IS300h Things to look out for when buying

[Ken83]

Hi All,

I am due to go and see an IS300h tomorrow which I'm quite interested in buying.

Was wondering if anyone had any advice for me on things to look out for?

Details are as follows:

- 2014 F sport (pre face-lift model)

- 37k on the clock (so low mileage for age)

- Full leather interior

- Upgraded sat nav (with the mousey thing) and reversing camera

- Standard sound system (NOT the Mark L version - which I would have liked but not sure if standard is decent enough?)

- Heating/cooling seats

- Buying from a Lexus main dealer with 1 year warranty and paying extra for the maintenance plan which will cover next 2 services - including the big 60k one (for around $1.3k all in). Is it worth extending the warranty? Part of the reason I'm buying is that they're supposed to be very reliable so seems counterintuitive.

Aside from this I'm a bit worried about the security of the car due to keyless entry (I have a drive) and wondering if anyone has any advice - though it seems either Faraday box/bag or turn off the transmission from key (by pressing unlock key twice while holding down lock). I'd detest having to put a steering lock on and off each time I park in my drive just for the convenience of not having to press a button to unlock the car!

Any advice/help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Ken

[Pink]

Hi Ken, on the keyless entry, a Faraday bag works perfectly. Cheap & available on eBay or amazon, and becomes second nature to just store keys in it. 

Using the buttons as you describe also works - my spare key is protected in that way. 

[matt8]

The 60K service ought to have been done already, it's a time OR distance interval, whichever comes first. 2014 would make it due around about now - 5 years.

I'd ask the dealer to do it as part of you taking the car off them.

I wouldn't be too worried about security, I'm not sure there's that much demand for Lexus parts on the black market. Just enjoy the car!

[Ken83]

Thanks for your responses.

I purchased the car on Saturday after viewing it and I'm quite happy with it. I also ordered a Faraday box yesterday that will be able to store mine and my wife's keys securely. Will test it when it arrives to ensure it works. In regard to the service, I got confirmation from the garage that the 5 year/60k service has been done and its been stamped in the book.

I had a couple of questions for you though, in case you've ever experienced?

1. When streaming music from my phone via Spotify to the car the name of the track doesn't seem to change as it progresses through. Anybody else had this issue or know how to get around it? Its quite annoying.

2. When I take off from a standing stop, I feel the engine kick in after the electric. I read beforehand that the change from one to the other was imperceptible, but I do feel it (only on moving from a standing start). Wondering if this is normal or if there is an issue of some sort? Seems to be less noticeable in eco mode but I heard you shouldn't drive in eco mode all the time?

Thanks in advance if anybody has any input.

Ken

[Vince Donald]

Don't know why people say you shouldn't use ECO all the time, I'm sure I've seen Lexus suggest it would be fine, in fact, if you are in ECO mode when you switch off, the car comes back on in ECO mode, the same is not true for Sport mode.

As for Spotify, I haven't used it but I have seen the display to be hit and miss regarding showing the name of the podcast I am listening to, so it probably uses the same protocols.

You say that you notice the engine starting up sometimes from a standing start, this is quite normal, the system  has decided that instantly you are asking for more acceleration than the electric motor will give so it starts the ICE, now there is no starter motor, it starts by adjusting the speed of the 2nd electric motor, thus momentarily reducing actual acceleration which you notice, there are several videos online which show how all this works.  I find it most noticeable in Sport mode, if you bury the accelerator then there is a delay whilst the system starts the ICE, then you get very brisk acceleration.

These cars are so smooth that you end up "looking" for any imperfection, had mine for two and a half years, still love driving it.

Vince

[olliesgrandad]

2 hours ago, Vince Donald said:

Don't know why people say you shouldn't use ECO all the time, I'm sure I've seen Lexus suggest it would be fine,

All I know is that the salesman I usually deal with at Cheltenham has given me that advice based upon doing driving at Lexus. 

[Ken83]

45 minutes ago, olliesgrandad said:

All I know is that the salesman I usually deal with at Cheltenham has given me that advice based upon doing driving at Lexus. 

Hi Olliesgrandad, just to be sure is the advice he gave that you can or cant drive in Eco all the time?

Thanks :-)

Ken

[Ken83]

3 hours ago, Vince Donald said:

Don't know why people say you shouldn't use ECO all the time, I'm sure I've seen Lexus suggest it would be fine, in fact, if you are in ECO mode when you switch off, the car comes back on in ECO mode, the same is not true for Sport mode.

As for Spotify, I haven't used it but I have seen the display to be hit and miss regarding showing the name of the podcast I am listening to, so it probably uses the same protocols.

You say that you notice the engine starting up sometimes from a standing start, this is quite normal, the system  has decided that instantly you are asking for more acceleration than the electric motor will give so it starts the ICE, now there is no starter motor, it starts by adjusting the speed of the 2nd electric motor, thus momentarily reducing actual acceleration which you notice, there are several videos online which show how all this works.  I find it most noticeable in Sport mode, if you bury the accelerator then there is a delay whilst the system starts the ICE, then you get very brisk acceleration.

These cars are so smooth that you end up "looking" for any imperfection, had mine for two and a half years, still love driving it.

Vince

Thanks Vince.

You're probably right about it being normal and about finding imperfections. It's so refined I guess that's that's the only issue I can find :-D

I'm quite enjoying it too and love to look at the mpg I am achieving (it delights the inherent cheapskate in me)! 

[olliesgrandad]

31 minutes ago, Ken83 said:

Hi Olliesgrandad, just to be sure is the advice he gave that you can or cant drive in Eco all the time?

Thanks 🙂

Ken

The advice was Not to drive in eco all the time. 

Certainly I have found with all 3 of my cars that in normal mode they are just as frugal and more relaxing to drive. 

I have had a 2014 IS300h f sport , a 2015 GS300h luxury and now a 2015 RX450h Advance. 

Regards Les 

[DanD]

With regards to track names not being displayed, when streaming from Spotify, I have had the same issue. However, I have found that if I unlock the phone, the tracks are then displayed... even if the phone locks itself again automatically after a couple of minutes.

[Ken83]

1 hour ago, DanD said:

With regards to track names not being displayed, when streaming from Spotify, I have had the same issue. However, I have found that if I unlock the phone, the tracks are then displayed... even if the phone locks itself again automatically after a couple of minutes.

Ah, so if I get into the car and the music begins, if I then unlock may phone and leave it (to lock itself again or lock it manually again) the correct names should show as the songs are playing? I'll definitely try it, tonight - thanks.

I also noticed yesterday (not sure if you have had the issue also) but when I am playing music and plug the phone into the USB to charge the music stops. If I press play on the phone or the console nothing happens until I take the plug out of the phone again. Not sure if it thinks I'm trying to stream something to the AV? 

Last question (I swear!): Is there a quick way to use the voice command to call someone? Every time I press it the lady comes on to give me a mini-tutorial. I just want to be bel to press the button and say "call Steve" or something. Is there a way to do this or only via the commentary on the available voice commands etc? 

Thanks and sorry for the never-ending questions, just trying to find my way around!

Ken

[DanD]

1. This is certainly the way it works with my phone
2. I have not experienced this, however when you plug your phone in, try and change the SOURCE from Aux to USB. I would expect this to solve your problem. Worth trying anyway.
3. I don't use voice command because I find it infuriating. Might be worth going through the tutorial though, as it may answer your question.

[matt8]

3 hours ago, Ken83 said:

Is there a quick way to use the voice command to call someone? Every time I press it the lady comes on to give me a mini-tutorial. I just want to be bel to press the button and say "call Steve" or something. Is there a way to do this or only via the commentary on the available voice commands etc? 

There is definitely an option. I turned that tutorial off, I don't need to hear it every time. Look in the settings.

[Ken83]

Thanks chaps

[Pink]

20 hours ago, Ken83 said:

Thanks chaps

Using Spotify through the usb cable rather than Bluetooth will also pull thru any track graphics as well as slightly improving the sound quality. 

The flip-side is that it’s slightly less convenient than Bluetooth, so I tend not to bother with it myself, but worth a try as a comparison

Hope you’re enjoining the car! 

[Thackeray]

On 9/3/2019 at 12:36 PM, Ken83 said:

Is there a quick way to use the voice command to call someone? Every time I press it the lady comes on to give me a mini-tutorial. I just want to be bel to press the button and say "call Steve" or something. Is there a way to do this or only via the commentary on the available voice commands etc?

It's actually quite useful to be able to say someone's name to call them. I didn't bother with this for a year or more as people on forums said the voice recognition is hopeless or non-existent. But I eventually decided to investigate it and when it's set up it's an easy way to phone people without having to look at the screen.

It isn't very sophisticated, in that it doesn't do voice recognition like in dictation software or Google/Amazon internet based voice recognition. Instead, you have to record yourself saying the names of the contacts you want to use. It doesn't help that the process for doing this is difficult to find without studying the manual and you also have to know that the Lexus terminology is "Voice Tags" that you record for each person. But when it's set up you just have to press the button on the steering wheel, say the name, and then press dial. It's actually quite handy, when set up. On balance, I've found it worth setting up, even though it has limited use eg. you can't use it to select music tracks, only to phone people in your contact list. You only have to set it up once.

This is how the manual describes the set-up process.

(They really mean, "say the contact name" I think.)

Then the manual decribes how to make a call using a Voice Tag.

 

 

 

[Ken83]

 

2 minutes ago, Thackeray said:

It's actually quite useful to be able to say someone's name to call them. I didn't bother with this for a year or more as people on forums said the voice recognition is hopeless or non-existent. But I eventually decided to investigate it and when it's set up it's an easy way to phone people without having to look at the screen.

It isn't very sophisticated, in that it doesn't do voice recognition like in dictation software or Google/Amazon internet based voice recognition. Instead, you have to record yourself saying the names of the contacts you want to use. It doesn't help that the process for doing this is difficult to find without studying the manual and you also have to know that the Lexus terminology is "Voice Tags" that you record for each person. But when it's set up you just have to press the button on the steering wheel, say the name, and then press dial. It's actually quite handy, when set up. On balance, I've found it worth setting up, even though it has limited use eg. you can't use it to select music tracks, only to phone people in your contact list. You only have to set it up once.

This is how the manual describes the set-up process.

(They really mean, "say the contact name" I think.)

Then the manual decribes how to make a call using a Voice Tag.

 

 

 

Thanks Thackeray - would this work if I recorded a tag, but then my wife wanted toc all that person do you know?

Thanks

K

[Thackeray]

I don't know. My guess from the wording from the manual is that if she uses her phone she would be able to make separate recordings of names of the contacts on her phone. But I'd be surprised if it worked if she tried to make a call on your phone - unless she could do a good imitation of your voice!