New to Lexus

[JeffL]

Quote/ 5. Calliper slide pins, make sure the correct grease is being used, a lot of people / mechanics use a high temp grease which is fine to prevent the pins from seizing but it attacks the rubber calliper boots. The Toyota Red Rubber Grease is the recommended grease to use as it both lubricates the pins and does not attack the rubber boots. Other greases may attack the rubbers and leave then dry and misshaped letting water / dirt into the pin recesses and then resulting in seized pins. Quote/

Might be a daft question, but does this apply to all Lexus models, indeed all makes of cars? I have a GS300 and I get my local indy to grease the callipers bi-annually but never thought about the grease potentially attacking the rubber boots. Thanks.

[Mr Vlad]

There is too much chat about using Toyota Red grease for the caliper pins. Think about it. For example CV joints. What covers them? Oh yes that's it a rubber boot. Now then does grease for CV joints attack the boots? No. So there is no reason what so ever to buy a grease thats not economic. Any grease thats for moving parts which are protected to dust by rubber boots will more than suffice. Plus do you really think a grease will damage a rubber boot in one year? I don't think so. 

Back in the day before all these different greases were on the market normal grease was used in all applications and also regular maintenance was done.

Oh and there is a rear exhaust system available none Lexus at about £160. I have mentioned this elsewhere on here.

[Linas.P]

7 hours ago, Andrew250 said:

Is there any issue putting an 18' wheel on over the stock 17?

No - no issue if you stay with original tyre sizes. Genuine 17s have 225/45 - 245/45 and 18s has 225/40 - 255/40, making overall rolling diameter the same and they have same offsets, so no issues. But tyres on 18s will cost you more fur sure.

[is200 Newbie]

1 hour ago, Mr Vlad said:

There is too much chat about using Toyota Red grease for the caliper pins. Think about it. For example CV joints. What covers them? Oh yes that's it a rubber boot. Now then does grease for CV joints attack the boots? No. So there is no reason what so ever to buy a grease thats not economic. Any grease thats for moving parts which are protected to dust by rubber boots will more than suffice. Plus do you really think a grease will damage a rubber boot in one year? I don't think so. 

Back in the day before all these different greases were on the market normal grease was used in all applications and also regular maintenance was done.

Oh and there is a rear exhaust system available none Lexus at about £160. I have mentioned this elsewhere on here.

I have a set of rubber boots in the garage somewhere that i took off my is200 years ago and i had been using Castrol Hi Temp grease (i know that as i still have the tub in the garage) I had been using that grease for a few years before changing to the Toyota stuff after i started to have issues, The old boots had stretched and misshapen and would not hold a good seal around the lip on the calliper recess. Can only put that down to the grease attacking the rubber, doesn't have to eat it away to be noneffective. 

7 years of use with the Toyota grease on my 250 with no issue. Look at the use the boots go through and the temperatures they face, cant be the same rubber used for all of the mechanics in the car. Everyone has their own preferences, that's mine, i can guarantee its application as it works through the experience i have had..

[Linas.P]

One thing to note here - if you have stuck and rusted calipers already, it does not matter what grease you going to use. They will get stuck anyway.

So the first step would be to get calipers refurbished or replaced (if needed) and only then follow the practice of greasing pins every ~6 months. At the same time if caliper replacement is required, the best value mod could be considered. That is - replacing the original brakes from IS350 (GS350/300/450h had similar brakes as well). They are much bigger, last longer, dusts less and brakes better.

[2Ravens]

Just out of interest, how much would we be looking at for a brake upgrade and what's the best way to go about it?

[2Ravens]

On 10/17/2020 at 2:51 AM, Linas.P said:

Yes in terms of alloys I did pay £70+VAT, so £336 altogether. But this is because I had special 3 stage colour, otherwise it would have been £60+VAT. and that is London, so there is premium for that.

@2Ravens - if there is such an issue which could destroy gearbox, then it would not be solved by fluid "top-up". I mean if there are metal shavings or pieces of cogs, then AT fluid change won't help. Issues related with AT fluid manifests themselves with solenoids errors - they suppose to operate the gears by closing/opening in correct times. If it does not happen as expected you will get error. That is about it... you top-up AT fluid with fresh one and let out the same amount of old fluid, so the fluid get's overall "refreshed". Drive around for a bit, if issue persists, then you can do it again until issue is fixed.

Such thing as AT fluid change does not exists, there are no mention of it in service manual either. There are only steps to address specific error codes (which as I mentioned are solenoid related).

Further, Lexus dealers "officially" do not offer such service of simply "topping-up" AT fluid. I say "officially", because I have seen in my own car's service history this being carried out. My assumption - either car was giving error code or previous owner was complaining about harsh or late gear changes. Topping up AT-fluid again is solution advised in service manual, that is why they did, but they do not officially have this as possible job you can simply ask to be done.

Basically, what I am saying - if you want fluid topped-up or changed then you will have to use independent garage, preferably the one which specialises in AT transmissions, rather than specifically Lexus cars.

Interestingly on a couple of the Lexus service sheets I have from the original owner of mine they also show "gearbox fluid" or something to that effect and I bought it with 35k. 

So like you say this is either a case that the original owner wasn't happy with something or maybe it has been possible with some dealerships at some point. Is it particularly likely we both had cars experiencing auto gearbox solenoid problems requiring this treatment or is it maybe that it was offered (no idea why this would be the case on this particular car early in it's life though! Could only be classified as a bit of a rip off pointless task)

 

[J Henderson]

Just out of interest, how much would we be looking at for a brake upgrade and what's the best way to go about it?

Total cost for me was under £450.

2x Remanufactured IS350 Calipers imported from rockauto.com - £187

GS450h discs, pads & shim kit- £210

The calipers incurred an import tax charge of about £40 IIRC.




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[Andrew250]

17 hours ago, Linas.P said:

No - no issue if you stay with original tyre sizes. Genuine 17s have 225/45 - 245/45 and 18s has 225/40 - 255/40, making overall rolling diameter the same and they have same offsets, so no issues. But tyres on 18s will cost you more fur sure.

Thanks again Linas.P. 

[Linas.P]

21 hours ago, 2Ravens said:

no idea why this would be the case on this particular car early in it's life though!

Same here, at first I though that dealership scammed previous owners as I can see it was done at 28k, 38k, 51k and 63k miles...As the car was doing ~20-24k miles annually some services were done in 6 month intervals. But now I reckon either owner complained about something or there was solenoid fault code and their tried to address it.

After that nothing was done and I was 2nd owner of the car ( technically 3rd, but first owner was Lexus dealership), I got the car with ~123k miles and dove it until 192k... I reckon gearbox became more sluggish ~180k and I got first check engine light ~188k with the code referring to solenoid. Issue would appear and clear itself randomly, generally after sitting for few days it would come up in the morning. Sadly, I never got to replacing AT fluid which I am confident would have solved the issue.

Either, way I am not against "topping-up" AT fluid, but only if there are some reasons for it. 

[J Henderson]

Just to reiterate that £400 for a wheel refurb is steep, and that you should definitely shop around. I was just quoted £288 to restore the wheels I use during winter, which are 18".

[Andrew250]

Thanks John that's helpful. I am going to keep looking. The Wheel Specialist is £360 if you take the 'silver' option but still seems pricey. Cardiff Alloy repair has prices from 'as low as £75' a wheel but I am sure for my car it will be closer to £90 a wheel. I am not adverse to travelling a reasonable distance (when I can) to get servicing and repairs like alloys completed to a good standard at a fairer price. Nice excuse for a longer drive in the Lexus 😀

[Andrew250]

Also here is a recent picture of the car, I think the darker alloys woulds suit it well but open to suggestions. 

[Andrew250]

1 hour ago, J Henderson said:

Just to reiterate that £400 for a wheel refurb is steep, and that you should definitely shop around. I was just quoted £288 to restore the wheels I use during winter, which are 18".

Sorry I forgot to ask John - Is that a an acid dip, repair and then powder coat? 

[Linas.P]

10 minutes ago, Andrew250 said:

Sorry I forgot to ask John - Is that a an acid dip, repair and then powder coat? 

I would assume - that is standard way of refurbishing alloys. Anyone who does not do that - I would not call that "refurbishment", but more like "touch-up"/"repair". The only companies who justifiably don't do it are the mobile ones, which comes to your place with van and does job on the spot withing 1-2h.

As well I would agree - £400 is steep! £60-70 per wheel is closes to normal price for refurbishment on 17". If you choose complex colour like "shadow chrome" expect another £10 per wheels. So we talking ~£240-£320.

[J Henderson]

Yeah, that's for a full tyres-off and back to bare alloy job.

These are the guys I use. They do a lot of work for the Porsche, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce etc dealerships in Edinburgh.

https://werestorealloys.co.uk/what-we-do/alloy-restoration/

 

[Andrew250]

Thanks again. Looks like a really professional outfit. Wish I lived close enough to make it worth a trip... I do love a trip to Edinburgh mind you 😆 🍺🍻

Well I will keep trying to find something closer at a better price. 

[Andrew250]

As soon as the wheels are done, or even at the same time I'd like to turn my attention to the bumper and rear wheel arch scuff I mentioned. Here are some pictures, pretty nasty. When I inspected the car I didn't even notice the rear wheel arch, quite how I don't know.. Caveat Emptor indeed. 

[Linas.P]

There are no real solution for it - only full respray.

However, having them wet sanded and polished could make appearance acceptable. My IS250 was written-off for the damage similar to what you have on your front bumper, after that I have just polished it and now it is hardly noticeable. 

As well I noted that you have 2 different tyres on the front and the rear, I hope at least you have same tyres on same axle?

[JDM-Fiend]

Whereabouts are you based?

My car is also Cadoxton Slate and the previous owner refurbed my wheels in a darker colour.

I couldn't decide whether I liked it at first, but I've decided and I do!

Let me know if you need a pic, otherwise it's on my profile.

[2Ravens]

I think that damage will easily be solved by somebody competent.

I had worse damage on my old Civic I had done by one of those mobile repairers as I wasn't too fussed about an imperfect result or spending big money to have a body shop do it. It was done in a couple hours and cost 100 for damage to one panel. They usually charge per panel so yours may be a bit more.

The outcome shocked me. They colour match extremely well these days. If money isn't such an issue and you want to guarantee the outcome a body shop will do it for double the money and possibly upwards. But I think for relatively minor damage one of the mobile ones will do a fine job on sanding that back and respraying, just find a reputable guy in your area.

[Andrew250]

On 10/26/2020 at 1:14 PM, Linas.P said:

There are no real solution for it - only full respray.

However, having them wet sanded and polished could make appearance acceptable. My IS250 was written-off for the damage similar to what you have on your front bumper, after that I have just polished it and now it is hardly noticeable. 

As well I noted that you have 2 different tyres on the front and the rear, I hope at least you have same tyres on same axle?

It was well polished and waxed (obviously) by the garage when I bought hence why I barely noticed it at the time. I'll see what it might cost to get it repaired and whilst I want to it looking as good as possible I don't want to spend a fortune.

Ha - Yes same tyres on each axle. When I come to replace them I will be stumping up for the same brand, good quality tyres all around.  

JDM - Thanks I checked out the pictures and it looks really good, similar look to what I will be going for when I get them refurbished after lockdown. Think it suits the IGO really well. 

Thanks 2Ravens that makes me feel much better. Now feeling positive it could be made to look half decent without spending a silly amount of money. Due to the mileage and age, it has the expected paint chips and light scratches over the car anyway. In time, I would like to try some car detailing to see if I can get the paintwork looking better but that's after I've taken car of the wheels, big service, bumper scuff etc. 

Still driving really well so far and zero issue's to report since I bought it, sadly not used it as much as I would like due to lockdown. 

 

[Mr Vlad]

I knew when I bought my is250 about the myriad of scratches on my car but I also knew where I'd be taking it. Years ago when I had a ford focus I had damage to a rear wing panel. I took it to a couple of car body outfits I knew and used before but their quotes were really high. So off to see Mr Google to see who was where. Found 2 near where I worked and visited them. 1st one was reasonably OK 2nd one I was impressed and after reading reviews and a quote of 200 quid to basically paint one quarter of my car plus to colour code it too. They use a camera which is connected to a computer and a perfect match of paint is made. When I picked that car up I was blown away by the quality. Anyway to my is250. £150 to to get rid of 95% of the scratches. Mega polish etc etc. They had it a full day. Result? Outstanding. Yes there is a few deep scratches but I can live with them.

What I'm saying is Google car body repair places. Visit them. See if they have the paint camera because they're ruddy expensive so no back street garage will fork out. Only good ones. Read reviews. 

Look up a thread of mine. Not bad for 13yr old paint. Photos attached there.

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, Andrew250 said:

It was well polished and waxed (obviously) by the garage when I bought hence why I barely noticed it at the time. I'll see what it might cost to get it repaired and whilst I want to it looking as good as possible I don't want to spend a fortune.

I am sure they just used some wax with a lot of fillers and now once it has washed-off you see the real deal. But it could be improved significantly without repainting, but yes - repainting is the only real solution here.

I will try to find what my car looked like after accident and after being polished (by myself).

[Andrew250]

On 10/28/2020 at 12:21 PM, Mr Vlad said:

I knew when I bought my is250 about the myriad of scratches on my car but I also knew where I'd be taking it. Years ago when I had a ford focus I had damage to a rear wing panel. I took it to a couple of car body outfits I knew and used before but their quotes were really high. So off to see Mr Google to see who was where. Found 2 near where I worked and visited them. 1st one was reasonably OK 2nd one I was impressed and after reading reviews and a quote of 200 quid to basically paint one quarter of my car plus to colour code it too. They use a camera which is connected to a computer and a perfect match of paint is made. When I picked that car up I was blown away by the quality. Anyway to my is250. £150 to to get rid of 95% of the scratches. Mega polish etc etc. They had it a full day. Result? Outstanding. Yes there is a few deep scratches but I can live with them.

What I'm saying is Google car body repair places. Visit them. See if they have the paint camera because they're ruddy expensive so no back street garage will fork out. Only good ones. Read reviews. 

Look up a thread of mine. Not bad for 13yr old paint. Photos attached there.

Thanks Vlad - That's a price I can be happy about. Will do some research and see what is local. Bodywork is definitely in need of some TLC, but like you, I am happy to invest money on this car as I want it to last a good few years. 

Thanks Linas for your help again. 

After pouring through this forum and clublexus / reddit to learn more about the IS250 the one debate that doesn't seem to have a definitive answer is around the gearbox / transmission oil (It's also mentioned in this thread by 2Ravens so that got me investigating!)

I appreciate its deemed a 'lifetime' fluid but as has been stated by many prior owners, what is an appropriate lifetime? Some owners report having never changed the oil, some have had transmission problems at 150k on the original fluid, some advise changing at 100k. 

My car is approaching ten years at 120k and that could be somebody's idea of a lifetime and yet I've just acquired it! I think I am going to have a drain and fill of the transmission, even if this only seems to replace two litres out of about nine. I've read not to seek out a flush as that can do more harm than good. My service book states it's only inspected at 40k intervals and from the receipt I have Lexus did drain and replace some (about a litre I think), but that was many miles ago. I am wondering if this is worth having it done by Lexus - Has anybody who has had this completed and could you give an estimate of costs and how much fluid was drained? I know that most of the fluid is contained in the transmission and not the pan, hence the need to keep changing the pan oil. 

I've read that you can have the drain and fill completed over a course of three or four times to get most of the older oil out of the gearbox, but this could be very costly if visiting a dealer each time. Perhaps it best for me to just do it yearly with an annual service? Despite watching a few helpful Youtube vids, not something I would do myself. 

Sorry to keep asking so many questions in the thread - Just want to ensure I don't miss anything early on that needs attention and once again - Big thanks for all the help so far, great community 👍