Shahpor

Good find. Well, that explains that one I suppose. Even the link to the cable that Jack listed originally says it is not compatible with mark 2 IS's.

Oh, and Eric, I am going to be a resident of Hampshire soon (near Basingstoke), so we could easily get together and compare cars

I think Linas is exaggerating somewhat. At 80mph, my 220D has no problems going up inclines in 6th. Yes, it requires more power, but then all cars do. Mine will also pull uphill at 75mph in 6th, but it will struggle more, so changing to 5th is better. And now I think we are just going round in circles, so can we just put it down to personal preference please?

Well, I have a Lexus manual on my pc that seems to have some wiring diagrams, but I have no idea how to read them. For example, this is one of the diagrams it has for the Nav system. NAV.pdf

So you don't know where the cable from the grey connector goes? Also, isn't there a circuit diagram for the whole car in the service manual?

Is there already something connected to the socket? If so, do you know what it is? Thanks.

Not quite sure what you mean by not being able to hold 70 or 80? 70 is an issue because of the gearing, but holding 80mph in 6th is fine and the car goes well. As for manuals being more expensive, the problem is that clutch's are designed to wear out, so it a matter of when, not if, it needs changing. Add to that the fact that modern cars need their dual mass flywheels replaced at the same time, and it is a costly fix. Granted it doesn't need changing very often, but by buying most second hand cars, you always run the risk the clutch will start slipping at any time. On the other hand, in theory at least, an automatic gearbox should last the life of the car without issue.

No need to apologise, there is nothing wrong with long posts Yep, you are correct when you say staying below turbo boost range will not save fuel. Well, according to the Lexus tech I spoke with, generally a blast once a month would be sufficient. He said that because the clogging in cumulative, and good blast for about 20 minutes at 1800rpm or above will get the DPF to the 640C required to burn off the carbon. Obviously, the longer you do it, the better it would be for the cleaning process. Sorry, I must of misunderstood, but you said and since you said 12,000 miles a year, that equates to 5 years. Anyway, I think we can agree that getting the car boosting is a good thing for both economy and the clogging issue

That is some post Linas While you are quite right about the motorway speed thing, can I politely comment that I think your conclusions about turbo economy are wrong. Let me explain why. Firstly, what Chris says about turbo boost effecting fuel consumption is not totally correct. You are right in saying that the boost increases fuel saving, and it does burn the fuel more efficiently. However, it is not the boost that effects economy, but how much fuel is entering the engine due to the accelerator being pressed. After all, when on the motorway, you can be in turbo boost range (above 1600-1800ish RPM), but without any throttle input, the turbo wastegate is wide open, so the turbo will not be spinning very fast. The reason this is not a problem on the motorway is that, once you do put your foot on the accelerator again, there is enough air flow coming into the inlet that the turbo has no trouble spinning up again. This is also why driving below boost range is so inefficient; effectively you are driving a turbo car without a turbo and the car struggles from lack of power, thus requiring more fuel to pull itself along. So you see that ideally, you always want to be in turbo range, regardless of what kind of mileage you do. Secondly, there is no reason why you would need to replace the turbo and DPF after 60k miles. Yes, doing short town trips will eventually clog the DPF, but a quick blast up the motorway once in a while will solve that problem. Also, the turbo is not effected by the type of driving you do at all. Since the turbo is located before the intake on the inlet track, it doesn't suffer any carbon build up. Equally, since the exhaust gases are so hot and the turbo spins so fast, carbon build up on the exhaust turbine is also relatively uncommon. What kills turbo's is the oil seals around the centre shaft wear out and start leaking. This means that either the shaft starts wearing or oil seeps into the inlet or exhaust. Most modern turbo's last more than 5 years, for example, mine, as far as I know, is on 115,000 miles and 8 years so far (touch wood).

It does seem that 2009 is a strange year for the IS and there are some 'mutant' spec'd cars out there. According this post you are not the only one:

Unless I am reading it wrong, my Lexus manual says that all the manual transmission cars have dual mass flywheels? If that is the case, then it should be changed along with the clutch, shouldn't it?

Very nice mate. Obviously more photos are required to see which type it is. Perhaps the right way up this time? Also, is it SEL or Se-I? Cause I thought Se-l's only came in face lift form?

ahh, I see. Well, that was simple Thanks for the info

Hello. Sorry if this has been asked before (probably has), but what exactly is the new Community Reputation? Thanks.

Nice. Interestingly, the car this was taken from had almost 310ft/lbs of torque, whereas I thought as standard it was supposed to be 295? Either way, it is a very good result from the remap. The smoothing out of the dip just past 1500rpm is what impresses me most. Thanks for posting the photo. I look forward to seeing how yours does on the dyno, especially considering how many miles your car has done.

Much as I love hearing about reduced turbo lag, a before and after dyno map would be excellent. I assume you can only now provide an after map, but there must be a diagram of the standard setup somewhere? Even taking into account individual car variations, it should still be a representative indication of any gains after the mapping is done.

Well, my understanding is that, while using cheap fuel does make a difference, it is mainly the type of journey that does the harm. The cars run rich on startup (like a choke), which builds up carbon if it is not allowed to be burnt away when the car is warm. Also, for it to be burnt off, it needs to be doing some reasonable revs, not just idling. From what the Lexus tech told me, the DPF in particular needs to get nice and hot to clear up properly. Incidentally, this also applies to petrol cars, just not to the same extent. My mums car recently wouldn't idle, and it turns out it was carbon buildup in the throttle body not letting air through. A good blast once in a while would have sorted it.

Well said Chris. To be fair, the problems most people experience (EGR, DPF, etc) are, as John says, down to the style of driving. I do motorway miles on mine and the EGR and DPF are fine (Touch wood ). Also, these problems are an issue for all modern diesels, not just 220D's. So by virtue of being a diesel, the 220D is automatically susceptible to these problems. There is nothing Lexus could have done about it. So, apart from the head gasket problem (hardly the only design flaw that manufacturers have suffered from), the only real issues that 220D owners have to endure is turbo lag and bad gearing. And with those, once you get used to it and adapt your driving style aren't that bad.

Interesting. Who is doing the mapping?

When I was looking for mine, I went to several independent dealers and the answer was always the same; list price only. They were not prepared to haggle at all. Seems to be a trend that is occurring. I walked away from the first one because of this and I am glad I did. The second time however, he claimed the reason for no haggling was that it was cheap to start with, and after some browsing, I think he was right. I also really liked the car, so I agreed. I also agree regarding the spec. I was specifically looking for a SEL with the MM pack fitted, which is what I found. Yes, it limits your options when looking for a car, but I plan to keep this car for a while, so I would have regretted it later if I had compromised.

Hi. Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but you always have the option to buy privately and then get an Lexus extended warranty from the dealer. That's what I did. You just take the car to a dealer and they will give it a health check, then, assuming it passes, they can warranty it for £800 for two years. With that you also get premium breakdown cover from the AA. Mine warranty has already paid for itself. Yes, you do need to service it at a dealer to maintain the warranty, but with Essential servicing, it costs £159 for a minor and £329 for a major service. Not too bad for main dealer prices.

Hehe, I agree

Ok, I have changed it a bit more. Readable now?

Hehe, poor Iftikhar, it is always fun deciphering your posts. If I may? "Went to see is250 se-l black 24k on clock in Slough today, on for £11650. Key looked battered, plus only 1 key, history was from independent garage, gear knob worn quite bad. These issues did put me off as it had low mileage but a gear knob worn quite bad. Body work was good - no dents - although the steering wheel was quite worn for a 24k car, and he wouldn't drop price. Saw another one in Finchley; was much nicer car with 28k, one owner, silver, 2 keys,1 lexus stamp rest from independent garage. Both cars were amazing to drive. Should have bought is250 in first place. He even knocked down by £500 straight away, had it on for £11500, gear knob and steering not worn. Will look at few more then probably go for silver 1." Didn't want to change the wording too much, but I hope you don't mind the changes.

Those are some impressive mpg figures you have there. However, in my experience, at anything less that 75mph, the car really struggles in 6th, even to maintain the speed. Tried it last night and it required lots of throttle and took an age to gain the speed back if I dropped to even 70mph. So at 63mph, even an incline on cruise control would make mine seriously struggle to pull the car along. Still, if it works for you, then great. I wish mine were the same.