starkey444

If it's auto have you tried park or neutral? And have you tried another DVD?

Steve

Yep, it is auto and have tried park and neutral. And have tried more than one DVD.

So I probably agree with Jamboo - dodgy sensor maybe.

Cheers

Chris

Apply handbrake (errrrrm Footbrake) - the dodgy looking pedal by your left Ankle...see if it works then...

BTW - enjoy! Welome to this side!!

Cheers Jamboo - if only it was that simple! handbrake full on, same problem.

I think a visit to dealer is on the cards.

Cheers anyway

Hi all,

Just traded in my trusty old IS 200 SE after 7 years of pleasurable and reliable driving in it. Decided to stay with Lexus as the Reading dealership sourced me an 07 plate ex-demonstrator 250 SE Auto in marvellous nick - spotless. Dark metallic grey with the multimedia pack. Only got it yesterday and I'm still smiling. Cabin is a little on the small size, but the toys sure make up for it!!

Anyway, seems I found my first problem (yes I did read the manual first!!). The multimedia pack plays DVDs but I can only hear sound and have no picture. Now I know this is normal when the car is moving for safety reasons, but I still get it when the car is stationary with the footbrake full on. Even happens when engine isn't running, just ignition on.

I'm presuming this is just a fault with one of the detectors which shuts the picture off when car is moving? But has anyone any clues as I can't get the car back to the dealer for a few days.

Any ideas??

The story is concluded.

Lexus maintained they couldnt hear rattle

So went to pick up car and drive it for myself - guess what, no rattle!!

Now here's the conundrum - did the rattle miraculously and coincidentally disappear at exactly the point when I left the car at the garage (after 3-4 weeks of daily rattling)

OR, did Lexus do a crafty on me, knowing I'd link the rattle to the overheat, so they fixed it then make out they can't hear it - by doing this they wouldnt have to admit, either now or in the future that there was ever a problem. Who knows. I could cynically choose to believe the latter, but that would be tantamount to accusing them of deceit.

So lets choose to believe the rattle went of its own accord.

I need to give the dealer some credit - they did indeed offer some goodwill after the inconvenience they caused me when the engine overheating as a result of their unfinished cambelt job. They dropped the labour charges when sorting out a new rear shock.

So, car seems fine. But mystery still surrounds the rattle. Where did it come from. And where did it go. We'll never know.

I suggest you have it checked by another garage before you attempt to use it for a long run.

If the engine has overheated it is more likely to have suffered piston damage tha bearing damage.

Good luck :)

Cheers for all the advice. Lexus called me today to say that the mechanic still couldn't hear the rattle. So both the Service Manager and the Foreman took it for a drive and neither could hear it either!!

So I'll be collecting it tomorrow to see if the noise has miraculously gone of its own accord.

Or maybe they switched off the aircon (as suggested by javaboss)

Let's see what happens next!

I doubt you'd hear a hose clip if it was just rattling about the engine bay - they only use the sprung metal type and there's hardly any mass to them.

Hard to see why a short overheat would give you those symptoms though - was it OK just prior to the "incident"?. The thing that would be bothering me was did the same mechanic do the cambelt?

If you can, take the mechanic/service manager out to demonstrate the problem and make it clear you're not very happy.

A numpty mistake like that should be worth some goodwill on their part.

Yes the car was fine before the cambelt was fitted. The 'incident' happened a day after the cambelt replacement. So difficult to tell whether the 'rattle' happened as a result of the cambelt work, or as a result of the overheat. Either way, the rattle wasn't there before so I still blame the rattle on something Lexus have done.

To be fair, the dealer did offer a discount on a future service as a gesture towards the inconvenience I suffered. But that was before I had then spent a couple of weeks trying to work out where the rattle was coming from. Initially I just thought it was something loose (maybe glove compartment or behind dash) but after a while it became clear it was something in the engine bay on acceleration, and more likely it was the engine itself. That's why I booked it in again, (along with an MOT and shock replacement) to investigate the rattle.

I'm hoping their goodwill will extend to paying for all the labour and any damage that needs to be fixed as a result of the rattle PLUS some goodwill for the previous inconvenience. Let's see whether they live up to their heady JD Powers/Top Gear placing!!

Don't mean to be blunt, but could it be the hose clip do you think? Or is it not that sort of rattle. Don't know if you would hear a hose clip in the 'bay, but I suppose it depends where it is and if it's in an audible place.

J

Hi Jammy.

Can't rule it out, but the noise sounds too regular. I'd expect a hose clip knocking about to be a little more random. Not only that, I'd expect to hear the hose clip rattle at other times. I only get it on pulling away when the engine is under load.

Chris

You bright guys might be able to give some advice here.

I have an IS200 SE on a 2000 (W) reg.

Running fine, no issues with it at all.

Recently put it into the dealer for a 100k major service and cambelt change.

The day after the service, I was motoring down the M4, down sliproad at J4, stopped at traffic lights, car engulfed in steam. Temp gauge high. Engine off quickly . Mild panic. Calmed down. Lifted bonnet, waited for steam to clear.

Radiator empty.

Then I noticed it - telltale grooves around the hose between Rad and water pump BUT NO HOSE CLIP!!

No sign of clip either. Called Lexus. Not happy bunny. How could they leave clip off when reassembling car?

Found 5 litre water can, topped up, drove car slowly to Lexus, checking temp gauge all the way.

Arrived Lexus, they drain system - refit hose clip - refill system. All ok. Supposedly.

Now here's the weird bit. Ever since that episode I have had a rattle from the engine while under acceleration. Sounds a bit like 'pinking'. Some clues...

- only happens on acceleration

- only happens when engine under load (eg pulling away) - ie doesn't happen if I just sit there and rev the engine.

- worse (louder) rattlling when engine is cold in the morning.

- can't hear it when cruising.

Car is back in with Lexus today - they called me to say mechanic cannot hear the rattle when out on road. I'm not impressed. Must be same mechanic who can't fit hose clip

Getting them to look at it tomorrow.

My worry - could the rattle be engine damage (eg little end bearing) caused by the short period of overheating?

My BIG worry - I'm driving to Paris next week with kids and DON'T need a major engine failure en route.

Any of you have any thoughts? If there IS engine damage, can I link it to the overheating or are Lexus likely to say its a massive coincidence? Who knows.

Anyone got any bright ideas about what the problem might be? I'm sure Lexus wil be very accomodating tomorrow when I pick car up. But if not, I may need advice.

???

Chris

The bulbs and wiring are different

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How weird - got an email from myself!!! Or at least I thought I had. Starkey444 is my username but my real name is Chris Starke! Small world.

Anyway, thanks for warning me about the wiring and bulb. I dont suppose you have any idea when the wiring changed so that I don't go buying a second-hand unit that won't fit? Alternatively, how different is the wiring - my unit has just two wires running to it which presumably only go live when the fog-lamp switch is flicked. Does the newer bulb have three wires or something (couldnt imagine why it would). Is this something I could modify easily? This is assuming the unit itself hasnt changed shape in which case I'm scuppered anyway.

Thoughts much appreciated.

Chris.S (Starkey444!)

I have a badly corroded front fog lamp (offside) on my W Reg (2000) IS200. Does anyone know whether the fog lamp off a year 2003 model would fit? I dont want the seller to send it from the other end of the country only to find the spec changed!

Answers on a postcode.....

Cheers

Chris

Hi there

Does anyone have a problem with water inside the lens of the front fogs on the IS200? Mine has been bad for a while so I removed the light unit today and found the back of the unit very corroded (obviously causing water/damp to get in to the unit)

Is this a common problem? Has anyone else noticed it?

I'm sure Lexus would like to charge me a fortune to replace the whole unit!

Starkey

Had an email from Chris.........

now contacting Mintex

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Hi Dave,

Thanks for looking into this for me.

One question... you say the tightening sequence is critical - as the disc is floating I presume you are talking about the tightening sequence of the wheel nuts, am I right? If so, I can think of at least one occassion when I didnt tighten the nuts myself (ie when I put two new tyres on at a Tyre dealer).

Chris

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Chris,

Thats what I meant

Colin Barber on LOC highlighted this a while ago.

I'll be speaking to my supplier tomorrow and will email you with what I find out

Dave

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Luckily, I always tighten as opposites. However, I can't put hand on heart and say that the tyre dealer did the same (I didn't watch them that closely), but they aren't cowboys so I'd hope they did opposites too.

Thanks for checking this out for me, much appreciated.

Chris

what happenes is the surface material from the pad is transferred to the surface of the disc, this is what feels like warped discs when you brake.

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Well i never knew that! it makes perfect sence, high friction embeded on the disc ver friction from the pads generating the 'grab' effect and judder. Seems a bit unfair that prolex now have to except this as a warranty claim.

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why is it unfair? I drove the car quite happily for 4 years on the original discs and didn't get any judder due to the phenomena of pad material transferring to the disc. I only moved to the Mintex discs and pads because people were raving about them on these forums. I had them fitted professionally (as I said before, by an experienced mechanic who happens to be a mate) and have driven the car exactly as I did before. So, tell me what I did wrong?

Had an email from Chris.........

now contacting Mintex

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Hi Dave,

Thanks for looking into this for me.

One question... you say the tightening sequence is critical - as the disc is floating I presume you are talking about the tightening sequence of the wheel nuts, am I right? If so, I can think of at least one occassion when I didnt tighten the nuts myself (ie when I put two new tyres on at a Tyre dealer).

Chris

the discs were bedded in properly and the hub cleaned up before fitting. I've got a mate who is an experienced mechanic - he doesn't cut corners!

I called into Lexus Reading to check the discs - they usually give me good service so I'm giving them benefit of the doubt here.

They reckon nearside is 0.09 mm out and offside is 0.04 mm out - they also say that you'll feel a judder above 0.05mm. Anyone thinks this sounds fair?

Hi all

Back in March I fitted a pair of Mintex grooved discs and Mintex pads to the front of my IS200. I sourced these from ProLex-UK.

Only four months later I've been suffering juddering on braking. My dealer tells me the nearest disc is warped (0.09mm) and the offside is slightly warped (0.04).

Has anybody else had this problem with grooved Mintex discs?

I do average mileage, don't brake heavily and dont drive fast so I'm a bit concerned that these have warped so quickly.

After 4 momths on the car, I presume ProLex will change them for me (just waiting for a response)

Chris

this happens quite often if u dont use a torque wrench - u can buy just the stud for a few £'s  u need to knock/press out the old stud  and fit the new one in the same manner.

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I presume I'm going to need to remove the caliper and disk to be able to get to the back of the stud. Is it simply a case of whack out the old stud with a 7lb club hammer or do the studs 'twist' into place?

I just managed to shear a wheel stud on the front of my IS200.

I can't see how I go about replacing it.

Has anyone had to do this? Can I buy a stud from Lexus or am I going to have to purchase a whole new integrated front end!!!!

Any advice on what is required to replace the little blighter wold be most welcome.

I tried to do my own front discs but gave up after 90 mins when I couldn't budge the bolts holding the calipers on!! Boy them things are tight!!

My tip - make sure you've got a good spanner set and can get a decent length bar in there for extra leverage coz if you got a toy socket set like mine then those bolts might just beat ya!!

Anyway, I got a mechanic mate to do it - got all the good tools. He swapped front discs/pads and rear pads for a neat £50 - saved me the hastle and some money (compared to Lexus)

ah, the problem is that you are getting WATER on them. The only way to stop the Lexus alloys from corroding is to keep them dry AT ALL TIMES.

So, dont wash them and certainly dont take the car out in the rain. Keep car in garage, only drive it when sunny, then wipe dirt/brake dust off with a DRY cloth EVERY time you return home.

:winky:

Here speaks a man who has had TWO replacement sets of alloys. My latest set is faring much better (thicker lacquer apparently), but I do have a little corrosion starting on rear offside where I clipped a kerb and damaged the lacquer.

I can't believe Lexus still can't get this right.

I've had three replacement CD units on my W reg IS200 SE. Had all sort sof issues with CD's jamming.

On one occassion, the dealer told me that Lexus had made 26 mods to the unit due to previous problems. All down to fitting a 6-CD changer in such a small space apparently.

I asked the delaer what would happen if the unit went faulty AFTER the car was out of warranty and he said that they would fit a re-con unit for £150 rather than a new one at £3million (or thereabouts) - but that was over a year ago so I dont know how they'd play it now.

Anyway, the last unit has been in for over a year now and no further issues, so maybe they did iron out the early teething probs after all.

Same advice as the others here - go to dealer and ask for a replacement.

Haven't sussed the cause of the noise yet. Doubt if it linked to the fuse box as I'd expect the nearside adjuster to play up too if that was the case. More likely a dodgy adjuster. Had a fiddle with it yesterday but can't work out how to get the adjuster off the back of the headlamp unit - appears to be a twist and pull jobby but it won't pull out.

I thought I'd ask Lexus dealer how much a replacement part is - they want £92 + VAT!! Sod that. Took the easy route - unplugged the damn thing until I can find time to get the wife to fiddle with the switch while I see what the adjuster is doing (tried getting my three-year old to help yesterday when the wife was out - not a good idea!)

If it is faulty, just wondering how many IS200's have turned up at breakers yards so far!

Here's an unusual one.

I leave my headlamps on 'auto' all the time. When I stop the car and turn of fthe ignition, the headlamps lights remain on until I open the door. Normal so far.

About a month ago, I turned off my ignition and could hear a loud vibrating sounds coming from the engine bay. But when I got out of the car to check it, the noise stopped. It didnt take me long to suss out that the noise was linked to the headlamps - that is, the noise stops when the lights go out.

So, leaving the engine running, I got out, lifted the bonnet and discovered that a small black box on the back of the offside headlamp cluster was the culprit. I'm lead to believe that this is the automatic headlamp adjuster (about the size of a fag packet).

If I wiggle it, the noise sometimes stops. But even weirder, I can get the noise to stop by fiddling with the bulb holder (simply twist it back and forth) even without touching the adjuster.

The problem is consistent - it happens every time my lights are on. Currently, I am choosing to ignore it as there appear to be no adverse affects - but really I need to fix it.

Anyone seen (heard?) this before?

Thanks for the feedback guys. Looks like I got a green light then!

Might even fit them myself - seems like an easy job. And while I'm at it, might as well tart up the calipers - in ya face red with white lettering - should show up nice on a blue car!

Just need to fix the buzzing/vibrating headlight adjuster (yep, weird but true) and get my front shocks replaced (just the standard ones) and my luvly Lexus will be back up to scratch again (except for the stonechipped bonnet and scratched paintwork that Lexus refuse to accept responsibility for - I've only got to sneeze near it and another scratch or chip appears!!)

Incidentally, does anyone paint the hub in the middle of the brake discs? I notice they are quite rusty on my standard ones. When I replace with the Mintex ones, will I need to paint or lacquer the middle bit or are they likely to be less prone to rusting? I'm on my third set of alloys and I'm really looking after these ones so I'd like to compliment them with a clean set of calipers and disks.

Hi all,

I'm thinking of getting the Pro-Lex 8 groove front disks and Mintex pads - has anyone tried these? Looking for feedback before I spend my hard earned dosh.