sercombe

I WILL PUT THIS POST HERE AGAIN FOR THE THIRD TIME: -

Does anyone know where I can get cheap Sat Nav update discs for my Is200? Can any other discs apart from Lexus ones be used in the system.

Note: - I have CD system not DVD

(this post keeps going missing! hmm??? a big why?)

I have had my cambelt done last week. The parts are £30 for cam belt and you are looking around £50 each for an idler and tensioner = £130 tops (can be got cheaper trade) - its advisorable you do them as well. Labour can be anything from £100 to £200 for it. i think Lexus stockport quoted me something like £260 for the belt being done with no idler or tensioner.

Id get the parts yourself and find someone down london that can do lexus timing belts cheap for ya!

well I am a new IS200 owner and I have sat nav and the screen goes pink and blue and you will find on your remote the screen settings button (little round one on right towards the bottom) wont work at times.

Having read the information on here and speaking to lexus dealerships its a common problem. It does unfortunately mean a new screen which costs roughly between £1500-£2000 at the dealerships which is just cheaper to get yourself a TOMTOM really which is better!

Anyway from reading the info on here, it says its the ribbon cable that over time while the screen opens and closes gets damaged. So i took the sat nav screen out and unscrewed each layer of the sat nav screen right down to the actual screen circuit board, looked at the cable, give it a bit of a clean. Unfortunately i couldnt find any break in the cable at all so i put it all back together and the problem was fixed........... for a week when it came back again but its not as bad as it was but its still there and im waiting for a helpful person on here to help me further. Its worth taking it apart and trying to fix it yourself if your out of warranty like me.

Oh and to also add.... this ribbon cable is not a part you can order and you have got to know your electronics to be able to patch it up which i also believe the best guy on here is not around anymore due to being quite ill :( (hope he gets better soon!)

99 IS200 Sport 66,000 miles

I get 110 miles to £20 of petrol each week with petrol prices being 87.9p per litre at the moment. not sure what that is in mpg. im sure someone could work it out. Oh and i like to give my cars Shell unleaded and sty clear of supermarkets. no performance stuff though cos petrol cost enough as it is!!

I am wanting to connect an MP3 player to the car. Where and how does this prolex box connect to the car? I have looked at the back of the unit and there is no AUX input so im puzzled as Ive seen the pictures of the box here: -

http://www.geoffh.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/audio/index.htm

So my questions are..

hows does it connect to the IS200 headunit?

how much is this item and where do you but it from? - i cant find it on sale anywhere and it isnt on http://www.prolex-uk.com/

How to most people install the system in their car? do they drill a hole in the part of the dash where the heated seats and traction control buttons are and place the MP3 plaer in the compartment behind the gear stick?

Ive noticed that all the past tax discs on the car are £165 and ive gone to tax it online jsut now and its saying its £170 for the year. is this right? have the tax on IS200's gone up?

Yes im interested. The timing belt stuff must be official lexus parts though. I forgot one thing. Diff Oil - not sure if this one is a full change whereever it is? I PM'd you

Parts Im after is: -

Engine Oil

Oil Filter

Air Filter

Pollen Filter

Anti Freeze (Replace)

Gear Box Oil (Replace)

Spark Plugs (x6)

Timing Belt

Tensioner

Idler

All that from Lexus is roughly £325. The most expensive parts are the Idler and tensioner as these are £55 each. thats a 60k mile/6 year service. Plus £200 for the labour charge in Glossop = £525. Ive booked my car into a local Merc/lexus/porche dealer for thurs for £570. they are local and they givin me a courtesy car. i just thought it wasnt enough of a saving to bother having to get the parts myself.

The Saving is probably need now i need a water pump and brakes as well. Lexus say i have frotn brakes 90% worn. should this of passed the MOT last week? hmm???

Anyone that can save me any money on these parts then i can be tempted to go to glossop and cancel my appointment for thursday.

yes I rang him about the service, he quoted me £200 labour charge while i go and get the parts. To be honest once id priced all the parts up it didnt work out any cheaper than what a garage in stockport would charge but I just have to accept that the service will cost near enough £600 because of it being a major service.

I took it to Lexus stockport just for a check over to tell me whats wrong with it with no work being carried out. Its costing me some money this car is.

Been to Lexus Stockport today and very poor service. I asked them to check over the car they said they would valet it and the things I told them to look at they never bothered to and secondly never valeted and I saw one of their mechanics driving it with no cover on the seat. NOT A VERY HAPPY PERSON AT ALL!!!

Anyway they came back telling me I need front discs and pads and a new water pump with bypass. quoted me £489 for the water pump and bypass and £295 for pads with skimming discs. Anyone got a rough price on the parts and labour for theses jobs as I am aware from previous experience with Lexus stockport they add a % on higher than the other dealers????????????????

Did you buy it at 65k with the 60k service missing? Thats about the biggest service. Would have been good to check how much it was before doing the deal. Not good that it was 5k miles over either. Anyway sorry bit late now. You'll be happy to know that the 70k one is significantly cheaper. Just over £100 I think.

Ive bought it at 65k but because of the way that the services have been done in the book it is right now that the 60k service needs doing. what ive found is that the service has creeped a bit over the years. so the last service was at 55k. I thought i got a bargain really since the car is in good condition with sat nav for good price. tbh there isnt many IS200 Sport Navigators in Aztec Red with 65k on clock at £7k.

Can anyone pin point me to a tutorial or help on how to take the sat nav apart and fix this ribbon cable and where to get the part from and how much? Is it a simple job or does it require some soldering?

Its funny really because the button didnt work last night and now it does but the screen was turning pink on the way to work this morning which was really annoying.

i have a pair of 2003 front seats as new, £200

regards the nav, it will be, as has already been said the ribboin cable at fault

why only one button not working on the remote out of about 4 or 5 though?

Im in stockport. this garage you gave me. are they a reputable garage as they say to get a stamp on my book?

oops forgot my manners then. cheers gordan.. Im gonna give them a ring. What i am going to do is price the parts up that i can buy them for and see what i think is a reasonable labour charge and time. I was an apprentice mechanic for a short period of time you see.

This ribbon cable is what i read about... but is the cause of the one button not working as well on the remote control?

anyone got any ideas on the electric seat? moving forward/backwards works, moving the back up and down works fine too. moving the front of the seat up/down also works fine but moving the overall seat up and down doesnt and you can hear the motor buzzing. is it stuck in some way or what?

prolex service centre in glossop - are these cheap? contact details?

A Local well known garage in stockport called John Dellaneys quoted me £570 - they are well known for mercs, porche, lexus, audi but £570 is still expensive in my book for what they are doing.

Can I just ask how much did you pick the car up for?

£7000 private sale

Monday I became a Lexus owner for the first time when i bought an 1999 IS200 Sport. The car is on 65,000 miles and is due a major service. Lexus stockport quoted me £800 and Lexus manchester £736 which for what they are going to do is a complete joke.

Not a full week and ive noticed the seat belt warning lights are faulty (earlier post this week), the sat nav screen keeps going pink and different colours and the button on it that allows you to change the screen settings now doesnt work???????!!!!???!?!??!?!?!?!

and to top it off today the electric seat packed up on the up and down motion. all it does is buzz really loud and does not move. any ideas on this?????

Im just wondering what is going to go wrong next for me. Im 19 and taken rather a large loan for the car. I thought they were meant to be reliable these cars!!!!!

I have a V Reg IS200 Sport and ive read the manual but cant work out why the seat belt lights never come on when the driver or passenger is not wearing a seat belt. i believe there is a light for driver on the dials and the passenger is with the heater switches.

Why does it not work? is there a switch to turn these off or is this faulty or does it even come on the sport model? should there be a sound as well warning you the belt isnt on or is it just a light?

Ive just got a V reg IS200 Sport and i have had a quick read of the manual but doesnt explain the automatic lights properly. im unsure if they are faulty or not because If i go out now in the car the lights are off until i go under the bridge at the a couple of streets away from home the lights come on but then never turn off for the rest of the journey. However if i shine a torch on the sensor on the dash they turn off. does it have to be a really bright day for them to turn off, is there some sort of sensitivity setting?

Is it me or does no one directly answer questions properly????

Not to be rude scott, i appreciate you making a comment. I am after someones opinion/experience on sound quality of connecting MP3 players to the standard head unit via one of the many connections.

3. The prolex adapter only works for SE and Sport. If you get an S like me then you're stuck with tape adapter or fm modulator.

So there are three ways connecting an mp3 player to the head unit? Tape Adapter, FM Transmitters and this connector cable?

Is the sound quality any good using the tape adapters or FM transmitters? anyone use them? anyone got a link for this prolex adapter?

Thanks, How do i test for CD players having the Err 3 problem?

After some time of looking around at the different cars on the market I have came to a final decision on the car i wish to buy which is a an IS200 (99 to 2001 plate). I have done quite a bit of research and read alot of the information on this site. I have also been and seen a couple of cars and test drove them. I have a a couple of questions i need to ask to help me in making a good purchase of a used car.

Audio

1. Alot of the cars I am looking at on T - Y Plates have the Bottom CD Player that is known for this Err3 message. How can i test for this when I go and look at cars? is there any reported problems with the cassette player?

2. Does the CD Player in the IS200 play Copied CD's and MP3 CD's?

3. Also what are the best options for connecting mp3 players to the unit for best sound quality such as an IPOD. (ive heard of these FM transmitter things - they any good?)

Lights

4. Apparently the IS200 has light sensors where the light auto come on. how does this all work? can it be turned off and are the sensors the ones on the right hand side of the dash under the window?

General

5. I looked a 2001 lexus the other day and when i checked the spare wheel i noticed in the well at the left corner there was water. is it common to have a leak on the boot on an IS200?

6. Also a car I had test driven struggled to start like the Battery was flat and once i got it going and warmed up the engine it appeared to start fine everytime after that first attempt from cold. is this common or was it a one off on this car? (a local mechanic mentions they puff blue smoke out on a cold mornings on IS200's as a common fault.)

7. Last of all, the motorway test of an IS200 shows the cars have a shake on the when when you brake. there are many different views on this. Id call it warped discs, am i right? how much are these for an IS200?

Thanks in advance for your help! let me know if there is anything else you can point out for me to check when looking at the cars. eg: air con problems, mirrors. mechanical, leaks, anything....

Have you got a price from Partco Trade?

Check the shockers as well. im dont know much about the IS200 but in other cars a knocking noise on every bump and grid in the road that does your head in can often be the shocker. a simply way to test a shocker is check to see if their is alot of bounce. it should bounce once or twice... anythin more its an obv sign.