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I had a Tracker fitted to my IS F in June this year. Since than i have had to jump start my car twice when it has not been driven for 8 - 12 days.

Has anyone else experienced similar problems ?

Now with the cold weather in Scotland i have been told my car is 'dead' again after 6 days idle on the drive ( i am away on business)

What sort of drain does a Tracker put on the battery.....?

Tracker imposes minimal drain on the Battery as do the other services the car keeps permanently alive like the clock, fob-detect and the alarm. The Tracker uses the car to charge its own internal Battery and although that circuit could conceivably be faulty, I would suggest that it is much more likely that your Battery is faulty or was not fully charged when you left the car idle. Since most tests for Battery capacity etc. frankly do not work, and never detect batteries that simply drain away by themselves; you need to try another Battery.

Diesels are certainly not THE answer (more of a political expediency!) and will be replaced by alternative fuels but certainly not by hybrids. They are a dead end if ever I saw one.

Diesel-engine characteristics were (and still are) very well suited to huge units powering shipping, trains and road haulage. In cars they are already at the dead-end of 100 years of development to try to make them suitable - but increasingly less economical. Newer electric/hybrid car technology still holds a glimmer of hope in development of lightweight, cheap batteries or they will be at a similar dead-end. Currently they are much better to drive but critically, far too expensive.

If serious development of petrol-engine alternatives for cars had started simultaneously; Diesels would have quickly been abandoned in favour of something that wasn't so obviously unsuitable. Only pricing that does not reflect the energy available in the fuel and political fiscal advantages keeps them viable for cars, and that cannot persist much longer. For now, Diesel cars are still a bit cheaper to run.

The IS200D is Lexus's latest/last gasp contribution and hopefully hasn't the flaws of the IS220D. The penalty remains that the best Diesel cars are fairly good, but never very good to drive. For those who do not believe this last bit; try to think of anything worse.

Still no Auto box?

Lexus auto boxes are heavily linked into overall Engine Management Systems and require the engine to effectively be quickly responsive to throttle action etc. Unfortunately Diesels aren't and cannot be; so a totally different design of auto box would be needed, which is unlikely because Diesel technology in cars is a passing phase which is coming to an end in favour of hybrids or alternative engine/fuel types etc. - basically anything better, which everything is. In current hybrids, engines need to frequently and un-noticeably start up and quickly reach useful revs - and diesels are no use for that either.

thanks for the info again guys, there are lots of people posting how many miles to a tank, how big is the tank? I got 400 miles from mine on the way to Le Mans this year but the tank takes 80 litres plus 10 reserve and cost £85 this summer!

The tank is 70 litres (15.4 Gallons), so doog442's 360 miles for a tankful works out as 23.4 mpg around town. This isn't too bad or unusual for driving in traffic. Over 30 mpg is easily possible on motorways sticking to speed limits some of the time. The 38% more powerful IS300 is likely to be about 15% thirstier overall. If you are a terrible driver with a lead foot, always swapping lanes and looking for every gap to launch into then slamming on the brakes; you can easily bring the IS200 down to 17-18 mpg without arriving anywhere sooner. Note: "Sport" versions have absolutely identical performance but have a LSD, are slightly lowered and have perforated pedals. They attract the drivers just mentioned and can suffer from premature wear as a result.

thankyou for your comments gentlemen, the IS is still very much in the running, struggling to get my head around selling a car worth X, buying one worth X which has the same MPG for the majority of my driving but less power, MarkJ, pleased to see that somebody with a similar commute can get a respectable MPG, I was looking at a Ford Puma (had one years ago and they are great little cars) or a smart roadster, funnily enough the guy I brought the AMG off had one, but I wouldnt fancy taking either of those on the motorway, having had a few S classes as well I do like to be in a bigger car and both of the others are just too small and I would be revving the nuts off of them to do 70mph,

The good thing about the IS is that is sits in the middle, has a wonderfull dash, its reliable, looks great, comes in interesting colours and has things like heated alcantara seats, although the merc has heated leather it still cold on contact in the winter!

I am also toying up a C270 diesel, but its a diesel and I have owned an Audi Quattro diesel before and the fuel pumps seem to leak and it gets on your hands and stinks, and I also doubt that the big iron lump under the bonnet would be warm when I get to work, thus running on warm-up cycle and thus bad MPG, also for the money the IS has more toys and less miles,

Realistically, you are going to get 20 to 30+ mpg. It is ultra-dependent on how you drive. It takes a while to get used to getting the best out of the smooth straight 6 which needs to be driven very differently from a sporty 4. The IS200 is no ball of fire and seems worse than it is because it is so smooth - which to some makes the drive seem a bit dull. However, a big plus is the low running costs because of exceptional reliability. You can expect a good one to never need any spares or repairs for years. IS300's extra power gives a more exciting drive, and is auto only - but if you use the extra grunt, the fuel consumption (which is a bit worse anyway) suffers badly.

(1) When you sign In, just below your name the legends "Sign Out" & "Help" appear in white text against an almost equally light background image, so are almost invisible on many monitors/displays. Suggest change the text colour/background to make them stand out better.

(2) Help files still point you to many things which just don't exist or are not where the help instructions say they are; so it has taken a ridiculously long time to find to whom and how to report the above - and this still may not be the right way to do it.

Ive been havin the same problem! Comin home on a nite out i hada leave the 2 front windows down and the heat on full...dono how it worked but it did.lol

Read thru the convo an tink u's hav come up wif a slightly mor practical way of doin it!

cheers:)

When you drive in the winter, as the car warms up, all the moisture in seating, carpets and clothes vapourises. The IS 200/300 is not the best at venting all this out and the model steams up worse than many other cars as it cools and the moisture condenses on the coolest surfaces - like the windscreen. It helps to crack a window open when driving to let the vapour escape a bit better. Also if you park in the daytime where what sunlight there is shines into it, this heat will also vapourise moisture which then settles on the screen etc as it cools down when it gets dark; so it is better to park where the sun doesn't shine if you can. Heater set to screen at max speed with aircon ON clears it quickest, but you will often have to clean the screen before you can drive off. A blade is best for this.

^^ Thanks Janey :)

I'm debating whether or not I should also use this same 3M Di-Noc to wrap the instrument cluster trim like the following thinkDesign one:

But not in silver ofcourse :) in the same black colour one that i've wrapped the switches in.

Suggestions and opinions would be great.

Just a personal opinion, but think the cluster trim is a step too far. The trim you have added so far adds subtle detail to the major part. Covering the cluster trim just overwhelms it - and to me looks just done "because you can". Of course, it is your choice, and good luck with covering all those complex curves.

What about if the manifold and associated cats were left inplace and the secondary cat was removed. That should not throw any codes from the ECU, and free up some gas flow.

you'd be better removing the pre cats and leaving the main cat...the pre cats are more restrictive than the main cat...

(i removed mine and noticed a diff straight away)

how do i go about removing the pre cats?? would that mean replacing the standard manifold?!

Complete Decat could increase power & performance very slightly by reducing the already negligible gas-flow restriction. Much the same effect as reducing weight by emptying the windscreen washer. The biggest change is a slightly go-faster exhaust sound.

Basically as you all know LExus IS220d has two sections with MPG, one: Average MPG and other being: Tank Average MPG. Now I know what the core difference is, where I seem to get confused which one is considered the main one? When everyone says I have 46.3MPG or 33.3MPG...which one you take the reading from?

Any thoughts will be appreciated!

Thanks

The "tank average" is the best one for showing your current consumption, but is not at its best accuracy until about half a tank-full is used. Because car fuel flow transducers are not laboratory-type devices, their absolute accuracy is not great, so the mpg figure displayed can be 10-15% adrift from true mpg - but will be fairly consistent for a specific car. This means it is just a useful indication which can be used to see if mpg improves or worsens - or to help to drive economically.

For the true mpg figure, there is sadly no substitute for working it out by brimming the tank & noting the mileage, then after using most of a tank, noting fuel needed to brim it again and the miles travelled. Then if you want, you can calculate the number needed to multiply displayed mpg to get close to true mpg from then on.

the thing is its people that dont even work on cars that always have the issue..... then when you say who told you that a friend of a friends gran.............

i am a mot tester i have been a tec for 15 years.. ooohhh you cant have them youll get stopped youll get fined youll get your car taken off you youll fail a mot........its all crap...

heres how not to fail a mot..

fit your hids then go to a mot station and get them alighned job done.......

Completely agree with Ormi. Bad beam alignment is the biggest problem. But the real question is why would anybody want to use HIDs above 4300k? They will reduce your view of the road ahead because of increased light-scatter as colour-temp increases - although not severely. However, they do significantly increase dazzling of oncoming traffic for the same reason, so good alignment becomes more critical and difficult to achieve consistently even with auto-levelling - although not many people will bother to flash you unless the alignment is very poor. So really, it is a selfish choice just for a pretty colour.

So i take it from that, that there's nothing out there that works for these engines then?

Cheers

Dave.

Over the years, Oil companies with £millons of resources have never managed to produce additives that have any overall advantages except under laboratory conditions or at a cost much greater than justified by any improvement in economy, performance or longevity; it is not likely any small outfit will pull a magic rabbit out of the hat. However, some additives have proved useful under conditions specific to individuals or have provided imaginary benefits. All you can do is suck it and see - at least harmful additives are rare now.

cheers for the responses guys. i am going to order two kits 2mro because my mate wants one too, so gona get one 6k and 8k and which ever one i like the most i am going to have on my car as my mate is not fussy on these things like me lol

thanks alot guys :)

All manufacturers choose to fit HIDs of about 4300k. This is not a random choice but because of the human eye's response and light-scatter by moisture particles (the faintest mist to dense fog) which means that this colour temperature provides the best view ahead and minimises glare/dazzle to on-coming traffic. This has been widely researched.

There is a simple rule: Colour temperature above 4300k might be "cool" or even seem brighter to look at but you will see less.

I really do reckon if the IS300 had come with a manual it would have been far more popular in this country. British people just seem to have an aversion to Auto's. Personally if I'm totally honest I would prefer it if the 300 was manual but then I can live with an auto quite happily, you only ever miss the manual when beasting it around on back roads, and then you have the E-Shift buttons on the steering wheel (I rewired mine to be more like paddle shift, downshift on the back left hand rather than the front!). And lets be honest, most of our lives is spent creeping around in towns or sat on motorways or traffic jams, and in those times an auto is far better to have than a manual.And after owning an Impreza STI I'd rather put up with an auto than put up with 150bhp! Performance wise it really is night and day between the IS200 and the 300, I know, I've owned both.

I have to agree with this post a lot. I have owned and driven higher power cars so really a car of this size and weight with 150bhp just doesnt cut it for me...

The 200 and 300 are so different to each other and as said before, i would rather put up with the auto than have the lower powered car.

The main reason the IS300 didn't sell well was that it was ridiculously over-priced. My IS200LE with a few extras, warranty etc was just short of £24k in 2003. The IS300 was also available in LE version - and with the same extras etc was £6k more and didn't look worth it for just 60BHP more, auto only, no extra toys and even thirstier. As a used car, the price differential has disappeared and makes it a worthwhile buy for the livelier performance.

Noticed that the drivers side window has vertical scratches on it -after washing.

As the car was going iun for service I asked the dealer to look at it and see if it could be repaired under warranty-

They checked the window and the outside trim and agreed that both needed replacing, but refused to do this under Warranty.

The cause thay stated was the outside Trim has broken down (although I can't see anything). They refused to fix under Warranty as 'a trim part is not a warrantable item'. Feel a little cheesed to say the least.

They have given me a quote for £240.

If the trim also does a mechanical job of stopping grit grinding on the window during the operation, can this be classed as a mechanical part? If so is it then warrantable - any thoughts?

Clutching at straws really - Just don't agree with a bill for £240 for mechanical damage that was not my fault.

Have never had a car where this did not happen to some extent. Recent types of glass do seem to be more susceptible or maybe there are now more abrasive particles thrown up from the roads or other car's brakes. The window seals are to stop water and muck getting into the mechanisms in the door and can easily trap any grit flying around. Sorry, but none of that is really down to Lexus and can only be minimised by infrequently opening the window plus frequently and effectively cleaning the seals.

The calculations are for a nominal 12V supply which would include the usual automotive variation. Note: if you do choose fit a regulator anyway, as the car's voltage drops to 12V, a 12V regulator is likely to drop to 10 or so Volts because an excess voltage of a volt or two is needed for it to work - hence the regulator needs to be 10V type to provide a constant output. If you are going to be thorough, regulator or not, temporarily run via cigar lighter etc. and just check the resistors do not get hotter than you would expect.

I got my voltage regulator PCB yesterday. The board uses a low drop out regulator which has a drop out typically of 0.5V @ 1 amp, so even if car voltage drops to 12v, the regulator will still give 11.5v output. I'm going to hook it up to the cigar lighter and a voltmeter during a long 2 hour drive and log the voltage fluctuations and see how often the output drops below 12v. If it constantly hovers around the 12v area then i might use the regulator :)

Your low drop-out regulator should be fine. The system voltage should not drop below 12V at any time the engine is running. While you have your test set-up, see if the incoming voltage to it varies to any real extent in practice. Remember added parts are added sources of failure and should be avoided unless they resolve a genuine problem.

I look forward to the final result of what I am sure is going to be another very high quality mod. I admire the care you take in adding these little niceties - which in your case are never tacky.

On a different and future subject: Auto door-mirror action needs to be capable of being disabled otherwise if something appears tight up to the car while it is parked; you can't then avoid scraping the mirror when you start up. You might think that unlikely - try Sainsburys car-park!

I would be interested to hear your opinions. It cant all be about Fuel, Tax and insurance though can it???

Simple really, after a Mazda 323 ZXI V6 FWD, I wanted a straight 6 RWD car that wasn't Auto, an enormous tank or a BMW (because in late 2003, they were still mainly driven by nobs). That only left the IS200. Luckily this was the car that came with sophisticated, classic good looks, handled and drove well plus Lexus's legendary reliability. Got the LE which came with all the toys - and I thought, the best colour. Not a ball of fire, but I rate it as pretty much at the top of the list of "ordinary" saloon cars ever made. Time has shown the looks to age well and the reliabilty to live up to the legend.

Hi,

anybody know where the best place to get a standard exhaust that will last? anyone know what this will cost?

Thanks

OEM exhausts are expensive. Pattern parts will not last anywhere near as long welding patches over leaks in the original - but you have to be sure that the welder isn't going to set the car on fire if doing it in situ!

Thanks for your advice.

Question for you: are you sure I won't need the regulator? Because my led circuit board and resistors were calculated based on 12v supply and the resistors are to match that 12v supply?

The calculations are for a nominal 12V supply which would include the usual automotive variation. Note: if you do choose fit a regulator anyway, as the car's voltage drops to 12V, a 12V regulator is likely to drop to 10 or so Volts because an excess voltage of a volt or two is needed for it to work - hence the regulator needs to be 10V type to provide a constant output. If you are going to be thorough, regulator or not, temporarily run via cigar lighter etc. and just check the resistors do not get hotter than you would expect.

Hi need my car aligned as it's pretty out since I've done my coilovers and fitted my wheels...

I've shreadded my two fronts already... Any companies you can recomend for low friendly cars???

Cheers

IS200/300 is acknowledged fussy about geometry. It takes not just accurate equipment and skill to set it up properly, but experience - it is much easier to make matters worse rather than better. There are not mountains of IS200s about so the experience and skills needed are concentrated in experts for this model. WIM have a fine reputation and are not just going to tweak it up ignoring worn linkages/bushes etc. Everybody recommends WIM and it has to be for good reason; so it must be worth a biggish journey for something you won't have to repeat for a long time - if at all.

Hi All,

Got the error 3 on my radio.. think it is time to move into 20 century into the land of ipod...

anyone recommend any decent headunit that look half decent in the is200?

Cheers

Stevie

Perhaps 21st century? Go for GROM. The skills needed to repair the OEM unit just don't exist any more except at huge cost - they don't exist for most consumer electronics. It saves fitting something else which might work well after a load of work; but looks horrible/out-of-place in the IS200 where it is positioned right in your face.

rajesh - you cant tell the mileage on a gearbox

ive asked about and you ought to be able to get it fitted for between £150 - £350 depending on if you can get mates rates or pay a mobile mechanic to come and do it.

The 30 day warrenty is useful as long as you get the gearbox fitted as soon as its delivered so you would have plenty of time to drive the car and test for a problem,,, everyone says you have been really unlucky to get a duff autobox so shouldnt happen twice - MSC also has a good autobox he will sell

GO FOR IT. As you have found, your car is virtually worthless as it is. It would be a lot less effort than to strip the car to sell bits, ending up with a hulk outside your house that you have to pay to remove. A used gearbox is bound to be pretty much as new, and even if you are jinxed & it isn't totally A1; the car will still sell if it drives - for enough to cover the investment.

Began working on my LED DRL project. I'm waiting for an old toyota switch to arrive from eBay (£3). I'm going to paint that black and put a decal on it to say DRL (On/Off). Also waiting for a voltage regulator PCB circuit board to arrive. This will keep my DRL LED's voltage at a constant 12V instead of having the fluctuation between 14.4v and 12V.

Another quality project under way. The regulator is not needed for three technical reasons:-

(1) The resistor-fed LEDs tend to self-regulate light output for small voltage fluctuations much better than filament bulbs because LED light output is approximately proportional to the square of the running current. Also, regulators need an inherent minimum voltage drop to control properly; so you would need a 10V regulator if the system voltage drops to 12V.

(2) The car's own voltage regulator system means that the 12-14.4 volt range is the change in steady-state voltage with Battery temperature and charge-level and does not suddenly or quickly alter. i.e. even filament bulbs don't visibly brighten if you blip the throttle at tick-over as they would with old cars.

(3) Adding a regulator can only increase component-count/complexity and thus reduce reliability without any advantage.

Hello all.

You maybe able to tell from the title that iam going to be a dad soon. I have a few questions for you guys and gals. I have been trying to sell my IS200 for the last 2months and been looking at getting a sports coupe (integra or 200sx) untill my girlfriend told me that there is going to be a mini me. So a coupe is realy out of the question now. I have a few different ideas what to do with my car:

1) keep the IS200, what leads me to my next question can i fit a pram and all the baby stuff in the boot?

2) Still sell and buy a cheaper salon? Use the money that is left to buy the baby bits and put some in the bank as time will be hard for the 1st few years.

3) Sell it, buy a estate due to the big boot for all the baby stuff. All my friends who have had kids in the last year or 2 have done this. Hopefuly a cheaper one and use the money for the baby stuff.

I have been considering a Galant salon or estate and have been realy shocked by how cheap they are for a car that is less than 10 years old. I have always liked them and after driving my friends today Iam liking them even more. You can buy a decent 1 from 1.2k - 2K with around 90K - 100K+ miles on the clock. Have been also looking at the BMW 3series touring and A4 estate.

What you think?

Have a couple of friends with babies & IS200s. No, big-wheeled traditional prams won't fit in the boot - they only fit in lorries. Push-chairs do fit, manufacturers take into account that most cars don't have big boots. No problem with the rest of the stuff you need to lug around. The ISO-fix mountings for baby seats are very good. The main useful factors are that the IS200 is safe and reliable with a ride babies find soothing, plus selling and then buying a car always costs more than keeping the one you have - unless it is about to fall to bits.

Hi Thansk for reply.

I've been diggin this forum all evening and found a few posts where people are recomending Warranty direct, of course there is a big grup who say its a waste of money but knowing my luck Im not going to take a chance. Was quoted 405 for network garage or 480 for franchised garage. I will deffo buy it but wchih one I will yet think about it.I think ur right I guess I'll give that inspection a miss especially that he seems to be ok and I'll put money towards a warranty.

Im still thinkin about taht Service4service company but if nobody knows anything about them I better ring them up to see what the can offer me.

Anyway Thank you for a clue and wish me luck wif my IS220 yeo!!! Hope I will not regret :D

The Lexus extended warranty is expensive, but is generally sympathetic to claims because it seems to be tied into their overall customer support reputation. Repairs etc. are usually sorted out without fuss or delay.

Third party warranties are reported to be more likely to try to find reasons not to pay out - which you then have to fight.

I think the extra peace of mind is worth the extra cost, particularly because the difference is small compared with the potential cost of a repair/issue that might prove not to be covered. It only really seems too expensive if you are lucky and never need to claim.