Shahpor

A lot of what you are asking is personal preference. There are no hard and fast rules to maintaining an IS any more than there is any other car. Yes, it has it's foibles, but then most cars do. Apart from stuff already mentioned on the forum (sticking calipers, etc..), there is not much to worry about. Is a full Lexus history necessary? No. I personally prefer a car that has one, and mine does, but there is nothing wrong with getting it serviced at an independent, as long as they know what they are doing. Mileage is also subjective. Yes, lower is usually better, but when you are on a tight budget, I would say condition is more important. Mine has 115,000 miles on the clock and is working flawlessly (touch wood ). Lexus do what they call Essential Care servicing for cars older than 5 year. The pricing can be found here: http://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/#ServicingYourLexus In my opinion, those prices are quite reasonable for a main dealer.

I can't say for sure, but it is probably too involving to be worth it. These are the components for the cruise system: As you can see, there are quite a few. No doubt the car has some already fitted, but I suspect that adding the ones that are not there is not straightforward.

Perhaps it is a psychological thing? The fact that it is a recurring charge could bug some people. It would bug me, but if it was a car I really wanted, I would pay it. But, as mikeyv says, we all have different priorities, so I suppose if Robag thinks it is too much, then that is fair enough. I can certainly appreciate why he would think so.

Better? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201602181171201?sort=pricedesc&maximum-age=up_to_7_years_old&searchcontext=default&page=1&radius=1500&make=bmw&search-target=usedcars&transmission=manual&model=3_series&minimum-badge-engine-size=2.6&postcode=OX10 6RR&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&price-to=15000&quantity-of-doors=4&fuel-type=diesel&logcode=p Although I somehow doubt the wheel picture is correct

Sorry, you misunderstood me (should have said 'they are' instead of 'it is'). I meant the model was nice in general, not the car I linked which I found at random.

You mean something like this? http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bmw/e90-3-series-05-12/bmw-330d-se-finance-specialists/4683267?v=b It is very nice

I'm curious; which BMW is far above your budget?

Well, assuming you do prefer the Lexus over other brands, do you have any specific preferences or requirements? You know, fuel consumption over refinement? Or auto vs manual? Perhaps sat nav or other extras that you might like?

You're right, this is pointless. I will however continue to express my opinion as I see fit. For the record, I never said I did drive a manual petrol. Perhaps you should re-read my post? Well, this speaks volumes about you, doesn't it? Finally, Robag, I apologise for de-railing your topic.

I constantly bash manuals even though I own one? Is that like you constantly bashing diesels even though you have never tried one? I have tried the gearbox on a manual petrol. I didn't drive the car, but that is not required to test the shift action and gear engagement. And just cause I said that the manual box wasn't the greatest doesn't mean it is worse than auto boxes. It means exactly what it says, they aren't the greatest. And your idea that petrol manuals are rarer cause of tax reasons COULD be complete crap. Perhaps it is because the majority of people do think the auto is better than the manual? The guys at my local Lexus dealer certainly think so. Without doubt they told me that if I was to change cars, then the IS250 Auto was the way to go.

Here we go again How about the opinions of some people that have driven many 250? manual and auto? Or the fact that I have tried both manual boxes? Not that it matter since apparently no one is allowed to have an opinion of the manual 250 without you jumping down their throats. And for the record, as far as shift action and gear changes go, the petrol and diesel cars aren't a million miles apart.

Typical that you are on the opposite side of London to me. On the motorways, the IS220D is good, but then so is the IS250. I do like the instant, strong, mid range torque the diesel provides at motorway speeds. If you went for the 250, then personally I would go for the Auto cause I think it suits the car better, but it is up to you. The IS's manual gearbox isn't the greatest. I was thinking German before getting mine, and I am sure glad I did choose the Lexus in the end. The equipment, refinement and quality of the IS is outstanding and I love driving mine.

Depends on what type of driving you do and how important fuel consumption is to you. If all you are going to do is drive around London and do limited miles, then the IS250 Auto is the one to go for. Whereabouts in London are you?

Presuming it is the same as here in the UK, then yes, it does require a disc. It is inserted behind the clock panel above the dvd player. There should be two little holes either side of the panel that are used to remove it to change the disc.

Hello. The fact that this happened after the tank ran low of fuel leads me to suspect that the fuel filter is clogged. Cold start injects extra fuel to get the car going, so might mask the problem. Complete pain to change it, but at least the part is cheap.

Speaking of oil, I have to have my car serviced by a Lexus dealer, so does anyone know what oil they use?

Well, the temperature issue could be related to the ambient sensor. It is located behind the front bumper. You could test it as follows:

Although by no means a qualified source, the following article seems to explain quite well the problem: http://www.aa1car.com/library/intake_valve_deposits_gdi_engines.htm As you can see, this is an issue that effects all modern cars, not just diesels.

Strange, it sounds like you are having two different problems. The first sounds like the ambient temp sensor isn't working. The second like the blower motor is not operating properly. This morning when you tried full power, did it do the same regardless of the temp you set? Also, you sure the climate control was turned off?

Quite right, TerraClean uses the cars own fuel injection system to clean, so it wouldn't be as effective on direct injection cars. Ooo, EGR and DPF cleaning? Where do I sign up? I was going to say that throttle bodies would also be a good place for this method, but since it isn't exactly hard to get to these and clean them by hand, I don't think it would be worth it. Do you guys think this will become more mainstream, like de-coking of heads used to be in the good old days? I must admit I am very curious now about the state of my inlet valves. Gonna go have a hunt for an endoscope

Funny how the drive for efficiency has actually made the internals of the engines dirtier. Well, I suppose if the Walnut shell blasting can be done with the head in situ then it might be a worthwhile endeavour. Although there would have to be a hell of a lot of carbon to be worth spending £299. On the face of it, the TerraClean looks to be a better system, but since you can't see the results directly, I am not so sure. I like the idea of being able to look down the inlet to see the results. Although, according to the episode of Wheeler Dealers where they did it to the XK8, it works and only costs around £70. Sorry, I actually did mean an endoscope, just couldn't remember the name of it I wonder if this is going to become a much more widely spread problem in the years to come?

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Are you trying to be obnoxious? Like I said, it was just a image I found in passing that I thought people might find interesting. Wasn't trying to prove anything, so it doesn't matter if it is from a diesel, non-ML, etc... Wish I hadn't bothered now.....

You can get them from here: http://www.lexus-mapupdates.eu/ Alternatively, there is always ebay.

True, but I suspect that even a ML facelift sat nav would have similar connectors, which are completely different from the older navigation systems. Can just about make out a part number is anyone is interested. Although at this point I think it is more a curiosity rather than a practical preposition.