LenT

No question, do it! I’ve got the 18” wheels with the low profile tyres - and they are a pain! With my previous Accord I don’t recall any serious rim damage. Within two weeks I’d marked both n/s rims on the Lexus. A combination of low profile tyres, potholed kerbs and snow conspired to defeat the tyre bumper strip. Although our local Chips Away guy did an excellent job, at around £60 a wheel it was soon going to add up. So I invested in a set of Alloygators and they’ve proved to be excellent. Occasionally I notice a scuff on the plastic, but that can be smoothed off - and of course it’s evidence that it’s doing its job and protecting the rim. It’s a DIY project if you have a soft-faced mallet, tyre inflator and a plastic cutter - and they are best fitted with the wheel off. Plenty of how-to videos on the web. If you catch a kerb in a way that starts to lift the Alloygator off the rim, deflate the tyre and it should go back with some persuasion from the mallet and some washing up liquid lubrication. Sometimes you may have to release one end of the jointing strip to achieve this, but both the strips and the adhesive are available online. They come in a range of colours, so you can fit them as a fashion statement if you wish. I chose black to merge in with the tyres! Wih our narrow, potholed country lanes it’s very hard to avoid the occasional kerb. So it doesn’t take long for a set of Alloygators to pay for themselves. And they’ll always look better than a scuffed rim.

It’s an interesting problem to have. I had an Accord until an HGV wrote it off and would have replaced it the next day, if Honda hadn’t stopped selling it in the UK. it was utterly reliable and never needed more than regular servicing by the excellent dealers. To replace it, I spent a day touring the Merc, BMW and Audi dealers in Milton Keynes. On the way I passed a Lexus dealership and on impulse decided to pop in. The salesman thought he had the ideal Accord replacement and took me to an IS250 in white. Well, it was love at first sight (with the car not the dealer) and although I toured the others, nothing came close - and that includes the attitude of the sales people! By the time I got home, the Lexus dealer had already emailed me a video tour of the car. Service and attention by the Lexus dealer has been exemplary. And we have bought makes where the sales team couldn’t do enough and the service team couldn’t do very much! On balance, I’d give Lexus the edge but that might not apply to your local dealers. As for reliability, neither car needed any attention between regular servicing and both makes are regularly to be found at the top of the customer satisfaction surveys. For DIY, I suspect that the Honda will be easier to work on and parts will be cheaper. You don’t mention the actual mileage but it might be worth looking at the service histories to give you some idea of what kind of life they’ve both lived. Finally, try to take both on an extended test drive and then buy the one that leaves you smiling!

Alan64, possibly the best advice yet! Thanks for raising the topic as I had no idea just how complex and varied the TPMS was until you raised it. No wonder even tyre specialists can get it wrong. I did a search for TPMS MIL and found lots of info for auto technicians. One US site was a page titled ‘Dealing with TPMS problems. Tips to avoid issues and diagnose glitches.’ Two general points that leapt out at me were the warnings to only use plastic dust caps, as ferrous metal ones can interfere with the system, and not to use chemical type leak systems, which can block the valves. It also confirms that the batteries in the valves have a seven to ten year life. It also states that less than 40% of vehicles now have a system that can reset itself - and none of them appear to be Lexus/Toyota!

You may then have a problem with the MOT. On vehicles first used after 1st January 2012, under section 2:12 Wheels and Tyres section of the Car Parts Checked at an MOT list, the TPMS monitoring light is checked to ensure it’s functioning correctly. You can check out these MOT requirements on the gov.uk site.

Yes, that certainly might explain why the warning light keeps coming on. But you should fix the fault, not disable the warning system. That would be like taking the battery out of a CO sensor because it keeps going off! Incidentally, one tyre problem I discovered the hard way is that it’s best to fit plastic dust caps. I discovered that I had one metal cap which had corroded onto the valve...which sheared off when trying to remove it. This cost me £70 for a new valve. But fortunately I had an emergency tyre in the boot, having ditched the rubbishy sealant system which would have been useless in this case.

Before you disable it, check that it isn’t trying to warn you of a problem! If there’s no apparent problem, I’d try to turn it off by resetting it. On my IS250 there’s a reset button tucked under the dash about inline with the steering wheel. It’s hard to find. In fact I had to get in the footwell with a torch to locate it. To reset, first set the cold tyre pressures correctly. Then in the ‘Ignition On’ mode, press and hold the button for three seconds. The TPMS warning light should flash three times and then go out. Stay in the ‘Ignition On’ mode for a few more ‘minutes’. When you restart the light should be out. If not, then there could be a tyre or valve problem. The TPMS valves do work off a battery that has a finite life, so they will all eventually have to be replaced! Hope this helps.

Good advice. I replaced my main/dip with a pair of Osram Next Generation Laser Xenarc (!), D4S in my case, and am very impressed with the results. Range is certainly improved, but even more impressive is the superior dip beam that gives far better illumination of the verges of our narrow, pot holed country lanes.

I fitted CrossClimates to our 4wd Suzuki SX4 and was most impressed with their performance. So I decided they were ideal for the Lexus IS250 as well. Unfortunately my Lexus requires two different tyre sizes, of which Michelin only make one. Fortunately, Goodyear had recently launched their Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 which performed on a par with the CrossClimates, and better in some aspects, in both sizes. I fitted them and it has proved to be an excellent choice. Can’t really compare the two vehicles, but the Goodyears are far superior to the standard rubber that came with the car, not only in dry and wet weather grip, but also in the level of road noise they generate. I would certainly recommend them. Incidentally, I would never have a mix of tyre brands or types. Having wheels that could be affected by variations in compound mix and tread patterns is surely just asking for trouble.

Well there you go! Just don’t get them mixed up afterwards.

Never had occasion to try it myself, but have often come across the mention of the use of toothpaste as an effective and gentle way to brighten up headlights. Probably worth a go as I expect you have some handy! I'll be interested to know if it actually works.

I had my BlackVue dashcam installed by a guy who does it for a living and I know he took a live feed off somewhere around the passenger footwell. Unfortunately he made such a good job of it that I can't trace the wiring! But he also fitted what BlackVue call the Power Magic Pro on the driver's side. This is a switchable hardwiring kit that BlackVue claims is compatible with all dashcams that have a Parking Mode. It powers the dashcam when the ignition is off but will turn the camera off if the battery level drops to a preconfigured voltage. So the camera will never flatten the battery. I hope this helps.

Yes, you're right. I see that my original comment only seems to apply to my model year! Earlier IS250s had a range of wheels and it was the16" that wore the same size all round. The earliest manual I can find for the IS250 is for 2011 models and this gives the tyre sizes for 17" wheels as: Front - 225/45R 17 90W and Rear - 245/45R 17 95W. (At the risk of stating the obvious, I take it that when you refer to a 'booklet' that is not the manual - which is over 600 pages! And I also assume that the tyre information label on the driver's door frame has been removed or sprayed over.) Anyway, I hope this helps.

There’s no legal requirement to carry a spare tyre. Although it is an offence to put different sized tyres on the same axle, an exception is made for the emergency use of a Space Saver tyre. The conditions of use require that it is restricted to a maximum of 50 mph and the journey with it is for the purpose of driving to a place of safety or repair. So, not for going shopping then. I think they’re generally considered to have a pretty limited range, too, as the tread is not very deep and wears quickly. So around 70 miles I think. Still, far better than a can of squirt tyre gloop - which is useless in the case of a tyre wall rip or a broken valve!

I think you’ll find they’re different sizes for the 18” rims and the same size all round for the 17” rims.

Did you get your new tyres? I was also going to fit Michelin CrossClimates - until I discovered they only did one of the sizes. Frankly, not keen on mixing tyre makes. Often different compound mixes and tread patterns will give different handling characteristics. Fortunately, Goodyear had just launched their Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 in both sizes. Excellent reviews and test comparisons and, so far, excellent performance on my IS250. Wet handling at least as good as the CrossClimates on our 4x4; excellent dry road performance - and much quieter than the original tyres that came with the car. I'd certainly recommend, for what that's worth!

The Xenarc Night Breaker Laser is the latest and brightest Osram xenon light. Check out the Xenarc range at osram.com

https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/d4s-osram-night-breaker-laser-xenarc-next-generation.html This is where I got mine from. £110 a pair. And Osram claims them to be the brightest Xenon bulbs in the world!! (Road legal, I presume that is.)

I had the same problem with my IS250. Originally I’d chosen Michelin Cross Climates, but Michelin don’t do them in both sizes. Fortunately Goodyear had just launched the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 which tested very well, so I bought a set of them. Wet weather performance is certainly on a par with the Cross Climates on our 4x4 and noise levels and ride comfort are superior to the original tyres on the Lexus. Dry road performance is also well rated. So I’m very pleased with the choice. Rim protection might ward off the occasional kiss, but anything more passionate will mark the alloy rim, much like most tyres. So I fitted a set of Alloy Gators which directly cover the wheel rim and prevent any contact. I hope this helps.

Especially when they’re hidden under snow, as I discovered! Our local Chips Away guy did a splendid repair job on BOTH occasions, but I decided that prevention would be a lot cheaper than cure. So I had a set of Alloy Gaytor rim protectors fitted. I chose black so that they blend in with the tyre and are pretty hard to spot. Now the worse that has happened Is a scuffed plastic strip that is considerably cheaper to deal with than an alloy repair.

I don’t know if you’ve done the deed yet, but I’ve just replaced the HID main/dips on my IS250 with the new D4S Osram Xenarc Night Breaker Next Generation (!) bulbs. I think they’re a significant improvement and well worth the investment. Driving around our narrow, potholed country lanes is now a much more comfortable experience. Previously I would even put the fog lights on to get a better view of the near side verge. The new bulbs now provide a much better defined and brighter light just on dip. Main beam is similarly improved. If you want to be sure about sourcing them, the Osram site lists their distribution partners. I used Autobulbsdirect and their service was excellent. I hope this is useful.

I have just replaced the original main/dip bulbs on my IS250 with the new D4S Osram Xenarc Night Breaker. I’d always felt that the original bulbs were inferior to my previous car (Honda Accord) and had asked Lexus if they could be changed for HID bulbs - only to be told that on my model they already were, Previously I would even turn on the fog lamps to help light up the near side verges of our narrow, potholed country lanes. The new bulbs give a much brighter and better defined dipped beam which is much more comfortable to drive behind. Main is similarly improved. I feel the improvement is significant and well worth the investment.