gdh300

My own opinion with winters tyres has been coloured by my experience in my pre-Lexus life. I've had fairly boring front wheel drive hatchbacks before my IS300 and have experienced the shocking snow performance of summer Dunlops on snow, and conversely the security of Avon Ice Tourings in some tricky site visits in North Wales. When I went back to rear wheel drive (after about 25 years), it seemed even more important to make the switch in November. Not that the last two winters here in Hampshire have warranted them in terms of snow fall, but they are certainly more secure in cool wet, slimy or frost conditions. Not for everyone of course, the more expert driver for example. EDIT: Just to clarify, I wouldn't doubt the ZV7s ability to handle a wet British winter, particularly on an RX300. When I say 'twichy', I referring to TC cutting in on tight corners at slow speed over manhole cover, gravel, leaf mulch, etc. I'm not a drifter by any means, but I found my previous Dunlops (combined with my IS's very nanny-like TC) would chirrup on the lightest of throttle application. The Avon's were a marked improvement on these. But relying on my car for site visits, and having a resolvable commute over potentially mixed roads, I prefer to have a set of winters available; snow or not.

Sorry to muscle in on you IS250 lads, but I'm another with ZV7s all round. Only now the temperature has started to drop have they started to get a bit twitchy in the wet; time to switch onto my winter wheels and tyres, which incidentally are also Avons!

Hi Douglas, welcome to the forum. There is somewhere on the forum a link to a PDF of the workshop manual, that would hopefully show you all you need. I'm afraid I have personal experience (yet!) of taking out the seats but I think you may struggle putting rear SportCross seats into a saloon. I have a copy of the PDF, but because of PC problems, I can't access it immediately; that said if you can't find the link just let me know and I will dig it out for you.

A belated welcome to the forum from me Tim. That looks the business, it really does; I love the red leather. Nice to see black vinyl roofs making a come back! Hope you have many happy miles behind the wheel, keep us in formed with updates[ I always like to read about other Lexus models, it will hopefully help me make an informed choice for my next car...

Mike, a bit late to the party but I would only have agreed with the other posters and therefore very glad you got it sorted out for a realistic proper price. I think knowledge and history of a car is worth it's weight in gold, as is the relationship with a good independent garage. As an aside, my old IS300 is on ZV7s at the moment, which have proved miles better than the Dunlop Sport Maxx they replaced; a little twitchy this morning at -1°C but superb otherwise.

Nice work; I'm sure you will notice the difference! Looking forward to your updates as an IS300h is likley to be my next car when my beloved old IS300 gives-up-the-ghost...

Hi Stuart, and welcome to the Lexus family. I'm sure you'll be delighted, even if you haven't had a Hybrid before! Is that Executive trim?

What a fantastic project Anthony! Really looking forward to your updates.

And people have the brass neck to say Lexus are for old farts! Good on you Jesse; I never ever turn-off the traction on my IS300 (too many damaged wheels in my youth). And SWMBO loves the colour. Keep us informed!

Hi Lauren, a warm welcome; you've come to a very helpful place. The forum is by no means the busiest I've been on, but that is a result no doubt of a relative lack of problems and the more 'exclusive' nature of Lexus in the UK. And it sounds like it the same in France! Mon père now lives in rural France and am I struck the very different mix of cars over there; you can always spot the English tourist because they are the ones in the Audis! Your IS looks a cracker by the way (and English phrase to use with your friends!).

Got to be yellow... Nah, just kidding! Gold sounds a good choice on a silver body. I did toy with idea of painting mine but couldn't really decide what colour to go for (red would have been a definite no-no, I think). Have you see there are are Lexus caliper stickers on ebay? Might be worth a set of black ones if you go for gold.

Hi John, welcome to the forum. As others have said, were is the noise coming from, i,e, front or back? I'm guessing front... It could be the old suspect wheel bearings (although I reckon Lexus fitted pretty good ones) or in my experience it is more likely to be brake or hub related, both of which are well documented on the forum. Or of course, it could be just that the previous owner fitted noisy tyres or they under/over pressure. Worth a check, as is the tracking. If it's from the back, might be a noisy differential; they do need regular fluid changes. Have you any service history? Meanwhile, those appear not be regular IS wheels, but a previous owner has obviously made an attempt to match the OEM. And being in Northumbria, you have some cracking roads at your disposal to exercise the IS's legs!

Is it like the non-Aero in that it's best to pop the bottom clip of the wheelarch liner and access it that way? And yes, it's a plain bulb. I bought one in preparation only to find it was just a loose connection!

The notifications on this thread prompted me to provide my own update. I've done something like 10k since my new front offside carrier, new front calipers (nearside and offside) and front discs skim. All seemed well for a few thousand miles then a wobble came back during high speed braking. Disappointed was not the word. But like a few here, I really couldn't be bothered throwing any more money and time at it. So I left it, and now it appears to have gone again! I am trying really hard to brake heavily on every trip as I'm aware I am very gentle on my brakes (I had problems with seized callipers ion two previous cars), but that's all that's changed. My discs have had their last skim, so next time it will be new ones. I'll see how it goes!

I can almost hear the British motoring press sharpening their knives even now...

These boxes are old school and need a bit of learning I've found. Things like always have a bit of throttle on when using the buttons to change down, avoiding booting it out of 30mph zones in third as all you get is a clumsy, noisy and as it turns out time wasting kickdown to second, fifth won't engage from a cold start until it has warmed-up, etc.

I don't think you would notice any clutch like smell with a torque converter. Was the friction smell, immediately after the revs went up and then dissipated? Not a coincidental brake smell during - ahem - spirited driving? AlI I can only think it was a sudden kickdown; may be it had already changed up before it responded to your 3/4 throttle? [That said, I don't know if this box will actually kickdown to first, I suspect not.] If you were traction-off, it could just have been wheel spin! I suspect (not that I've got any experience of it, touch wood) if the TC was going, it would be slipping all over the rev and gear range. Perhaps find a bit of hill or ramp nearby, see if there is any slip from a standing start. If it feels like it is driving alright otherwise, and there's no excessive heat and the oil level is good in the box, I'd say see how it goes. May be track down an auto transmission specialist in your area, just for peace of mind. These boxes will eat 100k, assuming it hasn't been abused.

Hi Mo. The smell from the vents when you've turned-off the aircon is not uncommon, unfortunately. You can get a sort of deodorising 'bomb' that you put in the footwell for about ten minutes, and sprays that you inject straight into the vents. I did both about 18 months ago, and they did seem to do the job. However, the smell does eventually return. I've read that it because condensation forms in the system when the the a/c is turned off, and that promotes bacteria growth. To dry the pipes, it's recommended to run the last five minutes of your journey at a higher temperature, or whack the fans up to full. All of which is a bit of a pain! I got my stuff from Eurocarparts, but I'm sure other motor factors would do the same, not to mention specialist companies. Regarding the fan, have you replaced the pollen filter. It's a £8 and five minute job, might be a s simple as that. Alternatively, if it's not the fan dying, are you sure your recirculation flap is operating correctly? You should clearly hear the sound from the vents alter if it is.

Good call on the auxiliary belt, I think; got mine done with the cambelt in October last year. Touch wood, apart from the inevitable front suspension and brakes trouble, all I've had done that wasn't routine is a new radiator core and some welding for corrosion in the sills. Let us know how you geton with the Terraclean, I'd be interested to know how you find it. Worth investing in some contact cleaner as well to give your MAF sensor a bit of a clean.

Hi Andrew. There seems to be a lot of "inspect" in some of the service schedules I've seen. In others, they recommend transmission and differential changes every 30,000 kilometres or 2 years; if that were the case I'd be changing both every 11 months! A USA schedule recommends these short intervals if used for towing, but otherwise doesn't seem to mention it. So, yes I'm confused as well! When my old girl went to Lexus (ouch) at 100,000 miles I asked for a transmission change and they said "...it had probably never been done..." before they had even got it on the ramps, so I guess as you suspect with yours, it's not a routine item other than "inspect". Seems like a good time to do it. At 150k, I got my local friendly mechanic to change it again, and the differential oil at the same time. Both are quite easy DIY jobs but nowadays I prefer him to do it for me(for many reasons). I think I'm right in saying all IS300 sold in the UK have an limited slip differential, so need a differential oil with an LSD additive. 100k again is probably a good time to do it, should see you right for the next 100k! Don't know about Terraclean, but I think that is more beneficial to direct injection engines isn't it? As for the blanking plate, I will have to take the lid off mine and have a look. There is a video on YouTube of a bloke removing the throttle body on an IS and cleaning it. Lots of pipes to keep track of if you do. While you have it off the car, may be opportune time to change the plugs as well, as they are recommended for replacement at 100k. Do you have the workshop manual for the IS?

Hi Andrew, welcome. Certainly a stand-out Sportcross you got there! The 6CD charger, well they all break eventually. I'm pretty sure there is a thread here somewhere how to fix it; me I just dug out all my old cassettes from the loft. The only time my IS caused me some concern (tempting fate!) was after a similar two week stand and it ran rough until I restarted it. Hardly has a rest otherwise. Living in Flintshire, you have some cracking roads on your doorstep which the IS loves. If you've got the cash for the fuel that is!

Hi Ron, I saw your post on the HJ forum and was about to suggest you come over here and have a nose about, but I see you've beaten me to it! I'm sure you'll get good advice here from those that know the IS250. It will be chalk-and-cheese compared to your Fiesta, you should get behind the wheel before you even start to worry about the numbers; you might not even like it...

Hi Stuart, welcome. You are not alone, much as I love trawling Autotrader etc, the thought of actually buying a new car is quite fraught. The RX is a complicated car, and Lexus bits are expensive, but with a full (?) dealer history you should be reassured it will probably be as reliable a ten year old car as you can buy. Are you buying from a main dealer, or a trader? It would be worth having in your hand a Hybrid Health Check from a Lexus dealer, I'd say. Buying older cars (as I do), I would always recommend to someone not to commit every penny they have to buying the car, but instead to keep a significant chunk back for possible repairs. Let us know how you get on; I guess being a Saturday you well be in the process of picking it up right now!

Well, let's hope so, if only to cheer-up my old man! Motor looks excellent, I really like those wheels they put on the Sport. I'm not convinced they came with sideskirts as standard though; stand to be corrected by those in the know...

Sam, your post was some time ago, but here are the dims: Taken from my IS300, but same idea. Fog light is about 180x100mm.