Thelongterm

After my right back box had sheared off at 55k, I scrutinized it. There were no signs of rust outside, and a quick look at the connecting pipe where it sheared off showed nothing was building up internally in the box, only on the connecting bit, so I suppose these original systems were very robust indeed. 

The exhaust specialist checked the left box and noticed the same thing was developing there, too.

It may have been a weak point, I don't really know, considering these boxes are a bit overweight to start with. It may be that not a lot of rust is needed to bring it to a breaking point.

The replacement mild aluminium steel came at 3.5 kg less per box than the original back boxes. The kit came with the Y section, so I got those changes as well at the same time (see earlier thread).

Do you stick to changing the coolant every 35-40k miles?

21 hours ago, Linas.P said:

That is exactly what I have seen done. It wasn't a screw, but more like small rubber plug. Ad as far as I understand it was factory job on some cars.

Also when I lost back box on my IS250 (at ~120k miles and 8 years old), it wasn't rusted, it just sheared off, looked like stress fracture. Got it welded back and it lasted another 70k+ miles after that (it never failed again, but car got stolen, so don't know how long it would have lasted). Also thinking about it - my old IS250 had it's all original exhaust by 200k miles, it looked rather horrible and rusty from outside, but there were no holes or any other issues apart of one backbox falling as mentioned. But I consider that car a little bit of outlier, high mileage and generally exhaust don't last that long.

Ok, I think I will get my cordless drill out.

Can you point out the most effective point to make these drain holes on the IS250 stock boxes?

Also, what diameter will these holes need to be? when you use a rubber bung in the MOT will the box not going to be hot enough to melt these?

On 2/11/2024 at 12:29 PM, Linas.P said:

I have seen holes drilled into the bottom of backbox. In theory anything after emissions equipment is legal, however it would throw the emissions measuring probe off and likely cause MOT failure on emissions.

I experienced this issue with the overweight back boxes eventually rusting from the inside and then shearing off.

My driving pattern is short journeys from cold and a once-a-week roaring down the motorway,  so it is not exactly good for the muffler considering slow-to-heat-up v6 and those fat deep boxes.

Drain halls sound like a sensible idea for my new back boxes. So is it just a matter of plugging the hole with, say, a screw when you go down the MOT and then taking them out until the next year?

On 1/24/2024 at 9:37 AM, H3XME said:

Sell the diesel, buy IS350. I know a guy who imports them regularly. They're always around 7k.. or buy 250 manual and 3GR swap it because you can use stock ECU. V8 swapping it will cost a sh!t loads of money in fabrication, gearbox, adapter plates, diff, ECU.. Not a financially feasible option. 

Tell more. The Jap IS350, is it hard to insure in the UK? Is it easy to get parts, etc?

On 1/20/2024 at 11:31 AM, SeanR said:

Aye, 

I know the full on gearbox flush is expensive. from memory over £400.

Perhaps that let some out and put some in routine might make more financial sense, just to get some newer oil in the box   

I just had mine done (07 SE with 60k on the ODO). Pan off, A960E service kit, filter, proper job, the lot.

£360 for 70% fluid change with a 12-month warranty; I must say that the gears are now changing quicker, smoother and, overall she feels lovely.

The technician did the job was satisfied that the box looked and behaved as new.

Here she is waiting to be handed back.

On 12/25/2023 at 8:42 PM, Linas.P said:

There seems to be particular offenders, I think Qashqai is one and few other mid size SUVs that blinds everyone. Definitely a poorly designed LEDs in dipped beam. To be fair fake Xenox are not as common now, but then you have 2 camps - the idiots that drive with DLR at night and don't understand what the issue is, or the ones that rely solely on auto high-beam and goes around blinding everyone, plus army of people with poorly adjusted lights (some of which are factory job). 

Plus, the ones with their fog lights on, whatever the weather..

Originally when bought I had a set of Pirelli P7 and later a set of Bridgestone. Both were crabbing, and I did not like those knocks at all.

Changed in early 2022 to Nankang AW6 and not a squick from down there. It's a good set that comes in both 225 and 245, and the grip is superb. Too soon to say anything about longevity, as I am doing less than 7k/year. but the rubber looks almost new.

On 11/26/2023 at 11:15 PM, Ipad said:

Not 70% but around 20%

I checked again, and the service manager of the most recognised auto service and repair shop on this side of Bristol (business doing auto boxes for over 40 years). According to him, they did a fair few of these boxes in the IS over the years, and he confirmed that they kept the car in for a full working day, drained around 4.5-5.2  litres of ATF, and changed the filter and gasket. As they say, up to 70% is close enough.

I am not here to argue with your superior knowledge, but I tend to count on the service manager and his experience. If you read page 30, point 11 of the November edition of Car Mechanic, where they have a 2010 IS250 as a project car (and I quote the part dealing with refilling' after draining the initial 1.2 litre from the pan and putting the gearbox ECU into testing mode in the OBD port - so it can tell them how much in the system).

We need to follow a set of instructions so that the gearbox goes into the checking procedure.

• First.. press the brake pedal and start the engine. Move the selector lever from 'P' to 'S'
• Select gears 1 to 6, then return to 'P'
• Now, move the selector between 'N' and 'D' at 1.5-second intervals for at least six seconds until the 'D' symbol on the dash illuminates.
• If the 'D' symbol on the dash flashes, you are required to add more ATF. So switch off and remove the bridging wire in the OBD port.
• Allow the ATF to cool for about 15 minutes (it needs to be below 30C to do the testing).

Our car demand more ATF, so we filled the sump again. We used up the two litre supplied and had to order another two 1x litre bottles for delivery. An ATF filter change is meant to drop only 1.4 litres out, but we were adding in more than that. Eventually after about 3.2 litres, the ATF was flowing nicely out of the filler plug aperture, and we refitted the plug once it was down to a dribble. This time with the EOBD bridged, the 'D' illumination stayed solid, and the test was completed. So 1.2+4=5.2, which is 70% of 7.5 litres.

Subscribing to your post.

I also like to know how steering wheel buttons can be provided.

I have an SE with the standard head unit, so currently, I use this BT kit from eBay or amazon. It works perfectly well, and I buried it in the handrest with only the button popping out and accessible for fast-forward, backward pause, etc'.

TECEVO Bluetooth 5.0 Handsfree Car Kit - Bluetooth Music Receiver, NFC Quick Pairing, AUX Jack Playing Music And Hands Free Calling Car Adapter …: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

I also booked mine for January when she crossed into the 60k territory.

After reading the article in Car Mechanic on how they did it with their IS250 project car, I am more convinced that taking this to Lexus is a waste of cash.

The gearbox is not much different from any TC auto from Toyota before they went with that awful automated 'MultiMode' junk and later to a CVT, so it is a simple traditional auto.

I booked her with an auto specialist in Bristol, and for £300+vat, you get 70% of the fluid replaced + gasket and filter.

For something you do once or twice in the car's span, this is peanuts in my book.

On 10/31/2023 at 4:34 PM, Ozzay said:

I would get it done. When I bought the car at 83k I done the trans fluid change 6 months after.

All original stuff. ATF Fluid from Aisin for the Aisin gearbox. Gasket seal around pan and filter. Done by a trans specialist in Thurrock. 

I can tell you straight away that the difference could be seen so yes to doing as everyone recommends here.

I have a thread called ownership costs which goes through stuff I did for maintenance. Its always cheaper doing the labour yourself if you can.

Watch out for calipers being seized (caliper + sliding pins). You want to get the after market pins from some ebay shop called Frentech and you must get the correct type for your car I made that mistake and it ended up costing me.

Aside from that I still need diff fluid done which I will do next month. And also I have just fitted 4 new Goodyear tyres Asymmetric 6 they do drive so well with them on after having made the mistake buying some cheap brand which probably didn't work well with the Goodyear at the front (my guess alongside the others here). When I first got the car the tyres were Ventus EVO2 all around. Looking back now they were actually very good as well.

Just my opinions. The only issue I have ever had in almost 25,000 miles and 3 years upcoming was when giving the car to cowboy mechanics. One mechanic somehow got one of my coil packs bending in bank 2 and it was rough idling for a long time. He denied anything and came up with all sorts of theories never being able to fix the problem until I took it to an actual Lexus specialist. I have learned to trust my gut from now.

The others in this community have helped here over the years so I am just giving my thoughts.

In the latest edition of 'Car Mechanic' magazine, they show how to change transmission fluid on their IS250 project car. If you have a library card, you can read this mag for free via the PressReader app.

I am looking to do mine now, as we are at 58k and 16 years old. I thought Lexus was doing a gearbox service as part of the six-year 60k major service, but a quick call to the Hull dealer service desk revealed that nothing like this was done (and sensibly, back then, the car only did 15k).

Does anyone know of a good auto box specialist in the Gloucester Bristol area?

Lexus quoted £625.

For a 5k less, I'd go for this time capsule https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309131949624?advertising-location=at_cars&atmobcid=soc5&fromsra&include-delivery-option=on&make=Lexus&maximum-mileage=60000&model=IS 250&sort=relevance

Few observations about the new GT back-end exhaust section:

• Compared with the stock section removed, this is lighter by about five kg.
• The back section gets warmer much quicker compared with the stock
• Engine temp gets to average temp much faster. My usual morning ride of six miles barely got the needle moving on the stock pipe. Now it's in the middle of the gage after three miles.
• Maybe it's in my head, but the gearbox is more responsive. Hoping to improve this a bit further with an up-and-coming fluid change (no record anywhere that this was ever done).
• Tad more aggressive note when the engine is warming up.
• Round tips instead of the elliptical stock. Not sure I like the look of these, but it's a minor issue.

On the balance of previous eBay acquisitions decided eventually not to go for something out of the bay and searched for a UK based OEM fabrication.

My choice was a quite aluminised steel unit with limited welds fabricated with mandrel bending.

The car doesn't sound the same as it was on the original unit, there is a deep low purring when idling from cold, but all becomes as quiet as the original once you drive it a few miles. Interesting and subtle tone which I really don't mind.

thumbs up to the manufacture GT Exhausts in Enniskillen for making such high quality product.

The part was £280 and fitting was another £200.

Mine is a 2007 55k and generally just surface rust in the middle section. Like Linas said, age of the weld will play a role in answering the question.

I'd say the back boxes are fairly heavy if I compare it to other cars I previously owned, maybe this is another element?

The odd thing about the exaust on these cars is that rust didn't form inside, just surface rust.

The first comment from the shop owner when he looked at the departed box was 'oh ye, seen these few times before on this model, and it always the weld that gives up the ghost after many years of service'.

So maybe Lexus of those years produced a very good part from a material point of view, but the weld is of a lesser quality. Real shame it can't be welded back properly. Not from the expense angle but I hate trowing away parts that still have a good bit of life left in.

No SS for me, I want it stock and quiet as possible.

Took the car to the local exhaust shop as I trust the old chap, once lifted and had a good look around I concluded that although it was the weld that got broken and there was no internal rust it will be almost impossible to put a weld there as the driver side box flange has very little surface to work on once you clean it up.

So, the main option will be to replace the Y section and boxes with good quality aluminised steel part.

It is about two hours labour at £60 a pop and the part is around £300, agreed £500 with the vat, is that a fair offer?

Few weeks back I fell into a massive pothole where later I had the check vsc eml showing.

Once cleared the EML with TechStream it never showed again, however when inspecting under the car I noticed that the pipe connecting the driver side back box silencer has a fair amount of surface rust.

And just today before going to work I noticed that the back box is now on the floor, sheared off where the back box is connected.

The other side of the Y is in fairly good nick with hardly any surface rust. So few questions to panel:

1. Can the back box get welded  back or is it not worth it considering there is surface rust on that side of the Y.

2. Is back box sections sold on the bay like this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155591919531 are good quality items worth investing in?

The cars are old so the latest versions of TS will not detect much more than say v11 or v12.

The cable hardware is also outdated and although can work in a 64bit environment, it is inconsistent from my experience (i'll save you the tech details).

I suggest to run TS from a 32bit operating system, seems very stable. The last Windows to use the 32bit framework is Windows 7 32 bit but XP/Vista will work fine.

You can run Windows 7 32 or Windows XP as a virtual machine from Windows 11 or 10 and (either using the built-in Hyper-v or a third party app) in it run TechStream.

Follow this vid to the dot and you should get there fairly easily. 

Thanks Linas, It was a sunny 4.00pm but the car was under a shady tree 🤣

The car had full Lexus history plus the extension part until it arrived in my hands (I take her to our trusty village mechanic who seems to know how to work on them as there are few elderly ladies in the area who own this model for yonks).

I can only assume that some dealers simply don't clear fault codes once they take remedial steps, however will keep an eye if this code raise his head again.

Initial scanning brought some very old freeze frame codes P0751 and P2714, look like the Lexus dealer did some calibration  early in the car's life but didn't clear the codes.

Other code was C1201 (under ABS/VSC/TRC section) which I believe can be many things but this was also fairly old stuff not cleared at at the time. I cleared all these codes, gave the car a welly and had another scan.

The EML is now off and a new reading doesn't pick anything bar some negligible AC codes B1421 and B1424 (which were in the live previously). The car shift nicely like always and I really can't see what triggered this.

33 minutes ago, normski2 said:

Just a thought, have you checked the headlight levelling sensor. On the front it’s located in the passenger side front wheel arch. There may be a broken arm there … it’s about 10” or so long. 
A sudden impact just may have snapped the arm linkage.

I'll check but I don't think there were self levelling lights on the SE?

Ah, I am joining you in the check VSC light fraternity 😑

The states of the roads in Gloucestershire is as bad as some places I visited in Africa, and so the other day after dropping my daughter at tennis, I plodded along and hit a rather large crater at 20mph. I checked visually and all seems fine, and the car is driving fine too.

I went home and the next morning Check VSC and the EML are on, steady.

Attended to all the checks prescribed here, like checking no hoses dangling, fuel filler is tightly shut and gave the MAF a blast of MAF cleaner. The light is not going away.

Now waiting for a Mini VCI cable to arrive so I can get few days of TechStream and harvest any codes.

In the meanwhile will try and learn how to use TS and will also have to borrow  Swambo's Avensis boat, it's a night and day experience 🤣.