Linas.P

We "warming up" car in driveway wouldn't clean the disk so it doesn't sound like disk problem for me.

I would suggest to go in person, I have been in 3 or my local Tescos and all had some is stock. But as said by others, it might be worth to check the date. I have ask Lexus Woodford about 0W20 and 0W30, but they say they don't know why they are used by other dealers or in Scotland , they do not recommend to use it and put some regular 5W30 in the list. Similarly they don't know where is my courtesy car or why I had to pay for "local lift" myself. I guess this means that is not some kind of dodgy practice, but Lexus Woodford (or should I say Toyota?) are not bothered.

I thought additives only degrade when in engine, not when stored in oxidation proof cans. Otherwise it is high risk to buy "outdated" oil. Maybe that is why they are discounted?

No - it was exactly my point. 5W30 is not labeled Fully-synthetic in Germany, because it is processed from lower grade oil. Obviously, oil in Germany and in UK is exactly the same, just that in UK regulations are different and they can qualify their oil for fully synthetic here.This doesn't mean Magnatec is not good oil, but it rather defends the price difference between Magnatec and Edge (which apparently "genuinely fully synthetic"). Then again, I don't believe it matters if you do your oil on time. While on this topic I have noticed Tesco now have discounts for Castrol oils: Magnatec is £18.50 for 4L or £6.50 for 1L Edge is £28 and £9.50 respectively I reckon it is great price if you doing your oil yourself?

No... you are probably right. They only certified the cars they expected to sell well. RC/IS 350 would have been a niche product ( not to mention Lexus as a whole is niche in Europe) and would never been profitable sell. Obviously for customers this is never good.. now it is either all or nothing and no middle ground. But in Lexus sense 5% will be RC-F, 65% 300h and 30% 200t.. if released RC350 at best would cut 2,5% from each 200t and RC-F owners which would be loss, slight increase in profit from 200t would not offset loss on RC-F (obviously Lexus making most profit on "F"). i think this is still less questionable tactics, than what they did with IS220d (no AT option).

I hope you are right on this as well. Petrol was unfairly disadvantaged based on current rules. On 350 note I am sure that many people would be happy to wait for few months, no need to have them readily available. This must be Lexus sales decision no to make them available in UK for some reason.

That is correct. Whats more - in reality not all 0W are actually less viscous than all 5W, even more rarely any of 0W are less viscous than 5W at temps ~0 Deg C (actually it is often opposite). Usually, the difference is where tepms are like -54 C. I kind of contradicting myself here, but at least theoretically 0W30 can be better than 5W30 and should not have negative impact. In reality it is unlikely to make any difference. However, where it comes to 0W20 is sound like serious trade-off of motorway protection of components with same negligible benefit of cold starts, On the side note - I was reading in other forums and apparently Castrol Magnatec is "hydro-cracked" (whatever it means) oil rather than real synthetic (in Germany it is considered semi-synthetic due to different regulations), while Castrol Edge is fully-synthetic. Now .. does it make any difference to anyone - I am sure no..

It seems like using "0W" would be beneficial considering easier start-up when engine is cold. Obviously, small benefit in UK (generally mild/warm) climate, but at least not worse. Will ask for 0W30 during the service and see what Lexus Woodford will say. As for "XW20" it seems like small trick to reduce emissions at the cost of longevity of the engine especially for motorway driving (city driving might still be ok). It seems like "20" cannot provide enough lubrication when engine is warm and that obviously increases wear. That said it is still unclear where 10W60 comes from.... is that for trackdays ? :)

Probably, owners of face-lifted ones can tell. It seems (I might be wrong) that tax for 2011+ is £20 cheaper at £270 a year, the engine is definitely the same thought. I am pretty sure that Lexus recommends same 5W30, but again only someone with 2010+ car can tell what is in the manual.

I guess that is 5 for Bosch S4. Not surprised as it is premium brand to match premium car :) Sadly, no opinions on Exide - I though it could get it up to fight as equal contender. I am aware I need 068, with 069 being identical size but opposite terminal sides. Will be getting Bosch (maybe S4) - when fraudfords battery going to give it's last breath. The problem is - it seem like Bosch doesn't make S5 in 068 size, so I guess I am left with S4 option. It is actually funny - Bosch US have same batteries, but one number up - S6 AGM, S5 and S4, while UK counterpart site has S5 AGM, S4 and S3. Based on UK description - S3 for small or older cars, S4 for medium modern cars, S5 for cars with high energy demand e.g. start-stop function etc. While IS250 is not start/stop car S5 sounds like upgrade, S4 sounds like "just right". Based on the price I guess that maybe Lexus Woodford was (not) about to fit S5 for £143 to me. Thanks for all replies

That is pretty much my opinion - no reason to invest in oil on car from last decade. Do premium oil while car is within warranty and serviced by dealer and then stick to the cheapest compatible oil afterwards. It is very likely that in 10 years time the cheapest oil matches or exceeds the premium oil quality which was filled back in the day when car was new. One interesting thing I have found on Castrol site - they (obviously) recommend 5W30 Magnatec A5 for IS250 XE20 (2005-2010) 4GR-FSE engine, BUT recommends 10W60 Edge for same IS250 XE20 (both 2010-2011 and 2011-2013) with (obviously) the same 4GR-FSE engine. http://applications.castrol.com/oilselector/en_gb/c/recommendation?vehicleType=cars&manufacturer=lexus&model=is-xe20-(2005-)&modelType=is-250-(2005-2010) vs. http://applications.castrol.com/oilselector/en_gb/c/recommendation?vehicleType=cars&manufacturer=lexus&model=is-xe20-(2005-)&modelType=is-250-(2010-2011) and http://applications.castrol.com/oilselector/en_gb/c/recommendation?vehicleType=cars&manufacturer=lexus&model=is-xe20-(2005-)&modelType=is-250-(2011-2013) What is the logic here?

That is probably personal thing, I would actually go for RC-F if I could afford having RX as second car. My current 2.5l v6 is on the bottom edge of the power I want, I would never consider car with engine less than 2.5l and ideally 3.0+ (with few exceptions like BMW i8 maybe). 2.0l + turbo for me it is a little bit of cheating ( had Passat CC 2.0 TSI ... hated every mile on that car). Appreciate, turbo and reasonable base e.g 3-4l v6 or v8 (ok straight-6 BMW) where the base power is enough to drive comfortably and extra induction aids some "madness" in certain RPM range. That completely doesn't work out on 1.6, 1.8 or 2l engines in my opinion .. well unless its golf (same engine in passat... or Lexus is bad taste). RC/IS 300h are only appealing because of the obvious benefits when taxing and other associated costs (call them government initiatives). I probably can accept, 300h suits Lexus character i.e. quiet, refined, luxurious. 200t is more a little bandit, golf boy racer (no offence to owners :)). 350 I guess is real joy without the price tag and unreasonable expenses of "F", just straight forward v6 petrol - simple and honest. It might be I am the only one thinking like that in UK...

Well yes, you are right.. I am just talking from experience - diesel cars are not designed to do low miles/short journeys. It is fair to claim that they are simply not well designed, because this is not indicated anywhere. back to topic - the face lift seems unnecessary in my opinion, but it is just standard thing in product life-cycle. I kind of hate that Lexus in UK have very restricted product range e.g. there are no IS/RC 350s. 200t sounds equally wrong as 220/200d, while 300h is not really 300... rather 200+100. thinking out all cons. and pros. I would probably go for 300h, but if I would have option of 350.. that would be main choice. I guess maybe this is strategy to push for IS-F/RC-F - as they believe in UK buying power makes this a reasonable upgrade. Essentially, giving two extremes "over-practical aka boring" or "mad".

Is that on premium or standard? Actually just wanted to note as well..it is actually is very hard to compare fuel in Lexus IS250. This is because it has "Smart" ECU which can change ignition timings based on driving style or fuel used. That said it is very unlikely to see any difference in MPG what ever fuel you use. I generally find that I get highest MPG from asda standard fuel (the cheapest), but this after finishing tank of premium. My guess is that when it tastes cheap fuel it temporary retards ignition timing which translates in some fuel saving... We are talking here about 0.1-0.2MPG. I guess to make any meaningful conclusion somebody needs to do 10k miles on single brand fuel in controlled environment which is obviously impossible. My personal opinion is that it is good idea to use premium fuel periodically to help reduce carbon built-up etc. (or fuel additives from super market whichever work outs cheaper). Neither helps improve MPG in short term, but makes economical sense in long run.

That is actually very strange.. It is unlikely that Scottish dealers would have different service manual?! Are they doing it in anticipation of colder weather (where lower viscosity oil is likely to perform better maybe?). Probably, it would be hard to make any comparisons especially considering that both 5W30 and 0W30 are in comparison low viscosity. Will ask Lexus Woodford for this week for opinion..

I believe Lexus (and any other manufacturer) only cares about car which are within warranty. That is when 95% of owners will bring the car in authorised service, therefore is very unlikely that somebody will put wrong oil while car is still within the manufacturers warranty. Even majority of independent garages would know the difference and even if they put slightly wrong oil it won't be ultimate ends (like A5 vs C3), but maybe something like A5 vs. A1. That matters even less for top-ups (which are more likely that owners will do themselves). I would be interested if anyone have any experience using different oil like 0W30?

Hello Everyone, I was planning to decarb my engine for a while now. Emissions is one thing - I am sure I will still be within limits, but engine sound and fuel economy is another thing. I do use Premium fuel every second time to prevent excessive built-up of carbon etc. but at least in my opinion neither fuel additives off-shelf, nor the ones in premium fuel are sufficient to really clean all gunk, especially in IS250 before injectors. I know there are several companies offering "hydrogen decarb" service ~£100. I have hear very good opinions about it , however I am not sure how it is better than DIY cleaning by pumping steam via air inlet. There are million videos how it is done showing before and after results. Can somebody give any recommendation from personal experience? Second thing, I am not sure what impact that can have if engine have large carbon deposits already... wouldn't it block something down the line e.g. catalyst converter? Any opinions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

I was planing to do this for a while. Can you recommend any specific Hydrogen decarb service? I have found quite many placed offering the same thing for £99, just thought if it is the same everywhere, or maybe it is possible to do it cheaper? Do they as well do emission test before/after or can it be added for additional price - thanks in advance.

I agree 100%. It is easy to explain - How many people really cares what they are driving... 10% maybe, the rest buys any new car with low OTR price and change it every 3 years? How many people are aware about Lexus quality and luxury?... even less. Finally, how many people are looking for 6-10 years old luxury cars - hardly anyone.. Luxury car with Manual - nobody. If I am honest I became fan of Lexus by accident.. almost all my cars before were BMW's and only, I were to choose company car for my father company I have gone for Lexus.. MB C250 was £5k more expensive, BMW E90 is generally ugly car (for company car I can't choose E92), so I gone for Lexus (happy I did). I had 2 Lexus IS250's before the current one so I knew what I am after, but for average person car doesn't stand out on the paper and they look elsewhere. And especially IS250 Manual is not popular, tax and insurance more expensive for what you considering "less of the car". I could buy Manual IS250 for half price I have paid for my Automatic and probably in better condition...

Do you mean, not great by design (like Toyota's 2.2l) or simply used wrongly or maintained poorly? My understanding is that many people are buying diesel cars to save money, without considering that their daily driving is unfit for diesel engines and will not be efficient, then they are facing all kind of issues. I am pretty sure even IS220d is fine if doing mainly motorway driving for 30+ miles per journey doing steady 60-70+.

That sound like you have mixed up what I have added as Audi benefits and what as Lexus... As we know Lexus burned on diesel engines, but I have strong believe majority of Audi sales are diesel. Similarly, regarding the equipment in basic trim level - basic Lexus is already well equipped, while Audi with similar extra stuff might be £45k... As for Audi diesel reliability -definitely better than those on IS220d, but all diesels have same know issue.. never get diesels if not doing many miles on motorways.

I though 2010 was IS200d, unless this one was late registered old model.

I believe it is sad to see it going. As for the selling difficulties and the price - I am completely not surprised. Lexus IS 250 is really good buy (and automatically bad sell), it is a lot of car for asking price as you said yourself it is "fully loaded". Your one was manual as well and they really cost next to nothing right now (I was always curious how you planing to selling it for reasonable rice). If I were you I would have probably kept it in the barn for another 50 years, because current prices are not reasonable. That is actually what I am planning to do with mine few years later. Maybe not to keep in the barn, but maybe just to give it to my sister or girlfriend - they are really no-brainer to sell.

I would say - NO, but I am not expert. If they genuine Xenon with DRL (I believe that is what you referring as LED), the DRL strip will (probably) need separate power and Light sensors will (probably) go mad (not talking from personal experience so do not quote me :) )

I have not tried myself ( so don't treat what I say as a fact). If you buy after market (fake) DRL lights they should be plug and play as far as electrical connection, but you will have issues with everything else e.g. ASF, auto leveling etc. as usually they do not support such features (thought there are different quality levels and I might be wrong). If however you have you hands on the original units (which are crazy expensive) I believe that they have separate connection for DRL strip therefore they are not plug and play in such case the power for the LED strip will need to be fudges somehow (good news it should be low power consumption v12, so no rocket science). However, yet even if you get hold of original units you will still have issues with auto lights etc. as DRL strip will fool the sensor to think that it is not dark and therefore Auto-light will never work. Then again there are variations like Xenon/Adaptable/Standard which you need to get right or deal with additional incompatibility issues. I am sure it can be done, but it is not that straight forward as it might look. (missing the times when I had 2012 F-Sport with DRL).