LennyLexus

Here are my MOT results post resolution of P0171 and P0174 (system too lean errors), Carbon Clean in December and almost exlcusive fills with BP and Archooil AR6900P.

All, I don't know where the myths of o2 sensor replacement intervals come from for IS250's or Lexi in general. There is no mention off routine replacement in the service schedule or user manual. Lexus Birmingham also have confirmed only to replace if faulty. My P0171 and P0174 errors nearly had me replace all four of my sensors 100k/12 years old, this would have been £800 for parts from Lexus, £400ish Denso parts from RockAuto and German suppliers. Most mechanics don't want the hassle challenge of fixing these lean errors, one of my mechanic mates called it the "blue screen of death" for Lexus/Toyotas. I found a great mechanic that professionally tested all my O2 readings FOC and confirmed it was not causing me any issues, the problem lay else where. He then offered to find the problem for a maximum cost of £60!!! Lexus was starting at £200. And indeed he did find the problem (a loose breather pipe). Lesson is... get your sensors tested properly before replacing them willy nilly. I used Tiburon Auto based in Birmingham, they are high regarded in the Korean car club community and also used by one Birminghams top supercar hire centres. Len

My system lean errors have been fixed, nothing to do with O2 sensors, this is common and expensive misdiagnosis.

Finally FIXED. I had the O2 sensors fully tested by an expert, all were fine. The problem turned out the be a loose breather pipe!

Great Post Linas. Until a few months ago, I hadn't appreciated how much of a beast the 350's are, in reality for most people they are only slighty off from a full F. IS350 most US sites had tested 0-60's at sub 5 secs, I think the offical stats are much higher. So the full is unlikely to have sold as well. Currently a fresh import for a 2006-7 IS350 is around £9k, probably not helped by the exchanged rates.

The centre pipe split had been causing me problems for the last year (yes an OEM repair is £3-4k and no even with a lifetime cover). I was flux repaired a few times (£50 in total). I explored whole quiet "OEM" sounding SS replacements - quotes were between £650-£1500. However Longlife Birmingham reckoned the rest of system was unless I wanted a full system a partial replacement would suffice, the owner is also a petrolhead, extremley knowledge and highly recommended on the Korean car clubs. The corrodded sections have been cut out and replaced for £150 with a lifetime warranty. Here are some pictures prior to the repair.

Having come from a IS200 Compressor with a Koni Sports Kit and TRD ARBs, I expected the handling to be slightly off, infact it felt quite dangerous!! I looked into wheel alignment, ARB's, Shock/Spring upgrades, ARB upgrades, Bushes etc. I had a local racing driver and custom car builder throughly splashing the cash, he found the weak leak.The indepedent dealer had fitted a pair of Landsails to the rear of mine 245/45/17, these are awful awful awful, £50 a corner. After through research on tyrereviews.net (checked the most miles covered, ratings then UK prices), I decided on the Goodyear Eagle A3's through Asda, Uniroyals are few quid cheaper is money is an issue. The landsails were almost like new after 12l, the HANDLING off the standard 250 has been amazing since moving to the Eagles. Please for the love of your family, do not buy a cheap tyre. I just hope the garage I had my Eagles fitted didn't sell my tyres onto anyone else.

Hi Andrew, welcome to LOC. Lurking for 10 years? Congratulations on your f-sport. Had one as a courtesy car for the few days, amazing! But I will most likely get the RX next. Seems like you are already busy..

I used a parking sensor specialist for my IS200, he used to fronts and rears for £280 (around four years ago). Looks like he has fully retired now. http://www.roadradio.com/parking-sensors/ This place does the full shabang for £360 including a full colour match. That's what I would expect to pay £400 tops, there are loads of parking sensor specialists around..

I'm guessing it's after the cat on the drivers side. Someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly to confirm. Have you had exhaust issues? If you are replacing o2 it's best advised to replace in pairs (I.e both downstream sensors in this case).

I do hope they are genuine! I've ordered 234-4521 from RockAuto for around £100 before UK VAT and import duty. The other sensors I'll be looking to get from buycarparts based in Germany, same price as rock but no VAT and import duty ~£165. Did you get a Denso maf too? If so, where from and how much was it? I'd be surprised if my lean codes from bad fuel, as I'm mostly use BP/Shell 95Ron topped up with Archoil AR6900P. My codes pop up while stationary and the car is at operating temperature.. I'm suffering from a 10-20% drop in mpg and a very smokey exhaust, however engine is still silky smooth with no loss of power (that I can feel).. My daily commute it is pretty all stop start traffic.

Hi James, Did you get the sensors from RockAuto? Have you also tried cleaning your maf sensor? Did you have any faults prior to the P0171 and P0174 codes?

That's way I avoided the drilled option. Will most likely be getting just grooved and coated for the rears as lot of the 'drum' kit of the disc is on slow and I would rather it wasn't rusty.

Going off topic. I am Disgusted by this. I understood the main dealers kept the mint cars for themselves and they are the next best thing to buying brand new.. Hence the 20-40% premium over independent dealers.

Not sure what you went with in the end. I did hours of research on this on tyrereviews.co.uk, for value to performance it was between the uniroyal rainstorm and Goodyear eagles. Went for the eagles as they were only bit more and had covered more mileage on the site. The 250 feels like it has been through major handling upgrade program (it previously handled like a spoon in a bowl of soup with Budgets the previous owner put on it). To echo the numerous other responses here Eagles are amazing, I would never go back to mid range like I used to. The cheapest to buy them for me was Asda.

Which ones did you order. Any issues fitting/performance?

Did you get much further with this? What did you order for the rears. I had my fronts done using the Frentech slider pin kit. Paid just short of £30. Mechanic said pins are basic metal, copies should be fine. The whole front brake overhaul (including brembo OE spec pads, MTEC grooved, dimpled and coated discs) is performing amazingly so far (only a few hundred miles).

Congratulations on your Lexus. I am really surprised that a car with budget tyres let alone incorrect sizing would pass Lexus's approved status and be sold via a main dealer. I was under the impression an approved car would have OEM quality fittings with plenty of life (e.g. correct sizes and Bridgestones), that certainly was my experience with a main dealer purchase. That was 14 years ago, others with recent experience might be able to confirm. What brand are the current tyres?

Damm.. it was a while ago it got it checked out (might have been damaged). Is it worth getting a second opinion around £40-50.

That's a great price for the OEM pads. I've fitted brembo OE replacement pads for the fronts, sitting on MTEC grooved and dimpled rotors with calipers with new Frentech slide pins.. I was nearly thrown out my seat just touching the brake pedal. The previous owner had put on awful Blueprint ADT parts (front and rears can be had for less than £25), performance was weak and may have even contributed to finishing my disc's.

It's corroded! Thanks for the suggestion, do have personal experience with Valeo condensers and if so on what cars?

Thanks MAAH. Any links to pack of o rings? I'm not in any rush to get this done, so would rather save 50 to 70 quid and wait for it to arrive from the US.

Hello All, Turns out I brought an IS250 SE-L with a duff A/C! It seemed to have worked ok during 2016, however it plain old let me down this summer. I got it re-gassed, only for all the new gas escape within a week. AC technician said it looked like it had never been re-gassed in 10/11 years, they then did an investigation to find the root cause. Only issue is they do not install or supply parts anymore. I need the following: Condenser 2 x O rings for the compressor 2 x O rings for the condenser Does anyone else here have any experience with replacing this? My main query relates around what brand of condenser to buy? Import a Denso (which I am guessing is OE) 477-0636 (original 8846053030 from the US (rockauto) for £70 (probably £90ish including customs here), or should pick a pattern part from the UK? https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/oen/8846053030 Any ideas on part number for the O rings, just buy two of each? 90099-14119 90099-14120 90099-14121 I've been quoted £150 for labour and a new re-gas? Thanks in advance, Len

Hi All, I have recently had the Fuel Pressure Gasket recall carried out to IS250 along with an interim service. However while stuck in traffic the EM lights go off along with the following error codes P0171 and P0174. I have the car booked in to be looked at next Thursday, is this likely to as a result of the recall work carried out? Anyone else experience this? FYI – I also had an exhaust pipe leak after the cat/o2 sensor on the driver side, could this be causing the issue, there were previously no EM lights/codes prior to the service/recall work. Thanks in advance, L

LHD? No thanks. Can't believe it's gone up 10k a year.. I agree it looks amazing. Good luck!