mspiteri

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Recalled, eh? That explains why they seem hard to get. I've noticed that you can get them from various outlets in the US, but once you add shipping they get a bit silly pricewise.

I'll look at some of the non-OEM ones.

Thanks

Mark

My IS250 has the beige cream interior, which does not really appreciate muddy boots and weekend outings.

I'm getting tired of scrubbing the carpets afterwards, so I remembered that according to the Accessories brochure you can get interior black rubber mats. Perfect. Called Lexus Cambridge, but was told "never heard of them, we don't get them"

Hmm.

Does anyone have these? Would you happen to know a dealer who can source them. Hopefully I could then ask them to ship them to me in Cambridge.

Thanks

Mark

I've just renewed my insurance.

2006 IS250 SEL-MM Auto, 10000 miles per year, fully comp, 250 excess

with myself and my wife, with 2 claims in last two years, licenses clean

Cambridge area

Car on driveway

7 years NCD protected

£350 from esure.com

If your like me and hopeless at chip restoration via the supplied tin of paint and artists brush or pinhead then I would suggest - from Halfords get one of their kits that comes with a 'nib applicator'.

Get one the closest match to yours, tip out the paint and fill it with some from your 'tin'. This makes filling in the chips a lot more accurate and you can control the paint flow much easier.

I think I got a Rover Tahiti Blue which is very close to my montrose blue.

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.........

Sorry for the late reply - but someone else already got there. I had purchased it from that Frost car restoration website.

Mark

The Britax Duo Isofix is great.

The Fair Bimbofix G0/1 is good too but has a leg instead of a top tether.

Don't get the Lexus one - it is just a dearer Britax Duo Isofix.

Does the new IS have a top tether anchorage?

Does it have ALR rear seat belts that 'ratchet' if yiou pull them right out first?

The 250 does have the top tether but to be honest I do not use it because the car seat fits perfects, and I cannot see how it would possibly rotate forwards on impact as it's such a tight fit. That's what the top tether is for, to prevent the seat from rotating forwards using the ISOFIX attachments as rotation points.

On the IS200, which I used to have, it was an awful fit, so much so that I never bothered with ISOFIX and used the seat belt mode instead for the Britax ISOFIX Duo.

They have clearly got it right with the new car.

Mark

Hi,

I managed to kerb one of the front wheels (badly) last night whilst trying to avoid an ambulance in the pouring rain...

Could anyone recommend an alloy wheel repair shop in or around London? I have heard about mobile units which can do it "while you wait".

I know the 18-inch Baransu wheels have a different, darker finish to standard alloys - is that going to make repairs more difficult?

Many thanks for any suggestions.

There is a very recent thread about this.

A couple of weeks ago I used Wicked Wheels, who turn up with their van and do the job on site. They were recommended by Cambridge Lexus. But it was more like £80 per wheel though.

http://www.wickedwheels.co.uk/

Cheers

Mark

If your like me and hopeless at chip restoration via the supplied tin of paint and artists brush or pinhead then I would suggest - from Halfords get one of their kits that comes with a 'nib applicator'.

Get one the closest match to yours, tip out the paint and fill it with some from your 'tin'. This makes filling in the chips a lot more accurate and you can control the paint flow much easier.

I think I got a Rover Tahiti Blue which is very close to my montrose blue.

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

Hi All,

Had a IS200 as a company car a few years back and really liked it, company would not let me have another so had a 3series instead :(

Now its coming up to renewal time again I really like the IS250 Sport and am thinking about the best way to purchase/contract hire. The options I have are

1. Lexus Finance

2. Provecta Car Scheme

3. Lex Hire

What thoughts do other members have and how did you go about getting your Lex, are there any other ways.

TIA

Ian

I would strongly recommend using Autoebid. I managed to get a big discount off list price that way.

Mark

Hi everybody,

I just bought a new IS250. As I have a baby boy who is about 9kg, I am wondering if anybody can give me recommendation on child car seat.

I have gone through some of the posts here and I am a bit concerned that some of the child car seats may not be fitted properly due to its size or the length of the safety belt, etc.

Any help would be deeply appreciated.

I use a Britax Duo Isofix - perfect fit, nice size.

And I put it on a Grip-It mat to protect the leather - I bought mine online somewhere but I think someone has already pointed out you can get them from Halfords.

Mark

I thought I would share this with the forum.

A couple of weeks ago I kerbed one of the alloys against one of those speed restriction obstacles - around 3 inches of alloy rim shaved off.

I looked into a number of alloy refurbishing companies, but most required around a week to do the work and me having to use the silly spare wheel in the meantime.

So I decided to try Wicked Wheels, which do the job at your address in their van - complete with taking the wheel off, removing the damage, filling it in, painting and baking it.

The guy has just been - it took him 25 mins from start to finish and I cannot tell where the repair was - it's that good a job. It cost me £80 inclusive.

I am not sure they would have been able to repairs on my previous IS200's alloys, as those were some kind of polished aluminium, but the IS250 wheels are normal.

Mark

I was given a Lexus 'Red Mica Chrystal Shine' touch-up kit when I took delivery of my (Mesa Red) car in January. Looks like Mesa Red to me

Thank you for this information. I now recall other people mentioning this in earlier threads when they were taking delivery of their cars.

My car was supplied by Lexus Worcester. I'll see if they can help me in this regard.

Regards

Mark

Unfortunately my 2 week old Mesa Red IS250 has picked up a rather nasty stone chip on the rear door and I was thinking of trying to rectify it with touch up paint.

But, to my surprise Cambridge Lexus have said that this is not yet available to order or to purchase! What?! How can that be? The IS250 has been out for almost a year.

Are they right or not? Does anyone else know where I can source the correct paint (3R1)?

Thanks

Mark

Dear Mark,

I have had the exact same difficulty getting hold of a Mesa Red Touch-Up!!! However, I think I have the answer to the problem. Lexus Parts Sale standard routine when searching for a Touch-Up paint is to add a '0'(Zero) to the end of the paint code. This long standing routine normally works. However, with Mesa Red and other new colours the routine has changed and they must now add a 1(one) instead of a Zero.

Therefore, the touch-up does exist but its part number is causing difficulty for Lexus operators to locate on the database, so they tell you it doesn't exist - but it does!!! I hope this helps as Mesa Red is the best colour so we have to keep them looking cool

DR Kildare

this is very useful information. If I cannot get hold of the kit mentioned previously, I'll go back to the local dealer with this.

I was in the USA last week, and I had the same thought as Rich_Bee. Unfortunately the nearest Lexus dealer to where I was was 40 miles away and I did not have the time to visit them - and they did not respond to an email. Mesa Red is called Matador Red in the US - they have the same color code anyway.

It is a beautiful colour, although I seem to be having a run of bad luck with picking up stone chips in just three weeks of ownership and 500 miles.

Mark

Try someone like Chips Away they are reasonably cheap and you really cant see the repair when its done.

I had my IS200 done a couple of years ago, the guy did 3 chips for £35

Yes, I have used Chips Away on a black Toyota MR2 a couple of years ago with mixed results.

I was thinking of them as a viable option should I not manage to source touch up paint, or not do it well enough.

Might just call them out actually as the chip is quite deep and fairly large (4mm diameter).

thanks

Mark

Unfortunately my 2 week old Mesa Red IS250 has picked up a rather nasty stone chip on the rear door and I was thinking of trying to rectify it with touch up paint.

But, to my surprise Cambridge Lexus have said that this is not yet available to order or to purchase! What?! How can that be? The IS250 has been out for almost a year.

Are they right or not? Does anyone else know where I can source the correct paint (3R1)?

Thanks

Mark

If you google search for Prius, Bluetooth, laptop you will find a long thread on the Prius forums about how to synchronise your contacts with the car via a laptop and a Bluetooth dongle.

The car's interface as described seems identical to ours on the IS, but nevertheless I cannot get it to work with my laptop.

It could be that it's just my IBM laptop's inbuilt Bluetooth stack that cannot communicate properly with the IS, so someone else out there might be successful.

Good luck.

Any one got any photos?

Some pics for you :)

Jamboo's flaps

Thank you for the link to the thread - I had actually done a search and come up dry; obviously I am incapable of searching properly!

My car is the same colour as Jamboo's. I am thinking that the black on red look good actually. I'm very tempted as I'm getting a lot of water spray up behind the arches.

Thanks.

Any one got any photos?

How easy are they to fit - and do they come colour coded?

Thanks

Mark

Hi there

I have just taken delivery of a new factory order SE-L with MM and Auto, in Mesa Red with cream interior. It's an amazing car so far - I am very pleased.

It now looks even more amazing since I followed Jamboo's instructions and put on some Car-Lack68 followed by P1s wax.

I have heard a minor occasional rattle from somewhere to the front of the driver's door but it's intermittent and I cannot quite track it down. Any pointers would be appreciated. No point in taking it in to the dealer's until it can be more reliably reproduced.

As my phone is a Nokia 6230i I cannot upload my entire address book to the car (no option present on the phone) and I have hundreds of contacts, so I was wondering if there is any way if this can be done via a Bluetooth enabled laptop. My phone is synchronised with my Outlook contacts anyway. Has anyone tried doing this?

Thanks

Mark

even going for a Sport with satnav - 26,500+510+2,710+1000(unsure about auto, i'd like it but s'pose could adapt back to manual  :duh: )=£30,720  which is MORE than i paid for my current 300 2 years ago!! 

←

According to that brochure, there is no Sport with Auto - it is not an option. Which is a shame, as I was thinking of going with that.

My other gripe is that you cannot have Leather with Sport.

So my ideal configuration, Sport with metal interior, Leather and Auto, is not possible.

Hmmm

Mark

Why not fit another alarm to your car like a clifford or something and then your Lexus will be safe even if someone has your old keys and finds your car.

keep trying the police or b & q you never know they might turn up.

good luck and get another spare made today just to be safe.

←

i've left my details with b&q in the hope they turn up.

i'll give the local station a call in the morning

←

Hey,

you can ask Lexus to disable the missing key from the immobiliser's memory. That way someone with the missing key will be able to get into the car, but not start it.

To do this you need an original master key ... like your spare (if it's black). You can definately order a replacement key to replace your missing one - I made my dealer do it when they sold me my IS200 with just one key. Cannot tell you cost, but as it's only key (and not locks or immobiliser) it should be a couple hundred max.

Mark

I just need the sill plates now, already got the pedals so probably wont bid as high as you lot

Not sure what the deal is with the accelerator pedal, its supplied as a complete assembly

←

It's not the accelerator pedal, it's the foot rest.

Lummux,

you say you are in Cambridge, as I am.

I am having full geometry (everything inc camber) done at Lexus Cambridge on Friday for £105. That includes all adjustments, at least that's what Caroline Flack (the service manager) told me.

Mark

I specifically asked for one when I was buying my 1 year old, and got it chucked in.

I find it extremely useful, what with putting dirty walking boots and the baby's buggy in there all the time it's amazing how much mud and dirt makes its way into the back.

Then once a while I vacuum the liner or (even more rarely) wash it. Underlying upholstery is still immaculate.

The boot liner is a perfect fit as you might expect from Lexus - and if anything it's unnecessarily elaborate ... it's got embossed Lexus insignia all over. It would be better it was boring and plain and cost a bit less.

Mark

Just in case anyone is interested ... it turns out that GoodYear only do a 215/45r17 GSD3 XL in the UK. So nothwithstanding how dealers and websites list it, the GSD3 in this size is always an XL.

Now the IS200 does not need to have XL tyres, but as that's the only variant available in the stock size, that's the only option. And it's perfectly fine for use with the IS.

All of this from a nice man at GoodYear Technical who just called me up in response to an email I sent them a few days ago.

The tyre availability chart on the Goodyear UK site confirms this.

In the end I've ordered my new tyres from BlackCircles as they seem to have dropped the price to £112 in the last two days. No local tyre place would match that.

Then it's full geometry the next morning at Lexus Cambridge. Can anyone say whether Lexus Cambridge do a Club Discount; not asking how much, just if they do. It might be time to go Gold.

Mark

Anees,

thank you for your reply. You're right of course, XL stands for eXtra Load, a stronger sidewall that can take higher loads. It's good to know the normal one is fine as well ... although Goodyear's online selector recommends the XL for the IS200.

I'll see which ones I can get this week, and get the full geometry done at the same time.

An expensive week!

Mark

Hello there, this is my first post!

I've had the car in for its 20,000 service (only done 14,000) and was told I need 4 new tyres; 2 are actually already at 1.6mm on one edge. I've only had these tyres, RE040's on for 6,000 miles, and the wear was extremely uneven, but that's a different problem that I clearly need to resolve.

So I did a lot of searching and people here seem to recommend (mostly) the Toyo Proxes and the Goodyear GS-D3s. Would you agree with these?

My car is a stock 2003 IS200 Sport, 215/45R17 ZR

etyres have the cheapest price for the Goodyears including VAT and fitting, at £114 each. Can you advise as to a cheaper source?

Now, the Goodyears GS-D3 come in XL and non-XL at this size. What does this mean, I cannot find an explanation anywhere? Is the XL ok? It's the one most available.

My massively uneven wear (eg inside 1.6mm, middle 5mm, outside 3mm etc, and all four types different!) ... is a full wheel alignment the thing to do? My dealer is Lexus Cambridge, and they've quoted £105 for this.

Thanks

Mark