is200 Newbie

Pads are very easy to replace yourself. Be wary though as its a cheap fix for the pads so why doesn't the seller do them before selling it. Gotta question the callipers may be seized. Maybe my suspicious nature and may be a bargaining point. All 4 calipers to replace if you can't free up will be in excess of £1000 if OEM products bought. Look through the forum for all the common faults with the car and use this as your check list

I have found I need to replace the fob battery as its not always letting me wirelesely open the door. I think I have seen somewhere that there is a small slot in the fob where you can insert the metal key and twist to open the covers up - is this right. I don't want to apply too much force in doing this if its not the right way. Also, I do most miles around town but on occasion use the motorway. I have used additives on occasion (BG44) which I do think helps but when is the best time to add this? Should it be applied before a long run so in effect it runs through the system virtually in one go or should it be added where I know the fuel in the tank will last a couple of weeks or so (short runs)? Water pumps - is there an issue with these. I am just wondering if I should be expecting mine to go as the car is just over 81k miles - no issues as of yet and no indication it has been replaced in the past.

... it also potentially gives you a heart condition when the light comes on until you realise its just the water bottle low. Has happened with me a few times and you initially get the sinking feeling until you realise theres no real issue.

Good result Why do garages do this ... same shoddy work happened to my wifes after a car accident. They put a different headlight in and after doing a bit of research on the web, the light they put in was around 80 £ whereas the correct one was over 200 £ .... do they not think people will notice? Make sure they do a good job

Sounds like a frog in pain .... Its not what you would expect from Lexus.

It does depend on how indepth you want to go - The one below I bought from ebay a few months ago to find out what an error code was. Easy to use and connected to my Nexus tablet no problem after downloading an app for it - I thought it was handy as I could leave it plugged in and it logged data. It found the cause of the error straight away. TORQUE ELM 327 BLUETOOTH BT OBD2 OBDII CAR DIAGNOSTIC SCANNER CODE READER Search for the above and you will find it on ebay for £10 (£9.95)

Looks nice ... I noticed he mentioned how good the brakes are ... Got me wondering how long they would last before seizing?

More than likely the garage did not clean the discs before fitting or had a bit of oil on them that was not cleaned after fitting. The discs come with a light oil film on them that stops them from rusting while on the shelf after manufacture its that that's probably not been cleaned off properly. Its not long lasting - with a few uses of the brakes it will clean off.

So I have recently changed the engine oil (couple of weeks ago) The last oil I used was Castrol Edge - this time I used Magnatec, I kept track of all the levels using the Edge oil and also the colour changes in the oil etc (shown in this post) ... So I have compared the closest mileage I have done from the change up to today - I have travelled 1702 miles since the recent oil change. The closest comparison to the last change was when I took the readings at 1772. Comparing the reading today to the old one, the Magnatec is cleaner and the level has not dropped like it did with Edge. 1/ There are a few possibilities that the oil is cleaner ... the magnatec is not creating engine wear as it does not seem to be "collecting" the dirty particles the engine creates 2/ It could not be doing its job?! 3/ The engine flush is starting to work better (3rd time done on the car) I done these miles which were mostly motorway miles and drove a mix in manual and auto. Not a lot of "start/stop" has been done up to now on this oil so I think that will have a big effect.

Car needs a clean but I have swapped over the small logo for a bigger one - I think it looks good now - matches the car better. I have a splitter to put on - next job.

Was it a Lexus dealer? Does sound like "iffy" oil ... Wrong grade

Yes - its just a warning that the option is on - you can actually turn the option off via a switch on the inner dash visible when the passenger door is open.

I have lived with a stainless steel exhaust now (cat back) for just over a year. I had hoped it would have become quieter during use over time from the first install. It has but not to the point I was expecting. The only reason for replacing the original one was that it failed and the stainless one was over £2300 cheaper than replacing with an OEM one. I know the stainless exhausts are a bit noisier than original ones just by the material that's used on them. With it being a cat back, it consists of the two back boxes and a centre box - pipe connects to the original exhaust just before the two cats. I would like the quietness back that the original one gave ... I can live with the noise up to a point. There is a "drone" (best way of describing the noise) at 2000 revs, in cruise at 70 mph (between 65 and 75 to be exact) This doesn't really bother me as when I am in the car I can turn the music up to the point where it cancels out the drone but with others in the car and the music low its quite annoying. I am considering what to do - to replace the exhaust or just the centre box or back boxes but I am unsure of where the noise originates from (centre box or back boxes?) if replacing one or the other halves the noise then that will do but I am just not sure what part the noise comes from? Is the centre box also called the resonator? Any help?

Anyone know if these are repairable - is it the sensors or the motors that go? Don't want to take them to bits to clean and find nothing wrong

Nice looking car - I think the black ones clean up well and the silver wheels set it off.

... I know ... I have never heard of one either

Using your memory functions - (the ones you set for your driving positions etc) you can make it harder for someone to steal your car. If you adjust the seat all the way up to the steering wheel and the steering wheel all the way down and towards the seat, and mirrors all the way down then save this position within one of the memory functions. When leaving the car, all you do is press the memory button you saved these settings into and it will adjust the seat and wheel to a point where its almost impossible for anyone to get into the seat as you will need a key in order to reset the positions in order to get into the driving seat. Obviously it does not work if someone has your key but its a good easy tip to help save your car from being nicked. I have not heard of anyone of these being stolen in my time owning one....

Sticking Wing Mirrors. It was my intention of cleaning the innards of the wing mirror assemblies as I have found they have been sticking - they don't tilt downwards all of the time when reversing. I have read a few forums from various sites and there seems to be a known problem with the sensors in the mirrors and some issues with the plastic gearing on the small motors that drive the mirrors as they wear out. I have found a way of getting round the problem - on mine I need to tilt the mirrors up and down to the max positions then put then back to their normal position and then they work fine when reversing for a few weeks. I do this with the manual controls on the door. To get round sitting in the car and doing this every time I have done the following .... with the seats and wheel in their correct position you are used to when driving, use a spare memory function. I use number 2 - adjust the mirrors to the lowest tilt they will go and save the setting under the number 2 memory. The next time you have the issue, then all you need to do is press the number 2 button (mirrors will tilt down) and then press the button you have set with the usual driving positions and they will adjust to the correct position and operate as normal. I have got into the habit of every now and them pressing the number 2 memory button before I turn the car off. When I re-start it again the system on mine defaults to the number 1 setting so it sets itself. Sounds a bit of hassle but after doing it for a few months you don't notice you are doing it.

Off topic a bit for this post for the MOT ... Are the spotlight levels (like the headlights are) checked for correct alignment?

Take it back to the garage before the warranty runs out

... that looks like a good result but does it show up the supermarket dents in the doors more? What sort of weather did you do this in?

Calipers that don't seize ... but I guess time will tell Automatic dimming glass all round (for when the suns out)

Sounds like this is a similar spec to the older 250 SE-L model ?

Fitted new grill to car today (how to has been added to the Lexus Guides) Picture of the new grill on the car below - I need to replace the badge with a bigger one I think as the one on is a bit too small. I must say that this is probably the first time the grill has been removed from the car and I was amazed at the amount of crud collected around the surround / bumper - nearly 8 years worth - anyway its cleaned now. Picture below

As Ishaq above OIL - The car likes fresh oil - I have always replaced the oil when I have bought a new car as I have not trusted anyone saying they have spend a lot of money on doing things like this before selling a car. Doing it yourself is an easy job and it will be handy to know how to do it as it saves a lot of money from taking it to the dealer unless you are that way inclined. In doing it yourself you know what's gone into the engine. I change the oil every 6 months as I don't do a lot of miles - there is a definite difference and benefit when running on new oil - the car feels different and also noticeably sounds quieter. I have just changed the oil last weekend and I can only hear the injectors. Rattles disappear (I have found it starts to get noisy when an oil change is due, on mine anyway) BRAKES - like the is200 there are issues with the calipers seizing - when you get the car go around each corner and get the slide pins greased - again, trusting someone that has said they have done it before you buy the car is a bit reckless as if they haven't done and they seize beyond freeing up then it will be around £100 to 200 per caliper if you done the work yourself or a £600 dealer cost to replace them. Its wise to get to know how to grease the pins as its not covered in any service interval - seems like Lexus would rather replace the caliper unit rather than greasing the pins?! Another easy job that takes around 20 minutes each corner. These need checking every year (every 6 months to 1 year) and will save you £'s DASH LIGHTS - do come on at start up but will go off after the car passes its self check. If they do come on any other time, then you need to investigate why. An ODBII reader is a handy piece of kit just to narrow down any issues. My lights came on a few months ago, intermittently at first for a week or so but after that they came on solid. Found out it was a sensor that had packed up. Early warnings on these issues are vital as quite a few parts are only available from the dealer in the UK but can be soursed from USA dealers / companies at a much reduced cost - hence the early warning as delivery times for parts needed will vary between 1 week to 2 weeks. Theres that many things that it can be that its a good idea to get a reader - around £ 10 on ebay. I find the lights ok - but theres a few threads on here that explain the differences on the lights for different models - some with HIDS / some with normal lights - I think it depends on what year the car is ... 2006 I think were normal lights but I may be wrong on that one ... look through the threads for more info. Easiest indication to check if you have HIDS is that if you have headlight washers. You will get used to the car - more refined than the 200 so it does get a bit of getting used to.