First time Lexus owner

[Annalogg]

First time Lexus owner.  Just bought 2013 IS300h.  119k with full Lexus history and hard to tell where the wear is – time will tell. Enjoying the economy – a bit too docile perhaps but hey I’m 67 so other drivers expect me to hold up the traffic – and I can always flick it into Sport and make more progress. Reminds me of a Vectra V6 I owned a few years ago – long legs if you need them but relaxed when you don’t. No sunroof so that’s a bonus.  My last car a Rover 75 CDI had permanently squelchy carpets thanks partly to blocked sunroof drains. 8 speaker stereo is pretty good though I would have liked the ML version. Also miss lumber support as the seats are only manually adjustable. Love the reversing camera and the effortless glide that seems to be achievable at any speed. A couple of question for longer term owners:

Gearbox ATF change: The service schedule says check and replace as required at 20k intervals but on the assumption that it has never been fully drained and replaced would that be a sensible precaution now?  I am aware of the “sealed for life” claims but just don’t see how lubricant that’s been around for 6 years and 100k plus miles can possibly do its job as effectively as new stuff.

Tyres: 17” wheels with 225/45 R17 91W Pirelli Cinturato P7s about half worn. Ride is harder than I would prefer.  Any tyre recommendations to move from firmness towards comfort?

Random Beep Beep: Two beeps that appear to come from the parking assist system sound randomly – even when on a motorway with park assist turned off and no other vehicle within 50 yards?  Any ideas?

[ikeja]

The beep beep is to warn you of speed cameras in the vicinity

[ianhu]

The two beeps is the car telling you there is a speed camera ahead beware.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

[Jayw13702]

Hi and welcome to 300H ownership.

 

Lexus and Toyota state that the fluid in the Autobox is sealed for life as you have pointed out. On the Toyota forums there are a lot of hybrid owners who change it, some as early as 20K and the lowest is about 100K. 

The oil is special to the hybrid gearbox, WS and can only be purchased from Toyota/Lexus, I know in the past when I have asked in the service depts they insist that it doesnt need to be done and so I have either taken it to a specialist or done the job myself. Its not a major piece of work but does involve a lot of scrabbling round on a garage floor!!

 

As for the tyres, I'm not sure a change of brand is going to give you better ride quality, they are a 45 section tyre and so will transmit a bit of vibration/bump into the car. you could experiment with changing tyre pressure but in doing so you may find it affects your economy, kind of a double edged sword really. 

[Annalogg]

Thanks for enlightening me about the beeps and thanks Jason for your welcome and the useful info on gearbox and tyres.

[Texas]

So...you hearing this Beep Beep a lot are you? I hope you got the full 12 points to play with as the IS ( along with any Lexus) can easily surpass any speed limit with sublime ease and comfort especially if you flick the switch and 'make progress ' as you call it😀😀😀

As for the sunroof ( or Moonroof as Lexus refer to them) then yes can be a water weak spot but please don't compare the build quality of a Lexus one to a Rover 75! But having said that when I went to purchase my IS250 the seller failed to mention in the ad that it had a sunroof and these were quite rare to say the least so that was the clincher!

paul m.

[BigChange]

Last change was to Michelin Cross Climate which give a comfortable ride and are snow rated.  

[BigChange]

Only one point on the beeps which I am noticing.  My satnav map is not  kept up to date and I think the beeps are based on camera locations at date of the map creation.