Looking to buy an IS300h

[Aaron C]

Hello all, I've been looking at Lexus IS for a while now. Going to see a 2013 Premier with 66k on the clock and looks like it's in good condition.

Is there any red flags I should be aware of, what sort of condition would the hybrid Battery be in now that car is 11yrs old?

Many thanks😁

[Notamech]

Well the hybrid Battery is covered by lexus for up to 15 years IF a hybrid health check is run at lexus annually. So perhaps ask if this is done. Also early models had issues with the waterpump leaking so look under the hood for pink crust. The water pump is in the front of the engine its hard to miss its the only thing driven by a belt. Else not much else goes wrong with these cars if maintained well. Ideally look for one that has full lexus history that way you know for sure that all important maintenance has been done.

[wharfhouse]

If it has a full service history (preferably Lexus or well documented if not) then it is a very reliable car and so just the usual car checks need to be done - like making sure all electrics and toys work properly and no warning lights etc. and checking for accident damage/repair. Although relatively cheap to run day-to-day and for routine maintenance when things out of the ordinary go wrong it can be very expensive for parts/labour (although there are sources of parts available from outside the UK that can be much cheaper). As there are relatively few of them there are not so many non-Lexus replacement (pattern) parts available and not too many second hand through breakers. Some parts are common with Toyota of course and so they are more available. If you are buying from a Lexus dealer the car should come with a comprehensive 12 month warranty.

Regards the hybrid Battery they are very robust with very few reported issues. My car is 10 years old in September and done 146K miles and no issues at all with the hybrid Battery and fuel consumption is just as good as it ever was (if that drops then it can be a sign of a hybrid Battery issue). As @Notamech mentioned, the hybrid Battery can be covered under warranty for up to 15 years and unlimited mileage by having an annual hybrid health check undertaken by a Lexus dealers every 12 months or 10K miles (whichever comes first) - the cost of this is about £60. It's also done as part of a Lexus service for free. The only hybrid Battery replacements I have seen on this forum for the IS 300h in 7 years were a couple with mileage at around 200K miles - but there have been others that have exceeded that without issue. The technology is very similar to the Toyota Prius and has proven reliable with those cars with many running over 200/300k miles without an issue.

If you are buying privately or from a non-Lexus dealer it could be worth getting the hybrid health check done by a Lexus dealer as part of the deal? Although the mileage is low and so one wouldn't expect an issue it would give peace of mind and once the hybrid health check has been done you can then just keep renewing it every 12 months / 10k miles (whichever comes first) from there up to the 15 years old.

[Aaron C]

Thanks for the info! I'll watch out for the water pump issue!