Tyre Tread

I'm not but i know it disables the boot unlock button. Valet button.

Noticed last week that when I walk close to the car with the key the puddle and interior lights come on before I touch the handle.Nice touch.

Some impressive mileages. Although its hit 100K miles it drives like a car with less than half the miles. I regularly get a displayed 42mpg as my commute is 80 mile round trip of mostly clear motorway. The computer is optimistic by about 7% ish

Ea,lier today my car joined the 100,000 mile club. Is it sad that I drove around the block before I got home to make sure I hit 100,000? What mileage are you up to and who ha the highest.

Thread resurrection!!! This morning my IS250 was difficult to start. It caught after a long crank and ran roughly as if on 2 or 3 cylinders for a moment then stalled. It cranked again for several seconds before again starting and running rough. This time I gently applied a little throttle and it gradually picked up until it was running almost smoothly. I drove off and within a few seconds it ran fine all the way to work (40 mile journey) On way home this evening no problem at all. The car had been stood since Friday evening and there has been very heavy rain and high humidity (well I am in Wales) Just wondering if anyone else has suffered similar symptoms in damp weather?

Final update for now: Once again my thanks to all who contributed. I spoke to the mechanic who changed the sensors who said the bank 2 sensor (nearside) was difficult and he used a shorter version of the socket with the side out of it with 2 extensions, 2 knuckle joints and a 3 foot breaker bar to remove it. Bank 1 was much easier. It took a while before the MPG came back to where it had been but I'm now seeing an indicated low 40's MPG again on my daily commute (40 miles each way of which 35 is generally clear motorway travelled at an indicated 75 MPH (true GPS 70). So, apart from the unnecessary battery it cost me £266.56 inc VAT. My Car has been with me for 2 years and 50K miles and has only had the sensors, battery and a water pump amd headlight bulbs(plus consumables - servicing costs and tyres etc.) My app indicates running costs (depreciation excluded) 21ppm. not bad for a reasonably quick petrol saloon especially compared to 23ppm for a diesel Superb I had previously and an XFS Diesel Jag 24ppm

Thanks again to everyone for the help. The local garage charge me £75+VAT to change both upstream sensors (that I supplied from Sparkplugs.co.uk £176.54 inc Socket) which I think is very reasonable. I haven't had chance to speak to the mechanic yet to find out how easy or difficult he found it. Only one sensor was bad so if anyone is on a budget and wants to offer me a few beer tokens for the working s/h one feel free. It will be nice to have my Lexus back after a couple of days of doing my 80 mile round trip commute in the wife's 12 year old Jazz.

Well, I had to admit defeat and book it in at a local garage for next week as I couldn't risk stranding the car on the drive. I have four cars ranging from a 12 year old Honda Jazz to a 49 year old Rover and have been working on cars for more than forty years and have only been beaten once before. Thanks all fro the information and support.

Well this is turning into a real PITA of a job. All good down to undoing clip on the wires to the sensor. It is awkward and my wife's hands were able to get in and squeeze the clips on the plug where my lumps of meat just would not go. once the clips were released it almost fell out. Now the hard part: Removing the sensor. Soaked overnight in releasing fluid and using the correct socket with a tightly fitting ring spanner on the top to turn it and i began to get movement; at first I thought I'd begun to free it but closer inspection reveals that the socket is rounding the corners off the sensor nut 😠 Ideas? I'm ready to sell the bloody thing! I've loved this car for 2 years and 45K miles and now...

Quick update: I've checked for air leaks and can't find any so have ordered two sensors and the socket from sparkplugs.co.uk. They should arrive tomorrow so I'll start soaking the old sensors in releasing fluid

Thanks again Dec. Presumably would be able to hear an air leak with bonnet open and engine cover removed? Which side of the car is bank 2 on?

Thanks Noo Bee and Declan. Its 2197 - me mis-remembering. Sounds like a swap over of sensors may be a good move. Does it need a special tool to remove the sensors? I understood that using the car with a faulty sensor 1 would more likely burn valves than ruin the cat as it tends to cause the engine to run lean. Can anyone confirm the part number for the sensor 1 please?

Cheers for the additional info. There are 2 codes coming up from memory P0158 & P2157 which indicate the two sensors in bank 2. A friend who builds F1 engines suggested the sensors may be fouling up as I do lots of motorway cruising and a good Italian tune up may clear them. Couldn't try it yesterday due to bad weather but might give it a go tonight. If that fails I'm reluctant to change both sensors in case the upstream one is affecting the fuelling which may be showing as a problem in the downstream sensor. Anyone know if that is s likely scenario? Also, best place to get a sensor(s) if I need them?

Thanks Colin, good to know.

Yep. I cleared them again leaving work tonight and I'll be they're back tomorrow. The codes its throwing up are P2197 and P0158 which point to the left bank O2 sensors BUT the dash is also saying "Check VSC" and I can't see the two being connected.

No it wasn't apparently. New battery fitted on Sunday and on my journey to work this morning the lights are back on 😭 Wasted £75 on a battery.

Thought I'd post an update. Firstly thanks for all of the helpful information to you all, much appreciated. I noticed GSF were having a 60% off sale so I ordered the Yuasa Hsb 030 as above and it fits wee if a wee bit taller and couple of millimetres narrower than the original. Ended up paying £75.19 inc VAT so not too bad. Once fitted i took the car for a short run and checked for fault codes (and pending) but all clear so fingers crossed for next week when I do my daily commute.

Thanks everyone. Sidney, may I ask where you sourced your battery please?

I'm trying to find a replacement Panasonic type 068 with CCA>600Ah but am failing miserably. I know the Bosch or Yuasa batteries are a good alternative but would like to stay Panasonic if possible. Anyone else managed to source one?

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty sure it's not the alternator as its reading 14+ volts when running and around 12 when engine off. I'll get the battery checked and hope it's that.

Last week I didn't use the IS250 at all and it was parked up for 10 days.Usually I do 400 miles a week. When I tried to start it on Monday it cranked over reasonably fast a couple of times but wouldn't start. I know its still on the original battery (2007) which hasn't caused any problems as such but I suspect it'll be getting weak with age so I tried a jump start and it spluttered into life and after a quick rev it ran perfectly on my 40 mile motorway commute to work. It started OK on my way home but about 10 miles into the journey home the VSC light and the EML lights came on along with the warning triangle and a "check VSC" message in the display. A friend popped over with his OBD scanner (bluetooth to phone app) and read ad cleared the codes. One of the codes was RH oxygen sensor i think We took it for a short spin and no codes re-appeared. This morning the car started fine and was OK all the way to work. Again, coming home at about 10 miles into the journey the same lights came on. Is this likely to be the battery on the way out or is there some known issue? Any advice gratefully received.

I noticed yesterday that mine is the original from 2007. Checked levels and all fine. I know I'm about to jinx it by saying its not showing any signs of giving up... yet!

That 2 into 1 joint looks horrendous. Are the originals really like that?

When I bought my car (07 plate) 2 years ago the wheels were in good condition but in the 35K miles since I noticed today that they are starting to suffer from the well known issue of corrosion. Rather than shelling out 250 plus for them to be refurbished I wondered if anyone has found any suitable alternatives that suit the car? Pictures would be great as what suits a car can be subjective.

I moved to Cardiff a couple of years ago and have found Alpha & Yapps garage in LLanishen to be very good. Probably too far for you though.