Monty

[Monty Vann]

Hello All,

I'm Monty Vann living in Ratby Leicestershire and this evening joined the UK Lexus Owners Club. A month ago I bought a 2003 IS 200 Sportcross which I think has been looked after well and for a 99,000 miler looks good. Initially, when driving home from the car dealers I sensed that the car 'jiggled' when driven slowly but it disappeared when going faster. I put this down to being one or more of the following; a buckled wheel, out of true tyre or road surface. I doubted the road surface as I'd not noticed it previously and the wheels I could check when changing tyres. The tyres had plenty of tread but they were Chinese cheapo buy-one-get-three-free variety so I changed them for a set of Vredestein Quatrac 5's. The wheels were true and subsequent test drives showed that the 'jiggle' had disappeared. 

Though I've  driven less than a thousand miles so far I'm 'chuffed' with my purchase and my wife (bad back) finds the seats comfortable and the the heated seats send her to sleep (I'm double chuffed!)

Now a questions or three. I don't really need a beeper to tell me I'm going backwards when in reverse. If it was connected to sensors it would be useful. but it's not, it's annoying. Can it be disconnected without upsetting other electrical functions?

Is there a tow bar made for this car? I don't intend towing anything but wish to carry my bike on a tow ball mounted rack.

Having a close look underneath the only rust is on forged or cast components the sheet metal looks very good. I'd like to keep it that way. Has anyone had experience of having Dinitrol rust proofing done on their cars?

Monty Vann

 

[BachelorDays]

Welcome aboard Monty,

I've had problems with tyres on cars after 3-4 years into their lives with plenty of tread still left.  I put that down to not driving much, resulting in tyres going hard.  Softer compound tyres will do better age-wise.  For example, Dunlops and Continentals won't last the years but Michelins will.  In most cases tyres get changed before any age issues have time to set in so base compound is irrelevant. Did you check the age of your old tyres when you replaced them?

You'll probably get a better response in the specific IS 200 forum on the detailed queries you have.  I know that beeper is annoying - Toyotas love it!  Hadn't realised they put them in the Lexus too.  I can't imagine it throwing a code if you disconnected it.  Otherwise just muffle it.

 

[scudney]

for crying 😢 out loud how often do you reverse in a day and for how long,its no different from the reversing or parking sensors on more modern cars, I got used to it when I had my IS200 which I owned for 8 years 

[Monty Vann]

I didn't check the age of the tyres I changed but there were two different tread patterns and two tyres were worn on the tread outer edge which usually indicates incorrect tracking but these were on the same side of the car. Perhaps they'd been moved round for some unknown reason. As the tyres are the only contact with the road I'd rather have a set with a known history and as I'd found Vredestein tyres performed well with my last car i opted for the same again. The tracking when checked was OK.

Each time I return home I have to reverse about 50-60 yards uphill through parked vehicles which requires, on occasions, that I retract the door mirrors to get through. If the buzzer indicated the proximity of any obstruction it would be useful. Simply making a noise to tell me I'm going backwards is a gimmick. My last car had a buzzer connected to reversing sensors which increased frequency the closer I was to an obstruction. That's useful. I'd like to fit sensors to my Sportcross but that would mean two buzzers sounsing.