bluenose1940

Hi Exdee, Thank you for this, Yes I do have headlight washers on my car. So you reckon that I do have AFS, I think that the salesman said that I didn't when I asked him. Is there an easy way to tell, or is the movement so minimal as to be barely discernible.

Just wondering if any of the LOC members have done any research into the fact that we are to lose FM and AM radio frequencies, and seemingly in the not too far distant future too. I would certainly miss my 'Talk sport' and 'Radio 5 Live' my wife would miss 'Heart' What would you miss? Don't suppose that there will be any cheap solutions! Any thoughts?

Apologies for bringing up the subject of carbon and soot again but I came across these sites today and wondered if any LOC members have given it a go, and if so, what were the results. Any comments? http://www.terraclea...an history.html http://www.terraclea...roduct.php?id=1 Have a read of this link, the owner seems very pleased with the outcome. http://www.jaguarfor...mend-49131.html

Thank you for that F.A. I have noticed how white the light is, was on my 220d too. It's the discharge bit that I don't understand. I thin that there is AFS aswell but i don't think that I have that on mine. I think that that is where the lights tend to move a little on bends etc. i don't think that I have that either. Thanks again for your help. Most headlamps work with filaments - thin metal wire that is electrically heated until it is white hot - giving the light. Quartz halogen lamps are filled with gas which prevents the glass from blackening as the bulbs age in a smaller envelope made from quartz glass which can stand higher temperatures. Simplifying, HIDs use a high-voltage from a separate generator (inverter) to break down trace gasses to form a plasma which is what you see - a bit like a controlled spark. They are closer to fluorescent tubes than filament lamps, but do not require the coating that fluorescents have to make the plasma (or discharge) visible. Higher efficiency is achieved and they give a much brighter, whiter light for a lower current from the battery. Thank you fjcfarrer, A very a very informed reply which has helped me considerably. I now have a much better understanding. Thanks again.

Thank you for that F.A. I have noticed how white the light is, was on my 220d too. It's the discharge bit that I don't understand. I thin that there is AFS aswell but i don't think that I have that on mine. I think that that is where the lights tend to move a little on bends etc. i don't think that I have that either. Thanks again for your help.

Sorry to appear dim, but I have what some might see as a silly question. What are 'Discharge headlights' , how do they work, and how do I know if they are fitted to my car. When reading the manual, it doesn't say much about them and it just says 'where fitted' Thanks for any help on this.

Nearly 100 views but still no replies. Surely someone here has knowledge of this problem. Even better, who has a 2006 plate and doesn't have the problem, maybe this only ever effected a few. Carl Hiya Carl, I have had my 2006 IS250 for a week now and I can honestly say that I have not had any problems with mine. It's pretty quiet right from start-up. I do keep listening for any strange noises particularly since I first read about 'piston-slap' I don't know if this will be of any relevance but mine is a one owner job with full Lexus service history and is absolutely immaculate inside and out, and so I feel that is has been well cared for by the original owner. Not being a mechanic I don't know what causes piston slap, i don't know if it would be caused by particularly hard driving or allowing the car to get low on oil or anything like that. All I would say is to try to find what appears to be a well cared for car that has the full Lexus history but, I would say again, I really don't know how relevant that would really be. I only know that from a personal standpoint I would feel happier choosing a car for myself that met that criteria. Hope that is of some help or comfort. Geoff

I agree entirely with Chris, insist that they put the matter right and just hang in there, don't give in, they won't want to lose the deal for the sake of a tyre, believe me. I too have changed from a 220d, which I absolutely loved but, I love the 250 even more and, just like fellow member normski2, I even drive to the local shops in it just for the pleasure of being in it (must get out of the habit though, no good for the waistline and health, do need to walk a bit!) The IS250 owners manual now take preference over Match of The Day, that says something doesn't it!!

I just got my 'paint touch-up' set and looking at the instructions they are as follows:- Wash the area to be painted, get it dry. Apply touch-up paint to the damaged area leaving it very slightly proud of the surrounding area, leave for 10 minutes Wet the fabric end of the base coat container and wipe over the newly painted area to smooth-in with surrounding paintwork. Wash the residual paint from fabric and leave the repair for a further 10 minutes. Apply the clearcoat to the newly painted area. leave for 48 hours and then wash again. This is my interpretation of the 'picture guide' I too think that written instructions would be better but I have seen worse in the past.

normski2, could you zero the tank average on your 220d? I was under the impression that you couldn't do that, that it only reset itself at fill up time. Or did you intend to say check what the tank average reading was and then go back to the 'average mpg' screen and zero that? I must admit to not having tried to zero mine as I thought I'd read that it wasn't possible.

I have just sold my IS220d and that was an SE-L Multimedia, the multimedia gives the SatNav, reversing camera, park assist etc. The difference between the SE and the SE-L is purely in the spec, the SE-L tends to have all the bells and whistles such as rear blind, illuminated scuff plates etc. etc. I used to have a list of each of the specs, if i can find it I will let you have it. Having the SE-L doesn't mean that it has the multimedia and having the SE doesn't mean that you don't get the multimedia. it all depends on how the original buyer had their options set up. So you can have an SE with MM and an SE-L without it. There are also SE-I and SR models and each of these can come with differing options. I've mentioned in other threads, if you want the best of the options you need to go with the SE-L multimedia package. The best bet is to read the spec as you browse through the cars for sale sites such as Autotrader, Pistonheads, eBay etc. As I say, mine was the SE-L MM version and i wouldn't settle for less now. I've just replaced my 220d with a 250SE-L Good hunting

Tango, this is a very knowledgeable reply to mrahman136's post for which I offer my own thanks having just purchased a 250 of that era myself. I will monitor my own car for any such problem. Thanks again.

Without a doubt Andy is THE MAN, I have used him several times and he has come up trumps everytime. The latest is just this week for a simple bit of touch-up paint, he had to special order it but no problem, he then phones me to say it has arrived and that he will despatch it asap. First class service. Thanks Andy!

Welcome to the club Darren 'Smiffyboy'. You will love it here and I can guarantee that you WILL become addicted

Thank you for that rodders, I will most certainly heed your advice. I've never carried out the 'clay' procedure before so would undoubtedly be a little wary anyway. I presume that when you clay your car, that piece of clay is finished with and when you need to do your car again you would have to buy new again. I suppose that it depends on how dirty you let your car get as to how often you have to clay it. Would I be correct in thinking that after you have clayed your car, then the better the job you make of the waxing/polishing, the better the protection will be and therefore the need to clay it again is lessened. I was looking at some of the electric polishers yesterday and noticed that they really are quite expensive. When looking at them, they appeared to me like a tarted-up angle grinder. Does anyone know if anyone makes an adaptor that would convert a conventional angle grinder into a car polisher?

Hi folks, Just got myself an IS250 in Canterbury Blue and although I cleaned my silver 220d on a regular basis, I never really got around to setting myself up with quality cleaning/polishing gear. I think that the car that I have now lends itself to a fine high gloss, polished finish. I intend to purchase some gear now but, what an absolute minefield it is! I started a thread back in May and had a reply from graham8370 who pointed out that there are hundreds of products available that will do a good job, although I think that 'hundreds' might just be a bit of an understatement!! I have picked some products and am wondering if any of you experienced detailers have any thoughts on my choice of products. Any comments will be greatly appreciated http://www.theultima...bucket-set.aspx http://www.theultima...-wash-mitt.aspx http://www.theultima...niq/g-wash.aspx http://www.theultima...-clay-soft.aspx http://www.theultima...y-drying-towel.aspx http://www.theultima...ite-polish.aspx This is another product that has some good feedback on the site and I thought that I might get some if anyone suggests that it might be better than the polish mentioned above. http://www.theultima...urple-haze.aspx I look forward to any comments for which many thanks in advance.

Edit to my original post. I think that I have got the colour wrong, I'm almost sure that it is Canterbury Blue.

This is what I did with my 220d. I made myself a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel and recorded all of the fuel purchased along with the reading from the odometer etc. etc.etc.. I found this to be a great help. I am pleased that I did this because as I mentioned in some of my earlier threads, the mpg I was recording when I first got the car was pretty abysmal, then I cleaned the EGR Valve and demonstrated what a worthwhile excercise that was.

Hiya Sterling, I took out a service plan for my 220d and after shopping around I took a plan that gives me 3 services that covers the 50K, 60K and 70K services and includes 3 MOT's and gives 15% discount on any parts needed. The 15% discount also applies to any parts or accessories that i wish to purchase outside of the service schedules. It is worth asking around because the first quote that I got was more expensive and they only offered 10% off parts/accessories. The total cost for the package is £840.50 and this includes VAT and it can be spread over 30months without any added interest. UPDATE - Just had the figures for the service plan for my newly acquired IS250. It works out at £801.71 and covers the three services and MOT's along with the discounts mentioned in my earlier post. It also includes free puncture repairs throughout the duration of the plan, forgot to mention this in the earlier post.

I suppose that it's possible that the ECU was reset whilst they were prepping the car for me so you may well be correct that there will be some settling down to more realistic figures. i only watched the display from an interest point of view having changed from the 220d but, i certainly won't be doing that on a regular basis. I intend to just enjoy the car.

Thanks to all for the kind comments. I now know exactly how normski2 felt when he picked up his 250. Yes darkoracle tis the V6 auto and no I didn't coast down the hills, in fact on a few occasions i put my foot down to get past a few cars on the run back. I was using the cruise control all of the time when on the A38 dual carriageway and, the highest that the trip computer showed on that part of the run was 53.5mpg. I really don't know gow accurate those computers are, Do any forum members know how reliable they are? I expect to be spending a few hours messing around with the car today. It will make a change from laying turf (new lawn) and decorating. I have set myself a target of the end of the year for all of the work to be finished after our house move and then it will be all leisure and driving the 250! We have had 18 months of hard graft, extensions, patios, conservatories, decorating etc. etc. so am looking forward to lots and lots of trips in the car. I'm sure that many of you will be thinking, if he didn't spend all that money on the house he could have had a new one!! Those are precisely my thoughts but, it pays to keep the peace methinks. I am happy enough, at the moment at least.............................but don't tell her indoors!!

At last it's happened, I now have my IS250! Got me an absolutely superb deal too. Beautiful colour, Cambridge Blue I think it is, with Sussex Grey leather. Must check out those details to be sure. I have just picked it up from Lexus Plymouth, drove it home which is about 50 miles, on the A38, the B3176 and a few side roads, drove at spot on the speed limit on all roads (pretty much all the way) and usng cruise control and, the trip computer was showing 47.7mpg as i drove onto my driveway. It will be interesting to see how it averages out overall. When i pulled up at the first set of traffic lights I thought oh b***** hell I've stalled it, but a quick glance at the tacho showed me it was still ticking over nicely, couldn't hear a thing from the engine! That was the case every time I stopped so I will no doubt get used to it. The drive home was unbelievable, so smooth, quiet and comfortable. Just like normski2, I am indeed one happy bunny. Looking forward to many enjoyable hours of motoring.

HaHa, I thought that I might do that when I was cleaning mine so I took precautions! I gaffa taped a strong earth magnet to a piece of string, tied the string to one of the pipes and, when the bolts were virtually out I let the magnet attach itself to the bolt (and they are so strong they take some pulling off) and hey presto, no catastropes!!

Hiya Sterling, I took out a service plan for my 220d and after shopping around I took a plan that gives me 3 services that covers the 50K, 60K and 70K services and includes 3 MOT's and gives 15% discount on any parts needed. The 15% discount also applies to any parts or accessories that i wish to purchase outside of the service schedules. It is worth asking around because the first quote that I got was more expensive and they only offered 10% off parts/accessories. The total cost for the package is £840.50 and this includes VAT and it can be spread over 30months without any added interest.

Good morning michaelH, I am very much a 'gizmo' man and I use them all and not just to try them to see if they work. The heated and cooled seats are a godsend in the appropriate weather, leather can get very hot and also very cold. The rear blind is useful too, particularly when the hot sun (yes we do get that sometimes!) is belting through on the rear passengers. I love the auto wipers and headlights and the headlight washers. I could go on but suffice it to say again, I love all of them.