Tango

It's a little disappointing that my IS-F isn't quite as well appointed as my IS250 SE-L, but it makes up for it in so many other ways . Don't really miss the ventilated seats and I've retro-fitted the illuminated kick plates. Strangely there's a female double pin plug of the right size already wired into the loom on the drivers side, but it isn't connected to the door closer switch. There was not a similar plug on the passenger side. Hi Tango, Where did you get the illuminated kick plates from? I can only find U.S, suppliers I kept my modified IS250 SE-L when I purchased the IS-F, as it then took me a year to make up my mind as to which one I wanted to keep. As I said, the Lexus IPod adapter and the illuminated kick plates were retro fitted from the IS250 when I decided to sell it on.

The only time I've had a problem was in the snow. The flakes built up in front of the sensor and froze which stopped it functioning correctly. Never had a problem in rain or spray and it's very effective in the fog.

Ths IS-F isn't out of production or do you mean this particular colour combination? Included in the line-up for 2013 is the slightly revised IS-F, with only three changes to speak of: Exterior color options have changed, with Ultra White replacing Starfire Pearl & Liquid Platinum replacing Mercury Metallic, All exterior colors receive a scratch-resistant clearcoat,(not before time) and there’s been some refined suspension tuning. Exactly how the suspension has been “refined” is unclear from the press release, but this type of minor mechanical adjustment has become an annual event for the IS F. Last thing — pricing for the 2013 IS F also sees a minor increase in price.

The first time a car jumped into the gap I had left using radar cruise gave me a surprise as the seat belt pretensioned, pulling me back in the seat at the same time as the car braked quite hard. I rarely use radar cruise as I find it's not so smooth as driving manually, and in similar occasions to the one described find RCC over reactive. RCC set on maximum range is very useful in foggy conditions though..

Not available according to Lexus, but I did find a Toyota colour that was very near the same shade. Unfortunately I emailed the paintcode to the Service Manager at Lexus Cheltenham and now I cannot find the email I sent, sorry :eerrrmm: OK, edit as found it :) It's Toyota 1E3, Phantom Grey.

Well believe it or not, but after running 3/4 of the tank with the Tunap 973 my average mpg appears to have consistently increased by 3-4 mpg. If I had filled the tank with a higher RON rated fuel it would have taken a few tankfulls before the ECU caught up with changes, so I can only assume the 973 is responsible for the slight improvement. My assessment is based on comparison of the displayed averages for the same journeys, and similar driving style, before and after using the additive. Still nothing to get excited about, but low 20's seems so much better than mid to high teens from that thirsty V8.

BG44k appears to have changed its formulation to to a Kerosene based cleaner so it's not really the same. Why use a Kerosene based cleaner when Tunap 973 is free from it and is half the price of BG44K? Having explored their site a little more it appears they do a "direct" injection cleaner for sorting out a specific problem with deposits on injectors and valves, and the "973" is for prevention and maintainance. I was given the can of 973 by the Lexus dealership and added it to a full tank of Tesco 95 RON, but it is available for around £8.00 per can, which treats 60 litres of petrol so cost of using it consistently would add around 13 pence per litre. I'm unsure of the current price of BP Ultimate or Shell V-Power, but if similar additives are already in these premium fuels then it may not make economic sense to use the 973. Current price for Tesco 95 after this mornings 2p price drop is 132p a litre, so if I had purchased the 973 it would effectively be 145p per litre. How does this compare to current premium fuel prices?

Check out "Forums", then "Wheels and Tyres" and you'll find a pinned post on exactly that subject http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=637

My IS-F had it's free winter check-up today, a general safety check of tyres/coolant/fluids/battery etc. All was well as I expected, but I also enquired as to whether they would recommend a fuel additive that would help clean the injection system. The Service Manager gave me a can of Tunap 973 micro flex Benzin E5-E100 to try. Doubt if I'll notice any difference in the IS-F performance, but I'll monitor the mpg etc. for any improvement. Appears that Toyota may be stocking it even though it's formulated in Germany http://www.tunap.com/de/bereiche/automotive/produkte/p973.html

Don't know where those mpg figures came from for the ISF. Mine rarely achieves over 20 mpg in "normal" driving. I did achieve a reported 54 mpg with the IS 250 SE-L but that was on an all motorway run and driving it to attempt maximum mpg. If I did a similar run with the IS-F it may return a mid twenties mpg, but then it would make owning it totally pointless.

Always use the "ET" tag "Phone Home"

It's a fairly common fault. I had my Se-L 250 nearside door mirror replaced under warranty as the motor had failed. Would work side to side but not up and down, first noticed when reversing. There's a post on here if you perform a search.

Bit of info here http://www.juratek.com/support-discs.php. The problem with high wear of discs on the second generation IS was discussed here http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=51306&st=30

That won't work if you have the key/pad on your person with a lot of modern cars .because the car door will open as it recognises the device Dave, I think that whe you have locked the car, if you pull on the handle within 3 seconds the door won't open, therefore the check will have been carried out. Just give a tug on the the rear door handle

No, but the step does give an indication of how much they have worn down. Lexus no doubt have an advisory figure for minimum disc thickness, but I cannot find it in the Manual.

It's just an indication that they are fitted as standard equipment by the manufacturer, I'm very pleased with the Super Sports, even if they're not fitted as standard equipment to Lexus, although they are by Audi according to the designation http://www.blackcirc...0&tyre=21574977

The 'VZ' just means Bridgestone original Equipment so you just need to fit a tyre with the same speed rating of 'Y' which is safe for up to 186 mph/300Km/h. Don't fit tyres to your with a lower speed rating or load index as fitting lower speed rated tyres or tyres with a lower load index may invalidate your insurance. Although the UK speed limit is just 70mph, most insurance companies will insist that the tyres of the correct speed rating are fitted to your vehicle. Does the 'standard Potenza' have a decent rim protector? I have Mitchelin Super Sports on my IS-F as didn't rate the Bridgestone PS2's that were original equipment. Also increased the tyre width on the rear to 275's.

My IS250 Se-L had Bridgestone Potenzas on from new, but they were noisy and not the best for grip in the wet. I changed the 17" rims for 19" fitted with Toyo T1R's, and they were very quiet in comparison with the Potenzas and had more grip in all weathers. Not sure if the T1R's are still available as thought they were superceded by Toyo Proxes 4. I have the Proxes on my IS200 Sport and they are superb. The IS-F is running on Michelin Pilot Sport 3's, but they're a bit OTT for the IS250.

Not fed up with my IS-F yet, but a Audi R8 V10 would tempt me away from Lexus, for a third of the price of an LF-A..

Early steering racks were susceptible to a problem that caused a 'vagueness' in steering feel and Lexus issued a TSIB to dealers to enable recalls. My IS250 was recalled and had a new rack fitted, although it hadn't suffered from the issue up to the point of change-out. Discussed on this thread and others http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=60275

If it's really bad try using Autosol with Scotbrite, or fine wire wool, followed by a final polish with Autosol and a soft cloth.

I mainly used them in the 250, and even more so in the IS-F, for gradual engine braking rather than over-using the brakes. On the IS-F the paddles can be used without having to select a postion using the gearstick, and on both cars the stick can be also used for manual shifting rather than the paddles and is particularly useful if you find it difficult to use the paddles as they rotate with the steering wheel, The IS-F takes off like a scalded cat when changing up manually, although you need to be quick to change up before the audible alarm sounds and the rev limiter kicks in.

That's quite an impressive thread resurrection, especially considering that most of the posters have since left the forum. Chris did buy a Skyline but has since sold it and bought his old IS200 back.

The piston slap issue from cold appears to be more of a problem with the IS350, but it's hard to determine if that's true because most of the issues have been reported in the USA. Not sure what number of IS250 sales in Norh America are now in comparison to the IS350, but contrary to expectations the smaller engine was selling well when first introduced (probably due to buyers realising that the cost of gas was getting more expensive). My IS250 SE-L was a 2006 model which I placed on order in March 2005 and received in December 2005, and never suffered from either piston slap or the cold rattle on start-up. Piston slap occurs at the top and bottom end of stroke in IC engines and can be audible with even small clearances between piston and bore, especially when starting from cold before heat expansion of the pistons reduces the clearance between piston skirts and bores. Some say the viscosity specification of the oil is a factor, but apparently piston slap noise can be transmitted hydraulically through the oil coating the bores anyway. Design of the engine may be a contributing factor as I assume a shorter skirt piston is more prone to the noise. I wouldn't be at all happy if I had piston slap that did not disappear when the engine warmed from cold, or got progressively worse over time.

The cold rattle on start-up was as it says, only on start-up. Probably lasted only a few seconds at most so a continuous rattle is probably caused by something else. I wouldn't be at all happy with piston slap on an IS250 (if that's the cause), although my daughters Corsa has suffered from it for a couple of years without further problem.