mtDrews

On 1/19/2022 at 6:52 PM, ColinBarber said:

This is Lexus' definition of their severe/intensive maintenance schedule requirement:

Thanks for great info again Colin. My lexus spends a lot of time each year in snow and salted roads, so better change the transmission then I guess! 😬

10 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

There is a filler/level plug on the side of the transmission, which you need to check when the engine is cold but has run for a minute in inspection mode before waiting another minute for the fluid to settle.

Terrific, thanks Colin!

Am I right in thinking that the fluid level should be no lower than 5mm from the filler hole then - that's the check? 

Also is inspection mode = Maintenance mode in the drPrius and Hybrid Assistant apps?

Hello LOC! It's been a while 🙂

My is300h is about to hit 90K kilometers (56k miles) and I've now decided to start servicing the car myself as I'm planning on driving the car to the end of its life and cover a lot of miles every year.

There's just one thing I'm struggling to understand. 

The service manual sayst that the transmission fluid should be CHECKED every 60k kilometers. But not specified for change? Yet the transmisison oil is specified in the owner's manual. 

The question then is how would you actually check the transmisison oil? Is there a dipstick or anything for checking the quality and level? 

Anyone have experience with this service point? 

Thanks!

3 hours ago, paulrnx said:

Great photo. I love it! That’s a car that has to work for it’s living.

Thanks! It's a hard working car for sure, that's why I decided for a Lexus 😁

1 hour ago, Thackeray said:

Where is the car parked overnight? Is it outside at -20C or is it in a nice comfortable garage at +10C? If the car doesn't have to go through a long warmup stage fuel consumption will be much better.

In Canada, they used to have plug in heaters for the radiator to prevent freezing. Don't know if this is still the case. When you went to the supermarket there were sockets outside to plug in the heaters. And it also used to be that trucks would be kept running 24 hours a day as otherwise they wouldn't start until spring came.

Should have mentioned, it is parked outside and temps are usually -25 or colder on a -20 day. So the 52.3 mpg includes a very rough wake up for the car in the morning 🤯

Here's a pic of the usual view out the windscreen, admittedly 'just' -12 this time 🙂 

Just want to add an anecdote here...

This is my first winter with the 300h here in northern Sweden, and I've managed to get an impressive average 52.3 UK MPG in colder than -20 degrees C fill-up to fill-up.  I was really surprised with this, but you have to consider that the road condition at the time didn't even allow you to go the speed limit most of the time. Which leads to very slow and controlled acceleration and deacceleration and a maximum of 50 MPH. Also this particular trip had virtually no stop-start driving, it was basically just coasting between 30 - 50 mph.

I should also add that the SE 300h has wider rear summer tyres so that of course favours winter mpg and obviously the AC can be always off in the winter as well.

17 minutes ago, LexIS200Sport said:

Does setting it to "Sport" or "Sport+" mode not make a difference at all?

 

In my opinion it certainly helps, especially if you select a low ratio with the paddles. But as Route66 said there'll still be a split second "lag" for the eCVT to engage with the right rpm. I'm really not bothered by it personally but could see why some are. 

19 hours ago, Subtronics said:

I think the IS300 has an amazingly balanced chassis, I had two mk1 IS200's a long time ago, and forgot just how great they were. They had just the right amount of everything, and the mk3 carries on that theme. I am kind of sad I never got an IS250 now, I think I would have really enjoyed it. 

I can't wait till spring/summer next year and take my IS300h out on some really good runs in North Yorkshire.

 

Is yours just not used in winter or did you aquire it just now? 😁👍  There is fun to be had on an empty parking lot with some fresh snow and an RWD car for sure...

3 hours ago, LexIS200Sport said:

I had the privilege of looking after this beauty for two months. It's an IS250 Premier and what a car it was.

Took it up and down snakes pass with so much grin on my face. A very well composed car 🥰

They are beautiful indeed! Wouldn't be able to distinguish it from the 300h at first sight 😅 I imagine the non-CT in the is250 makes it all the more rewarding to drive, at the cost of economy of course.. 

28 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

eCVT is actually surprisingly good for this type of thing, sometimes almost feels like computer game - the only issue is that it won't hold the certain selected ratio (fake gear). Active suspension in 300h is quite good as well and engine is best used at speeds ~40MPH-70MPH - surprisingly good range for driving on the country roads. Sadly for anything below or above this range the performance is marginal. 

I would just say that as anything "how good is the car for spirited driving" is relative thing and should not be considered in isolation. If IS300h would be the only car in the world, would it be good for this type of thing - I guess yes... but it isn't the only car in the world and there are much better cars for same money and in the same class to do it. In summary I feel the performance is acceptable. But I would not say it is good car for spirited driving overall, or that somebody looking for more agile car and good driving dynamics should consider it.

There are plenty areas where this cars shines, but spirited driving isn't one of them.

I agree with you fully. In fact probably ever other car I've owned was better at this sort of thing as they've been higher power bimmers - but I was just as impressed nonetheless by the IS simply because I wasn't expecting it from this "highly sensible" car 🙂 

Also, I'm kind of differentiating between performance and fun.

...then you're missing out!!

I bought my IS300h 7 or so months ago, because I wanted a compact, comfortable, RWD car that would be cheaper to run than the older BMW's I've owned previously.

With that said, I've never driven the IS in a 'sporty fashion' until today since that's what my motorcycle is for anyway. But today, after having put the bike in for winter storage I figured I'd give it a shot just to see. Unloaded everything I didn't need from the IS and went to a favorite windy bike route. 

I put the car in sport mode, 'manual' paddle mode, ASC 50% on. Man, was that fun! The IS handled beautifully and there was plenty enough power. Great steering feedback too. I didn't even care if it was silly with the ASC sound or the flappy paddle CVT because it was so much fun 🙂 

I was pleasantly surprised and I'm happier than ever with the IS - the car that does both. So just wanted to share and encourage those who want to try as long as it can be done risk free of course 🤪

Sooo Jason, how about that EGR job? 😉

Thank you all for the kind words ☺️ definitely helps hearing other horror stories! 

And to clarify, the CT was moving. I just happened to intercept it in the worst way 💩

Today I was the idiot you sometimes come across in traffic.... 

Excited for my is300h's first service since I purchased it a month ago, I set off for an hours drive to the closest Lexus center. 

Once there I realised the parking space just outside would be too narrow so I started backing out again. Check rear camera - clear. Check crossing traffic to the left - clear. Rolled off and I was looking back again through the rear there was a sudden thud. I'd managed to plant my IS in a new CT200h..... Both passenger doors crumpled on the CT. My IS got off easier, the dent came out and there's just some scuffing to take of.... 

But man I feel like such a complete and utter tool for causing this. 😟

/vent complete

Thanks for the write-up Jason! 

Could you clarify what you mean with the "The front edge of the O/S chassis leg" please? Could be worth keeping an eye on... 🙂 

Also did you notice anything suggesting a failing EGR cooler or was this just preventative maintenance??

On 4/15/2020 at 12:24 PM, Jayw13702 said:

I change the diff oil every 40,000 miles, it’s such a straightforward job to do and again it insures that everything runs smoothly.
I have had a number of Prius in the past and it was widely acknowledged that changing the transmission fluid every 100,000 miles prolonged the life of the gearbox, Summer owners were changing fluids at 50,000 miles.
Toyota and Lexus will tell you that the oil is suitable for the life of the vehicle but when you ask them what they consider to be an acceptable lifespan/milage they can’t give you an accurate figure. The cost of the transmission fluid is fairly steep but it is unique to the hybrid CVT gearbox and if it means that I do 200,000 or 300,000 miles without any issue then for me that’s a price worth paying.
On long journeys it is great, I will easily do 500 miles a day and not have any back pain or any discomfort. My customers love the car and frequently comment on how smooth it drives and how quiet it is.


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Lots of great information here, thank you!

On 4/13/2020 at 9:12 PM, Jayw13702 said:

Hello mtDrews, welcome to Lexus Owners

 

I average 50,000 miles (approx 80,000 kms) a year in my is300h, I do all my servicing, however I buy all the parts from my local Lexus dealers. Because of the way I use my Lexus and the mileage I do I knew that warranty wasn't worth the paper it was written on so I didn't bother with it.

I knew that I would be doing a high annual mileage and so went to the dealers and asked for 10 oil, air and pollen filters. I have bought the spark plugs from a Denso agent at more than half the price of the Lexus branded spark plugs (that are Denso). I can do a complete filter change along with oil drain and refill in less than 30 mins these days, spake plugs take about half an hour and a set of brake pads in less than 45 mins from pulling up to pulling out of the garage, they really are a very easy car to work on.

Oil I buy from the dealers when I need it as I don't like to keep a large stock of it, because I spoke to the dealers when I first bought the car and asked for the 10 service kits they have repeatedly given me discount on other parts that I have needed. I do from time to time also look at non genuine parts as well and do use brands that have a good reputation.

A lot of people have said that having a full dealer service history adds value to a car, if I was selling a car that had done 75,000 miles then I would be willing to accept this, mine will be closer to 200,000 miles when I sell mine and I can't see a dealer history adding that much to it already limited value. That said I will have a stack of dealer receipts to show for items that I have purchased.

Because of my mileage every service I do is a large service, all the filters get changed, things like fluids get changed when the service schedule requires them, with the exception of the gearbox fluid, I did this at 100,000 miles but will do the next one at 150,000 miles (in a few weeks) and I need to pop back to the dealers to buy another 5 sets of filters as well, that should take me to 200,000 miles

 

 

 

Hey Jayw13702 thanks for the welcome and input 🙂

That's an interesting approach. How often do you end up doing the differential oil change? Also I didn't know the CVT required oil changes?

How are you finding the is300h for the long journeys you do, are you happy with the car?

Hello friends! 

I've just bought my first Lexus, a beautiful black 2017 mod. is300h Sport. I live in Sweden but I hope we can get along anyway 😄 

I am going to be using this car 80% for different work travels and I put in a *lot* of miles in a year - appx 45,000 km's / 28,000 miles yearly. The vast majority of these miles are motorway. Coming from 10+ year old BMW diesels that I've done all the work on myself, the servicing intervals for the Lexus came as a bit of a shock. This would mean I'd have to be doing 2x minor services and 1x full services every year to retain the warranty! 🤑

Does anybody else have any experience doing these kind of miles and whether there are any more affordable schedules you could follow? Does anyone do their servicing themselves? 

I will be asking my local Lexus about this for the next service of course but would be helpful if any of you had some input. 🙂 

Thanks!