Clubsport78

Sorry to hear you are having issues too... Mine is better than it was, but still not quite 100% right when it has been left for a few hours. I try turning the key so all the lights are on for a few seconds and putting foot on the gas whilst starting, as that seems to help it. Once started, mine drives fine and does not cut out on me. Yours does sound more like a fuelling issue to me. Could maybe be the alternator/battery if you are noticing any electrical issues? Cheers.

I'm not sure if it will help, but have a look at the issues (amongst others!) I have had with this on my IS300. As you will see, my symptoms were very similar to yours... http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=78587 It seems to be fixed currently, by a mix of using high octane fuel and maybe disconnecting/fitting a new battery which probably reset the ECU. (I think there is another way to do the ECU reset [and save your radio presets] by pulling a couple of relays out, but I am not sure). It is a pretty strange issue, but maybe cleaning out the air filter/air box, putting some super juice in it and resetting the ECU will do the job?! Good luck.

Hi, I am after a drivers side (offside) headlight washer nozzle and jet cover for my IS300. Basically, I need the part that comes away if you pull on the nozzle and it pops out (leaving the rubber gaiter and actual washer pump behind)... Mine seems to have gone missing :( I think the drivers and passenger side ones are angled slightly differently. I also assume that the IS200 ones are the same and that having the TTE kit, doesn't change the shape of the jet cover?! Ideally in black, but other colours considered. Thanks.

It looks like it was unhappy about the the fuel after all! At the weekend, I put some (more) Tesco Momentum 99 octane fuel in it, hoovered out the air filter a bit (new one now fitted, but couldn't get one at the time!) and also took one of the spark plugs out to check (they are the Denso SK20R ones and look a bit dark but not too bad...). Since that, the car has been fine all week. I must have started it 20 times + without any issue. All I can assume that it was the lower octane fuel that was causing the issue. Either that or I have a car that fixes itself (maybe it was feeling sorry for me after all I have spent on it so far?!). Only other idea is that maybe the ECU has reset and adjusted to the higher octane fuel after I fitted the new battery the week before last (it was still tricky to start just after I had fitted it though...)? Cheers for your suggestions and assistance everyone. I will let you know if the problem resurfaces... :)

Thanks for the info Chris. Yes, it was not quite the experience I was hoping for, but what can you do! I'll try and take a look at the spark plugs at the weekend and see what they are. Cheers.

Hi, Ok, I'm back with a bit of an update. It has been a pretty horrendous couple of months cost wise for the little Lexus to say the least and I have come fairly close to parting it out or more than one occasion! I picked up the car for a fairly low price, but not quite low enough to cover what I have had to shell out! So far I have had a new rad, cambelt, head skim and gasket, water pump, oil, coolant and a battery... It went in for a cambelt change a few weeks ago and that uncovered the fact that the rad was leaking, this then uncovered the fact that radweld had been used to try to mend a blown head gasket (probably due to a previously leaking rad, which i guess overheated the car and warped the head at some point) so it was a choice of get it fixed or sell for parts. I went for the fix it route as the rest of the car is in very good condition, but the jury is still out as to whether it was a good idea...! The original starting issue still remains though.... The old original battery was certainly tired, but a new one has made no difference. I have not checked the ground cable yet. I am still not convinced it is electrical though... The car only has issues starting from cold after it has been left for a few hours. I takes 3 or 4 tries to get it to start, but once started, driven for a bit, it then starts fine. Get back in the car a few hours later and it takes a few tries to get it to start again. During driving, the car drives fine... I will still check the grounding, as recomended, but other thoughts are: - Ects butterfly valve clogged up? - IS300 specific ecu flash update related to starting, but this is only for earlier cars I think (mine is a 2003) and I would have thought this would cause a more regular pattern. - Camshaft positioning sensor? - Fuel pump? (When I put petrol in it, there is quite a prolonged rush of air from the tank, any thoughts?) - Spark plugs (my mechanic thought they looked fine when he did the head gasket) - starter motor? (Sounds fine) - Immobiliser ?! (Security light goes out ok) When cold, you could hold the key for the first or second try for eternity and it won't fire up, but by the 3rd or 4th it decides it will burst in to life. Trying a couple of short bursts on the key and then a longer one also seems to work... Whilst the car is still usable, it is rather frustrating! Needing the car to be cold to replicate it doesn't help matters... I will continue investigating, but any other ideas would be appreciated... Cheers.

Thanks for the input everyone. Having thought about what I said about the fuel, I agree that it is pretty unlikely to be the issue as it would be more of a constant. As many of you have said, I think I will give the battery a go first. If that doesn't work, then maybe the plugs next. Will report back soon! Cheers :)

Hi Tony, From what I can recall, it seems to start ok if I try it again straight after it has been started from cold (and had initially been reluctant) it only seems to be a problem if it has been left for a number of hours (overnight) both on a level surface and fairly steep downward facing slope. When it got the car last week, it was very low on fuel (light on, needle didn't even move) which did make me wonder if it had pulled in some of the dregs from the bottom of the tank... Thanks.

Hi All, Just joined up as a member on here as I have recently taken ownership of a 53 plate IS300 Saloon (65k miles) with Styling kit and the 6 spoke TTE 18" wheels. After years of driving German cars, I have to say that I am seriously impressed with the overall drive and refinement of the IS! I do however have a small problem. It seems to dislike cold starts! It turns over ok, but takes a while to fire up and sometimes takes a couple of tries. Once it has been started it seems to start fine if tried again. Later on i the day it also seems to start ok. The battery looks oldish, but I think is ok as the starter motor sounds quite strong. My initial thoughts are spark plugs / fuel pump / fuel filter? Has anyone else had similar issues? Any other thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.