johnatg

The thing is when you lock the car securely with windows all shut. You go in your house and squeeze the key jn your pocket by sitting down or your kid plays with the key. Next morning you go to the car and all the windows are open. Not so cool then. It happens.

I replaced my 2006 IS250 (which I had for over 7 years) with a 2014 GS300h Premier. It is superb and so far (18 months) at least, faultless - it has perfectly adequate performance even if you don't get the kick in the back of a 450h. But its performance suits the car - its a relaxed cruiser. I get my kicks from my supercharged MX-5 (which is quicker than a GS450h). A 300h is a bit less licence threatening than a 450h and if you get a 2016 one the road tax is only £20. My wife is certainly not a car nut and just regards them as transport - but she often comments on how nice the GS300h is. I get about 42 mpg - much more economical than the IS250 (or the MX-5!)

The V5C shows the date of first registration (in UK). That can be a long time after date of manufacture. Dealers would be able to tell you the date of manufacture if they can be bothered to look it up for you. Otherwise the date on all the plastic parts is a good clue - since Japanese manufacturers have used 'just-in-time' supply lines for years, the vehicle manufacture date will be within a couple of months of the date on the latest of the plastic parts you can find.

Lots of petrol stations, especially in rural areas, only sell 95. So eventually no E5 there.

WD40 Contact Cleaner. That's the brand WD40, not your regular WD40 spray. Other brands of Contact Cleaner are available. It's mostly Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA).

As far as I know, all IS250s have the 4GR-FSE engine. Mine was described as a 2006 - first registered in late March 2006. But it was made in Sept 2005. You can deduce when your car was manufactured by careful scrutiny of multitudinous plastic parts on the car - most have a date stamp. So do some metal parts but not many. There is often a substantial gap - can be 6-9 months or even longer - between manufacture and first reg in UK. It takes 6 weeks on the ship and who knows how long in a UK storage yard and then a dealer showroom or lot. Whatever, Rowley - your particular car is in the exclusion list as it will definitely have been made before Sept 2007. Additives (fuel treatments - especially those designed to remove water from the fuel) will reduce corrosion in the fuel system - ethanol is hygroscopic and the water which it extracts from the air can cause corrosion in the fuel system. It's a slow process though and you may well not notice any side effects during your ownership of the car Lexus dealers will be able to give advice - it may be that they can fit parts to replace those which might suffer - might be expensive though.

I think you'll get bubbles anyway - may not be very conclusive

PS beware of excess fuel in the exhaust - it can overspeed and blow the turbo.

P1238 doesn't necessarily mean an injector problem. It can be set when a cylinder is operating poorly. I still think head gasket - common on IS220d. It may be OK with a compression test but show a problem when running. A sniffer test on the coolant might show combustion gases. I'm clutching at straws though.

I'd suggest that you have a head gasket failure. Any signs in the coolant or coolant level? Any signs in the oil? Can you get a compression test?

Locking/windows up and unlocking/windows down are two separate functions/settings and can be enabled or disabled independently in Tech stream. Locking/windows up is indeed useful

Sorry, don't know. But the mirrors folding/unfolding is a pretty good Indication that the button press has worked.

People often put their car up for sale when it needs major expenditure - such as a set of tyres! Rear inside edge tyre wear and damage can be caused by straddling speed bumps, especially if you do so frequently and at speed. My car failed its first MoT (before I owned it) due to a deep cut on the inside wall of a rear tyre. Possibly caused by straddling. Heavy vehicles can damage the edges of the bump and leave sharp bits to catch car tyres. Pass Speed bumps with one side of the car fully on the hump and the other on a gap at the side! Slowly! PS - nice to see you over here Keith!

Most or all of those things work on UK cars. The thing about opening the windows remotely with the key (press and hold unlock button) can be a double edged sword. Nice party trick and once in a blue moon might be useful, but it is also probably the source of phantom window opening. You go out to the car on a wet morning after a night's rain and all the windows (and sunroof if you've got one) are open - and the car is very wet inside. Probably caused by inadvertently squeezing the key in your pocket or wherever. There are several reports on here (and the IS250 forum) of this happening. The facility can be disabled via Techstream.

Don't know if these pics will help - don't understand your problem really. There is an inlet and an outlet to the filter. Procedure list is included. It's detailed in the workshop manual - you have got one, haven't you? (If not, you shouldn't be messing with the car)

Go to jail? No chance. They'll get a trivial slap on the wrist (unless they've got serious previous)

Must be my browser settings!

Hmm - the links don't work. The first is ebay search: exhaust repair pipe. the second is search :exhaust clamp. The original ebay links are enormously long.

OK - here's what I'd do (but you'd need to assess for yourself how practical this would be in the exact circumstances, and the tools you have available) 1) Remove part of those heat shields, perhaps back to the clamps on the angled part. 2) Get two suitable lengths of pipe, like this: http://tinyurl.com/yv3fls7q . You'd need to measure the length and diameter (inside diameter to match the outside diameter of the existing pipe,). length to provide at least an inch, preferably more like 2 inches of overlap over the existing pipe at either end. 3) Buy 4 clamps, like this: http://tinyurl.com/1bhp57yj Suitable for the outside diameter of the new bits of pipe. 4) Cut short longitudinal slots in the ends of the pipes (so that the clamps will squeeze the pipes slightly) 5) Assemble and tighten the clamps You might just need some extra support where you've removed the heat shield - not sure if those nuts support the pipe or just the heat shield. If you do, a length of perforated strip should do the job Good luck! (and please take care under the car)

Well they made a nice clean job of cutting the cats off! No problem with the rear. But is that heat shield bolted on to the pipe at the front? Can you get a shot of the pipe inside the heat shield (ie from further back but looking forward?)

Can you get under the car (with proper support) and take a pic so that we can see exactly what we're dealing with?

I began to doubt my own assertion! See here: https://www.gov.uk/emissions-testing I knew I was correct - when we get our cars tested we don't get an emissions print-out - or has anyone here (with a hybrid) had one? Of course, Colin is absolutely correct about the legality of altering emissions related equipment on a vehicle.

If there is enough clear pipe either side of the cuts the sleeves could just be clamped

Hybrids are definitely not checked for emissions. Refer to testers manual I linked to earlier in the thread. The cats you've lost don't do much - on board cat efficiency is checked before the exhaust gets to them. Emission limits are not published for hybrids. Could you sleeve the pipes rather than weld?

Looks nice enough from the pictures - hard to spot glitches. You can get a hybrid battery warranty up to 15 years old - Lexus need to inspect it each year - costs getting on for £60 but well worth it. Potentially that could run to 25th May 2025. It has a pretty clean MoT history except for (primarily) exhaust and shock absorber issues in 2019. Looks as though they were fixed though. Might be worth negotiating for a new MoT now. If you or the seller can wait 10 days or so you could keep the same annual expiry date.