phildw

* 'mix and match'

Are you thinking of just changing the 2 front tyres? With the 250 being rear wheel drive you should never 'mix and max' tyre makes. Need to be same on all corners or steering and safety could be seriously compromised.

Tango - i've PM'd you mate. Thanks Phil

Hi guys Well Lexus main stealer has quoted me £1000 fitted for just the exhaust tail pipe (back box) on my 2006 IS250. Must admit I'm astonished at this price given its just the back box. Am I being ripped off? What would you all advise surely I can get a full SS performance system fitted somewhere for less than that price? I'm at a loss what to do so anyone with similar experience or who could offer help/ advice would be most appreciated. It was Lexus Leicester by the way. Thanks in advance. Phil

Driving today in my 250 2006 and exhaust back box on drivers side dropped off. Literally just sheared away from piping right where back box joins it. Tried local exhaust places but they state onIy main dealer. What's your views will I need a complete new rear section? Would Lexus weld it or something if a clean break? What costs for rear section? Any help appreciated. Thanks Phil

Make sure you get the £25 diagnostic charge waived if you get the dealer to do the repair. Mine was £50 diagnostic but they waived this charge and i would have only paid it if I had the repair done elsewhere.

I know phildw!!! and I intended to get it looked at at service time (not far away) but you've inspired me to book it in for a diagnostic check at my local Lexus outfit! I pray that it won't be anything major as I only just forked out for 2 new rear tyres and the annual service is techically due.... I guess realistically you've got to expect to need to start replacing/fixing some stuff at 5 years old but it does worry me - especially since it also seems to have plunged in value over the last year. I'm glad pre-crash didn't exist when my car was new though! What needed fixing for £710 ??? I will post the results of the diagnostics soon! Everything is crossed. S Needed a new Millimeter Wave Radar which is basically the radar behind the front grille logo that works for both Pre-Crash system (basically tightens your seatbelts and applies brakes if it thinks you are going to hit something over a set speed) and also the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) (it picks up vehicles as you approach them and matches your speed with them until the road is clear again). Still love the car by the way. It oozes class!! Good luck with yours.

"Lastly about 150 miles into my journey down the motorway the dreaded CHECK VSC warning and associated lights came on and would'nt go off initially (It still drove perfectly as ever though" Sorry mate, but having the dreaded VSC warning come on during your first long journey doesn't sound to me like a successful and relaxing trip! The VSC warning does not come on for no reason even if it has gone off it will appear again so it will need sorting. I had the Check PCS (pre-crash system) lights display on a long trip recently and even though the car still drove perfectly the repair was a £710 bill!!! I would get it checked sooner rather than later to avoid an even worse bill. Good luck!

Too true with you 100% there!! Could always use the shift lever and negotiate those tight bends with one hand on the wheel!! Still pretty damn exciting....!!

My IS200D was 5 years when I exchanged it for an ex demo IS250C SE-L. In year 4 on the IS220D the extended warrantee that cost me £700 ish saved me a bill of £1600. In year 5 the head gasket went south, principally this was the reason why I chopped it in for a nearly new car however the repair bill ran into £6,000 plus, thankfully covered by the extended cover (after a disagreement with the warrantee company, apparently a head gasket is not a 'mechanical part') !!! My nice nearly new IS250C SE-L had a problem last week with the Stereo, basically it stopped working ! To fix it they had to replace the computer (inc sat nav system) and the stereo head. According to the service manager the parts alone were £7,000 !!!! When the manufactures warrantee runs out I will definitely be extending it (there's something daft like 30 motors used to wind the roof down) Cheers Tony And they say Lexus cannot be beaten on reliability!! Are they having a laugh?!!! Still a cars a car and any car can go wrong but with a bog standard Ford with no bells and whistles I suppose you are lessening the chances of a huge bill - but where's the fun in driving one of them. Still love my Lexus!!

Agree - engine will last forever. The only thing to remember though is the more luxury the more electronics and the more opportunity for things to go wrong. I have a 2006 SE-L and just had cruise system failure due to complete failure of electronic radar unit. Had to lay out £710 for recent repair. Whether that would have been covered on an extended warranty is another matter of course so check the small print as I'm sure a lot of the 'electronics' may not be covered anyway.

Having read all these replies they are all rather confusing! The OP was asking if the flappy paddles can be used as a true manual selector (I think!) with an immediate gear change (like the F1 Mclaren!) I agree they dont do this if you are out of the 'gear ratio / Rev range'. However if you are in the correct gear ratio / rev range then you can use the paddles to upshift with the same feeling as a true manual. I dont think it is correct to say that the number displayed in the gear selector display when in 'S' mode does not represent that gear because it does in my view. If you shift down to 1 and accelerate within the rev range and pull the + paddle then you will switch to 2 and second gear and so on. Over accelerate the vehicle out of the normal gear ratio / rev range the auto mode will be just that 'automatic' and change gearing when it thinks it should do. Admittedly I dont use the paddles that often but they are great on country roads when you can decelerate into the bends and accelerate out again using the flappy paddles - still quite an exciting driving experience anyway.

250 Se-L would be my choice - has everything. DVD will not work when vehicle in motion for obvious safety reasons. Lexus are reliable but like all cars will go wrong and when they do the repairs are very expensive. So if money is no object then get the Lexus extended warranty but check the small print because it doesn't cover everything.

^^ sorry meant to say the Internet states IS250 and LS430 prone to the problem.

Not sure if you had your problem recur mate but I had the same message come up on my 250 with Dynamic Cruise Control. Also affected the pre-crash system (PCS) as it uses the same radar behind the front logo. Got both Check Cruise and Check PCS message come on. Stealership looked at it and the millimetre wave radar knackered and relieved me of £710 to get new one fitted!! Hopefully yours was just a glitch but looking on Internet it seems that on the 250 models with Dynamic Cruise the radar will go subsume point! hope not in your case.