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Fed up with the look of my pitted windscreen trim, I decided to wrap it. Before and after pictures attached. Well pleased and only cost £3.89.

Hi Eddy, good call checking in for what to look out for on a test drive. A clean hybrid health check is good and will warranty the traction battery for another 12 months. The GS450h should be pretty much silent even with the v6 running, at least on the standard exhaust. Peek under the rear bumper and check the exhaust Y pipe where it splits to the left/right boxes, this area is prone to corrode/leak so rust/soot can be used as bargaining chips. Dealers like to report leaking dampers and failed calipers but posts on here often show that the dampers are fine (as in my case) and the calipers often just need a clean/re-lube. Once the v6 is thoroughly warmed up, turn down the heater and lift off/go light on the throttle under 40mpg - this should force electric mode. In Normal mode you can hold electric easily on the throttle but in Sport or PWR modes almost any throttle will bring the v6 back online. PWR mode will give you more regen braking vs Normal. Switching between modes can be laggy to load/engage but once set you should then feel the throttle response change. Sport will tighten the dampers a bit. Hit the Info button, then Trip Info to see average mpg, min/max consumption, etc It should be averaging over 30mpg although much depends if the car is primarily driven in or out of town. 40mpg/thereabouts should be attainable on a steady 60pmg+ run. Lower figures might be caused by a traction battery that's on it's way out or 'regular' stuff like sticking brake calipers, vacuum leak, o2 sensor, etc. Check the headlights work as they're quite expensive to repair. If you are looking at an '08 car (in your profile) then is it a facelift with the indicators in the wind mirrors? At that age TPMS sensors might be or start to fail, the reset button is under the dash. Unfortunately alloys can tend to corrode quite badly, check the plastic inserts are all in place and secure. Does the vehicle has a full service history? With Lexus or elsewhere? Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Just a quick update, after a fortnight of ownership. The car has been to my friendly local mechanic and up on his ramps. Clean bill of health from him, which is good news. The only issue we spotted was some corrosion on the input to the rear silencer box, but that's not entirely surprising on a 10 year old car so I am not worried. New tyres have been sourced, and with 4 matching tyres, the car runs straight and handles nicely. I have also sourced a new can of tyre goo (the old one was missing) and a couple of carpet clips to replace broken ones on the driver's side. The driver's side windscreen washer nozzles have also been unblocked (not sure how it passed that element of the MOT the state it was in) and new wiper blades fitted. Detailed examination of the bodywork reveals a couple of scratches, but nothing too serious, and a small dent in the bumper just under the rear numberplate. Not sure why I didn't spot that one before I bought it, I guess it's only obvious when the light catches it a certain way. Looking at it, I guess the dent is a parking incident with another vehicle which had a tow ball, it is exactly the right size and height. I will get them all sorted sometime. Driving it with the roof down is great, and since the weather is so good, I have hardly driven it roof up! All in all, very pleased.

So for about 10 years I had been looking at these beasts and thinking, I just don’t know, and kept putting it on the back burner, I’ve always modified cars, and to the horror of some, when I mentioned what I wanted to do with the LS. I want to help create the interest in the aftermarket world that most cars have. The LS is so underestimated and most would just rip the engine out and leave another shell behind. I’ve always loved the shape, and growing up watching NASCAR’s something just clicked with the shape and road presence of the LS. So along my journey so far I have documented the purchase and changes I have made to the car. Now I know it’s not going to float the boat of everyone, but I’ve tried to keep things tasteful and I change my mind a lot. So hope you enjoy, I’m no mechanic but learnt as I’ve gone along the road. So here we go.

I'm gonna watch this thread closely...it sounds interesting

Hi Samantha on my 64 reg f sport, once you have put in your route click on the 3 dots bottom right of the display. It will come up with options, one being time to destination. Regards Alancc

Hi all, I am new here and I have a question for the IS300h owners. Currently I have a 2011 BMW 3 series with a 3.0L engine and 250hp. The car offers great performance and I like it a lot but the car is really fragile and even though I bought it at under 60k miles, in 2.5 years and 20k miles I invested around 3k £ in repairs (excluding the normal maintenance and wear and tear parts), mostly things that should never go out at this age and miles in any car, things like valve cover, injectors, some sensors etc. I was thinking about buying a newer BMW or another German car but asking around my friends who have BMW, Audi and Mercedes they all experience the same kind of issues and every little thing that goes wrong with these cars is super expensive to fix and they happen all the time even if the car is well under 100k miles, so the age of the car is not the reason. I used to have a Mazda 3 car a few years back and that car was solid as a rock, sold it for almost nothing to a good friend and it has 100k miles now on it and it never ever went wrong. So I looked a little into Japanese cars and the only one I like is the Lexus. I know the IS is really reliable and it looks good too but I've read some reviews where they said that CVT gearboxes are mostly really annoying and that they can be sluggish and noisy. All the cars I've owned had manual transmissions but when going on holiday I had 4 different auto gearboxes and I was thinking I could live with one if it is decent but I am a little worried by the CVT reviews I've seen online. I think I drove a CVT once in a Toyota C-HR which was OK but it couldnt really handle any type of spirited driving but then again that one didn't have a sport setting or anything. The ZF I drove once in a BMW 2 series was absolutely superb. So I guess the question here is what are your experiences with the CVT in the Lexus IS 300h? Was there a shock coming from another cars or is it not that bad? When the time comes to get rid of the BMW I will probably look for a IS 300H around 2016, probably the F-Sport model and under 50k miles as I plan to keep the car for a while. Any help from owners would be appreciated. Many thanks

Wow. Really. To be consistent, I strongly suggest that you disconnect all the airbags in your car. They cost a bomb to replace and create a real mess when they go off. After all, your chances of having an accident are about the same as hitting a pedestrian, so why should you need costly airbags to protect yourself and your family just because you *might* have an accident. Actually, while you're at it, you should probably also cancel your insurance. What is the point of paying for something you may never, ever need.

I am a bit confused by your statement about "sloppy management" and "don't expect the service to be 100%. What are you referring to? If it is about the manual I think it's a bit harsh: this is now common practice not only with Lexus but with other manufacturers too. More and more people are happy to go online and, if required, to print only the pages they need. What is the point on systematically issuing hefty manuals that will seldom get used past the first few weeks and take a lot of space in the glove box. Save a tree! 🙂

Just a straight swap. Takes less than 30 seconds after you've done it once or twice

I was given Clay Mitts as a present a couple of years ago, have never used them, but going to a wedding in two weeks, so will give the LS a proper deep wash, use hte Mitts and then wax, and hopefully it will look nice and be as smooth as a baby's backside.

Just an update on Conner’s car. I sold it yesterday. I told the whole story to the buyer and showed him the paperwork. He saw it all as a plus point. He is a decent guy and it was a pleasure to deal with him. I guess that’s probably typical of the kind of person who would buy one of these cars. He had a 50 plus mile drive home and is very happy with the car.

Hi Aidan, Thanks, the pay version i can buy original from Lexus on their platform. https://www.lexus-tech.eu/TLLogin.aspx It,s not very expensive if you want to use for 24h or 1 week, see attachment. I was wandering if someone has on PDF or DVD the program.

https://www.epcatalogs.com/lexus-is300h-repair-manual-04.2013/ If your badly stuck this is a link to the paid version of their manuals I found.

Was looking for the same thing today but this was the only free copy of any of the manuals I could find..if i find anymore il post it here. DM30K0E_IS300h_DIS.pdf

As it probably comes under the heading of consumer affairs, the "Which? Legal" service might be helpful. I have no idea what they're like and have never used them. But they ought to know about the issues that arise when buying products that cause problems and what your rights are. You can also talk to them on the phone, whereas the Citizens Advice Bureau seems to involve going to an office and waiting around for a long time. For example, they have a template letter on the website that can be used when a car is damaged while being worked on. This seems to be the case here.

Again I say get in touch with Lexus "it does not matter what branch or how far away" and ask for there advice concerning the use of the wrong oil, and an estimate of how much to repair the damage. You then have proof to Halfords of the problem, and it's associated likely cost. John

You may also consider contacting the motoring press. WhatCar, TopGear, AutoExpress, Honest John etc. They can provide good advice, but primarily they may support you in getting your problem resolved. No company - Halfords included - want bad publicity. All of these magazines have a section dedicated to drivers who have had long running issues that they cannot manage to get fixed.

Here we go, looks like it's time to get legal involved. Seems like they want to play stupid saying after investigating the fact the aircon is still working there is no need to correct for potential issues, and if something does happen then to get back in contact with them and they will have an engineer inspect the vechicle. 😡

It doesn't take too long, maybe an hour. It all depends on how the paint work is to start with. When you clay you know your done on a particular panel when it gets really slippery.

VED should be incorporated into fuel prices....

Apologies, it will not. I did not read the thread fully!

How? How will this £7 spray help this guy determine whether his entire AC system needs to be replaced or in fact doesn't? Please enlighten us.

I came to Lexus from a Mazda 3, 125,000 miles, 9 years of ownership and only had to change 1 shock absorber.... I wanted an auto, but do quite high mileage so a CVT made sense for me. My opinion is: It's perfect 90% of the time. Then the 10% when you want to have fun... Not so good... I think it does make you chill out a bit more behind the wheel because of it. The only real annoyance is, there can be a little bit of a lag if you punch the throttle (a little worse than a standard slushbox auto), but if your progressive it's fine and much better than the audi CVT (had an A5 hire car for a few weeks, that was so laggy it was dangerous). I think if you love spirited driving then it probably won't be for you, if you want a child relaxing drive them it's better than a standard auto. Ps 50,000+ miles on mine, no real issues (rear brakes seized, but my car was only used Monday's and Thursday's and kept out in the rain, plus the journey was all mway, so wasn't really using the brakes. Other than a few rattles it's a good work horse.

Pros of f sport : Looks Good and wheels are nice. LFA sliding dials More advanced trip computer than other Lexus Sports suspension F sport seats Against F Sport : Sports suspension F Sport seats are quite firm if you do a lot of miles. Finally to throw a spanner in the works try a GS300h. I think quality wise it is a step up and my 2015 pre face-lift car was better on fuel than my 2014 f sport IS300h. It certainly felt just as quick and had excellent heated and ventilated front seats. Mine was the luxury trim and had rear cross traffic radar and blind spot monitoring.

The experts on how to get the best mpg seem to be on the Prius forums - real mpg enthusiasts! I suspect the people on this forum like to get good mpg but aren't quite so fanatical about it. Having said that, and not being one of the experts, I would guess that as the petrol engine seems to be at its most efficient at high revs it would make sense to accelerate briskly and then cruise. Energy is wasted not so much when you're accelerating but when you're braking, turning motion into heat which is thrown away. But with a hybrid you can avoid wasting some of this energy as you brake by having it stored in the battery as you slow down. This is where the meter is useful. My understanding is that while the needle is hovering in the lower part of the hybrid system gauge labelled Charge, some of the energy is being stored in the battery as the car is being slowed by the load created by the generators. But as soon as the needle hits the lower limit the brake pads come into play so from here on energy is being thrown away as heat. So where possible, my policy is to try and keep the needle close to the lower limit when braking but not actually touching it. This is where the maximum amount of energy is being stored and as a bonus the brake pads are not being worn out. I think the Hybrid Assistant app gives more information about when the brake pads are being used though I haven't tried it myself. I keep meaning to have a look at it in action.

Hi guys, been a while since I posted some news on here but it appears the IS will be coming late 2020/21 Current information is quite sparse but it will remain RWD and on the LNGA platform shared with the Toyota Crown so expect a longer wheelbase and length with width to remain the same. Now the main thing here is, it's going to be roughly between the current IS and outgoing GS in terms of overall length and is designed to fill the void of the GS (generally just means less production cost having one model in the lineup opposed to two) Engines will remain the same i.e 200t (remains to be seen whether UK will get it) and the IS300h. Some sources are saying the 3.5l V6 will get changed to a 2.4l 4 cylinder turbo with improved power and torque i.e. circa 350hp but this isn't confirmed yet. However, Toyota sells the Crown with the 3.5l V6 hybrid as its top of the range model with the multistage transmission from the LC500 already. This could be seen too and would probably be the most logical solution. Some good news for F fans, Lexus will return with the IS-F. Powertrain remains unknown. Some sources say 3.5l TTV6 with 416hp but I remain skeptical. I'd assume they'd want atleast 450hp to even remotely compete in the market. However, having said that, we all know Lexus doesn't play the horsepower top trumps game.

Usually hypermilers sites suggest to accelerate keeping power meter at upper side of ECO zone, then, if speed is sufficient (above about 42 mph) keep thermal engine one with power meter just above mid ECO zone). A good help for hypermiling is to use OBD BT interface with an android app like Hybrid Assistant with its suggestions.

Quite a few of us on here have had the same mispleasure of BMW reliability, mine was a E90 335i, to this day still the only car that has broken down and left me stranded by the side of the road. Amazing driving machines, but fragile is a kind word to use to describe awful build quality and inherent design flaws, which BMW never than take responsibility for. We've had our IS300H 4.5 years now, we haven't done many miles, sub 26k, but its simply the most reliable, cheap to own car we've had. You wouldn't find the IS300H lacking in actual speed, or handling. Its surprisingly quick especially when moving and had top class body control on a B road. None of this 'skipping' across the road when the road surface is bad your find with any 'M sport' badged BMW. As a daily commuter car/Mway machine its really hard to fault the IS300H, ours returns 45mpg all weather, I did 300 miles non stop in it once in awful weather and the car behaved perfectly. HOWEVER the power delivery is awful, if that aspect of the car is important to you. As you have experienced the ZF auto boxes are amazing, the IS300H is nothing close, add in about 0.5-1 second delay between going full throttle and the engine responding and your getting close to how the IS300H feels when 'pressing on'. Its not as bad as the autobox in a CX60/90 but nothing close to the old 6 speed ZF autobox let alone the current 8 speed box. The noise actually is fine, as most of the time the car is very quiet, and in day to day driving the drive train is fine, its only when you going full throttle the powertrain delays are noticable. My wife loves our IS, she has no idea why I find driving it so frustrating, its like having a Michelin star level plate of food put on your table with how good the overall car is, but than asked to eat it with plastic knife and fork...... The IS is a really good car, and we'll be keeling ours for a good while yet, overall all its an fantastic car, but the power train has flaws if that kind of thing is important to you.

This is the F performance part of the Lexus forum, where we discuss the performance models. He's going from an ISF to something a lot faster. We can all appreciate the car he's getting, is a special one. 😜