mk_lon

Hi guys, Thank you all for coming back to me :- Current mileage is 67,940. When i bought the car last year i recalled seeing an invoice from lexus for the plugs for the 14 service. I bought it with 63k and a full lex service history. I fill up with shell, although last tank was BP. The battery was changed last year too. I usually do a short journey in town with a load of start stop. Worth mentioning that its due for a service in december and the Mot is in jan. On the day before it stalled there was a load of smoke coming out when I started it and I could smell egg, although this has not happened again. I'll check the HC and CO figures (fast idle and natural idle) and get back to you. I did give it a bit of a thrashing today in the paddle shift manual mode, but my journey was only 20mins which is very typical of the driving I currently do. I was thinking of getting a carbon clean but local indy advised me not to due the age of my car because they have seen quite a few cars my age get leaks after carbon cleans resulting in big bills.

Hi Guys, Something very odd happened today. I started my is250 auto this afternoon (parked all night) and the car stalled. I pressed the start button again and after a few seconds it finally restarted. I revved the engine for a bit and it was fine. Any ideas to what it could be? I noticed the car spluttering when starting a few days ago and revs dropping once started before I move off but I thought it was due to the cold weather. No error or lights on dash either

Go on ebay buy an ODB reader should be around £20, plug it in, usually located behind the brake pedal. Then Google the code and you have found the problem or have a direction of what it could be.

I think it's fair to say that you have just discovered the solution for a major financial pain in the rear for most lexus is250 owners, £2700 is a lot of money. I think you should take full credit and call it the newbie solution or something along those lines.

is200 Newbie you are a legend !!!

I used to be a c class owner and the is250 is far superior in every respect (minus parts cost). I was very close to buying an e90 325 but was talked out of it by my indy bmw specialists. In their opinion the old e46 3series was the last well built BMW, worth mentioning the new f30 shape is much better.

I think the IS250 is a great car, however it does have a few flaws; 1. 0-60 is pretty poor consider its a such a big engine. 2. MPG is really bad, City driving (which I do a lot of) means I get roughly 19mpg.... my mates c63amg gets the same....(when he doesn't put his foot down) 3. Parts are expensive - I suspect a lack of Indy part manufacturers are to blame (esp exhaust - £2,500+) Apart from that its much better looking, better built and better equipped than an equivalent 07 plate 3 series/C-Class/A4. I would trade up to the new shape but the new interior design/style is horrid, ugly, plastic and cheap looking. Reminds me of a 1980's Alba radio from Argos.

Wow

Hi Juicestop, thanks for pointing that out, i'll look up a decent retailer

Hi Guys, Thanks for the info and feedback, I managed to find "Xenon Philips Genuine OEM Bulb D4S 4300K for Toyota Lexus" on ebay for £21. I was about to order a pair and weirdly enough the dead bulb started working again and has been working for the last two days which I find a little odd thus I am thinking to hold fire until it blows/dies. I did notice an entry on one of the posts saying that it does come and go a little.

Thanks juicestop and Steve2006 that's really helpful :)

I was driving yesterday evening and noticed one of my front bi-xenon headlights was out. I thought easy job, youtubed the video, seems straightforward enough (I'm useless at DIY etc). I then thought let me visit the eBay lexus store and get a bulb... only to find one bulb is £73....is it me or is it meant to be that expensive. I recall my old merc had bi-xenon and the bulbs were pretty cheap from eurocar parts .........is it worth looking at any alternative brands??

Hey IS200 newbie, I thought I would check in - how did it all go? I take it you had enough of the aftermarket exhaust system you had fitted we were speaking about a while ago.

Yup, totally agree with you. Worth mentioning I have noticed a few bmw's with the old style steering clamps on them now

Hey guys, My area has a big problem with vehicle theft. One of my neighbours had his newish 5 series stolen from his drive. Typically the scum/theifs have a list of cars to export. They follow you and watch your house for a few days then break in at night taking the keys (making literally no noise) or they get your signal if it's a keyless entry system. Currently owners of bmw's, mercs and range rovers have had a visit from local police telling them to be careful etc. One can never be too careful if your living in a big city.

Hi Is200 newbie, Mine is turning yellow too (bi xenon), I was told to use toothpaste then coat it with wax, haven't got round to do it yet.

Hi Guys, Thanks for all the feedback, ill reply in order; @Shahpor dealer was only right about the calipers, but the car was making a a loud squealing sound when breaking. The rest of the stuff is not necessary but minor things the indy will do for me. (No need for pollen filter) @madasahatter Brakes are slipping, other than a noise I noticed breaking distance increase a little. They have ordered new pads and discs for me, from memory £35 and £40 Brembo - the indy swears by them. There is usually a eurocarparts van pulling up there all the time. @steve2006 Indy said the same thing, they said as new pads, discs and calipers going in, it makes sense to do new fluid, but not the end of the world if I dont. I told them to go for it as I trust them. Worth mentioning they have 29 reviews on google all 5 Stars.... wonder how many Lexus Woodford would get LOL @Linas.P my bad i should have explained a bit better, the Indy said they have a machine which measures water content and boiling point.

Hi Guys, Thanks for all your feedback and advice. My local indie garage took a look at it today and showed me the car on the ramp too; 1. Front calipers need replacing (+ disc is lipped and pads as its squealing)..... just waiting for warranty wise to approve calipers... they have already tried to get out of it, worst case scenario eurocarparts sell recon for £130 a caliper. 2. Engine oil level very low ... not a problem they'll top it up 3. Brake fluid dirty... they will change anyway with the work above but according to the dip test no really needed. 4. Pollen filter needs changing as its dirty - they laughed and said dealers always try to do this, Lexus wanted £50 to change it, as Linas said £6 and 30 second job. 5. Corrosion underside serious - Surface level rust, nothing to fear, it is 9 years old at the end of the day.

Thanks madasahatter, I have feeling the dealer is too. I did read somewhere that the engine oil needs topping up between services

Hi Guys, I thought I would share my experience with you all as feel it would help those who are going for recalls. I usually get my 07 plate IS250 sel auto serviced independently so first time experiencing Lexus dealership (minus the trauma of Lexus Woodford where I almost bought a car). I should have put this up 2 weeks ago but been crazy busy. I called both Woodford and Edgeware Road as I am located bang in the middle. Woodford didnt have a clue about how long it would take and refused a courtesy car (I think he mentioned something about a charge for it), Edgeware Road gave me a date, courtesy car and were polite thus the booking. They gave me a IS300h which I was really impressed with, but I couldn't live with the tacky 1990's Alba stereo inspired interior, infact the service manager agreed the previous generation had a nicer interior. The car was with them for a day and came back clean with £20 worth of fuel. Service was pleasant and all in all a nice experience. They did a safety check and found the following; 1. Brake peddle slipping thus calipers may need replacing ..... (i have an invoice from 2013 when the previous owners replaced them, so how?) 2. Engine oil level very low 3. Brake fluid dirty 4. Pollen filter needs changing as its dirty 5. Corrosion underside serious I rang up my local independent who was very suspicious about these claims as it was serviced in Jan and said his guys would look at it tomorrow. He did mentioned the corrosion when I first bought it but he said nothing to worry about as its an 9 year old car. Since then I noticed a weird and load scraping noise from under the car when I was on the A406, but it has never come back so I didn't think much of it - Any thoughts?

Hey Guys, I too had the letter through the post. I got mine booked in for 2 weeks time, they agreed a courtesy car too (haven't told me which one). I got my car serviced independently as I'm not a fan of the charges dealers seem add to the invoice plus my car is 07 plate so nothing really specialist needed. I noticed Lexus Woodford seems to be mentioned a fair bit in this post. I literally live the same distance between them and Lexus Edgeware, and I'm glad I followed my gut booking it with Edgeware. When I was searching for an IS250 I went to see the chaps at Woodford and was appalled at the poor customer service. I ended up buying a similar car for £1500 less with full dealer service history and invoices (although it was from a sleezy, scummy independent dealer, who claimed an oxygen sensor failing was not his fault and refused to replace it for free) but I saved £1500 so hey ho. Since then I don't go near Lexus in Woodford plus I have seen their name in this forum far too many times for my liking.

I have a Is250 and there is a guide on the forum on how to replace the oxygen filter for the Is250 by newbie

I had the same problem when I bought mine 6 months ago. I attached a OBD reader that I bought off eBay for £30, told me that the front oxygen sensor needed to be replaced. Oxygen sensors are a common item to go on the Is.

Wow talk about going off topic.... The vast majority of second hand buyers won't go near a car with 160k miles on the clock, however reliable a mark may be perceived. Whilst there is truth in the tax and running cost argument but it's highly likely that the mileage made the car difficult to shift. I have a family friend who owns a 2nd hand car garage and been a trader for years. He wont touch a car over 90k miles because they are a tough sell. Also a quick Google search typically done by most people new to the mark will reveal the vast majority of articles/sites/guides etc reccomend the auto box. Thus demand for the manual will be lower.

The original was Panasonic, the new one is a bosch