2008 IS250 issues?

[TadasC]

Good evening Guys, just became a new owner of a 2008 IS250 SR. It was never a plan to get this spec of car as being SR  they always lack most of the features and only good thing is all the spoilers around the car. This being an SR model surprised me by having almost all features except leather, but it has suede seats which are a lot better than those blue fabric ones. To get to a point, there are few things that i dont realy understand or understand how they work so im asking your guys opinion:

1. Seems like my headunit has no Bluetooth connectivity even for the phone.. I thought all is250 had this? Steering wheel has buttons for phone.

2. Cruise control. I have tried it on the motorway and i cant get it to work. Light comes up on the dash but i cant get teh car to hold any speed.

3. Keyless entry. So both key batteries were low. Changed them, car locks with button on handle, but when i approach and pull the handle it doesnt unlock i still need to press it on the key. Also will the car lock itself after i walk away with key? If that helps car was parked with dead Battery for 3 weeks and after that i bought it and drove it. Had some weird issues at first but after hours drive all became normal, guess it was going crazy with a dead Battery..

4. Auto lights. If i leave lights on auto after the car is off lights are still on even after i lock the car, and yes i have tried to press lock 2 times and it doesnt go off even after 90s.

5. Auto wipers. Cant seem to understand how they work, as first position in wiper leaver its ether off or maybe its the auto one as wipers go very rarely.

Also thought i had illuminated sill covers as they have lexus logo. They were not illuminating so took them off to find no wirring from the sill covers as if they were normal ones. Again thought all metal ones with lexus logo were illuminated.

Sorry if my issues sound stupid but im just new to the car and will be thankfull for all your input.

Thanks

 

[McShmoopy]

22 minutes ago, TadasC said:

Good evening Guys, just became a new owner of a 2008 IS250 SR. It was never a plan to get this spec of car as being SR  they always lack most of the features and only good thing is all the spoilers around the car. This being an SR model surprised me by having almost all features except leather, but it has suede seats which are a lot better than those blue fabric ones. To get to a point, there are few things that i dont realy understand or understand how they work so im asking your guys opinion:

1. Seems like my headunit has no bluetooth connectivity even for the phone.. I thought all is250 had this? Steering wheel has buttons for phone.

2. Cruise control. I have tried it on the motorway and i cant get it to work. Light comes up on the dash but i cant get teh car to hold any speed.

3. Keyless entry. So both key batteries were low. Changed them, car locks with button on handle, but when i approach and pull the handle it doesnt unlock i still need to press it on the key. Also will the car lock itself after i walk away with key? If that helps car was parked with dead battery for 3 weeks and after that i bought it and drove it. Had some weird issues at first but after hours drive all became normal, guess it was going crazy with a dead battery..

4. Auto lights. If i leave lights on auto after the car is off lights are still on even after i lock the car, and yes i have tried to press lock 2 times and it doesnt go off even after 90s.

5. Auto wipers. Cant seem to understand how they work, as first position in wiper leaver its ether off or maybe its the auto one as wipers go very rarely.

Also thought i had illuminated sill covers as they have lexus logo. They were not illuminating so took them off to find no wirring from the sill covers as if they were normal ones. Again thought all metal ones with lexus logo were illuminated.

Sorry if my issues sound stupid but im just new to the car and will be thankfull for all your input.

Thanks

 

Hi Nate congrats on the IS250! 
1) Bluetooth is with facelift models only (2009+) and you can tell this is the case if your infotainment is white

2) when yoh then cruise control on pull the stalk down one (set I think) and that’ll set the speed

3) not sure aboht the keyless entry as it should just work, that being said if you got batteries from amazon or online they may have lost some voltage over time in storage and key functions get sketchy (has happened to me) so best to buy key batteries locally as they’ll retain their voltage and operate correctly

4) that may be a Toyota tech stream feature as my 2010 f sport turns off the lights as soon as I open the door for the car, you can programme them in all sorts of ways to turn on.

5) if it’s like my f sport sills you have to retrofit illuminated sills into it as only SE-L models came with illuminated sills. I’ll link my post to show you have I did it

EDIT: here’s the link as well as other mods I’ve done 

 

 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Tadas and welcome to Lexus ownership and especially the is250 and to the best Lexus forum there is. 

As Bilal has stated. Bluetooth was only standard on face-lift cars. Its easy enough to do. In the armrest cubby hole there's a 12v power supply and a 3.5mm phone jack socket. Look on eBay for a Bluetooth adapter and a shallow cigarette with USB and a 90° USB to USB (need this otherwise the armrest lid won't shut)

this is how it looks in mine.

As for your other queries Bilal has answered them fully.

[J Henderson]

As Bilal says, only the SE-L model has illuminated sills.

Wipers;

Highest position on the stalk - off (push UP for a manual single swipe)

Next one down - auto. There's also the rotatable switch on the stalk to adjust the sensitivity.

Then low & high speed continuous wipe on the 2 additional positions.

The car does not automatically lock if you walk away. The only time that happens is when you unlock the car, but fail to open any doors within 30 seconds.

Bluetooth - I believe on an early model IS you should still be able to pair a phone to recieve calls only.

Lights - on my car the lights stay on after shutting the engine off, but turn off as soon as the driver's door is opened.

[Linas.P]

3 hours ago, TadasC said:

1. Seems like my headunit has no bluetooth connectivity even for the phone.. I thought all is250 had this? Steering wheel has buttons for phone.

2. Cruise control. I have tried it on the motorway and i cant get it to work. Light comes up on the dash but i cant get teh car to hold any speed.

3. Keyless entry. So both key batteries were low. Changed them, car locks with button on handle, but when i approach and pull the handle it doesnt unlock i still need to press it on the key. Also will the car lock itself after i walk away with key? If that helps car was parked with dead battery for 3 weeks and after that i bought it and drove it. Had some weird issues at first but after hours drive all became normal, guess it was going crazy with a dead battery..

4. Auto lights. If i leave lights on auto after the car is off lights are still on even after i lock the car, and yes i have tried to press lock 2 times and it doesnt go off even after 90s.

5. Auto wipers. Cant seem to understand how they work, as first position in wiper leaver its ether off or maybe its the auto one as wipers go very rarely.

1. If you head unit does not have sat-nav then it won't have phone connectivity. It is not true however that only facelift got Bluetooth, all cars with sat-nav had it else there would be no way to connect the phone. The difference however is that pre-facelift had Bluetooth for calls only (no music) whereas facelift got proper Bluetooth, so you could play music if you wanted to. Although I am puzzled about buttons on the wheel. Like here: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205316360170 you see - no sat-nav, no button on the wheel vs. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210120659418 - has sat-nav and has buttons, so has Bluetooth. Perhaps you just need to find how to connect the phone (check manual)... or somebody fitted different wheel. Basically you can't have phone controls if the wheel if car didn't have sat-nav, but if you had sat-nav then Bluetooth was there from the earliest models.4

2. Button on the end of stalk turns it on, pulling down sets the speed at any speed above 25MPH (if memory serves, but owner manual will have that sort of info). 

3. Could be faulty, but the sensor on the back of the handle is a little bit finicky... if you know exactly where it is then it is easy, but if you pulling at wrong side then it may not work. Lexus IS250 sadly only locks itself if you unlock it but won't open the door (can be set to 15, 30, 60 or 120s) which is kind of silly. But if you were driving, stopped and walked away it won't lock ever (that is oversight in my opinion, but it was one of the first cars to offer this feature).

4. Must be something faulty, because when you have lights on "auto", they only turn on when engine is on and only when light sensor detects low light and they should turn-off as soon as you turn-off the engine (I assume it is UK car). So basically there are no way they should be on if the engine is off. I don't believe 2008 had future to "lead you home" or whatever it is called. This came on later with introduction of DLRs in 2010. 

5. Auto-wipers have sensor in front of rear view mirror. If water get's on the sensor then wipers will wipe and you have choice between sensitivity of the sensor. These are known to fail if windscreens are repaired and sensors not properly seated or gel pad is missing.

[F.A.]

Only facelift models from MY09 had connectivity to make phone calls. If it is a model without the Multimedia option fitted , then it is a little more complicated to connect your phone as there isn’t a large touchscreen. 
Facelift models mentioned above also came with the ability to stream music via Bluetooth around the MY09 year. 
 

As mentioned above, only SE-L models came with the illuminated sills. Even the IS F wasn’t fitted with this option. 
 

Our MY11 SEL with DRLs didn’t come with the follow me home light option. 

[Linas.P]

20 hours ago, F.A. said:

Only facelift models from MY09 had connectivity to make phone calls. If it is a model without the Multimedia option fitted , then it is a little more complicated to connect your phone as there isn’t a large touchscreen. 
Facelift models mentioned above also came with the ability to stream music via bluetooth around the MY09 year. 
 

As mentioned above, only SE-L models came with the illuminated sills. Even the IS F wasn’t fitted with this option. 
 

Our MY11 SEL with DRLs didn’t come with the follow me home light option. 

I think to clarify it - if you have sat-nav then you should have phone Bluetooth connectivity no natter the year of the car. I have 02 2006 car, pretty much one of the first mk2s and it has Bluetooth connectivity for the phone. The only thing facelift adds is music streaming via Bluetooth.

If you do not have sat-nav then only facelift models got hands free/phone connectivity.

However, if the OP car description is correct (2008 SR), then it is clearly not facelift, but it has buttons on the steering wheel, which means it must have sat-nav, or else the wheel does not belong to the car. So again if it has sat-nav it has to have Bluetooth for calls only regardless of the year.

[TadasC]

Hi Guys, hope you had a nice Christmas time. And thanks all for the answers.

Just to clarify my car has a sat nav and I couldnt find where to make a Bluetooth connection.

Also Just checked last time and my keyless works on passanger side, but not the drivers. So later found that my door switch on drivers side is not working as lights dont come on when door opened. Also could be same case with why the auto lights stay on. Will keep you posted.

Just had an airbag recall done yesterday,  very pleasent visit at Birmingham Lexus, gave a 21 plate lexus to drive for half day untill mine was sorted.

[Mr Vlad]

Airbag recall. Really? Wow. Do you know what they did?

The point where headlights stay on. My 07 SE-L the headlights stay On after I've switched the engine off. They go Off once I open the door.

To connect your phone, is it android or Iphone?, you go into settings on the satnav screen. I suggest you look on YouTube (pairing phone on is250). Much simpler to watch than read a looooong message. 

[scudney]

Vladimir haven't you had the airbag recall done then or ...

 

[Mr Vlad]

No John. I've had the car 3 years in January and not heard of it. I'll check on the Lexus website service history. 

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, Mr Vlad said:

No John. I've had the car 3 years in January and not heard of it. I'll check on the Lexus website service history. 

That is very old recall - I am surprised that OP car hasn't been done. Something like 2017-18 was when they did this recall. 

 

6 hours ago, TadasC said:

Just to clarify my car has a sat nav and I couldnt find where to make a bluetooth connection.

Also Just checked last time and my keyless works on passanger side, but not the drivers. So later found that my door switch on drivers side is not working as lights dont come on when door opened. Also could be same case with why the auto lights stay on. Will keep you posted.

No difference if it is Android or Iphone as you car will have just basic hands free. Definitely check owners manual, from memory you either go to settings or phone and there should be options to connect.

As for lights staying on - it seems your drivers door switch is broken, so car does not recognise that door was opened/closed and therefore lights stays on. I assume if you close/open passenger door they would go off. 

[Mr Vlad]

Well I checked the Lexus website in My Lexus and no sign of any recall for anything. Was surprised that the water pump was replaced at 47k miles in 2014.

[TadasC]

7 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Airbag recall. Really? Wow. Do you know what they did?

The point where headlights stay on. My 07 SE-L the headlights stay On after I've switched the engine off. They go Off once I open the door.

To connect your phone, is it android or iPhone?, you go into settings on the satnav screen. I suggest you look on YouTube (pairing phone on is250). Much simpler to watch than read a looooong message. 

It was 4 hour job,  dash out and passanger side airbag replacement. I checked it through goverments site thats where I found out.

[TadasC]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

That is very old recall - I am surprised that OP car hasn't been done. Something like 2017-18 was when they did this recall. 

 

No difference if it is Android or iphone as you car will have just basic hands free. Definitely check owners manual, from memory you either go to settings or phone and there should be options to connect.

As for lights staying on - it seems your drivers door switch is broken, so car does not recognise that door was opened/closed and therefore lights stays on. I assume if you close/open passenger door they would go off. 

Yes door switch was my suspision as it looked faulty. Only came to find today that the screw holding it in was lose and there was no ground to switch.. Once tightened the indicator shows that door is open.

But still drivers side keyless entry doesnt work.... Only passanger one works. Anyone had this issue?

[Linas.P]

For Lexus that is uncommon (for electrical switches to get faulty), likely previous owner messed-up something.

[TadasC]

Well to find the door switch lose was a relief for me as the switch is not faulty. So at least now the door will turn interior lights and will not lock itself with the door being open. But yeah as you said could be something messed up by previous owner, maybe handle was changed.. But the button on the handle works no issues. Even had a missing key lock cap replaced today 15.49 at lexus and its paint matched.

[scudney]

Had my passenger airbag recall done in 2018