Two years of ownership problems listed

[SeanR]

Had the car nearly two years now and here's the list of issues...................

NONE

90,000 miles, no advisories on last MOT, next MOT is due soon.

Full service history.

Only money spent was new front grille and new back brakes plus an oil and filter service.

A slight intermittent issue is that on a very rare occasion the car stalls when its cold, usually when turning out of the works car park. Not going further with this as its so rare. 

 

One other minor issue which did cost me a new Battery. Moved the car off the drive without letting the engine continue running. The car would not start the next day. Eventually it did. This is an issue that happens with other cars too, so now i don't do that.

Plan on keeping the car until something goes seriously expensively wrong, hope that's a long way off, touch wood.

Find the car very reliable and to be honest, quite cheap to run.

Fast enough for me, a pleasant commute 20 miles a day.

No rust apart from the front anti roll bar, that was sorted out.

Still feels like a new car to drive.

Sometimes see cheap lease deals but then think what's the point

 

 

[Ozzay]

Nice.

Was change of spark plugs included in the FSH?

What about transmission fluid. Might be worth changing at some point.

I bought my car 3 years ago and have not changed the diff fluid might do that.

What oil you using.

Stalling? Don't know about that I had a rough idle because of a ignition coil pack at bank 2 but never stalled.

[SeanR]

Hello, i think the spark plugs were changed, as the ones that are in don't seem to have any issues. 

I likely will do the transmission etc fluid at some point but at the moment there are no issues there either. Saying that though, i would say even without a flush the gearbox would last me for time i have left with the car. I only do about 5000 miles a year. Il see.

I have read of the stalling issue on here, when engine is cold. Its a very minor niggle at the moment. I cant remember what it is but if it got worse id look more into it.

 

 

[H3XME]

On 1/15/2024 at 5:03 AM, SeanR said:

Hello, i think the spark plugs were changed, as the ones that are in don't seem to have any issues. 

I likely will do the transmission etc fluid at some point but at the moment there are no issues there either. Saying that though, i would say even without a flush the gearbox would last me for time i have left with the car. I only do about 5000 miles a year. Il see.

I have read of the stalling issue on here, when engine is cold. Its a very minor niggle at the moment. I cant remember what it is but if it got worse id look more into it.

Glad to hear you don't have any issues, but just to put my 5 pence here.. I would check that the spark plugs have been done. And the transmission & diff flush is worth doing also. This is a preventative maintenance. Changing stuff that should be changed after something goes wrong is too late. 

[wharfhouse]

On 1/14/2024 at 1:53 PM, SeanR said:

One other minor issue which did cost me a new battery. Moved the car off the drive without letting the engine continue running. The car would not start the next day. Eventually it did. This is an issue that happens with other cars too, so now i don't do that.

Yes had that on a previous BMW 528i (over 20 years ago) - had turned the car on and moved it a few yards in the drive and turned it off. Then later it wouldn't start. Called breakdown and they said because it was only running for a few seconds and running rich from cold the engine was flooded (too much petrol). Told me the way to start it in that case was to put the accelerator to the floor and crank it until it fires. After about 10 seconds the car fired up and all was well. I've never started and stopped a car quickly again. I did have a similar problem on an outboard (marine engine) that fired up from cold and stalled and wouldn't fire up normally again - remembered the above, opened throttle fully and cranked it and after a while it fired up again. A good tip to remember.

[H3XME]

48 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

Yes had that on a previous BMW 528i (over 20 years ago) - had turned the car on and moved it a few yards in the drive and turned it off. Then later it wouldn't start. Called breakdown and they said because it was only running for a few seconds and running rich from cold the engine was flooded (too much petrol). Told me the way to start it in that case was to put the accelerator to the floor and crank it until it fires. After about 10 seconds the car fired up and all was well. I've never started and stopped a car quickly again. I did have a similar problem on an outboard (marine engine) that fired up from cold and stalled and wouldn't fire up normally again - remembered the above, opened throttle fully and cranked it and after a while it fired up again. A good tip to remember.

I don't think it will work on this car. It's got electronic throttle control - no throttle cable like in older cars, so I doubt the throttle opens until the car actually starts 🥲but i could be wrong.

[wharfhouse]

3 hours ago, H3XME said:

I don't think it will work on this car. It's got electronic throttle control - no throttle cable like in older cars, so I doubt the throttle opens until the car actually starts 🥲but i could be wrong.

Yes that could be true - not sure what my 1997 BMW 528i would have had in their day.

[wharfhouse]

3 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

Yes that could be true - not sure what my 1997 BMW 528i would have had in their day.

Apparently for the BMW E39 (which mine was) the throttle control is electronic; there is a throttle cable that runs to a device known as an MDK (motor-driven throttle valve), and is connected to a pedal position sensor inside the MDK. This allows the DME to sense the pedal position, and therefore the throttle opening. How that compares to the Lexus IS though is beyond my understanding...! 

[H3XME]

2 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

Apparently for the BMW E39 (which mine was) the throttle control is electronic; there is a throttle cable that runs to a device known as an MDK (motor-driven throttle valve), and is connected to a pedal position sensor inside the MDK. This allows the DME to sense the pedal position, and therefore the throttle opening. How that compares to the Lexus IS though is beyond my understanding...! 

I thought only 99+ were DBW. 97 should be cable. But it's possible!

[wharfhouse]

30 minutes ago, H3XME said:

I thought only 99+ were DBW. 97 should be cable. But it's possible!

Maybe - mine was a 1997 car but I just read about E39 generally - but you may be right and that they changed something mid-cycle. 

[SeanR]

95,000 miles I'm on now, not 90,000, i got that wrong.

Will look at the gearbox oil change, sooner rather than later.

 

Cheers.

 

[SeanR]

Out of curiosity.

 

Anyone know of any disasters with the gearbox by not changing the oil?, i cant remember reading any here or elsewhere regarding this Lexus. 

I changed it once in a GS300 but then sold it anyways a year later, so in that respect threw money away.

Brother has a 1989 Mercedes Auto, that's still running fine on original oil🙂

[H3XME]

45 minutes ago, SeanR said:

Out of curiosity.

 

Anyone know of any disasters with the gearbox by not changing the oil?, i cant remember reading any here or elsewhere regarding this Lexus. 

I changed it once in a GS300 but then sold it anyways a year later, so in that respect threw money away.

Brother has a 1989 Mercedes Auto, that's still running fine on original oil🙂

Don't remember ever seeing disasters but gear changes are often crisper post flush. Look at any oil, it loses lubricating priorities over time. Not as much as engine oil due to lesser heat but the principle is the same 

[SeanR]

Aye, 

I know the full on gearbox flush is expensive. from memory over £400.

Perhaps that let some out and put some in routine might make more financial sense, just to get some newer oil in the box   

[Ozzay]

To not start another thread and keep this topic of maintenance up...

IS250 2007 recommends Toyota Genuine Differential Gear Oil LT 75W-85 GL-5

It says it requires 1.1 or 1.2 litres.

They only sell it it 1litre bottles. Would I get away with the 1 litre bottle or should I buy 2 litres but the issue is most of it will never be used again for ages.

[H3XME]

5 minutes ago, Ozzay said:

To not start another thread and keep this topic of maintenance up...

IS250 2007 recommends Toyota Genuine Differential Gear Oil LT 75W-85 GL-5

It says it requires 1.1 or 1.2 litres.

They only sell it it 1litre bottles. Would I get away with the 1 litre bottle or should I buy 2 litres but the issue is most of it will never be used again for ages.

It is what it is.. If you put only 1L you're risking overheating the diff over time🤷🏼‍♂️ can always buy 3 and sell the rest to someone here 😅

[Thelongterm]

On 1/20/2024 at 11:31 AM, SeanR said:

Aye, 

I know the full on gearbox flush is expensive. from memory over £400.

Perhaps that let some out and put some in routine might make more financial sense, just to get some newer oil in the box   

I just had mine done (07 SE with 60k on the ODO). Pan off, A960E service kit, filter, proper job, the lot.

£360 for 70% fluid change with a 12-month warranty; I must say that the gears are now changing quicker, smoother and, overall she feels lovely.

The technician did the job was satisfied that the box looked and behaved as new.

Here she is waiting to be handed back.

[SeanR]

Sounds good,

 

Mine just passed its MOT, no advisories. 

 

Glad i sorted the rust on the anti-roll bar and coated with black wax oil, reckon i might have got picked on with that sooner or later.

[Ullager]

I have also just completed 2 years of my 2010 IS250 Cabrio ownership. Apart from annual servicing & tyres, I have had to replace the Battery & one tyre pressure monitor sensor.  I have done about 6k miles in those 2 years, only using it for longish trips (minimum 50 miles - I have a Smart car for local journeys). The car has just completed 38,500 miles. I've found it to be very comfortable & a great car to drive. Unfortunately, I'm finding it difficult to justify (to my wife!) ownership, bearing in mind the cost of Road Tax & insurance whilst doing such minimal mileage so under increasing pressure to sell unfortunately. Pleasantly surprised that a 14 year old car has been so reliable.

[Mr Vlad]

Hi John. Keep the is250 and get rid of the smart car. It's That simple.

Or you could just find another wife after getting rid of your present one lol

[TomFlo]

Hi 

It's also been 2 years since I had this car. IS250 2008 109k miles + 9k that I added. After the purchase, I did a full service (oil, filters, spark plugs). After about 6 months it turned out that the middle section of the exhaust had a hole, I bought an OEM one from eBay for £320. Apart from that, I only had minor issues such as air leaking from the tires (rims on this car could be better) or clogged windshield washer pipes. I also noticed that the heating was failing, which turned out to be caused by a clogged heater, but i managed to repair it on my own. Recently changed  cabin filter so as not to inhale any more diesel stink (funny that tax road for diesel are cheaper). Last MOT was done in December and past without any problems. As I wrote, I drove it 9,000 miles. Fuel consumption is 29mpg, with a lot of city driving. In general, at the moment I am happy with the purchase and I hope it will stay that way until the time comes to sell. I still like how the car looks and handle.