is200 Newbie

I don't have one of these but have often thought of buying one when friends have told me of the marks they have found on their cars after parking in carparks. A lot of them come with "park modes" - I have seen one of these in Halfords if there is one near you

You could also try resetting your ecu as the engine would have adapted to run with the dirty EGR valve

A "mod" you could do is to fit the automatic wing mirror closure which, since I have fitted it have found it usefull.

Mine had the same when I bought the car although I did drive it approx. 200 miles home and then noticed it later on - the rears were on the front / fronts were on the back etc and the rotations wrong... I cant think why a garage / dealer would do this unless they had the car on a lift with all the wheels off and just did not realised they were different sized..? Its an easy fix with no damage done

Some people just don't give a Sh@* Like Pilgrim said above - a noticeable camera in the car might be a deterrent to people driving off .... but a bit late now.

Yes there is - According to You Tube

Does anyone know if the rear brakes on the 250 have the drum shoes on the inner side of the disc as the old 200 had? Thanks

Manual or Auto If manual it could dual mass / clutch

Looking at the report that came with the MOT there is a small imbalance on the front brakes - guess they need looking at - possible slide pins again - 6 months since looking at them last. Sister in law had a mini - nice small car but problem after problem. Electric windows kept opening when parked up for no reason whatsoever so she eventually got rid. BMW didn't want to know about the problems. Service next, probably end of May, oil / filters and slide pins. Have a broken plastic engine cover also that I need to either fix or replace - the clip on the back of the cover (windscreen side) has broken and occasionally rattles. Am impressed with the auto wing mirror closure. Works well and its a lot easier to see if you have not locked your car.

As Hondaman said ... the Injectors are noisy on these and the sound you mention is coming from the correct area to assume this

Car passed its MOT on Friday with no advisories so I am very happy with that due to the amount of work I have done on it. I have fitted the auto wing mirror closure this morning - took an hour and a half but well worth it.

It is possible on the 250 by inserting your key into the airbag lock on the dash board on the passenger side - you will need to open the passenger door to find it, then its pretty obvious.

..... also regarding the wheels ... have a look as to why they would have rotated them or do you think they have just been put on wrong after the refurb

I drove mine home from the garage when I first bought it with two rears on the front and two fronts on the rear ... didn't feel odd. I went over it a few days later and found they were wrong. Not something you would look for on a forecourt. if that's the case with yours then give it a good going over at the weekend while its still within warranty (if it has one) Caliper slide pins - grease them at the weekend - it will take an hour tops and a good check to see if there's trouble brewing. It will save you quite a bit of money just to check them as if left you may be faced with seized ones. It will be a good point to start a "schedule" of checking them - done at the weekend so I would check again in 6 months time around November. If you can, check the exhaust - cant stress this enough - its quite easy to check it out if you have a set of ramps with the car reversed onto them. You are looking for black soot around any joints or on the pipes. Again, if theres any problems get it done under the warranty.

It is a poor design and an issue, a known one at that from Lexus, since the 90's so we are looking at a fault that's been around for 20 years or so so why no proper recall? If you have a car that has a full service history but done to many miles to be inclusive of the replacement warranty then you are going to have to pay for a replacement at around £350 each. The updated design that Mark has mentioned may explain the fact that for the 2007 model there are two parts to chose froml for the left rear caliper and two for the right - it has caught me out but the part number is stamped on the top of the caliper itself so its easy to see which one is on your car if you are prepared to remove the wheel.. I would say though that the revised caliper still uses the old pins from what I could see on the part I bought - the difference was in the shape of the caliper / carrier itself.

Hi Tide I don't think a lot of people these days will download a zip file due to viruses etc ... Would be easier to add this to you tube so people can take a look at the problem you have

When the centre section went on mine I went to ATS thinking it would be around £300. There seems to be a stress point on it just after the last box before the join where it splits into the two back boxes. Anyway - ATS advised me that it was a dealer part only after checking with their suppliers. I had a quote from Lexus - fitted - for the centre section it was around £1700 and the back boxes were around £700 from what I can remember and it was on a 10 day lead time. After a lot of hassle in them ordering the wrong part and with the possibility of having to wait another 10 days I booked mine in to have a stainless one made for the car which cost £400 So - Yes - its an expensive wear and tear part that at some point WILL need to be replaced - to be honest I fell of my seat when I had the cost - with a 10 day lead time the car really is un useable until its repaired as it loses so much power that its un driveable. I done a temporary repair on mine and drove it for a few weeks until it went for the fitting of the new exhaust. If you cant do this and don't have any other means of travel then you are goosed.

I know its a bit late but there is an auto mirror closure mod available - I will be fitting mine at the weekend if the weather holds.

Allan Things to look out for ... Exhaust - definitely get it checked while the cars on a ramp - its a £2600 replacement only available from a dealer unless going down the road of stainless steel. Brake calipers - get them checked - easiest way to do this is take it for a good run so they are hot - an indication of a seized caliper on the rear will be an alloy that's hotter than the other (pads binding) £350 per caliper from dealer although you can find these often refurbished for around £100 on the web. Calipers not working on the front would have a judder through the steering although this could be discs or joints. Calipers are a problem on the 250 as with the 200. Coolant - check the colour and level - if low ask why.... The fluid for this is yet again a dealer part at around £70 Tyres - check the rotations are all correct - garage may mask wear by swapping them round - be aware that the rear tyres are bigger than the fronts.

Allan I have had allsorts wrong with the car - I guess this is the other side of the coin to having a good one. I don't think it was looked after before I purchased it but saying that it has a full dealer history so I cant get my head around why its so bad. Have had it a year now - MOT is on Friday this week and I am really dreading it for what could be wrong that I have missed (it may fly through the MOT !?) - I just need a bit of confidence with it. Not enjoying it as much as the 200 I had. I may come round after a few months in it if it behaves.

But it would not explain away the other service items and checks which would be on an annual check

Dealer only @ £300

Hi Whistler - I had an IS200 and loved the car until it was written off last year. In my own opinion ...... I would at the drop of a hat revert from the 250 I have now to my old 200 (I find myself always looking now and then at whats out there, 200 wise) but in all honesty they are getting to be an old car. The "newest" one you can currently buy would be almost 10 years old. Like you I had no issues with the 200 at all - looked after it well and it was a car I could easily work on and one I planned to keep for a while (had it for 2 years) Comparing these cars ... the 250 is a nice car with a lot of tech on it, a lot more than the 200. They both have the same driving experience, so much so you know you are in a car of class. I liked the fact the 200 has a sunroof - its hard to find a 250 with one. I prefer the sunroof to the air con. Parts and running costs- 200 wins hands down and in a lot of the cases don't need a main dealer to do the work. I have had a lot of problems with the 250 I have - not happy with it but am persevering with for the time being - not got a lot of confidence with it at the moment and find myself tip toeing around it waiting to see what will go wrong next. I have not driven a 200 since owning my current 250 so my opinion may change if I done this but at the moment I would not buy another 250 ... and for all the problems I have had with this current one I don't think I would buy another Lexus as they don't seem to be the indestructible cars that they used to be.

2009 to 2011 and 2011 to 2013 looks strange - if they are dealer stamps then you can call them to confirm. Services don't take place exactly on the given "every 10k" so 2-3k either way should be acceptable. But it does look odd. If you are thinking of buying it then you could call the previous owner. There is probably a good explanation.

I had this from Lexus in the USA I can see the sense in changing the oil every 6 months - depends on how many miles doing and how you are driving it - the checks - brakes / discs etc I am guessing is something they do but no hassle to give them a quick look. Whats missing from this is the spark plug intervals and the caliper slider pin checks...