J Henderson

Headlight - D4S High beam - HB3 9005 By your description though, I'm thinking that it's the parking light / side light that could be the nasty yellow bulb you mean. if so, that's a W5W. Swap it out for an LED and it'll match the colour of the HID more closely.

No personal experience of them, but Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, Dunlop Sportmaxx RT have been very well-received by other owners and would be a safe bet. Of the tyres I have actually had on my car, and previous IS's, my current tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport 4) are probably the best all-rounders I've tried to date, although these are more geared towards the performance end of things (which is my preference), so not especially quiet etc. In terms of comfort, Hankooks were easily the quietest and smoothest-riding tyres I've had on an IS. Both K110 V12 Evo & K117 S1 Evo 2 were excellent in this regard, and also had extremely good dry & wet grip levels. Not quite Michelin levels, but not bad at all, maybe 7/10 as good. I've also had Pirelli P-Zero Nero (rubbish), Continental Sport Contact 3 (excellent, but noisy and quick-wearing), Dunlop Sportmaxx GT (pretty average, wouldn't buy again), Michelin Pilot Super Sport (amazing grip and steering response, but very noisy & harsh).

The headlight bulbs are really easy to replace. They just twist into place and can only be fitted one way, so it's hard to screw up. The only thing is, access to where they are is a bit limited, so the air filter housing (driver's side) and/or the washer bottle filler neck (passenger side) need to be removed, or moved out of the way to give yourself room to work. You can see the washer bottle, minus it's filler neck, in this picture to give you an idea of what I mean. That's the high beam bulb that's partially exposed. The D4S HID bulb is found behind the plastic cover with the yellow warning sticker. I swapped mine for OSRAM "Cool Blue Intense" last year, and have been very happy with them. Slightly brighter than the OEM bulbs and they have a higher temperature rating which makes them slightly blue-er, or whiter than stock. I'm yet to do anything with my fogs, but changing those bulbs is more of a pain. You either have to remove the bumper, or remove a wheel and peel back the plastic wheel arch liner to get access to the lamps.

MY2009 revisions are mostly cosmetic. Exterior-wise, the door mirrors are smaller and incorporate side repeaters. The front bumper and grilles are slightly different, the rear bumper is slightly different too. As are the tail lights, which are a different design with "L" shape reversing lights. The 17" wheels are also slightly different with more rounded spokes. All the changes are very hard to notice tbh, with the mirrors and rear lights being the easiest to spot. On the inside, the central dashboard where the nav screen is (where equipped), has a different look with sleeker, flush-fitted buttons that are the same colour as the rest of the console. The centre armrest storage compartment gained a USB port, and I believe the MY2009 is when music streaming via Bluetooth became possible. Nav unit also became HDD-based as opposed to having maps on DVD. Some small changes to the suspension etc maybe also have occurred as the rear ARB is mounted differently on a 09+ car. Can't remember what the acronyms stand for, but ACC/PCS is the radar cruise control system. I believe only an SE-L could have this option (and it was a cost option). Not sure if DAB can be retrofitted or not. If it can it'll probably be quite an expensive endeavour! Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Pretty normal. Dirt, leaves etc tend to accumulate in those channels if left unchecked. You can keep them reasonably clean by aiming a pressure washer at the bottom of the rear screen so the stream of water goes under the boot lid. Any crap in there will get flushed out onto the top of the bumper.

I clean my MAF every year at the same time I clean the air filter (long life one that doesn't get replaced during servicing). Whether doing it this regularly is beneficial or not, I dont know, but I've certainly not experienced any adverse effects. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Never ever used to watch anything on mine, but did enjoy listening to DVDs by music artists. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

If you have the Mark Levinson stereo it does. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Ford GT seems to have done alright critically and commercialy? Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

There are two variants of that grille. One has 4 rows, the other has 3 which is the newer design. The badge is removable on the 3 row version. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Ah, I didn't know the OBD port was always powered. You learn something new every day [emoji2] Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

This is the configuration of my driver's side fuse box. The 7.5A one labelled OBD would probably be a good choice if your car is the same. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Did you put the horn (or horns? is there two?) back exactly where it was before you took everything apart? It's just that I had a similar issue on my IS200 years ago when I wanted to relocate the horns so they wouldn't be visible behind the grille. After doing it, the horns didn't make any sound because they were no longer earthed properly.

Thats right, any IS with 18" wheels are "staggered" (rear wheels are wider). 16,17 inch wheels are always "square" (same width front & rear). Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

It does look great. The prototype was present at Goodwood FOS.

As the guys say, mileage shouldn't be a worry. As well as being chain-driven, the engine also has a forged crank & rods and is built to last. The gearbox also seems to be very strong since reported problems are extremely rare. A quick look on Autotrader suggests that even a nice-looking SE-L with FLSH and less than 100K is well within your budget.

Pretty much! However, I'd like to think that with the prices Lexus charge, they use a proper mechanic's stethoscope to listen out for any abnormalities. 😄

100K Checklist - PDF

Agreed, I remember using that mitt on my sister's black BMW once and it looked horrific afterwards, but I don't think I would bother claying a car unless I'd be polishing it afterwards.

I don't think Halfords stock any, but do a search on eBay or amazon for "soft detailing brush". They're ideal for cleaning those sort of areas, as well as badges, grilles etc. To get the paintwork nice and smooth again, you could use a traditional clay bar and spray lubricant. Halfords offer a few of these in bundle packs. Much easier though, and way quicker, IMO, is to use a clay mitt like the Farecia G3 one.

Try a local garage. Most of them will have a special set of sockets for dealing exactly with this problem. The AA etc carry them too, if you're a member.

Typically, I get low 30's on average, doing mostly short journeys. I can stretch it out to about 35MPG if I reduce my cruising speed by 10MPH - ie: doing 60 on the Motorway instead of 70.

I clean mine every year. I've not had any issues as such, but just do it as a preventative measure, and part of regular maintenance. This is the part number of the MAF sensor that's in my 2011. Cleaning it is easy. Just remove it from the intake assembly and spray the needle/wire liberally with a dedicated cleaning product but DO NOT touch it. I use this stuff from Halfrauds - Electrical Contact Cleaner For less than a fiver, giving it a clean first has to be worth a shot. If it needs to be replaced, personally I would get another Denso one.

Just over 56K on mine. Wanted to get a pic of the 55555 milestone when it happened, but was driving at the time. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

A few hours? 😜 I changed mine last year and it took maybe an hour in total from start to finish, including giving the air filter and MAF a clean whilst the engine covers were off. I also went with Osram bulbs. Cool Blue Intense though, not Nightbreakers. Was about £90 for both packs.