sercombe

Thanks for all the info :)

What kind of 'common' problems do these cars have? Any regular places for the odd rattle? I've read the CD player likes to swallow em - does that generally mean a replacement or can they be repaired fairly cheaply.

I am not one to scrimp on my cars - I do spend the money I just like to know what I am getting into if I were to take the plunge.

How do people find the performance, and ahndling of these cars in standard is200 form?

Any further info is greatly received.

As i mentioned above:

CD Player

Ball Joints

Water Pump Leaking

Corroding alloy wheels

Inside tyre wear - throughly check (average tyre is £60 - £80 with black circles.)

these are all common faults. CD players tend to go wrong on the old style CD player which was put in the first cars from 1999 until 2001. identify this type of cd player by the tape being at the top and CD loads at the bottom. the newer ones dont tend to get faulty much. I believe not many people can repair them. they were under 5 year warranty with lexus where they just replaced. These days its cheaper to buy another one off eBay. Also to note you cannot exhange an old style radio for new style as i believe the plugs are all different.

Apart from this Id recommend checking all the electrics work such as electric seats/washers/auto lights/central locking/seat belt lights for both front seats/heating and air con system. Lexus and toyota are known for excellent mechanics however like with BMW the electrics always go faulty and can be expensive to repair.

something else to point out is i remember the first time i researched lexus is200's and there were reports of gear boxes being notchy on the early ones. Ive never experienced problems but feel free to search on the forum for more info.

any further questions feel free to ask and ill be glad to help the best i can.

Hi there and welcome to the LOC,

Jamie

in response to your question buy a 200 best car ive ever owned. i loved my v6 sri vectra but this is something else

Servicing is quite expensive in comparison to BMW and other car makes as is all the parts but they are very reliable cars. Watch out for corroded alloys (£40 per wheel to refurb)/ Water pump leaking on the front right of the engine at hoses and make sure you check all your electrics including CD player works as they often get CD's jamming. Other than that ball joints often go but i believe its about £80 for that to be done.

Servicing at lexus will be expensive. I go to a local garage that is recognised by other LOC users as there is no point in lexus stamps after around 60-80k

I was serviced last week for 100k so here is what it cost: -

6 Denso SK20 R11 Spark Plugs = £47 (£67 quoted from lex dealership)

oil filter and sump washer = £9.89

Air filter = £21.48

pollen filter = £24.53

5 litre oil = £15

Timing Belt = £30.64

Tensioner = £58.06

Idler = £58.13

Air filter/pollen and oil filter can all be bought cheaper from your local car shop which would be made by japanese manufacterers such as ADL.

Timing belt needs doing at 100k or 6 years as said above. There is pretty expensive. Recommended to do the tensioner and idler at same time. a local garage will charge around £100 for changing this. Lexus will charge you around £400 in total including parts or as part of the 100k service its around £750 without the idler and tensioner so that will cost you at least an extra £150. Some people have paid over £1000 for a major service as the dealerships do like to take the mikey.

Diff oil needs changing every few years as does brake fluid and a clear out of coolant every 30k i think as its long life pink stuff they put in.

I think thats everything....

Oh dont be put off by cars with 100k on them cos they still drive like new. just make sure they have all the stamps.

anything under £1k is good for a young driver id say. Im age 20 (21 in 2 months) with 1 years no claims. Silly me wanted a Mazda RX8 so had to go with a small specialist insurance company for young drivers with fast cars paying £3500 for the year. 7 Weeks later got rid of the car to cut my debts and got a lexus again (high milage) to find that my insurance company would only refund me £1k so I was forced to stick with them as £2k for 7 weeks insurance is a stinger. They then said they would give me £60 back to insure the lexus. The lexus being valued at £4500 on a W reg (group insurance 12/13) against the RX8 worth £12k (group 16/17)... What a joke!!!!

Well ive had to cut my losses and cant wait to move away from this insurance company. Another reason for my insurance to be steep is because I wrote my V Reg lexus off last year into a brick wall caused 10k damage so as you can imagine im high risk. Having said that... direct line quote me £1500 with the crash.

My previous insurance policy i crashed on cost me £1150 for the year which was good.

Lexus dealerships do the sports grill in 4 colours ONLY that come pre-painted: Red/Black/Silver/Platinum Ice. The parts full price is about £36 and is a special order as they dont stock them.

The Sports badge and the lexus badge come attached to it however only the lexus badge can be removed as it is held on by a clip. The sport badge will not remove as it is glued.

Has anyone got any pictures of the sports grill on a Graphite Grey IS200??? please post if you have thanks

Is the below a load of rubbish? or if its likely to work would it not damage your engine?

BHP - Ebay

Ive been wanting to buy some caliper lexus badges for the past week but the shop is closed. why is this? anywhere else i can buy them from?

What happens if the timing belt or tensioner/idler Breaks?

Info from about.com:

the timing belt breaks on a non-interference design, there is enough clearance between the pistons and valves to prevent damaging contact. An interference design does not have sufficient clearance between those parts and engine damage would result from a broken timing belt.

Is the IS200 a non interference engine and is it ok for the timing belt to break? what exactly happens?

How much does it cost then to have the geometry done? I take it this is something different from tracking?

The inside of my tyres are worn really badly and i get a shake on the steerng from about 50mph then it goes away at 80 and comes back at higher speeds above 90mph.

Anyone?

Ive searched on the forum but not all my questions are answered and there is a mix in the info given so i need some clarification.

Ive bought a W Reg IS200 on 100k miles that is due a major service. Im looking to get the service done on the cheap as there is no point in having it done at lexus as the value has been lost now anyway.

I have a list for work to do:

Oil

Oil Filter (with Sump Plug Washer)

Air Filter

Pollen Filter

6 Spark Plugs (SK20 R11)

Timing Belt & Tensioners

Replace: Brake Fluid/Coolant/Rear Diff Oil/Gear Box Oil/Valve Clearance.

Questions:

1. Is the list right or can anyone suggest additions? Do some of you feel that some of the work is not required?

Does Gear Box Oil ever get changed? Do valves need cleaning? is it a must to change coolant and brake fluid? Would other fluids need a change like power steering at any point or is this not serviceable items?

2. OIL - after reading on here and phoning lexus Dealerships they all say different oils. I have been given 0w 30/5w 30/5w 40/10w 40 - both Semi synthetics and Fully Synthetics. Which is it? Ive read thin oils will cause engine wear and you can hear engine tappets. Possibily better fuel economy however older engines should you thicker oils. does semi or fully synthetic matter? What is recomended. My local car shop will sell me AC Delco oil is what i think he said. is it top performance oil?

3. SPARK PLUGS - on here ive read DENSO IK20 (or IK22 for supercharged) is the best plug to use. Lexus say SK20 R11. Is this the same plug or is it a typo on this forum that people are talking about IK20????

3b. Can anyone beat £7.40 a plug? well point me in the right direction. eBay looks like its cheap at £25 but is it worth it after the posting from america?

Your help is much appreciated.. Thanks

Strange for a first post, not an advert is it? Let's see some pictures.

Ive come across the website. I never trust those american websites that have one long continuous page that goes over the top on the benefits of their product with corny video's. sounds like a big con to me at $60. Id stick with the big brands.

Has anyone got any pictures of the LED lights on their car in the dark?

Please Post!

I think we are all getting a bit confused.

The side lights on my car are in a large circle. By ring I mean just the outside of the circle is lit up. On the LED lights they have a bright ring round the outside and then LED's in the middle.

Coming to think about this.... im not what the brakes lights look like when on. Ill have to go out and have a look.

Got a feeling you are on about the ones from eBay, the LED replacements, the standard lights are kind of in a ring anyway, but all the changes were just to the colour of the reflector, ie chrome, dark chrome, dark goldy colour etc.

I saw a lexus IS200 with lights in the dark just as a ring just like on mondeo's. The LED ones on eBay have the LED's in the middle which the ones i saw didnt have those. Just the ring round the outside. it didnt look like any out of the ordinary modification. Im sure ive seen a few about. Maybe 2004 onwards?

Well to start with Ill say that after my nasty stunt driving Accident last april in my First Lexus.

Since then Ive been a BMW series 3 owner which I found very boring and sluggish and also had Mazda RX8 which was fun but very expensive with its disappointing rotary engine thats very unreliable. (having said that RX stands for Rotary Experimental. after over 30 years they still havent finished experimenting and got it right! :-)

Anyway Im back this time with a high milage W reg IS200 SE in Gun-metal Grey. Currently on 100k with FSH. for £4500 Im not complaining. Had to clear my debts and settle for high milage after loosing out to my ever so fast depreciating Mazda. I wont be doing stunts in this one as my insurance company has stung me this year. eek!

----

Anyway i want to ask a question.... I have seen the odd lexus about with the rear side lights in a ring. Now is i wanted to know was this standard from a certain year onwards? if so.. Can you put the new style lights in the older Is200's?

OR are these lights im seeing the LED/Ring lights that are on eBay for about £200?

My window washers on the windscreen arnt squirting any water. I can hear the motor buzzing as normal but no squirt.

1. I have checked and filled up the water to maximum.

What could it be? Does the buzz from the motor suggest that the motor is fine or can it still buzz and be broken?

Bit silly admitting on a public forum what you were doing whrn you have pictures of the car, your location and even the location of the crash :(

what have i admitted on a public forum?

insurance pretty expensive to begin with.... insurance next year is a possible refusal or not affordable anymore so i loose the car anyway.

looks like the sensible "metro drivers" have been on and made a few comments. regarding your comment I am still kicking myself about it and I am beginning to pay for it already as the insurance company refuses me no end of cars since it got wrote off and insurance quotes for me have come up as £2500-£4500

Thats hard luck mate......

what were you doing?... "power slides"... what did you tell the cops....?

the police were really arsy with me. Being only 19 they were testing me as though id stolen the car or borrrowed it from my mum or dad. erased...

erased

Feel for you mate :duh: where did you hit the wall, was it near you

You feel for me because I now have to drive that damn BMW. First BMW and my last i think. hehe unless i ever came into M3 money.

It happened on a friday night at 2am, police turned up by accident since there was a shooting on the next road - some chav's having a domestic that got outta hand so I was out until 5am.

It didnt hit me until i was sat in the pub the following day, completely gutted thinking "if only i..."

How the hell did you manage that? :o

Well lets say I have a friend that into Supra's, EVO's and he taught me a couple of tricks you can do in rear wheel drive cars and I became addicted to it.

who can guess how I did it?

This is the wall that I put my Lexus IS200 sport navigator through 4 weeks ago

This is the car on the back of the recovery truck at 4am in the morning finally after the police allowed them to remove it.

This is 3 weeks on from the crash after the insurance company told me they were writting her off.

The car may only look like like a light end smash but there is damage to the Chassis, Axle, suspension and when you look under the bonnet the radiator and fan are all pushed into the front of the engine (the belt). I also damaged the one tyre that was on the floor as I did everything to get the car out the wall before the police came.

... and heres the Courtesy car i managed to talk the hire company into giving me

It was alright, I dont think mercedes C Class are as good as the Lexus!! But not bad since it was a new one that i took on dirt tracks before taking it back. hehe ;-)

And here is the pile of crap that I drive now thats slow and has a very outdated interior with a stiff throttle. Its a 2002 316i SE - its not the exact one cos i havent taken a pic of mine but its the same looks and mine is black.

It looks nice on the outside and the women know the BMW badge but apart from that its a rubbish car and LEXUS club ill be back!!!

Oh jus to let you all know I grabbed some stuff outta the car which some of you may want. I have a Full IS200 Toolkit, CD Sat Nav computer with the CD in from the boot, Allow centre Caps, Side repeaters, A Spair wheel screw holder and some lexus offical car mats. Let me know if you want any of it. maybe you got some of that stuff missing from yours?

Lexus CD Nav discs are available only from Lexus dealers. No other discs will work in the system.

If you join our Gold membership you could get 15% off the price from certain dealers.

Used ones also appear on ebay now and then, normally when somebody upgrades to the latest disc they sell their old one.

Thats an interesting one since Lexus manchester once said they offer no discount to Lexus owners club members as LOC is more trouble than its worth! they were his words!!

I was looking for a very cheap option really for the sat nav system. Pip I know TomTom and systems similar to that is much better than the lexus one but since my car came with it in then I may as well use it, as it looks good with it coming up out the dash! I like electric things that move, they make the car look good! lol

If anyone can offer me a cheap option, maybe an old disc they have please PM me. I will look at all possibilities