Robertb

They're on the web for £41500 with price negotiable. I reckon with no px you could be in an ISF now for under £40k.

The same thing happened to mine with a set of Dunlop SP Sport. I described the sound to the tyre guy (from etyres.co.uk) and he said it was as you described- tread slap I think he called it. He said it was usually poor tyre design rather than car set-up that caused it. Directional tyres, e.g Pirelli Pzero, Goodyear GSD etc are also noisier he said. When he fitted a set of Sportmaxx all round the "rurrurrurrur" noise disappeared.

Lighter metallics easier to maintain. Saying that, my cadoxton one looks great, and hides the dirt (just as well at the moment!) White does appear to be having a renaissance. Perhaps its the new silver...

I have adaptive cruise on my IS250. Anyone else got it fitted on theirs, or tried it? Mine has a curious issue- occasionally it picks up vehicles, especially lorries/vans, in the left lanes that you are overtaking. The result is that the car brakes hard to match the speed of the truck for no apparent reason (which could cause all sorts of probs with a car that is following 2 feet from the my rear bumper!). It doesn't always happen, and happens more frequently on right hand bends, even very gentle ones. Other than that, it generally works brilliantly and is really great in congested 30+mph traffic. What I would like to know is- does anyone else's do this? Is mine faulty, or is it just an operational quirk that inevitably happens if an object is in the radar's line of sight as it would be when passing a wide vehicle on a slight bend? Surely they'd have thought of that? Maybe not... I've had it looked at and adjusted a number of times by the dealer who have suggested they consult Lexus technical help if I'm not happy. I just need to know if mines faulty, or if I'm expecting it to work perfectly when in reality it simply doesn't. Any ideas gratefully received.

Personally, I like the back view- the spoiler is great, and the rear bumper valance breaks it up and makes it lower looking. Not sure on the front flippers though...

I assume this is the HS, not the IS... thank goodness as that hybrid thing is astonishingly ugly. Lexus do need to look at the engines IMO- BMW manage to produce engines that are charismatic, economical and powerful. I can't understand why they don't sell the IS350 in Europe.

If you lock/unlock from the fob, the lights flash. Keyless entry only unlocks the doors when you grab the handle, but the door mirror lights come on as you approach. If you unlock the car, but don't open the door, it locks itself after a about a minute. So methinks your mate must have left the car unlocked after parking up...

Does the nav disc upgrade also upgrade the MM firmware (e.g. ? Or can this be upgraded separately?

Mine (an 05) has developed the dreaded top of the dash rattle over the last few months. Being sorted under warranty as I write. The rear view mirror also feels a bit creaky, and sometimes buzzes as a result. Again, I've asked them to look at that today. Tis true though, the car is a victim of its own success in as much as its so quiet you notice the other noises. I even found my watch strap rattling the other day was getting on my nerves.

I went with Dunlop Sportmaxx on my 17s after I drove a loaner which was much quieter than mine. Massive difference to handling and noise compared to the SP sports on before. Apparently, directional tyres are much noisier.

I think the 'F' accessory range is a US thing. Not sure how much market there would be for it in the UK- buyers not really into main dealer tuning accessories. What exhaust did you fit? I'd love one which gave more of a BMW-style rumble, but I hate the mid range cruising boom that one tends to get with aftermarket pipes. I wonder how much a custom job from Milltek etc would cost. Defo a disappointing thing about my IS250- the engine note under acceleration at anything less than full throttle. Oddly, an IS250 SR I drove sounded much better.

I got the "invite a friend" letter. I note the ISF has been excluded. Pah.

You have a point- mine sounds great under full throttle!- must be one of those things, perhaps the direct injection as I've not had a car with that before. I'll ask the dealer to have a listen at the next service, but I think its probably fine. It doesn't sound bad really, I'd just had a bad day...

Nice review... they're great cars. With such high expectations, its easy to get a few little details out of proportion which are usually easily sorted by the dealer who I've found to be excellent, much better than other marques. Good luck in HK.

I need to change the wipers... they've started to make a grating noise again and need new ones. They've not lasted very long- can I get some different ones from Halfords etc, or do I have to go to Lexus? Can I just change over the aerodynamic cover bits? Thanks.

Mine had directional tyres on the front, which made an awful racket. Just fitted some new Dunlop SportMaxxs all round, and much quieter now, certainly no worse than comparable bmw's, audis etc. The tyre guy said that directional tyres are significantly noisier, and old tyres can go 'off'. Newer cars I've driven are no quieter, for what its worth.

Mine's a 55 - it revs on start-up. So did a 600 mile 58 plate SR I borrowed the other day. - no issues in mine (so far) with ignition/panel noise - autolock only on later cars. Frankly its a pain as it doesn't unlock when you switch off and park. - 36 mpg... mine says that on the computer, but if I work it out myself, it comes in at more like 32! - I suspect it drops into 4th when you move into 's' as most of the time, you change into sequential mode when you want to overtake, or punt it along a bit. 4th is a reasonable starting point for this rather than 6th for example.

Thanks- is the injector problem common with the petrol cars? I've heard of the '5th injector' issue with the diesels, is this a similar thing? Other than the noise, the car is working fine- is it likely to suddenly break down, or misfire?

My IS250 has an odd engine note. I'd thought it was just the way that they sounded until I drove a new IS250 SR loaner for a few days which sounded really nice. Mine's an oct 05 car, 35k miles. Most of the time under a light throttle, you can hear a very light fast ticking, and under hard acceleration, it rises in volume to be quite a buzzy resonance (still relatively quiet, but there nonetheless) that really detracts from the engine note, making it sound strained, weedy and uninspiring. It all works fine, and the service guys haven't mentioned it. Is it just 'one of those things' or is there a fix that anyone's aware of? I'd be really grateful for any comments.

Not an expert on diesels, but fuel tanks have breather holes/tubes which vent the air out as you refuel. If this is blocked in any way, then the filler will click off. Alternatively, the garage may have a batch of particularly foamy fuel- try a different station next time, and if if plays up still, get it along for service.

Cheers Tango... v interesting. Does anyone supply the F sport bits in the UK? Odd that dealers don't... Alternatively, I might try experimenting with a spare airbox like you showed. Anyone know if the SRs are modded, or is it just the bodykit?

No idea what colour a hoshi wheel is, but a BMW titan silver touch-up kit I bought from Halfords is a spot-on match for my SEL's 17s. A few coats made a kerb scuff look virtually un-noticeable, and protected it from the winter salt etc.

Borrowed an IS250 SR for a few days- it definitely sounded throatier than my 55 reg 250 SEL auto, which sounds weedy, whiney and uninspiring unless under full throttle. Anyone know of any good induction kits to give it a bit of extra grrrrrrowl? Thanks, Robert.

Nice one! I had an SR when my 250 se-l was in for service. I think the bodykit looks great... so much so I want a spoiler for mine too. I could have sworn the SR sounded more throaty than the 250 as well- is there any difference in the airbox/exhaust?

Same thing happened to my multimedia autochanger. Needed a new changer under warranty.