Texas

I think he likes it, but you ‘F’ boys know it’s good anyway! Gonna be looking for one when the world gets on track!

You say recommended oil was changed from 5w/30 to 0w/20 in about 2010, but is this for 2010 cars onwards and pre 2010 still use 5w/30 ? And what was the reason for the change? Was it emissions/fuel consumption reasons? reason I ask is when I put my reg (2007 car) in Opie oils search box it only comes back with 5w/30 oils. Also if I search for a 2012 IS250 it still comes back as 5w/30. paul m

Like to hope this is a non UK car! ( Km mentioned in post so hopefully)

So it may work out to be a bit ‘Russian Roulette “ when it comes to the head gasket failure but that is not the only major fault that this car seems to present regularly when used‘normally’ ie egr probs / excessive smoke / low mpg & limp mode all that coupled with a manual box only option. So for me wanting to be the owner/driver of a Lexus it is not a car I would choose,

As a last resort before deciding the car is uneconomical to repair then I wish you the best of luck with the SteelSeal option but alas I feel it is asking a bit much on a DERV engine with vey high compression occurring in the area of failure. If you follow the steelseal instructions exactly then you will have done all you can really.

+1 on above info and unfortunately it looks like your ( sis ) 220 has finally got to the stage where the head gasket fails, not catastrophically in a cloud of smoke and steam but very gradually with water ( coolant) weeping out of the cooling system and into the combustion chambers. do a search on this forum for head gasket failure and you will see it is very common on this otherwise good car and is invariably the demise.

+1 on reading that the plugs can run with no ill effects upto ( and prob beyond) 100,000 miles and as such they are not on my list of things to worry about, if they were to start failing then it would prob show up as a mis-fire to start with and should'nt cause any major issues if dealt with quickly. Brake caliper slide pins ( not an item on the Lexus Service schedule) well, that's something else!

Plugs on the 250 are down in the Lexus service schedule at 60,000 / 6 years ( whichever comes first!) we all know that a lot of these cars do well under the avg of 10,000 per annum and this would mean a dealer serviced car would have the plugs swapped out well before they were getting anywhere near worn, mine (2007 car) were done at the 6 year point when the car had 22,000 ! The car is now on 43,000 but I never changed them in 2019 (12 year point) as they would have only been in for 21,000 miles, This is the info stored on the Lexus Link app. C here is a good 'how to' on changing the plugs and I will follow this when I do mine probably at 50,000 which at the current rate of use is going to be in about 2-3 years time!

Looks like you were lucky and got a true craftsman that listened to what you wanted and followed through instead of someone who ‘done what we normally do’ Paul m,

HFirstly there are two different systems in the IS250 model, early cars had a DVD based SatNav system whereas the facelift later models have got a HDD based system updated via SD type memory cards. The SD card system is sadly a dealer only update option but the DVD based system can easily be updated with newer releases of maps by inserting the latest available disc but I think the last disc to be prouduce for this system is 2018-19. If you have the DVD based system, (afair) pressing "Menu" then "Map DVD" top right should show the screen below and show the DVD year you are running, Note: Do Not Press the EJECT symbol bottom left as the DVD is Not in the lower DVD slot in the dash but it is in a special SatNav Only DVD slot located behind the Hazard Switch/Clock module and this needs to be removed first.

Here's an informative thread on IS250 battery replacement.

The ends of these 2-Post lift Arms have rubber faced pads that can be adjusted by screwing them in/out equating to down/up, so it is upto the operator to ensure that these pads make contact with the lifting points and actually start to lift the vehicle before the arms of the post lift make contact with the vehicle elsewhere ( sills ! ) Basic I know but you now have evidence that they have not been used correctly! And sadly yours will not be the only vehicle damaged by these, let's call them incompetent's but how many owners are gonna know? MOT assigned lifts should have an owners viewing area, so if this happened in front of you then hey 'Guilty as charged and no more questions your honor! " But if you ain't there then they are gonna deny it down to the ground!

+1 on it 'just' being a flat battery, I guess with the current state of affairs at the moment ( not gonna mention the C word ) your car might not have been used much recently, add onto that a start up with no decent run to 'put back' what you just used out of the battery to start it And an interior clean that prob meant the interior lights may have been on, and if the battery is a few years old then this is the likely result Click.Click.Click when starting is indicative of a weak ( not completely flat - yet ) battery, and if charged Slowly with an intelligent charger if may be brought back to life ( for the rest of the summer at least) , but may let you down in the future when it starts to get really cold and wintery next. paul m. NB I think there may be a lot of AA/RAC call out's after this current 'Lock Down' when people try using their vehicles!

Bit of heat from a hair dryer ( not necessarily a heat gun as it may get too hot!) would make any adhesive that little bit more pliable when removing the strip. paul m

There are 8 'How to's" at present this being the first on front disc's & pads.

Double check, even Triple check the terminals are indeed + & - when connecting as it is a world of pain if reversed on these car!

FYI the YooToob channel AutoDoc has now uploaded some ‘how to’s’ for the RX400h.

TV programmes & indeed Ad's are scheduled weeks if not months in advance and slots/contracts are allocated on a long term basis.

It must be more pronounced in the USA ( compensation hungry lawyers and all that) but not mentioned on that article is the episode whereby Winnebago had to give a customer a new replacement RV because he got up out of the drivers seat while on the highway after engaging Cruise Control to go and make a coffee in the kitchen area! Needless to say the vehicle crashed soon after but because it did Not say in the owners manual you should not do this he got a new RV ! Beggars belief...But the older I get the less shocked I get. paul m.

Haaa, fair play to you for delving deeper! I retired from Fire & Rescue Service recently ( after 28+ years) ending up as an RTC trainer, specialising in HGV’s so have a different slant on cars than most! paul m

The choice of attendance at a speed workshop is not always offered ( for various reasons ) and even if you chose the workshop over the 3 points on your license then some insurance companies actually ask in the renewal notice 'have you attended a speed awareness / workshop in the last 12 months" 😡

Just having a brain fart, but would the woven cloth heat wrap I have seen sometimes on exhaust systems be an option?

Aftermarket stainless steel systems have a much thinner wall thickness than the mild steel OEM and will sound very different which will be noticeable in a luxurious car like this!

The model designation of car can be found by the Nader pin on the off side ( Drivers ) 'B' pillar.

I had same problem years ago on a Cavalier SRi and ended up using a 4 1/2" angle grinder and getting it off in pieces, from that day any disc I fit gets a smear of grease on the back after a good clean of the mating surfaces! paul m