MartinH

As you say, main agent will not fit used part and in any case the retail cost of new component is just over £300 (see here), so not an issue. It is hard to see where the rest of the quoted cost to fit comes from. As to running on empty, the tank is filled and run to nearly empty before re-filling.

'Hindsight is 20/20 vision!' The car had to go to the main agent to determine the problem — the very good independent man who used to look after my Toyota group cars retired several years ago. And to be fair, the main agent's price for routine servicing is not excessive, and their location is convenient. The main agent has now earned their stated fee for problem determination, but of course the car is immobilized at their premises so would have to be trailered on to another, less-costly (and unproven) mechanic to get the repair done at a lower cost. And in consequence I would also forego the 50% rebate on the agent's problem-determination charge that's conditional on placing the repair work with them. Regardless, I am grateful to J Henderson for the ref to the 'how-to' discussion. Armed with the facts, I am in a better position to negotiate a better price to get the car repaired where it is now. Going forward, I shall certainly look around for a less costly garage to maintain it. If anyone has a recommendation in north-west London, I should be pleased to hear it!

I can build racing bicycles no problem, but I have not laid a spanner on a car since I owned a Morris Minor, so that's a non-starter I'm afraid. Do you happen to know the cost of the fuel pump as a detached part? That would help me move forward.

My 2007 IS250 failed to start Monday. Called RAC, could not start, diagnosed no fuel reaching engine. Car recovered to Lexus Edgware Road (not without some fumbling by RAC). Lexus techs baffled, no diagnosis until Saturday — fuel pump failed. Lead tech says this is extraordinarily rare, and they will apply to a Lexus UK mitigation program for older cars that will rebate some of the cost of an unusual failure. (Lexus keen to see older cars circulating apparently, because it promotes the brand image of a bullet-proof marque.) At retail price, with no intervention by Lexus UK, the cost quoted to fit a new fuel pump is a jaw-dropping £1700. I like my IS250 a lot but even as a car with a full network history since new in 2007, £4K would be an ambitious ask for a trade-in once repaired. Does any of the experts here have any thoughts on how I might proceed?

Is that the one that was recently being sold in Auto Trader by a chap who said he was a Lexus tech, "best car I ever owned'? [Edit] No that was a 'Black Edition' and is still for sale.

Sounds exactly like mine but lower miles, more owners, and no moonroof. Why ever would you want to sell it?

Mine's an '07 on standard wheels and I have Michelin CrossClimates all round. They work well and surely can't be that hard to source?

Yes, the vid's narrator has a quite different take. The roads on which he drives are quite different than those in my hood. You may have heard that a 20 mph limit is to be installed throughout London. That is the reality, and as one who rides a bike as much as driving a car, I do not disagree. So the occasions on which one might engage Sport+ mode are relatively few and far between. I see there is a supposedly very rare Black Edition IS200T for sale on AutoTrader with a full-length panoramic roof, owned by a chap who says he is a Lexus tech, and at a good price. Yerbut...no Mark Levinson, boring dark interior, seats heated only, not cooled. Previous ownership makes one very choosy...

Link is here

Good stuff! I have a similar kit sitting on my workbench. It's been there quite some time...

Permit me to throw in a supplementary question. We are told that the CD player reads the tags on MP3 files stored on a CD, display them on screen, and play back the content. Good! However, why does it not recognize MP3 files stored on a DVD? There was a thread here several years ago describing a hack that would somehow spoof the CD player so it would read and play back MP3s burned to DVD , but it was long and geeky and I gave up. Does anyone know if there is a straightforward way?

An extended soliloquy on buyer's remorse?

Whatever the power/weight figures say, the IS250 is pleasing to drive. You can creep around like an Uber driver if need be, and let's face it, most of the time in town we do. But the throttle response is nicely linear so when the opportunity arrives, it responds to a bit of welly. A second point in its favour is the way it looks. It is original, complete, and all of a piece. Parked next to my neighbour's new rosso corsa Alfa Giuletta it's equally fine and 'by common consent' that is one of the best-looking saloon cars on the road. By contrast the third series IS has a corporatized styling that just doesn't quite cut it. Yes it is old, and now even a little tired, but it won't give up soon, and best of all, it's mine, paid for long since, and every year I keep it, it pays me back some more. Of course, these are but personal views.

Late in the day, but the Michelin Cross Climate also very good on the IS250, quiet and very grippy on streaming wet roads

Why is the RC so very heavy? On the face of it there is less metal than the IS. Or does it just look smaller because coupé?

Haha nice, the car too!

Ah, interesting on bicycles! I have not found carriage of racebikes a problem on the IS250. They go on Thule roofbars, front wheel off, fitted in to an Italian brand of clamp whose name I have forgotten because they pre-date this century. The clamps that attach the roofbars to the car have to be tensioned up tight and even of course but the rig is secure even at high speeds with up to three bikes. But of course it would be agreeable not to have to go to the bother when only one bike is needed and can be chucked in the boot. Oddly enough, I saw an RC only today and noted this might be a possibility. My wife would also like this so she can carry more crap back and forth to her allotment, flouting my firmly expressed advice that the Lexus is not a mobile wheelbarrow.

Ha well I had one of those V6 GXs. Great car, unbreakable— went down to the Languedoc in it several times, cruise set at 110 mph on the autoroute. You can't do that now! But the aircon went and could not be re-gassed (I was told). Sold it to a Russian geezer for £400 cash, told me it was going to Moscow where they have plenty of cheap petrol and don't need AC. Replaced it with the next series, equally good. Some of you will no doubt have seen the Camry recall meme in The Onion!

That's helped clarify my ideas, thank you LP! I do like my IS250 in its extraordinary green-gold colour. Even the the Lexus Edgware Road rep remarked "It's quite a nice car" and they've seen 'em all. Though ofc they would say that, wouldn't they? All part of the customer experience.

An interesting document. What is your opinion on replacing Gen 2 IS250 with Gen 3 IS250? These are starting to appear for sale at sensible prices for low-milers and interest me more than 300H and 200T.

Computer said 37 mpg at ~83 mph on 200 or so miles mixed-traffic M-way. 97 octane fuel.

Ordered – thank you!

Headlamps yellowing and clouding — service agent (Lexus Edgware Road, London) polished them up with some proprietary gunk, charging quite a lot of time. This did improve the lights but more is needed. Anyone know where to get this special gunk, so I can set to myself? It's obvs not rocket surgery. I concur with all written above esp the remarks about the wheels delaminating and the stuck brake callipers. Bit alarming, the cost of a new exhaust though — I was not aware of this. Super car though, and though it's only an SR, mine has the ML sounds and a sunroof. It's also met green, exceptionally rare.

This was all very illuminating. I was toying with the idea of replacing my 07 Mk2 IS250 with Mk 3 200T. After reading the above, that idea goes in the bin.

Anybody know how to do this in the Mac OS environment?