RNUK

I was on my way to pick my son up from school and as I pulled into the car park, the cabin began to fill with a very hot smelling smoke and there was also smoke coming from under the bonnet, mainly on the left hand side (looking out from the car). Luckily, the boys school is next to an Asda so I went in and grabbed some coolant just to get something in there. I filled the coolant reservoir back up and let it sit for 10 mins before starting it again. Started no problem and ran for a few minutes before beginning to smoke again, both from the engine and through the vents. Greenflag came out and he looked over it. Took the pressure cap off to see the coolant bubbling away. He also put his hand over it and smelled his hand, saying there was definitely an exhaust smell. No visible signs of mayo under the oil cap and no sign of oil in the coolant reservoir.

It was an indi that done the major service. They have looked after all of our cars for years. Pehaps my mistake for not going to a dealer

My first generation IS had over 200k on the clock when I sold it and outside of a radiator, it never needed to go to the garage unless it was for service or MOT. So it is a huge surprise to be having issues with my car this early on. its actually gone back to the same garage that it went to for the service, so it'll be interesting to see what they say

Spoke to Lexus who said that the warranty was 3 years / 60k for petrol variants

Water pump was replaced this time last year. Last service was 6 months ago and I had a major one done with plugs, all fluids, filters etc changed. Only done 4-5k since. Engine temp wasn't high, although all the coolant had been dumped and the oil was a bit on the low side.

So today my beloved IS250 SE-L was towed to the garage with a suspected blown head gasket at just 109k Spoke to Lexus and it's not covered under any sort of warranty (thought there was an extended 110k warranty for head gaskets?) So the garage will give it a head test tomorrow and confirm it or not. Anyone had to foot the bill for this and if so, what am I in for?

£260 to replace. Seems about right money. Don't think it's a huge job, just a bit fiddly.

98k

Local just called. Verdict is a water pump! Very relieved

😳 really? Ouch! Wasn't expecting that.

Checked this morning. Coolant had all disappeared. Refilled it. No visible leaks and coolant level didn't drop over a half hour period. Decided to turn it over and steam begun as soon as I turned it over again and knocking began again. Called garage and took it up there, absolutely no power at all, even on kick down although I didn't push it at all.

Perfect, thanks. Local wants £72 just to look

If that would cause this then I hope so as that sounds a little more pocket friendly! Will check levels tomorrow and hopefully get a better picture

Out driving tonight and realised that the ac system was blowing cold, despite whacking it up to 27 to check. So turned the system off completely. Got back home, 3 or 4 miles from where I noticed the heater blowing cold and a screeching started from under the hood followed by a boat load of steam. Checked the temp gauge and it was normal running temp. The fans were going ten to the dozen whilst the steam cleared and there is a definite knocking somewhere at the front of the engine. Being night time, I'm limited as to what I can see at the moment, but I checked the oil cap and no sign of mayonnaise although the level is unexpectedly low. My first thought is a water pump, but I'll have a better look tomorrow. Does a water pump seem feasible? Also, if so, any ideas on a rough cost of replacement? Another quick question. Just put car through MOT and had an advisory on "handbrake had little reserve travel"... Sticky calliper issue manifesting itself? Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Early days yet, but yes I think so. I checked the brakes immediately and all appears fine. I've only just found time to clean the MAF and early signs are pretty good. Wife's car failed the MOT so had my hands full sorting that plus it's dark when I get home from work now. I cleaned with Isopropyl spray from Maplin and let drip-dry. re-installed and the economy immediately went back up to 26-27, the engine is a lot smoother and power delivery is quicker. It's early days yet but once it's been going week or so I should have a better idea. Certainly on the face of it, no more 290 miles between fill ups and no more accelerator lag or spluttering. Interestingly, started immediately after a tank of Shell V-Power, which isn't normally what I put in. Thanks all for your help.

The engine check completes without error on startup but I get the maintenance warning on the head unit. I checked the filter and it seemed OK so just reset the warning, it was fine for a while but came back on again. I've reset it again, but I guess the MEF would cause a sensor to think the air filter is dirty and needed replacement, no? I'll check the MEF and clean as per instructions on here and see if it helps. I need to take it in to check the calipers at some point because I get a "clonk" under braking sometimes so I guess they are possibly beginning to seize.

Hi, my 2005 is250 SE-L auto economy started to drop through the floor (from 27ish a couple of months ago to 22.5-23) and today it sputtered on idle and stalled. It started straight away but when I came up to a junction on a hill this evening, it again sputtered and 'kangeroo'd' a little. It was serviced in June (before I purchased it) but I have recently had an air filter replacement warning come up. I've checked it and it seems to be ok. I have only put 3k on the clock since I've had it. Any ideas what could be the issue?

I've just burned an MP3/WMA disc and put it my car. Works nice (although I'd love to drop the file extension off of the song name on the display) but I only have access to 12 folders out of the 15 I have on disc. Checked the manual and it says 192 folders max and 255 tracks max. I have a lot less than 255 files and only 15 folders. My first thought it was mixed media disc so perhaps the unit was only reading a dominant format but it is reading both media types. I have a separate CD with some of the missing files on and it shows and plays those fine so it's not a file corruption issue either. Anyone else come across this? Is there really only a limit of 12 folders?

Today my Is250 has developed a knock/click under braking. Only once at the beginning of the braking process and not every time. It's coming from the front OS (I think) brakes and when it happens it is strong enough to feel on the brake pedal. Braking doesn't appear to be affected either. Wondered if it was the beginning of a stuck caliper that was "pinging" out when enough pressure was applied? Any thoughts?

And some! Loved it as soon as we drove up and when I took it down the road, I was gonna buy it, no doubt. It was a pretty sunny evening as well and had no issue with reflection that I noticed, but the rear shade looks as though it'll do the trick if it becomes a problem. I find the screen a little fiddly to get around at the moment but that'll come in due course. Everything seems bang on in terms of what it should do, there certainly wasn't anything glaringly obvious that was a miss function wise. The only niggles I have is the fact I can't do the phonebook transfer from my iPhone, the voice command tutorial every time you want to dial someone and the fact you feel a little enveloped by it when in the drivers seat with the high centre console, high sides and high dash. But I'm really nit picking now. Bottom line, I love it and the family love it too :)

Just a quick note to say thanks all for your advice. I am now the proud owner of a 2005 IS250 SE-L Auto :)

Tonight can't come quick enough lol