is200 Newbie

* UPDATE * Since Friday after the dashboards lights went off, the car stood for Saturday and Sunday in the drive. Came to use it Monday to get to work and same again, 9 miles into the drive this time, the lights came on (I was going to our other depot 12 miles away) Again they went off when I got in it to go home. The scanner came today and I have just used it to find the fault code - I must say that this is an excellent piece of kit for £9 and a £2 app ... it connects to the car using my Nexus tablet via Bluetooth. You can also connect via PC and phone but not apple. It reports on a host of engine systems, coolant, temps, revs etc Will have a play later when I have a bit more time. Anyway - I have a reported fault it has brought up (just the one) P0031 - POWERTRAIN HO2S Heater Control Circuit Low (Bank 1, Sensor 1) I believe this is located in the engine bay on the passenger side...I have not had a proper look yet but will this be an easy fix for myself or does it need a vesuit to Lexus? Also, in driving the car with this intermittent fault will it cause any damage - will it just be using more fuel? thanks

Car is now on 78,550 miles - 114 miles done since checking last week and 1561 miles done since the oil change. No change in colour and level this week.

Hi Shepherd I actually thought of that when the lights went out but when I undone the petrol cap it sucked in a lot of air but not ruling anything out.... It does answer the problem well though I will get the scanner on it when it comes to see if it has recorded a fault

No need to sit in the corner Normski The reader socket is under the steering column just above the footwell light protected by a black plastic cover with ODB II printed on it. You will have to lie on your back to find it. While I had my head in the "well" I noticed a round black switch under the accelerator pedal - definitely a switch as it clicks when pressing - just about over an inch in diameter. Anyone know what this is? (car is an auto)

Thanks guys

What's your thoughts on this one... Driving to work today I had the VSC check / engine and traction light lit up. It was a dry warm morning (not rained for 24 hours) Journey to work is 6 miles and this happened at around 3 miles into journey on a downward slope. There was no noticeable difference to the drive other than the lights being on so I carried on to work with approx. 3 miles travelled. I parked up / turned engine off for a minute or so then turned car back on with no issue but the lights were still on. Turned off and went to work. I was low on fuel with around 78 miles range left so at dinnertime I took it round to the local Shell garage (lights still on) and put £50 in. Approx one mile later the lights went off !? There's no noticeable difference to the way it drives at all - no noise / smell etc. This is the first time I have experienced this. I am trying to work this one out - First - The last fill up was at a local Texaco garage, not through any reason other than I needed petrol and the garage was on the way. This is the first time I have used petrol from there. Anyone think that because the car was low on fuel and with using this "one time fill up" that the car did not agree with the fuel - bear in mind the lights came on going downhill and I had also used practically a full tank of this fuel? Secondly - I had experienced brake judder the past couple of weeks through the car seat (not the steering or brake pedal) when braking but coming home from work today after the lights had gone out there was no judder when braking - maybe a placebo affect but I will monitor it over the next week. The rear discs need doing which I have been kind of putting off but will be ordering the discs and pads tonight so can get these done in the next week or so. I have bought a Bluetooth ODBII reader today from ebay so I can keep it plugged into the car to monitor it (TORQUE ELM 327 BLUETOOTH BT OBD2 OBDII CAR DIAGNOSTIC SCANNER CODE READER) I will also need to connect this to an app on my phone or pc. I would also like to buy a hand unit reader and have been looking on ebay for one - would the following item be ok for scanning for faults? LEXUS IS GS LS RX CS TC OBD2 EOBD CAN BUS FAULT CODE READER SCANNER Also - anyone know where the socket is in the cabin to plug these in?

Hi Colin This maybe a coincidence ... On the way to work today my VSC check / engine and traction lights came on. Great! No noticeable difference in driving to I carried on for a further 2 miles to work - the car did not stop or slow down etc and you would not know there was an issue if you did not see the lights. I was low on petrol - had 78 mile range left so I filled up at a local Shell garage at dinner time - about one mile after this the lights went off BUT I hadn't noticed any judder. Came home tonight (6 miles) and no judder? Its maybe a placebo effect but with the lights resolving themselves and going out the judder may have stopped? I am biting the bullet and buying rear discs anyway as they do need to be done so will monitor it in the mean time. It may be a long shot but try resetting your ECU as if the judder has actually gone on mine (I think) and with the lights now out then it may be an ecu issue? Don't think so but worth a try?

Hi Colin Pedal is quite firm when pressing hard on it

I am going through this myself - all 4 calipers have been replaced along with new front discs. The steering wheel is not shaking and there's no judder through the brake pedal? You can feel the "easing on and off" as you described it through the car (the car judders when braking) It has just appeared, may have been gradual and not noticed it though. At the weekend I took the front calipers and discs off and thoroughly cleaned them both. I found this helped a bit but its still there. I found that the centre hole on the disc was on very tight to the hub. A lot of rust around it. Cleaned it up and it went on without any issue but like I say its helped a bit but still there - I am thinking discs but not sure. The rear discs need doing so I may do these first before considering replacing the front discs again. I am erring on the side of its the rear discs that are the problem as if there was an issue with any of the fronts then you should feel it through the steering or brake pedals? The fact you can feel it through the car would I think indicate that its a rear brake issue?

Will the fact that its reported as "diesel" be a problem when coming to tax the car? Also what sort of hassle do you want when coming to sell it on, trying to explain the discrepancy could be a deal breaker? HPI check and call the previous owner - even try the Lexus dealer if it has a service stamp - I would be very surprised if it doesn't due to the stated low mileage? Why wont the dealer sort this problem out before selling? If he is not willing to do it before selling due to the cost of doing so then knock the price down to give you the opportunity to sort it out and also consider the cost associated for yourself in doing the running around doing this.

Looks secure and will hold 3 bikes? Just watch marks on the paintwork

Just looked for the post - They were both Lexus Is250. One was in 2009 and the other recently (last week) I have just tried this and cant get the car to detect the key while its in the house - the closest I can get before the key is detected (puddle light comes on) is approx. one foot away from the car. I have heard of certain conditions that can extend a signal such as radio interference etc ... But its a good warning to keep your keys away from the car.

I read at the weekend a post from two people who had their cars stolen. Seems they whittled it down to the key being kept in the house but too close to the car to allow the car to detect the key. Certain conditions extend the range of the key fob to connect to the car. Opening the doors and starting could then be possible. Just a warning to the new owners of these cars to check where they leave their keys so it does not allow anyone to open and start the car without the key, Especially for those that keep their car on the street.

I am monitoring my oil at the moment - not because there's a problem, its just something that I thought I would monitor to see what's going on with colour and levels etc. I have read up a bit on oil - (not to the depth that you have) but now understand that the oil changes colour as it catches all the gunk in the engine as its designed to do. Basically, you can argue the blacker the oil the better to a point but monitor it for when it becomes saturated and then change. I can see where the oil can have an effect as at the rate it does turn black in some circumstances may be within a few months use - from my initial change it has changed colour but not to a point where it needs changing but I can see it turning black before the recommended service interval is due. 2 months has seen a change in colour from being practically invisible on the stick to having a slight darkened tint but still transparent. Its possible that the oil is actually carrying away the carbon built up in small amounts - hence it turning colour. I had a few instances of the carbon build up "shiver" experience the cars give out that are effected but that was last year and after a few doses of the BG44 and two oil changes it has not happened so far this year. I have also been using Shell with the odd occasion at Texaco and Sainsburys.

Two good reads - explains a lot Looks like there could be a lot of issues in the future over this?

A topic that has been raised before ... anyone had any recent experience with this being done to their Lexus?

Stripped down the front caliper and disc today just to see if its clean - done the rear caliper to re-grease the pins also. The front discs were tight on the hub and I had to use two bolts to ease them off. After cleaning they went back on a hell of lot easier with no issue with them being tight when fitted - they could be pulled of easily enough after re-fitting. I have not taken it out for a run yet, will do that tomorrow but maybe due to them being tight was the issue as a bit of rust had formed around the centre of the hub and could have pushed them out a bit when the wheel was last off?. Just a guess as I cant see any thing else it can be. Will see tomorrow.

Car is now on 78,436 miles - having done 400 miles last week and 1447miles (8 weeks) since the initial oil change. The level has not changed since last check and the colour is the same.

Hi John The faces of hub to disc to wheel are all clean. The disc has not been off since they were replaced and they have been fine up to now. I cant remember what make the discs were - they were either Mintex or Brembo. I cant myself see it being the discs. The rear calipers have been done but I have not done the disc yet - if that was on its way out how would you tell. Would you feel any shudder at all?

I changed my front discs approx. 6000 miles ago which is a little over a years worth of driving. I do a lot of stop start and I don't run up a lot of miles through the year. Both front calipers and carriers have recently been replaced with new ones. I am experiencing a slight judder when braking - feel it more when braking from speed.. What's the chances that the discs could have warped in this short time? I did replace one of the calipers, passenger side a while ago, as it was a bit sticky and also the rubber boots on the caliper (piston and slide boots) had torn. I am thinking that if the caliper had been slightly sticking then it could have been heating up that side of the disc and possible caused a slight warp in it. Is there anything else that I could check that would cause this when braking other than the discs ?

V66 - I have had the same ... its always the case when using it on a motorway, cruise on and not belting it Did you find the initial tank range was around 370 miles? When adding the remaining range to the trip computer at the end of the journey then you will probably find its showing its capable of around 450 to 500miles from the tank. The most I have had reported from mine on the longest run I have done (340 miles) was around the 460 mark with if I can remember a quarter tank left so it will go past whats indicated on the "range" Would be nice to hear from someone who has done a longer run to see what the actual mileage you can do from a full tank

I don't see a lot of Lexus's locally - have never ever seen one with a bike rack on it - post a pic when you have it on....

If you found out about the outstanding finance yourself (before the seller told you) then what else hasn't the seller told you .... what makes this particular deal better than other cars for sale out there Personally I would leave well alone.

No help here - mine turns off immediately. I don't think there should be a delay?

Going to have a go this week sometime