wharfhouse

The brakes stick on mine and can release with a bang after leaving it standing for a week. I don't use the parking brake at my house and just leave it in P but still does it - the "swoosh" sound is just the pads taking off the rust layer than forms - goes after a few applications

Ah yes - you're right - now that you mention it that is what I did rather than swap them one by one! It was some years ago and so had a bit of a hazy recollection... I had the cylinder from the diagnostic codes but wasn't sure which end to count from so used that method to confirm which was at fault!

If you have a spare /new coil but don't know the diagnostic code (which should tell you which cylinder is the problem) you'll need to swap out the coils one at a time with the spare / new until the misfire stops. Once you have done that the check engine light may still be on but should clear itself after a number of restarts / miles if indeed it was the coil - otherwise you will need to get the code cleared through the OBD.

Yep that's what I was talking about - beware cheap non OEM ones though - I would buy from Lexus or make sure it's from one of the major providers - I have had Blueprint components in the past on older cars though and they seemed to be good quality

On my last Honda Accord I had what sounds like the same problem - it was one faulty coil (there was one coil per spark plug and I guess it's the same in the IS but haven't looked). The engine fault light lit and it felt like a misfire. It may come and go a bit if the coil is starting to fail. I also know others with different cars who have had the same problem. Replaced the one faulty coil (it was an easy DIY job on the Honda) and it was good until I sold it (with over 160,000 miles on it - fault occurred at about 80,000 miles) - seems that an odd coil can fail on any car - I've known some go when the car age/mileage is similar to yours. Although some people say to replace all of coils at the same time I didn't do that and can't see why you would with a relatively new car (and they cost some £120 per coil) and all the rest of the coils worked fine until I sold the car. However, only way to be sure it to read the fault codes. If it is the coil the engine will be dumping raw unburnt fuel into the catalytic convertor which will destroy it so best not to drive the car until the fault is understood and fixed!

My brake light (and the regen braking) come on pretty much immediately I touch the brake pedal with only a tiny fraction of "free play" when I first touch the brake pedal. I haven't looked at the Lexus brake pedal but in other cars as others have said the brake light switch is easily adjustable (in my Honda Accord it is was located up under the dash near the top of the brake pedal opposite the pivot point - the switch was closed when brakes not applied and opened when the brake was applied). In most cars you can also adjust the brake pedal position so that it is slightly more "up" or "down" relative to the accelerator - again not sure how adjustable that is in the Lexus but if that is set wrong could be the problem too. Another thought is that I would have thought the interlock for the auto shift is linked to the same brake pedal switch - I'm pretty sure mine is in that I don't have to put hardly pressure on the brake pedal to move from P to D - also the cruise control is I believe linked to the same switch - so if cruise is on and I just touch the brake pedal it disengages - if yours takes a push similar to getting the brake lights to come on for moving out of P and to disengage the cruise control then I would have thought it definitely points to either the switch and/or pedal being out of position relative to each other which should be easily rectified.

Interesting numbers- didn't know these were published on their website - the sales of the NX are probably the biggest surprise!

Strange - the page that popped up said I had to subscribe to read it...!

Unfortunately can't read it as I don't have a FT subscription... thought the title says it all I think

Reversing lights not working are not an MOT failure - they had stopped working on an old campervan I had and I couldn't work out how to fix them (I think it was something to do with the switch when going into reverse) but it never failed an MOT on that.

All good points and had crossed my mind (the German trio was a bit tongue in cheek!) - however, the increased number of IS 300h's I am seeing do all appear to be new registrations within the last year - I don't see hardly any registered more than a year ago. Given the small numbers involved it's not statistically valid of course, but it's certainly a big relative increase that I've noticed in the last few months. To be fair mind you, a number of my neighbours have changed cars recently and many of those have purchased hybrids (switching from diesel) - from small hatchbacks through to SUVs (no other IS 300h's yet though!) - the winds of change they are certainly a 'blowin!

I don't know whether this is reflected in the Lexus sales figures, but when I decided to purchase an IS 300h 14 months ago I hardly saw one other on the road (a few CT200h but not much else). The last couple of months I have noticed a (relative) sudden growth in numbers and frequently pass one or two while driving around. Whether this is the result of diesel-gate or the company car BIK biting I don't know (I run mine privately and have always hated diesel cars anyway) but it's certainly noticeable - of course they are not as common as the BMW/Mercedes/Audi brigade (yet!) but I don't feel like the only person around my neck of the woods driving one anymore! I live in the south of England - is the same happening across the country I wonder?

I thought that all speedos by law have to over read by a few percent so that when you are at the posted speed limit on the speedo you are actually doing a few mph less - so commonly at 70mph on the speedo you would be doing around 66mph - your scenario seems to be the wrong way around - the speedo reading less than the true speed?

I have just finished with 8 weeks in a Mercedes C200 Sport hire car whilst my Lexus IS 300h Executive was being repaired (bodywork after hitting a tyre shed off a lorry on the motorway) and so had an interesting comparison. Having read all the doom and gloom about Lexus nav, I was pleasantly surprised with the nav in the IS 300h Executive when I got it (the standard with the dial, not premium with the mouse) and now after having had the Merc for 8 weeks while mine was off the road I can say that the Lexus nav (at least the standard one) is a huge improvement on the one in the Merc. I also used Google maps for some time before I had my Lexus which always worked very well and so again had a benchmark for comparison there. In summary the Lexus nav is much, much faster at coming up with a route, rerouting etc. than the Merc and the routes the Lexus nav suggests correspond pretty much with Google maps (including taking into account traffic). The Merc directions were very different to Google and Lexus for the same route and for the worse. In the end while I had the Merc I used Google maps to check directions before setting off as they were so much better. I had done the same checks against Google maps in my Lexus when I first got it but found that the Lexus and Google directions were pretty much always the same so stopped using Google maps and was happy with the Lexus directions. In general operation I also found the Merc unit very laggy and incredibly slow and frustrating to use in comparison to the Lexus. I felt that after 8 weeks I was still struggling with the Merc system but was basically happy using the Lexus nav and had worked out most of what it did after my one day test drive before I bought the car! I appreciate that these things can be quite subjective, but just wanted to add my thoughts as I was very surprised, given all the negative Lexus nav comments, just how good it is in a straight comparison with the Merc at least. Oh yes, and the Merc sounded like a tractor to drive with hard uncomfortable seats! So, so glad to sink into the comfort of the Lexus seats again and then enjoy the sereneness of my IS 300h.

Should have been Lexus dealer!

Had a similar problem on a car (not Lexus) and it was a stone lodged in the brake dust shield - you said Lexusownersclub.co.uk had found gravel already - maybe some got into the other areas too?

I don't get any wind noise in the dry but have noticed in the rain that I get a "water" noise from what seems to be the top of the door window - I put it down to the water being caught in a vortex at the top of the window making a sort of bubbling sound - not loud but definitely there - once the rain stops they noise goes away - I tend to quite sensitive to noises in the car and the IS being generally very quiet these little things are more apparent to me than probably another car.

If I was a dealer I think I too would be cautious as I am sure there are time wasters - as there are in all walks of life, especially when something is "free" - so you would expect them to do their job and ask the right "qualifying" questions to sort out if the person is really in the market to change their car in a reasonable period of time - only fair and I do the same in my business - out of 10 leads there are only ever a few that pass this first test of answering some basic questions! However, if there are no sales people coming back to ask the basic questions then the dealer has some issues!

I was very specific that I was definitely changing my car - no ifs and buts - and went through the questions the sales person had - I think that is only fair as I hate it when people waste my time when I am looking to sell my services and they aren't serious about buying

Seems to be rather dealer specific - I can't speak for the current offer but a year ago I completed the form on the Lexus website asking for a 24 hour test drive and was contacted the same day by Lexus Reading. I met the sales person a couple of days later at the showroom, had a chat about what I was looking for (an IS 300h) etc. and he organised a car for a day for me to try for a few days later. I could have had the car for 24 hours but as I was away the day after the test drive day I decided to collect first thing and return it that evening. All that was needed was a check of my driving licence with DVLA for the insurance (didn't cost me anything) and I was on my way and had the car all day. Off the back of that test drive I loved the car and went back a couple of days later and bought one.

Lexus UK website https://www.lexus.co.uk/car-models/is/accessories/#othermodels Stainless Steel £165 - assume you can get it from a dealer. I have a black plastic one on mine that was fitted by the Lexus dealer but I don't think they do black anymore. Also this popped up in Google: https://www.carnoisseur.com/products/details/rgm-rgm-rearguard-to-fit-lexus-is-series?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkJHCicL11gIVRZ8bCh2aiwGQEAQYASABEgJBkPD_BwE Or clear film: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Lexus-Rear-Bumper-Protection-Film-04-13-Present-PZ438C138000-/262303659052?hash=item3d1284342c

I thought that changing the volume for the spoken sat nav instructions also changes the beep beep volume for the speed cameras too - if you turn the volume right down (in the settings) then you might not hear the beep beep but would have to turn the volume back up again if using sat nav. By the way the beep beep is definitely for speed cameras (as per those it knows about on the sat nav maps) as I checked with the dealer too when I started hearing it.

I can't comment too much on the customer service satisfaction having only had a Lexus for a year but I plan on keeping this one at least another two years and having it looked after through Lexus for servicing etc. and so by the time I may be looking to change should have a good handle on that too. But at the moment very impressed by my IS 300h one year on after purchase - always look forward to getting in and driving it - something that had started to wane with my previous cars.

That is certainly what the Merc one I am driving at the moment feels like - not pleasant at all...

"The Mercedes I drove was an auto which was very notchy and never seemed to be in the right gear." - that is very much what I have found on the courtesy car I have - it has an auto box with 9 gears and tries to change up as high as it can whilst cruising (for fuel consumption) and so whenever I accelerate it has to drop down a few gears - that invokes quite a delay while it gets the right gear and unless you are very light footed then a lurch forward as you have the throttle open quite a bit by the time it has found the gear. Doesn't make for smooth driving in traffic that is changing speed a lot and is quite tiring despite being an auto box. Also when accelerating, particularly at part throttle, then having the 9 gears it just seems to be constantly cog swopping as the speed rises... It's a stark contrast to the e-cvt of the Lexus which just delivers the power without any associated mechanical kerfuffle... it's interesting how the motoring press find these 9 speed auto boxes more acceptable than the e-cvt - but I suppose if you drive around with your foot flat to the floor all day or around a track maybe it's different. In the past I had 5 and 6 speed auto boxes on my BMWs and I think these worked better as they seemed to change their cogs much less and had much more immediate pick up without the delay!