johnatg

Definitely chain - there are three chains - a main one driving the inlet cams and two auxiliaries (one for each bank) driving the exhaust cams from the inlet shafts. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

The plugs which Lexus Birmingham supply are the original Lexus spec which are FK20HR11 at £79.99 for 6. The current Denso recommendation for IS250 is IKBH20TT - a newer product which cost about £50 a set from numerous sources. Both are Iridium plugs. The IKBH20TT are fine - I fitted them a few months ago and I can't tell the difference between the originals and these. They are now the plugs recommended by Denso. Both specs are exclusive to a few Lexus models - they are not recommended for any other vehicles and there are no equivalent plugs made by other plug manufacturers.

I guess it comes down to the tester's interpretation of the identification of compatibility of the light source and housing. You can't tell by looking at it - the levelling control is a bit derivative. Some testers might give benefit of the doubt - others are too scared of DVLA! Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

Major. It's true that the car shouldn't be driven after that, but I have a good relationship with the garage and they know I live just half a mile down the road, so we agreed I'd fix it and call them for a retest. Didn't charge me for now! (There are a few other issues I need to attend to) Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

Well, not news, really - just confirmation. For those of you (like me) with HID conversion kits fitted because we have models (SE in my case) which didn't have oem HID dip headlamps. You may well have been aware that the MoT Testers' manual was revised in May this year to contain the following (amongst many other revisions): 'Existing halogen headlamp units shouldn’t be converted to be used with HID bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp. blah, blah - then Defect Category a. Headlamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements. Major b. Product on the lens or light source which obviously reduces light intensity or changes emitted colour to other than white or yellow. Major c. Light source and lamp not compatible. Major ' Well, I did mull over whether I should refit the halogen bulbs before the test, but decided to see if I would get away with it. I didn't - failed on category c. above. I asked the tester how he knew (as the projector beam light units on HID and non-HID cars look identical, and the headlamp washers etc are not mandatory - the wording of that is elsewehre in the manual). He said it was due to the presence of the headlamp height adjuster on the dashboard - oem HID cars have self levelling headlamps so that control is not fitted. No disguising that, I guess! He did agree that the headlamp aim and beam pattern was perfectly acceptable. (The same tester has passed it several times each year since I fitted the HIDs) Damn - an extra task each year now!

Er...ignore that - it's wrong. Can't play DVDs - my mp3 files are on CDs - you can get about 14 albums on one CD when they're in mp3 format.

Mine's a 2006 SE and I can play DVDs which I have burned on my computer with mp3 files. I don't have a fancy screen - just the standard player which takes 6 discs - can be a mixture of CDs and audio DVDs.

A wild guess - something to do with the alarm system? The only thing I could find, which might have nothing whatsoever to do with it or even with Lexus, is this: https://www.toyota-tech.eu/aimuploads/{A51984FD-A754-DA55-8117-57568E1BA754}/VSS1 Setting guide English ASM 000 09-0 PZ464-00130-00 PZ464-00131-00.pdf (If it is relevant, it might lead to someone spending an exploratory hour in the car seeing how much of this applies to the IS250 - or not!)

I look after 5 cars, so the 60 litres does for a while. I think oil lats a good while once it's opened - after all it needs to be good for a year or more in the harsh conditions of engine running, so I reckon it will last OK sitting quietly in the can even if it has been opened. I use Exol Optima LSG 5W-30 (eBay) in all the cars - Lexus, Mazda MX-5, Seat Mii, Peugeot 208, Mazda3 and my lawnmower. Good garages will keep a range of oils. Whether you get the correct one for your particular car is something else! I don't know about the suck method really - I know it's in widespread use and some cars don't have drain plugs any more - incidentally the 'smart' bit of smartearlybird I've mentioned here is spares for Smart cars - and they do a replacement sump with a drain plug!

Don't know - I don't have the luxury of auto wipers - mines a nice simple SE.

You can see the VIN number through the windscreen at the very front of the top of the dash on the passenger side. Whether it's etched on the screen itself is another matter. I'm not sure of the validity of the reg number or VIN being etched on the screen - it might be a dealer extra at point of sale but it's not universal by any means.

Yes, but those are retail prices and garages pay much, much less. Now, I pay retail, but for example I buy oil to spec in 20 litre drums for £60, so say £20 for the oil, OK, filter at about £9, sump plug washer - I bought the correct green fibre/ally core ones from smartearlybird.co.uk - 10 for £5.68 - say 60p (a garage could buy 100 for £29.61). Air filter - £8.92 and engine flush - I buy 6 Comma bottles for £15.84 - say £2.70 each. Total for above - £42 or so. And a garage will pay less again in more bulk and at trade prices. So charge £80 or a bit more for labour and you're just about in business - tight though. And a garage wouldn't use sump plug washers - most of them will suck the oil out with a pump and not bother with the flush. You don't need to change the pollen filter every time (nor the air filter actually). The rest of the service involves a coat of looking at and very little more. I certainly wouldn't use a cheapo service outfit - but equally I think paying getting on for £300 for a service is completely OTT. You're paying for a lot of fancy environment, coffee, biscuits etc etc. And on to cheap MoTs - there is indeed a chance - likelihood even - that they will find a fail or even just an advisory on something and charge a lot for a 'fix'. You need to find somewhere you can trust. A common scam I've come across frequently is 'worn brake pads'. Most people will say 'You'd better fix it then'. I've fallen for it myself when a family member's car has had that advisory, so I've bought pads in preparation, then when I come to do the job I find there's half the pad thickness left. The last time was my daughter's Pug 208 - got a service (not MoT) advisory in December '17 for low front brake pads and worn discs (needs to be done ASAP) , so I bought a set of pads then came to do the job in January. Bit of a silver lining there - we found she had no locking wheel nut key and it took quite a while to sort that out, at least when it wasn't urgent. When I got to the pads of course, no problem and the discs were OK too. Finally changed discs and pads last month after another 10000 miles.

I'm sure that will be correct. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

You can get the split boots from many motor factors - they are branded 'Bailcast' and are universal - not IS specific. As I said they are completely and utterly useless - you have to wrap a floppy rubber thing around a very greasy thing whilst keeping the edges of the rubber which you are going to glue spotlessly clean and free of grease. Do not bother! Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

They are a good company and source for parts - quite a few of us on here have used them. Prompt delivery - only take a few days and good prices. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

Looking at the shafts I think it's likely that you can't dismantle them, at least in your garage with normal tools. The replacement boots advertised are split ones which you glue together - don't waste your time. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

Rockauto. com list the shafts for about 80 dollars each. You'd need to add for carriage and tax but shouldn't be too bad. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

That's ludicrous - should take 20-30 minutes tops. But if they follow the workshop manual guide it might take that long! Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

Congleton and probably, when it comes to car service parts, although I have no real basis on which to answer that. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

That's odd - I bought some Peugeot washers from them only this week and paid by credit card (MasterCard)

Yes - well respected brand specialising in Japanese parts. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

I buy K&N oil filters from eBay (search for PS-7023) and just the cheapest air and pollen filters on the day, again from eBay, likewise Exol Optima LSG oil and EBC Redstuff brake pads. I don't buy much from carparts4less for the Lexus, although I do sometimes use them for Peugeot, Seat, etc parts. . Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

Yes! Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

I have used Dexos2 but have recently switched to Exol Optima LSG which I buy in a 20 litre drum for £60 - I service several cars (about 5) and use it in all of them. But £24 for Toyota oil is a good price - just buy 2 cans and keep the extra 3 litres for next time! Any good 5W30 is fine. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk

Re sump plug washers - the green ones are what I use - they are the superior ones. Sent from my PSP7551DUO using Tapatalk