jumbojake

I've finally found the small leak on my coolant system ... some pink crystals along the top of the seam at one end of the radiator... so now the next job on the list.

Anyone done a radiator change on one of these... is it ok job or a nightmare?

I had the same problem ... happened to me when I was working in Langley (nr Heathrow)  ... I called the AA and he was not surprised, apparently he seen this problem a lot in that area ... intermittent interference from the planes, or airport he claimed.  Definately time based issue, as I parked in the same spot a couple of times without problem 

ultimately, this is a very subjective question..I think the best approach is to go any try one and see if that particular car, of whatever age works for you.

Often the Lexus dealers are pretty flexible and may well allow you a 24hr test drive

we had the 3rd gen Rx on loan for a week.. .and to be honest was very happy to give it back .. the creaky plastic was terrible. 2d gen appears to be OK for us.

when I stripped my IS down, I found the problem was different types of plastic clipped together without any felt ... no wonder it creaks like badly fitting lego!... put some felt tape on the joints and problem is much improved.  But I didn't but the lexus for quality plastic, but for quality mechanics and comfort.... just a matter or perspective I guess

we have a 2015 Rx and that is pretty solid, no creaks or rattles  .... but we have tried the newer facelift model (2016+) and that was terrible, particularly the centre console... lean on it and it creaked like an old Merc .. awful.

Note, on my IS200d ... I had the same problem with the centre console.. but is mostly fixed thanks to liberal amounts of felt tape underneath  (the dealer pretended there was no noise!)

IMO, the only quieter car for plastic creaking  is an Audi ... but with those you have to put up with massive repair bills... I know what I prefer!

really good info, thanks ....

out of interest, does anyone know who makes the OE pads?   (I don't think it is Denso)

Looks like I need to replace my front pads.... curious to know peoples experience with different suppliers.

I'm seeking prices for genuine Lexus, Blueprint and Pagid (had good experience with all before) .. but curious to know if anyone would recommend any others?

I'd suggest some caution with ECP ... I took this offer up before Christmas and they sent me some Bosch ones instead, but they were not compatible mountings.

I had one hell of a fight to get my money back without paying return postage.... it seems their database has the wrong variant mapped to the Rx model and despite an email from Bosch to confirm the ECP error, they were not happy...  suggested my car was wrong!

In the end, I found it was cheaper to get direct from Lexus anyway .. the discount from ECP was still more expensive than Lexus !

Genius idea .... and very impressed with 30min ... took me the best part of a day, lots of skin off my knuckles and a hefty contribution to the 'potty mouth jar'.

This is the worst bit of the IS200d/220d  I have come across so far.... took me a long time to do this, and some language the neighbours didn't appreciate.    I'd be very surprised if any garages did it... I imagine they would give the casing a wipe and pretend.. it wouldn't pay for their time.

When it comes back for it's replacement again, I'll sell the car... really don;t want to do that again.

seem to be a to be  of people with the same problem around the same time.... and a few with 2006 IS220d's .... out of interest, are all of the problems on 2006 models?    .... just thinking of a weird software bug scenrio

I've seen a few cases on other cars, where the looms are the same ... only takes a few minute to check, pop out the top of the centre console, you'll see if they are there or not.

When I stripped my door a while back if has some wires in there that were not used... possibly for the seat memory switches ... no idea.

if you don't have the wires, you cold easily run into the fuse box, access is easy.  if you need the cabling under the carpet, with proper connectors, I'd suggest a breakers yard (self search ones)

I had a look and they are very expensive.. over £200 for a bosch ... (Lexus are £95) .... local auto factors are £130 for the bosch, so I'll go there... but only if I can't persuade the original company to cough up for a replacement.

sadly this was a varta... (I bought it 18months ago, based on good reviews) .... but bought it from an online store who have changed their name and won't honour the 5yr warranty.

Next one will be from a local store..... Lexus seem to be the most competitive, but too far from home to make it worthwhile, so I'll see what I can get Bosch, Varta etc...

managed to encourage it into life and found it to be charging between 13.9 and 14v ..... seems to regulate well (different electrical loads, and different engine speeds) ... so looks like alternator is ok.

given I mostly drive motorway runs, it looks like the Battery is near it's end... had a good drive and left it showing 12.6 ... will check again in the morning.

Will be interesting to see if the 5yr guarantee holds any value with an online company!

that's what I was expecting... the lexus service manual says to expect anyhting between 12.1 - 15.4 ... which isn;t much help

the Battery issue is on my IS200d

another dead Battery this morning.... only 2years since I changed it last.... (11.98v across terminals, but not enough to crank it)

no changes to electrics for a very long time, so don;t expect any drain problem.    I suspect it is a duff Battery, as a fault alternator would have caused me trouble before now... but I want to test it.

I recall the regulator doesn't give a fixed charging output, but varies it..... does anyone know the best way to test the output when it is not fixed??

nice tip .... ordered.... that's the first Christmas present for the wife sorted.... what next ?

you should be able to register onto the owners part of the lexus website... there you can get all sorts of free downloads specific to your model, and for a few quick (3 Euro), you can download the official workshop guides ....

in my previous car (Avensis), you could disconnect the rain sensor, and the control function returned to a manual intermittent, with variable delay  ..... better than auto in my view. ... might be worth a try.

I've got a thinkware dashcam, nice and small, tucks away behind the mirror and well hidden from outside view.   took about 30mins to install myself, wouldn't expect to pay more then £100 for anyone else to do it.

I didn't like the look of the next base ones.. too big and in clear view (worried about someone trying to steal it)

breakers (old school, climb and discover type) .... the modern type of breakers are only interested in the big stuff (doors, etc).   I'm sure you'll find this part on loads of Toyota's and Lexus vehicles ... then splice back into your wiring at home

interesting read.... I'm finding my water level is occasionally dropping slightly... seems random, can run a few  weeks with heavy driving and no change, then 5min trip to the shops and I see it fall below the line... I assumed the pressure relief in the cap was weak, so replaced that, slightly better but not fixed.

I will have a look at the EGR ... about time I had a look anyway (my mpg is low 30's,  motorway and town driving)

I fitted mine about a year ago, and had a conversation with Michael.... he was very helpful, but said he was thinking of stopping, due to health issues.   However, the unit itself comes from Asia...and is used for various cars, most commonly Fords in the US (their instructions have some really useful diagnostic info)

you could try po40upgrade@gmail.com , they supplied some technical support which Michael shared with me