Monocle

In general I think is220d owners for the most part were disappointed with the fuel efficiency. As a result, some were driven too gently. This in turn created issues around carbon build up as temperatures were never consistently high enough to burn it off. This then caused DPF issues and back pressures. Also, I am an advocate for the car. But it needs care. Enjoy it!

From memory, it all drains from the stop ***** on the radiator. Just open the cap on the reservoir and it'll drain very quickly. Good luck with it!

100% agree!

You need to drain the reservoir at least as that has to come out

@Coolissimo I know the coolant is a pain but it's easy and you can reuse it. That's the least of your worries. Also, I didn't torque anything. Just take it handy on the common rail. Very exact advice I know, but it has stood well for me for over a year at least.

This might help... http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/tutorials/article/253-injector-seal-replacement-is220d/

Thanks for the reply. I'm a bit old school and still have an iPod which unfortunately has no bluetooth option!

Thanks Shahpor, I'll keep you posted on how it goes! Hopefully I'll sell it to someone local so I can see how it ages!!!

Definitely not an impulse purchase - a long, long time saving for it Yeah, really looking forward to it. A nice six hour drive to the ferry when I pick it up will get me well accustomed!

Hi Lee, Ha, a tricky question! I had been so impressed with my previous Lexus that it was an easy decision to stay with the brand. Also, my regular drive on a daily basis has swung a bit more urban than it had been so a hybrid seemed like a great option for me. Other factors such as car tax (in Ireland on the IS220D is about €1,100 versus about €300 on the GS450H) and fuel consumption (at the moment for me is about 30mpg diesel so if I got anywhere close to 40mpg in petrol, I would be savings about €1,500 per annum) really help with the finances! I had a GS450H for a weekend about two years ago and enjoyed every minute of it. I also had a short drive (20 mins) in a IS330H around the same time and it just fell a bit short for me. Really well finished and comfortable but the extra pull from the GS drew me in. I did think about a third gen GS (lovely looking car) but I have a history of holding on to cars for a long time so it made sense to buy a newer model.

Hi All, After 8 years on the IS forum, I have finally moved on to a 2014 GS450H. Picking up next Tuesday week - no photos yet unfortunately and the ad has been taken down already. I will put some up when I get the car. As with every car I've ever owned, it's black on black. Very exciting, I know! It ticks most of the boxes for me. It's an F Sport but missing the front fogs and doesn't have the larger screen unfortunately. Has a sunroof which is a nice addition. Anyway, just looking for some general thoughts or advice. Will be looking to add the fog light kit and would love to do something about the hybrid badges beside the rear wheel arches (for some reason they look addly placed to me!). I have an iPod that goes everywhere with me. It's quite large in size (240GB) and not sure if it will work with the GS. Has anyone tried? Thanks in advance

Hi All, After 8 years, 130k miles and a few headaches, I am moving on from my IS220D. Heading over from Ireland to pick up a 2014 GS450H F Sport on Tuesday week! Thank you to all for the excellent help and advice I received over the years. Genuinely kept my car going at times! I know that the car gets a lot of flack but it has served me very well and also fed my interest in DIY car repairs (not everyone's cup of tea!). Honestly, I will miss it. (Alloys upgraded since photo!)

Yes, you have to drive it. Once the engine temp reaches the mid range the exhaust temps tend to be close to about 500C and the regen cycle will start. Just drive it normally, no need to rev hard or anything like that from my experience. I know there must be a way to do a stationary regen but I have yet to discover how to do it.

Yeah, the fogs don't seem to be available on the F Sport pre the 2015 face-lift. I could be wrong on this. Also, I'm in Ireland where I have dealt with two of the four dealers in the country and both are hopeless. I left my details and requirements with them about three years ago and have heard nothing since! Have you driven the 450h as a comparison to the 300h? Did you notice much of a difference - basically is it worth the extra few quid?!

What spec are you looking for @Shahpor? I'm hunting for a Gs450h F Sport 2013ish black on black hopefully with the 12 inch screen! However it pains me that it doesn't have fogs. So now I'm torn between that or waiting a year or so for the face-lift to come into budget and going for the same but in blue. Also, I'm not a fan on the brushed aluminium either but that's a bit too picky

I know very little about exhausts and the types of steel used in exhausts but, remembering back to my college days (a good while ago!), there is a broad range of steel grades across generic groupings like mild, stainless, etc. The first thing we were told is that stainless does rust, just less, and in some cases can be magnetic. The one thing I do remember is that for a steel to be classed stainless, it has to have a minimum level of Chromium. 10% or something like that. It can be very hard to tell the difference between mild steel and a low grade stainless steel especially if it hasn't been polished and has been through the rigours of high temps, moisture and acidity.

Yeah, the tyres are due to be changed in the next few weeks so didn't bother dressing the current ones. Absolutely agree, I have probably saved about half the cost but it is about five hours a wheel in my time. I enjoy doing myself though. Job satisfaction and all that. I certainly have learned a lot and the hard way!

I don't think it matters with modern cars. The lines all run directly back to the actuator. Sucking out the old fluid shouldn't introduce air I would think. Just top it up after. That's what I did anyway. You will notice air in the system very quickly.

As we all know the insurance market is a cartel. In Ireland anyway, over the last two years we've seen 60 to 70 % increase in premiums. And that's coincidently across ALL insurance companies. Would it not make sense that insurance companies would benefit from sharing blame? Not just to reduce the burden of the payout, but also to remove the no claims bonus of both parties. I'd love to do the maths on that. Throwing out the buyer beware card is ridiculous. As John said above, it is a legal requirement to have insurance not a nice to have. They have all of the leverage in the transaction. This was reduced a little by competition in the market but as I said above, the cartel arrangement negates this. Sorry for the rant but in my eyes, car insurance companies come a close second to car rental companies in terms of unethical behaviour.

That's the million dollar question! I had the same issue. It did nothing when showing ON and in neutral. However, it seemed to work for me when I drove the car. I can't remember exactly but it shows different statuses under "DPF No Activate" (something like "running" followed by "complete". I'll double check to be sure but won't get to do so until next week. In your results above, the exhaust gas temps are wway to low for regeneration - they need to be closer to 500C as far as I know. Also, I'm not sure about your EGR - replacement probably needed.

Cheers Lee - thought as much. Dare to dream!

Hi All, Looking to buy a GS450H F Sport. Budget means I'm looking at about 4 year olds at the moment. I always thought I wanted Black on Black but having seen the car below pop up on AT, I am beginning to doubt myself! However, this colour seems to only be available after the 2015 facelift. It tried a search to find out exactly but couldn't get a definite answer. The colour is "Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0" I think. Does anyone know if this was available pre-2015? Thanks in advance.

I did say black on black was what I'm looking for but this is just stunning!!!