johnatg

AFAIK - same as now (subject to annual increases?) George said no-one would pay more than they do now - he didn't say no-one would pay less, but I think that was implied!

Did you just read the budget headlines? Road Tax for 'most cars' will be £140 from 1/4/17? Well, take a closer look at the details. Emissions of the cheapest current IS250 are 199gm/km - the road tax for new ones first registered from 1/4/17 will be £1200 for first year if they don't do something really radical. (And £140 after that) Ouch! Good news for us second-hand buyers though!

PS - The schedules mention 0W-20 oil - you can get it in UK but it's stupidly expensive and it's primarily for fuel consumption. 5W-30 is fine and I don't think anyone would really notice significantly higher fuel consumption. It's all part of the stupid competition to achieve maximum possible (and largely fictitious) fuel figures for publicity.

Greasing the slider pins is not on the Lexus schedule - that doesn't mean it isn't vital. And it's not just a Lexus problem - most cars have slider pins these days and they all need to be kept clean and greased. My MX-5 is just the same (and just as prone to suffer seized pins) as the Lexus. Some cars are worse than others - I guess due to slight differnces in design and efficiency of the seals. Most japanese cars are pretty similar to the Lexus. I don't think I've seen 'dismantle, clean and grease slider pins' on any manufacturer's service schedule. Something I can't explain! There are plenty of on-line sources of IS250 service schedules - do a google search for 'IS250 maintenance schedule'. Here's the US official Lexus version - the schedules are quite a long way through the document (P50 onwards). It's just as relevant for UK. And I don't think there are really any significant differences between model years. http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/MY11_Lexus_IS_250_IS_250C_WSG.pdf And add 'dismantle, clean and grease brake slider pins, front and rear'! At least annually/10000 mile intervals.

BTW - brakeparts.co.uk mostly sell stuff from Brake Engineering - a business based in Wrexham - they are a major brake component manufacture and refurbishment operation - owned by TRW Automotive Aftermarket. (They don't sell retail) So they sell 'standard' stuff - great for calipers, service kits, standard discs and pads - all that sort of thing, but they don't do your upgraded items such as drilled discs and performance pads.

Rochdale - they have a good online service - and they are a real shop with loads of stock - I've bought stuff there for numerous cars both online and physically in the shop, over quite a few years.

Since you've got this far (and certainly proved your patience!) it would be worth getting a caliper service kit - brakeparts.co.uk sell them for £11.48 (+ post) - includes all seals. Repalce them all and your caliper should be (almost!) as good as new.

Even if you find a really good one - does she do 20000 miles/pa and lots of motorway miles? If not, the really good one will join the ranks of problem cars pretty soon.

Yep - classic. Give up - don't waste any more time. You will never get the caliper off the pin. The pin has come unscrewed (partially) from the bracket. I can't just make it out in the video, but you can see the end of the pin on the opposite side of the bracket. When you waggle the caliper you'll see the end move relative to the bracket. The threaded part of the pin has a much reduced diameter relative to the main part of the pin. Cut the dust seal off and cut through the pin with an angle grinder with a metal cutting blade. If you haven't got one, take it to a local garage or engineering shop - it will take them 5 minutes to cut through the pin. You'll need an exchange caliper, pins and dust seals. Preferably for both sides. The caliper doesn't look too bad - it might well be acceptable for exchange. If not, you'll just forfeit about £30 deposit.

Don't feel bad - that's about par for the course! If you can get a new bracket/caliper assembly from Lexus at a decent price - that's the best option. Otherwise, cut the pin and save the bracket - they will be ridiculously expensive alone. Then get a replacement caliper (eg brakeparts.co.uk) - you may well have to forfeit the surcharge - I know what these calipers look like after a heavy hammer has been near them! And you'll need pins.

Don't really understand what you mean by 'the bracket is moving' - the bracket is fixed to the hub carrier very securely with two bolts. The pin screws into the bracket - it doesn't have a head - just a socket for an allen key in the end away from the bracket - but you can't see it until the caliper is off. If the caliper won't come off, the solution is to cut the pin with an angle grinder. You should then be able to remove the remains of the pin from the bracket - it helps if you have enough sticking out of the bracket to get hold of with some sort of grips. Get new pins and exchange the caliper - they won't mind if it's got half the old pin stuck in it as long as it's otherwise undamaged. Note that there are two types of caliper - for vented and solid discs. Yours are vented. You should change both rear calipers - you shouldn't do brake work or replace components on one side only. But people do. Lexus sell calipers complete with bracket etc, but exchange calipers from factors such as brakeparts.co.uk are just the caliper. The pins are separate items - it's worth replacing both top and bottom pins and dust seals. I guess Lexus sell them, but I got mine from Rock Auto. It's worth seeing if a Lexus dealer will offer a good price deal for complete caliper/bracket assemblies.

Plus Gas is the standard penetrating oil - works fine, and much better than things like WD40, although that might be worth a try. I can assure you that the pin is screwed into the bracket - it has a hex socket in its head. You can't see that until you've got the caliper off. That's irrelevant unless it comes unscrewed - then it's very difficult to apply 'torque' to the joint between caliper and pin because there's no way of holding the pin still without damaging it. On one side you are effectively tightening the pin whilst trying to rotate the caliper, so no problem, but on the other side you are unscrewing the pin as you rotate the caliper - I can't remember which side is which or work it out at this time on a Friday night!!! The freeze spray is just a different way of applying 'heat' - kinda in reverse. It is less likely to cause damage than a torch. Remember you've got inflammable brake fluid around and if the whole thing catches fire you'll damage the seals in the caliper. I'd prefer to use a heat gun (preferably the paint stripping kind) but each to his own. What you are trying to do is to create a temperature difference between the seized parts so that expansion or contraction 'breaks the seal'. It's encouraging that you have managed to move it a little - patience is a virtue in this situation!

Be careful with the hammer - if you hit the caliper too hard you will damage it, then you can't p/ex it for a replacement which you may well need. Disconnect the hydraulic hose and remove the whole caliper and bracket and work on it on a bench. The pin is a screw fit in the bracket - it may well turn rather than the caliper turn on the pin. You just have to adapt techniques to get the caliper off - if in doubt, take the assembly to a garage. It may need a combination of heat, cold (Halfords Shock and Unlock is a freeze sparay and it works wonders), penetrating oil and violence. But remember the caliper must be undamaged if you want to exchange it. Lexus did do a value deal where they sold you the caliper and bracket as an assembly at a much reduced price (outright, not an exchange) - I think people have had mixed success in getting that deal. Good Luck!

Main fuse blown? That is surely the only thing that could stop absolutely everything from working. I have no info on location of electrical stuff on 220Ds so can't help with locating it. But it will be a big 50A (at least) fuse.

The slot really doesn't matter much. Pagid pads are fine.

More like 'goodwill', I suspect! Nice to know there is some!

This is what the support looks like - slots in front to back into the edges of the tray. You could make one from a piece of wood or try a scrapper?

Found it - toffee_pie (Eric) - this time last year. Pretty coy reply above on this thread, old chap! How to wreck (and fix) the ventilation when changing the pollen filter: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/90945-botched-cabin-filter-install/

The filter fits in a tray, horizontally at the back of the glove box. If the ventialtion is not in recycle, vital links in the system get broken when you force a flap to get access to the tray. When its in recycle, the tray is clearly in sight. The damage potentially caused is just ridiculous for the ease with which it is caused If it is damaged it will no longer switch between recycle and fresh air - not sure if other functions will no longer work properly. It is extremely expensive to fix with new parts. As I said, someone did a d-i-y fix on here a few months back - it was not easy, but it worked. See here:

Unless you or your regular passengers suffer from hay fever, you might as well get this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-IS-250-Saloon-Comline-Cabin-Pollen-Filter-Genuine-OEM-Quality-LOW-COST-XE4-/361095802349?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5412fcaded Pollen filters are more or less optional anyway. If you removed the filter easily, you were in recycle mode. If you had to force the little door you have almost certainly broken some links - there is a thread on here about someone's d-i-y fix, (which involved a lot of effort) and also one (was it on the US Lex forum?) from a US garage proprietor who had to shell out about $2000 for repairs (he also posted a video of how to do it properly) Don't mess without a workshop manual - a google search will turn up CD ones (you only ever get CDs of manuals these days - hard copy ones have largely disappeared)

The one marked in red is one of the slide pins. The other one goes into a blind hole. You need to remove the top slide pin, then rotate the caliper so the pads clear the disc and push the caliper off the bottom (blind) slide pin. It is these slide pins which seize, especially the bottom one. Sometimes it is impossible to rotate the caliper because the pin is seized - it should move with effort, but worst case is to use violence to remove the caliper from the pin - even cut the pin. To do that you need to remove the caliper complete with mounting bracket. (You don't actually need to remove the pads to do the above, but it's probably easier if you do, and certainly easier to get the caliper back on the slide pins with the pads out.) Clean and grease the pins - opinions vary as to the best grease to use - I use 'Corrosion Block' - popular with the motorcycle and aircraft communities but largely unknown in car circles. Buy it on Ebay from motorcycle specialists - there is a spray version and a normal grease version - the latter is what you want. You don't need to oil/grease the pad retaining pins - they should just be clean. You can easily replace the pollen filter - it's mounted in the back of the glove box. MOST IMPORTANT - put the ventilation in recycle mode with engine running before you switch off to do this job.

The lights are secured by one bolt into a bracket, so a bit of play is well possible if you push on the lamp glass. One of mine was broken out of its bracket, I suspect by someone being too heavy handed in trying to remove the bulb holder to change the bulb. (The bulb holder can get quite stuck into its location after a period of time). I fixed the light unit with Araldite. The hatch on the nearside gives limited access. To get at the offside one you have to go in by disengaging the wing liner - that can be done by turning the wheel to full left lock, then undoing the clips securing the liner. Observe carefully how the clips, liner and wing edge relate to each other - it isn't necessarily obvious when you come to reassembly. The clips disengage with a quarter turn. Be careful in distorting the wing liner which you have to do to get to the inner area. Hope that helps!

It's complicated - typically 220D is £205, 250 auto is £290 and 250 manual £490. But it depends on year and model and there are lots of variations - see this to find the tax band: http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/lexus/is/saloon-2005/running-costs/ then this to see the cost for each band:. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-rate-tables

Be assured - you have done the right thing. Look for an IS250, bearing in mind things to look for (some described above) - eg service record, good tyres (tyres are quite expensive - get money off if they're going to need replacing soon, but good brands are a sign of caring ownership), check the exhaust if you can, especially the pipework in front of the back boxes (it will look a bit rusty but it should be superficial) and check that all the electrics work. Gearchanges should be smooth (if you are looking at an auto, which most of us here recommend). The archives of this forum provide a mine of info on what to look out for.

You don't need a hammer - just a decent strong breaker bar (and a bit of strength!) and a socket - the sort specially designed for oxygen sensors with a slot in the side. If the sensor is not too tight an oe spanner will do.