LEXUS IS250 SE-L 2007 - bushes split

[Tom777]

Hello Everyone,

Just bought my car yesterday and I absolutely have fallen in love with it already.  Driving the car back home to London yesterday I thought this is too good to be true as the car felt great all around. After closer inspection of the latest receipts I discover this comment/recommendation: “BOTH FRONT LOWER ARM REAR BUSHES SPLIT AND HAS SLIGHT MOVEMENT”.  Does anyone have a cost estimate on a fix for this. I won’t be doing it myself. Also my MOT is in November and I believe it will be a fail if not fixed? What I don’t understand is that the latest MOT does not mention the issue even though MOT is dated later than the receipt - meaning the issue was there also when car had the last MOT check. I did inspect all the MOT certs in great detail but still missed this not going over all receipts in great detail. I did ask the seller what he thought would need to be fixed in the future as he was very knowledgable about his car having owned it for nearly 10 years. I would have asked for a reduction in price would I have discovered this in the sales process. The car does not show any signs of the issue when driving (I think) - even over the thousands of road bumps we got here in London. No knocking, pulling to the side etc, but I believe it will fail future MOT so looking for advice on how to deal with this. 
 

[Texas]

Firstly congrats on getting what I reckon is the best car I have ever had in my life and enjoy!👍
If indeed they are unserviceable and if the description is correct then they are about £68 ( Genuine Lexus Part!) each to buy!And should be an uncomplicated job for your/any decent garage.

https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-is/lexus-is-phase-ii-2006-2013/lexus-is-2-steering-suspension/lexus-is-phase-2-o-s-front-lower-arm-rear-bush/

[Tom777]

Thanks Texas. I absolutely agree. We are driving the best cars in the world money can buy 😁.  The main costs will most likely be the man hours for the fix. I will want to stay with OEM parts also as you suggest as I have heard its false economi to change this particular part with non-oem.

I hope it can be done below £500 (keeping in mind its easy to be ripped off in London)

[The-Acre]

Nice car, lovely colour! Welcome to the LOC!

[Mr Vlad]

Welcome to is250 ownership. Love the colour. As a highish guide price get a quote from your nearest Lexus dealer then compare that with nationals like Halfords Kwikfit etc then any independent garages you know of. You may be surprised by the differences not being so far apart.

[Texas]

Here’s a bush being changed on an ISF and I wouldn’t think the 250 is much/any different, looks like a bread and butter job for any garage, even Quick-Rip, but that should be a last resort! This is showing an ‘upgraded’ part being fitted but if you got the OEM parts then same operation.

 

[scudney]

Hello Tom and welcome to the LOC,hoping you find the forum educational and informative and congratulations on your purchase. Personally I would find a local garage you feel comfortable with(i have used the same garage for the last 25 years) and ask them to give a going over just for peace of mind,I my case, I always have the oil,oil filter, air filter etc changed regardless of what else the going over might uncover,(i have done this with the last 3 lexus i have owned as well as other cars i have owned).and see what the outcome is and take it from there.

[Linas.P]

I would add brake callipers "service" to the list above, callipers on IS250 tends to get stuck, then rust and get stuck even more. If you could get them properly greased before they get stuck then it will save money and pain down the line. 

[Tom777]

3 hours ago, Texas said:

Here’s a bush being changed on an ISF and I wouldn’t think the 250 is much/any different, looks like a bread and butter job for any garage, even Quick-Rip, but that should be a last resort! This is showing an ‘upgraded’ part being fitted but if you got the OEM parts then same operation.

 

That’s great. That’s the ones I will go for actually. It should also make the labour cheaper as they are quicker to fit. But what do I know. Really appreciate your advice. 

[Tom777]

3 hours ago, scudney said:

Hello Tom and welcome to the LOC,hoping you find the forum educational and informative and congratulations on your purchase. Personally I would find a local garage you feel comfortable with(i have used the same garage for the last 25 years) and ask them to give a going over just for peace of mind,I my case, I always have the oil,oil filter, air filter etc changed regardless of what else the going over might uncover,(i have done this with the last 3 lexus i have owned as well as other cars i have owned).and see what the outcome is and take it from there.

Absolutely. For peace of mind, I agree. 

[Tom777]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

I would add brake callipers "service" to the list above, callipers on IS250 tends to get stuck, then rust and get stuck even more. If you could get them properly greased before they get stuck then it will save money and pain down the line. 

Again, good advice you hear a lot of places. I need new break pads anyway I believe. Also for peace of mind. I think the London driving in itself is hard on any car so I want everything to be well updated. 

[Tom777]

3 hours ago, Texas said:

Here’s a bush being changed on an ISF and I wouldn’t think the 250 is much/any different, looks like a bread and butter job for any garage, even Quick-Rip, but that should be a last resort! This is showing an ‘upgraded’ part being fitted but if you got the OEM parts then same operation.

 

 

3 hours ago, Texas said:

Here’s a bush being changed on an ISF and I wouldn’t think the 250 is much/any different, looks like a bread and butter job for any garage, even Quick-Rip, but that should be a last resort! This is showing an ‘upgraded’ part being fitted but if you got the OEM parts then same operation.

 

Just had another look at the video. How easy does that look. So surprised it can be done without even taking of the wheel. Great news. Take a YouTube video to the mechanic and sorted 😄

[Texas]

If you do go for the Genuine Lexus ones be aware that I posted the link for just one and as they are Handed ie left and right they will have different part numbers, but if you get aftermarket poly bushes I guess you get given a ‘set’.

 

[Linas.P]

Yes... but good luck finding aftermarket bushes for IS250 in UK. 

[Texas]

Here’s what the little blighter looks like when doing it’s stuff!

 

[Phil xxkr]

I know it's stating the obvious but LOC gold members get up to 20% off labour and parts from some dealers, well worth the investment, I saved hundreds recently so make a few phone calls Tom👍

[Tom777]

9 hours ago, Texas said:

Here’s what the little blighter looks like when doing it’s stuff!

 

Brilliant video. Am I correct to assume that that my split bushes won’t pass next MOT or is this somehow related to the severity of the issue ? 

[Tom777]

3 hours ago, Phil xxkr said:

I know it's stating the obvious but LOC gold members get up to 20% off labour and parts from some dealers, well worth the investment, I saved hundreds recently so make a few phone calls Tom👍

Great. I will look into that. Thanks 

[Linas.P]

12 hours ago, Texas said:

Here’s what the little blighter looks like when doing it’s stuff!

 

Pretty terrible to watch... imagine how much geometry changes under cornering and braking. And this isn't even worn bushing...

Obviously, I guess this is more comfortable and you get less feedback from steering wheel, but for handling this is certainly one of the first things to change. And finally - imagine how it looks when bushings are worn - it must be wobbling all over the place. 

[Tom777]

5 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Pretty terrible to watch... imagine how much geometry changes under cornering and braking. And this isn't even worn bushing...

Obviously, I guess this is more comfortable and you get less feedback from steering wheel, but for handling this is certainly one of the first things to change. And finally - imagine how it looks when bushings are worn - it must be wobbling all over the place. 

I will try and see if I can get a picture taken from under the car to get an idea how bad it is. I’m starting to think I need this fixed relatively quick and not let it stay as it for too long. But common sense really 

[Tom777]

13 hours ago, Texas said:

Here’s what the little blighter looks like when doing it’s stuff!

 

Please see video. These things actually don’t look too bad I would say. I don’t see any splits on either side on the front of car. I know this is just a simple visual inspection but let me know if anyone has more insight from this video of my car. Also I would also like to know what you guys think about the rust level on my car. Does it look bad or is this expected with the age of car? 
thanks guys: 

[Tom777]

1 minute ago, Tom777 said:Please see video. These things actually don’t look too bad I would say. I don’t see any splits on either side on the front of car. I know this is just a simple visual inspection but let me know if anyone has more insight from this video of my car. Also I would also like to know what you guys think about the rust level on my car. Does it look bad or is this expected with the age of car? 
thanks guys: 

I’m wondering if I’m actually looking at the right “thing”: BOTH FRONT LOWER ARM REAR BUSHES SPLIT AND HAS SLIGHT MOVEMENT

[Linas.P]

It is nothing new for service centres to invent faults with cars expecting to profit from replacement.

Hard to see in video, but it seems the bushing is split on both sides or at least have some cracking (but it may be just dirt and grime cracking on surface and not rubber itself), sadly video becomes blurry when you point the camera there. In any case does not look like something critical or dangerous, probably the description of "slight movement" is correct thought - as you can see in the previous video they have quite a bit of movement even when bushes on the car are in very good order.

Just my opinion here, but I would say replacing it with OE bushings would be pointless, your bushings although seems like little bit cracking are not that bad. The only worthy upgrade would be poly bushings if you can find suitable replacement in UK.

[Tom777]

47 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

It is nothing new for service centres to invent faults with cars expecting to profit from replacement.

Hard to see in video, but it seems the bushing is split on both sides or at least have some cracking (but it may be just dirt and grime cracking on surface and not rubber itself), sadly video becomes blurry when you point the camera there. In any case does not look like something critical or dangerous, probably the description of "slight movement" is correct thought - as you can see in the previous video they have quite a bit of movement even when bushes on the car are in very good order.

Just my opinion here, but I would say replacing it with OE bushings would be pointless, your bushings although seems like little bit cracking are not that bad. The only worthy upgrade would be poly bushings if you can find suitable replacement in UK.

Thanks for pointing this out. I see what is meant by the split now. I think the best thing is for me to get some sort of health check with Lexus themselves as I suspect there might be other things that need a fix. I will go hunting for poly bushing and make the upgrade - if actually needed. So at the moment it looks like I will get these bushings replaced, new brake pads and get the caliber greased. I hope that will keep my car fit for next MOT. 

[ahmed-abrar]

On 4/3/2021 at 1:56 PM, Texas said:

Here’s a bush being changed on an ISF and I wouldn’t think the 250 is much/any different, looks like a bread and butter job for any garage, even Quick-Rip, but that should be a last resort! This is showing an ‘upgraded’ part being fitted but if you got the OEM parts then same operation.

 

hi, has anybody installed the FIGS upgrade or similar yet?