ColinBarber

How weird, that's going to be a difficult one to recreate. All your dealer can do is check your software version and update if out of date.

3 weeks isn't good. I'd expect the parts to be on a plane and arrive from Japan within a few days. I'd expect better from Nissan.

A weak battery can cause random errors to appear. If the heaters are faulty the error should come back very quickly. Let's hope it was just the battery.

If the fault was introduced as part of the work then it was either because the mechanic damaged the part or that the part was already damaged/poorly repaired and couldn't withstand the normal work being carried out. On the surface it seems like a mechanic trying to cover up a mistake, which happens all too often across the industry. One the other side it is also common for owners to bring in vehicles to have something minor looked at, with a more major fault already know by not disclosed with the sole aim to trying to get a free of charge fix by claiming 'it was fine before your mechanic touched it'. I can't give an opinion either way.

Lexus/Toyota certainly aren't working hard. They are putting poorly secured systems all on a single BUS within the vehicle so they can reduce costs, the same as the entire car industry. We already know that the smart entry systems currently deployed today are easily circumvented, allowing people to open a Lexus vehicle, and potentially drive it away, from somebody's driveway within seconds using equipment that costs less than £20. Security researchers have proven they can influence the Prius braking system remotely when being driven, a vehicle which uses systems common to most Lexus/Toyota vehicles, provided they can get physical access to the diagnostic port beforehand. Luckily things aren't quite as bad as the current Uconnect issue that Chrysler are currently facing. Sadly until there are some deaths nothing will be done, it costs too much to properly secure the systems.

There are no fuses. The heater circuit is powered directly from outputs on the engine ECU. Heater coils are common failures for O2 sensors, especially at an age of around 7 or 8 years onwards. The issue you have is that you don't know if these two faults happened at exactly the same time or at different times. It is very possible that the two O2 sensor went bad within a short space of time however if the faults occurred together then there is more likely to be a common fault such as a bad battery earth, or bad earthing to the engine - if this was the case and the fact that the errors come back after being cleared would mean there is still a common electrical issues. I would imagine the more likely scenario is that the previous owner ignored the CEL after one O2 sensor failed and then the other one failed, which means you need to replace them both. You should measure the resistance of the heater circuit directly on the sensor connector as a test, they are probably open circuit.

I would advise you either speak to Lexus GB customer relations or the dealership manager to voice your concern and to resolve the issue. Depending on type of misfire it is very common for a single cylinder misfire to be misreported or to appear multiple times across some or all of the cylinders. This is especially the case if a misfire is related to an injector/fuel issue rather than due to a lack of spark ignition. Their diagnosis is therefore probably correct - who is responsible and how it gets resolved is where your focus needs to be.

Atkinson cycle engines operate in a slightly different way to conventional 'otto' engines. They are more efficient but don't produce as much power and therefore aren't typically used for standard petrol engine vehicles. Hybrids use these engines to help boost overall economy with extra power delivered by electric motors and the CVT transmission allowing for the engine to operate at the most efficient rpm. Some newer engines are able to alter cam and valve timing to effectively switch between Otto and Atkinson depending whether power or economy is currently needed. The 2.0 litre turbo engine in the NX200t is one example of this.

Front - 18x8J, 45 mm offset Rear - 18x8.5J, 50 mm offset The OEM rear tyre size is 245/40 R18 on the series II IS. If you want 255 size then the profile should be 35

If you want wider tyres then yes you should ideally have wider rims so the tyres are square rather than pushed in or spread out at the rim. The OEM 18" wheels are 18x8 on the front and 18x8.5 on the rear. Tyres are 225/40/18 and 245/40/18. Not a great combination IMO as the rears have a larger circumference so the vehicle doesn't sit completely level. Thankfully Lexus went with 255/35 on the rear of the current generation IS which is much closer to the front circumference.

It doesn't have a problem driving up a hill. It's the same as the CT, there is certainly enough power for the size and weight of the vehicle to get up any inclined road in this country. The issue is that the engine revs up quite high when under moderate load, for example when going up a hill.

I'd start with a throttle body clean, including the Idle Air Control Valve. The temperature sensors (coolant and air) should also be checked as these can fail and make the idle run high because the ECU thinks it is very cold.

It has been a long standing issue with Japanese wheels. Certainly seems to affect UK based vehicles more that other countries. Various theories, one is that our salt in the winter react with the lacquer used etc. Or it's the acid alloy wheel cleaners that are common in this country. It has also been assumed that is isn't worth Toyota increasing the spec which would be applied worldwide just to help the UK market, cheaper to replace sets under warranty. The best set I've seen on a Lexus vehicle were the GS series II sport wheels. These where made by OZ in Italy and I've never seen a corroded set, other than from external damage. The lacquer is good on them, but I'm sure part of the reason is the owners tend to take better care of them. These wheels, sourced in Europe where put on the vehicle along with the other sports mods once they arrived in the UK - the standard Japanese wheels put on in the factory where binned (or probably kept as warranty stock for the standard GSs). The original series I IS wheels were particularly bad. Originally they replaced like for like and owners were continually having wheels replaced every year. Once Lexus GB started to get them refurbished, rather than just replacing with new wheels, they lasted much longer, which proven it was a poor OEM finish. I never understood why Lexus GB didn't just refurbish the wheels straight from the factory to avoid multiple warranty claims and the bad customer experience. Having said all that the wheels on the current lineup do seem better, but if you do get a chip or scuff then it will allow the wheels to corrode if it isn't sealed up again with some lacquer - the same as with stone chips on metal body panels.

www.howmanyleft.co.uk please keep this thread to an IS F discussion though.

welcome Neil :)

It can be difficult to tell but they will want to see problems under the lacquer ideally before it has started to come away, that way they know it wasn't a stone that exposed the alloy which then allowed it to corrode. It's essentially the same if they are inspecting the paintwork for defects. Some dealers are more fussy than others, you could try another one.

If you use toyodiy.com you can find the part by selecting your vehicle. Then once you have the part code you can search for that across all vehicles. From what I can see the part is common to the GS300 and GS430, and also the SC430. The LS uses a different part.

Toyota engines will make use of the extra performance in the fuel but it can take some time to adjust. You will see a difference, in my experience however the improvement is always less than the additional cost so I don't bother. It also seems less beneficial with a hybrid, I guess being the engine is running less.

Your dealer, or have they shown photos to Lexus GB who are the ones being difficult?

The advance has the static guidance lines which show the vehicle trajectory if you apply full lock but it doesn't have the separate lines which move with the current steering angle.

3 years on the same rubbers? They tend to go hard over winter and start to make noise even if they don't split - go on treat yourself to a new pair.

I guess it is to be expected given the almost universal poor reviews it has received.

try pulling the MPX-B fuse too, that is related to a common issue for high parasitic load - blown bulbs, capacitor issues etc.

Fair point. It is a similar situation there too, although not quite so high. The engine's peak torque is available at quite a high rpm, combined with the CVT means the engine will rev quite high when put under load.

I'm unfortunate to have Vodafone as a cell provider. Given their 3G/4G network performance trying to stream would be worse than my patchy DAB reception. :D