Lexus Is250c 2009 Space Saver Wheel

[Guest]

Hi Team,

Help required.

I have a 2009 Lexus Is250c. The Tyre sealant puncture repair kit in the boot is dated 2013. Is it still ok to use or does it need replacing.

If it needs replacing it costs £113 for the genuine Lexus replacement unit which seems expensive. As well as that I understand that if you use the puncture kit on a tyre it renders the tyre unusable afterwards and will need an expensive replacement tyre.

Ideally I would rather buy a space saver wheel instead,  if I could find one assuming it would either fit under or in the the plastic tray unit in the boot. This would seem to be a more practical and economical solution.

comments, ideas and advice gratefully appreciated

 

[McShmoopy]

I had this situation with my mums IS250C, her tyre punctured but instead of using the expensive and very overpriced repair kit I brought my spare wheel from my own IS250 and used that. 

After this incident I was able to source a spare wheel for £50 or so and it does fit into the IS250C space, the only thing is the original storage tray will not fit in without some modifying it. Try and see if you can get a wing nut and spare wheel from a breaker as your IS250C will come with with a jack and spanner. 

[true blue]

Hi as Bilal says this is the most permanent solution ,If you want to retain the compressor it is quite easy to strip the unit down remove and dispose of the sealant ,re-route the hoses and then it can be used as a compressor only .Buy a tin of sealant from your local accessory shop if you need one. My experience of sealer is that is good for a small screw or nail repair but no good for anything bigger and most tyre people do not want to wash out the sealer to vulcanise a patch on the inside ,so will scrap a tyre

Dave

[MCR]

Just picked this up.  I am in the process of buying a IS250Cwith the dreaded puncture repair kit but will want to get a space saver as soon as I have completed the purchase.  The boot tray is molded so it looks like it will house a space saver, but I see Bilal says it does not fit cleanly.  What modifications need to be done to make it fit and does that compromise the (already small) boot space?  Many thanks.  Malcolm

[MCR]

Also following on from my earlier post, does a space saver from a ‘normal’ IS250 fit the C?

[Beamish]

 

Hi Malcolm,

Yes, the space saver from a normal IS250 will fit the ISC. These are 17" but will work perfectly OK with the 18" wheels on your car.

US spec cars apparently all came with the space saver fitted as standard so there is plenty of room in the wheel well.

However, the moulded tray fitted to European cars is designed to store the compressor and will not accomadate a space saver wheel.

What I have done is discarded the tray and fitted the space saver to the empty well with the bolt and wingnut as used in the standard IS250. The next problem is that the folding cover for the well will not fit as it is designed to sit in the moulded tray. I simply fashioned a new cover from some 6mm MDF and covered this with a Lexus ISC specific boot carpet mat.

You can opt to modify the moulded tray but I chose not to go this route in case I needed to return the car to original when the time comes to sell.

Hope this helps and welcome to the Club.

Dec.

[MCR]

Thanks for that Declan.  Just to clarify for my purposes!  If I’ve interpreted this correctly, there are two parts in the boot space;  what I would call the main cover (carpet/mat) and the plastic moulted tray which houses the compressor etc.  If you take the moulded tray out, the space saver fits in there OK with a bolt and wing nut but the cover (carpet/mat) will not go back properly because presumably it is a bit too small as it should fit in the lip of the moulded tray, now removed.  So you just made a new cover (carpet/mat) a little bit bigger than the one removed and it fitted the space and covered the whole area where the (new) spare wheel is.   Sorry to be dense but just wanted to clarify although presumably all will be clear once I get a car…..  Unfortunately I’m a bit fussy and only want one in Mica Red with cream leather (which funnily enough is the same colour as my NX - boring or what? 😄).  Missed one recently which was a 2009 with 13k miles (mind you pretty expensive) and passed on another with 62k which didn’t seem to have been looked after very well.  Luckily its winter so there’s time .

[MCR]

I wonder if any UK cars were fitted with a space saver?  Which leads me to wonder if there are any moulded trays to the boot area in the UK which are shaped for a spare wheel rather than a compressor.   I might speak to my friendly dealer as they are usually pretty helpful

[LenT]

9 minutes ago, MCR said:

I wonder if any UK cars were fitted with a space saver?  Which leads me to wonder if there are any moulded trays to the boot area in the UK which are shaped for a spare wheel rather than a compressor.   I might speak to my friendly dealer as they are usually pretty helpful

My IS250 certainly came with a SpaceSaver - and the moulded tray!  I’ve even had occasion to use it after a helpful passerby sheared the valve trying to get the dust cap off.

Which would have rendered the compressor and injectable gloop totally useless!

[Beamish]

Hi Malcolm,

Your summary is spot on.

Lexus used to sell a tailored boot carpet for the ISC ( in black only I beleive ) so you might check with your dealer if these are still available. I sourced mine from eBay but I guess that was just a bit of luck and it was over three years ago.

I don't beleive any UK cars were supplied with the space saver but I do recall reading of one owner who ordered the US spec moulded tray from his local Lexus dealer in order to accomadate the spce saver. From memory I think it took some time to arrive and was quite expensive for a chunk of moulded polystyrene but it sorrted his problem. 

Len,

Malcolm is talking about the IS250 convertible which unlike the saloon, did not come with a space saver spare wheel. Which reminds me that the moulded tray from the saloon will not fit the wheel well in the convertible.  That would be too easy.  Nothing in life is straightforward!!

Dec.

[MCR]

Another option of course, is to try and find a second hand moulded tray (on eBay or similar) and adapt it to fit round a space saver but still allow the cover to fit.  That way, one retains the original moulded tray which can be put back if desired.  It’s all falling into place 😃

[MCR]

For information.  My convertible came with the compressor etc and appropriate moulded tray under the boot carpet.  I got a space saver from an IS250 from eBay for £40 (and yet it does fit as I needed to use it when a wheel was refurbished), then I found a second hand moulded tray for a compressor from a breakers (in Holland!) for £50.  I put the space save into the tray and drew around it, then, using a jigsaw and Stanley knife, I cut the raised bit out leaving the moulded area where part of a wheel would fit (obvious when you look at it).   I then put the ‘new’ tray back, put the space saver in (perfect fit!) and secured the wheel to the floor using a new wheel bolt also from eBay.  Eh voila!  One space saver secured in the boot.  To add to it, the tool pouch and wheel brace also went in there as well.  Result.

You can get the ‘proper’ space saver moulded tray that they have in the US from Lexus UK, but they are £620 including VAT!  Part number 64779-51360-A0 (although this might be for the ivory colour).  You can also  get them from the US, quoting that part number for about the same in dollars and from a company in Japan called Megazip for $454 plus about $80 postage.

So now you know!