Silver Arrow

Do make sure though that if you have the heater element at the base of the screen (where the wipers rest) that:

a. the new screen has it

b. the fitter remembers to connect the cable

I seem to recall that many fitters forget, and in some cases the element is totally missing!

Mine was like this from new. The seat squab felt very low, in fact I seem to recall I could feel what felt like a bar under it, and I only weigh 11 stone.

I too like the sportier feel of the IS against the GS. having said that, the opportunity to use the sports set up is highly limited where I do most of my driving, around town and suburbia. I'm looking forward to seeing the RC....

GS FSport has AVS so you can firm it up

+ for YOUTUBE

I too found the seats uncomfortable in the F Sport - they seemed to shove me in the back all the time and adjusting the Lumbar settings did nothing to really help - and it's a very personal thing. I think the "hard" ride accentuated the discomfort for me. May be I'm too used to the arm chairs in the GS now....which are superb and you can see where the 5 odd years in designing them has gone. Along with the wallowing tub suspension it's so comfy....

Also - I do sort of agree with the comments on the interior. It does look modern but there is too much hard black plastic, and I have to say the one I drove did have some creaks - incidentally something that drove me mad with the Gen2 IS....too many hard plastic joints expanding and contracting as the temperature changes.

Value for money is where Lexus does win. For £35k odd (after a chunkier discount) you do get a lot of car, but I would say that even though it's bigger, the GS is simply superb value for money in comparison, even as a company car. The GS300h seems really good - for the same money you could be driving a GS300h Luxury, which to be honest blows the IS away for comfort, Luxury and build quality. A couple of K's more and you could have the F Sport GS, which I think is awesome even more as I believe it has AVS and 4WS as standard...

I had one for 2.5 years, and I have to say, I admire those of you that have been getting 30+ mpg in town. Mine would never go above 25, and on a run 38. By the way, this was like that when brand new, and when it had 20k on the clock.

My next car was consistently high 20-low 30's in town and easily 44+ plus (up to 53) on a run. It was a 3.0 6 Cyl Auto diesel....and bigger and heavier - a BMW 5 series which I kept for 4.5 years.....

Don't get me wrong - there are some things to like about an IS 220d. Smart looking, great looking interior, exclusivity etc, and for those of you that are enjoying the experience it's brilliant. There are clearly some bad ones out there and mine was defo one! I knew after having driven (several) courtesy IS250 Auto's that I'd made a big mistake...pretty much the same economy and a proper Lexus....by that I mean Petrol Auto....

Just watched the 5th gear show, and overall I thought it was reasonably fair...i.e. Can seem over styled to some people, Interior and comfort/luxury/smooth ride better than a 3 series, handling/engagement in a 3 series slightly better....the simple facts and figures too compared to the 320d ED which at the end of the day is economy benchmark in the sector (not Co2 - that's where the Lexus is slightly better IF you get the SE/company car tax rules do help it).

The reliability thing only comes into play, usually, after 3 years or so of ownership - and as stated they don't have to live with it.

They never mentioned equipment levels though, where the Lexus would have trounced all of the German cars (but then so would a Mondeo TitX, or a Honda Accord).

At the end of the day it comes down to what you want, and if company car tax rules mean it makes sense to buy the Lexus, then people will - to save cash. On the other hand, there are loads of disgruntled ex-German car drivers that want something different - and the Lexus is the obvious choice. And finally, repeat Lexus customers, who won't consider a german alternative as they are everywhere and as exclusive as a potato in Asda.

JC thinks the LFA is the best super car though....

A very common problem, not just with Lexus. Our VW Golf Mk6 1.4 TSi needed new Valve adjusters to cure it (under warranty), and it has gone away. Like yours it did it 2-3 times out 10 - a bit like a rolled up newspaper being held against bike spokes for about 1-2 seconds - stops suddenly.

Our Mini does it regularly. It's not piston slap, but is accentuated by a cold start, implying, on the mini at least, that it's do with a lack of oil at the valves.

I don't think it's a serious problem - if you have any doubts get Lexus to check it out.

Just come across this LINK

Gonna do that I think, it actually looks quite simple. A stanley knife, hair dryer, a sheet of the stuff and bob's your uncle!

Exide are probably best all round value for money Battery you can get. If you have a Parkers near by, they tend to be the best priced for them. Do shop around though!

Dab it on a rag first!!

I have a bit of a problem really with the service intervals with my car as I do not do many miles annually. The service plan that I have covers a 70K service at September 2013, an 80K service at September 2014 and a 90K service at September 2015 However, when I purchased the car in September 2012 it had 57K on the clock and the salesperson told me that the 60K service had been done just before the then owner part exchanged it for a new Lexus. My car only has 62K on the clock at this time.

Since buying the car I have pestered the dealership for confirmation that the 60K service had been carried out and, because the dealership has changed hands they kept telling me that the full data was lo longer available. However, within the past week they have contacted me to say that as a gesture of goodwill, and "to put the matter to bed" (their words) they have told me that they will collect my car from my home and take it to Plymouth (100 miles round trip for which they will replace the petrol used) and they will put new spark plugs in.

To me that is customer care/service absolutely second to none. It certainly encourages me to go back to them when I am ready to change my car again.

I can't see how a dealership doesn't have a record because it changed hands....surely all customer records would go across - after all it should all have ben on their computer system? May be they never actually did it lol and now are having to justify their actions?

Warm to Hot water (not boiling water) from a kettle/jug. Works every time. And before someone says "Your screen will shatter", well it won't - they are laminated and as long the water isn't boiling!! It won't freeze over again either normally, at least not for a while as it warms the screen through. The engine will be warm soon enough if you start it first!!

Also- that wiper demist thing on the Lexus - a bit of a faff - all you end up doing is scrubbing your wiper blades over the rest of the icy screen, thereby ruining them prematurely!

Aah - but does the price not depend on what services are due? For example, the 60,000 mile biggy is the most expensive as it needs new plugs etc - so if over the 3 year quote your IS 250 is in need of that then the price will be higher.....

The headlight is probably a duff ballast. Can be bought of eBay for £80 but a pain to fit due to tne fact you need to remove headlight and take it apart as the ballast is part of head light construction.

If your lucky it might just be a bulb but your diagnosis sounds the same as my car which is a faulty ballast. That said, mine has been doing it for a year and I've still not got around to sorting it out-lol

Carl

Thx for the info Carl,

Now theres some thing about these lights that confuses me, do you know or anyone else, the difference between Xenon and HIDs? If I intall HID's I have to install a balast. Now I have read on some forums theres no difference between Xenons and HIDs. Could I not then just install an HID blub (I had 8000k HIDs on my previous car) and use the internal balast?

I have seen some youtubes about cutting a hole in the light cover to fit the cables for a balast for HIDs upgrades.

Thanks again

James

HID and Xenon are pretty much the same thing - you won't need to fit an HID kit as your SE-L should have factory HID's.

The only confusion comes when you start looking at eBay, and see all those cheap Xenon bulbs - that have a standard H7 Halogen bulb with what they claim is Xenon gas in side them, and a blue sweet wrapper to give a whiter light.

HID's and Xenon's don't use a standard bulb with a filament - instead they "arc" light between two points; the Xenon gas in the bulb is used to discharge the light - very brightly. The bulbs are normally D2S, or D4S etc, as opposed to H4, H7 etc. They have ballasts to ignite and regulate the current - and as stated above that is probably where the problem lies.

Your best bet might be to swop the existing bulbs over left to right first to prove that the bulb is OK.

PS - Bi-Xenon's are where both dipped and main beam are Xenon's.

Just a thought - but has anyone ever done this? There are some utoob vids on it and it looks simple enough - but I'm nervous about how long it will last. I'm thinking about for my winter alloys, as it would be so much cheaper than refurbing them.

I think the OP is talking about servicing over 3 years, not just a warranty scheme.

I do agree - it seems very expensive, and to be honest that is one of the problems with Lexus - the servicing works out quite expensive largely due to the fact they still have annual servicing.

Lexus do some strange things. The early 2nd Gen IS didn't have anti-carjack (Auto) locking, and neither does the UK version of the new GS! They seem to miss the detail....I was assured by my dealer that the GS did, and I was so disappointed after delivery to find it didn't - especially as I have (nearly) been a victim of this before in central London...luckily my 2002 Audi A4 had the feature.....the scrote couldn't get in!

That spoiler looks awesome!

The IS250 is the way to go if you really want a Lexus IS 2nd Gen.

But at that mileage, a diesel (not a Lexus diesel) surely would have made more sense?

The way I look at it is this:

Lexus - servicing - every 12 months OR 10,000 miles - so that's about £7-800 p/year if you use the main agents over 30,000 or so miles you'll be doing, Audi will have been cheaper to service - probably about £500 p/year at the most due to the long life servicing schedule that you would have used

Fuel - it's going to get you about 500 miles per tank full give or take a few. I dare say in the Audi it was probably more like one fill a week?? So that's about £25-30 a week, or £100 a month or more on fuel - thats about £1200 extra on Petrol a year. It might not matter so much to start with - but you will start to feel it.

The road tax - the Lexus will cost you more - probably £100 p/year

and so on....

I appreciate that you had a bad Audi, and it cost you a lot, but the simple facts are that you were unlucky (or I and several I know have been very lucky - I had a BMW and an Audi that cost noting to run over 8 years - both diesels and covered about 90,000 miles between them)

The Lexus will be a safer bet on the reliability, and I'm not surprised that you have gone for a Lexus given your woes. Even the base IS250 is very well kitted out. So spec wise it will beat anything else out there for the money. It was one of the reasons I went for the GS250. My mileage has dropped off now, and I was really nervous about a diesel being tractored about around with lowish miles each week. DPF's, EGR's and all that.....

There is a break even point where one becomes more sensible than the other, and may be an after market warranty can help. But it's a tough call and I can see why you have it.

On paper it's the same, but the IS250 (and GS) behaves very much like a typical non-Turbo VVT engine - all the power comes after 4000 RPM

With the 300h, the push comes a little earlier due to the motor - so whilst on paper it's similar, in reality the H feels faster and a little more responsive, especially in town where it matters the most and noticeable the most.

With the GS it's called "tethering", where you access Connected services via the Bluetooth connection of the phone, and it's data through 3/4G. Have never actually managed to get it to work on the GS though

I seem to recall 100 miles a day