IS300H - how has yours been reliability wise?

[corpjones]

Hi All

I've never had a Lexus before and the IS300H has caught my eye, I do about 12k miles per year (70% motorway) and reliability is key as well as fairly good MPG, I like buying from main dealers and it looks like they seem to start from 13k for a 2013 model for Lexus approved used with SE trim.

I have a E class and want to downsize, i've had a few issues with mine (mainly sensors and DPF) and want to move away from Diesel and German brands as they do not seem to match the Japanese brands, my old Honda Accord was faultless in the 6 years I had it, I cannot say the same for my current car, I still want a bit of Luxury so Lexus seems like the ideal choice on paper.

Questions:

1. Reading thru the forums I can see various issues however I appreciate forums mainly attract posts from people with issues, how is the IS300H regarded on the whole, is it reliable?
2. Do I need to worry about the age of the Battery or does the type used not degrade over time?
3. Any known issues I need to be aware of or are even early 2013 models reliable?

Advice appreciated 🙂

 

[royoftherovers]

19 minutes ago, corpjones said:

Hi All

I've never had a Lexus before and the IS300H has caught my eye, I do about 12k miles per year (70% motorway) and reliability is key as well as fairly good MPG, I like buying from main dealers and it looks like they seem to start from 13k for a 2013 model for Lexus approved used with SE trim.

I have a E class and want to downsize, i've had a few issues with mine (mainly sensors and DPF) and want to move away from Diesel and German brands as they do not seem to match the Japanese brands, my old Honda Accord was faultless in the 6 years I had it, I cannot say the same for my current car, I still want a bit of Luxury so Lexus seems like the ideal choice on paper.

Questions:

1. Reading thru the forums I can see various issues however I appreciate forums mainly attract posts from people with issues, how is the IS300H regarded on the whole, is it reliable?
2. Do I need to worry about the age of the battery or does the type used not degrade over time?
3. Any known issues I need to be aware of or are even early 2013 models reliable?

Advice appreciated 🙂

 

Welcome Mark.

I do not have an IS300h but understand that they are well built and very reliable.Owners will comment themselves shortly I am sure.

I can however advise you that ;

I would buy from a Lexus Dealer as he will probably offer a 12 month warranty

I would take out a Service Plan for probably less than £40 per month

I would take out an Extended Lexus Warranty which will cover Mechanical and/or Electrical problems so long s the car is less than 10 years old and covered less than 140,000 miles. The Extended Warranty will mean that you have to have the car serviced by Lexus but that will include an annual Hybrid Check at no extra cost.The Check will provide cover for 12 months and 10,000 miles.The Hybrid Battery is covered for 15 years from the date of first registration.The Extended Warranty also includes free breakdown cover for you in any car in which you are travelling.

All food for thought.

[Bob99]

Hi Mark, I’ve had my 2013 is300h since it was 6 months old and still love it.  My only issues have been the wipers stopping mid screen which was sorted by fitting a second hand relay for £2.50. The only other issue I’ve had are the alloy wheels whIch tended to only last about 2 years before the lacquer starts to flake. Lexus changed the wheels after the first time and refurbished them the second, they have gone again now. It could have been due to the wheels being the nishokku special option which look great when new but may have been flawed as they are discontinued now. Overall the car is great to drive and own. The Lexus dealers I’ve used for servicing have been good, I get the essential care servicing now, which lowers the cost a little. The hybrid Battery is guaranteed 15 years if the yearly hybrid test is carried out although I think that is limited to 10000 miles. I have started looking around for my next car but at the moment but I am struggling to find a suitable replacement. 
 

As long as you find one with a good history and condition you will be fine. 

[ganzoom]

Had ours since new, 2015, Premier spec, tyres replaced at 27k, MOT/Service by local independent every year. Zero issues since taking delivery, never ever uses a single drop of oil even.

You really don't need to worry at all about these cars, especially compared to brands like BMW/Merc/Audi.

Our is so cheap to run/own we have no intention of replacing it now for the next 5 years, its also why used prices have held up so well.

[Jayw13702]

mine is a 2013/14 SE spec, i bought it when it was 4 years old, one previous owner and having covered 59,000 miles.

2 1/2 years later and the mileage is 158,000 miles.

Its serviced when it asks for it and if anything looks like failing then its replaced.

I still get the same MPG as i did when i first got the car, my feeling is the Battery isn't quite as strong as it used but it still goes really well. The engines uses no oil between services and ive had no major mechanical issues.

The only things i have done over and above the normal service schedule is a gearbox oil change at 100,000 miles and the egr cooler was cleaned out and refitted at 130,000 miles.

Ive had one brake caliper carrier strip its thread (£80) and both rear calipers were overhauled at 130,000 ish miles (common toyota/lexus issue of sticky calipers)

aside from that it has been total reliability, i use it as a taxi and all my customers love travelling in it, there are many comments on how nice it rides and how quiet it is, even now at close to 160,000 miles.

What do i replace it with? i dont know. Ive had issues with the Lexus dealers, but thats more because im using it as a commercial vehicle and they re not keen on that.

Would i recommend one, absolutely, My wife has a 5 series BMW and I honestly prefer the Lexus to the BMW, Nicer materials in the cabin, better fit and finish, far better driving experience and service parts are cheaper as well.

Oh and my Lexus paintwork is looking better than my wifes 90,000 mile BMW as well, mine looks like its only done half the mileage it has actually done

 

 

 

[Thackeray]

With previous cars, servicing was always a stressful time. Waiting for the phone call where they say, "I'm afraid you'll need your ... replaced. That'll be an extra £673.48."

With this IS300h, no phone call. The quoted price is what I've paid for three annual services. Nothing has gone wrong that I've noticed. The dealers have not found something wrong that I hadn't noticed.

Apart from new tyres and a new 12 volt Battery, nothing has needed replacing. Brakes are around one third worn after 50,000 miles. This is because a lot of the braking is done by regenerating electricity and the brake pads/discs are scarcely used. The simplicity of the transmission means there's no separate starter motor to go wrong, no clutch, no torque converter, no separate alternator, no gearbox as such. It's presented as an automatic but it doesn't have the hundreds of moving parts that can go wrong in a conventional automatic. Instead there's a permanently engaged planetary gearset, plus one additional cog wheel, all permanently engaged, so there's no inherent stress from changing gears.

The dealer has replaced windscreen wipers though I didn't think that was really needed. But they didn't charge extra.

That's about it. For motorway use, I like the way the engine spins at about 1200 rpm when you're cruising at 70 mph. In the future, all-electric cars may well be preferable. But we're not quite there yet. And the range is better in a petrol car. When I fill up with petrol the dashboard says the full tank is enough for 600 miles (or if driving in France, 1,000 kilometres which looks quite pleasing).

 

 

[Sazabi2001]

My IS300H isn’t that much reliable in my part. It never actually let me down on the highway, other than tyre puncture which has nothing to do with the car, but it had some close calls. It’s an 2014 model we bought 2nd hand from the dealer with 18k on the clock, and now it’s 65k, all services from the dealer.

 

Last month the water pump failed, noticed by the dealer when it was for service, fixed it myself before anything goes bad. Now it develops some metal noice from the rear suspension, possibly bearing / bushing or shock absorber. The infotainment system crashes from time to time, screen frozen but back online after restarting, and this is not just me, another 2 of my friend’s is300h got infotainment system problems too.

 

In my opinion, is300h isn’t too much more reliable than other cars, it’s one of the better ones but not indestructible.

[corpjones]

Thank you all for the very useful replies, on the whole it has given me more confidence about reliability (barring Sazabi's experience!), I think the next step for me is understanding the different trim levels and a test drive.

Comfort is my primary goal, do the different trim levels affect this? I normally stay away from sport due to suspension and bigger wheels setup, I'm guessing 16"/17" is the sweet spot for comfort.

I've searched on Google but cannot find detailed info on the different trim levels for the age of car i'm looking at (2013/to 2015), I understand SE is lowest and premier is top end but not sure what each gives you, does anyone have any links handy to find this info?

Finally in your experience, can you haggle with Lexus dealers on used cars?

[ColinBarber]

attached is the spec sheet for 2013-2014 models.

ISEquipmentSpecifications130517.pdf

[matt8]

5 hours ago, corpjones said:

Finally in your experience, can you haggle with Lexus dealers on used cars?

Absolutely they do. I'd hazard a guess that now is a great time to do so as well, with presumably less people buying (economic situation) and therefore more choice of stock.

If you're in no rush, I understand that September / October / November is good due to lease cars being returned in greater quantity / the timing around new registration plates each September and March, too.

[corpjones]

Thank you all, Lexus offered £4k trade in over the phone, even webuyanycar offering £4900, my car is a 2011 E class (E250) Avantgarde Cdi, 101k miles.

Will be test driving this Sun hopefully, not happy with the trade in price though!

Are there any well regarded independents that are known to members here to sell good cars? may start considering non Lexus dealers to get a better trade in value as well as better pricing.

[PaulWhitt20]

Don’t forget you are buying a new car not selling an old one. It’s the cost to change that is important.


Thanks
Paul

[ikeja]

Why not sell to webuyanycar.com and then go to Lexus as a cash buyer?

 

[corpjones]

Yep I wouldnt look to trade in at that price, although would have made life a bit easier, I may look into auctions, if that fails then webuyanycar it is!

[corpjones]

On 7/14/2020 at 9:18 PM, Jayw13702 said:

mine is a 2013/14 SE spec, i bought it when it was 4 years old, one previous owner and having covered 59,000 miles.

2 1/2 years later and the mileage is 158,000 miles.

Its serviced when it asks for it and if anything looks like failing then its replaced.

I still get the same MPG as i did when i first got the car, my feeling is the battery isn't quite as strong as it used but it still goes really well. The engines uses no oil between services and ive had no major mechanical issues.

The only things i have done over and above the normal service schedule is a gearbox oil change at 100,000 miles and the egr cooler was cleaned out and refitted at 130,000 miles.

Ive had one brake caliper carrier strip its thread (£80) and both rear calipers were overhauled at 130,000 ish miles (common toyota/lexus issue of sticky calipers)

aside from that it has been total reliability, i use it as a taxi and all my customers love travelling in it, there are many comments on how nice it rides and how quiet it is, even now at close to 160,000 miles.

What do i replace it with? i dont know. Ive had issues with the Lexus dealers, but thats more because im using it as a commercial vehicle and they re not keen on that.

Would i recommend one, absolutely, My wife has a 5 series BMW and I honestly prefer the Lexus to the BMW, Nicer materials in the cabin, better fit and finish, far better driving experience and service parts are cheaper as well.

Oh and my Lexus paintwork is looking better than my wifes 90,000 mile BMW as well, mine looks like its only done half the mileage it has actually done
 

Out of interest how much mpg do you get?

Someone on another forum commented "I really enjoyed it, but from my experience don’t buy one for its mpg, I couldn’t get more than 35 except on an isolated long run, then maybe approaching 40. And I was trying to drive with a light right foot. ( the dealer even gave advice on how to ‘drive’ a self-gen hybrid)" which sounds a bit low.

Honest John RealMPG quotes 48mpg which is what I was expecting..

 

On 7/14/2020 at 9:18 PM, Jayw13702 said:

 

 

[Thackeray]

22 hours ago, corpjones said:

Lexus offered £4k trade in over the phone, even webuyanycar offering £4900, my car is a 2011 E class (E250) Avantgarde Cdi, 101k miles

If it's a Lexus dealer, they probably won't want a Mercedes in their showroom. It might even be against company policy. So they will have to dispose of it. Not a major problem but they will be taking on the risk of an auction price in the recession. So they're naturally going to quote a price that will discourage you from part exchanging. Less hassle and financial risk for them. But this doesn't mean their quote is what the car is worth. It just means it's not part of their business model. As PaulWhitt20 said above, it's the cost to change that counts - it doesn't really matter what the other numbers are. You might feel you'd like a good price for your car as a kind of recognition of looking after it carefully. But the key thing is how much it will cost you overall to get the new car.

[Jayw13702]

 

Around town 42-50mpg, the lower figure being winter time.
On a run 50-57mpg again winter being the lower figure.

When I first got the car I could see 60mpg on a long run, as time and mileage have gone on that’s dropped a bit.

If I lash it I can get down the early 30s mpg


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[Thackeray]

31 minutes ago, corpjones said:

Out of interest how much mpg do you get?

Someone on another forum commented "I really enjoyed it, but from my experience don’t buy one for its mpg, I couldn’t get more than 35 except on an isolated long run, then maybe approaching 40. And I was trying to drive with a light right foot. ( the dealer even gave advice on how to ‘drive’ a self-gen hybrid)" which sounds a bit low.

Honest John RealMPG quotes 48mpg which is what I was expecting..

Interesting to see the figures from jayw. You can see other results on  SpritMonitor.de which shows an average mpg of around 44 mpg for around 160 drivers who record their fuel purchases. The link above shows around 6.5 litres per 100 km. But if you sign in you can change it to UK mpg.

Colin above links to his consumption records on Fuelly and is currently showing an average of 47 mpg. (If you go to the Fuelly website you might have to switch from US mpg to UK mpg.) Which makes me wonder if the quote above is actually for US mpg. You'd have to try quite hard to get it down to 40 mpg in UK units on a long run. I see more usually around 50 mpg.

Having said that I've seen around 30 mpg when the temperature is zero, starting the car from cold, everything turned on - headlights, wipers, heated rear window, heated seats, air conditioning. Then ending the journey after four miles. Same again on the return journey with the engine again starting from cold.

Conversely, I once saw 71 mpg on the dashboard after a 20 mile trip, which I couldn't quite believe. Later, I checked on the map and found that although the trip mostly looked flat, there was a gentle decline in altitude for almost the whole trip. And it was mild summer weather which improves the mpg and the trip started with a warm engine.

[corpjones]

1 hour ago, Thackeray said:

Interesting to see the figures from jayw. You can see other results on  SpritMonitor.de which shows an average mpg of around 44 mpg for around 160 drivers who record their fuel purchases. The link above shows around 6.5 litres per 100 km. But if you sign in you can change it to UK mpg.

Colin above links to his consumption records on Fuelly and is currently showing an average of 47 mpg. (If you go to the Fuelly website you might have to switch from US mpg to UK mpg.) Which makes me wonder if the quote above is actually for US mpg. You'd have to try quite hard to get it down to 40 mpg in UK units on a long run. I see more usually around 50 mpg.

Having said that I've seen around 30 mpg when the temperature is zero, starting the car from cold, everything turned on - headlights, wipers, heated rear window, heated seats, air conditioning. Then ending the journey after four miles. Same again on the return journey with the engine again starting from cold.

Conversely, I once saw 71 mpg on the dashboard after a 20 mile trip, which I couldn't quite believe. Later, I checked on the map and found that although the trip mostly looked flat, there was a gentle decline in altitude for almost the whole trip. And it was mild summer weather which improves the mpg and the trip started with a warm engine.

Thank you, the figures quoted here sound much more reasonable, I'd be happy with a average of 44+, my driving is normally 70% motorway and the rest 30/40mph stretches.

[Jayw13702]

Thank you, the figures quoted here sound much more reasonable, I'd be happy with a average of 44+, my driving is normally 70% motorway and the rest 30/40mph stretches.

Given your commute I would be looking at early 50s if you are about to maintain a steady speed on the motorways


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[Nick W858]

Only had mine almost a year but it has been faultless - now almost five years old c36k - fuel around 45 winter and 55 mpg summer - mixture of town but also quite a few longish A road runs. I have paid for extended warranty on one of the two ISFs I owned and also on my wife's RX - but they expired and I do not regret renewing.  I still have one on my 911 which has paid for itself around 7 times over but personally I would not bother with one on my IS - never had a service plan either but do whatever suits you.

[Thackeray]

18 hours ago, corpjones said:

the figures quoted here sound much more reasonable, I'd be happy with a average of 44+

Forgot to mention that these website figures are accurate figures calculated from mileage and actual fuel put in the tank. However, the figures shown on the dashboard display are optimistic by 3-4 mpg. So if the dashboard says 50 mpg, that equates to a real figure of around 46 mpg - or at least, it does on my car.

[Jayw13702]

Forgot to mention that these website figures are accurate figures calculated from mileage and actual fuel put in the tank. However, the figures shown on the dashboard display are optimistic by 3-4 mpg. So if the dashboard says 50 mpg, that equates to a real figure of around 46 mpg - or at least, it does on my car.

Mines the same, I generally subtract 10% from the displayed figures, when I do a pump to pump calculation I find that to be pretty spot on


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[MONTIMAR]

Bought new March 2017 no issues and 100% reliable. I do make sure my 12 volt Battery is topped up with a smart charger every month as it can be a weak point. My last car was a Mercedes C class and the Lexus is a much better car.

[corpjones]

I've gone for a 63 plate (however year of manafacture says 2014 on HPI check?!) IS300H Premier approved used, the ride was fine on the 18" wheels, compared to my E class 17" wheels the ride is similar or even more comfortable on the Lexus so no issues there, on my 35min test drive I reset the trip meter and it shows 60mpg, this was on a mix of 60mph roads and local so that wasnt bad at all.

I've got just over a week to sell my car, otherwise it will be part ex at quite a low price, I'm thinking to just auction it on eBay, if anyone else has any other suggestions for a fast hassle free sale let me know 🙂

Thank you all for your responses in this thread, they helped make up my mind, looking forward to getting it!