giorgoXXI

From your profile, it looks like you have an SE-I, which is one of the latest models of the IS 220D... there are no recent recalls as far as I am aware so you should be fine (mine is from early 2008 and no recalls since then).

Search on this forum for "Sat Nav hack" and you will find detailed instructions. This is assuming you have the ML stereo, although perhaps the standard one is similar to remove.

Thanks for the response. 1) Hmmmm. Quite useful to be able to modify route etc on the move. May have to upgrade. Seen the link to lexusmapupdates. 2) Cool! 3) Ah right, when i test drove the car I obviously noted the reverse cam but not the front. I was reversing out of a tight space (cars either side) so maybe I should have had a warning. I assume its just an audible beep? 4) Was £240 from a Lexus garage? If so, which one. I am sure Lexus Stoke would honour a price match :winky: For Sat Nav input while moving you can either upgrade the DVD or you can cut some cables behind the centre console. This will not only unlock the Sat Nav, but unlock the phone, mp3 browsing and all other features disabled while in motion. You can also unlock the DVD player, as you can only watch movies while the parking brake is ON. For more info search on this forum for "Sat Nav hack". The front sensors have an audible beep and a graphical display on the main screen when active, so you can see in which corner the obstacle is and how close or far it is. From my experience, you will only start getting a warning from the front sensors when you are very very close to an object. Parking sensors can be disabled from the dashboard, so perhaps when you test drove they might have been disabled. To be honest, even though the front sensors are there, you will hardly need/use them because after a while when you are able to judge the size of the bonnet accurately you can pretty much easily tell if you are too close to anything in front of you. Reverse cam on the other hand is the best gadget ever! Yes £240 is from Lexus Edgware, but I must say this is by taking a 3 year service plan (0% interest). One last thing, if it is not too personal, can I ask you how much you bought your car for? I would like to know this to evaluate the depreciation on mine, since we have the same model/spec.

Hi and welcome to the forum. 1) You may not be aware of it, but the Sat Nav input buttons disable themselves when you drive at above 10-20 mph. This means that while you are driving you can't input new destinations (neither can your passenger, which is a bit rubbish). If you get the 2009 DVD, not only you will get updated maps, but the locking feature is disabled so you can enter destinations whenever you want. 2) Yes, all MM systems play DVDs. 3) Yes , front parking sensors are standard on the Sport model. However you only get sensors on both front corners of the bumper, and none on the front of the bumper. This means the sensors won't detect obstacles that you are heading straight into, but if you are doing parallel parking for example, it will warn you about the distance between the corner of your car and the vehicle in front of you. 4) Not sure about the cost of the 60K service specifically, but I pay £240 for all other services. Things you should look for mainly are rattles on the dashboard (common issue across the whole IS range), and the rear view mirror vibration (there is a new mirror design, check if yours has it installed). Other than that, enjoy a great car :-)

This might sound stupid..... Traction Control ! ! ! how do I know its ON....... is this when the yellow glow light (car skidding) is lit...... or is it when its not on, then suddenly flashes and beeps....... This is doing my nut in, the weather outside Edinburgh has been horrendous for the past 2 weeks, Ive been stuck a few times therefore decided to park the Lexus up in the garage and steal the wives honda.... Only had the car a few months now, therefore you may understand why Ive just not worked out the traction control yet, the hand book makes no sense to me... Cheers Stevie Traction control is ON when the yellow glowing light is OFF... that is why you only ocasionally see it beep and flash when it kicks in (when you loose traction). In very few ocassions you may need to turn traction control OFF (light comes solid ON) to allow your driving wheels to spin until they get some grip... although as a general advise, and as you've done, the best thing is to leave the IS parked and seek for alternative transport. I found mine to be completely useless on the snow.

I have an Iphone 3gs and the contacts and just about everything syncs perfectly..... Jabbar Interesting, but from your profile you are driving an IS 250c? Perhaps they have changed the software in the new MM...

As I mentioned earlier, because of the shorter gears, the car remains easily close to the 2K RPM mark in all gears, and hence you will not notice the dead spots as much as in the standard model. This improves the drive considerably. 6th gear can be used at 55-60 mph, so that is also considerable better than the standard model. I have not driven a 320d so can't compare them, but agree on the looks and exclusivity points. The 320d will definately give you much better fuel consumption figures. You will struggle to even get 40 mpg out of a IS220d Sport. And if most of your driving is town driving, then you will be looking at 28-30 mpg. As always, the best thing is if you manage to test drive one...

Works perfectly fine. You will need another phone to transfer all the contacts through Bluetooth to the car though. Other than that there are no problems.

The Sport model has better gearing ratios, which makes the car better to drive. On the standard model you will find yourself more times under the 2000 rpm mark, where the car is sluggish because the turbo does not kick in. Also the Sport gets a tougher suspension, so you will notice the road bumps more. Other than that, it is specd like the top of the range SE-L (without the rear blind and leather), but you get some nice 18s by default. The Sport version has considerably higher CO2 emissions (195), and theoritically the fuel consumption is worse (but I don't really believe that, the engines are the same).

Haven't tried them, but I am worried they might be too abrasive and damage the paintwork even more... would you recommend them? Which one specifically, T-Cut, Scratch X ?

I have two bird poo etching marks on my bonnet, and since the car is black, they are highly visible. I have tried Bug and Tar removal products but they didn't make a difference. I have just ordered the Supagard Bird Lime Neutraliser and will try that on but I was wondering if anyone has any experience removing these marks? Thanks.

Agree... I only use it for DVD audios (which sound amazing!)

My iPhone works fine, except you can't send the phonebook entries to the multimedia unit (I used another phone to upload my phonebook).

If anything, I would say your post is pointless, not the topic. He test drove the car and liked it, like many of use like the 220d... I am sure he did not ignore the suggestions, but rather weighed them against his own experience with the car and other sources and decided it was a good buy. What is wrong with that? Did you stop to read why he could not afford the petrol version? So what would be the point of test driving the 250!? Cathal, congratulations on your new car... if everything goes well I am sure you will love it.

Check if the 5th injector has been replaced, and also check for rattles. Other than that, it is a very good car. Looks great, great interior, engine is smooth enough... only big let down is the gearbox, but you can adjust to it. I would also consider getting extended warranty for the car (I would recommend this for any diesel car that is more than 3 years old).

It is a very good car. As mentioned above, the ride is firmer than other models due to the suspension, but the gearing ratio is much better than the standard 220d (6th gear is usable!). Tax I think is also higher than the standard 220d and even though it uses the same engine as the standard one, MPG is slightly worse because of the gear ratio (this in theory, in practice there is hardly any difference). To me it feels faster than the 250 auto (due to the 400 nm of torque).

Thanks for the warning, but I do believe some of the "safety features" are a bit too much on the Lexus. You can for example browse through your MP3s and phonebook on a BMW system, but on the Lex it is disabled... and it is not like the BMWs don't pass the safety conditions for sale in the UK. The only feature that I believe is dangerous is the DVD playback, but I only want to enable this to use my DVD audios, not to watch anything. So, from what I understand, if the pink and white silver cables are cut but not connected to each other, then you can enter destinations on the move, but your sat nav will be jumpy because it does not have the speed sensor input. And soon as you connect them, sat nav entry on the move becomes disabled, but you can still access the phone, MP3s etc. Is this correct? Thanks for the offer, I actually live on the other side of London, and I am still deliberating whether to implement this hack or not... but if I ever need help I will give a shout. Cheers.

Thanks for the info and pictures, they are very useful. Just wanted to ask, if I wanted to implement the hack only to enable DVD, Bluetooth dialing and MP3 folder browsing, what do I exactly need to do? I don't want to install a switch for the sat nav so I am fine with the sat nav not being enabled.

I have a manual 220d, and have that exact noise... It is normal on the 220d, so im assuming it is normal for the 250 manual. Regarding the engine noise, the petrol engine should always be very quiet

From my experience, it does NOT ignore the reserve. Usually when my goes into reserve, I normally have around 35 miles remaining.

Search on this forum and on Google for the Lexus IS "Nav Hack" or "Satellite Navigation Hack" to get detailed instructions on how to remove the front console with the multimedia. I am guessing it won't be too different for the non-multimedia front console. From what I remember it is a bit complicated (especially removing the air vents). Good Luck!

If you prefer a more refined engine, go for the petrol. If you want to save money in the longer run, go for the diesel (manual petrol tax I think is on the highest bracket). Gearbox is OK in both cars (but as mentioned above 6th unusable below 70 mph in the diesel). The torque in the diesel is quite good, in comparison the petrol lacks a bit of overtaking power. The SPORT trim gets you better wheels, but the ride is very firm (not good for UK roads) due to "sport" suspensions. The SE-L trim has all the toys, but also comes with those pieces of plastic wood that are a bit ugly. Drive them both, they are very different. PS: If the diesel does not have MM, then definately go for the petrol.

I used to own a Mazda 6 (not the new one), and I can tell you the difference in interior quality is quite substantial. They were indeed on a different league. I have yet to try the new Mazda 6.

It is definately not normal, especially if the noise comes from the back of the car. The only noise similar I can think of is the Turbo, which makes a whistling noise as the car goes faster... but this is normal and you only hear it with the windows down.

If you are looking to get 45mpg+, then with the 220d you will definately struggle. No matter what mods the dealer does, its engine is not even close to being one of the economical ones. It is just recently they have updated the diesel engine and consumptions figures are in line with the competition. On the motorway you should however get more than 32 mpg, so I would insist on the dealer to fix it, as there is obviously something wrong with your car. But as I said, don't expect anything higher than low-mid 40's in normal situations. Regarding the revs, the car will initially tick over at 1200 revs until it warms up. This usually takes upto 3-4 miles. After that it should never hit those revs when idle, even with the AC on. If your car is ticking over at 1200 revs constantly, then that is probably what is causing the low fuel consumptions values (I am guessing). I would say, if the dealer manages to fix the fuel consumption problem, stick with the car as it is a great car. If they don't, change it.