Just Bought An Is-F

[Corrado]

Hello all, I've just discovered this forum and I think the car I have bought was owned by a member here.

The car is superb, I love the rarity, the engine note and when the secondary intake opens up it just gets better.

I do have a couple of questions though, sorry I am new to Lexus....

1. The brakes are making an irritating squeal on light/normal application when coming to a stop in traffic. I understand this may indicate that the pads need replacing but I am told it has had new discs and pads fairly recently so my question is do any other owners have this issue and how is it resolved?

2. Is the service plan worth purchasing? The reason I ask is I guess this ties you to a particular dealer and therefore you can't request price matching or negotiate on service costs or can I negotiate on the cost of the service plan? I will definitely stick to Lexus servicing and I have purchased an additional two years warranty with the current offer that is available, so in effect I have a three year warranty.

Thanks in advance - I hope to be a regular here now :)

I will get some photos up when I get a chance to give it a full wash and wax although most of you have one and know exactly what they look like!

[Stuno1]

Welcome to the forum, They are incredible cars. Quite an active community here given how few there are in the country.

Sounds like you may have dirt between the pads and the discs if they were replaced recently.

No the service plan isn't worth it. I almost got it and am glad I didn't as the dealers all charge different prices and you can haggle them down. People have haggled the 60k service down by 200 quid or so!

Threes is a 2 years for the price of one on warranty though which is worth it as long as you qualify for it.

Stu

[sofasurfer]

Welcome...which ISF was it? We need to see some pictures of your car.

As for the brakes..mine squeal slightly when coming to a stop when the car is first used. It doesn't happen all the time and once I have used the car for a while and the brakes are warmed up it goes away. I thought this was the nature of high performance brakes and after googling it found other users experienced the same issue. Does your noise happen all the time as if it does then it may be wise to go back to the dealer. Good to get it checked out.

[lotusdave]

welcome. mine squeak a little but again are ok when warmed up... photos please!

[count duckula]

Same here for the squeaky brakes, very slight and it normally goes when warm.

[JonP]

This is where I get to be really irritating and say that my brakes have never squeaked. Mind you, it's used daily, does a bunch of long trips and is still on the OEM pads and disks...

[Stuno1]

This is where I get to be really irritating and say that my brakes have never squeaked. Mind you, it's used daily, does a bunch of long trips and is still on the OEM pads and disks...

Haha! Me to. Just peachy.

[Corrado]

Thanks for your help guys. It doesn't do it all the time, if I brake harder than usual or when warmed up it either decreases or stops. I only have a short commute to work so only took it for a longer drive this afternoon. Really strange thing is it didn't do it on the test drive at all or immediately on leaving the dealership I bought it from. It started when I came off the motorway on the drive home.

I agree regarding performance brakes needing to warm up.

Otherwise it is superb :)

I have bought the two year warranty extension for £795 so I have a three year warranty on the car, but I may give the service plan a miss then. I plan to service it a little early anyway, say at 8000 miles or 10 months for example.

Pics to follow hopefully this weekend, time and weather dependent - we have a two year old and a three week old so time is limited!

[Peter P18]

Hey Sham. :)

Could be as simple as needing some copper slip on the back of the pads mate? You can see from looking through the alloys how worn your pads are (OEM pads have a small metal tab you can see easily).

Any vibrations under braking through the brake pedal? If so, could suggest warped discs.

May also have squeal shims like the Supra? Remember buying one that had new brakes fitted, but seller hadn't replaced the squeal shims or spread any copper grease on the back of the pads. Thing squealed like a pig when braking! ;)

Hope you get it sorted chap.

Welcome to a very exclusive owners club. :)

[Corrado]

Hi Peter, I will take a look tomorrow. No vibrations though, the brakes and pads were replaced recently and are good condition. Hopefully an easy fix.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone :)

[Peter P18]

Hey Sham.

I'd suggest either copper grease needed, or could be cheap pads?

Just a thought. Hope you get it sorted.

Cheers.

Peter :)

[Corrado]

I've pm'd the previous owner to ask and will also check with the dealer. Everything else seems to have been done by the main dealer so I hope the pads are OEM too. Either way, I'll get it sorted :) Looking forward to a nice long drive in it over the weekend.

[lotusdave]

maybe give it a few really hard stops, get some proper heat and wear going on. might help. Also always good to know what an emergency stop feels like...

[Corrado]

I will try that over the weekend Dave.

Dealer has confirmed new OEM pads and discs were fitted by Lexus in Feb this year, the car has done 3,000 miles since then. Also confirmed pad wear was 30% front and 20% rear at inspection/service immediately prior to me purchasing. Looks like nothing major to worry about, other than the irritation. I'm going to try what Dave suggested to see if it improves things. The noise does reduce once they are warmed up.

[lotusdave]

30% wear after 3,000 miles. Or ten k for a set, that doesn't sound right. Depends how its been driven of course but if previous owner was enthusiastic then that may explain noise maybe? dealers offer say more worn then reality in my experience, but i am a cinic about such things. Smile.

[Stuno1]

30% wear after 3,000 miles. Or ten k for a set, that doesn't sound right. Depends how its been driven of course but if previous owner was enthusiastic then that may explain noise maybe? dealers offer say more worn then reality in my experience, but i am a cinic about such things. Smile.

Totally agree with this. Lexus woodford said my pads were 40% worn and toyota said that was nonsense. Easy money!

[Slurms]

30% wear after 3,000 miles. Or ten k for a set, that doesn't sound right. Depends how its been driven of course but if previous owner was enthusiastic then that may explain noise maybe? dealers offer say more worn then reality in my experience, but i am a cinic about such things. Smile.

yeah a couple of track days will wear the pads more than just road use

[Corrado]

Hi Kevin - how was it on track days and how did it compare to the usual track day suspects?

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Here are a few pics, no comments about my (lack of) photography skills please ;)

[Corrado]

Half the photos are cropped off - is it my resolution or do I need to re-size them?

ETA: Resizing them now...

[count duckula]

Black looks mean, nice isf.

[Stuno1]

Looks great. Just host on Photobucket and use links on the forum fella.

[sofasurfer]

I do like the black...means business. If I didn't previously have a black IS250 then it would have been in the running for the choice of colour on mine. Lovely looking car.

[lotusdave]

ive got boring silver. Really fancy a wrap to a deep blue. If i can find the energy and money to do it...

[Slurms]

Hi Kevin - how was it on track days and how did it compare to the usual track day suspects?

So on GT tracks it's great, Bedford's Sen circuit was mighty but you'll struggle more on twisty stuff like Brands where the weight of the car and the short gearing counts against you.

This is a little bit of my GoPro footage from a wet day at bedford in the IS-F

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glhNTnLIy4E

[lotusdave]

Here's a bit of my lotus at Bedford in equally slippery conditions. What level of TC did you have on?

i went sideways more that afternoon than any day since....