is200 Newbie

The grill I have bought has the hatched mesh but its angled down slightly so the fan, I don't think, will be all that noticeable but when done I will post some pics

.... thought the black leather bound thing kept in the glove box was a chock for the wheels when changing pads? ...

I think everyones opinion will be different on this one. I myself don't like the chrome insert - I prefer the spoiler but would also think it would look better with a black grill. I don't like the way the stock grill (vertical lines) does not match the grill underneath which is a hatch design. I am in the process of changing mine also. the picture below is from someone who modded their grill (from a 2012 post on this forum) and I think it looks really good on the car - I have copied his instructions and am just waiting for some dry weather to complete the job. Like I say, everyones thoughts on it will be different.

I cant believe that Lexus planned to re-use the existing coolant!!?

Thanks guys

Everyone may know this ... I have always used the touch screen to change the CDs over but I noticed last week that it can be done by holding down the track skip buttons on the steering wheel. I have only had the car nearly two years !

Does anyone know if the IS 250 (2007 model) boot lid badges are stuck on with adhesive or are they held on with tabs through holes in the boot lid?.

I have filled up today at local Shell garage in Rhyl for £1.31 / litre. Leaving for Scotland in the morning. Can anyone shed some light on this. Since I have replaced the two fuel/air sensors the tank range when filling it up has constantly crept up. I did run the tank quite low also just curious what I could get from it. Does the tank gauge have a float level in it or is it all electronic these days. I used to constantly get a range of approx 360 on a fill up but now its going up after each fill. Today's range read 412. So am wondering if it does have a float then maybe it was sticking in the past? Or is it the ECU deciding the range? By the way Sainsburys forecourt price today was £1.23 ... Are the prices coming down?

Could be a sticking caliper but that would not explain the grinding noise. From your description it sounds like the brake pads are worn? To be honest if it was me I would check the pads for myself. Are your bearings OK?

Have you considered radio interference or a problem with the key? Does it always happen in the same spot? To rule out your key then use the spare one for a while to see if it continues to happen.

Its not the norm. To be honest it takes a lot of effort in the driving style to get what I had from the tank. Frugal driving. I think normal driving with a mix of motorway and town ( more motorway than town) then in the high 400 mile RR ange is achievable. I am doing the Scotland run again this weekend but won't be taking it that easy again.

I can help you with one answer The exhausts on these are not stainless steel - ordinary mild ones. As for the flaking paint or carbon deposit - I doubt it will be carbon and I very much doubt it will be paint (haven't heard of any manufacturer painting inner engines. Have not seen or heard of this before - are you able to take a picture to post here? You could try and poke something at what you think is a crack or oil deposit to see if it comes off? Did you run the car before noticing this or after ?

No experience with the new models however it shoul b be the same as previous versions. For the night mode ... There is a toggle button that will control the brightness of the instrument panel. On mine its on the right hand side under the steering wheel. Turn this fully clockwise and you will see the instrument lights getting brighter. When turning the button will click then it will stop. Having it set here will keep it on day mode which is bright all the time. If you turn the dial anticlockwise from this point it will click out of this setting and you will be controlling the intensity of the instrument panel. It is in this "range" that the auto night feature will kick in. You need to wait for the sensor to recognise its going dark for it to kick in. Folding mirrors .. I don't know if this is an option with the new models. If you don't have it then there's an easy mod you can do that automatically closes them. I do think that the new models are auto closing however but may be wrong?

I think - but not too sure - if you are converting to HIDS then you need an auto levelling system and also headlight washers to pass the MOT - not 100% sure so just check before shelling out on the lights

Hi Guys Can you let us know if this has had any difference Cheers

Rip off Britain. Maybe a good idea to start a topic on best fuel prices and where?

I had this with mine but it could be a number of things I resolved a squeel with mine a while ago. I knew it was coming from the rears so I took the wheels off and spun each one. I found that a small metal brake pad locating tab on the caliper itself was not seated properly and was rubbing on the disc and creating the squeel. Squeeling was only noticeable at low speeds. I took the pads out and resat the metal guide. All OK now

A chewed up engine aint good !

When I am changing the oil I will buy a can of Wynns engine flush (find it in Halfords for around £6 I think) That's the one I have always used with no issue - no reason really in buying that brand other than that's what's been available when I first started using the flush (a good 5 years ago now in the cars I have had) and I have stuck to it. Before you change the oil empty the can into the oil and run the engine at around 2000 revs (will tell you on the can) for around 20 minutes. When done, drop the oil, then the filter, I always put a small amount of the new stuff through first and wait for it to fully drain, then fill up with the good stuff. I have changed the oil every 6 months. I experienced the rattle quite a few times before I started the regular oil changes and if I remember correctly the last time I experienced a rattle was last year before this current oil and at that time it was getting noticeably less and less. I tried to see if there was a pattern to it but there wasn't one ... it rattled when the engine was hot and cold. If you change the oil yourself then you know whats going into the engine and you know it has actually been changed. I went through an issue quite similar to this with a Vauxhall, 3 month old Astra that was using quite a bit of oil, I spent a good 8 months trying to get them to have a look at it - finally got it in on an oil consumption test and they said it was fine, could not find anything wrong with it even though there was. The hassle I had over this was not worth it but I guess the manufacturers / dealers bank on people giving up a bit but really if there's something you can do to save the hassle then go for it. Karma came when I part ex'd it back to the Vauxhall dealer I bought it from and bought my first Lexus!

Bite the bullet... A regular engine flush and oil change cured the rattle I had with mine. 6 monthly oil changes. Filter / oil / flush, £50 is a small price to pay for peace of mind. Also the knowledge the oil has been changed properly. Yes, its a bit of frustration when its a known issue but it will certainly be less hassle to sort this yourself than wait for months and months for answers..

Cant put it any better than what John has put down above I would use the money towards the new car

3567miles has been covered to this point today since the oil has been changed. Car is now on 80556 miles. I had a good run last week up to Scotland - I used both the full auto and the manual paddle shift option on both the trip up and the trip down. In and out of traffic on the way up and in the rain, it was a horrible drive up, stop start in the traffic, dodging pheasants on the road in the highlands !. I decided to leave at night on the return trip to avoid the traffic and the pheasants.! Got back today and took a reading of the oil. Found it had dropped again by another third. I am not worried by this as it corresponds with a weeks use I done a while ago using the car in the manual mode. I do my oil changes every 6 months so its becoming due. At this point I have topped it up so wont carry on with this topic as it wont be accurate. The colour of the oil was the same as last week having got rid of the dark tint from when it sat unused for a week. Here's what I found during the use of this oil: 1 / I used Castrol Edge at the initial oil change. Changed the oil and the filter and included an engine flush before the new oil was applied. 2 / The car will have done approx. 4000 miles by the time the 6 month is up and I change the oil again. 3 / I have not noticed any running issues - I had a sensor go, not related to the oil, and as a result I replaced both banks 4 / I had experienced a few "shivers" prior to the oil change which apparently indicates its got carbon build-up issues - since the oil change I have not had this issue re-appear although I have used the 97 ron fuel more and more. 5 / The colour of the oil has not turned black as such, over the period of monitoring the oil it has changed shades due to use as you would expect. 6 / I have found that driving the car in the manual mode (using the paddles) that it will use oil but due to the mileage I have covered on the two instances that it has noticeably used the oil then its not in excess. This is actually a good note to check the oil if driving it for any good distances in manual mode (I will certainly check it in the future) It is within the limits set out by the manufacturer. I will change the oil in the next month or so and this time put Magnatec in and monitor any differences against this post. 3 pictures below - The fist one is the level of the oil taken today. The second one was the picture of the oil when I found it initially dropped The last picture was of the initial oil change These show the differences in colours between the oil when it was first changed to the oil at todays reading.

Had a trip up to Scotland this week ... came back over night last night as I didn't fancy the drive in a lot of traffic. Left at midnight last night and got back just before 7 in the morning. I filled up with Shell V power before the drive back ---- £1.45 per litre ... wasn't happy with that. Only pay £1.33 at home!!. Anyway I stayed where I could on the motorways and only slowed down to a crawl really at the roundabouts. Used the manual gears through the winding A and B roads and stuck to using the cruise control where I could, which was set to 70 on the motorways. I managed to keep to 70 for a majority of the way. I travelled 443 miles with a range left of 143 in the tank - a combined "range" possible of 586 miles. With the right conditions I think 600 miles at an absolute maximum would be possible but you would need to drive this distance from a filling station to a filling station I think (it would I think depend on how much is in "reserve" when the range is at 0) Not going to try it but it is showing that they can be very economical if driven right....probably the last time I am going to do this as I now know its possible. I took the picture below this morning. I had a look at the oil level as well and found that it had dropped again - picture is on the other thread but this does correspond to the drop I saw after a week in using the flappy paddles instead of the full auto. This car seems to use oil, albeit a small amount (third of a litre) every time I use the manual option for any length of time. I do an oil change every 6 months so its becoming due so will top it up now.

A bit of a long shot but I thought I would ask the question I cant see anyone coming from a Corsa to a Lexus but here goes ... Does anyone know if a set of front seats from a late model Vauxhall Corsa C will fit a 2008 Vauxhall Tigra TwinTop? like I said .. a bit of a long shot question

Very nice - they fill the arches well Would it have looked that much different if it wasn't lowered. Have you used spacers to bring the wheels out a bit? Noticed you have silver door handles and front trim modded - are they standard?