johnatg

That's strange - the rears were changed from solid to vented during 2007 production, so it's expected to need the reg/chassis no for them. But solid at the front? Never heard of that - has anyone else got solid discs at the front? (BTW - it's not an owner choice - you have to fit what was used in production as far as the solid/vented thing goes - the calipers are different (unless you want to change the calipers, too, of course))

Ah...I'd remembered reading sect 2.5 of the Owner's manual - it syas 'Lexus does not recommend towing a trailer with your vehicle. It is not designed for trailer towing'. But that is only for vehicles for Singapore! (What can be different?) Further down the page (P171 in my manual) it says to use the Lexus hitch/bracket. Maybe that's type approved? If they are available! And 'Other products of a suitable nature and comparable quality may also be used.' And in the EU - if they are type approved.

They do say that a man's first wee of the day makes for pretty good cat deterrent........! Might even add some extra shine!!!! :eerrrmm:

You can't get a (legal) towbar for the IS250. That's 'cos they (the EU) brought in some regulations in '98 which said that a towbar must be type approved for the particular vehicle. One of the factors in issuing type approval is the recommended towing weight specified by the manufacturer and for the IS250 it's zero (ie Lexus say you can't tow with the IS) Therefore - no type approved bars. And that applies even if you're not going to tow with it. Lots of cars cannot have type approved (or therefore any) towbars these days.

Chances are that a 90K mile 220D could be a money pit - EGR and DPF problems start to rear their heads. Chances are that a 90K mile 250 has 60-100K reliable miles left. with proper maintenance - primarily oil changes. And get the brakes checked every year at least (slider pins clean and lubricated - not on the Lexus schedule, but essential) Of course, you could be lucky with a 220D or unlucky with a 250. And fuel consumption of a 220D seems not to be great, whereas 250 fuel consumption is at least as good as you'd expect from a 2.5 V6 (Still a bit more than a 200D of course). Avoid a manual 250 unless it's a very early one - road tax on April 96 on ones is £480 (probably just gone up. The auto box is great anyway. 220D is always manual. IMHO.

Yeah - the print out from 'The Wheel Alignment Centre' doesn't even show caster. And I would say Argento's figures are fine - pretty similar each side - not sure why there are three figures - maybe measurements at full lock left - centre - full lock right?

Actual caster values are not particularly important, as long as they are similar on each side of the car. If they aren't the car will pull to one side. Caster primarily affects self centering of the steering and straight line stability, but both in a sort of continuous way so nothing terrible happens if it's different to that specified in the setting instructions. It is really something which is determined at the design stage of the suspension and steering.

You can disable this function - I'd recommend doing so - I have had it happen, inevitably on a wet day. It's caused (if not intentional) by the fob in your pocket - every remote I've ever had has operated inadvertently if you bend down or the fob is squeezed in your pocket. The Lexus is no different, but the remote seems to have a longer range than most, so an inadvertent trigger in the house will send them down, unknown to you, on your drive or whatever. I have it disabled now. But it's a TechStream function - you need the proper TechStream software and OBDII connector- dealers can do it but they'll charge. You can obtain it - on Ebay, allegedly illegally - but the EU Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulations (BER) directs that car tech information and repair instructions should be freely available (to prevent franchise dealer monopoly) so I doubt that dissemination really is illegal - I think yet to be tested in court though..

But did you clean both the glass and the rubber - if you don't, the rubber will pick up stuff from the glass or the glass will transfer stuff to the rubber. That ebay reference from Normski is correct - those Denso blades are exacly the same as the oe ones - and much better than one piece ones, as Mark said.

Last time I had a stubborn smear like this it turned out to be resin from a conifer tree I'd parked under. Yours could be that or ordinary tree sap (or oil, or.....!). Clean the glass (especially the side edge and bottom where the wiper stops, as well as the smeared area) and the rubber of the blade with white spirit, then with concentrated windscreen wash additive. Don't let the glass and rubber come into contact with each other until you've cleaned both. Examine the rubber carefully to make sure you've removed all deposits. You don't get smears with completely clean wipers and glass!

It's 'cos the price of oil (in US dollars) has increased by about 30% over the last 4 months. Meanwhile the pound has appreciated against the dollar, which tends to reduce the price of oil in pounds, but only by about 7% over the same period. An increase in the pound price of oil increases the cost of petrol - not only the base price but also the VAT component.

Warped discs are almost invariably caused by careless installation - you have to check run-out very carefully when installing. If there's too much, the discs will appear warped (due to thickness variation). 8 months is a pretty typical time period for it to manifest itself. Refunds on 'warped' discs are exceedingly difficult to obtain - manufacturers almost always claim it's due to faulty installation. You might be lucky but unless you have, and use correctly, a dial gauge you are courting problems. Lexus only say to install the disc in the position giving 'minimum runout' but if it's any more than 0.1mm at the disc rim the disc is unlikely to run true enough to avoid apparent warping. But if you do experience it - good luck with a refund!

That of course applies to bolts - our cars have nuts but the procedure would be the same, except that at the end you have to remove the remains of the stud, which may or may not be easy. (They are usually a spline fit in the hub - not sure what method Lexus use. A G-clamp may press them out) Lesson - never, ever, allow a garage or tyre shop to have possession of your car with lock nuts in place. Buy some spare nuts and either dispense with the locks altogether (how many wheels actually get nicked these days?) or replace your lock nuts with the plain ones before you take the car to a garage and replace them afterwards. You'll need a torque wrench to get the nuts to correct and even torque.

I've never really found any problems. Just press the brake pedal harder! You can always get to the point of bringing in the ABS (you would lock a wheel otherwise). I dislike brakes which make a car stand on it's nose when you just touch the brake pedal - my wife's Mii is like that - makes it hard to modulate your braking to stop smoothly. My supercharged MX-5 (which has redstuff pads) needs high pedal pressures and you can modulate the braking easily from 'slight' to 'wheel lock' (no ABS on that) with varying pedal pressures. I know women generally do not like to drive MX-5s with redstuff pads. (Apologies if that's sexist - it just reflects comments I've heard over the years) It seems the smaller and less powerful a car is, the more the brakes feel 'too much', and the faster the car the less braking you seem to have - at first sight. If you've ever driven a racing car you'll know they feel as if they have no brakes at all at first. It's all a matter of feel and using the brakes correctly - and driver experience.

Dunno - check with dealer/warranty provider?

MTEC grooved/drilled discs (black) plus EBC Redstuff pads do it for me. Next time I'll get Yellowstuff pads, but you have to drive really hard to get fade with the Reds - but I use some long steep hills!

2006 IS250 - I have three but I keep one in the boot as I find the centre one obstructs rear vision. Maybe that's what's happened to yours and it has got lost along the way?

I have a friend who is Service Manager at an agricultural engineer. They have problems with a certain brand of foreign tractors - often they won't start even when new and the reason is that that they are now fitted with DPF's. The manufacturer has issued them with a long large diameter drill and instructions to drill out the internals of the DPF. That works! I would think that the sort of drill used to drill big holes through masonry/brick walls would work! Just a thought......

This is what you need. Also available on Ebay, and cheapest from China. It's not a simple cup wrench - it has cut-outs to engage with tabs on the housing.There's a Sealey version and unbranded ones. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Expert-Toyota-Filter-Replacement/dp/B008RXS7FM

No such thing as a choke these days, especially with a diesel. Idle speed is entirely up to amount of fuel being injected. I'd say you've possibly got an injector problem - one (at least, possibly the 5th one) injecting too much? Might be the control ecu (unlikely) or a temperature sensor (more likely).

It's not really the octane rating but the fuel system cleaning properties and smooth burn features of some of the expensive fuels that are the real advantages. But the octane rating does help - all modern engines are optimised for 97 RON fuel - the fact that they run OK on 95 is because no manufacturer wants to be seen insisting on 97. (I suppose the smooth burn is attributable partly to the octane rating, but some fuels are better than others.) IMHO There is a bit of anecdotal evidence on this forum that the small increase in cost is largely offset by similar small improvements in fuel economy.

I would forget the ASDA fillups - use Texaco Supreme (the more expensive one) all the time. I know you're right about there being few Shell stations in Carmarthenshire (or S Wales generally). I use Shell V-Power all the time - Texaco Supreme is nearly as good. It is 97 octane rather than 98 but has good cleansing additives. An aside: We went on hol near St Davids last year in my supercharged MX-5. It needs Shell V-Power - or at least 98 octane fuel or it pinks (detonates) like crazy. It's a very practical car - it has a very small boot and I have to navigate via Shell stations. As it is also water-injected (substitute for intercooling) - and it injects 2/3 distilled water and 1/3 methanol - it needs copious supplies of both. Hell of a lot of fun, though - it has about the same power as the Lexus and weighs not much more than half as much! Anyway, I located the Shell staions on route and identified one (of the few) in Llandysul - went about twenty miles 'off-route' to get to it and found it didn't sell V-Power! I ended up using Texaco Supreme + Octane booster, which I carry for such occasions (rather frequent in the sticks!) You don't need to go to such extremes in the Lexus, but it's well worth using the most expensive fuel. And don't be afraid of the accelerator pedal! The car will soon change down if it knows you actually want to get up the hill!

Try using the ECT switch 'Power' setting. My observation is that this makes general progress slightly less smooth, but the car is more likely to be in the 'correct' gear at any given time, especially where you have to slow down for sharp bends or climb steep hills. It also seems to give you a bit more engine braking when descending hills. There does not seem to be any fuel consumption downside.

ACEA C3 is very similar to C2 (it's also suitable for diesels with DPFs) but without the fuel economy requirements. Now - does the formulation of the oil (as opposed to viscosity etc) make any noticeable difference to real world fuel economy? Debate......

Yep - I swear by GM Dexos 2 - use it in all my cars and a couple of family ones I look after. Fully synthetic 5W-30 and meets specs of most manufacturers. Here's a typical source: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-5w-30-GENUINE-GM-VAUXHALL-BMW-FULLY-SYN-ENGINE-MOTOR-OIL-5Ltr-DEXOS-2-/281201430441?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4178e94fa9 But lots more on Ebay. Note that Dexos 2 is a spec as well as a specific product from GM. Be careful to get packs that show the hologram on the top right of the label - and there should be a multi-language leaflet on the back. It is alleged that there is a lot of fake stuff about. Vauxhall dealers sell it but the price from them is apparently about £40 for 5 litres unless you have a trade deal.