is200 Newbie

I have used the red rubber grease (pink grease in a tooth paste sized tube) for years - I actually am about to finish a second tube of it I have used it that long. Admittedly I do change the grease twice a year and a lot of the time its fine , some times its getting discoloured. I have had no issues with the rubber boots expending or the pins seizing (maybe as a result of the rubber protectors staying intact from the use of the grease) Is this Molycote or the proslip compatable with the rubbers .... would you still clean the pins on a regular basis if using this? The Proslip grease does not really state its a high temp grease which I would have thought it needed to be to cope with the temp of the calipers during braking. Should the red rubber grease be used in the pistons when doing the pins to preserve the rubbers on them and also helping lubrication?

What type of grease are you using and do you grease them twice a year or just check them

If you have a second key try that - could it be an issue with the immobiliser? If you have an OBD reader try to see if theres any codes stored Failing all that I would reset the system by unplugging the battery - leave for 20 mins and try starting again

Looks ok - again, to get an idea on how the cars been looked after ask for the reg then check this against the MOT history at https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history Remember, if you are looking at it, at the end of the day its a 13 year old car so the basic checks apply. The plugs should have been changed at 60k on this so check these have been done - the garage states that the disks and pads have been done which to be honest is not a big job. Ask them if they have done the brake shoes (on the rears) and if they state it does not have any then do check the discs have been done as the shoes live inside the discs and quite evident to the person replacing the rear discs (Have heard of this before before where the garage has said brake discs done have been replaced and said it did not have shoes? gotta question if they really done it) Another thing to check is the rear screen heater for hanging wires on the window - found this on mine though plan to fix but if not used for a while then on an old car they can become brittle and fail and I think the radio ariel is part of that system. Consider the exhaust system will be due for replacement so if you can get it looked at for rust These things are bargaining chips - let us know the reg if you get it

The Toyota red grease goes on in a light red colour - over time it will turn black but you will only notice this when cleaning the pins. It should not be dry and "clumpy" when changing...

Its not so much a fact that the slide pins fail - its initially down to the rubbers failing which creates an opportunity for the weather and dirt to get into the recesses where the pins slide and then from there it rusts the pins up or creates a think gloop of grease which makes if difficult to remove them. Water will get in and I would say the rubber seal on the boot to the caliper is not brilliant which emphasises the use of the correct compatible grease that will not attack the rubbers making it loose its elastaciity. Its important to make sure the groove on the caliper where the boot slips into is always cleaned when you are re-greasing the pins as it gives the rubbers a better chance of securing to the caliper. If they are not secure within these grooves then they will pop out and will definitely let water in and they wont last long. Possibly why some people that let the garages do them see their calipers sieze prematurely as do the garages really take car to that extent to ensure the boots are on correctly all the way around the groove....

I had asked this prior to purchase and it has had no effect on the policy at all. I done the same with the last car with the same notification. Seems if you let them know it is fine ? Guess it would be a different story if these were expensive additions...

Its worth a check regarding the size of the socket on the pin as I have an old rear caliper carrier in the garage with the pin attached and it is definitely an 8mm allen key or an H8 key socket. There are two different sizes of calipers on the 2007 model for some reason - one has vented discs and another has solid resulting in different calipers - sizes of the bolts may vary....

It is a 19mm socket for the top bolt (the one that's shrouded in the rubber boot) Its an 8mm or H8 key for the bolt (was on my old 2007 model).... make sure tho before you buy as I am sure around 2007 the rear brakes were upgraded. You may need to apply a bit of heat to remove the bolt it it wont budge - carefull in and around this area if doing so. Don't go gung ho and use a pair of pliers in the pin unless you know its moving. Have you got the grease sorted? Nows a good time to also clean the two brake pad securing pins that slide through both the pads. Its not a hard job - let us know how you get on

+1 to the above Use the paint code.

This one is in Liverpool but not sure on model ... https://www.gumtree.com/p/lexus/lexus-is250-auto-media-leather-fsh-12-month-mot/1289882803

There's a few out there - I stuck to the one I had before as I had no issues with it - fitment is very good - application is via 3M adhesive tape. The seller is from Taiwan. Lead time is approx. 3 weeks and expect to pay around £25 on top of the price for duty - Search on ebay for the link below Painted For LEXUS IS250 IS350 ABS OE ROOF + TRUNK SPOILER WING 06-12

Its an ebay store - "OEM thing" I had them on my last car - good quality - nothing wrong with them up to the 5 years I had the last car and a brilliant paint match

Spoilers fitted (roof and boot) at the weekend along with a good clean (wash, clay'd and wax'd) has come up all sparkly !!

A few more ... https://www.towerhillgarage.com/cars/lexus/is/250se-lautomatic/175678/0 https://www.stirlingcars.co.uk/used-cars-peterborough/

Heres a few that are newly listed ... https://www.autoscoutltd.co.uk/used-cars/lexus-is-250-2-5-se-l-4dr-wokingham-201803054261601?at_source=autotrader&at_medium=desktop&at_campaign=website-visit&_ga=2.205549395.1143143456.1522085652-845495279.1522085652 https://www.usedcarsalesonlineltd.co.uk/used-cars/lexus-is-250-2-5-se-l-4dr-hounslow-201803204756799?at_source=autotrader&at_medium=desktop&at_campaign=website-visit&_ga=2.152061945.1143143456.1522085652-845495279.1522085652 http://ip-motors.co.uk/vehicle/name/lexus-is-is-250-se-l-auto/

Cheers It will be getting replaced on Tuesday when I can get a matching tyre ordered. Only doing local miles till them, a roads with no great speed but will be aware of it. Council will be receiving the knackered one 1st class !!

BUMMER !!!!! Practically brand new tyre. I doubt I can get a picture as its a busy single lane road - its shown on the dash cam footage but its a small "step" in the footage as it went over the hole - I can try with this method but without getting a picture of the hole I think its pretty useless.... will give it a go though but am sure I will need measurements (length and depth) of the hole so to determine is it is actually a hole !! Thanks for all the info Guess we will just have to keep throwing money away paying road tax until someone is killed !!!

Drove over a pothole last week - didn't initially spot any issue until I cleaned the car yesterday - no damage to the alloy but the tyre has taken a battering I will check with the garage but is this an MOT failure?

Anyone know where I can find one of these I had one in my last car - it was a plastic liner that was fitted to the floor of the boot to prevent any liquid spils and to keep the boot floor clean. Really handy but I didn't think to rescue it from the car before it was crushed!! I thought these were standard (obviously not). I am presuming it was a Lexus OEM one as it was stamped Lexus... Ebay search only brings up one for the gen 3 (2013+) The one I had had edges on the sides that would hold any spills in place

Twice a year - Easter time (after the winter) and around Oct/Nov (before the winter. Always used the red rubber grease and absolutely no issue over 6 years of using it. The seizing will come about from ill fitting rubber boots which have been attacked by the use of the wrong grease and caused them to stretch and mishapen. The red rubber grease lubricates the pins but does not attack the rubber... job done. When I doi mine its usually when I service the car which is twice a year (oil change) but while I am doing the pins I will give the moving parts a good squirt of WD40, hasn't done anything any harm but not sure if it helps anything either but its no hassle doing it.

.... and on another aspect of him not giving you the reg.. how can you get an accurate insurance quote?

I hope you are not considering this? You said he was your mate ???? - why wont he at least give you the registration? It wont show where the car is being sold from (unless its already in the market place, ebay or autotrader and recognisable) ... the reg will give you an insight on how the car has been looked after if you do a search through the Gov web site. Surely you would want to see the pictures of the condition of the car and what spec it is - auto / manual / modded / cat C or D repaired .....?????

This is how close I ended up to hitting the car side on I don't reckon there was much in it - after having a recent accident and losing the last car then yes, you do get a bit wary of other drivers doing this. The image of the dash cam is quite good actually if using the video - the earlier one was a screen dump through Microsoft paint

I was just about to reply - my wife spotted it - yes it is DG65 - have looked again at the footage but theres no way the (what looks like a 6) is a G.