Texas

Went to look around Plymouth Uni on Wed with my daughter so filled the IS and after the 123 miles down there ( with lots of use of the CC) I was very happy with the 'indicated' MPG, of course will calculate it at the next tank fill more exactly but we are off to Portsmouth & Southampton Uni's next week so should be quite a productive tank full!!!

yes, correct it was an Auto that was up for sale...scroll down on here, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/113109474890?nordt=true&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l10137 But....I think 'VintageSixtySix' got redirected to an 'alternative listing' as that black one has ended?

Manual....Aaaaaagggghhhhh!!!!!! Can't check now because listing has ended but title of this thread stated AUTO?

A lot of car for 2k, got a sun(Moon)roof also but Wrong battery fitted as battery leads are stretched to fit onto 'front' terminals. Even if you spent 1-2k getting it nice, it still would be a lot of car for not a lot of money! almost cheap enough to be a 'donor car' but Lexus' are/should be too reliable to wait for parts to fail!! paul m.

Have faith in your motor at MOT time it's a Lexus not a Lada!!!!! And probably a sight for sore eyes for the tester!! paul m.

The places that car has been and the things it had 'seen' would make good reading..... Paul m.

As I understand it ( but I may be wrong ) the engine in your car is the same straight 6 that is in the GS300. So this might be useful Paul m.

I would not consider any type of arch trim as these can harbour moisture and make your rust problem very much worst but you just won't be able to see it! paul m.

I have just followed that link above to Amazon and watched the video for that boost jumper and it does indeed look like the dogs doo Dahh's and hopefully will get you ( and others you may find!) out of a flat battery predicament! Not an extortionate price either, about the same as a new car battery actually! paul m.

I think I would try and source a second hand instrument panel from a breakers or someone breaking one perhaps and have a close look at dismantling that one with a view to swapping over just that section perhaps (if cars mileage is 'stored' in lower panel) before getting involved with dash in car. paul m.

Looks like you have had to clean your windscreen a few times on the way up!!!! 😀👍

""When jacking up my RX450H the jack started to leak oil, as I presume it was no(t) rated to lift the RX"" I expect it was when new but the problem was probably.... ""my 35 year old trolley jack""!!! Bear in mind that A) you are not totally lifting the car "2 1/4 Ton" completely with the jack but a portion of,and B) Any lifting device that is CE rated will have a safety factor of 4. Therefore ( when New and in good condition) a 2t jack is capable of lifting 8t before failing ( not that I am advocating exceeding the rated SWL, which you won't as you are not doing a complete lift) so jacks in the 2t section would suffice. paul m.

Just replacing the electrolyte will not revive a 'dead' battery, but having said that a 'dead' battery is usually due to only one of the many cells within going faulty. Very simply put, The charge/discharge cycle in the cells displaces some of plate material and this accumulates at the bottom of each cell and can effectively short out that cells plates so therefore no output equals a 'dead' cell and if battery is borderline good ( ie old) or this occurs in more than one cell then battery will fail to perform as it should. Like I said simply put as battery chemistry is a very involved subject. paul m.

Out of interest, what is the date of manufacture on your original battery? if your car is 2009 then that's about 8 years longevity. Date is on yellow label, mine was 14/07/07 and my car was UK registered 21/09/07. I had to replace it in Feb of this year so that means it lasted for about 10 And a half years!

Yes, no doubt some lube will stop the problem I had arising, but the person who put them on with no lube had/has no idea the grief I had to deal with! Paul m

Go to EuroCar Parts website and register for email offers/notifications and you will get very soon an offer come through of 50% of batteries ( within the next week or two I reckon). The Bosch S4 068 is showing now at £150 so with the 50% offer will cost £75 (inc delivery if you don't have a branch nearby) But with today's current discount code ( and there is one every day!) of 35% off brings it down to under £100.

If you can source an original Panasonic battery please let me know. Paul m.

"" I wasn'texpecting the CD changer built into the unit which can also hold CD MP3 files.. that's a fair amount of music so that might satisfy me, time will tell."" Don't forget it is a DVD player also! But this will ( should) only show pictures when the parking brake is on AND there is no forward movement of vehicle but audio will be unaffected. Note; unless you have a Very good battery then using the DVD player without the engine running may cause battery problems. paul m.

The OEM battery was prob a Panasonic but these are not available retail in the UK. yes your battery was likely on its last legs and the use of that compressor just tipped it over the edge, otherwise you may have got through the summer months with it but I wager it would have failed pretty quickly when the colder weather came. my OEM Panasonic ( 10 years old) failed last year soon after I got the 250 when I was getting acquainted with the entertainment system ( without the engine running!) and I replaced it with Bosch S4 068 have a read through this thread and take note that the on-line parts sellers where you input your reg usually come back and say that this battery is not suitable, but I ( along with others) have it under the bonnet right now. The only downside is the bright blue colour when you lift the bonnet as opposed to the OEM black, but I can live with that as it has a 4 year G'tee. Paul M.

I recently had To have all four wheels removed and then tyres off because all four Aluminium dust caps were well and truly siezed on the stems and I could not confirm tyre pressures, they were hexagonal in shape and even using a 10mm socket and Mole grips on the rubber valve stem they weren't coming off! £40 later I have four new stems with bog standard black plastic caps I can remove with just fingers. paul m.

Shame it wasn't to be but don't give up you will find a good 'un. As for the water pump leak, they don't last for ever ( the first generation of factory fitted ones anyway, I think later ones had modified bearings fitted) and on the 250 it can need doing from anything between 50k and 100k+. Again if you want Lexus spanners on it then expect to sell a Kidney for it! But a Genuine (Aisin) pump can be got for £90-£120 ( it is quite a large pump upto most) and again DIY is not impossible and no special tools required. Yes you guessed it, there is a good 'How To' on Utoob. https://youtu.be/9jV1TMg4F2w But seeing as he never budged on the price then I think I would have walked also but if you do find the one then bear in mind it is fixable quite cheaply in the scheme of things (Lexus wise!) Note from above: IT will only have the Mark Levinson system ( extra bass speaker in dash and amp in right rear boot area) if logo is stamped onto dash near CD slot. Again sometimes cars are advertised with ML and when you actually see the car it is absent, dealers say that when they start to put in car details it ( AutoTrader) auto fills the rest!! But again one of the items to have on your check list ( also take a DVD (film) and CD with MP3 tracks on it to test the player) paul m.

"" What's the difference between the se ans se-L? "" the SE-L is the most equipped in the range and is sometimes mis advertised as an SE-I the SE-L is the only model to have the wooden insert panels in the interior trim ( and yes it is real wood, highly lacquered and sourced from Yamaha the Piano Division!) and also the electric rear window sun screen. Paul m.

yes you are right but like I said doable for the home mechanic and imagine the self satisfaction along with not getting a £600 bill! obviously a V6 is gonna drink a bit but please don't be led down the DERV route. In my opinion ( and I don't think I am alone) the IS Diesel was the worst car to have the L badge on the bootlid. Enjoy the 250 and if the consumption gets to be a problem at least you can say you had one. I love mine and for an 11 year old car it is phenomenal. Paul m.

The tax difference is down to the gearbox option! IS250 Manual is about £500 and the auto ( same engine!) is about £300! Lots of info here https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/lexus/is-2005/ Paul m.

Don't be afraid of the 60K ( or 6 Years technically! so anything upto 2011 should have been done) spark plug change ( although plugs will prob be good upto 100K they are at the 60k service point) but if you fastidiously want to keep the service book stamped with Lexus ink then yes it's gonna cost about £600. Or if you intend keeping the car until the car is long in the tooth but well maintained (and service book is not so important) then the spark plug renewal is quite doable DIY, you do not have to break into and sealed systems ie AC or coolant and gaskets should be reusable as they are the silicon type. there is a vid on U-Toob and it does not requie any specal tools. Maybe its just me but I would rather service my car myself for the satisfaction and ownership feeling. Paul M.