Andyscooke

I found a four way adaptor with a short plug that fits withour fouling the arm rest. I was then able to plug anything into the adaptor side with no problem (even ran a USB cable to the glove compartment for a phone charger). Having tantilised you, I'm not sure where I bought it - have a feeling that it was Halfords - worth having a scan of their shelves.

Definately the automatic. Better drive, better fuel consumption and lower road tax - a no brainer.

So it has come out at last. Does no-one at Lexus realise that the British 'summer' is nearly over - this should have been released in March for June delivery. My point is, I was really interested when it first came out at the Geneva show, but was surprised when told of the July release which seems to have now slipped to August (still awaiting notification from my local Lexus). I liked the look of the car (and still do) but when more information became available - £43K and 9.0 sec 0-60 it didn't look as attractive. As I pondered, I started earmarking lay-bys on my normal route in case the roof had to be raised at the rush and the novelty was on the wane. The wait continued so I considered other options and have an imminent delivery of a Mercedes E350CDI coupe for the same money. Plenty of toys, folding rear seats, 7 speed auto, 0-60 in 6.9, better fuel economy and tax and the panoramic roof with no B pillars, whilst not a cabriolet, comes close. I've been loyal to Lexus for 10 years so leave with a heavy heart because I have no axe to grind with Lexus per se; I just feel that their marketing has become big headed and instead of competing well with the Germans, their pricing strategy is too close for comfort to the competition. They need to be on their guard or their customer base will start looking at alternatives. Never sit on your laurels....

The battery is a 3v CR1632. Best get them off the internet - you'll get a pack of five cheaper than one from Lexus. Armed with the battery, remove the key from the remote and then prise the remote apart (once the key is removed, there's an indentation that you can twist a small screwdiver in to separate the two halves) Raise the printed circuit and the battery is underneath. Replace with a new one and clip it all back together again. Changed mine this morning - took less than two minutes. No need to re-programme afterwards. Good luck with the new car.

I had the same dilemma before I took the plunge nearly four years ago but never looked back. Nobody's mentioned fuel consumption in their arguments. My IS300 used to binge drink on every journey whilst the 250 returns a respectable 33 overall and reaches 38 on a long motorway journey at constant speed. Also the auto box on the 250 is far superior to the 300. As for acceleration, I didn't notice any difference when I swapped and a foot to floor can manage most situations with smooth aplomb. The engine is much smoother and mine at 80K is running so quiet, I have to check that it hasn't stalled. I can't comment on the 18" alloys but the tracking needs regular checking if the inner wear on the tyres is to be avoided. All in all, I would swap - the extra toys (the MM with the reversong camera is a must) and the smooth auto box will make it worthwile.

Agree that Lexus are very good at honouring the replacement. I had two new front wheels at about 20K and then just before the 60K, they replaced the back ones. I mentioned that I suspected the two fronts were showing signs that they were going again so they replaced them with no argument so 10 wheels in less than 3 years ! I am also surprised that they haven't sorted this out - suspect it's the UK weather that causes the issue but they have had plenty of time to think about it. I was lucky, just got in under the 60K so you may have talk sweetly..... good luck

My is250 SEL Auto MM is over 3 years old. When I first got it, it was rattle free. Had to replace the windscreen after about a year and a rattle was added for free!! Lexus Hedge End resolved the problem at the next service so I was a happy bunny. Two months ago, another windscreen had to be put in and, hey ho, the courtesy rattle was thrown in... Service wasn't due for a while so I decided to apply some first aid. I had some stiff but flexible foam in the garage so, after some trial and error, manage to force a strip down between the console and the windscreen right in the centre in front of the speaker grill. It had to be tucked well down which also meant that it was not visible. No more rattle. Worth a try.... PS My last loan car was the diesel and I couldn't wait to get back to the super smooth automatic box that uses all the gears.

Lexus Hedge End (Southampton) fixed mine during a routine service and has been perfect ever since. No evidence of major dashboard removal - the dealers seem to know the cause now so get them to do the biz.

You need to beam them up through Bluetooth. If your iPAQ has windows mobile (I would have thought it did), go to contacts and select one. Go to Menu > Send Contact > Beam and then put the MM system into transfer mode once you have started the beam.

Mine has been quiet as a mouse from new - now done 55000 miles and still purrs along so silently that I sometimes wonder whether its stalled - as if it ever would. I would definately have it checked out

I have posted before but my rattle disappeared when I had a replacement windscreen fitted - supports the theory that the fitting around this area is causing the rattle. It was just a fluke with mine and I will not be surprised if it returns in which case I will get Lexus to sort out. Meanwhile, it is just bliss - have driven with the radio off just to appreciate how quite the car really is. The rattles can really be annoying but don't let them put you off the car - Lexus should have enough knowledge now to sort them out. As already said, the quietness of the car perhaps extenuates any alien noise.

The IS300 Sport Cross is a good bet. Not a true estate but has plenty of room with the seats down and more in the boot than a saloon with the seats up. The performance of the automatic is very respectable but 25 mpg average may put you off. I sometimes regret trading mine in for the new model.... sometimes, just sometimes

Booked the car in for its 20K service and also to sort out the annoying rattle in the centre behind the vents. I had delayed getting it fixed to allow some Lexus experiience to build up so it could get sorted at the first hit. Two weeks before the service was due, a large L shape crack appeared around the rain sensor in the middle of the windscreen. Booked it in for a replacement through my Insurance for the following Saturday. RAC Windscreens did a perfect job even to the point of when I picked it up - deep joy - NO RATTLE. Didn't want to count my blessings too soon so tried to find as much rough terrain as possible during the week to ensure that it wouldn't return. Upshot is, when it went in for its service yesterday, I had to admit to the dealer that there was no longer a rattle but left my options open should it return. Bottom line - it appears that either the windscreen has some connection with this rattle or the Fitter inadvertantly moved/re-routed something whilst he was doing his work. Either way, I have been driving around with the radio off just to appreciate how quiet the car is - fallen in love with it again. :) :) :)

What fabulous news - especially for yourself but lets hope for other 250 owners who have yet to get the problem fixed. I just hope that the resolutions have been sent to all Dealers - mine goes in on the 19th to get fixed. Thanks for the positive news and many congrats on the new addition - you'll need a Rx400h now to carry all that baby equipment!!

Interesting idea. Did the coloured wax harden or was it still soft when you applied the regular polish? It goes hard enough to grip to the exposed undercoat but soft enough to merge with the polish overcoat. A week has gone by so I will check the durability when I wash it tomorrow (weather permitting). You should buy a product called Langka - it makes applying touch up paint trivially easy. You put enough paint in the stone chip, wait one hour, put some Langka on a clean cloth and wrap it around a flat plastic card - 5-10 seconds rubbing over the blob - perfect smooth flush result! It is just fantastic. Langka can gently melt away the excess touch up paint letting you smooth it out properly - but it does not affect normal paint. In fact if you rub for long enough you can remove the touch up paint completely - so if you really mess it up you can sort it out and start again. The key is to work on it within 1-2 hours of application before it cures to being too hard. Mark mspiteri, Any idea where we get Langka from ? Infinity......... Try here - http://www.langka.com/ for info and here http://www.frost.co.uk/item_detail.asp?productID=8221 for purchase

My Canterbury Blue is awful close up - looks like it's been pepperd with a twelve bore. I am hopeless with a touch up brush so I have just tried the following and so far looks as if it could work. I have bought some coloured polish from Halfords and used a cocktail stick to fill the chips. Didn't have to worry too much about the accuracy as the next step sorts it out. I waited about 15-30 minutes for the polish to dry and then applied a regular polish over the bonnet. Lots of rubbing in with a good cloth rubbed out the over-fill, brought up the shine and the filled holes stayed coloured. Have to get really close to notice so just hope it lasts.

Lidl sell an excellant product for 99 pence. Trouble is, it's only available as a special product so you have to watch out for it. Was in the shops last week so some branches may still have some. Just spray it on, leave it for a couple of minutes and then wash as normal - wouldn't be without it. Got the Turtle Wax stuff when I ran out of the other and finished up with white residue around the grill and rubber - not impressed.

cost cutting - I bet it's only missing software!! I bet all of the wiring is already there or provided for in the main looms and ECU. If I remember rightly, neither the base or SE have memory for the seats and mirrors. So that could be why those models lack the mirror tilting - the car wouldn't be aware which position to return the mirrors too. Or it could just be cost-cutting like you say! Absolutely - but the mirror dipping when reverse engaged is what I think should be standard. That's the other thing too - having had e/seats for the first time, I can see no real advantage at all unless it has a memory function. It's just slow...give me a ratchet type anytime!! The dipping function of the mirrors depends on the postion of the mirror selection control. If it is in the centre position, the mirrors will not dip, if the switch is on the left or right mirror, they will dip - give it a try.

The 250 has screw holes so why not use them? The dealer put my original plates on with plastic screws so when I got my transfer though, it was a simple swap job with a screw driver. Also means when I want to risk the mis-spaced ones occasionally, it is a simple job. Some system where you could swap them with a flick of a switch would be useful - any smart inventors out there?

The problem with the rattles seem to be that they are not all from the same place and this must be a headache for Lexus. My rattlle was coming from the glove compartment area and I suspected that it was the contents but I could not identify what. Eventually found that the culprit was at the rear of this compartment. I Removed the shelf and then removed the access panel for the Climate Control filter. With this removed, I was able to re-create the rattle by pushing against a panel that extends from the top of the access gap around the top of the compartment. This panel was vibrating against the filter framework to the left and also against a bar at the top. Padded these two areas with some sponge, replaced the access panel and the shelf and hey presto, no rattle. Worth a try if your rattle is coming from this area.

I average 34 most weeks which is a mix of a return journey of 210 miles each way using A roads and motorway (M25) and short journeys during the week. Last week got 36.5 on the outward leg of 210 miles. I have the mpg display on all the time -concentrates the mind as you can see at a glance what a difference flooring the accelorator can make. Doesn't stop me doing it but I do think twice if there's little gain to be made. Overall, very pleased with the mpg - could only get 26 from the old IS300 so this justifies (slightly) paying all that extra dosh for the new model.

I can't believe that I am in such young company. I'm 54 and now driving my third Lexus after a long string of mixed motors ranging from an Austin 1100 to a BMW535. All three lexi have been the most reliable by far.

Got my letter today. I would have thought that these letters would be generated from a central point - strange that there seems to be variances. Mine says that it will take 3 hours to fit. I have had the seatbelt problem on only one occasion last year so suspected a re-call but the inconvenience of taking it in between services does not appeal - dare I wait until the next service is due? I do not understand the reason behind a new satnav DVD either, just hope it has some more up-to-date roads and... would it be asking too much for some supression of nanny features.

The posiiton of the rattle has been quoted in another thread and I have experienced the same. I decided to investigate and found that the area around the AC filter is prone to rattling. I removed the Glove Compartment shelf and then the panel that exposes the filter. Removed the filter and then replaced everything ensuring it was all seated correctly. Replaced the shelf and no rattle since. I told my dealer about this so he was aware but the filter should have been removed and cleaned last week for the first service and the rattle has not re-occured. Two possible explanations - there is a mechanical air diverter in this area which, with the warmer weather may be in a different postions and therefore behaving itself or my messing about has inadvertantly resolved the problem. At present I do not care as it is bliss to have no intrusive noise with the quiet engine (on the low tyre noise tarmac of course). Might be worth having a dig around.

Siemens S55 and O2 XDA IIs both connected with no problems. Transferred numbers from Outlook Contacts on the XDA - if more than one number on file for a single contact, multiple entries are created on the Lexus so I had to be selective and add some in manually. No battery or signal strength indication with either of these phones but the auto pickup and the volume are both very effective.