knew where I was going - voice control - sunroof, in fact there was less wind noise without And surprisingly I missed... - the LED Lexus logo - the wood trim

...but you still have an ISF! I bet I've lost a sight more on my 996C4S and the IS250... All assets, with the exception of Gilts have fallen in value, the question is how much fun you have at the time!

The current BMW range, with the possible exception of the 3 series coupe is unappealing looking, and the interiors feel to me a bit cheap. But they are the best drives in class. That said, where they excel is on the twisty roads, so you need to decide how much time to spend on the roads vs the m-way. The run-flat tyres can give a very ropey ride. Keyless go is good, and I'd certainly miss it. Parking sensors I'd miss, and heated seats on those chilly mornings, and bluetooth is essential if you need to be contactable on the move. I think as long as I had sensors, I'd not miss the camera. I think an A5 2.0d would be great; good looking, and beautifully built. Or how about a TT diesel, if you really don't need to put folk in the back- you'll still get your golf bats in. Have you considered a C class Merc? Or how about a Passat CC... better value than any of the big brands, good looking and well specced.

A couple now advertised for under £40k, one with less than 1000 miles... a cracking buy at this rate.

V Nice- good to see a mesa red one.

I recall a 3 yr/60k mile service and maintenance plan for an Audi A8 specced from new- £500... now that was a bargain!

I think Tango had one fitted to his car. I'd like a bit more rumble to the exhaust, but nothing too much as I do a lot of m-way miles. There are plenty of aftermarket systems in Japan and US, some available through main dealers. Not in the UK sadly. These systems always sound good under acceleration etc, but you need to be sure that they won't annoy you when cruising at 75-85, as often they resonate at that sort of cruising RPM. You could talk to Milltek or Quicksilver, and maybe they could custom-build some backboxes for you- that way you could spec how it would sound. Depends on budget of course...

Oddly enough, my car did the same thing on the same day... must be the time of the month! No problems before or since, just one of those things. I'm not going to worry about it unless it becomes a persistent problem. That said, it might have just decided me on whether or not I renew the warranty!