ChrisIS200SportTTE

Lol brilliant, photoshop is great! After looking more at the original pic I can see how it could be an Audi. Looks like a new GS more tho :)

What Colin said :) its 99% for sure 1 of those. I had all 3 at once, buckled front wheel, sticking calliper and balance was well out. Unbelievable steering wheel vibration under braking and at speeds over 50mph.

Sorry but I don't think it looks like an Audi. :)

ive got a 2001 model S and its far from a shed. Although i must admit it does now have heated half leathers, headlamp washers, 17 original wheels and sat nav..oh and the rare front corner spats.Not a rust spot anywhere and just clocked 90k Yeah but you put all that on so now it has the SE navigator spec as I guess you were not happy with the 'S' . That's my point it wasn't up to Lexus standard in my opinion. The build quality of the car is not in dispute, I would expect it to have no rust and still be in good condition if looked after which obviously yours is. The bodywork is up to Lexus standard of course. Most 11 year 'S' models I've seen on auto trader and the like do however look like sheds lol :)

The IS200 is a fantastic car but there really are some bad examples out there now. I mean whoever bought the 'S' model brand new? No leather, crappy 16 inch wheels, no heated seats etc... These examples 12 years on are sheds and should never have been sold on the first place, does the good IS's a complete injustice! Lol :)

Looks great :)

Steve seems to know his stuff! :) All I'll say is it seems to be a complete arse. My mate changed his to a pop out touch screen DVD player. Ever since he fitted it he gets a flat battery at least once a month... Coincidence? I don't think so. His problems have stopped me fitting an aftermarket one!

eBay, their about £60 each but as said previous buy in pairs as they made so many different shades! I got a set for £99.99 free postage from eBay 3 months ago as I cracked one of mine. Dead easy to fit as well :)

When I have my 8 year old nephew in the car we play a game (to keep him quiet) he has to count and write down all Lexus he sees and all BMW he sees ( any model). On a trip from Swindon to Cardiff down the M4 he counted 107 BMW's and 11 Lexus. None of the Lex were an IS200 or 300 either, all RX's and 1 brand new LS430 and 1 IS250. Says it all. Where I live I can go for days even weeks without seeing another IS200 or 300. I like the exclusivity :)

Also fella just from looking at your pic your power steering fluid looks terriable. Might just be the shadow but it shouldn't be black like that. You should be able to see where the fluid stops half way up and it should be blue or red, not black! mine looked like that when I got it. Flushed it out, cleaned it and put dextron 3 in it, it's red. Drives so much better now!

Glad you know what the problem is. Yeah if you are now keeping the car cool then it's def not head gasket! Good luck getting a sensor

I have the scraping noise too. Its not very loud and can only hear it with the window diwn and stereo off. Don't know what it is and neither does my local mechanic who checked the car over. Not going to take it to Lexus as it doesn't get worse and nothing appears to be wrong. I have had all the brakes off myself and see nothing wrong, no rust etc do just gonna turn the music up and ignore it! :)

My dad did this to his Alfa Romeo. Totally screwed the engine, over £1500 to fix something about a common rail system needed completely replacing. Sounds like you got lucky, when my dad drained his etc. and put diesel in it still wouldn't start. Count your blessings and hope it keeps running fine! :)

Don't know what the vibration through the steering wheel is, could be a slightly buckled wheel or sticking brake calliper? Just guessing. The vibrating rear view mirror is a re call issue and Lexus should fix it for free, common problem. Lexus Cardiff changed my brother in law's for free as it was under a certain mileage which yours must be if only on 15k.

Call me thick but I don't understand how your key won't open the door using the actual key not the fob button? Does it not when the battery goes flat?

There was an older thread on here about this noise mate. I have the clunking too! It turns out to be a shock absorber valve opening and closing which is normal apparently and very common. Might be something else but Could be that if everything else seems normal, it was with mine. Had Lexus Swindon look at it and they confirmed the shock absorber noise. Shocks were fine worked perfectly except for the noisy valve! :)

Could be a knackered radiator mate or worse still head gasket! Check your oil filler cap for coolant/water mixing with the oil, you will have a mayonnaise type emulsion there if its the head gasket. You need to get it to a mechanic or Lexus dealer fella. Hope you sort it and it's not the head gasket. Chris

Ok so there seems to be some debate over weather it is stainless steel or not. Lexus Swindon and Lexus Bristol both say it is stainless steel and both dealers say stainless steel can rust and corrode, just takes a hell of a longer and this is backed up by the research I've done online and it would appear that stainless steel can stain and rust! I'm not going to pretend I know for definate but I can't believe a non stainless Steel system would last for 11 years and 92 thousand miles! On all my old cars, the exhaust, especially the back box has never lasted more than 5 years!

You need to change it every 60k or 6 or 10 years I think regardless of the condition it appears to be in. You'll only know if it needs replacing by the last time it was done or if has ever been done. Mine was 11 years old 80k on the clock when I bought it and had all original cambelt, tensioners, idler and auxiliary belts. I changed the lot straight away. The auxiliary belts also need to be changed every 60k.

He might have just been admiring it mate. I check cars out like that all the time if I like them. Not everybody is a thief fella, don't loose trust in humanity just cos there are a few thieving gits out there :)

Hi and welcome. Steve is right, don't rush it there's plenty of good ones out there low mileage at very affordable prices! I however did rush and bought my IS200 Sport on complete impulse when I drove past it on a driveway with a for sale sign in the window. Couldn't resist, I'd never seen one with the factory TTE kit on before and Aero alloys and it looked immaculate. 5 months on and it past it's MOT no advisories, had a full check by Lexus and had nothing wrong except cambelt was due which I changed. I've had no problems except a sticking brake calliper which is VERY common. Had my wife's IS200 SE for 2 years, passed MOT both times and has had no problems except...........yep sticking brake calliper!

Yeah I had the same gargling noise. That's why I checked too. My coolant is full now and no noises! :)

The exhaust system is stainless steel on the IS200 not just the tail pipe that's why they last so long. :)

Ha that's the question! Easy one for me, comforts every time. The IS is quick enough for me. It'll overtake nice and rapid changing down to 3rd at 60mph and will sit comfortably and in total refinement at 120 mph. It just doesn't fill you with confidence at the lights! I've owned fast cars but for me now it's getting from A to B in comfort. I like my heated seats in the winter and I can't live without A/C anymore! And the stereo is fantastic :)

I don't know many facts such as mpg or BHP figures but my mate has an Altezza import and I much prefer my IS200 Sport as does he! There are no comforts in the altezza such as no electric heated seats, no electric heated mirrors, wind down windows in the back, no A/C, no leather, and his stereo is rubbish. I even think the IS with the TTE or TRD kit looks better as well. However his altezza is much quicker. I can't keep up with it however hard I try!