Creo

Yes, did mine in Dec 2013 and still working fine, so noises at all from that area. Still have the "crack" from the multimedia. Had the Lexus chaps take it out a couple of times and shim in but the noise never went. Its really worth doing. For a numptie such as myself shoving stuff between the dash and windscreen with a screwdriver is a bit daunting, but really its easy, doesnt have to be precise.

I was there this afternoon July 31 2015, and all appears well. Stuart told me there is some accountancy stuff going on that means the Toyoda Tech Ltd company is being wound up, but the Lexus and Toyota service business continues with no interuption to his customers. I had my IS 250 in there as usual for Service and Mot on June 1st, and had no issues, and the usual excellent service. I have recently had some brake noise and Stuart suggested I bring the car in which I did this afternoon. He found a seized brake caliper, freed it up, took it apart and cleaned it and refitted, and now all is well. I was there for half an hour and he refused to accept payment. This is typical of the terrific service I have had from Stuart over the last 2 years. I have no affiliation with Toyoda Tech, Stuart, his business or his family. I am just a happy customer, and will personally continue taking my Lexus to Stuart. I just wanted to put this post in as maybe others now feel uncertain. Of course its up to the individual to make up their own minds, and its not exactly encouraging seeing a company name being wound up, but from my observation today, and my own experiences the last 3 months, all appears to be fine.

Have a 250 and of the 40 or so cars I've owned, and the hundreds of others I have driven, in over 40 years, it probably has the least comfy seating position. On my test drive seemed fine, but once I had it a few hundred miles I detested it, and still do. My issue is the lack of thigh support so my right leg doesnt have support and after 10 mins or so this gives me backache (I'm 6 foot so not tall). Even resorted to the desperate measure of putting spacers under the front seat fastening point with longer bolts to raise the frot of the seat, but the miniscule gainit didnt help. Had several Lexuses and all been a delight to sit in, except this one. I will probably end up getting rid of it for this reason. Reminds me, so much of this car is dissapointing compared to the LX400's and GS300's I have had. I suspect it will be my last Lexus.

I second the air filter checking/replacement. When I got my IS250 I was a bit dissapointed with the consumption, checked filter and it was dirty. Stuck a new one in and mpg improved immediately and since then have been getting 34.1 overall with mix of driving over the winter. Happy with that!

I have used Toyoda Tech in south Hampshire a couple of times since I got my IS250, and my experience is very positive. Stuart there is on the ball, efficient, polite and their pickup/delivery service is second to none. I also like that when they are really good at keeping me informed. I have affiliation to them, just a happy customer.

I got my IS250 early December and was initially a bit dissapointed by the first couple of fill-ups. Read some advice to check the air filter, and possibly put some fuel additive at fill-up. The air filter was very dirty! Replaced it, and added AR6200 fuel supplement for the next 3 fill-ups. Result was my MPG went from under 30 to since mid-December to now I have averaged 33.4mpg in a mix of driving, including a lot of short hops to the local shops with the car cold. I have the aircon on about 50% of the time, tyres are inflated to Lexus specs, I buy fuel from wherever I am passing when I need it, no idea what oil is in it, but I hadnt heard of the ECT power mode thing before so will give that a try. The fuel additive may have helped a little to clean or whatever it does, it was £8 for the trial size but didn't last long and I havent used it for a month and still seeing same mpg. So, my own experience of mpg improvement is check your air filter!

Had the garage shim mine, still the same, seems that the fix, whatever it actually is, is a very hit and miss affair. Even though I am familiar with the crack sound, sometimes its very loud and quite alarming. Very poor for a Lexus.

Had my IS250 (Auto) for 2 months and its averaged 33.6mpg in that time with the pretty standard mix of urban and non-urban driving. It started with poorer consumption but changed the air filter and it made a big difference. I'm a potter around sort of driver, but have felt the IS250 is gutless on that rare occassion I need a bit of oompphh when trying to get into fast moving traffic on a slip road etc. IT seems to find a way of not using its horse-power very well.

Same thing went through my mind. Thought of the 30mph (or 33mph), but then would bug me that for most of the time it would be on so I would get used to it and not notice it. So have it at 76mph, and have actually noticed it on the rare occassion I get to that speed. The tacho seems pointless, this isnt a boy racer car, its a potter about car, and the paddles and sports shift are 100% redundant on mine, so it will change gear when it wants to anyway. For me this is gadget nonsense, when I really would like something useful, like the ability to customise the readouts on the dash info display, like having a permanent outside temp would be far more useful (for me) than some useless tacho thing.

I never understand how people drive "spirited" on roads that are clogged up with traffic, full of pot holes, and idiots texting. Do they drive badly, taking risks, cornering too quickly and cutting people up for the thrill of it? If so then a BMW is a great choice as they are mainly driven by *****.

MPG for the IS250, well mine anyway, is 32, thats an automatic. I think thats pretty much standard from what I have read on this forum. Of course consumption is very much to do with driving style and driving profile (type of roads, traffic etc), so you could see less, or maybe even a little more. Tax band for mine (2007) is L, which is currently £280 per annum.

I would recommend reading through the threads in this forum, and elsewhere. From what I have read the 220 diesel doesnt seem to get as good a feedback as the petrol 250. I dont have the diesel, nor would I, too little gain in a few mpg for more problems and issues with diesels, and while it can be argued that Toyota have great experience in diesels, it does seem thatw hen it comes to cars their petrol versions are better.

1 and 2, Sorry cant help as I dont have those options. 3. Mine which I just got has 85K miles and pulls as strongly as a new car. Previously I had a Lexus 4 litre GS that had 187k miles on it and when I changed and it pulled and performed like a new car. I certainly believe Lexus is one of those cars that mileage isnt an issue with the huge caveat that it must have been regularly serviced. 4. I am now getting 32mpg on my IS250. On a run recently of 70 miles round trip on A roads (so 40-50mph most the way) I got 36mpg. Lexus are not economical cars, but for myself 32mpg is ok. I would never, ever have another manual, in fact havent had one since 1983! The auto box on the IS is a thing of joy, the absolute best part of the car, and you have the S and paddles should you wish to spend some time in manual anyway. So, my opinion is Auto all the way on the IS250.

I can confirm that I am another satisfied user of the "shove some padding between windscreen and dash" technique. Had a 70 mile round trip today and apart from the CRACK noise from the centre console the dash itself was whisper quiet, not a peep. Sorted! It may not be a Lexus or permanent fix but for zero cost and 5 mins effort from someone who is truly dreadful at doing any sort of mod, this has to qualify as an easy, simple, and ultra cheap fix to what is, for some, a very annoying aspect of the IS. Big thank you to those on this forum who posted this tip.

The dashboard noises are now on my hit-list. I have shoved 3 pieces of folded black felt into the dash/windscreen slot area, will see what that does, and the car is booked in next week to Toyoda Tech for the centre unit removal and padding addition.