Tango

The rattle on cold start-up is a well known fault on some model year 2006-2007 IS250's and requires a top end rebuild. However, it's a very brief rattle/knock following a cold soak start-up. Lexus issued a TSIB for it (Technical Service Information Bulletin) designated TSIB EG017-07. Later models were modified to prevent the problem so it only applies to 2006-2007 models equipped with the 4GR-FSE engines before the change. Cars manufactured in the TMK factory were changed after after VIN JTHBK26272041664 and those from the Tahara factory after VIN JTHBK26275027761. The necessary rework was covered under the Lexus Power Train warranty applicable for 72 months or 70K miles (whichever came first) from the registered in-service date, so if that's the cause you may be lucky.

Been the subject of quite a few posts before:

My IS-F stays in its heated garage when the temperature drops below 7 degrees centigrade, and the IS200 Sport is used with a full set of Pirelli Sotto Zeros. It has surprised many a stuck 4x4 driver on summer/all weather tyres when a rear wheel drive Lexus passes them on icy and snow covered hills. :D

This should help, please excuse the typos When changing the Map DVD.doc

Have you checked for the toolkit that came with the car from new as the pins were in there in the central spine under a velcro flap? Or didn't you receive that with the car?.

There's one on ebay at the moment. It's done three times as many miles as the one I have spare so I will be interested to know what it finally goes for . http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1423.l2649 Only £20.00 at the moment, 5 bids and two days to go.

My IS200 Sport has been de-badged for a number of years, just have the central emblem on the boot. IMPO it's aesthetically pleasing, and although the car is 11 years old, it still looks as if it came out the showroom yesterday so I find it hard to believe peeps would think they just dropped off . I thought BMW charged a little extra if you wanted a de-badge one of their models? What really is the point of driving around advertising what model you have anyway???? Was going to debadge the IS250 SE-L but unlike the first generation IS the second gen badges have location pin holes that would have to be filled, so not something you want to do on a new car. Pity really as I would have liked to de-badge the IS-F too.

Said it many times before and I'll say it again, Lexus made a mistake in trying to get into the European Fleet market by fitting what was essentially the diesel engine from the Toyota Avensis into the IS250 bodyshell. Perhaps if they had not done so we would have had the option to purchase the IS350 or IS250 AWD, as available in the USA and Japan. The oil burner has done nothing to add to the Lexus reputation, indeed it has harmed the excellent reputation previously enjoyed by the first generation IS.

Do you still have an IS250 SE-L? When you say 'just the exhaust tail pipe (back box)' I thought perhaps you were talking about a 220D. The 250 SE-L obviously has two back boxes and tailpipes coupled with a 'Y' piece to a flange which bolts to the single pipe coming from the manifold, so it's one unit. I fitted a 304 stainless steel Tanabe system on my SE-L less than a year after buying the car new. At the time I imported it from Japan for just over £500.00, but that was in 2006. Guess the value of the Yen has gone up since then so probably more expensive, plus the additional VAT and then add the fitting cost. Here's a pic of the Tanabe system for the IS250, the standard system is of similar configuration but without the additional flange connection that enable the Tanabe to be split for shipping. I do have the original system for my IS250 SE-L stored in my garage if you need a straight replacement, so pm me if you need to discuss before I put it on EBay.

Seems to be a common perception, but the exhaust system on the second generation IS is NOT manufactured in stainless steel. I did fit a stainless steel Tanabe system to my IS250 SE-L only a few months after the car was new, and I still have the original non stainless steel system stored in my garage. The exhaust tips are polished stainless steel which may lead people to think the entire system is the same. However, my 11 year old IS200 Sport is still running with the original exhaust system after 90K miles so assuming the quality hasn't dropped on the second generation, the exhaust system shouldn't be high on the worry list of a six year old car. In discussion with Tony Bones of WIM he mentioned he wasn't aware of anyone in the tyre and exhaust business that had actually fitted a new exhaust system to a IS200 due to the original rusting out.

Don't think yo'll find Andrew on here any more as he's not been on the forum for a long time. He sold the IS200 some time ago and now drives a 350Z and a modified Stagea.

I had one has a courtesy car while my IS-F was being serviced. Fuel consumption was amazing and it returned 67 mpg over the day I had it, and I noticed the highest figure recorded previously on the car was 99.9 mpg . Tried to ignore the mpg readout as it was making me question why I need a V8 . However, it weighs around the same as my IS-F so any attempt to rush it seems to cut the mpg drastically. I also found the ride to be quite harsh and the whole experience not as refined as my F or my previous IS250 SE-L. The impression I got was that it's the way it is and changing rim sizes or tyres will not make any significant difference.

Mine was pretty much up to temperature after about a mile driving at or under 2000 rpm. I find the same with the IS-F, after about a mile the temperature gauge is off the stop and continues until it holds at mid point on the gauge.

No, it would be OK on an autobahn, but it struggles on our motorways under 80 mph (sixth gear, that is).

I was given a 220d F Sport as a courtsey car by Lexus Cheltenham a couple of weeks ago and the service manager said it had been chipped. It was a bit quicker than standard and although I didn't notice the turbo lag so much, sixth gear was still a waste of time and first gear needed a lot of revs to pull away comfortably. Still dislike the diesel so much for many reasons and still of the opinion that Lexus should never have made it.

Haven't done so but will be interested to know if anyone has given the gearing isn't exactly good on the 220D even when you're not towing a mobile chicane.

Usually the higher the turnover the better to ensure the fuel you put in your tank hasn't been stored for too long. Even higher octanes left in the tank in the car will deteriorate (not usually a problem with the IS-F ) and now we have fairly high percentages of bio ethanol in the fuel there's the absorption of water from the atmosphere that will occur due to the ethanol being hygroscopic.. Supermarket fuels will tend to have a higher turnover than most independant retailers so I tend to use their petrol. I worked for BP for quite a few years, which is the only reason I default to their fuels if a supermarket station isn't readily available. Sorry Noby but I disagree with you. I stand by what I said in that any marginal benefit that additives could make to the IS-F for everyday road use is unecessary and a waste of money. Running at continuous high temperatures and load may benefit from the additives, but not something the IS-F suffers from in daily use.

It used to be the case that all the motor fuel used to conform to the British Standard and the requirement to meet that standard was enshrined in law. Unfortunately this no longer applies and the fuel must now only meet the environmental controls laid down in European and, subsequently, UK legislation. Currently the standards to which fuel is mixed is also being influenced by British and European mandatory requirements for the incorporation of biofuel components. At the moment fuel will typically contain 5% biofuel components which too have specifications which are subject to evolution as both the motor and fuels sectors come to terms with biofuel blends. The intention in Europe is that the proportions of biofuels components will increase from the present 5 % to 10 %, so the composition and quality of fuels can and will vary. Some people will argue that there is no difference in quality as all road tankers, regardless of the brand of fuel, fill up from the same refineries. However, this 'standard/ fuel will then have additives included by the different brands, so depending on type and quantity of additives, high performance base fuels cost more and give greater protection or performance. That is why some oil companies have produced higher quality fuels which they sell at a premium. Basically the old rules apply and you generally only get what you pay for, and if fuel is being sold very much cheaper then you have to ask yourself why. Personally I wouldn't dream of putting additives in my own tank as I'm certainly not qualified to determine whether it' makes any difference and is therefore worth the money, and I can't be swayed by any published bumf unless it's from a completely independent source. I used to use either BP Ultimate 102, or Tesco 99 in my IS250 SE-L, so was quite pleased when I saw the results of a 'Whatcar' test which listed BP Ultimate as having best performance gains and Tesco 99 Octane as best gains for price, with Shell V Power lagging behind in third place . http://www.whatcar.c...ce-fuels/226642 With the IS-F I just use 95 Octane as any perfomance benefits on the road from enhanced premium fuels is both a waste of money and unnecessary.

Not that many mods on the later models, the document type storage in the rear of the front seats were changed from the elasticated top type seen on the 2005/2006 and the switches for the boot and petrol cap release were changed from one above the other to side by side. The 2010 loaner I had this morning had auto folding door mirrors when the doors were locked, and I think from 2008 the doors autolock when 30 mph is reached. A few cosmetic mods also, e.g. turn indicators in the door mirrors, different grill surround, and the latest models have LED daytime running lights. If you leave it a few months I'm sure Lexus will have a few bargains as the current IS is being superceded by a new model early 2013. The IS-F is continuing, I'm glad to hear.

Just advertisers describing the auto differently, it's auto with a manual option using the gear stick or the paddles behind the steering wheel. Even using this option the car will auto change up if you try to exceed the rpm limits in the gears and lock you out with an additional beep warning if you attempt to change down to a lower gear that would cause the rpm to exceed the predetermined limits. It's also got a 'sports' mode that gives the box a more responsive feel (holds in lower gear a tad longer at the expense of fuel consumption). 'Navigator' is no different than the multi media option you have on your 220d, I believe the first generation with the satnav was so described. You'll like the IS250 auto, it's far superior to the 220d in many ways. Lexus have loaned me a manual 220d 'F-Sport' today (while my IS-F is being serviced), and although the engine has been chipped so it's a lot quicker, I hate driving the thing.

The GS250 is not quicker than the IS (0-100km/h 8.6 sec). But the new GS250 has a new intake that sounds better than IS with stock intake. I didn't check the stats but that's what the Service Manager said having driven it. OK, the IS250 0-62 is supposedly 8.5 secs as opposed to the GS250's 8.6 secs so theorectically a tad slower. The intake noise is due to the 'F' Sport type lower airbox having an extra open air intake so probably makes it sound faster .

There must have been a handbook originally, and if it is a multi media model it would have also had another handbook even thicker than the one for the car. Have you checked to see if it also has the original toolkit?

The Service Manager at my local dealership showed me the new GS250 to me today. Apparently has the V6 with a few performance mods to make it a little quicker than the IS250. Completely new IS will be introduced soon following similar looks to the GS range and he reckons it it will include an IS-F version. The GS250 is available in model types SE (£33,605.00), 250 Luxury (£36,605.00) and F Sport (£40,605.00). I had a good look at the GS450h too.

I colour coded my rims to match the Cadoxton Slate (if you mean the Lexus 'dark grey', but they were not the OEM rims. Plenty of pics on the forum of that IS250 SE-L with the rims in a light graphite and also after they were colour coded to match the car. See my gallery.

The rear tyres on the IS250 are staggered sizes, they're wider on the rear. The 17" rims, certainly the early ones, had the same 8" width rims all round but tyre sizes were 225/45/17 front and 245/45/17 rear. If you have the 18" OEM rims the rims are also wider on the rear than the front (8" fronts, 8.5" rears) and were fitted with 225/40/18 and 255/40/18 tyres as standard. The only second generation to have the same width tyres and rims all round is the IS250 All Wheel Drive (AWD) model, which isn't available in the UK.