is200 Newbie

Everything tightened up after the ball joints were replaced - can they have worked loose ..?

Read up on the car first - any car can go wrong whether its bought from a garage or dealer etc but you reduce the risk if you do a bit of homework first and this forum has a lot of topics on what to look for Both options of buying have their good and bad points What to out look for: Seized callipers (rears are more common than the fronts) White crust around the coolant expansion tank Exhaust corrosion All the electrics working Mileage can be considered a factor - if its below 60k then prepare yourself for a good chunk of money to go towards a spark plug change at 60k Check tyre rotation indicators on tyre walls (garages may swap these around to hide uneven wear) an easy spot. Check radio / DVD is fully working A quick check on the cars health can be done if you take along an ODB reader and plug in during your test drive (if they let you drive it on your own) it will give you an indication of any previous faults if they have not reset them. Also, I am always wary of a newly cleaned engine bay as it masks any evidence of leaks etc. Don't let the above put you off - these are reliable cars but do your homework on them first to know what to look for.

Just a guess ... try to start the car with the spare set of keys (if you have them)

A few questions ... Did you change both discs? Is the wheel tight (gotta ask !)? Are the calipers seized? What make were the discs?

I cant see on the service schedule that the gearbox fluid ever gets changed - there is a note to check for signs of transmission leakage along with an inspection of the rear diff fluid at 80k miles Are there any benefits in changing the auto box fluid - car is coming up to 90k and a lot of short miles are done so the box does work hard and I am thinking it would benefit from an oil change. I have looked through the forum for anyone that's done this but cant find any mention - has anyone actually done it? Any pictures available as to where the drain plug is located (if it has one?) and how easy it would it be to do this or is it recommended to have Lexus or a good garage do it? Also, does the box have a filter installed inside its pan?

That's handy to know The garage I took the one I bought to said they would need to remove the seats and the carpet .... they didn't look I guess. Does the passenger side sensor sit in the passenger foot well (opposite to the drivers side?)

I had a stainless steel exhaust made for my car when it went - they managed to keep the old cats to use in it. I actually bought a second hand centre piece but no one would touch it to put it on - like you have experienced, they feared they would damage other parts when taking the old one off - the bolts to the manifold were a big concern so I sold it on again. (sorry now) I would strongly research any supplier of these stainless exhaust manufacturers as while the exhaust has been ok on mine and its saved me a hefty wad of cash the downside has been that its noisy. Not so as the boy racer noisy (it has quite a nice rasping sound) but noisy as in a drone between 2-3k revs at around 70mph. I did do a very good repair on my original exhaust before I replaced it and when it was removed it did look and feel solid enough to last quite a while. Have you got pictures of where its blowing?

That's ridiculous money - I know cats are expensive but 800 for one .... :megaangry: So for the middle section that would work out to be 2600 - that's a horrendous increase from when I was quoted a replacement from Lexus for mine which was 2700 for the middle and two back boxes.... that was two years ago. Did the garage have any trouble in removing / re-fitting the downstream sensors?

Just travelled the 400 miles back home from Scotland today ... - what a 'nice' drive back - ... Stuck in 3 half an hour traffic jams - in the rain with idiots weaving in and out of the traffic causing chaos trying to gain that bit of distance. The first jam was one outside of Preston/Blackpool junctions and seemed to appear from nowhere then disappear, no accidents nothing and I guess it was around a 5 mile tailback ... crazy Its the first time I have seen a Lambo doing 5 mile an hour .... quite an achievement to say I over took it doing about 7mph !! The trip up last week I saw one Lexus is220 (2008 model) trip down I saw 0. Not a common car I guess to see out in the rain !

Hi Dean. I have had the issue you have described - feels like the car shivers and about to cut out but doesn't. I had this not long after I bought it. I had it when pulling up to a junction the first time and I wondered what the hell it was - the next time was when first starting and the couple of other times was when at a standstill. I read about the issue - at the time it was a big problem in the states and I took advice from the forum users at the time and started using the BG44 additive - added to the fuel. If I can remember right I experienced it the most back when I first got it the car and it happened a few times over the space of 6 or 7 months. I used to use supermarket petrol - just for the cost really. To be honest my thinking was that its petrol ... petrols petrol right !!. I looked into it and found the differences between brands and the ron values. I had no idea what fuel was used before I bought it so I used the BG44 over a few months after I experienced the shiver. Not to the recommended dosage as I added it a few times with the tank half full (or thereabouts). In all I think I have used it (over three years) about 5 times not going by any particular schedule. So - the end of 2013 the shiver had stopped. Since then I have used maybe two cans (one a year). Also, I only put it in when I know I am going to be doing short runs. I have alternated using the V-Power 98 ron from Shell - I haven't specifically gone to use this particular brand, its just easier to fill up with this as its a local garage, I alternate this with standard 95 fuel. Every 3 fills is V-Power. I will continue to use the BG additive (once a year) as I have had results with it (it may be different for other users). As well as this additive, I do use an engine flush at every oil change (Wynns flush, but there's loads to chose from). I change the oil every 6 months or so, only because I do a low mileage. These steps have worked for me - since the end of 2013 I have had no more of the shivering with the car. What I have done to resolve mine: BG44 treatment - 1 can initially every 3 months then 1 a year Alternate fuel usage between 95 and 98 ron Frequent oil changes every 6 months or so As mentioned in the thread above, keeping the oil clean can have a benefit in reducing the carbon deposits from any being burnt in the valves and in doing all you can to keep the fuel delivery clean then that's all you can do without having the head / valves stripped and cleaned. I guess with me flushing the engine on a regular basis has helped a lot with this. I also use the K&N oiled filter and have done since I bought the car but have not had any issue with the Maff (yet) - I did use a carb cleaner on my old is200 and this did set off the engine management light but it went out after a few hours. I usually clean and re-oil the air filter every year and I do find it makes a big difference with this filter installed as compared to the dry panel one. Its something you need to persevere with and give it a bit of time to work.

It would be a lot of work for very little reward - consider the DVD player installed in the car only allows you to play it when parked up (hand brake on) - ok, there are work arounds to enable it to play while driving but it is a distraction. The car cam would be the same I would imagine. Some car cams have screens attached but are so small that you struggle to see them when driving so the option gets turned off.

I know - first time I have fitted LED's so surprised at the cost of them... Kind of made me wonder how long they will last being so cheap. I haven't done the vanity lights, I thought I would leave them. I have ordered the logo projector lights for the doors - just curious as to how they will look. The boot one would be handy so will look to do that one.

Fitted two rear festoon bulbs today - colour matches very well 31mm fits fine - don't think you would be able to fit anything larger as the clips in the light sockets are right up to the edge of the bulb. Picture below - ebay £5 for 10 I might look at doing the boot but its not that obvious how to get to the bulb

Have you tried ebay?

Modded using the same principle as the link from Normski but with the chrome 'blacked out' Grill from the states - Matt black finished and the chrome and emblem has been painted with a shade lighter paint from the body

Thanks Colin I will leave well alone

Picture of the new LED's fitted to the mirrors and the front courtesy cabin light. Quite blue in the picture but are more white in colour

I understand everyone's comments ... I guess the reason for me asking is that the box attached to the plastic door (which is hinged) is a sealed metal unit - a label on the unit states its a 'sensor theft warning unit'. There is only one wire going into the unit and I am presuming that's the power to operate it - I am guessing its sensing movement from car vibrations in order to set the alarm off as there is no other wire from it leading to other sensors to detect actual movement within the car such as the old Moss sensor ones that were around years ago

I replaced the cabin courtesy lights today which involved removing the light and security sensor unit (all in one) I have noticed that the USA models have a sunglasses holder in place of the security sensor (the European models have the security sensor instead of the glasses holder) Why is this? Do the USA ones not have a security system or is this sensor located in a different location? While I had the unit apart to do the lights I noticed there is ample room to fix the sensor to the chassis of the car and also to have a storage space - in the picture below - I am just wondering why, when its such a simple process to do so, have Lexus not done it? ... there must be a reason..? Does anyone know if this sensor needs to be installed on its plastic housing (pictured) - will mounting it to the chassis have any effect on the sensitivity of the sensor if that's what it provides? Its only secured by two screws to the plastic housing. The first picture is of the sensor attached to the housing lid - the second picture shows whats behind the unit after its removed but it doesn't really represent the available space that's available (there is quite a bit) the last picture is of the sensor housing itself showing the possibility of having this as a storage bay if the sensor was located onto the chassis behind the unit which I would expect to be a very easy job as there are enough fixing points and enough length in the wiring. Pictures below ...

This only applies to the courtesy lights in the cabin. I have recently replaced the wing mirror OEM bulbs with LED ones and these are the same type for the front cabin courtesy light so I have replaced these also. I have however only replaced the front bulbs as the rear passenger seat light requires a different type which I am currently looking for. The steps below show how to change the bulbs in the front unit. I will do the rear when I get the correct bulbs.

I was going to look at the boot light but the summer rain started again !! - is the boot one a festoon one? Will have a look when it stops raining. It only took 10 mins if that to change the bulbs - from taking the mirrors apart last week it made it easier to remember what and how it came apart (mirror / housing / bulb - that's all) ... that and the wife saying tea was ready ... that's always a good incentive. I have replaced the cabin lights described in the other post I have just made.

What do these look like .... any pictures ?

I bought the LED's below. they arrived today and I fitted them this evening (took about 10 mins tops to fit which I thought was not bad going) Just over £5 for 10 of them - don't know how long they will last but there's plenty spare. The ad says they are energy saving, long service life... ?! ... will wait and see. I am quite surprised, compared to the ones that I took out, at how much light they throw out but I guess the others had dimmed considerably over the years. They put a nice pool of light down each side of the car. They are sized at 27mm x 10mm and fit fine but I would not go any bigger. Normski - these fit in the cabin lights like you said but just the front. Any ideas on how I can remove the housing to get to the old bulb to replace it? I have also found some festoon bulbs at 42mm that match the bulb colour I have bought so should be good to see if these can be fitted also - 42mm? Does that size sound ok? I guess I could remove the bulbs to measure. Any advice on removing the rear housing also? I will post a picture tomorrow showing the light from them when its dark.

I have used the BG44 in the past (fuel treatment) Every oil change I use a flush before replacing the oil. When was the last oil change? The best increase in fuel economy I have seen was when I changed the fuel/air sensors, it made a big difference.

When I turn my lights on I can see them auto aligning (both up and down) - pointed at my garage door they do seem flat (level with each other) This is backed up on roads where you can see the limit of the light just stop in a horizontal line, it doesn't seem to spread the light as normal bulbs do. Its definitely HID's installed on your car?