is200 Newbie

I managed 540 out of the tank last year (with fumes to spare) on a good run up to Scotland and back - managed to do it all motorway in virtually no traffic - I got to thinking how much I could get out of the tank on the way up so I took it as far as I dared and was surprised how far I got - I wouldn't do it again though, I know its possible now so there's no need but its quite interesting to see how good they are on long runs. If I can remember rightly it wasn't long after I had serviced the car and changed both the fuel/air sensors. One thing I have noticed is that with a lot of motorway use the range automatically re-sets itself stating that you can go further but when you revert back to town driving it lowers itself.

I would not discard the advisories recorded by Lexus but I would take the car to an indie garage to put it through the MOT to see what it comes back with Compare both results - if it comes back with a recommendation to do the shocks then they need doing but the others such as the oil leak and windscreen shouldn't be a failure from what you have described. Are the headlight adjustments a big job with these cars auto aligning them electronically - I think they can initially be levelled manually and I think I have read that there's a procedure for resetting the levels of them - maybe someone on here can confirm this...

They are good on long runs - that's some serial killing of bugs !

The sensor location under the side the battery is on has limited space to get to it but if you take out the parts as shown and take your time doing it then its do-able. There may be other parts you can remove other than the parts shown but I cant say as I managed to do it by just removing the ones shown. The sensor will be on with thread lock so will be initially hard to loosen due should come off quite easily once freed.

You can check on the DVLA web site so see if it is taxed and Mot'd - it not, report it to the police with your video edidence. You can gain a name / address from the web for the reg number

There was an indication this week that a recall was about to happen with Toyota / Nissan and another foreign make due to possible issues with the airbags for cars manufactured between 2002 and 2008 I am not sure if a recall for Lexus would be issued from Toyota itself? But if it is and it is for the airbags then considering the IS has 8 air bags then its going to be an expensive recall for them I think. There is a current recall for some Lexus models for a fuel pipe issue but I am not sure which models

Anyone else see the cost of petrol in their areas increase Shell V power here at £1.25.9 Shell standard here at £1.17.9 Supermarket (ASDA) £1.14.9 Its not been mentioned on the new as it was the last time it went up?!

I have been running with a K&N oiled filter for almost 3 years on my current 250 - no issue. Prior to that I had a K&N in an IS200 for almost 3 years no issue and before that I had one in a Vauxhall with no issues. My wife has one in her Vauxhall (2 years) no issue. You can initially tell they do have an effect on acceleration but as you get used to it then you don't notice it. I would recommend them. One thing is that I tend to clean mine (wash and re-oil) every year or so as i drive dusty farm roads so it tends to pick the dust up but i like to keep it clean anyway.

Toffee pie has posted a link in the IS250 section (titled Erm..) that is interesting but seems to only affect cars in the States and it only seems to be IS250/350 models - it will be an interesting read before you consider to buy though

Coincidence or not ... There has been a post from a new member (UK) about this possible fault on a CT200 - posted in the forum today

The unit looks big in the picture - its certainly not the smallest out there but not the biggest ...for £11 you cant go wrong. I have actually seen these for £9 now on ebay... Like I said I bought it for my lads car as a bit of assurance for him (and us) as he has just started driving - I have still got it in mine and will probably keep it there and get another one for his. The picture quality (bearing in mind the cost) is brilliant - I would post a video of the quality but don't know how to post this up. The screen on the unit shown in the picture above folds closed so its not as big as in the picture. It outputs to an SD card at 1080 or 720 and can be connected to your pc via a USB lead or alternatively the SD card removed to view video on a separate device. I have it set up to automatically start to record when the car starts and turn onto battery use for approx. 15 to 20 mins when the car is switched off so it will record when I leave the car etc I am still getting used to it but its a good "little" unit. Picture below is of the size of it (taken through the windscreen and the other picture of the car is a snapshot from the video it takes, taken at 720.

After I had changed both I did notice a difference in response and also MPG - placebo affect? probably. I read that its recommended they are changed between 70 and 100k whether that's a preventative measure I don't know and whether its on the Lexus service schedule I don't know. Its an easy job - doing it yourself which going by the work you have already done on your car, you will be more than capable in changing them out. Cost wise, around £150-160 for the parts if you fit yourself. Lexus to supply and fit = over 600 £ !.

.......... thanks ........... hands up if you have just checked your panels for alignment !!!!

There are actually two sets of brakes on the rear. The disc which you can see through the alloy wheel has a set of drum pads set inside the disc itself. The picture is actually of the wheel with the disc removed. Maybe it would be a good idea to check the shoes out while you are at it. Actually, if you remove the disc you will see the shoes anyway. They don't get a lot of use so they will more than likely need cleaning and greasing up. Note that you may need to release the shoes from the disc first to aid in taking it off more easily.

I have heard about this, considered "old school" in the states but with excellent results but it must take a leap of faith to actually do it yourself, spraying water into your engine goes against all logical thinking ... but I guess its just a fine mist (a bit like condensation that will burn off naturally) - supposed to be better at removing carbon deposits than any chemical cleaner.... Where you have said you have sprayed it into the air intake have you removed the plastic around the intake and sprayed directly down into the metal air intake body? I have used Air Intake / Carb Cleaner (aerosol) in the past as I was recommended it by a friend (smelt a bit like kerosene) I could not tell if that actually made any difference but it did light up the dash board lights but as it evaporated they went off. Did you have the car at high revs when doing this? and experience any issues?

Its more than likely a build up of rust / dirt in the groove on the rear disc that the dust shield sits in. After time the shield rusts and starts to break down and catch on the disc creating an intermittent grinding / squeeling noise which gets worse over time. More annoying than anything else. When I had mine it was an issue that a few people had - someone in the states finally resolved where the noise was coming from. You can use a small grinder such as a dremel drill to grind out the groove in the disc, if that fails then grind / clean the dust shield that locates into the groove down a bit so it does not rub on the disc. Try giving the disc and shield a very good clean first before grinding the shield down. I have attached a picture - the arrow indicates the offending part of the shield.

Hi Ishaq I have bought a spoiler from that company - 2 years ago. Colour was spot on with the match to the car. 2 years on there is no issues with it and is as new. Don't know about the deflectors but they look ok - how do they attach? To the doors or to the windows?

Rust .... Lexus .... naaa, must be mud! Never seen one with rust before ...

stick some sausages in there (as long as you clean the snails out first) - ideal BBQ time tomorrow !!

Is it worth a squirt of WD40 into the locks for those of us who have not used them since owning their cars or is it just a quirk of the car locks?

I have changed the front grille on mine - not put on any part of a grille that was related to any other model on it but "modded" a grille I bought from the states as I did not like the existing grille on the car and I am very happy with the result.. I think it now looks better than the original but that's just my opinion - If someone else didn't like it then that would not worry me as I have done it for myself. Its still a Lexus and nothing will hide that fact. In sharing pictures of the work people have done on a car will not please everyone but will show a level of commitment and understanding of the owner doing it. Its these owners on a site like this that can give valuable help / insight and advice for problems faced by the owners due to the work they have done on their cars - Members have helped me out on occasions where I have wondered what the next step would be and the site has a good base of information. Well done Ahmed - keep us posted with the progress. I have had the exhaust changed over to a stainless one - non OEM through necessity as I was not going to pay the cost of having an OEM one but it mirrors the original one. I would like a set of non OEM wheels and am looking for the right ones but I will put on, up to a point, the ones I like. It does not make it less of the car it is. I guess its what you want to do to your car - personally I think he's done a really good job on the bumper and if he's happy with it then that's all that matters.

I bought one of these car cameras from Ebay (£11) I bought it for my lad who has just bought his first car so thought for a bit of piece of mind it would be handy for him so I shoved it in my car to see how it worked before putting it in his. The results are surprisingly very good - the unit will turn itself on (when plugged into the power socket) and off when the cars off so once set there is no messing with any settings. Video is brilliant. The unit is not that big either and fits well under the rear view mirror (doesn't obscure the mirror sensors) I think I will invest in one as you cant go wrong at this price. The wiring can be hidden through the trim and directed through to the power socket in the armrest which to be honest is pretty useless for anything as it needs to be open when using any charger I have due to the size of the plug (I will need to mod the plug a bit but that wont be an issue) You could actually fit one on the back as well and leave it there with no need to always having to switch it off and on which would be handy

The link points to the correct sockets I mentioned (I think they usually give you two sizes in the pack) In order to use these correctly you will need to remove the outer casing on the security nut - in all cases (anyone correct me if I am wrong) the outer casing will spin freely which acts as a deterrent to anyone just coming along and fitting anything over the nut to remove it. If they managed to fit "something" over the nut without this casing removed then the "something" would just spin with no grip at all and it will not loosen the nut. To remove the outer casing so you can get to the nut itself (so you can use this nut removal socket in the link) there are a couple of approaches to do this. In both cases tighten up all the remaining 4 nuts - use a bit of WD40 on them for good measure. WD40 on the security nut also. In doing this you are taking a bit of pressure off the security nut. the WD40 is just an aid in getting them off easier when you are done with the security nut. 1/ You can use a good punch and hammer. Locate the punch on the small gap between the collar and the nut and hammer it into the nut creating a gap between the collar and nut. As you get a bit deeper into the nut then the collar will split and you can remove it with a pair of pliers. You will need to use one of the removal sockets then - reverse thread but they are hard to get on as they are of a hard metal and so is the nut on the wheel. Sometimes the sockets will crack depending on how tight the nut has been put on the wheel. Ideally they need to be put on the nut with an air hammer as its hard to get the thread going - the alternative id to hammer the socket while turning at the same time (a bit tricky) 2/ Probably the easier of the two options - use a small dremmel type of drill and drill a hole between the collar and nut - once you are in deep enough the collar will either split itself off, if not it will easily come off if you use the punch and hammer a few times. Use the removal socket as described. The metal on these nuts is quite hard so a lot of patience is required but once you are into the gap between the nut and casing a bit then it should split easily - doing it yourself will ensure care is taken to remove the nut - give it to a garage you don't trust then they will get it off for you but possibly damage the wheel. In my experiences they have known what they were doing (one garage said it was a common problem) both garages removed mine with no damage at all. DO NOT ... use your security nut socket and try to force the nut off as you may strip the security pattern on the socket and this will result in you not being able to remove the nut from the other 3 wheels. It you have been using it to try to take this nut off then it would be a good idea to try and take the other 3 nuts off before you try and destroy the seized one. If the security socket is a bit damaged and cant remove any of the other 3 nuts then I would recommend you take it to a garage to remove them but supervise the removal. Either way if you are still wanting to use a set of security nuts then you will need to buy a new set and change all 4 or just change the one and keep the two sockets. (it would be easier and less hassle to change all 4) Good Luck

If you don't think they are right then get them checked out - the calipers or the pistons may be starting to sieze (or have seized) The brakes on mine (2007 is250) operate good with no excessive force and I clean the pins and check the calipers over every 6 months.

This has happened on two cars we have had - a Vauxhall and the last Lexus I had.and it like Steve said - its the idiots that put them on with the air hammers when putting the wheels back on. I have just had two new tyres today and now always insist they don't use the air hammer to tighten the security nuts. Both issues I have had where the locking nut has been put on too tight / seized has been resolved by a local garage where they took off the outer collar that turns freely and then hammering on a slightly smaller sized socket over the remaining nut then using a socket drive to remove them and both instances this has worked. They did not charge on both occasions (took them less than a minute to do and no damage whatsoever) So - are the security nuts worth it .... it would certainly slow someone down that's trying to nick them but it would not stop them. So much so, when I had mine removed I just replaced them with a standard nut. These were both reputable security nuts (mcGuards if I remember rightly) There are tools (sockets) available to remove the nuts (reverse threaded ones) available from Halfords but I believe they are quite brittle and don't get a good grip on the nut itself.