Texas

Agreed on Stealership being the last resort! £££££££'s For what it's worth my daughters Fiat 500 was throwing up a "Have Power Steering System Checked" it is also an Electric assist system and the warning only came up after the car had not been used for a while ( it always started on the button and everything else was fine) and it never came up when the car was being used, but reading that EPS requires large amounts of electrical draw to function I got a new battery ( smallest car battery I have ever seen!) and have not had the fault show up since. So if you have any doubts about the state or suitability of your battery then that is a good starting point! If the construction of the IS 300 is anywhere similar to the IS 250 then FYI the EPS ECU on the 250 is located under the battery compartment tray. Apparently the connecting plugs are in very tight! https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/123699-electrical-connectors-under-battery/ Note: diagrams in thread are from a LHD car and battery is shown on 'wrong' side!

Here's Everything you wanted to know about the 2nd Gen IS ( apart from what SE-L stands for! ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_IS_(XE20) And SE-L has been discussed before Paul m.

Agreed there are no ‘badges’ on show ( some other manufactures have a ‘de-badge’ option )but if You are unsure of the variant then it Can be found near the Nader Pin on the O/S ‘B’ post.

I did say the tax might be the sour taste and that’s partly why Manuals get left on the shelf! After all, I for one, when driving a Lexus don’t want to be ‘stirring’ gears to get down the road when they have a ‘cheaper’ sublime bombproof Auto version!

Well it’s deffo on its last legs At that age and you have had your monies worth! But it won’t get through the winter that’s for sure! Was it an ‘intelligent’ charger? If so try it on ‘Recond’ which should only be done when it’s completely flat or once a year. Note: it can take days to get a charge into a very discharged battery. I just got a new Bosch S4026 (068) for £78.50 Del from Battery Megastore (via eBay)

Can’t see you making many entries in the ‘Parts’ column for the GS 😊

110,000 miles, Manual Box and damage, must be well cheap but like I said tax is gonna cost you if you keep it!

The manual is ‘rare’ as it is not As desirable.the RFL or Car Tax is an eye-watering amount ( each year of course!) compared to the smooth,bomb-proof and desirable Auto with the same engine! Have you checked How much it will be?

Just looked on AT and of the 40 IS250 for sell ( only looked up SE-L models ) 8 have Less than 50,000 miles and the 'leggiest' has got 141,000, which is by far higher than all the others yes but the car will be nowhere near an EoLV Centre yet I don't reckon! What are you calling 'high mileage' as on the US Owners site it is not uncommon to see cars with 200,000+ As long as the car has been serviced regularly then it shouldn't be a show stopper if it is reflected in the price and the car is in an acceptable condition, gotta say that my 250 is the first car I bought with less than 100,000 miles on! Paul m.

'Slucky' & 'Edward in Somerset' your struts are worn and need replacing after all these years, I replaced mine soon after I got my 250 3 years ago ( 2007 year car with 37,000 miles at the time, so they must just fatigue as they were Deffo not over-used) and now it zooms up ( but not from just unlocking the catch) and it needs a firm pull to get it down to close as opposed to the 'Guillotine' it was before! Got mine from SGS Engineering and quite easy to fit, Note: only remove/replace One at a time as if you remove both old ones you will experience the guillotine up close and personal !!! ....Do Ask! paul m.

Was just thinking the same! forum user ‘Big Rat’ has ( iirc) a record of most of the ISF’s in the country!

"I think" that the 250 is the best car I've ever had in all my motoring years so it would be nice to know what you think and to give a resume of it from your ownership for any potential new owners all the plus points and the negative. paul m.

In response to the title of this thread When is a full service not a full service?I'm of the opinion that unless you do it yourself or stand over the man while he does it, then its a brave person to bet the farm on it having been done fully and satisfactory as you would expect.

+1 on it not being a standard size but a ‘special’ and might even be Left Hand Thread! Best to adapt the manufacture’s OEM towing eye, I expect you can get one on eBay for less than the dealers and prob never been used!

Looks very nice 👍 Is it really 15+ years old? Amazing alloys if it is OEM finish. A second hand car is only worth what someone will pay for it and as you now own this car then I guess you were happy ( ish) to pay what you did so don't beat yourself up and enjoy your new wheels! Excellent result on the key front as well, losing the only key just doesn't bear thinking about ! As for the wheel alignment then if you stress that you want the steering wheel to be 'Centred' after the alignment has been done then they should't fob you off with any excuses or such. paul m.

Is/Has it thrown an EML? and if so an error code will be stored and can be interrogated. paul m.

Agreed it is in fact quite noticable and needs to be 'turned down' after a long while, I have read that if used constantly then the fan blades can get covered in crap and reduce efficiency, just like the fans on desk top computers! Yuk. good, easy mod to try without any actual intervention into the car's operating systems. Well worth a try but it may be a placebo effect if you do it yourself! paul m.

Well in that case I would say No it ain’t gonna go straight in!

👍All the best with your new ride😀

Aaahhhhh I see, As this was in the 'Gen 2' IS250 section I didn't think it would be anything like that. If you have the same style interior as shown above ( minus the clock!) then I would say that there is a very high chance that it will be a straight swap, fixings will be the same and you could possibly find the permanent power supply plug in yours tucked away somewhere nearby if you had a look, manufactures do not like ( increased costs) having too many variations in components in the build stage and the fixings and wiring loom is highly likely to be the same for all trim models. paul m.

‘With Clocks” ? not sure what this is!

Agreed the 200 is not a 220 and does not have such a chequered history in the reliability dept but unless you do 'enough' miles it may not be any more economical to run.

That is the ECU for the Electrically Operated Power Steering, not something you want to damage ££££££‘s I would think!

Is this even after it has got upto normal operating temp? If so it could be an un-metered Air leak, as in a leak after the air flow sensor and the ecu can’t control it. Spraying some volatile spray ( ie EasyStart) around any suspect hoses/connections while the engine is running may indicate the location as The revs will increase when the spray gets entrained. Obs do this at your own risk!

A little bit of reading to go on with...👍 And some info for when you go 'Shopping', I printed these out and took them with me!