Random questions

[RichGS11]

Hello all,

I have some random questions I'm trying to get answers for. I've Googled the service intervals for the ISF but I seem to find the US intervals which I was told were different to the UK. So.....

- I have a 2010 with 54K on the clock. The 60K service was done start of the year (not at Lexus sadly, but carried out nonetheless). When would be my next service and is there a list of intervals?

- When does the gearbox fluid usually get changed?

- I am aware of the dreaded coolant leak into the transmission oil (through corrosion in the rad), when would be a good time to change the rad?

- I believe I have a cracked manifold as the car ticks on start up (common symptom) and I can hear what sounds like a dump valve at gear changes, in high revs and in manual (I assume gasses escaping through the cracks??) Has anyone else had this?

- The car is being steam cleaned and any rust treated underneath, plus sealing up and protecting next week. Any issues that could come up such as removing panels or the exhaust (other than the usual gaskets, etc), anything abnormal? 

- It has a H&S system which I am yet to check on condition. Are H&S exhausts lifetime guaranteed?

- Has anyone used Lexus Cambridge for services and maintenance? What are they like?

Apologies for all the questions, but searching isn't leading me to many places mainly due to the rarity of these cars. The car in question has been meticulously maintained and bar the 60K service (not done in my ownership), it has a full Lexus History. I know the 60K is a big one and a bit of me wants to have Lexus check her over, is it worth it?

Thank you all and apologies if I've asked anything basic.

Rich

 

[C.B]

Hi Rich,

The service schedule cycles through Intermediate and Full services and although the Full services are called 20, (40, 60, 80 all same) and 100 they should be done on age regardless of mileage. So the cars last service was hopefully the 100 rather than the 60.

You can see the details of each service using the link at the bottom of this page

https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/vehicle-service/

The gearbox is claimed to be lifetime by lexus, but some owners dont believe in such a thing and have had the fluids changed, it is possible.

I think there is a group by for some manifolds on the go that might be worth a look, although some owners have found this issue to just be the gaskets and not  the manifold so would be worth an inspection before splashing some money. None of the manifold options are cheap I'm afraid.

If you can find something simple to take it to lexus, MOT's are reasonable, they will jump at the chance to do a inspection FOC and find something to charge you for 🙂

H&S is steel so you shouldnt see any issues with that, most lifetime warranties only cover the first owner unfortunatly.

[FTBBCVoodoo]

In terms of the dump valve type noise on the gear changes...  I am 99% sure it will be the serpentine/accessory belt slipping.

Very common on ISF.  Mine did it in the 4/5 years or so I had it.  It didn't bother me.

I believe it's a fairly cheap fix to resolve.  Needs a new belt and tensioner.

In terms of the ticking noise starting up, could well be the injectors.  Mine again was noisy on start up.  The bloke who bought mine off me had the injectors replaced which quietened them down a bit.

 

 

[4969_LXS]

Same as others have said, I'd get it serviced annually, it's done on age not mileage. 

I had a tick on cold start, if I pressed on the gas a little while still cold, it made a pss pss pss (calling a cat🤣) noise that was in time with engine rpm. This turned out to be a cracked right hand exhaust manifold, mine was done under warranty. It's not really detrimental, just annoying, might be worth investigating the aftermarket manifold route, but down to personal preference.

I had my transmission fluid changed and a ECU and TCU reset, it made a world of difference to mine. At 60k it's worth it imo, if it's a high mileage car thats never been changed, dont. Checking forums Lexus dealerships in America do it after lots of track days or every 30k miles. Lexus Wolverhampton did it after a bit of talking round from me. Lexus Stoke recently added 1 litre of fluid for me no problem after I lost some doing the radiator change at home. The process to do it is in the Lexus database, not a difficult one. 

I changed my radiator, water pump and aux belt on the drive at home. If you have a look in the massive leak of coolant thread you'll see the pictures of my original radiator at 12 years old and 60ish k miles, it wasn't in a good state. There's no telling when they will go, but it affects other models and Lexus advise changing it every 10 years according to other forums.

Main things that go wrong on our cars mechanically, are the manifolds cracking, and the valley plate leaking. Noone has had the valley plate leak in the UK yet. Also excessive inside tyre wear. 

[RichGS11]

6 hours ago, C.B said:

Hi Rich,

The service schedule cycles through Intermediate and Full services and although the Full services are called 20, (40, 60, 80 all same) and 100 they should be done on age regardless of mileage. So the cars last service was hopefully the 100 rather than the 60.

You can see the details of each service using the link at the bottom of this page

https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/vehicle-service/

The gearbox is claimed to be lifetime by lexus, but some owners dont believe in such a thing and have had the fluids changed, it is possible.

I think there is a group by for some manifolds on the go that might be worth a look, although some owners have found this issue to just be the gaskets and not  the manifold so would be worth an inspection before splashing some money. None of the manifold options are cheap I'm afraid.

If you can find something simple to take it to lexus, MOT's are reasonable, they will jump at the chance to do a inspection FOC and find something to charge you for 🙂

H&S is steel so you shouldnt see any issues with that, most lifetime warranties only cover the first owner unfortunatly.

Thank you for the reply. It would seem that I have receipts from Lexus for all the items pertaining to the 60k service (which isn't a million miles off the 100k for parts changed). It isn't however the 100k which I think I will call Lexus about and see what my options are to have the 100k service carried out and see what they say.

I am in the group buy for the manifolds and I think I will upgrade. I will find out more Wednesday as the mechanic is checking over the exhaust system before treating the underside of the car. 

Thanks for the link to the service intervals!

[RichGS11]

2 hours ago, FTBBCVoodoo said:

In terms of the dump valve type noise on the gear changes...  I am 99% sure it will be the serpentine/accessory belt slipping.

Very common on ISF.  Mine did it in the 4/5 years or so I had it.  It didn't bother me.

I believe it's a fairly cheap fix to resolve.  Needs a new belt and tensioner.

In terms of the ticking noise starting up, could well be the injectors.  Mine again was noisy on start up.  The bloke who bought mine off me had the injectors replaced which quietened them down a bit.

 

 

Hi. Thanks for the reply. I hadn't thought about injectors. Hopefully Wednesday I'll have a better clue after my mechanic looks over the exhaust before treating the car.

I did read about the serpentine belt slipping. It doesn't bother me hugely, it's more a sound I'm not used to and wanted to know if it was more terminal!

Thank you.

[RichGS11]

1 hour ago, 4969_LXS said:

Same as others have said, I'd get it serviced annually, it's done on age not mileage. 

I had a tick on cold start, if I pressed on the gas a little while still cold, it made a pss pss pss (calling a cat🤣) noise that was in time with engine rpm. This turned out to be a cracked right hand exhaust manifold, mine was done under warranty. It's not really detrimental, just annoying, might be worth investigating the aftermarket manifold route, but down to personal preference.

I had my transmission fluid changed and a ECU and TCU reset, it made a world of difference to mine. At 60k it's worth it imo, if it's a high mileage car thats never been changed, dont. Checking forums Lexus dealerships in America do it after lots of track days or every 30k miles. Lexus Wolverhampton did it after a bit of talking round from me. Lexus Stoke recently added 1 litre of fluid for me no problem after I lost some doing the radiator change at home. The process to do it is in the Lexus database, not a difficult one. 

I changed my radiator, water pump and aux belt on the drive at home. If you have a look in the massive leak of coolant thread you'll see the pictures of my original radiator at 12 years old and 60ish k miles, it wasn't in a good state. There's no telling when they will go, but it affects other models and Lexus advise changing it every 10 years according to other forums.

Main things that go wrong on our cars mechanically, are the manifolds cracking, and the valley plate leaking. Noone has had the valley plate leak in the UK yet. Also excessive inside tyre wear. 

That sounds exactly like my issue noise wise. I'll be investigating Wednesday to find out if it is the manifolds.

I also think I will get the 100k service carried out by Lexus this year. It's less a case of money, more an education on what these cars need and when, plus with the potential for making sure it has the best service history should I need/want to sell her. I Will also enquire about transmission fluid too.

I will order a new radiator ASAP. With the car being over 10 years old it will be worth the upgrade regardless of condition. Saves the cost of a new gearbox if it does go wrong!

Thank you

 

[MNMJ]

On 4/23/2021 at 12:44 PM, C.B said:

If you can find something simple to take it to lexus, MOT's are reasonable, they will jump at the chance to do a inspection FOC and find something to charge you fo

Lexus also offer free 6 monthly 'health checks'. I've had quite a few advisories on brakes or suspension, which often are not mentioned the next time it goes in. I have my friendly local garage give a second opinion, and they have not yet found anything wrong.

[Womble72]

I had the gearbox oil changed on mine at last service (68k from memory)....mine clicked over 70k today, I’ve had the manifolds replaced on mine, I had the GSF ones fitted with minimal alterations needed, cost was 10hrs Labour £650 at my local Lexus Indy specialists, I had the rad replaced at last service as a precautionary measure, personally I wouldn’t bother with Lexus, the cars to old and they don’t know enough about the F model to warrant to fee, my Indy actually have an ISF personally and only use Lexus parts......one way that u can check for cracking is the heat shielding will probably have some exhaust soot from escaping gases, my ticking was present until off cold start, noticeable on acceleration (not hard, just there) and harder to hear once warmed up, one branch cracked 360 degrees. Service history is about reputable garages that know these cars and not about the dealer stamp for me!......my Indy is in Rawreth Essex so not a million miles away 

[RichGS11]

Sadly I don't have a Lexus Indy near me which is a shame.

[ColinBarber]

On 4/23/2021 at 6:52 PM, RichGS11 said:

Thank you for the reply. It would seem that I have receipts from Lexus for all the items pertaining to the 60k service (which isn't a million miles off the 100k for parts changed). It isn't however the 100k which I think I will call Lexus about and see what my options are to have the 100k service carried out and see what they say.

60k miles is the big one - expensive due to plug change.

The 100k mile/10 year service is just a standard 20k major service plus engine coolant. Get the radiator changed at the same time to avoid changing the coolant twice.

[scott-o]

I changed my rad at 85k when i got my car, for peace of mind. Parts bough from LPD and fitted it with a friend. Quite easy to do, everything is methodical and easy to make out. My waterpump was apparently changed early on in the cars life, under warranty, so we checked that whilst the rad was out and that looked to be the case. The radiator all looked fine as did the transmission cooler/heater connections. We did notice that most of the missing trim clips were inside the airbox from whoever had them all off in the past though, luckily pre filter! Speculation but all these trims would have only been removed for water pump access so make of that what you will.

I get the strange sound on full throttle gear changes too, normally if i let off straight after the change, i did some searching and it appears they all seem to do it to some degree and attributed to the aux belt/ tensioner. Again we checked it over whilst doing the rad and it all seemed fine. Many report to have changed them both and it making little to no difference.

I wouldnt be worried about your service, there's nothing overly special about servicing these, it's just oil/ filter/coolant/ sparkplugs at the end of the day (just more oil and sparkplugs than most cars!). I use a local Porsche specialist that my mate owns/ runs, they get all sorts in as they are very competent and can turn their hand to anything and its been no different with this car. Parts ordered by me from LPD and work carried out by them, works out cheap and i know that the work has been done well, it's a win win. I'll be getting the spark plug service done later this year.

If you have a local independent you trust it may be worth approaching them (perhaps the guy you mention is already doing work on your car this week?), i dont see the merit in spending triple the amount for a Lexus stamp on a car thats already lost nearly all of its depreciation already.