is200 Newbie

Good luck - nice to see owners placing feedback on issues they have faced and the work they have done to resolve them.

Got to agree with Paul - have experienced this when the battery has been disconnected on both IS's i have owned - the car turns over and nothing. Starting again it turns over, starts but runs rough for a few seconds then comes to life as if nothings happenned. Looks to be battery related or a weak earth connection possibly?

Thats the exact spot that my first IS exhaust went at. Bought a stainless one after this and regretted it ever since. However, i did do a good repair on the broken part as i was using the car as a daily runner and i coudl not get a replacement for it quick enough. When the exhaust was off the car when they were putting the stainless one on i had a look at it and the repair was absolutely solid. No doubt it would have gone again at some point but it was a good fix. If you have enough pipe where the break has occurred then you could add a flexi exhaust extension -i have had a look through the documents i have as i am sure i took some photies but cant find any but i am sure i put it up in the forum how to do it ... anyway, the image is along the lines of what i used. Clamp one end over the bolted joint and shove the other end into the resonator. Gum it up or weld it ant it will last you a while. Not sure of the length i used but it was shorter than the one in the image.

Might be a good time to replace the shoes - 12 years is a good life for these.

Sorry - PC froze - Dont know why this posted 3 times??!!

I just thought i would add something to this post regarding some work i done on my last 2007 IS which may be something or nothing. I am not a mechanic or anything like that and i only done this as a bit of a project for myself. No measurements were taken before or after as thats not why i done it. After issues with the original exhaust on my car not long after i bought it i had it replaced with a stainless cat back system. This was too loud for me as the drone was unbearable at certain speeds and revs where the car would sit when on the motorway or around town. I got it into my head as to how hard it would be to make my own exhaust. So i went about doing the homework to the point where i ordered all the parts and welded it up myself. It was a good match when done as i managed to use the cat back system as a guide for the routing and bends required. I replaced the centre resonator with a slightly smaller IS200 one and the back boxes were Rover ZT sport ones which were twin exhausts. So i ended up with quad exhausts. The difference in the drive of the car was very very noticeable - i had upgraded the size of the pipe used also to i think it was either 3.5 of 4 inch from the cats to the resonator to the boxes. No tuning or other mods apart from an oiled K&N filter that was in the car for years. I cant say what the improvement was but it was a marked improvement. Probably the improved air flow from the exhaust. I done a bit of homework on scavenging gasses and back pressure before doing this but without the proper knowledge of what i had actually changed i was happy with the result. Unfortunately the car was murdered by someone rear ending me on a junction. So its possible to improve on it but by how much i cant say.

Also, if its not budging you can carefully try adding some heat over the housing on the caliper where the bottom pin is located in as it can take some heat but be carefull - it might just be that bit of extra "oomph" that you need to free it.

I use Wynns engine flush and have done for years. I guess you need to use it continually at every oil change to notice a real difference. You can get this in quite a few outlets. I usually get it either from Halfords or ECP for around £6 I will use it before i do the oil change. Make sure first that your oil pan drain bolt will come off and also your oil filter will come off (loosen them a bit to make sure and retighten before adding this to your engine as you dont want to drive around with it in your engine if the plug and filter cap wont come off. Simply pour the contents into the oil and run the car for 20 minutes at 2k revs. Once done, drain the oil as normal and do your oil change. Like i said, you will need to do it at every change to notice a difference. Image of what i use is below ... It smells a bit like paraffin when the cans opened ..

This is what you want - part number is current also

Its going to be the bottom pin thats siezed. The top pin is actually a bolt and is shrouded in a plastic boot.When the bolt is removed then the caliper should pull out and down towards you - when its reached a point of release (clear from the disc) it will pull out. Your cause is going to be failed rubber boots that cover the pin from the weather - if you do manage to free the calipers then make absolutely sure that the rubber boot securely seats in the groove on the caliper. Chances are you will probably find that the boot had lost its elasticity and wont securely sit in the caliper groove. I think in a lot of the cases of siezed calipers its down to the choice of grease used - owners like to experiment or use what they can find in their garage for their pins. Its a bit of an expensive gamble. I have used the Toyota red rubber grease which acts as a lubricant for the pins while not attacking the rubber boots. I think a lot of people go for the brease that is good for the lube of the pin itself without considering the boots which do actually come into contact with a lot of the slide pin grease. I have used the Toyota grease now since 2008 with absolutely no issue and not about to change as it works. No doubt someone will comment on other types they use but this for me is meant for the job. All the tools you need to remove the rear caliper is a standard size 19 socket and to be honest its a simple job you can do yourself if you have the space to do it. Its best to keep both rear and front calipers greased. Mine are done twice a year but i guess you can stretch this to once a year. Its handy to know how to do it to stop them siezing.

Agree with this in principle but if you know the history of a low mileage one then that goes for the car - low miles is not necessarily bad but you need to know what you are looking at regarding the issues an old low miler may present. Probably wont do anything for the value of the car if kept for a few years thinking it will hold its value but it will certainly be more attractive to any buyer that's looking for one when you come to sell it. Mines a 2006 and I bought it last year at 25k miles after my original one was written off - a good find and having had one before then I knew what I was looing at when giving it the once over when I bought it. Come to think of it, at 13 years old, its the oldest car I have ever owned but at that mileage it runs like new. 10k miles on and it has not skipped a beat. It has one stone chip on the bonnet and a small scuff on the passenger side wheel. Pretty chuffed with the condition of it to be honest. You can probably want more from a car but this suits what I want from one as while the spec has changed, a lot of the accessories and spec have been reduced in the newer models. The miles I do are mostly motorway miles but now its going to be sat in the drive for long spells as circumstances have just changed so I expect the mileage will increase by 3 to 4k a year from now on so coming to sell maybe in a few years time it will be looked after but not even reached the first Major service at 60k, so even though it will be a low miler, the circumstances of it in this case mean that its had the good runs you would expect from a V6. Another point is that they do hold their value well if looked after. The previous IS I had was a 2007 250 SE-L. bought for 6K and I owned it for 6 years with mileage approx. 105k miles before it was written off. Insurance paid out just under 6K for it I guess its a gut feeling you have about a car when buying but it does help a lot if you do your homework and know what to look for.

Bank 2 is on the passenger side (UK models) Below is a link to the tutorial I made when I replaced both sensors on both banks The tutorial will give you the part numbers - these were bought and used on my old 2007 model which I believe is the model you have. You do need a special tool to remove the sensors. The tool will remove both of them - I am not sure about the downstream ones, to be honest I would not think they are the issue. To do this job it will take you a good 2 hours to do both - If you are deciding on changing the sensors then its best to do them both at the same time as they have both in the car for the same time and sods law that when you replace one then the other wil go. Bank 1 is the easiest one to do. Bank 2 takes more as theres more "bits" to remove and a bit more fiddly to get at bits but easy to do. The sensors are the same for both sides although there will be different part numbers for each and this reflects two different sensor wire lengths. The one in the tutorial will work for both sides as the wire is long enough to reach installed port to plug on both sides.

Bank 2 Sensor 1 is a bit fiddly to replace but its is totally doable - I replaced one on my old IS that failed. Occasional fault codes coming on and off then staying on permanently. You wont burn off any fouling on it as you will see when its removed. A failed one looks like a shiny black film on the sensor body. Cant see how that can be burnt off to be honest. I have not done the downstream one (sensor 2, but I suspect it is sending a fail message back to the ECU as the Sensor 1 is failing and the sensor 2 is trying to compensate for this. Not sure but you could be lining yourself up for cat damage if its not looked at. I have, along with other owners, purchased sensors from the states (Rockauto) as you can get the correct spec ones - only use the genuine Denso ones - dont ebay it as they could be fake and wont last or give you issues fitting or removing. What mileage has your car done as they generally start to fail at around 70k. If you do suspect the sensors then you are looking at around 2 weeks delivery so it is not a quick process in purchasing these for immediate replacement.

Colins right .... Its my age, and that's my excuse !! Bank 1 Sensor 1 and Bank 2 Sensor 1 are located in the engine bay Bank 1 Sensor 2 and Bank 2 Sensor 2 are located on the exhaust

Do a bit of digging on this forum - i am pretty sure all of the lights are all connected but don't specifically interpret the issue all that well - from what I can remember when my sensors went, although they were the bank 2 ones, traction control / check VSC and engine light came on. I read the codes and it did point to the bank 2 sensors. Bank 2 are in the engine bay and there are two of them. Bank 1 are downstream on the actual exhaust, again two of them which you can see if you look at the exhaust towards the two cats. I have not had any experience in replacing these, generally owners have had no issue with these (haven't seen anyone post anything regarding their failure) but I guess as they are open to the elements and the fault being thrown up is directing you to them, it would be an easy check to see if they are not damaged by something that hit them just to rule damage out (if you can get under the car to inspect them?)

If you are looking for a battery the one you want that's a reasonable price if you shop around is the Bosch S4 type 068 It fits correctly and the battery poles are the correct way round for the car. A lot of members here will recommend this battery. You can find them between £85 to £104 if you shop around.

Had a nice surprise tonight - checked oil before going on a long run to find that it is relatively clear. The last oil change I made was in August last year and have done just over 5000 miles since. Car is now on 33k miles and is a 2006 model. Very happy with that. My last 250 at this stage would have blackish oil by now after 6 months but it had over 100k miles on it. Going to still carry on with the engine flushes and oil changes on a 6 monthly basis though.

You don't need to remove the door card to see if the po-40 is installed as you should see it (if one is fitted) below the electric window switch control panel. Removing this panel will save you time and a whole lot of effort. I cant remember how the switch panel comes off - pretty sure it is levered out but cant remember (getting too old) Maybe someone can shed some light - its only a 5 minute job to check so better to do this than the whole door card to be honest .... just saying

If theres no obvious fault that you can find, you might want to check the space under the window control switches (take the unit out) to see if it has ever been fitted with whats called a PO-40 unit which allowed the mirrors to automatically close when the car was locked. You would see a box marked up as such if you removed the control panel. Its possible, if its fitted, that some wires may be loose or the unit is faulty. Depends how it was installed. Worth a check if all else fails. The box is, from what I can remember, just a bit smaller than a cigarette box and black in colour.

They will always find fault - my old one went in for the airbag recall last year and came back with below operation calipers but I know they are fine as I regularly grease them - there was no issue with them and the car passed the MOT a few months later. Calipers are common issues and its an easy issue to keep on top of it you have the time and the basic tools needed to grease the slide pins. Not hard at all and takes about 10 minutes per corner to do. Front pad shims missing ..... don't these just prevent squeal? Not sure these are required to pass the MOT as they don't perform anything other than as mentioned? Oil leak from a pipe - to be honest, see where the leak is coming from - if it is actually the pipe then buy a replacement and replace it - a picture would help of the issue Condensor issue is not common although I guess with age and how it has been used has a bearing on the life of it. As for the washer, I think this needs to be operational as the headlights are HIDS that require the wash jets to be operational. As you are probably aware, these failing is just a one off...

Definitely not an SE-L - Definitely not equipped with the ML system .... buying it would be a long term investment for someone buying it I guess ..... there would be no real future re-sale value I think.... Have seen a few SE models for that price with no accident damage on ebay

Not posted for a while as nothings gone wrong with it !!! but this is my car and what it looks like with the G Spider wheels on....

Good video - interesting about the oil When I had my last IS I compared two oils, Castrol Edge and Magnatec and the Edge didn't perform as well as Magnatec. The car would, I could only presume, use the oil (burn it) as the level did not stay constant as I needed to top it up through use of the car, not regularly but it was noticeable. The Magnatec did stay stable - have stuck with the Magnatec since and its always been stable. I do the oil changes on a 6 monthly basis also. I guess using a catch can would prevent the discolouration of the oil a bit also.

Has anyone else encountered this error and can help with setting this up... I am trying to use my phone in the car (2006 IS250) - it worked fine in my old 2007 IS250. The phone is an android HTC. The phone is connecting to the Bluetooth system fine - when dialing the number the message comes up on the screen "PLEASE CHECK MOBILE PHONE". I am guessing due to the message that its an issue with the phone. The Bluetooth is on and the pass key is entered onto the car system - this I know is ok as the phone connects to the Bluetooth in the car. I cant figure this one out especially as the phone worked in my other car but not this one - has anyone had any experience with this issue. Everything else works fine.

Here is a further document that I found a few years ago maintenance schedule is250.docx