bondms

Am I correct in thinking that this means, with an unmodified IS200 engine, if the cam belt breaks there's no chance of the pistons hitting the valves and causing the expensive damage that's often associated with broken cam belts? Or have I completely misunderstood something? you are indeed correct...... Cheers. That's nice to know :)

Am I correct in thinking that this means, with an unmodified IS200 engine, if the cam belt breaks there's no chance of the pistons hitting the valves and causing the expensive damage that's often associated with broken cam belts? Or have I completely misunderstood something?

My Brink towbar (which I got from a Lexus dealer) doesn't have a buzzer for the electronics (thank goodness). Instead there's a circuit that causes the indicators to flash at double speed if one the trailer's indicator bulbs fails (just like if an indicator bulb fails on the car without a tailer). The disadvantage of this system is that you don't get any indication that you've actually plugged the trailer's electrics in. I reckon that's outweighed by not having to listen to an anoying buzzer every time you change lanes or turn at a junction.

Same here :arrrggg-matey: That's a good idea for removing the old one but not so good for tightening the new one :o . Remember, the Lexus filter uses a different type of gasket from most other manufacturer's filters I've seen. Instead of hand tightening it you're supposed to give it an extra 3/4 turn which needs some sort of tool (such as the Toyota SST).

My Brinkmatic fitted my standard IS200 with no problems but it came with a template which I guess you were supposed to use to help create a cut-out of a rear-skirt. Since I didn't have a rear-skirt, I didn't use the template but I guess this means that the Brinkmatic will fit cars with a sports kit if you're happy to do some cutting.

Lexus will just supply you with a Brink one. You could try saving some money by buying directly from Brink.

The Witter web site does claim they do one for the IS200 (it's listed under Toyota rather than Lexus ). I got mine from a Lexus dealer who supplied a Brink one (so it would probably have been cheaper to buy it direct from Brink). The Brink web site lists LS430 but not LS400 so I'm not sure whether that's any use.

The Lexus UK web site has a QuickTime applet that you can use to see a full 360 degree view of the interior. Click here

I've always been impressed with Halford's silicone sealant polish but I haven't tried Meguiars yet. So two questions, (1) What improvement would I notice with Meguiars over Halfords and (2) what Meguiars products should I be looking at (polish, wax, shampoo...)?

Not sure about these, but does anyone know if these are compatible with my maxpower bumper sticker and matching keyring?! I wouldn't worry about that because I doubt if anyone here's got a 1.1cc to 2.2cc engine. More likely 1988cc to 4293cc. I guess these must just be for radio controlled model cars :P

Oh, so that must be why the IS200 still comes with an analogue cassette-tape player :)

1- Unlock the car. 2- Get in through the PASSENGER door. 3- Reach over and put key in ignition. 4- Switch the ignition on (e.g. to enable you to open/close sun roof). No need to actually start car. 4- Remove key. 5- Leave by passenger door. 6- Try to lock car. When I do this with my IS200, step 6 does lock the doors but I don't get the usual sound or the single flash of the indicators. Presumably it isn't double-locking because it thinks the driver is still in the car? Has anyone else found any other obscure features of their Lexus? P.S. My car has the old style double-locking. IS200s after September 2001 may be different.

I think that if you shut the boot cleanly the alarm will re-arm OK. If, however, you don't close the boot hard enough the first time (and it bounces back up) that seems to confuse the alarm so it won't re-arm correctly.

The official figures for the IS200 are: Urban: Manual: 21.4 mpg Auto: 20.2 mpg Extra-urban: Manual: 36.2 mpg Auto:36.7 mpg Combined: Manual: 29.1 mpg Auto:28.5 mpg I've never used my car for urban only driving but find the extra-urban and combined figures to be very close to what I get for that type of driving.

I've registered my interest. I wonder how many enquiries they need before they consider doing one though? I expect most Lexus owners prefer their dealer to do the dirty work.

Imagination? :D Like when my car seems to drive smoother when it's just been cleaned.

I've had the car from new and it came with blue coolant in it. I guess this is something they must have changed (perhaps with the facelift that happened just after I got mine delivered).

The OEM Dunlop tyres seem quite well wearing, I'm still on my original Dunlop Sport 9000s. After 40,000 miles I've got 3-4mm left on the rears and 4-5mm left on the fronts. The first 20,000 miles were mostly on urban roads and the next 20,000 miles were mostly motorways and fast dual carriageways.

My IS200 came with the old blue antifreeze in it and I would like to replace it with the newer red/pink stuff that should last longer between changes. Can anyone tell me how easy it is to flush the old stuff out so I don't end up with a horrible mixture of pink and blue. Cheers.

The IS200 gearbox seems to have several plugs in it. Can someone confirm that if I want to check the oil level I undo the one with the allen-key type head (about half-way up on the driver's side)? I don't want to undo the wrong thing! Cheers.

Because it stands for LISt Programming? Oh, you didn't mean that sort of LISP

if you're travelling in a bus which is doing 35mph and you jump up in the air, you don't hurtle backwards down the bus at 35mph, so i guess the fly maintains its position in the bus. Ahhh, but you dont fly backwards because you are already in contact with the bus when its moving.. The fly question can also bring up... if you leap into the air the instant before the bus sets off, will you land further back than you began? i think someone is going to have to try it out I recon the answer is different for the person than for the fly. The fly will move with the bus because it has very little inertia so, as the air in the bus moves forward, it will push the fly with it. If a person jumps just as the bus sets off, the person will land further back in the bus because he/she has a large momentum keeping him/her stationary.

I'm surprised to see no mention of the fuel filter in the IS200 service booklet. The guy at the Bracknell parts department didn't seem to think they ever needed changing but it seems a bit odd to me. Surely if the filter is actually filtering particles out of the fuel then it must eventually clog up. Does anyone here have any opinions?

It is easier to make a TV with a rectangular picture than (say) a round picture because of the way it works. For a rectangular picture, the horizonal and vertical sync. signals will be at regular intervals (hence easier to produce). Also, the beam will be reset to the same starting point for each new line (again easier to do than starting each line at a different position). Also, rectangluar is more natural than round. Consider what shape canvas most artists use for paintings :D

Here's one really stupid thing I heard about the X-type that made me laugh... As standard you get a space saver spare wheel. You can pay extra to get a full size steel wheel or pay even more for a full size spare alloy. The funny thing is that since the hole in the boot needs to big enough for the upgraded full size spare, the space saver doesn't actually save you any useful space. Aside from that I think the X-type is a fantastic looking car but basically a Mondeo and much more expensive than the IS200 for equivalent spec. Oh yes, and no rear-drive option. P.S. The IS200 comes with a proper full size alloy spare as standard.