Thorium

Oddly, my car seems to have cured itself and the door has now started working properly again. No idea why, but presumably something in the door mechanism is sticking occasionally. Not sure whether to mention it to the dealer when it goes for the next service (shortly) as I can't demonstrate the problem and they're bound to charge for taking a look at the door as it's 'working properly' at the moment. More 'legendary build quality'....

I wish my alloys had lasted 60K. I've had my car just over 2 years now and I'm on the third set of alloys (and now outside the warranty period). If you bought the car from a dealer you may be lucky and they might replace them as a goodwill gesture, but in my experience, if they have any signs of kerbing then it's your problem not theirs, irrespective of whether the blistering is in the same location as the kerbing. I was quoted around £330 per wheel to buy new ones, but that came with no guarantee that they'd last any longer than the previous ones.

Hi, My IS 250 has recently started doing a similar thing. Unfortunately I have found the problem to be the central locking is not unlocking the rear offside door, so it looks like it has to go to the dealer (again). Matt

Hi All, Warranty on alloys is for the first three years only, and extended warranty doesn't cover alloys. If you are lucky, you might be able to get the dealer to change any blistering alloys under the 12 months parts warranty. Obviously this will depend on when you last had the wheels replaced and assuming there is no evidence of kerbing. In my experience, even the slightest kerbing or any other damage will result in a flat refusal to replace the alloy, even if it's blistered to death. I couldn't even negotiate a discount. I'm on my third set now (in 16 months!), all replaced due to significant blistering. However, I'm now outside both the 3 year car and 12 month parts warranty on the wheels, so when the current set blister I have a choice of 3rd party refurb or £330 each for new alloys. When I had the last replacements the dealer informed me that the part number had changed on the wheel and suggested this may be due to a modification of some sort, perhaps the anti-corrosion treatment, but he couldn't be sure. I'd be very interested to know how you get on with Customer Relations. I received a telephone call from Lexus yesterday about my satisfaction with the IS250 and made a point about the dreadful alloys - clearly there is a manufacturing deficiency, and I don't expect a premium car to have such a fault, etc, etc. I'm not expecting to hear anything positive at all in response, but I'll let you know if I do. Matt

Yes, I take your point that Lexus dealers are generally cooperative and will try to sort problems out as best as they can within the warranty period. My point is that my previous car (not a Lexus) needed no replacement parts or warranty work in the five years/110K miles that I had it, just routine servicing and tyres. Now I have a Lexus and have been to the dealer six times in the last year for various repairs and replacements, not counting routine servicing. Not what I expected. I hope your car serves you well and that you are happy with it. I'm just not sure I'd risk buying a new IS in the future based on the one I have now, which is a pity.

I sincerely hope the 'new' engine performs better than the original. However, in my ownership experience (just over a year now), Lexus don't seem to solve the root cause of the problems, they just replace the worn out parts with more of the same which will wear out prematurely. For example, alloy wheels. Yes they replace them under warranty with shiny new ones which will last one winter if you are lucky. Then, if you are still under warranty you might get some new ones. If you are out of warranty it's your problem, yet the root cause is that the wheels are not really fit for purpose. I think the engineers have applied the lean engineering principles a little too vigorously, and parts that are only just good enough when brand new soon become 'not quite good enough' and we all end up with some serious problems. Not what you'd expect from a premium brand. Sorry to appear negative this evening, but I can only comment based on my experience!

Just had three of my alloys replaced outside the 3 year/60K warranty which expired in January. Becuase I had the last set of alloys replaced last July, they were covered under the 12 month 'parts' warranty. They refused to do the fourth wheel, as even though it was as pitted as the others, there was some light kerbing evident. Interestingly, the part number on the standard 10-spoke alloy has recently changed, and the dealer suggested this may have been due to improvements in the anti-corrosion protection. They couldn't confirm this though. I just hope these alloys last longer than 9 months / 10K miles. I still find it incredible that a 'prestige' car maker can't make alloy wheels properly (or screw the cabin together properly!)

I agree with all the points MW70 makes. I've had my IS250 now since March, and the dealership made a huge point of stating I was moving up to a 'prestige' car (previous car was a Volvo V70 T5). Well, I expect a bit more from a 'prestige' car in terms of cabin build quality – it looks good, but the feel of some of the plastics is below what I'd expect from a prestige brand. There are more rattles and creaks than there should be, and that's after the dealership has removed and refitted the dashboard for the well-documented rattles. I'm not too bothered by the road noise. The engine and transmission are very quiet, so the noise from the tyres is more apparent but hardly overbearing. Handling is not bad at all for what it is – this is a heavy car and feels planted on the road. If you want a sports car don't get a '250, its a good cruiser but not really the thing to throw into corners on a B road. That said, there's enough power when you need it and the autobox is sensible most of the time. Flappy paddles work ok, but as with most I've tried over the years, the up-shift is fine but the down-shift tends to happen when the car wants it to, not when you want it to. You'll probably find you leave it in full auto most of the time, possibly in 'pwr' mode (it doesn't use much more fuel in my experience). The only other slight annoyance I've come across is the incredibly soft paint. I'm sure there are some environmentally friendly reasons why its so soft, but is scuffs incredibly easily and you have to keep on top of the marks (at least on dark coloured vehicles). I live down a country lane and dread catching any vegetation whilst driving as even the lightest touch marks the car to the point where I have to spend 10 minutes with the supaguard scuff remover paste. Surely they can make a more resistant paint? I drive about 25k a year and can't fault it in queues on the motorway and for relaxed cruising. It does just eat the miles. The Mark Levinson sound system is very good indeed, to the point where you can make the rear view mirror vibrate to the point its unusable – not that i've tried Economy on a good run is 42 mpg according to the trip computer and I get anything up to 500 miles from a full tank. Tyre wear seems surprisingly good, which is helpful since they aren't cheap to replace! Have a good long test drive before you part with your cash. I don't regret my purchase and I think it might just be what you're looking for given the miles you do. Its not cheap to run so factor that in to the cost of ownership and makes sure you get a warranty. Hope this helps

I had this happen a lot with a Volvo V50 on my gravel drive, but have never experienced it with the IS250 on the same drive. I think you've just been unlucky.

I was in Kwikfit last weekend getting a puncture repaired on my wife's car, and noticed that they offer a very similar chrome sleeve and cap for £1 per wheel. Not sure about the quality, but they certainly looked similar and just slide over the valve body.