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So after a few test drives of various models, decided on a GS250 from Lexus Sidcup. Just liked the colour combination of interior and exterior. 25k, full SH and very fresh inside and out. Its kind of ironic that I've gone for a very low miler when this is a car that you can buy with confidence at higher mileages...but there's just something comforting about the low mileage. Feels like a one older man and his set of golf clubs kind of car if you get my drift. Its usually that second day drive that you pick up on any issues or things that may annoy you but pleased to say nothing so far. Blasted up the road wondering whether it was ever going to change gear and my level of concern went up to 9/10. Only then did I realise I'd thrown the gearstick into manual mode! Guess most of you know the characteristics of these cars so no point in me waffling on about it. What I will do is a quick initial comparison with my 2009 BMW E60 523i. A previous generation model which chronologically was never in direct competition but will try and highlight the differences from an owners point of view. The beemer was bought with 40k on the clock in 2014. Performance and handling: The BMW came with a 2.5 standard tune straight six engine displacing around 190hp, the Lexus comes with exactly the same configuration but sticking out around 15bhp more. The 0-60 times listed are almost identical but the Lexus definitely feels quicker. Both off the mark and when cruising. The BMW was an SE and with a fairly soft ride but with a reputation for being able to put about if needed. Have to say so far there's very little to choose from quality of ride wise. Both absorb bumps extremely well but also feel reasonably taught. Handling wise the Lexus is up against a tough competitor in the E60 and at present is able to at least match it. Overall, the Lexus does feel more of a 'luxury sports' than the BMW. Interior and comfort: The E60 definitely had a tad more headroom where as the GS definitely has more legroom. Both vital statistics if you are 6'4. The seats in the E60 were maybe a tad more comfortable overall though. Probably the most comfortable seats I've every owned in fact. The interior feel of the E60 was definitely a bit more old school luxury with lots of wood and tan leather. The Lexus is a superb compromise of a slightly old school feel but very much up to date too. Noise wise there is little to choose between the two. Both are extremely well insulated. Maybe a tad more road noise in the Lexus due to slightly wider tyres. However, the interior of the Lexus is absolutely silent (so far!) where as the E60 always had a few minor rattles. The BMW engine engine emitted more of a 'purr' and was probably quieter overall. The Lexus engine sounds quite a bit more sporty and is noticeably 'ticky' when cold due to the injectors. Definitely gives the impression its happy to be worked hard and will come back for more and more. Equipment: My E60, like a lot of German cars came with fairly basic equipment with not that many options specified. In some ways was a step down from my old 1999 Accord Coupe. No heated seats being a glaring step back. The Lexus, whilst newer generation wins hands down here. Have yet to really explore the goodies but its laden with them. Heated/cooled seats and virtually every other useful gadget that is available. Love the mouse operated console even if opinion deems divided on this. Build quality The E60 was lauded for its build quality so the Lexus is up against it here. However I'd say at this stage its honours even. Both car's feel extremely solid inside and out. Superb examples of what can be done when manufacturers put their mind to it. Lexus build quality is probably under rated in the World of motoring journalism if you ask me. Long term outlook and reliability The E60 did moderately well in this respect. Generally reliable but it did come at a price. Niggles and gremlins were common throughout its ownership though. Worst being a failed boot wiring loom and several secondary engine components needing to be changed. Oil leaks were also an issue and expensive to fix. Whilst build quality was A1, I'd suggest quality of engineering was mediocre. No heat shield to protect a PLASTIC rocker cover??? The engine lifecycles are often fairly short in German cars as they try to innovate but this also means they never really get to iron out inherent issues. Not wanting to tempt fate but I'd expect the Lexus to win hands down here over time. All of my previous Japanese cars were engineered to the highest standards and I don't expect to the Lexus to be any different. The engine is a tried and tested unit that whilst not massively hi-tech and maybe not quite as fuel efficient as the E60 should not miss a beat over time. Looking forward to years of hassle free motoring. Thanks for reading.

Dear Lexus Owners, I recently bought a Lexus RX450h with 161,500 miles on the clock with full-service history from new at Lexus garage. No problems with the car at all apart from the driver side windscreen washer which stopped spraying water properly when you need to clean your windscreen. I have googled the issue and find youtube video telling me a valve under the cover needs replacing. £2.50 from eBay and 10 minutes later, now all works perfectly. Let us find the highest RX400h and RX450h, please. I would appreciate if you could specify the year and the miles, so we can see the average miles driven per year! Thank you in advance!

As I do amigo. We might have been milk monitors in the same class in primary school !!

This works quite nicely. Got a latching relay from amazon that persists its state when the power goes away so I can switch the power feed for the tracker between "always on" and "on only when the ignition is on". Updated the software so I can change it remotely via SMS and also made it automatically switch to ignition-on mode if the battery falls below 11.5v.

All fixed, a friend of a friend owns a workshop in the local town, had a look and said it was a simple weld job, sleeved and reinforced, also checked the other silencer and the centre section which was fine. £30!! Pretty happy with that outcome. Meanwhile Powerflow got back to me and said " Good morning A complete back box system (2 silencer) for the Lexus IS250 will be from £249 including VAT and fitting, will be fabricated in 304 Stainless Steel which will come with a lifetime warranty and will include your choice of tailpipe. Pretty decent price that, I expected more.

Don't be put off travelling for the right car, I had a 10 hour round trip looking at a car in Warrington... A motor is a big purchase and I'm always ready to travel if the perfect car comes on the market.

Read front to back, before I took delivery 😏

Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for all the useful info on the site. I have an intermittent squealing coming from the engine when starting. It doesn’t seem to be temperature or damp related and occasionally squeals a couple of miles into a journey but never beyond that. The car is an 04 RX300 with 100k on the clock. The cam belt and auxiliary belts were changed at 80k. The battery is in good shape. I’ve tried starting with all electrical extras turned off, so just starting the engine only and it still does, but intermittently as previously said, so not consistent. Are the alternator and a/c pulleys fixed or clutched and are there any tensioners? My car is LPG and the system parts block off easy access to the alternator and belts. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

Decided to put the is250 up for sale at the start of December as I was looking at getting an estate. To be honest I didn't put my heart into selling it so stuck it up on Gumtree at quite a high price, this was mainly due to there not being many low milers about and wanted to aim at a private buyer. Just after Christmas the car was struggling to start and I suspected the battery, from my understanding the car is or was on its original battery so nearly 12 years out of a battery is pretty good in my books. The other half did suggest the car was telling me it didn't want selling so I've replaced the battery and taken it off sale. Compared to when I got it, the car is in much better condition due to the amount of detailing I've done on it. Am still thinking of an estate but will wait and see what happens. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

I knew you would say that John

Regen braking will be used where possible but it can only provide a certain amount of resistance. If you need more then conventional brakes will also apply in combination with electric braking. If the needle moves to the bottom of the regen section of the power meter then any greater braking force is from mechanical brakes. The amount of regen braking force possible will be reduced if the batteries are full or over temperature, at which point the needle will move to the bottom of the regen section much sooner than you were expecting. You should have no concern over the 'complex' brake system. It works well and is proven across all Toyota hybrids for 20+ years. The only 'disadvantage' you can get is that if you are the type of driver that is light on brakes then almost all will be electric rather than mechanical, and as the latter gets little use that can start to seize and the discs will corrode which leads to noise so it is always worth performing a few hard stops every few weeks. The benefit is brakes pads and discs can easily last 40k+ miles.

Found the thread. Is this your problem too?

If you sign up for the My Lexus part of the Lexus website and then register your vehicle via the VIN you will be able to access a history of work done each time the car was at a dealer: https://www.lexus.co.uk/my-lexus/ Register your car there and then scroll down and on the right you'll see Service History - a bit further down you'll then see Full History which will take you to a page listing any work done at a dealers.

Shahpor, You have one of theses fancy Mk 4s so it may not be the same but there was a thread about a startup noise on Mk 3s. From memory it was thought to be due to no oil somewhere high up on the engine where pressure holds a mechanism in position. Lack of pressure and it isn't held tightly and rattles a bit. VVT perhaps? As soon as the oil pressure builds up the rattles stop. You say doesn't happen very time the engine is started but only when it has stood overnight. If it is the same Britprus has a cunning fix but it's not one Lexus would do for you. He will advise. John

My son bought a is250 f sport last week which the selling non Lexus dealer said had full Lexus history so I rang them and asked for the reg and vin number which they gave me then rang Lexus Ipswich and asked them to check if this was the case and they happily gave me details of all the services and dealers who done this so should help you.

Hi Shahpor, I also checked the noise this morning when I started the car, may be I have something similar to your but not to this extend, the engine a bit coarse anyway when it's starting cold but settles down pretty quickly, it never worried me as I thought it is normal. I think it could be hydro-pneumatic compensators and it takes a few seconds to warm up? Some say better fuel will fix it, some say better engine oil will cure it. I need to remember and make a video of the car in the morning.

All oil recommendations should be invalid until the recommender has torn the engine apart and inspection pistons, cylinders, cams etc Of course, no one will do that, so when I see comments like “it’s a great oil”, I think ‘how can you say that without knowing what the engine looks like internally?’ “Tell me I’m wrong!”

If you do go ahead with the one in Leicester, then I would remove that annoying/pointless sticker, some Herbert decided would look Good, on the back window using a hair dryer sooner rather than later as once it hardens and goes brittle it ain't never coming off! As for the Vline kit, I am very close to going for that as an upgrade for mine, bit expensive but might just treat myself! Shame that baviaannl never done a 'How to" with pics when he installed his 😀. Having said that if I do go for it I too will prob just want to get it installed perfectly and will 'forget' to document it!!!!! paul m.

I went for an SE-L which is the spec to go for imho, I knew after driving it for 200 meters that it would be coming home with me, the drive was sublime! I was coming from a 2015 Honda CRV with every gadget and extra you could imagine although I've not missed it at all.

I'm excited to own one, especially considering all the great press they have. More positive news, that one in Leicester, spoke to the garage who said it's been very well maintained. Pads and discs replaced in the last year or so and Spark plugs last year. Hopefully going to see it tomorrow.

You won't regret a 250 though, fantastic cars and a really great drive. Took ours through Europe in October and the drive was great, really comfortable and amazing on fuel (considering the V6).. It really comes into it's own on a long motorway cruise, plenty of power when you need it and very quiet.

We have always lived quite rural and hilly. I tried snow socks on my last car and they were fine on the flat/slight incline. First proper hill wheels spun and the sock came off and wrapped itself around the drive shaft. Wouldn't recommend socks based on my experience. I don't think your allowed chains in this country unless the road is covered with a certain amount of ice. If you can't go winter/all season I'd recommend keeping wellies in the boot!

So..... so far i have DE-beiged,DE-wooded and now in process of DE-chroming 😆 rear L badge carbon wrapped with 3m 4D high gloss carbon wrap

Thanks. I have been spending time last night reading the manual. I am getting there!

You never know with brakes on a GS. When you press the pedal anything can happened. Ideally you want to use regenerative breaking all the time but you also need to use hydraulics to clean the surface of disc from time to time. There must also be some HV conditioning behaviour - that you might not want to charge it at that given time when you are breaking and then hydraulics need to be used etc. Maybe that is why it is intermittent as hydraulics are not always used and when not all is good 🙂 With conventional breaks when you got this kangaroo jumps it means that breaking force is not equal in a function of time. When you are moving slower disc is rotating slower so you can feel those weak spots for longer. Quite easy check is to lift up the car and manually rotate the wheels while gently applying the brake. You might be able to feel something. Finally about the noise. I'm using shell premium fuels and never heard injector pump. I'll check today though by starting the engine with open door to check if I got anything similar.

Shapor That sounds Like the Direct Injection pump I had it on mine I put some Whins Fuel cleaner in and it got a lot quieter i suspect that you could maybe use Redex but have never used that in mine I then Got Lexus to fit me a Pump insulator and now you can hardly hear it at all Robert

Thanks... My favorite would be white leather ...

If you give a quick jab on the accelerator before pulling away you don't get the jerk.

Tried that on my dashcam. Frustration rather than excitement. Went back to basics.....RTFM.....again !!

Yes but doesn't give the same frisson of excitement as just pushing buttons 😀

Nico, you have a wonderful car, but do try to find time to read your Handbook. It is ESSENTIAL reading for new owners. Regards

I think that's why I knew the GS was right for me from day one. I like that 'American' feel. Ok, so handling tends to be sacrificed a tad for a softer ride. No problem with this as I don't rag my cars anyway. But you are spot on regarding the ranges available in the USA. This applies to most Japanese brands too. Not only in models available but engine's available too. We'd lost most of our tough as nails, super-reliable, well appointed Japanese 6 cylinder mid-large size cars in the mid 2000's. Aggressive marketing, large diesel engines and the availability of PCP etc meant that the Germans more or less cleaned up in the larger car market. However, those buying second hand often found themselves on the receiving end of huge, unexpected bills once the warranty expired. The Americans are less badge obsessed too and see Honda, Toyota and Lexus as being 'prestige' brands. They also value reliability too. Have a look at larger Honda/Toyota/Lexus cars for sale on an American dealers site. You will see far more engine choices and trim levels. Plus a handful of large 2 door (proper) Coupes that were removed from the UK market years ago.

I could never 'love' the shape-just appreciated the quality. But I moved from this.....

Overall pretty good. Original asking price £13,400 Threw in an offer of £600 less the asking price. Or forecourt price plus an additional 36 month warranty thrown in. Came back with a counter offer of asking price plus additional 24 month warranty. Total = 3 years. Stuck my hand out at £13,300 and this was accepted. Give the FSH and very low mileage of 25k they probably feel fair safe giving a very generous warranty. If nothing goes wrong with it over three years then my haggling doesn't really return a huge amount of value. However if nothing goes wrong with it over three years then for me its a great buy at £100 less the asking price! Would rather 100% reliability than feeling like I'm getting one over a dealer by having expensive bits replaced under warranty. So a kind of win - win. Drove home through a cloud of salt being spread so already that clean looking front end is soiled!!!!!!!! Quick rinse and pics up tomorrow.

I could be totally wrong here.......but.......from my beliefs the big V8 was never an engine that was demanded, more the flagship of the manufacturing world when profits weren’t everything, obviously profits a must but manufacturers profits are being maximised at a loss of the flagship car.......I suppose it all boils down to profit these days, sometimes smoothness and power delivery outweigh whistles, neck braces and high revs n engine noise.........I think of my ISF as my coffin as to date there still isn’t a practical everyday car that I’d even contemplate replacing with.......and as things supposedly move forward I feel myself stepping back further from the thought of changing it 👍🏻👍🏻

Welcome to the LOC. You'll find it very helpful and loads of knowledgeable people on here. How come you get a Tyne & Wear location as previously the Geordies were in County Durham. Things must have changed in the LOC world!!!. I'm in Washington.

Any update on this? It would be helpful to know what was wrong.

Walk away.

I know, there's too many things now which are putting doubts in my mind, bits of bodywork here and there I could deal with. But the whole engine swap etc is very strange, although I only have a random garages word for it in Scotland, the seller is completely unaware it's had anything done. This is also coupled up with the fact the VIN number on the V5 doesn't match the one on the car? Sounds dodgy

I would pull the unit out and check everything is plugged in at the back hope this helps

Mine did that when fully open when I first bought it or at least when we first had some warm weather. I just closed it slightly from fully open i.e. slid it forward a touch. After a few weeks it no longer happened when fully open but no idea why.

Hi Mark, welcome to the forum and it's good to hear that you are considering one of the best 'sleeper' that is rarely remembered. I get 40+ mpg on a steady run and have averaged 35mpg over 2 years. Mine is 58 plate MK3 and the boot isn't any bigger than a slightly earlier pre-face lift. As already mentioned the boot is small which pretty much works for me and the mrs, I have roof bars and a rear box if we're travelling more than 2 up, although I've not needed to use both at once. If boot size is important then I believe the MK4's get a bigger boot but I haven't seen one in person to compare, the later cars also much more expensive. I have an AUX-in phone jack in my center arm rest but I rarely use it. I don't have any cassette tapes, so I've never used that. The ML speakers/etc great tho As you've already found, the Hybrid batteries can be repaired cost effectively, there's also been a few reports of a pump failure that can be fixed cheaply rather than buying a new replacement. I've grown to really enjoy the CVT gearbox and the drive train gives one mighty surge when needed, I've never felt it's been short on power! Have you driven one yet? Good luck in your hunt and do keep us updated on your progress.

Lincoln Lexus is my local dealer, I to would recommend the dealer. I have their service plan and extended warranty on my CT, their level of customer service is outstanding.

Beautiful, I love the colour, and the wheels are fab, they suit it so much. Harvey Specter drives one and if you've ever watched Suits you'll know he doesn't settle for anything but the best!!