ChumpusRex

I find that my rattle is much quieter if the engine is slightly overfilled with oil. About 5 mm above max on the dipstick - works out at about 1/2 litre above the full mark. However, I had a local garage service it recently; they apparently put 5W30 in but it rattled like crazy after that - severe long rattling every single start. I put a can of BG MOA (which is some kind of friction modifying oil additive/detergent boost) in and it has completely silenced the engine. No idea whether it was just the overfilling or whether it's done something to the oil, but the engine went from absolutely ridiculous rattling to completely silent, instantly. My current theory is that if the oil is too thin, then the VVTI can rattle because it can drain out. Engine oil does get thinner with use, as the friction snaps the long-chain molecules - it then reaches a minimum about 10k miles, after that the lighter components of the oil evaporate faster than the heavy ones shear, and the oil thickens up again. If the oil going in is too thin (e.g. a 0W20) then it may mean lots more rattling even when the oil is fresh. The MOA I added was a thick syrupy stuff, so I'm guessing that it thickened up the oil a bit. The rattling is supposed not to be serious on the IS250 - the valve timing adjuster gear mechanism is controlled by engine oil hydraulic pressure, but when the engine is stopped, the oil can leak back and cause pressure to be lost. Then, when the engine starts the mechanism flails around making a rattling noise until hydraulic pressure comes up, and starts controlling the mechanism. In 2010, Toyota added a spring-loaded locking mechanism that locks the adjuster into "start" position until hydraulic pressure reaches operating level. However, lexus did recall the IS350 for the same issue, because they had a number of timing adjusters disintegrate during hard acceleration, after fatigue due to excessive rattling. I wonder whether a slightly thicker oil (e.g. a 10W40) might be worth trying to see if it makes it better, or possibly someone might want to try a thinner oil - e.g. a 0W30 or a 5W20 - and see if it gets worse.

I'm trying EBC grooved discs, and haven't noticed any extra noise; however, they seem to be a lot more resistant to wear than the OEM lexus discs. The EBC redstuff pads I've paired with them are quiet, stop well and are a lot less dusty than OEM (but even these produce quite a lot of dust). My understanding is that lexus use very aggresive pads (because the IS250 has undersized discs). Because these wear discs so quickly, it's not uncommon for OEMs to specify the lowest grade of disc available, on the basis that the wear from these pads is so severe, higher grade discs will still end up getting demolished; so if the discs are sacrificial, they might as well be the cheapest possible. High-end aftermarket discs are usually made of a very hard grade of iron, so may be more expensive than the OEM discs - whether they are good value is open for debate. My hope is that the ceramic restuff pads are less aggressive than the metal-filled OEM pads, so that I get a lot more use out of these expensive discs. This is yet to be proven, but my initial impression on 4000 miles of urban and country road driving, is that they certainly aren't worse, and are probably a lot better.

For future reference - the UK battery number is 068 - so if you ask for this type of battery anyone should be able to supply. e.g. http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/accessories-car-batteries/car-batteries/popular-car-battery/068-car-batteries

I wouldn't flush the engine coolant. The IS250 needs toyota Pink coolant which must not be diluted. If you flush the engine with water, some will be left behind and dilute the new coolant. It says in the lexus service manual that the radiator should not be flushed with water. If flushing is required, it must be flushed with pink coolant. In general, the pink coolant is good stuff - you won't have any corrosion issues in an IS250 yet, even if the coolant has never been touched. Just drain the coolant out as much as possible, and fill it up again. That's all that lexus do.

Differential pressure sensor

I've got grooved discs and EBC redstuff pads on at the moment. They're a bit "sharper" than OEM, but other than that, I can't say they're much different. They still fade, but maybe they take a bit longer to do so. I know some people have put GS series brakes on, but I think they won't fit on 17" wheels. Differential fluid is due at 40k (takes a standard 80W90 GL5 gear oil). No idea about the manual gearbox - didn't even realise the IS250 came in manual. The A/C is controlled only via the sat nav screen. The temperature can be controlled with normal buttons, but the actual A/C function and face/feet selection can only be controlled via the sat nav.

Oil wise, any 5W30 A3 or C2 oil is fine. You can get an own-brand full synthetic for about £16 for 5 litres for A3, or about £25 for 5 litres for C2. Fair enough, if you've only got 50k miles, it might be worth using a more expensive branded oil. The IS250 engine does use a bit of oil, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's down a liter by 10k miles. Plugs are due at 60k miles, but having done mine after 70k, they looked like they had at least another 70k on them. You are strongly advised to use the OEM plugs only (Denso HK20HBR11), as the engine doesn't very much like brands such as NGK and Bosch. Lexus Birmingham sell them mail order/via ebay at a very good price. I'd strongly recommend that you don't get Lexus to do this, as the lexus price will give you a heart attack. Filters and stuff aren't expensive. Although, you can often get decent brand filters (like Mahle - who make the filters for BMW and Porsche) off ebay for a fraction of the price of the lexus ones. Brake discs and pads don't last very long on the IS250, because they are undersized for the weight of the car. Avoid cheap aftermarket discs and pads, as they don't stand up to the abuse. I don't know whether expensive aftermarket pads/discs last any better, but I'm trying some now. Make sure that every service, you have the brakes disassembled, cleaned and the caliper sliders lubricated. These things will seize and destroy your pads/discs if you so much as look at them wrong.

By carriers do you mean slider pins? If you mean the slider pins, then lexus sell them at about £10 each. On my car the bottom slider pin was part number 47715-52190.

Update: One bulb burned out after 18 months. So I changed both. The other has badly discoloured glass and looks like it is also on its last legs. Given the difficulty of changing them, I'm going to genuine name-brand lamps - Philips, or Osram.

Heh. Had something similar today. One of the headlights had burned out, so because it is such a pain to change the bulbs, I decided to do both. Replaced one. Turned car on to turn on lights. All OK. Replaced the other. Turned car back on. All OK. Put car back together. Started up. Dash lit up like a christmas tree, check VSC, flashing triangle, skid light on. Heart sink feeling. The I realised. You have to disconnect the MAF sensor to change the bulbs. The ECU gives any non catastrophic fault 2 chances before going into "fault" mode. The two "test" runs had put the ECU into fault mode. Even though the car was back together, and everything was fine, the ECU doesn't cancel the lights until at least 3 engine starts with no fault present. By the time I'd found my techstream cable, and got it hooked up, the lights had gone.

That's pretty standard for a 1.6 litre engine. In the IS250 service manual, lexus state 1 litre per 600 miles is the maximum.

Sounds like a malfunctioning VSC computer, or a loose connection on the wiring connector to the VSC unit. The VSC computer doesn't just handle VSC, but it also does ABS, vehicle speed monitoring and brake system safety checking. The lights work as follows: the VSC light comes on, if the VSC computer sends a "VSC not available" signal to the dash. No signal. No VSC warning. The brake light and ABS light stay on, unless the VSC computer sends a "brake system safe" signal or "ABS system working" signal. No signals, the lights come on. The speedo takes its signal from the VSC computer as well. No signal from the VSC computer, speedo reads zero. Finally, the power steering system takes a speed signal from the VSC computer so that it can adjust the power assistance. If it gets no signal, then it will report a power steering fault and may not work correctly.

Thankfully seized slide pins are not expensive. I've had seized slide pins on at least 1 caliper every single service since I've had my car, even though it had been dealer serviced every 4-6 months. The trick is not to take it to the dealer who will install a new caliper (@£395 each), but to take it to an independent. A new slide pin is about £12, and about £50 worth of labour to get the old one out. By the time I'd worked this out, I'd had 5 brand new calipers from lexus. My new independent mechanic just laughed and told me that he was nearly 100% certain that it didn't need a single one of those.

Does anyone know who provides the map data for the nav system? I've just got the latest DVD, and the local map is just nonsense - it's missing some main roads that have been there for donkey's years, and has got roads running through fields and across brick walls, where there is no hint of a road ever having been. I know that Tomtom have a system for reporting map errors, so I'm guessing that whoever the software provider is might have something similar.

There's nothing terribly wrong with using an engine flush, provided that the engine is reasonably clean and has been well maintained. The issue with a flush in a dirty engine is that it can dislodge lumps of crud from large passageways, which then get forced into smaller passageways, blocking them and starving the bearings of oil. As it is, the IS250 engine is not one that tends to sludge up, provided that it has been maintained correctly and reasonable quality oils have been used. So, a flush would be of somewhat lower risk, but also lower benefit. I'm also not really a fan of oil additives in general. However, I recently took my car to a different garage (closer to work, so convenient) for a service and I've no idea what oil they put in it, but afterwards the VVTi was rattling like never before. It was literally 5 seconds on every single start, hot or cold, on the new oil, and had never been that bad before, even on dead oil. Hoping for a cheaper option than changing the oil for my favoured cheap synthetic stuff, I poured a can of BG MOA into the engine - total silence since. I've no idea what the MOA did - maybe it just increased the viscosity a bit, maybe it did something else. I don't know. However, I wouldn't have expected a garage to put a 0W20 oil in so I don't see why it should have been so much worse than my usual 5W30.

Don't forget that there are a few independent hybrid battery specialists around now. I was planning on buying a GS450h, so rang a inquired for estimates for battery replacement. Estimates were in the region of about £800 + VAT for rebuilding a GS450h battery.

Could be related to deposits on the piston rings. If the rings get sludged up then you can get major oil consumption because they don't seal the combustion chamber; this can also give poor performance and rough running. An oil flush or change to an oil with better sludge resistance can free up the rings and give better sealing. I've found that the IS250 engine is quite fussy about oil, and it will tend to consume mineral and semi-synthetic oils, whereas a decentish synthetic tends not to be consumed. I just use the cheap TripleQX 5W30 C2 synthetic from Euro car parts whenever it is on sale. You could probably go cheaper and use the "GM engines" A3 version, as it still meets the relevant specifications (but may not be quite as catalyst friendly, and given the special catalyst design, getting an aftermarket replacement welded in is unlikely to be an option).

I've got v8.00.016 - works fine on my IS250.

From the Lexus European service manual. Spark plug replacement - every 60k. (see note) Brake fluid - recommended interval is 2 years. Trans fluid - Nomal use, no scheduled maintenance. Severe usage (e.g. urban driving, towing, mountainous driving) replace every 6 years. Diff oil - Replace every 4 years note - I changed mine at 70k and they showed very little wear, I'd suggest 100k or 120k as a reasonable interval, given the high cost of the plugs, risk of damage to the alloy head, difficulty of the job and need for replacing numerous gaskets as part of disassembly.

In the US, the IS was recalled because of the rear caliper problem. However, there was no recall in the UK. Lexus have updated the caliper design and the replacement parts should be of the new, fixed design.

Switched to redstuff on the front with ultimax slotted discs, after a caliper pin seizure destroyed my front pads and discs. I was originally going to go for the "high" carbon discs, but they were temporarily out of stock and I needed them urgently as there was no friction material left, and it was metal-on-metal grinding. The redstuff have noticably more "bite" than the stock pads, slowing the car with less pedal effort. However, they are very temperature sensitive - although when cold they have at least as good as OEM "bite", once hot, they bite like a pitbull. This was a bit scary the first time on motorway driving after some high speed B road driving - when I came to the exit slip road, and the pads had cooled off, they had lost their incredible hot bite, and the pedal was nowhere near as stiff and responsive as I had become used to earlier. The other advantage with redstuff is a MASSIVE reduction in brake dust. The OEM pads were ridiculous for that. What I don't know is how long the pads and discs will last. Although the ultimax discs are expensive premium discs, they are made of cheap "grey iron". Most OEM discs these days are made of a special iron alloy called GG15HC, rather than "grey iron".

The IS220d and IS250 need Toyota Pink coolant. The generic name is a low-phosphate, zero amine, zero borate, zero silicate, hybrid organic acid technology coolant. However, in the UK, there is no alternative product that meets this specification on the market. The toyota Red coolant is a standard zero amine, zero borate, zero silicate, zero phosphate, organic acid technology coolant. This is compatible with lexus cars, but is not the optimal formulation. However, it will likely work fine. This type of formulation is reasonably common these days, and generic products, such as Comma G30, are available off the shelf. The phosphate in the pink is a useful additive as it stabilises the coolant against aging, and acts as a secondary anti-corrosion additive for aluminium. I suspect that toyota had originally intended the red to last 10 years between changes, but found that that was a bit optimistic as it degraded faster than expected. That said, if you use red and change it more regularly than the book says, you'll probably be OK.

You need the dealer edition or locksmith edition of the Lexus techstream system to program keys, which is so expensive to buy, that realistically, it's dealer only. You also need a *brand new* key. Once a key has been programmed, it can never be reprogrammed to another car. If you get a key off ebay, and it's already been used, you won't know until you get to the dealer and they try to program it, and the car simply won't start; so most dealers will only use their own keys. There are some other forums where people have brought their own keys and convinced dealers to try and program them, and then been left with a 1/2 hour bill for labour after the dealer couldn't do it. I bought a hacked techstream system off ebay for £30 and it certainly goes through the motions of programming keys - I've not actually tried it for real though, for fear of breaking the car or the keys, but it looks like it would do the job.

The prestone universal has an organic acid formulation similar to the Toyota red, but instead of using sebacic acid, it uses 2-EHA. This additive is known to be incompatible with some of the seals and gaskets Toyota use. While the prestone universal can be used as a top-up, with little risk. However, it is not the correct formulation for filling the system from empty, because it does not contain the phosphates that Toyota recommend - these are needed to lubricate the water pump and are the reason why Toyota switched from the phosphate free red formulation to the hybrid phosphate/organic pink formulation. The chances are that you will get away with it, at least for a few years, but if you're planning to keep the car, it's probably best to use the recommended fluid, or in an emergency top up with a Toyota red or equivalent (Comma G30) fluid.

This one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Print-ADH29902-RADIATOR-CAP/dp/B00B8YUASE fits There's a cross ref list of compatible part numbers, and if you search on those, you can find caps for pennies.