Mauler

Awesome, thanks chaps! Are there any secrets to things to know when removing door trim? The screws are obvious and it's the usual "Leaver clips away but be careful"?

People say this about the inside of fuel tanks, but when my Dad and I removed my old '05 plate TDCi Focus to replace it's fuel sender unit the inside of the tank, which AFAIK was the original and I doubt it had been cleaned in it's then-13/14ish years, was as clean as a whistle.

Could be worse - my mate rides a fairly modern Honda Hornet, it doesn't even have a fuel gauge; just a "FIND SOME FUEL NOW" light 😁 To make sure it's as stressful as possible, the rider has to manually reach down and fumble for a Normal/Reserve tank switch on the side of the bike somewhere and switch it over to a lower input in the tank to make sure they can get to a petrol station! Haha!

Thank you 😃 One thing that I forgot to add in my initial post (and I can't seem to edit it now?) is that the puddle light in that wing mirror also doesn't work. I didn't even know I had puddle lights until I'd owned the car for two weeks and walked up to the passenger side in the dark! Haha! So, I suspect that all of these electrical contraptions share a power feed (or connector) and that's disconnected/broken....OR...someone's annihilated the mirror at some point and replaced it with a knackered/empty one...?

The effort is much appreciated man, but do you think he still has one? 😁 Daft place to put it, but I'm sure it has something to do with getting a feed from the rear heated screen to kick the mirrors on. That does both mirrors though, doesn't it?

Hello chaps (and chapesses), I got my IS250 a few weeks ago (thanks to all who commented in that thread!) and it's fine except for the driver's side mirror. The mirror itself is easily movable by hand and doesn't move on it's own when the car vibrates or goes over bumps, etc but it doesn't move via the buttons in the door, neither does it seem to heat up when the rear screen & mirrors de-mister button is pressed. There's no motor noise coming from it that I can hear so it's like the mirror's motor and heater isn't getting power. The passenger mirror works fine for everything. What the wing mirror DOES do is fold-in via the fold-in/retract button and this works so well that if my window is down it folds all the way into the car to say hello, which is nice. 😁 If I have my window up the mirror housing taps the glass and stops. It folds back out at the touch of the button, but the way it moves back out sort of shows that it's retracted too far, but it reaches the correct position and stops like it should anyway. Does the mirror retract function have it's own feed? Do the mirror heater and motor share a circuit? I've very briefly seen a diagram showing a connector to the door gubbins, so do all three share the same loom connector and is it inside the door or behind the footwell panel? Is the over-retracting related to the lack of power to the mirror functions? Has anyone experienced this before and what was the fix? Thanks in advance!

A V6 MR2 - was that the Camry V6 3.0 conversion? When I was on the MR2OC many moons ago I think Redwood used to do those?

I've generally used Mintex & EBC (Green Stuff, although my Celica GT4 has Reds) which have given good stopping power. I can't comment how they stack up against the OE pads though, I've not had the car long enough to need to change them yet.

I've looked into OBD codes a bit from when I had my Focus and worked on it myself. P0 codes are powertrain related (on my Focus I always had one up because I didn't bother replacing the knackered glow plugs but it wasn't serious enough to bring on the CEL (VSC) light). P0301-0312 are thrown up when the ECU detects a misfire (along with a general P0300), the last two digits specify which cylinder the fault was detected on. So in this case it's cylinders 1 & 3. P0102 is "Mass Air Flow/MAF Circuit Low Input", generally the MAF sensor isn't giving a signal as strong as the ECU wants so it may be dirty or faulty, or the sensor is fine but there might be a vacuum leak somewhere after the sensor, so the engine is sucking in air there and thus less air is flowing through the filter to the air flow meter. P0113 is "Intake Air Temperature/IAT Sensor 1 Circuit High Input". I had to look this one up myself; the IAT is basically a thermistor, it's resistance drops as the ambient temperature does. If it was really cold it might trigger a P0113 code as very low temps will produce a high voltage but I don't know the ranges that an IAT works at so it might be normal or it might not? Unfortunately I've only had my IS250 for two weeks so I've got no idea if the above results crop up sometimes on cars over a certain age/mileage or not. My fairly unprofessional advice would be to clear the codes stored in the ECU and test again in a day or two to see if any have reappeared.

Thanks very much again, chaps! All the info here is just as valuable, perhaps moreso, than years of experience using tools to maintain other vehicles. A slight tangent - what are opinions on K&N air filters and for the IS250 specifically? Opinions on them are often mixed,m depending on who you speak to. As I've usually owned reasonably powerful cars (and from a Ford family) I've generally dropped a K&N filter into anything that I've driven on the first service I've done. Fairly suitable for my Holley carbed Capri and my Celica GT-Four RC but for a Lexus...?

Not quite my bag, but if you're asking then part of you is doubting the choice. I think that maybe losing the centre decal may help in making that area look less "busy", as we say in the war-gaming miniature world 👍

Haha, "poverty spec", I'm not sure that a Lexus could be considered such a thing 😁 It's the PDF of the US manual as functionally the vehicles are the same, I didn't know that the custom options were different though, I'm not sure why Lexus would go to the bother of modifying a firmware for the UK market so much? As an IT Tech myself, I'd expect them to take an existing firmware from another market and modify that as little as possible to suit.

That interior trim looks fantastic! How/where did you get that done and was the cost, please?

Cheers! Aye, I got my paws on PDFs for the manual, multimedia manual & quick guide. Thusly armed I intend to turn off the highly irritating Traffic Patrol/Notification nonsense in my car! lol I've seen a few people mention snow tyres on various forums, that those existed over here never really occurred to me as we tend to get snow in Essex only once or twice a year. Also just ordered a Techstream cable, I'm interested to see what options for auto-locking, interior lighting and the like that gives me...

Nice one chaps, I was looking for ODBII info and you've nailed it. John, once again you're a source of good info. 😁 I'll look for a Tech-Stream cable for my laptop. In my old Focus I used a few apps and swapped out the naff black/green Mk2 dash for the far nicer Mk2.5/facelift black/silver dash pod with red displays and programmed it up to match the ECU and keys. I don't plan anything as drastic with my Lexus as I value it a lot more but it'll be great to get my hands on the hardware and have a look about. Having to hold down the lock button on the fob while remotely closing the windows I can do without so I'm hoping to change that at least!

Following, as I've noticed similar.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind when burning CDs. As for the PWR button, is there a resource anywhere that actually states what it does in technical terms? I think the Snow mode makes the car use 2nd gear as the lowest available at low speeds, but the PWR? Gotcha regarding the door alarm. Odd :]

Consider me in! 😀 Thanks for all the help thus far, chaps! I think the only disappointments I've had so far are very minor but are bound the the Multimedia model of the car, which I assume it is instead of an SE-L? No dimming mirrors, puddle lighting or driving position memory but these are whimsical so I'm very happy to live without. Multimedia-wise, as I usually use Alpine units in my cars I'm kinda disappointed to see the lack of options in the Mark Levinson unit; just T, M & B with Surround & fading, plus the sub is more quiet than I'd expect. I was also up too late last night burning tons of MP3s to a DVD to see if the head unit would play audio from DVDs too - after all, data is just data and it clearly plays MP3s already, but nope, the disc number on the screen stayed blank so that was a bust too (or it was still reading the disc's index?), which was a shame but no massive biggie when there's 6 CDs and an AUX socket. Performance-wise the car seems a bit "snatchy" when pulling away from a standstill, like it's fairly lazy to move but certainly does when the accelerator is pressed a bit more, there doesn't seem to be much in-between. It's my first auto (but I have intermittently driven my family's auto-boxed cars too) so maybe it's a characteristic of the box/car and I just need to learn to work with it. Not having a clutch to smooth things out is weird. 😛 I'm very happy with how the car goes, though. It's currently at the local F1 Autos getting the tracking done as it pulled to the left a fair bit. Some reviews stated that the IS250 feels under-powered for a 2.5 but then it has a sneaky "extra go" press at the bottom of the accelerator's travel & a PWR button to help when needed: it's a car for cruising primarily, not a sports car. Having owned things like an MR2 turbo and a GT4 ST185RC (which I still have) I'm perfectly OK with being comfortable first and powerful second, as long as power is there when needed. Despite the minor grumblings above I'm very happy after two days of ownership and you chaps have proven that this OC is knowledgeable and friendly, which is exactly what I expect an OC to be. I'm yet to get through the 300 page manual for the thing, are there any separate crossover or volume controls for the sub? The speedo needle seems to have a dull LED or two, are the needles a pain to replace, can they be replaced without a ton of agg? Also, sometimes when I turn off the engine and open my driver's door the car continuously beeps at me until I close it like the lights have been left on. The lights are set to Auto and it's done it in daylight - is it telling me I've forgotten to do something and if so...what? 😁 Thanks for all your help so far, chaps!

I the manual was in the leather binder-oojit, along with a billion A4 sheets of paperwork and a DVD?! A DVD. Wat. The mirror was very easy to move by hand but I think the motors for mirrors don't have to be that beefy so I don't know if there should've been much resistance to move the mirror (and thus the motor) or not. It didn't move out of position while driving so I think it's still mounted alright. Fuses are good, once I get the car and info I'll take a gander. Are the mirror motors individually fused? Understood, thank you. Does the S gear change the performance of the engine at all or is it all gearing?

HOKAY. So last night, luckily, another SE-L cropped up in an agreeable colour a 30 mins drive away, I tested drove it this morning (in the pouring rain, lovely) and agreed to pick it up at the weekend. 😄 It's pretty much the same car as in my initial post, almost identical mileage, same spec, but has a lot more Lexus service history and after that the sheet continues with garage stamps. The chap thinks that the sparkplugs have been changed (every 100k, is it, or more regular than that?) but I didn't get a proper look at the tons of receipts as I had to get to work! Would Lexus have changed the plugs at 100k as a matter of course? Also, the car has Two very minor questions: 1) The driver's side wing mirror adjust doesn't work (the passenger side works fine), is this a fairly simple fix or is it a replacement job? 2) When the car was in Sport, the gear indicator number on the dash just read "4" and didn't change with the gears as it did when the car was in Drive. Is this normal? Thanks again, chaps. I work in IT and am used to messing with older cars, so if anyone needs any IT-type help just holler!

It's a SE-L with everything in it, which is why I'm trying to negotiate getting to the car or it to me. The chap has realised that it's a 5-hour round trip if he comes during the week (I don't expect anyone to do THAT after working a full day) but if he drives down on the weekend then my crappy rail service knobbles him with replacement busses and his return trip balloons up to a grim 3 hours 45 mins. Also not cool. Your Dad sounds like a good'un; everything has a downside and even machines of happiness need vents. Tantamount to the same thing, I think. There's also another IS250 I've noticed which is way under £2k but under the chap saying "This is well maintained" in the ad it ends with "GEARBOX SOMETIMES HANGS". Even being very cheap I'm not sure I want to entertain that kind of nonsense, unless it's a known thing and can be remedied fairly easily or without great expense?

Thanks for the quick responses! My budget is pretty limited as this wasn't planned at all, but the car is just over £2k so that fits with your threshold. Beggars, an' all that! Again, thank you. Apparently all Lexus saloons have fixed rear seats, I imagine having a rear bulkhead stiffens the rear end up like a strut-brace (I'd prefer a strut-brace and folding seats but I suppose that's more "performance" than "luxury") which is why? 1) Thank you, that helps my mind a lot. I'm not entirely sure that the price helps with the mileage but then it is a top-spec car so I can't really have it both ways. 2) The chap's said that it's the centre section, not the Y-piece. I'm not sure if that's alright or not; are they stainless and so resistant to rust? Known to be easily damaged on stuff? 3) Good point. Thanks! 4) Asking for more details, the exhaust too. 5) Good to know, I should be able to call my nearest Lexus dealer and give them to reg to see if it's been done? I've not actually had to take a vehicle in due to a recall before! 6) Gotcha, thank you. Aye, my gut feeling is that the chap seems nice enough, I mean he went out at 11pm last night and filmed a vid of the car interior starting up and running through the head unit functions off his own back so he seems like a fine chap. The welding on the car's exhaust is niggling me but I'm leaning towards going for it...

Greetings all, first time posting here but not my first Owner's Club :) My old car's failed it's MOT and I'm sick of throwing money at it (Fords!) so I'm looking at something more reliable and comfortable. My initial thought was for a Mk1 or 2 RX300 but when I looked into the MPG costs I shed a single tear and started looking at my other choice: the IS models. Not being able to drop the rear seats might be a massive pain depending on The Wife's plans for buying flat pack furnishings but everything else about the car seems very agreeable. After a brief look about on here most people say to go for a petrol and as it's been a while since I've driven a V6 (my Capri 3.0S is sleeping in my parents' garage needing work) that sits well with me, plus while it's not as economical as my old Ford diesel it is better than the RX300. I've spotted a nice black IS250 a few hours away which is the spec I was looking for and the chap seems very eager to get rid of it, he even offered to drive it the 2.5 hours to my town and then endure the 3.5 hour train ride back, and I'm not sure if that's a good sign or not. He's sent pics of a bunch of Lexus and independent garage receipts for me to check out, it seems to have been serviced by Lexus in '13 & '14 who also replaced the headlamp bulbs & a rear reflector (cluster?) in addition to the expected service items. An independent garage has changed the alternator (117k miles) & the plugs (at 142k miles). He's gotten himself a very fancy Range Rover which is why he's selling and he seems like a good chap from speaking to him, but... 1) The car's done just under 150k miles on an 05 plate. I think it's slightly above average for a 14 year old car, should this be a concern? 2) There's unspecified "welding" done in 2014 (£65) and the exhaust's been welded in 2017 twice (£20 Feb & again in Nov £40?) but I'm not sure how much welding one can get for £65 in that first instance? My local garage quoted me £150 to weld a plate onto my Focus' sill so based on that it doesn't seem like much, but why would a decent Lexus need "welding"? Problematic exhaust? 3) The alternator's been replaced in 2015, is ten years an expected lifespan? I replaced the alternator on my Focus last year, that's also an '05 plate and I find it odd that a Ford alternator on a 170k mileage Focus would outlast a Lexus alternator that did 117k miles? 4) The radiator's been replaced this year. Are they known to go and could any neglect cause this? I've needed to replace rads from stone damage and the like, is that likely the case here? 5) https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ Reports that there's an outstanding recall by Lexus for this model vehicle, is there any way of finding out what that could be for? I assume that Lexus are obliged to carry out work there for free? So the plugs, rad, alternator & lambda sensors have been replaced in recent years, I know the plugs can be an expensive job so I'm glad that's done, and the car's failed 5 of it's MOTs; mostly on tyres but also one for a blowing exhaust (welding then) & lambda sensor in '17 and again for a lambda sensor last year. The car is coming in at the top-end of my budget and I have until Sunday to get my parents' car back to them so I'm kinda up against it for choices. Is anything mentioned here a major cause for concern? Should I look at a RX300 instead? ;)