Mot And Recall Experience

VamboMan · March 14, 2015

Car went in for its radiator screws recall and MOT. Good news as the recall work was completed and the car passed its MOT however it did have two advisory items.

1) The H and S exhaust was blowing where it joins the Cat, not a good advertisement to the H & S boys who fitted it. This was fixed at no-cost by Lexus.

2) The MOT testers said the noise was noisy. Yup, that's because it's a V8 with the H & S Cat Back.

Sat in a Blue RC-F whilst waiting, lovely car and looks far better in the flesh than in pictures. What's the point of the rear seats as no-one over the age of 9 would be able to sit in them ? Lexus could have saved money and weight by not fitting them, a leather covered rear bench for storage would have been better.

Now the not so good news.

I was given a CT200H F-Sport as a courtesy car for free. What a gutless and completely pointless car. If I wanted a car that could achieve 51 MPG why pick this hybrid, my old MB C350CDI would reach this plus it had over 230 BHP, shed loads of torque and could carry 5 people in comfort. I just don't get why anyone would buy a CT200H or any other hybrid. Oh and I broke its windscreen whilst motorway driving, sorry Lexus.

The dealership pointed out that the front discs and pads ( on 35K mileage car ) needed replacing very soon, all for just £852. Pads for £592, 2.5 hours labour for £260. Err, no thanks.

Has anyone else had problems with the metal dust caps ? Mine on the front tyres had welded themselves onto the valves so they couldn't be removed. New valves and plastic caps installed.

And finally, has anyone had their Sat Nav updated ? I've now made two attempts to get this done and failed on both occasions. At its 30K service at Lexus Poole, everything was booked in with plenty of notice given, Sat Nav not updated because apparently they could't get any access to the new maps on a Saturday. At its MOT yesterday at Lexus Swindon, again everything was booked in with many weeks notice. Sat Nav not updated because they didn't know how to do it. How hard can it be ?

sofasurfer · March 14, 2015

Agree about the CT. I hate driving one of those and thankfully they gave me an IS250 when my car went in for an MOT and service last month.

As for the brakes mine will need changing in a few months time and even with brembo discs and Porterfield pads the cost is about £440 without the labour. Lexus do like to overcharge.

As for the Sat Nav I always thought the update was via a memory stick that just plugged into the car. At least that's what Hedge End told me when I last asked them.

SiM22 · March 14, 2015

honestly speaking it depends what you are looking for in terms of a car. I have the IS-F and my father has a CT200h. He loves it to bits and i love the comfort and quietness of it.

We live in a world of choice, i agree that it is gutless but its nice in different ways.

In response to Lexus prices for brakes, I will wirte up a post now about how I have gone about changing mine and what i changed and how much compared to Lexus. This will give people a rough figure of what to expect and how to lower the cost.

giorgoXXI · March 14, 2015

I had an IS300h as a courtesy car. Very comfortable car, but if you want a more sporty drive it is a bit disappointing. Not because of power, but mainly the suspension, body roll, that CVT gearbox and especially the extremely light "disconnected" steering wheel. But if you are after a comfortable cruiser and commute car then it is very nice.

Stuno1 · March 14, 2015

Assume that Hayward and Scott didn't tighten the join with jubilee clip right enough as opposed to a hole in the system as its stainless steel? It is under warranty chap so take it back to them if needed.

As above satnav update is memory stick or disc you buy from them and install yourself.

Stu

VamboMan · March 15, 2015

Cheers for the comments.

I'll keep an eye open for the post about the brakes, thanks guys.

The exhaust problem was fixed by Lexus Swindon as it was quite minor so no need for a 250 mile round trip however I will keep an eye /ear on it just in case the problem returns.

I hear what you say about the Sat Nav upgrade and it really should be as easy as plugging in a new DVD or USB, has anyone actually done this ?

I only drove the CT200H F-Sport for 60 miles however I wouldn't describe it as quiet nor comfortable. It was only quiet when the car was powered by the electric motor, which was hardly ever. Based on a combination of both rural and motorway driving it was the petrol engine that was doing most of the work with the electric motor occasionally chipping in to help the car get uphill and to power out of the many bends found in the countryside, hence the below par MPG and engine noise. Comfortable ? Nah. The IS-F may be firm but it plants itself down and grips the road, the seats are also far more comfortable than the CT. My niggles with the CT may be due to the fact that I had a F-Sport which had the uprated shocks and suspension. As a city car it may well work but as a rural mode of transport it doesn't work and neither does the "sportification" of it so drop the F-Sport version.

Sorry for the brief CT review in the IS-F forum.