johnatg

I use ATE SL.6 - it's a low viscosity DOT 4 spec fluid. (Available on Ebay). Low viscosity fluids are recommended for all cars with ESP - it is supposed to enable the systems to react faster.

You need about a litre for a complete change, including allowing for what you waste through bleeding out the old fluid until it's pale and clear at the bleed screws.

Doh! The T-quick connector would have worked! Had I read the manual properly, I would have saved about an hour! Not for the first time....... I shall stick a label saying 'RTFM' on the piece I cut off and leave it somewhere where I'll come across it now and again, just as a reminder. You can't cope with idiots who don't read instructions!

My car has, and the manual shows, two extra trim clips (9 in total). The extra ones are on the bottom edge, one roughly in the centre and one near the back corner. And the others are positioned slightly differently. Actually - are you sure that's a IS250 door - the handle etc doesn't look quite right?

The lock and unlock buttons and the door handle work as I described before - I'm perfectly happy with it like that! The reprogramming bit by pressing both buttons makes no difference.

I think this obsession with wrapping things up and protecting them is more to do with our experience with the inside of car doors getting wet! But of course....this is a Lexus - it's all bone dry in there!

Thanks again - I hope our discussion has been useful and encouraging to others!

It probably took me a couple of hours from start to finish, but I wasn't rushing and spent some time chatting to my neighbour about what I was doing and also time finding the bullet and socket connectors from a jar I have with all sorts of electrical bits and pieces but very few of the connectors I was looking for! ( I had a packet of in-line ones). Crimping the wiring is a bit fiddly - most of the wires are 20/22 gauge - that's very thin and it needs patience to get a secure crimp. And you're working with short lengths in the door between fastenings and plugs.

I have a set of plastic levers for dismantling trim - they are jolly handy for various parts of the Lexus (eg internal light fittings) - bought on eBay. I also was armed with a print out of the pages from the workshop manual showing how to dismantle the door trim - in particular it shows exactly where the trim clips are.

My PO-40 came with the T-quick harness - I needed to cut the two connectors off to convert to Universal. My car has the 9 pin 'Connector A' and the 'Big type' 'Connector B'. All wiring (colours and positions) was exactly as described in the PO-40 installation manual. Connector C seems to be as described in the manual - at least I connected PO-40 white to Light green and PO-40 blue to White and it works!

I stowed the PO-40 just behind the Master Switch panel, just forward of the screw you remove to remove the door trim - I wrapped a piece of bubble wrap round it and put the whole shebang inside a self seal plastic bag - the wires emerge from a small gap in the sealing strip.

For the remote - with mirrors folded and car deadlocked - press lock - nothing happens (except flashers flash momentarily). Press unlock - car unlocks and mirrors unfold - press lock - car locks but mirrors stay out - press lock again (quickly) - mirrors fold and car deadlocks.

Pretty much the same with the door handle/button really - one press on the button - normal single lock, another press without delay - mirrors fold, car deadlocks. (BTW - never deadlock the car with someone inside). Touch the inside face of the handle - mirrors unfold, car unlocks.

A pleasure to do business with you, Michael! Many thanks! I still think it's really cool!

Just reporting a succesful installation of the PO-40 on my 2006 IS250. Great service from Michael (many thanks!). Hardest part of the job was actually getting the door liner back on - there's a socking great spigot up near the upper left which has to locate into a hole - when the top of the liner is hooked over the top of the door!

I chose to crimp all my connections (despite Michael's advice to solder!) You might think that soldering is obviously better than crimping - well, it's controversial. Google 'solder or crimp' and you'll find both sides of the arguments - from a whiole lot of people who all think they're correct! The clincher for me is that I have in the back of my mind that soldered wire-to-wire connections are not allowed in aircraft (although I can't just find it in black and white). Anyone who's been in the game for a while will have come across dry joints on circuit boards or relays caused by the solder cracking.

Whichever method you choose, the important thing with all electrical work on cars is to do it properly - if you solder, the wires must be hot enough to be 'wetted' by the solder, but not too hot, and you need to use just the correct amount of solder - not too little, not too much. And no spikes! Joints are best protected by heat shrink, but there's not really enough room to use that in this installation. I hate insulating tape for protecting live wires!

If you crimp, you should use a proper ratchet crimp tool (not the plier type things) and proper connectors. (I used the red ones - mostly in line, but bullet and socket for tapping into a line). If you arranged the bullets and sockets carefully, and used them for all the joints, you could quickly and easily remove the PO-40 at a later date.

There's a good guide to crimping here: http://www.aviationlearning.net/files/Aircraft%20Wiring%20Practices.pdf

Not all of it is relevant to cars, but there are lots of good hints!

Now I'll just go and lock and unlock the car again a few times!

At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious - jack the car up, undo the nuts (noting the two replies above) and pull the wheel off.

Maybe you've done all that and the wheel won't come off? Very common where a wheel hasn't been removed for a while - it's caused by corrosion between the wheel face and the hub. One way (which I must admit has never worked for me) is to put the nuts back and tighten them, then back off one turn. Now lower the car off the jack, shake the car from side to side, then raise it again. The wheel might be free.

What does work, but it can be dodgy if you're only using the standard jack - get a long (5' or so) plank of wood (eg 4" x 2"), go behind or in front of the car and swing the wood, holding it by one end, from the centre of the car and bash the lower inside edge of the tyre. It might take a couple of goes, but the wheel will come off.

I'd advise you to have someone pushing against the car in the opposite direction to your 'bash', or support it with something more solid than the standard jack. Be very, very, careful!

If it still won't come off, tighten the nuts properly and go to a tyre place. They'll do it for you!

When you put the wheel back, smear a bit of copper grease on the mating face of the hub. That will help prevent the sticking happening again.

I use a flush at every oil change (on all my own cars, and all the family ones I look after). TEC-2000, but really only because I bought a bargain case of it a while back. More or less any brand will do the job - I'll be looking for a job lot case again soon.

Yep - that's a disc due for replacement. You'll need to replace both sides. But I would check the calipers before you go much further - see if they are seized. Frankly, I'd be a bit surprised if they aren't at least stiff to rotate - but you can bring them back from there - it's only if you can't move them at all you've got real problems.

You probably don't need to get the pads out to check that - just undo and remove the top pin, then see if the caliper will rotate a bit.

That looks like a solid disc?

I guess about a 2, but depends on experience - brake jobs need care and knowledge!

But if the no 2 slide pin is seriously seized, you're way up the scale. It can need a new caliper in the worst case. If you can get the caliper off the pin, you can clean the pin and the recess and lube as discussed.

Should a new caliper be needed, check prices with your Lexus dealer - there are special offers on them!

Now we're all waiting with bated breath.......!

I don't really understand how the pad guide pin can be tightened - it's just a push fit in the caliper. It is very easy to distort the pin hold clip when removing it - it's worth reshaping it with a pair of pliers before putting it back - usually the ends need bending in a bit to make the angle more acute. It should be quite hard to locate into the holes in the pins - if it's too easy, it will come out in service!

Before you remove the pins, look carefully at how the anti-squeal spring fits - otherwise you'll be puzzling about how it goes back!

You can remove the pads once you have taken the pins out - the pads need a bit of winkling to get them out. Now remove the upper (no 1) cylinder slide pin. The caliper should now rotate easily until the caliper is clear of the disc, then push it off the no 2 lower pin - if it's stiff, or if you can't push the caliper off the no 2 pin, you've got problems - it is the no 2 pin which seizes in the recess in the caliper.

One man brake bleeding is easy - you don't need any kits. The secret is to have the bottle into which you're bleeding fluid above the level of the bleed nipple - I put my catch bottle on a step stool next to the wheel arch. Then the pipe from the nipple to your catch bottle runs upwards. You need to secure the end of the pipe into the bottle - I use a bit of old brake pipe bent and hooked over the rim of the catch bottle.

Now when you release the brake pedal, some fluid runs back from the pipe into the caliper, but the bubbles have all gone the other way. Bubbles always run upwards - into the catch tank with my way, but into the caliper if you have the catch bottle below the nipple. Just be careful the bottle doesn't fall off the step stool or whatever!

There is indeed a drum brake system, but it's only used for the parking brake (cable operated) - the shoes shouldn't wear - you should only apply the brake when stationary.

The foot brake uses the disc brake (only).

Hey, come on! If you catch it in time, all you need do is take the sliding pins out, one at a time, clean them and the recesses they go in and grease them. If you don't have facilities yourself, any garage would be able to do the job in no time!

Here's a pic of the caliper with the short bolt you need to undo (the one at the bottom left - you may need to hold the inner hexagon (the bit to the left of the twisted rubber boot) with an open ended spanner.

http://tinyurl.com/pyf8o45

And here's the caliper swung upwards. Now you can pull the pin out of the mount - if it's seized it may need some persuasion. The rubber boot/ seal thing is fixed into the mount - don't damage it!

http://tinyurl.com/o52w586

Now clean and grease the pin and recess in the mount (there's a whole lot of discussion about what grease to use - I use Corrosion Block, but others recommend Cera-Tec or even copper grease. Lexus say 'lithium soap based glycol grease'). Then reassemble, then do the top pin - you won't be able to swing the caliper down far, but you can get it out of the way enough. Be careful not to put strain on the brake hose.

(BTW - this was the first part of my brake job - replace pins, discs, pads, rubber seals)

A stitch in time.....

John

Hmmm...I find these prices absolutely eye-watering! I do all my own servicing - I can count the number of times I have taken my car to a garage for other than MoTs during the last 47 years on one hand, and that has mostly been for clutch changes when I haven't had facilities - although I have done half a dozen clutches (not all my cars!) myself.

Let's see what's involved - here is the service schedule I use - pretty much standard Lexus schedule.

You will note that a lot of the items say 'MoT' by them - these are the items checked by MoT inspectors each year - why pay a Lexus technician to do the same checks again? MoT inspections are pretty much spot on these days, if you go somwhere you can trust. I actually check most of these things myself, but there's the option! There are one or two extra notes to jog my memory!

Most of these are checks - mostly by Mk 1 eyeball - see later for replacements and costs!

Every 5000 miles

Replace:

Engine Oil 5W-30 Fully Synthetic Sump Plug 30 ftlbs

Oil Filter - Lexus/Toyota - torque 18 ft lbs

Check:

Air Filter

Cabin Filter (Check aircon is in recirculate!)

Every 10000 miles / 1 year

Check:

brake pads ; Discs MoT

Washer systems ; wiper blades MoT

Tyres MoT

Exhaust and mountings MoT

Steering and suspension components MoT

Auxiliary Drive Belt

Lubricate Hinges/Locks

Check all controls and lights

Road test

Reset Service indicator

Every 20000 miles / 2 years

Check:

Damage and corrosion

Brake Pipes and Hoses MoT

Coolant/Anti-freeze (Replace @ 100000 miles/10 years))

Automatic Transmission Fluid (my car is automatic, obviously!)

Drive Shaft Boots MoT

Brake Pedal; Parking Brake - check & adjust

Battery - condition/security/electrolyte

Underbonnet connections and hoses

Headlight beam adjustment MoT

Seat belts MoT

Longer

Spark Plugs (Denso FK20HBR11 X 6)

Brake Fluid

Charcoal Canister (er - not sure I'd bother with this!)

OK - materials required:

6 litres and a bit of suitable oil - I use Dexos2 - check it out - available on eBay for £20 for 5 litres - less if you buy in bulk

Oil filter - genuine Lexus - £10.99 (includes sump plug washer)

(Both the above at 5K mile intervals - I like frequent oil changes!)

Air filter - £;5.00 (I don't believe expensive air filters do any more filtering - I'd rather change a cheap one more often! Say 20K mile intervals - Lexus say 40K.

Cabin filter - £6.17 (Ditto) 20K mile intervals.

(Both above from eBay -prices as of 21/6/14)

New wiper rubbers are about £11.00 from Lexus. Change every year or two.

Spark plugs - about £65 total (eBay from USA). - but 60K miles at least intervals.

Brake fluid (low viscosity)- about £12.00 /litre. Every two years.

Coolant - Toyota concentrated - ~£26.00 for 5 litres, plus a few quid for deionised water from Halfords!

That's it, apart from a few sundries such as copper grease, spray grease etc.

There's probably a fuel filter change involved somewhere, but Lexus don't seem to mention it)

And there are a few extra items such as diff oil changes (60K miles and check drive shaft flange bolt torques - 15K miles)

You can add it up for whichever service you're doing - and compare with Lexus prices.

Now I know that not everyone can do their own (or have the time and/or ability) and if you park your car on the street it will be difficult if not impossible - but you can work out how much you're paying the Lexus dealer for the privilege! It is where they make their profit, after all!

You probably want to have the work done by a Lexus dealer for the first three years to keep your warranty intact - but my car is 8 years old, so what the hell? I do about 8K miles per year. (PS - that's the IS250 - I have a 22-year old supercharged MX-5 as well which has never seen a garage! (Ok - once at one year old) and a Seat Mii (wife's) which will get two garage services (at one and two years) before I get to grips with it!))

Apologies for a long post!

I'd suggest a read of the document attached to the post by SP33DY here on 3rd January 2012 titled 'Slide Pin In The Rear Brake Calipers Seized (Check Yours)'

I got my wheels refurbished last week - I used Smart Wheels in Manchester - compromise between price, reviews and convenience!

They did a reasonable job for £220 (plus I fell for the inevitable add-on - paint the calipers for £40 extra. I think they must have masked the discs, but otherwise it was stand back and spray everything in sight!)

Pics of the wheels here:

http://tinyurl.com/obtrlcm

and here:

http://tinyurl.com/kb6f56j

They are more grey than appears in the wheel close up - the whole car shot gives a better impression.

They were original Lexus scabby (extremely) silver before!

I painted the centre caps myself - tried to get the chrome bits off, but thought I'd be damaging them so abandoned that very quickly and painted by hand - used Peugeot Steel Grey - not a great match but it doesn't matter - nice blend and they look much better than with the old pale grey colour.

Only problem - they managed to bend one of my jacking points flat to the floor. I managed to more or less retrieve it with some deft work with a Mole Grip. I hate putting my car in the care of 'garages' - last year the MoT tester dented the top edge of the wing next to the bonnet when his inspection lamp fell out of his overall pocket - that cost them £100 for a less than perfect smart dent removal! Grrr...

Do everything myself except where it must go 'off-base'!

So whaddya think, guys?

(BTW - before you ask - the front discs are MTEC grooved and drilled Black edition with Redstuff pads - absolutely excellent combination and not much dust!)

There's nothing in Lexus Service specifications about inspecting or lubricating the caliper slider pins. Caliper inspection only extends to checking the cylinder bore and piston for rust. (And they would only do that if there was a specific brake problem - I suppose they might find a tight slider whilst dismantling) Regular (ie during routine service) brake maintenance only covers a visual check of pad thickness.

The maintenance specs include visual checks of the hoses, pads and discs. The specs do call for checking the hoses with a mirror, discs with a micrometer and dial gauge (for runout) and pads with a ruler. Yeah, right.

I've got new rear calipers (the type that go with pre-2007 solid discs) because the old slider pins were seized irretrievably. The car had on-time regular service before I bought it, from a Lexus dealer. The new ones look exactly the same as the old ones to me, so I reckon on regular inspection and lubrication in future. I bought the new calipers (complete with mounts) for a bargain price (less than reconditioned calipers from a factor) in March 2014 from Lexus Stockport.

If you want lubrication doing, you'll have to ask for it specifically or do it yourself (it's not difficult)

BTW - there was a recall (but only in USA) in 2009 for ISs and some other models built in 2005 and 2006. This was to address the issue of potential rust in the slide pin holes in the caliper. The documentation has a link on here somewhere. But it made it sound like a relatively minor issue, causing noise from the rear pads and being the exception rather than the rule. I beg to differ - I think it applies to all ISs, at least, sooner or later. And it is a condition which critically needs rectification (or preferably maintenance to stop it happening in the first place)

I went out to see if I had made any difference last night. Big improvement, although it doesn't get dark enough (at 11pm) to tell for sure. But I think it will do for now - maybe revisit this in September or so when I might be out a bit more in the dark!

I turned the adjusters 25 'teeth' in a clockwise direction (looking forwards - ie from the side of the adjuster with the small hex head).

No-one retaliated and from the beam pattern on dip on the road and hedgerows I don't think I'll be dazzling anyone!

Ah....many thanks for that - I was looking too far forward.

Found the vertical adjusting screws easily enough now - but for the life of me I can't see the horizontal ones - are they buried deeper under the wings? (Just for fiuture reference - hopefully all I need right now is vertical adjustment).

I've done it as far as I can - not sure it gets dark enough just now to tell if there's a real improvement - I'll give it a whirl late on tonight!

Thanks again!

I was just about to ask the same question!

I've been doing a bit of research on this recently, as I want to raise the lights a smidgen to increase the range - the main beam hits the road too close to the car, so you feel you're driving into a black hole at speed on a dark night.

This despite the fact that dealer and MoT station insist that the lights are correctly adjusted.

There was a thread on here a few years ago, but replies were links to workshop manual pages and now seem to be broken.

I've got the workshop manual - and the instructions are here:

http://tinyurl.com/nfwmc82

This says to get to the corner of the wing where it meets the headlight (having removed the front and side covers and the 'fender protective cover - the strip at the side of the top of the wing) and turn the adjustment screw - one for horizontal and one for vertical. The illustration seems to show a cross head driver and another version of the workshop manual (which claims to cover both IS250 and IS200) shows and specifies a phillips head driver.

However, when you get there, there is absolutely no sign of any adjustment screws or anything you can turn with a screwdriver. See the following pictures (some of which I have lightened somewhat to try and show the dark recesses)

http://tinyurl.com/pahysgh

http://tinyurl.com/lf7v85r

http://tinyurl.com/oslz8wf

http://tinyurl.com/p7mz8w2

So - what do you turn to adjust the lights?

BTW - The black plastic thing which looks like a bracket is actually part of the headlight casing - and my lights are conventional, not HID.

Are your rear discs vented?

If you talk to a Lexus dealer, they may tell you about a deal they have - you can buy new rear calipers (complete with mounts, pins, seals, etc) for £60 a side. All ready assembled - all you need to do is bolt to the car (2 bolts, 14mm heads), connect up the hydraulic pipe, pop in the pads, bleed out - job done!

At least - I just bought two rear calipers from Lexus Stockport under that deal - was just going to order the lower pins (long story - I'd been sent the wrong ones with a kit of pins and seals from USA) whilst on my way to buy exchange calipers - cancelled that journey!

It's all very well to say 'remove the sliding pins, clean and gease etc' - one side of mine was seized so solid that I had to resort to cutting the pin with an angle grinder to save the mount at least. The other side was very difficult to get apart. And the corrosion spreads down the tube in the caliper into which the pin fits - see the Lexus TSB about the recall in USA (elsewhere on here) - they say that if that has happened - replace the caliper.

But I would agree that you should clean the pins and regrease them on a regular (annual?) basis - I've replaced my front pins and seals too.

J

Er..actually I'm not sure that's right. IS250s and 220ds have either vented or solid rear discs - I'm not sure which models have which.

But the vented discs are 310 mm and the solid ones 291mm (again, I think!)

My IS250 SE (2006) has solid rear discs and they are 291mm diameter (that bit I know for sure!)

Always best to check what's fitted to your own car before ordering brake parts!

The IS250 Service data sheet seems to imply that LHD cars have vented discs and RHD cars have solid.

Anyone provide actual confirmation?

BTW - I just bought two complete brand new rear calipers (including mounts and everything) from a Lexus dealer for the amazing price of £120 altogether - the parts guy was telling me it was a modified design and was maybe tacit admission of the dog's breakfast of the original design, which LED to seized lower pins right left and centre - not that the new ones look much different. But he didn't question which discs I had (or even look up my car on the database) - and they would have been different for vented discs.

J

I don't believe this problem is due to piston slap - for one thing, as others have said, it doesn't sound like piston slap, and it would not go away quickly on start up. It would not be cured by a 'top end rebuild'. This noise is much more likely to be caused by the hydraulic tappets (Lexus call them 'lash adjusters').

They get a build up of gum in the very small channels from engine oil, and don't come up to pressure quickly enough when the engine is started. Then it's like conventional tappets with too much clearance. After a couple of seconds, they do get up to pressure and the noise disappears - unless they are really gummed up! It is not a serious or damaging problem as long as it only lasts for a few seconds - just annoying.

The ways to avoid it are:

1) Use the correct engine oil - always fully synthetic - I use Mobil 1 0W-40

2) Change the oil (and filter) every 5000 miles. 10000 intervals are much too long and the official recommendations are there to reduce service costs for fleet users who will dispose of the car anyway at typically 60000 miles.

3) Use an engine flushing additive immediately before every oil change.

If you have the noise, change the oil at 2500 mile intervals and use the flush additive. It will go away after a few such changes.

I have a 2006 IS250 and have no problems.(and a '92 supercharged MX-5 - ditto)

(PS What do I know about the issue? For several years, I was tech adviser for the MX-5 Owners Club (and subsequently Chairman). Mk 1 MX-5s suffered from this, and the cure was as described above. It affected Mk 1 MX-5s to such an extent that Mazda replaced the hydraulic tappets with solid ones for the Mk 2 MX-5. That cured it - but of course, whereas hydraulic tappets are self adjusting, solid ones (buckets and shims) are fiddly, complex and costly to adjust when they do need it - involves measuring clearances and shims, then selecting new shims to make up or reduce the gaps)

JC