bondms

Never known a clutch to last that long lol

You must have very good driving habits :)

I'd like to think so, but I guess the biggest factor is that 90% of my driving is on motorways and fast A-road dual carriageways where the car just sits in 6th gear and I don't need to touch the clutch or the break for mile after mile.

How long do you intend to keep it now?

To be honest, since I use this car daily for my 100 mile round-trip commute, I need it to be reliable and as soon it stops being so I'll look to change it. So far it hasn't let me down, but there are signs of age. For the first 190,000 miles I never needed to top-up the engine oil between services. That's no longer the case. I guess it's starting to burn a little oil, and that might be sign that the piston rings aren't as good as new any more. The exhaust system, alternator, starter-motor, water-pump, clutch, etc. are all originals. They continue to amaze me that they hold out, but I can't imagine they'll all last much longer. I'm sure something expensive will need doing soon, and it'll be hard to justify an expensive repair when the rest of the car has such a high mileage.

wow do you drive like miss Daisy or what lol... thats very impressive to run things like tyres for 50 - 70k, pads/disks being changed once, rear disks still originals..hats off... which brand tyres do you run on the IS? I recon you should run it for another 9 years since you average about 23k miles a year and this will take it to 500,000 miles then donate it to Lexus GB for display at thier headquaters in exchange for an IS-F :winky: ..

I've generally used Dunlops with the IS. I tried one pair of Bridgstones (RE040s), but they didn't last nearly as long. I started with the OEM SP9000s before switching to SP3000s and then SPORTMAXX RTs.

I think another 9 years at my mileage would be pushing it a bit. But if Lexus promised me an IS-F in exchange then maybe I'd give it a try

As already mentioned get the suspension bit like trak rod end's ball joints control arms looked at due to wear and tear as 300,000 miles is risking...

Ok fair enough. Apologies.

I've been around these cars a long time. I also admin 2 forums myself of which we have over 8000+ IS200/300/altezza owners from all over the world.

I see failed ball joints at least once a week, normally in the US or another part of the world (IS300 shares exact suspension parts with an IS200) as they don't have MOT's and in theory a ball joint with play should be picked up on an MOT. Due to the design of the ball joint however some mechanics do not test the ball joints for play correctly.

Here's what will happen if your ball joint fails

Thanks for your advice. I definitely don't want my car ending up like that! Will look to get them changed very soon.

Change your front lower ball joints ASAP. 300,000 miles is well well past they're use by date! Most give up after about 10 years/100k. I've owned an IS200 and IS300 and the first thing I did when I bought them (both cars bought on around 80k) was to replace the front lower ball joins.

Even if no play is picked up in MOT's and Lexus say their 'fine' still change them! So many reports of them giving way with no previous noises or play detected.

I've seen so many of these lower ball joints just give way, ripping the wheel off and taking the front wing with it. And imagine it fails and you're at motorway speeds. Doesn't bear thinking about!

For £90 a pair of genuine OEM ball joints it's not worth the risk is it?

Was just pointing out some preventative maintenance that needs doing that will in fact save you money and maybe even your life in the long run.

Oh well ignore me.....

Sorry, I wasn't ignoring you. I didn't want to reply before giving your suggesting some consideration and doing some research. I hadn't previously heard "So many reports of them giving way with no previous noises or play detected." so my experience didn't quite match yours. Thanks for your advice; it's certainly something I'll look into some more.

300k.... Seriously!!! what do you do for a living?

Hey Stuno, I`d put money on the fact that he`s not a Lorry driver !!

Seriously, I too would like to know.

Regards

John

I'm just a software engineer. It just happens that the office is 50 miles away from home.

Fantastic ! 300, 000 was the target for my GS450h but it fell over at 200,000 and was in my mind too expensive to repair, too complicated with potentially so many more components/systems to go wrong.

Well done for sticking with your IS, top motoring value, wish I had kept my 300 Sportcross !

I wouldn't be disappointed with 200,000 from a hybrid. Compared to a regular non-hybrid engine it's a much newer and more complicated technology. Hopefully if they are capable of 200,000 miles already, then after a little more development they'll soon close in on reliability of regular engines. Perhaps the ones they are selling today already have.

thats impressive.,.goes to show how well engineered these engines and chassis are..built like diesel trucks . besides the usual wear and tear items like discs pads ,ball joints what major part did you have to replace? just curious.

I've had to replace amazingly little. In terms of replaced non-service items the full list consists of two items:

• There was a leaky shock absorber that was replaced under warranty during the second year.
• There was a faulty crash sensor that was replaced a few years ago when the air-bag warning light came on.

That's it for non-service items that have been replaced. The alloy wheels were refurbished (but not replaced) when they started to corrode. A common problem with Lexus I gather from the frequent posts on this site.

Even service items have done well.

• The rear disks are still originals.
• The front disks have only been changed once.
• Even the pads have only been changed once on the rear and twice on the front.
• The ball joints are all originals.
• The Battery has only been changed once.
• The tyres have, of course, been changed several times. But even these do well. The first set got 50,000 miles for those that started on the rear and 70,000 miles for those that started on the front.
• The radio has suffered the common ERR-1 or ERR-3 fault twice, but in both cases it was easily fixed at home without having to buy any new parts--just took the device out, freed the stuck disk, added some grease to the moving parts, cleaned the CD lens, and put it back together.
• All the indicator, brake-light and tail-light bulbs are original. The other external lights and some bulbs for back-lighting the dashboard switches have been changed at least once.

I guess some of this has been due to the way the car has been driven, almost exclusively on motorway and A-road journeys causing little wear on the car. But I've still been impressed. The car has also been garaged most nights.

Petrol has been by far the highest contributor to running costs. I've spent £39,000 on fuel averaging between 36 and 37 mpg.

Back in September 2001 I was very excited to take delivery of a brand new IS200. For a twenty-three year old, not yet on the property ladder, it seemed a rather extravagant purchase, but seeing it there on the forecourt--with just 4 miles on the odometer--I was looking forward to it serving me well for many years.

Well, thirteen years later I have exactly zero regrets about making that purchase. Yesterday the odometer rolled over 300,000 miles and the car hasn't let me down once. Sure, the cost of the petrol required to travel that distance has far exceeded the original cost of the car, but other than that it's been extremely reasonable to run and has had absolutely minimal problems. It's also remained both fun and comfortable to drive.

If only all cars were as good as this :)

Can anyone confirm if the headlight washer switch is backlit? At night with the lights on, all the buttons illuminate except this one. Is that the norm?

Yes it is backlit. I've had to change the bulb on mine. It's an easy job to do (just prise the switch out, twist the bulb to remove it, and do the reverse to re-fit the new one). Lexus charge several pounds for a new bulb which isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but still feels like a rip-off for what's just a tiny incandescent light bulb. I don't know where else you could get one from though.

Thanks very much for the information. Please which oil is best for the differential and is this an easy job to do or would have to be done by a garage.

It's not a difficult job if you're used to working under cars. You need to raise the rear up (obviously using something secure, such as axle stands rather than just a jack), undo the filler plug with a large allen key, place a container under the differential and undo the drain plug (again using a large allen key), wipe the magnet on the drain plug clean, replace the drain plug with a new washer, pour in the oil, and replace the filler plug (again with a new washer).

The most difficult part is pouring in the new oil due to lack of room above the filler plug. You can buy syringes designed for this that may help. I tend to do it by squeezing the bottle to force the oil out and into the differential. It takes about 1.1 litres before it's full.

The official schedule is to replace the rear differential oil every 20,000 miles or 2 years and inspect the manual transmission oil every 40,000 miles or 4 years.

My IS200--which I've had from new and always serviced myself--is approaching 13 years and 300,000 miles. It's never had the gearbox oil changed or even topped up, and it's still going fine.

The differential oil has been changed 8 times. Initially this was in accordance with the every 20,000 mile schedule and the first change or two did remove some metal filings that were suspended in the oil. For later changes, the oil coming out appeared like new, so I stopped replacing it quite so often. Again, I've had no problems with it at all.

I think few dealers would replace the brake fluid every 2 years or 20,000 miles, despite what the Lexus service schedule states. I've heard of at least one that measures the amount of water that's been absorbed by the fluid and uses that measurement to determine whether to replace it or not. Perhaps you could check whether your dealer has been doing this?

I've never removed the wheel to get to the oil filter, but I would definitely recommend a tool that fits over the end and can be used with a ratchet driver. There is very little room to get a chain-type tool in there and they can be too stiff to remove by hand.

hi my engine management light is on so i performed a diagnostic which came up with 'oxygen sensor bank 1 sensor 1' any idea of the location of the sensor also is there any cheap replacements recommended thanks in advance for any help will.

This document shows you the location of the oxygen sensor: http://bahamutcars.free.fr/workshop/IS_98-05/rm/rm684e/m_ec_0008.pdf

Had an invite to one in June. Appreciating there is no such thing as a free lunch, what is the catch. Anybody had experiences.

I went to one several years ago, and have been invited again this year. There's no catch. You get to spend a couple of hours driving several Lexus cars with no pressure to buy. I guess the thinking is that you'll be so impressed you'll want to buy one anyway.

Some pics would be a great help

The cables (I have more than one cable because I have both a 12N and 12S socket) travel from the rear of the car to the fuse box in the passenger foot-well where they connect to fuses. The cables from the other side of the fuses enter the engine compartment and join the Battery.

The first image shows where the cables connect to the +12 on the Battery terminal:

The second image shows where the cables enter the bulkhead though a hole pierced in a rubber grommet:

Can anyone tell me the best place to pick up this supply, as there does not seem to be one available at the rear of the car?

I followed the instructions that came with mine which involved taking the wire along the left-hand side of the car, through a grommet in the bulkhead and into the engine compartment where it attached to the small terminal linked to the Battery. I can post some photos if it'll help.

Nowhere apart from Lexus seems to offer a sport tow bar evene though its the recommended model for towing (Correct me if im worng).

I don't think the IS200 "Sport" was the recommended model for towing; the rear skirt made it slightly more difficult to fit a tow bar compared to other models. I got my tow bar from Lexus (yes, it was just a Brink one) and fitted it to my IS200 SE without having to cut the rear bumper. However, the instructions that came with it included a diagram showing cuts being made. I assume that was only required for the sport model.

I've had mine from new; I got it in 2001 with 4 miles on the clock. Now it's got 171,000 mi and I've spent almost as much in fuel as the original cost of the car :shutit:

Hi all,

My radiator fan is coming on too often.

The engine temp is as always is (just under half way). Fluid levels all seem ok too. Just no matter how i drive the fan seems to be turning on and off the whole time!

any ideas what the problem could be or what to look at???

cheers.

Do you have the air-conditioning switched on? If so, does switching it off make a difference?

Mine had 4 miles on it when new. It's got over 150k now making those first 4 pretty insignificant!

Ideally you want one master key and one valet key.

Ideally you want TWO master keys and one valet key because that what's they are supplied with when new.

138,000 miles (since September 2001). I've had it from new so that's all me.

Here you go :

CLICKY

Didn't have the exact pics, used ones from reversing camera install but should be enough.

Great info. Geoffers. I just wish I'd seen it a few hours earlier