Gaz31

It's very hard to say without giving the car a scan with an OBD2 code reader. You can buy a cheap handheld version for around £20, one of the best things I've ever bought car wise. Maybe someone you know has one you can borrow?

Excellent news! Fingers crossed that the repair doesn't drag on for you! Out of interest what grille did you order?

I had a similar problem on my Golf, turned out to be the drivers side door hinge. Greased it up and it stoped.

Hi Peter, you can buy a kit for just the interior on eBay like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-IS250-LED-INTERIOR-KIT-INTERIOR-LIGHTS-BULBS-LED-KIT-/260863230811?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cbca9035b

I thought this was a little expensive and wondered how good they would be. As there are so many different types of LED bulbs and festoons available I shopped around and bought a load off one eBay seller, then you can choose things like a group of 5 LED for a 501 bulb (where as the kit could be just one LED on the 501 so won't be very bright). I also did the wing mirrors and side lights but I used more expensive Philips LED's for these as I want them to last a long time as they are more difficult to fit.

If you need any help drop me a PM

I've found LED versions but come from Taiwan: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IS220d-IS250-IS350-2005-05-12-Courtesy-Side-Door-LED-Light-White-LEXUS-/130762291664?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1e720a39d0

Just found uk seller, it's better to search for is250: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2pcs-18x-WHITE-LED-DOOR-COURTESY-LAMP-LEXUS-IS250-ES350-LS460-RX-INTERIOR-LIGHT-/251424491813?hash=item3a8a114925

I don't think anyone wants the old Top Gear back Rich, they're just saying the new format has been pushed across the line, funny has become stupid/silly/immature

I totally agree Hugh, there were countless thing they could have done on the feature of old school hatchback vs new hatchback but what they chose to do was totally pointless, ok a little funny in parts but they missed the boat in my opinion. I consider myself to be young but even for me I think they've crossed the line, it's gone from being a funny entertainment programme to a silly scripted cringeworthy programme. I'll continue to watch in hope the series improves.

My two year old thought it was hilarious! I've never seen her laugh so much! I found it funny but it's gone too far for me, I think they need to find a balance. I know it's more an entertainment show now instead of a car show but some of the script is cringeworthy! They could have been on to a winner with the old hatchback vs modern but I think they spoilt it.

I don't agree with you on 5th gear Neil, you know what your getting with that, it's informative and actually reviews cars. Mr average wants to see a review on the new Golf, not everyone can afford the latest Ferrari or McLaren. Yes it's not amazing but it is what it is.

Thanks Reimar. Did you notice much difference after you changed the oil?

Should be fine mate, I'm not sure what the normal interval is, maybe 10k Or 12k?

So I had a quick look today, I connected the harness and tried to find a route so I could decide where to mount the box. Unfortunately there is not much space to the right hand side of the engine bay and the harness us not long enough to mount it on the other side by the Battery.

I contacted Racechip to ask where to fit it and they replied with a couple of pictures of the engine bay, one a general picture and one showing the fuel rail- nothing that helped me to mount the box. I replied to them asking where they fit the box and they just replied with "you can mount the box wherever you like" - Great help and fantastic customer service!

So for now I'm a bit stuck, I have fitted these boxes to otter cars and there has always been somewhere obvious to mount it but there isn't on the IS. I hope someone who has installed one will come along and point me in the right direction!

Hi Sam, welcome to the forum!

There doesn't seem to be much about in the way of mods for the is250. There was a member asking a similar question a day or two ago and all people came up with were a induction kit/air box and and exhaust (it could have been an ISF exhaust).

The MML interface looks good, I've never seen it before. I think most people tend to use a Bluetooth interface to stream music from there phone like the blackberry gateway for around £15 (eBay).

For headlight I'm not sure how expensive a oem kit would be but I guess very, you might be better searching breakers yards. I just upgraded to LED sidelights with Osram nightbreakers. It's a good upgrade but nothing like Xenon.

That sounds good then, as long as Lexus Cardiff support the fact the work was done hopefully Lexus will do something about this. I'd go for the service as usual and explain to them what us happening with the oil and water and smoke, explain it's had a new engine fitted by Lexus Cardiff only 22k miles ago and then sit back and see what they say. Its got full Lexus service history so after 22k they should be obliged to sort this if it is a serious problem. Good look and keep us updated!

Do you know which oil they used? Gearboxes always need the correct type or it's a waste of time. I put the correct grade in my Golf and it was worse than before, it had to be VW's own, it's been perfect since.

I think the Lexus needs 1.8 litres of 75w90 GL-4 semi synthetic. Think I'm going to gave to get under the car to see how easy it is

Hi Gary, was the engine change done buy Lexus and have all the services since the change been carried out by Lexus? It's definitely a bit worrying that water and oil levels are dropping, if the engine change was done by Lexus I would hope they will cover any issues but this might be dependant on where it has been serviced since.

Hi, I've had a good search and can't find anyone who has changed the gearbox oil in an is220d. I want to do this to see if it improves the gear change, especially 1st to 2nd when the car is cold. I have changed the box oil on many cars and found it can make massive improvements, especially when the correct oil is used. So I have the following questions:

Can it be done and is it straightforward?

Which oil grade should be used?

Any special tools needed?

Welcome to the forum Steven. Yes as Ian says HG failure is the big worry, I'm not sure if it is massively common though, if it happens though it's a new engine job as the damage to the head cannot be fixed. As you have probably found out mpg isn't great and nowhere near stated figures, but this does seem to differ between cars. I get around 35mpg and do short journeys, this doesn't seem to be too bad as others seem to be.

The main faults seem to be egr and dpf related. You should clean your egr regularly as a replacement is expensive and cleaning should only take about 40 mins start to finish - very easy job and there is a good guide on YouTube. I had a replacement fitted in June before I bought the car, I cleaned it in December and there was a lot of build up!

A replacement dpf is around £600 iirc, you can use a dpf cleaner to add to the fuel once every so often to regenerate the dpf, Wynns dpf additive is around £10 and seems to work according to the reviews.

A lot of problems can be avoided by using a premium diesel and/or a fuel additive, is220d's don't seem to burn very clean so decent fuel and additives will help

Yes I think it's pretty normal to have to top up the oil, I've read numerous posts stating this. It's quite normal for diesels to use a little bit of oil but obviously not massive amounts as this would suggest a problem

No problem, Fingers crossed!

Hi Gary, welcome to the club. Any problems you need advice on will be better in the appropriate section. You may also get more replays if you change your font, it's really difficult to read - I started reading but gave up after a while.

Have you looked at the fuse diagram in the owners manual? Mine were dead in my IS, it was a blown fuse in the footwell. Cigar lighter was also working like yours

Excellent! Yeah it's definitely worth getting premium diesel. Did you put the millers in with the DPF cleaner or is that for the next tank? I use Diesel Rhino additive, used it on my old golf and it warmed up quicker, started easier and ran smother. I've heard good reviews about millers too.

I'm going to get some Wynns dpf cleaner and used it every few months/tanks, I'd rather do this than have a massive bill for a new dpf

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

It's possible the egr could be faulty but for me I'd say it's the dpf. Try some of that Wynns dpf treatment, you can get it from Halfords or probably most car shops. I think you would need to remove the dpf and have the dpf emulator at the same time if you went down that route

That's pretty good then, mine isn't too bad either. I do short journeys and get around 35mpg on average. My valve was replaced in July before I bought the car but I took a look at it last month and it was covered, I'm going to clean it every 3 months as a new one is around 300euros. I use a fuel additive now too as I'm worried about the coke build up and also the dpf. A petrol engined car would suit me more but petrol is a lot more expensive than diesel out here