Stupot42

Your IS250 does look very smart. I may well be back too.

Sounds like you've got a nice car. Stick with it if you're happy with the costs. Finding a good one when you change can be a mine field if you're buying a used motor. I'm expecting mine will end up on someone's forecourt with £7k or £8k in the window.

Thanks... I may well be back, but it would certainly be a Hybrid or Petrol car. You know it really doesn't feel like a step down to me. I loved the comfort of the Lexus, but I've never had a car that spent so much time in the garage being fixed or attended to. My 220d is also the first car I've ever owned that broke down at the side of the motorway and left me being taken home on the back of a tow truck when 250 miles from home. It was a 13 hour nightmare I never want to repeat. Maybe I had a Friday afternoon car, but from the forums I don't think I did. I actually got off lightly in some respects. I've never had the cracking noise from the dash and I've been rattle free for 113k miles although the passenger door speaker rattles at certain frequencies. The Civic has all the toys, bells and whistles I need and the European one is a bit different to the US models. I think it'll be more practical for our needs too. I always hated the tiny little hatch for access to the main cabin from the boot. Most of the long things I've needed to carry weren't that narrow! You are right, I should've bought the 250, but at the time I didn't know that, and the diesel seemed to make more sense given the type of driving we were doing. You live and learn.

£5k seems rather low.I have the lower spec SE 220D on an 09 plate and have just been given £5k PX at a Honda dealer and I've got 113k on the clock, full history (but only 2 Lexus stamps)! Try another dealer and see what they offer you. I can't believe yours is worth less than mine. You could always sell privately.

Thanks, Normski. I would definitely buy another Lexus I do think they make you feel special whilst you're inside. In the future I might try a Hybrid, and I'll be keeping my eye on where the all electric goes. If I had the money I would've bought a Tesla Model S... now there's a space-age motor!

I've made a tough choice, but I'm getting rid of my Lexus IS220D. I had the dreaded DPF error again (managed to get rid of it with a blast down the motorway in 4th), but it was the straw that broke the camels back. It's a lovely car, but it's just not been enjoyable to own. I don't think I'll ever be buying a Toyota built diesel engine again; the maintenance needed and kid gloves you have to treat it with are just too much. I said in another thread that my wife no-longer does the long journeys to work in it and with only 50% of our journeys being long ones now it's not getting the work out it needs to remain efficient. I'm moving on to a petrol Civic, which will be more suitable for the types of journeys we do and I really enjoyed the Honda I had before. The Honda stealers told me that they're going to auction it so I should pull out anything I want to keep. As a result I'll be bunging the genuine Lexus mats on eBay one evening this week if anyone wants a set or a spare set. They're in good nick. I pull them out and clean them fairly regularly and they hardly show any signs of wear. I think they'll fit any IS model from this era) I'm hoping I'll get enough to cover a set of third party Civic mats or 50% of the genuine rip-off ones (although the ones I had in my last civic were almost worn out after 25000 miles so I probably won't bother with them). Thanks for all the help and advice you guys have given me over my time as an owner. It's much appreciated.

Brilliant... thanks for the info. I think that's exactly what I need. Ta.

Thanks, Cap'n! :) I may give it a go and look into Cambus too.

Hey guys, just a quick question for those who use OBD2 and Torque Pro... can you use it to monitor the DPF? I want to know when I need to take the car for a blast down the motorway. The wife's changed jobs and now does mostly round town miles and having had to replace the DPF already, I don't want to have to do it again.

Has anyone tried the EGR clean from Terraclean? It sounds more appealing than taking the thing apart, and would have the added benefit of knowing the whole exhaust system was clean, not just the one bit I was cleaning. I had a look on the website and they only give me one option for a local agent (a mobile service in Liverpool) and he doesn't seem to offer it. I'll email them to see if I can find someone who can do it nearby.

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions. I went out and bought a new battery, and everything seems to be working again. I'm just hoping it's not the alternator now. :P It's such a faff to fit, but not too bad. Once I'd worked out how to remove the wire on the side of the battery cover (you squeeze it and pull back for anyone looking for the answer to that one), and then realised that you need to remove the trim above the battery it was quite simple. Thanks again!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm surprised the jump didn't work in that case too. I am an AA member, but I don't have home start. I'll give them a ring and see what they'll charge to come out and have a look at it.

Well, I tried to jump it and that proved to make no difference. I also tried rocking the car, but couldn't even get it to move a bit. I've uploaded a YouTube video of the problem:

That's a good tip I'l give that a try, and it'll save me getting dirty trying to work out where the starter motor is. I think the leads to the battery terminals are tight, but it may be that the garage didn't tighten them when it was last in. I'll check that all out when I get home. With everything else working I'm assuming it's not a connection problem. First thing to try will be a jump start and failing that I'll give these other things a try before calling a garage to come and have a look at it.

I'll give anything a try... just need to find out where the starter motor is. I'll give it a shot when I get home tonight and let you know what happens.