johnatg

Unfortunately SC430 parts prices are not relevant to IS250 part price discussions - all parts are completely different. Rockauto don't even list plugs for IS250 - you have no choice - they need Denso FK20HBR11 and you won't find them anywhere for less than £79.99 a set (of 6). I reckon they are so expensive because there are no equivalents (whereas there are lots of equivalents for SC430) and as far as I can tell they are only used on IS250/350, some GS and LS and some big Toyota saloons. I don't know SC430 prices for filters etc, but they will be different from IS250 prices because they are different parts. The other thing about Rockauto is that unless you are buying a lot of stuff the postage cost means a real hit. But they are sometimes useful for things you can't get elsewhere.

I get air and cabin filters on eBay - usually from 'autoperformanceonline'. I reckon it's a complete waste of money buying from Lexus - after all, they don't make filters - it's just that they sell ones they have sourced from a variety of suppliers. So their is/are plenty of middlemen's cuts in the price by the time they get to UK. Regarding air filters, most do the job (I think the ones I get are Crosland - in the green box). You are better off changing them twice as often as recommended by Lexus and it would still save you money compared with Lexus prices. The rec change interval is 40K miles - seems a long way to me. They are just a tenner on eBay.

You are being ripped off there, my friend. The plugs have been listed for ages on eBay by Lexus Birmingham at £79.99 - presumably any other Lexus dealer could sell them for that. (I've had them in my eBay watch list for a long time - they keep coming round. Now says 'last one' but I bet they'll be relisted). I would have thought that it would be half an hour's extra labour tops beyond the fuel seal recall.

There are two things which clog up DPFs - soot and ash. The regen only clears the soot - the ash just keeps on building. Eventually the thing gets too clogged up and you need a new one. That seems to be where you are - 155K makes it not too surprising. So a new DPF should (might?) solve the problem Good luck!

Don't hold your breath.......

Have you taken (and passed) a driving test in UK? Was it in an automatic car (in which case you only have a full license to drive automatics) or manual?

Just jack it up and take the wheels off! (One at a time!) Support it properly before you get anywhere underneath to take a close look at the suspension. Put the wheel under a fixed part or use big wooden blocks (or proper axle stands). Don't use bricks. Most suspension part rust is superficial, but things can get nasty if the car has been driven on a beach (even just on the sand) or through seawater (including seaside floods or promenades where the sea has splashed over the seawall) The salt wreaks havoc on cars - suspension, body, wheels - all will rot in no time - sometimes just seaspray will cause a lot of damage (look around a car park close to the sea in stormy conditions - a lot of the cars will have really rusty brake discs) Never, ever, drive your car (any car you value) on a beach or through potentially salty floodwater!.

Any company offering mobile or one- (or same-) day turnaround must be using sand/grit blasting for paint and corrosion removal followed by painting with conventional paint. The result is going to be far less satisfactory than acid bath cleaning followed by powder coating. You may also need damage repair (eg to wheel rims if they have been curbed or deep corrosion) - all takes time and you can reckon 3 days for a proper job. The costs won't be much different. Don't know anyone near London but in the North West the one to go to is Prestige Wheels in Stockport.

And this might help! (Or confuse.......!) BodyR-P4.pdf

Actually I think you're correct - it's all called 'Parking assist' and we're talking about the 'Clearance Sonar system'. Here's a wiring diagram LPA-CS.pdf

Do you mean the TV camera system or ultrasonic obstruction detectors? I didn't think the SE has the TV camera - mine doesn't - maybe it was an option - but that's what 'parking assist' is.

I think it will just get caught up in the filter if you spray into the outside. Aircon smells emanate from deposits on the evaporator - the radiator-type component where the air gets cooled. It gets condensation on it when you switch off the engine (or actually the heater fan and air flow) and that wetness encourages the growth of mould. Cleaner sprays work by getting deposited on the evaporator and killing the mould spores. They need to take the shortest route from intake to evaporator - the airflow doesn't go through the filter on recirculate. - on some cars you can spray into the trunking between blower and evaporator but that's a bit complicated on the IS. The spray may take some time to work. I would give it a week or so then if you can still smell an unpleasant odour give it another go with a fresh can - maybe a different brand.

The job is rather easier on the IS250 than on that pickup because we have a drain plug. You can only drain a litre or so through it though - the whole tranny takes 7.2 litres. If you want to drain more you need to go further and remove the oil pan and valve body, but even then you only get 2.2 litres out. Next stage is remove the torque converter - then you get 3.7 litres out - still not much more then half, and do you really want to go there? The final adjustment of the oil level needs to be done with the oil between 30 and 49 deg C. The main problem is access - you need to be able to get the car high enough to do the job and it needs to be level. So a whole lot of jacking and 4 axle stands required. Or a lot easier with a lift.

I agree with John - exhaust changes downstream of the cats will have no effect on emissions. But for the record, the emissions reported are relatively high. My most recent MoT for the Lexus reads 0.01% CO and 12ppm HC on fast idle and 0.01% CO on Natural idle. Incidentally, my wife's Mii reads 0.00% CO and 2ppm HC on fast idle and 0.00% CO on Natural idle. Even my 25 year old MX-5 is cleaner - 0.02% CO and 55ppm HC on fast idle - Natural idle figures not reported. I wouldn't read too much into any of that though - a lot depends on the exact state of the engine tune on the day, how long the engine has been running for and so on - probably most importantly the state of the cats and the forward Oxygen sensors. And look at the trend over a number of MoT reports - if the emissions are rising over time, it may indicates deterioration of the cats and or Oxygen sensors..

I don't see why brake wear should depend on which wheels are driven - you don't brake and apply power at the same time (unless you're doing a bit of fancy rally driving!). Front brakes wear quicker than rear brakes because they do more work due to weight transfer (unless you make a habit of driving fast and braking hard backwards!), regardless of which wheels are driven. Linas - are you sure the caliper pistons are moving freely and retracting properly? (Caliper pistons should move back a smidgen when the brakes are released) I'd expect rear brake pads to last twice as long as front pads on an IS250 (and the discs should last longer too, although corrosion can be a problem particularly if the car is not used every day.)

I think all these explanations are too technical. It's simple - if you apply very light pressure to the brakes when there's a bit of drive from the engine/transmission, the pads vibrate and cause the noise. If you apply more brake pressure, the noise stops because the pads no longer vibrate (and the car doesn't move). If you apply less pressure the noise will also stop, again because the pads don't vibrate - but you might move forward more than you want.

If the battery really is running out so fast it has to be a faulty fob - the battery should last 2-3 years. Have you got and tried the other fob? Or, could the fob be being shielded when it's in the car - too much metal around it in your pocket perhaps - other keys on the ring with the fob?

Talk about words of one syllable! I suppose it shows you how to do it. Removing the engine cover like that is likely to break it - lift at the back first, then the front. As the header tank easily lifts out, it's easier to empty it by removing it than pumping it out. You don't need to mess about removing part or all of the undertray - you can reach the 'petcock' from the top and there's a hole in the tray to allow the water to flow out. You might need to arrange a bit of a deflector to guide it through the hole rather than flowing all over the undertray. If your coolant and header tank is clean, as it should be on well-maintained IS250s you don't need to flush with 'distilled' water. It will just dilute the coolant. (And BTW - it's best to buy readymixed coolant - that way you get the correct mix and there's no risk of tapwater contamination should you plan to use that rather than deionised water.) The description of warming up and circulating the distilled water/coolant is plain wrong - that is not how temperature control of coolant flow works. No mention of the cylinder block drains! Apart from that....a useful guide.......

The drain valves were just plain not there. And yet you think 'well, they must be.' Mystery - maybe it 's me!

The specified coolant is Toyota Super Long Life Coolant Pink - the capacity is 9.1 litres and the change interval is 10 years to first change then every 5 years. I have to admit to using Comma X-Stream G30 instead. The workshop manual specifies Toyota SLLC or similar high quality ethylene glycol based non-silicate, non-amine, non-nitrite, non-borate coolant with long-life hybrid organic acid technology (coolant with long-life hybrid organic acid technology consists of a combination of low phosphates and organic acids). The procedure is to remove the radiator cap and drain using the drain valve at he bottom of the radiator - it's towards the offside of the rad. And the two valves on the cylinder blocks. Hmm - what two valves? Try as I might, I couldn't find them and I posted on here to try and get help identifying them but no-one admitted to having actually found them. i got about 4 litres out of the rad and the header tank and replaced it (at ten years). I now intend to drain the rad and header tank every year and replace what I get out. That way it should stay reasonably refreshed. I changed about another 4 litres this year. After refilling you need to make sure there are no air locks - any there will eventually dissipate but you need to do several short journeys (5 miles?) and after each let the engine cool and check the level, both in the header tank and in the thermostat housing (remove the rad cap which is on the thermostat housing). You can help by squeezing the hoses which can help to work any air out.

Don't you just know that however good a deal you think you've found, someone finds a better one! Congrats, Ishaq! Had mine done today by ATS Knutsford - perfectly OK professional job, although to be fair it is a largely automated process - they hook the system up to the machine and it does it all automatically. The guy did say that the 'computer' gave the wrong location for one of the valves when he put the reg number in - showed it at front offside when in fact it is near the nearside back corner of the engine. Now the strange thing is that my system was well overcharged. I, nor anyone else has touched it since I bought the car five years ago. ATS took out 590g of gas, pressure checked it and replaced the specified 430g (that figure came from 'computer' and is also in my workshop manual). So it had been 160g or so overfilled! Wonder if that was from the factory, or had someone been in there during the first 6 years of the car's life? It took a little over an hour, but I left the premises before the job had been started so who knows. Before the job, the temperature from the vents with the temp set to 'Lo' was 8 deg C, afterwards it was 6 deg. So there you go!

Aha - that will be why the offer says 'no hybrids' (or electric vehicles) As Keith says, regular usage of aircon is important to keep the seals in good condition, but the gas can leak away over time even with good seals. If the seals have deteriorated the system may fail the pressure test - then they can't regas and you have to get it fixed - expensive. And it's not just the gas - I guess the lubricant oil (which is carried in the gas) will deteriorate over time.

We don't seem to talk much about aircon here (especially routine service) - maybe it just works and we forget about it? Anyway, you are supposed to have it checked every two years, but I don't think mine has ever been done (in 11 years). It still works OK though. Now ATS Euromaster (tyre place primarily) have a discount offer - 40% off, so they do a pressure check and regas for £28.79. Seems like a good deal, so I've booked in for Tuesday. They also offer a bacterial clean, but that's not discounted but it's easy enough to do yourself with a 'bomb' can you can buy from Halfords - I have done that occasionally. The offer is only for April, so you only have a few days if you're interested. Only applies to vehicles with R134A - I think most of ours will have that but later cars may have moved on to something else. There are terms (eg no hybrids) and the offer isn't immediately obvious on the web site - do a Google (or alternative) search for 'ATS aircon discount offer'

Excessive crankcase pressure - worn engine/piston rings - probably.

Maybe it's a LF model. The tappets are buckets which sit on top of the valves, then the camshafts are directly on top of the tappet. There are shims which sit in the bucket to adjust the valve clearance - if they need adjustment you have to measure the existing clearance and the shim, then buy new shims of the new size you've worked out. It is sometimes possible, with an arrangement like this, to winkle the shim out whist you hold the valve compressed with a special tool which presses on the edge of the bucket. The official way is to remove the camshafts - you don't need to remove the timing chain but you do need special tools to lock it all up whilst you remove the camshafts. And I reckon changing the valve stem oil seals is going to involve removing the head. As you say, pretty major job. If the oil isn't leaking it must be being burnt. Most likely past the piston rings if it's done a high mileage. Either live with it or budget for a pretty major overhaul. Or there is some stuff advertised in Car Mechanics every month which claims to restore engine compression and improve oil consumption, especially for the Mazda RX8 which has a ****el (edit - oh - ridiculous - that's a rotary) engine and it is notorious for high oil consumption (in fact it's designed to burn oil to save the rotor tips). I can't remember the name and I don't have a copy of the mag to hand, but it might be worth a try (but it could well be snake oil). I'll try and remember to send you the name when I get home towards the end of next week.