Maxz

The main point with corrosion is identifying the "muck traps" that collect dirt/mud/debris, retaining moisture. This is also higher risk for any parts that are not painted or otherwise rust proofed, or an area of the vehicle what a deep scratch in this coating puts things at risk of rotting. See my most recent post on front inner wheel arch muck, where mud slowly builds up between the wheel liner and the arch rim over time. On my previous vehicles only discovered as I went along after corrosion already kicked in, just trying to keep ahead this time, keep the key areas clean and clear. Prevention is actually less work than trying to cure, as the finish you get after repairing an area of rot, is never going to look as good as keeping the finish original.

Decided to give the car a long overdue thorough spring clean. I always clean inside of the rear wheel arches, which are easily accessible as the arch liner sits about an inch up from the edge. However the front liner is clipped right up against the edge of the arch rim. Curiosity got the best of me so I prised the middle of the clips out, which releases the claws of the lower section (see image). There are 4 to remove for each arch. Pulling the liner away as shown, I ran my fingers along the inside of the arch rim. See the results! Appreciate modern cars have good corrosion resistance, but over a long period this muck holding moisture could eventually lead to the dreaded arch bubbling you see on older vehicles. Wasn't a tough job to clean it out, probably a once a year or two job.

Yes this is where I first saw the water, the lower LHS from between the boot trim and lid. Worked out it was the weld seam split. I have since removed both light clusters and the central boot trim and siliconed the cracks along the entire length of the boot. Use a decent quality silicone and try to match the body colour (in my case easy - black). External standard like Everbuild 825 or Dowsil probably best.

Per Wharfhouse, providing good advice again I see, go for a centre with Hunter laser alignment kit, it is worth the extra outlay. I didn't take any chances, the week after I bought my IS (from a Lexus dealership), I had all four wheel alignment done, think it was under £100 back then. Per the before and after, the dealerships more often than not would not have done this prior to putting the car up for sale. Not had any kind of uneven wear issues in the whole of four years, it's worth the initial investment. If you are not clouting kerbs, potholes and speed humps at strange angles and high speeds, it is not something you'll then need to do again for quite some time.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, thank you Wharfhouse! Seems going in a straight line is not always the best idea. Given there is a slight raised section of the pavement and drive, if I snake the car out following the line I've attempted to draw below, I can get the centre of the car over the ridge with four passengers without scraping anymore. Luckily only required if there are 2+ people in the car. Obviously my neighbours or anyone walking past probably think I am a bit of a nutjob instead of just driving straight out, but if it saves the underside or exhaust from any damage, better the road less travelled...

Per D (to-the) BIZO and Cypress Phil (like the hip-hip influenced names there 😅), air con condenser damage leak is a common one and goes for any vehicle really with large grille openings. Although mine is yet to leak, water pumps come up time and time again, although there is a post already out there on DIY change if looking to save on labour costs. IS200FSPORT raises the other good point about getting slider pins greased (few years back cost me £100 at dealer), because it you get a stuck one that is new brake discs and pads you'll need to buy way ahead of time, given under normal operation they receive little wear due to the regeneration system (unless you are heavy on the brakes of course).

Watch out for the air-con condenser if you are not under warranty. Stones and debris get flicked up from vehicles in front, especially if you do a lot of motorway driving. The gaps in the grille (I'm talking non-F-Sport 2015 style grille specifically) and the lower duct in are wide enough to let stones in. Costs around £800 to replace. Obvious advice is always keep plenty of distance from vehicles in front, otherwise you need to possibly add mesh to the upper and lower inside grille sections. I only meshed my upper section as a deterrent to CAT thieves as they cut the cables to the horns prior to jacking up the car (note this is OTT for IS300h as it is more the CT200h that is targeted for it's CAT). Therefore has a double benefit for me, and I have taken off the trim under the front section of the bonnet and found stones sat in front of the mesh, so prevented a few impacts.

Couple of previous threads are out there on how to seal cracked weld seams along the centre of the boot lid (behind the lights and camera mouldings) and putting a 1kg bag of silica on the rear parcel shelf. To be honest I have done both of these that have improved the situation considerably for me, but as per Paul not completely eliminated the slight bit you get either side of the centre brakelight moulding on very cold mornings.

Nice, I could even spray them a similar red to the blockwork to blend, will look into in the new year.

I guess switching the wheels for 18" rims no benefit either, as the height/aspect of a tire to fit an 18" rim is factored down to end up giving the overall same diameter anyway! 🙄

Sorry to add, I also saw on forums ideas in regards to buying tires that have the longest height (expressed as Aspect Ratio on the tire coding). Need to work out if a higher or lower ratio means a longer height. I am due new tires soon, so my choice might actually be driven this time by which tire would give me the best clearance (need to recheck but I think my Advance has the 17" rims as standard).

That looks like a great idea. Another annoyance is I have a block driveway, so both drilling into bricks and securing these given the blocks separation moves over time (they are held in place only by sand) is probably not going to be viable. If I had a concrete or tarmac drive, would probably be in business with this. What I am going to look for is a long piece of rubber or other polymer with a humped profile, that I can just lay on top of the block drive. Heavy enough not to be blown by wind or moved by the car and being rubber/polymer should have enough friction with the blocks not to move around too much. Per Wharfhouse, I am going to try pulling off at an angle, which I saw mentioned on other forums also. Per IS300FSPORT, I laughed but actually make wife and kids get in only after I have pulled out the drive, if we have suitcases or any other heavier than usual load in the car, otherwise 100% the undertrays or worse exhaust will be damaged. Thanks for the ideas! If anyone knows why I could buy a big lumped of humped rubber approx the width of an IS300h, let me know!

As my kids get older and therefore heavier, the IS is starting to scrape as it reverses off the drive. Anyone got any clever ideas how I could put a stop to this? I have the tires pumped to the max 3.6 at the front and 3.8 at the back. The long wheelbase of this vehicle is it's downfall for me! Don't want to be forced into an SUV just yet if I can avoid it! 😭 20231227_112014.mp4

Agree any chips or scratches that go deep enough through the laquer and paint will need attention. My concern is where by design there are dirt, grime and moisture traps that will eventually cause issues. There were a few underside parts I spotted and posted about previously but other than that seems like they designed all the run offs pretty well. My previous car the boot run offs were not angled enough for my sloped drive, so water used to sit and corrode the hinges (that were located outside the boot space). The boot then struggled to open or in freezing temperatures not at all!

Early IS are starting to get on now in terms of years and miles. Just wanted to ask if anyone has spotted any bodywork corrosion starting to creep in and where? On a previous vehicle I owned, the lower forward most corner of the rear wheel arches started to bubble up (due to the muck that collected and stayed damp behind bits of plastic trim. I also owned an old Capri once and it rotted inside the headlight housing and the top of the rear wheel arch. I would prefer to identify and keep clean + protect any potential corrosion points ahead of the dreaded bubbling. I already jet wash and clean around the inside of the wheel arches, fish the leaves out of the cavities of the bonnet hinges plus around the rear boot water run off cavity when they get stuck there. Any other recommended watch points welcome! Thanks.

Nice one. Yes if you have some success share a piccie so we can see. When the weather picks up in spring I'm thinking of refitting mine (so if I have a battery/alarm issue again, although unlikely, easier to deal with). Would be good to know so I can get mine flush next time around.

Hi Notamech, if you are double clicking to fold, then assume you did not do the wire switch for LH drive (UK). Still works I think but the long gap issue could be related to this. I haven't replaced my cable since I had battery issues (which in the end I think was just the battery was old not related to this cable) but agree, that plug was a bit fat and it is hard to get the doorcard perfectly flush, shame they didn't make it thinner. You might be able to cut away (Dremel) some of the inside of the doorcard to get it to fit, or if really ambitious rewire the whole thing into a chock-block that is low profile enough to fit nicely.

I vouch for Denso also, fitted to mine and they are almost silent, plus as others say they are the the same manufacturer as Lexus bought ones anyway. Got mine from Eurocarparts.

Anyone going for Redex, Tesco have tonnes of it in at the moment going half price if you have a clubcard. For £2.50 I couldn't resist so poured half of the two shot bottle in when I filled up on Saturday.

As alluded to by others on the thread, the fix does simply involve removal of the rear seat and replacement of the part shown (which is on the drivers side) below. They might flip the bonnet for some other checks or just because they do a basic safety inspection of the entire vehicle when performing the recall fix anyway (and so if tyres/wipers etc need replacing, they can offer/sell you this I guess).

For regular and wet use, can understand they would not be up to premium brands. Mine is just used for short town driving the kids around (hence 14 plate but only 36k on the clock), so cheapo Nexen's all good for that type of application. Mine are just coming upto 3 years old now, Lexus measured the tread and passed them no concerns with cracking this week, but in more extreme conditions I can imagine they don't necessarily last...

Anyone not doing big miles or high speeds and looking to go reasonably priced on tyres, I have had good experience with Nexen N-Fera Su2's. They are or at least were Lexus Dealerships "budget" supplied tyres and were newly fitted on the rear of mine when I bought my vehicle 2nd hand from the dealership. Despite the reviews out there, I've found they last well and not personally experienced any issues with grip. They also come out top for low noise.

Thanks for that, so dealership charges just under £10 labour to tip it in for the customer if it is £11.40 a bottle over the counter. Might have a go myself then if the dealership sells it from the parts counter (as Lexus parts direct you have to consider the £7 postage unless you live in Swindon and can pick it up!) I'll time how long it takes to tip it in to work out the hourly rate. Might even be on more money than a premiership footballer for a few seconds of my life 🤣

Cool, how much did they charge out of interest? Just curious if it is just for the additive or + "labour".

Just noticed my use of "break" instead of "brake" 🫣 It was defo these that were rotted, come in at just under £2.50 each. Apologies should have drawn a smaller circle, can see now I caught the slider pin in the circle also. In my haste to grab a snip from the commentary video Lexus provided.