steve2006

Just watched this on YouTube which appears to be a fire on an electric bus in Paris. Judging by the speed of the fire and sparks I would assume some kind of short circuit within the lithium ion battery packs is the cause. Certainly makes the Vauxhall Zafira fires look tame in comparison.

Same here, they do the estate through road but not the side roads off it, we’re on an uphill slope ( fortunately not 1 in 4) and they took the grit bin away unannounced years ago. I’ll take a look for that tech article when I have the time and come back to you.

No button, I’d have to find the technical article regarding the later Aisin transmissions regarding the feature. Blimey a 1 in 4 in Surrey whereabouts is that especially if the gritter misses you 😀

On the 1993 model the amplifier is integrated into the head unit, there is no amplifier under the passenger seat or boot where the CD unit lives. Getting hold of a known good used system is going to very difficult as mentioned by Howard and there is no “plug and play” option either for replacements. I ended up hardwiring a JVC CD radio into mine using a single DIN conversion bracket and fitted a sub amplifier in the boot where the original 6 disc changer was using the aux out from the head unit. Be aware that the OEM sub speaker is rated at 2 Ohms so the amp needs to match. As for the LCD climate control I again replaced mine with a new display from a US supplier but it must be the RHD version ( which of course costs more!) Both are not jobs for the faint hearted, even as a qualified electronics technician with wiring diagrams the sound system conversion took 2 days and the LCD replacement a couple of hours but both were still working fine 12 years later when I sold the car.

That was also my impression with Aisin transmissions hence my opinion that the car should not roll back facing uphill in drive

Apparently it is only illegal to reverse out onto an A class road, not B or C class roads which I assume includes roads on housing estates. It is however considered good practice to reverse onto your drive if there is no turning area on it.

Although I have never had either of my Lexus vehicles roll back on any uphill gradient in Drive perhaps you could explain the procedure for a hill start if it does. In a manual you can hear the bitting point of the clutch when the engine revs begin to drop but on an auto you don’t get this unless perhaps you rev up to the torque convertor stall speed when releasing the foot brake would give you “launch mode” so how do you know when to release the foot brake for a smooth and controlled move off? I’m always happy to learn 😀

When I purchased my 1994 Celsior back in 2006 it was fitted with some Impul Granz 17” staggered chrome wheels. They looked stunning and got many a compliment. After around 2 years despite regular cleaning and protection the chrome began to lift, corrosion seeped in and they looked crap. No one would touch them as apparently both stripping off chrome and re-chroming is a specialist job and also expensive. Fine in Japan with no road salt but not here in the UK.

The “foot operated handbrake” as you describe it is only used as a parking brake with automatic transmissions and is not involved in driving the vehicle except in an emergency if the main brakes fail. The main brake pedal and accelerator pedal control the vehicle speed. Automatics should not roll back on hill starts in D as the transmission prevents this so in D at engine idle with no brakes applied the car should just sit there stationary. The main brake pedal has to be depressed when selecting D or R. Having not driven an automatic before it may be an idea to either have a lesson with a qualified instructor preferably in your own car or practice in a deserted car park. Remember your left (clutch) foot is redundant in an automatic as you operate both the brake and accelerator pedals with your right foot as in a manual car. Lexus normally provide a left foot rest just below the parking brake. You will no doubt have the tendency to move your left foot onto a non existent clutch pedal when coming to a stop, if you can’t loose that desire fold your left leg under and sit on it 😀

Check this video out, if you have had the battery off the car for charging there is a good chance you have blown a fuse in the “Engine bay No1 Box. Pay particular attention to fuse 19 the 150A alternator fuse.

Hi George and welcome to the LOC. To help us to help you further could you provide a little more information. You say your battery is fully charged, did it go flat, taken off the car for charging and put back and then the electrics were found to be dead or did you discover the electrics just died without doing anything to the car? Which fuses have you checked as there are several fuse boxes around the car including the engine bay fuse box which contains some high current fuses.

Every time I start my car after a few seconds I hear a nice lady’s voice telling me something in Japanese. I would like to turn off this feature as my wife now thinks I am having an affair with a Geisha girl after hearing the voice during a telephone call. I have been through the 600 odd pages of both the driving and navigation manuals but still unsure which button to press, a similar button mistake a while ago with the sat nav left me stranded in Osaka when I only wanted to go to Rochdale. I have attached a picture from my owner’s handbook although this may be the ejector seat section, any help appreciated.

Same here with Autoglym products, a good selection in my garage but now unused on the car with wool seat covers. I used this company when I refurbished my old LS400 seats they do a good range of cleaning and re-colouring products if your seats are showing signs of wear. https://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk After and before pictures of mine.

Sorry but that Volvo Penta and fuel tank are coming out to be replaced with an electric motor and battery pack. The fuel pumps at the marina are also gone to be replaced with a charging station. From now on it’s going to be a case of “will I make it to the next lock before the batteries die” 😀

I had some Landslide tyres once....the car slid of the road at every corner. As for Landsail every time the wind direction changes so does the car and the passenger has to duck to avoid a clout on the head from the boon swinging over 😀

When cars were made for quality not price 😀

I know my 1994 had them on each wheel but whether this was an import thing or just the earlier models I’m not sure.

Hello M and welcome to the LOC. Do you also notice a loss of power with the white smoke and any warning lights? Given the known problems with the diesel engined Lexus models the list of possible causes is long and generally expensive. Going on your description alone I would first head towards the EGR valve, this is renowned for getting clogged with carbon deposits and jamming up. It only opens once the engine reaches normal running temperature which after around 2 miles it has. At this point the valve should open but of course if it is jammed shut it cannot hence the white smoke. If you have moderate DIY skills it can be cleaned, there are plenty of video tutorials just search “Lexus IS220d EGR cleaning” A new replacement valve isn’t too bad on price which is probably the better option as cleaning is not always successful. This is just my personal opinion of your problem, there are other causes like the 5th injector and head gasket failures but if you have no warning lights and no diagnostic codes the above would be my first port of call.

Looking at the picture alone I would start looking for a replacement now, as already mentioned the boot lid suggests frame damage. I was born on Friday the 13th......lucky me 😀

Hello Cam and welcome to the LOC. With the problem being present when stationary I doubt transmission problems to be the cause. An engine problem is a more likely cause like a misfire, what’s your service history like?

Hopefully after 6 months it’s been sorted, a report back would have been nice just in case another member was suffering the same problem but hey ho.

Just a thought, have you checked the balance control is centred?

Whilst at Japfest a few weeks ago I was wondering around the drift car pit area and noticed a stack of tyres worn down to the cords. Noticing my interest one of the mechanics jokingly asked if I wanted to buy them. I then asked how long the tyres lasted. ”One session on the track” was the reply ! Not surprised I think I came home with rubber lined lungs.

A possible explanation but given the scaling it could be a puncture caused by a traffic cone.

Hi Richard and welcome to the LOC. Not many models with that headlight but found this Part 81185-53503 (UNIT ASSY, HEADLAMP, LH) was found on the following models: Date range Model Frames/Options Found in diagram 08/2005-03/2013 LEXUS IS250/350/2xxD ALE20,GSE2* 81-01: HEADLAMP 04/2009-06/2015 LEXUS IS250C GSE20 81-01: HEADLAMP