New owner questions!

[Mr_Groundhog]

Mine is an Advance and has Tahara (synthetic) leather....

[Stever750]

Both models are pre FL as indicated by the rotary infotainment controller, one is Advance and has leather heated and vented seats and electric adjust, the other one doesn't have that, they're manually adjusted so am presuming it's the fake leather. In any case, I'd likely fit decent seat covers onto the tahara version. Just obtained some insurance quotes, bl00dy hell it's expensive. Premium would increase form £43 pcm to £78. I could find several around £60pcm but there's a cancellation fee of some £90 from current provider (bank of Scotland). The entire business plan hangs on the top end HMRC advisory rate, if that took a dive I'd be left exposed!

[wharfhouse]

1 minute ago, Stever750 said:

Both models are pre FL as indicated by the rotary infotainment controller, one is Advance and has leather heated and vented seats and electric adjust, the other one doesn't have that, they're manually adjusted so am presuming it's the fake leather. In any case, I'd likely fit decent seat covers onto the tahara version

If pre-facelift then I think the choice was leather or cloth - I think Tahara came with the facelift. IIRC by default the SE and Luxury had cloth and the rest leather. However the Luxury had an option to upgrade to leather and many did that and I think that also added electric seats too. Not sure if the Advance had electric seats. The Executive (that I have) came as standard with leather manual seats but no option to upgrade to electric and standard Sat nav (rotary} and again no option to upgrade to Premium. The trim levels on Lexus are a tad confusing - need to check carefully what each car you are looking at actually has. 

[wharfhouse]

@Stever750 Here is the brochure dated January 2016 - it should help you decipher some of the trim levels and standard/optional equipment for pre-FL cars.

 

Lexus IS.pdf

[Stever750]

I thought I'd replied earlier, seems I haven't. 

Confusingly the Advance spec shows reversing camera and cooled leather electric seats. The first car had both. 

Second car has manual tahara seats so cannot be Advance spec, yet it has the reversing camera, which is only fitted to Advance and Premier, and is not available as an option on any other model. 

I did smile at the avalanche of typically Japanese acronyms for everything, but self healing paint is a new one on me. Back in the 2000s I worked for supplier of external painted trim parts to Toyota and pretty sure there wasn't anything specifically magical about the paint specs.

Anyway, looking forward to tomorrow's edition of the automotive equivalent of meet the ancestors as I try to establish some more of the history of these two vehicles. 

[ColinBarber]

5 hours ago, Stever750 said:

Second car has manual tahara seats so cannot be Advance spec, yet it has the reversing camera, which is only fitted to Advance and Premier, and is not available as an option on any other model. 

Sounds like it was a Luxury grade with premium nav upgrade (which includes a reversing camera).

[wharfhouse]

9 hours ago, Stever750 said:

I thought I'd replied earlier, seems I haven't. 

Confusingly the Advance spec shows reversing camera and cooled leather electric seats. The first car had both. 

Second car has manual tahara seats so cannot be Advance spec, yet it has the reversing camera, which is only fitted to Advance and Premier, and is not available as an option on any other model. 

I did smile at the avalanche of typically Japanese acronyms for everything, but self healing paint is a new one on me. Back in the 2000s I worked for supplier of external painted trim parts to Toyota and pretty sure there wasn't anything specifically magical about the paint specs.

Anyway, looking forward to tomorrow's edition of the automotive equivalent of meet the ancestors as I try to establish some more of the history of these two vehicles. 

The self healing paint I do believe has some merit. It's supposed to use sunlight to remove light swirling in the clearcoat that comes over time. Whether other manufacturers also use the same I couldn't say however. I recently posted on here a while ago about my own car and the good condition of it's paintwork despite the fact that due to doing a lot of miles in the car and not having much opportunity to pamper it I do very little to look after it - my Lexus dealer has probably washed it more times than I have...! 

 

[Stever750]

Any views on the HID headlights? I have similar on my Superb, and they're inadequate for the performance of the car.

[Bounce75]

10 hours ago, Stever750 said:

I thought I'd replied earlier, seems I haven't. 

Confusingly the Advance spec shows reversing camera and cooled leather electric seats. The first car had both. 

Second car has manual tahara seats so cannot be Advance spec, yet it has the reversing camera, which is only fitted to Advance and Premier, and is not available as an option on any other model. 

I did smile at the avalanche of typically Japanese acronyms for everything, but self healing paint is a new one on me. Back in the 2000s I worked for supplier of external painted trim parts to Toyota and pretty sure there wasn't anything specifically magical about the paint specs.

Anyway, looking forward to tomorrow's edition of the automotive equivalent of meet the ancestors as I try to establish some more of the history of these two vehicles. 

Are you sure the car you are looking at isn't an face lift IS300h comfort pack model?

Mine is a 2020 70 plate comfort model & it has Tahara heated seats, reversing camera, rain sensing wipers, keyless entry & auto dimming mirror.

 

[Stever750]

1 minute ago, Bounce75 said:

Are you sure the car you are looking at isn't an face lift IS300h comfort pack model?

Mine is a 2020 70 plate comfort model & it has Tahara heated seats, reversing camera, rain sensing wipers, keyless entry & auto dimming mirror.

 

I don't know, I'm not sure when and what the FL changes were.  There are three to choose from though, two 2018 plates (an 18 and a 68) and a 69 plate. All are between 25 and 30k miles. One is marked Select, but doesn't appear in the used approved list when you filter nationally. I can't check the spec of the 69 plate online as they've taken it off sale until I view it later today. The first one I saw and drove appeals because I know it's Advance, plus it's just had an MoT and service, I don't think the 69 plate has been serviced in the last 6 months, but it does have 4 new Falkens fitted to it. Sometimes there can be too much choice

[Bounce75]

10 minutes ago, Stever750 said:

I don't know, I'm not sure when and what the FL changes were.  There are three to choose from though, two 2018 plates (an 18 and a 68) and a 69 plate. All are between 25 and 30k miles. One is marked Select, but doesn't appear in the used approved list when you filter nationally. I can't check the spec of the 69 plate online as they've taken it off sale until I view it later today. The first one I saw and drove appeals because I know it's Advance, plus it's just had an MoT and service, I don't think the 69 plate has been serviced in the last 6 months, but it does have 4 new Falkens fitted to it. Sometimes there can be too much choice

I think the F/L came out in 2017.

I would always go with the newest model if possible, unless there are things you can't live without.

[wharfhouse]

35 minutes ago, Stever750 said:

Any views on the HID headlights? I have similar on my Superb, and they're inadequate for the performance of the car.

Probably similar to your HIDs on the Superb. There is only one HID bulb for full and dipped with a "shutter" that controls the beam pattern. I find full beam is fine but dipped headlights have quite an abrupt cut off which can feel a bit short at speed. The headlights also seem to be quite sensitive to a small build-up of dirt on the outside of the glass, particularly noticeable on dipped beam. Cleaning the glass regularly in winter does make quite a marked difference (the headlight washers don't seem to do much against road grime, particularly salt). Later post-facelift cars have LEDs as standard. Some members have reported upgrading the HID bulbs to other makes has improved the light output a bit.

[Stever750]

OK 3 to choose from and decided to go with the first I saw, an 18 plate advance with 25k. The 69 plater has clearly been used as a taxi as the shiny rear seats testify so that's off my list, plus it has only 1 recorded service at 30k (the 40+ interval) so missing some history. 

They had another 68 plate Advance in red looked clean but has no dealer history at all and is practically sold, also mileage higher at 40k. Without dealer history not sure I'd want it. 

Either way, looks like I'll be staying in Club Lexus for a while now. 

[wharfhouse]

2 hours ago, Stever750 said:

OK 3 to choose from and decided to go with the first I saw, an 18 plate advance with 25k. The 69 plater has clearly been used as a taxi as the shiny rear seats testify so that's off my list, plus it has only 1 recorded service at 30k (the 40+ interval) so missing some history. 

They had another 68 plate Advance in red looked clean but has no dealer history at all and is practically sold, also mileage higher at 40k. Without dealer history not sure I'd want it. 

Either way, looks like I'll be staying in Club Lexus for a while now. 

Sounds like you made the right choice of the three - I would certainly want full Lexus service history on a reasonably recent car - are you buying from a Lexus dealer - if so you should get a comprehensive  one year used car warranty from the dealer too for more peace of mind. Keeping it serviced with Lexus will also maintain the 10 years / 100K Relax Extended Warranty for another 4 or so years.

25K miles for a 6 year old car is only about 4K miles per annum. Low mileage cars (although they seem desirable at first) can also have their own issues as they may have stood unused for long periods or have only done short journeys running cold much of the time rather than longer motorway miles which gets everything properly warmed up and working. It's therefore even more important IMHO that the services have been done to schedule (so each year regardless of the low mileage - some people are prone to skipping years thinking it doesn't matter...).

The one thing to look out for on low mileage cars is the 12V Battery - hybrid cars have relatively small 12V batteries that don't seem to like being left unused for long periods of time or doing lots of very short trips, and if they do go flat do not seem come back to full health. My car is regularly used for long journeys and I have had no issues with the 12V Battery (which is now over 9 years old) and I have recently left the car 10 days while away and it still started OK. This is in comparison to stories of low usage cars where 12V batteries seem to fail after a few years and the car can't be left more than a few days before it won't start. Given the low mileage of the car you are looking to buy (as you don't know the history of the Battery, it may have been kept charged by an external charger or it may have gone flat a few times) it may be worth trying to get the dealer to replace the 12V Battery with an OEM one (OEM are AGM batteries rather than the more common batteries and so retail at the dealers for close to £200 or around £175 online through Lexus Parts Direct, so don't accept a non-OEM one) as part of the sale as the car may have been stood some time unused and so the Battery wasn't charged properly, or if not be prepared for a possible 12V Battery failure in the first year if the car is left for a length of time by carrying a lithium jump starter pack that fits in the glovebox (easily available from lots of places for under £100 - I carry one for the day when the 12V Battery will inevitably fail) and then if you do have problems you are able to start the car quickly and easily and hopefully have a new 12V Battery fitted under the one year used car warranty. After that with regular use you won't have any issues though.

[Stever750]

One of the reasons I bought it was that it has just had a new Battery fitted. I will be adding between 16 and 18k a year so unlikely to be a issue for me

[wharfhouse]

2 minutes ago, Stever750 said:

One of the reasons I bought it was that it has just had a new battery fitted. I will be adding between 16 and 18k a year so unlikely to be a issue for me

Excellent - good to get one with a new Battery. If you're doing that sort of mileage you shouldn't have any 12V Battery issues - I'm doing 15k miles a year. 

[Stever750]

The first challenge to overcome is sat nav. I'd really prefer not use maps on my phone as it buggers the screen with burn after a while, so am thinking of using a tablet mounted somewhere on the dash. Wonder if anyone has already come up with a workable solution. 

[Mr_Groundhog]

11 hours ago, Stever750 said:

The first challenge to overcome is sat nav. I'd really prefer not use maps on my phone as it buggers the screen with burn after a while, so am thinking of using a tablet mounted somewhere on the dash. Wonder if anyone has already come up with a workable solution. 

Are you sure you didn't actually mean to buy a Tesla?

[Notamech]

15 hours ago, Stever750 said:

The first challenge to overcome is sat nav. I'd really prefer not use maps on my phone as it buggers the screen with burn after a while, so am thinking of using a tablet mounted somewhere on the dash. Wonder if anyone has already come up with a workable solution. 

Lots of aftermarket chinese carplay / android auto solutions available but might cost a bit to install if you dont fancy doing it yourself. The units themselves cost anywhere between £300 -500 + installation. I personally feel for half that price £150 -200 you can buy a decent large screen mid range phone that you can use only for your car if you dont want to use your main phone for maps in the car. A tablet is another solution but tends to be too big for the IS given is compact interior. 

Personally I just use my main phone for maps as spending 350 400 on stuff attached to the car which does things my phone already does and which will yield no salvage value when i sell the car did not make sense to me. Id rather use that money towards upgrading my main phone when needed.

[Linas.P]

16 hours ago, Stever750 said:

The first challenge to overcome is sat nav. I'd really prefer not use maps on my phone as it buggers the screen with burn after a while, so am thinking of using a tablet mounted somewhere on the dash. Wonder if anyone has already come up with a workable solution. 

Just put aftermarket android unit, much nicer than table flopping around and probably even more functional. Also they look just like original FL screen, so nice upgrade for car. 

4 minutes ago, Notamech said:

Lots of aftermarket chinese carplay / android auto solutions available but might cost a bit to install if you dont fancy doing it yourself. The units themselves cost anywhere between £300 -500 + installation. I personally feel for half that price £150 -200 you can buy a decent large screen mid range phone that you can use only for your car if you dont want to use your main phone for maps in the car. A tablet is another solution but tends to be too big for the IS given is compact interior. 

Personally I just use my main phone for maps as spending 350 400 on stuff attached to the car which does things my phone already does and which will yield no salvage value when i sell the car did not make sense to me. Id rather use that money towards upgrading my main phone when needed.

Having it integrated looks much better, also less likely to find windows smashed and cheap phone stolen, plus it integrates seamlessly with other car features. So I would definitely go with integrated unit. 

[Stever750]

2 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Just put aftermarket android unit, much nicer than table flopping around and probably even more functional. Also they look just like original FL screen, so nice upgrade for car. 

Having it integrated looks much better, also less likely to find windows smashed and cheap phone stolen, plus it integrates seamlessly with other car features. So I would definitely go with integrated unit. 

Any recommendations or links? 

How difficult is it to install? 

 

 

[Linas.P]

10 minutes ago, Stever750 said:

Any recommendations or links? 

How difficult is it to install? 

Just search for Lexus IS Android sat-nav - this is how they should look in principle https://www.u-buy.co.uk/product/4RKVED0IY-android-10-system-10-25-inch-1920x720-blue-ray-touch-screen-radio-8-core-4gb-64gb-gps-navigation-for-2013-2018-lexus-is250-is300-is300h-is350-is200t-f just shouldn't cost £800. Up-to £500 is the price range. Likely you will find best price on something like AliExpress or Alibaba.

I can't recommend any particular one, but you need to compare specs and buy the one with best specs (they go something 2-8GB RAM, 32-256GB ROM 4-8 cores) and ideally with newest possible android version (Android 12+ would be a ideal, Android 10 is already obsolete). Also they are all made in china and all are of similar quality, so just get latest Android version with best spec. for as cheap as you can get it.

Then you will also need to know which unit do you need - there are 6 versions in principle: 3 each Pre-FL and Post-FL - base radio with rotary dial, premium sat-nav with joystic, or premium sat-nav + ML. The seller will ask you which one you need and it is very unlikely they will even agree to sell anything to you until you confirm. Sometimes they even ask you to remove your unit and take pictures of how it looks, so getting wrong is quite unlikely.

Installing it should be plug&play, but depends on your skills... for me it is like 30 min job max, so I would say easy. Just need some patience, tape to protect dash corners and few panel clip tools. 

[Notamech]

1 hour ago, Stever750 said:

Any recommendations or links? 

How difficult is it to install? 

 

 

So to begin with there are 2 types 1 is a smart box that runs on android and hooks up to your existing entertainment unit in this case everything is displayed on your factory screen. The 2nd type is a 10.25 inch screen that runs on android and also hooks up to your entertainment system.  This option essentially is a replacement of the factory screen. But if you're buying the face-lift post 2017 car you probably already have a large 10.25 inch factory screen? so going with a smart box might be better so you can retain the factory screen. For both you will find many options on eBay or Aliexpress. Aliexpress is cheaper but aftersales is scary. Communicating with anyone there is a nightmare no one understands anything you say. It's great for small items but personally i will never buy anything worth 100s of £ on Aliexpress again unless im ok with losing my money.

Installing it is not the easiest DIY job but definitely doable depending on your level of DIY skills. You van find several YouTube videos take a look and decidif it is for you. Essentially it involves dismantling your center console to remove your headunit and screen plugging in the wires and closing everything back up. 

I have a 2014 executive with the small screen i did buy an android screen from ali express but didn't like the quality it cost me nearly 500 for the top end spec. Took me ~3 hours to install the toughest part was passing the wires from the headunit to the screen as there is very little gap and the space is very tight and everything inside is sharp. Anyway didn't like it in the end and returned it (you have 15 days to return on Aliexpress on some listings if it says free returns. You can ship back to a UK address). Now i have used that money to buy me a samsung s24u. I just prefer using the phone as i found it to be more seamless than having 2 operating systems and jumping between the original lexus for calls and to the android system maps etc. It was fancy but the novelty wore off really fast and the sound quality wasnt as good as it uses the aux input to send sound to the speakers. For me the phone was more practical and less faffing around when connected to Bluetooth everything works just fine + the soundqualityon Bluetooth is better for some reason.

 

[Stever750]

OK thanks for the info and advice. Conclusion is I'll probably stick with my phone. 

[Mr_Groundhog]

I had this one saved in bookmarks from when i was thinking of doing it (now i think like @Notamech and just use the native sat-nav and/or my phone):

https://carlinklife.com/products/wireless-carplay-android-auto-module-for-2014-2020-lexus-nx-rx-is-es-gs-rc-ct-ls-lx-lc-ux-with-android-mirror-link-airplay-functions