james250

Thanks, how exactly do you remove and replace the boot iself? and does it need lubricant? Where can I buy replacement boot from?

While changing out brake pads, I noticed the rubber boot that surrounds the brake piston on the caliper has a hole. Do I need to change the caliper now? What is the job of the boot? is it just to keep moisture out?I don't think it's directly sealing the fluid or anything because fluid isn't leaking.

Thank you Paul, I was thinking the climate might have something to do with it too. I don't like the idea of replacing it either seeing as it's working but the thought of just losing power sounds a bit scary. Other things like if starter was to fail, at least i'm parked already somewhere and can get RAC. Worth changing the drive-belt? i changed it as a preventative measure at about 100k last. How often are drive belts to be changed?

I forgot to mention, I do have RAC full cover

My IS250 is just over 190k miles and i've been reading a lot on the american forums of the alternators failing. Seems like people there report it as a common problem with the IS250. I haven't seen as many reports here in UK forums but there have been a few recent incidents on here of failing alternators. It got me thinking, should I replace my alternator as a safe measure or should I wait until mine dies? I tested the alternator with a multimeter, on start-up with lights and AC off it pumps out over 14volts. I also used one of those cheap alternator and battery testers and the LED reports alternator as good. My alternator could be on its way out or could have lots more life left in it, there's no way of really knowing. What would you all do? The thought of a failing alternator on the middle of a motorway just sounds scary, eventually you'd have no lights and stuff to even have hazards on for people to see you.

I've read that their are two variants of alternator for the IS250 and that they both look identical but are not intercompatible. Apparently the only way to know you have the correct alternator is to compare old part number with new. Did you check you old alternator part number?

Is the IS250 fuel filter a service item? I've never changed my fuel filter but wondering if it's something to change at certain intervals?

Does everyone have a perfect 1 lambda reading on their MOT emission history for the IS250? Mine passed with 0.000 CO and 0ppm Hydrocarbons but lambda is 1.013. The lambda is up from last year which was 1.012 last year but CO and HC have gone all the way down. Using cataclean recently. I've got new AFR sensors, new downstream O2 sensors too. So what else could be effecting the perfect 1 lambda reading?

@madasahatter @alankehoe what mileages are your cars at? noticed both are 2008

I was thinking alternator as soon as I read the description. As the alternator fails the only power all the ECU's are getting is whatever the battery has left to give. Slowly one by one ECU will start reporting issues. Heavy power items like power steering etc will not work. Seems like in America it's a very common issue with the IS and many have changed their alternators. But people do say that there are usually signs before it fails like battery light illuminating. Did you not have any signs before hand? It's rather scary to think of all this failing on the motorway or on dark country road. Wondering if it's worth replacing the alternator as a preventative precaution? Has anyone else had their alternators fail like this?

I need to replace one of my brake bleed valves which does't allow fluid to be drained because somehow the rubber cap came off and its just seized up with dirt. I purchased a new valve which is cheap anyway. Question is to replace it should i have someone press on the brake gently and let fluid come out as i'm unscrewing it and then while pedal is still pressed quickly put the new valve in?

I guess that could happen. I was thinking as it ages and little bits of rust here and there can weaken it. I guess once the car is on the ramp it would give more piece of mind if something else was added. Not sure if a axle stand will slot in somewhere with that height. Worth checking I guess

Thank you all. I did end up using the ramp. Had just above enough clearance to reverse on to the ramps. It is a bit strange driving up the ramp. But much better than axle stand as I felt much more at ease working under the car and got plenty of clearance for removing exhaust rear section easily

I've got the following pictured metal ramps that you drive on to. I've used it for oil changes in the past where i've driven the car on to the ramp. But now I need to change my exhaust mufflers and I'm wondering if it's safe to reverse the car onto these ramps. I get a bit paranoid about lift the car and put on axle stands to be honest. I can lift it on the pinch spot but just can't find suitable area for the axle stands flat surface to sit. And if I lift on side up and put and axle stand, then when it comes to lifting the other side, i feel like it wobbles so much that it might fall off the other side. Any tips?

It's very much possible that the LED itself inside is dead. If only certain lights are doing this then it most likely is the LED. Changing LED involves taking it apart and de-soldering and soldering on a replacement.

The jacking points on the IS seems to be the side areas where there is like a thin metal ridge with like U shape slots for place factory supplied lifting jack on. I want to use a trolley jack and my trolley jacks head looks something like the pic below: If I try and place this on the side ridge where the factory points for the standard jack is, it will just bend that entire metal on the car. Does anyone know a safe place to place this for lifting the car?

Thanks. Roughly how many hours of driving with them on do you think you've done? after driving with them on for a while like lets say an hour or so have you tried touching them to see how warm they get? some aftermarket lights i've seen work well in the beginning but because of poor circuit design and poor heat dissipation the LED's start failing or flickering after a while. These do look really good quality though, but ultimately it's about the quality of the electronics inside i guess.

Thanks for the photos. Looks great. @iSalajee are you still having the rubbing issue when opening and closing the boot? @Bongo what about your, are you experiencing any rubbing?

You wouldnt mind showing us some photos of it on your car? The one thing i noticed when seaching google images for it is that in some photo angles the lights look ever so wide and in some angles they look perfect. I compared to the OEM outer lights from 2012 and the OEM one also flares out quite a bit

Those who have had these installed for a while, how are they going? My one concern with aftermarket lights is a he electronics build quality. I see many cars on the road with nice looking aftermarket tail lights with faults like dead LEDs or flicking LEDs so it puts me off

Sorry forgot to post an update. I got the Bosch S4 026 (068). It's a perfect fit and installation fairly straightforward. 10mins max. It's been a week and so far so good.

There is a connector that connects to this. If i'm not mistaken it's a temperature sensor in the plastic housing.

I'm assuming it does because if I jump start it and then drive for a while then battery has a little bit of power to start the car but after few hours it isn't enough. The battery is about 6 years old now. Once car is started, everything is running fine. How do I know if alternator is bad? Once the car starts, it can drive for hours no problem so I'm assuming alternator is fine because the battery hasn't got enough power to be providing all the power

I'm assuming it's my battery that needs replacing because it just literally dies after a few hours and doesnt have enough power to start the engine. i've driven for hours and still same thing. So it seems like the battery doesnt charge.

Is 030 the battery layout ?