wharfhouse

I have just taken my nearly 10 year old 150k mile IS 300h in for its service. I was treated very well, offered coffee and biscuits, looked after and everything was done to make my stay as pleasant as possible. I was offered an option to discuss buying a new car whilst I was there (emailed me beforehand) which I politely declined. There were older cars than mine there too being serviced. I think all comments are very dealer and circumstances dependant. In many cases one person has a bad experience and another good at the same place.

Yes, in my experience, many of them are totally incompetent. You could try swapping the wheels left to right to see if that makes a difference, but if not I would follow up on the recommendation of @googsy as he (like I have) seems to have experienced the good and the bad and found one that can do it right near to you.

I have the same thoughts from time to time. When I bought my car I chose a used model as didn't want to wait for a new one - it was 2 years old with 40k miles and I got it for a very good price. My plan was to keep it until the next gen arrived and then change for a new one. Of course, as we know, Lexus didn't bring that one to the UK. I didn't fancy any other Lexus (tried a few) and it was still driving like new and so decided to keep it until the Extended Warranty I was happy paying for couldn't be renewed (at 150K miles in my case as I do more ten the 10K miles per year). That time has just come and so I am again thinking about what to do now. I know I can keep the hybrid battery in warranty for another 5 years (as it has unlimited mileage) and honestly the car still drives the same as the day I bought it. I had a LBX Takumi (FWD) as a courtesy car for a day this week while mine was in for a service and it's the first time I've driven one. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it drove on a mix of motorway, A roads, and around town - quiet on the motorway (if not quite as quiet as my IS) and not a bad turn of speed and reasonable handling (given it was FWD) - in fact quite chuckable. It was reasonably well trimmed inside and felt well screwed together. In the front there wasn't much less room than the IS 300h, but in the rear with my normal seating position there was no way anyone could sit behind me...! I had the same issue with the UX too. The boot in the LBX though seemed to have more usable space than the UX (which I've had a few on loan), though I wonder if that is at the expense of rear legroom. I was starting to think if I need the rear legroom anymore. I rarely carry two people in the back now and since my daughter has an SUV style car now so we can use hers when we go out with her and her partner. The LBX of course has a lot more gadgets than my Executive IS 300h, but having used most of them during the day, there were none that felt like "must haves" over what I already have. Some of the self-braking safety does give some extra peace of mind, but that was about it. After doing around 120 miles in the LBX, I picked my IS back up again and settled in for the drive home and realised that my IS, despite being nearly 10 years old and 150K miles still felt better to drive than the LBX. That may be something to do with familiarity I admit, but I did give the LBX a decent workout. BTW (and maybe one for @Linas.P ...!) the LBX had the ML sound system. My Executive trim IS has the "poverty spec" 6 speakers. I was expecting to be blown away by the ML in the LBX after all I had read, but I certainly wasn't. I "tuned" the ML to my preferences in the LBX (just some slight tweaks) and started wondering what all the fuss over ML was about. When I got back in my IS with the "poverty spec" sound system (which I tuned some time ago to how I like to hear my music) I really couldn't hear any great audible difference. Maybe historically the ML delivered something more, but in the LBX I certainly wouldn't pay more for it - unless the non-ML in the LBX is worse than my "poverty spec" system... So, what are my options. If I were to change, I would probably choose the LBX over the UX at this time pending a new model UX (which must be due in the next few years). I've had some NXs on loan in the past, including the 350h. I didn't like the NX 300h that much but quite enjoyed the NX 350h, but not really a fan of such an obvious SUV, though it had the space that I would miss with LBX/UX and felt nice to drive long distances in. Other then switching brands, which may be the way forwards though I don't really want to, the obvious answer is to keep the IS 300h going and save my money... It's not worth a huge amount now given the age and especially mileage and buying a new (or nearly new ) car will probably be a bigger hit in depreciation per month than repairs to the IS will cost me. If the IS has a major problem in the future and is in effect written off then I can always get something else a few years old and probably still not be out of pocket... Decisions, decisions...

I don't know how many miles you have on the car but I think if I was going to take the discs off then for the effort involved in that it's probably worth changing them (and pads) as the new ones will probably last the life of the car (pending anything like a sticking caliper) so not really a lot of money when amortised over the rest of the time you may own the car, unless you are looking to change it soon.

Yes, my car has done it all the time I've had it (in my ownership that's 8 years and covering 110k miles). Seems to be normal for the IS 300h. My rear discs were looking in pretty poor shape after 150k miles - very crusty rust (other than where the pads contacted the disc) with some pitting on the contact area, but it was all cosmetic - car feels and behaves exactly the same with the new rear pads and discs.

The rear brakes make the grunting noise whether new or old. Seems to be worse after not having driven the car for a while (maybe the surface corrosion) and pretty much stops after using them a bit. Mine did it on the 150k original old discs and pads and still does it on brand new (Lexus) ones.

Not sure which would have the biggest impact as I've seen issues with front and rear in the past. I think it's a matter of being methodical. Personally I'd go with swapping fronts left to right first and see if that makes a difference and if not then the same with the rears and see if you notice anything different.

To try and rule out tyres you could try a switch from left to right (as you've already done front to back)? If it's tyres it might show up with a different behaviour after changing sides?

Yes difficult one to know what to do next. Have you actually seen the print out from the 4 wheel alignment machine to be sure that it's all showing green? The pull you describe at such low speeds still points to alignment even more than tyres IMHO which I would have thought would show at higher rotational speeds.

Yes I share with you how frustrating these sort of issues are - some people don't seem bothered by them but I find them deeply irritating! On a previous car I once had (a Honda Accord) with a similar problem to yours I took it to two tyre places to have it checked / adjusted and it didn't fix it. In the end I took it to a tyre and wheel specialist that came highly recommended and left it with them for the morning (had to make an appointment as they were very busy). They fixed the issue - they told me that there was a difficult seized nut they had to release to adjust it correctly and the other places had just taken a short cut and not done that. The cost of alignment was quite a bit more than the other places, but in the end it was money well spent and I wish I'd done it there in the first place and saved money and a lot of time and frustration. I assume you have checked for any calipers binding? You said that one had been replaced. If you haven't done so already, it's worth checking the temperature of all the wheels after a reasonable run and make sure none are hotter than any of the others. Given everything you have said though it's certainly worth trying to have another go at a full alignment but you would need to find a specialist place that can do it right. Whether Lexus in Dublin can help I don't know - my Lexus dealer does alignment in-house, but some dealers don't have in-house equipment and will put it out - though if they use one place then that could be a good one to try - that's how I found the one that finally fixed my Honda as I learnt that it was used by BMW and Mercedes dealers. Old tyres that have worn with a mis-alignment for a decent amount of miles can still cause a problem following an alignment due to their previous wear patterns and so it's generally recommended to replace the tyres and then do the alignment. By the description you have given of the rest of the car it does seem to point to tyres or alignment. It's a bitter pill to swallow but if the car is all in the good shape you have described then the only way to fix it may be new tyres all round and then a full 4 wheel alignment at somewhere you know you can trust. You won't need new wheels as any wheel damage wouldn't cause a pull to one side, you would get a wheel imbalance / vibration that can't be fixed with weights or a steering wheel shimmy around 65 mph (especially if buckled).

Depending on how long the caliper had been sticking for, due to compensating for this in the steering the tyre could have been worn unevenly which is now leading to the problem you are experiencing? It sounds like you have recently purchased the car and so have you had the issue from when you got the car or has it come on in your ownership?

Having had a number of bad experiences with tyre places doing alignment and sometimes making things worse rather then better, my advice is make sure you use an alignment centre that comes highly recommended, knows what they are doing, and uses the latest equipment (probably Hunter equipment). The IS 300h can also have full 4 wheel alignment done (though I think the rears are limited in their adjustment) and so make sure that a full 4 wheel alignment is carried and not just an adjustment of the front wheels. Tyres can also cause some issues too, especially of they are worn and not changed following an alignment. Are the tyres good quality, same make all around (or at least same axle) with similar tread depth on same axle, and evenly worn (though will probably have some additional inner edge wear front and rear as that is usual with the standard IS 300h setup). If they are not, then it could be mismatched tyres causing the problem. Tyre pressures can make a difference but sounds like you have been checking those (use a good quality tyre pressure gauge, not the one at a local garage) - I find just over 36 psi all round works best. One last point is are you checking on open flat road with no left camber? It's worth driving down the centre of an A road on the crown to double check it's not to do with road camber? Finally, has the car had any repaired crash damage - as it could be something more serious if it's been in a heavy crash?

That's a great result - persistence paid off. Any car can have a random fault - fortunately Lexus seem to have less than other marques but all the same there are bound to be odd ones and good that it was all done under the Relax warranty.

I had this recall done in April 2023. No problems since. Just a question, why import an IS 300h from Japan - I would have thought that was an expensive option as although the IS 300h wasn't as popular as say a BMW 3 series, there are quite a number for sale in the UK which must be simpler and cheaper to bring into Ireland?

I believe that only affected older models - OP had a facelift 2020 so this should not be the issue.

Approx 40mph and approx 65mph are generally associated with tyre wheel problems such as imbalance, out of round and bent rims. I had a car with a slightly bent rim and it had a slight shimmy at 65 - 70mph. It's a hard one to pin point though as to which rim. I never changed the wheel and sometimes the MoT mentioned it and sometimes not. I was advised to put the slightly bent rim on the rear as it wouldn't be as noticeable but that was a fwd car so not sure of that holds true for rwd (and of course can't be done if they are staggeree wheels).

Yes, always difficult to know whether a job has been done properly by a garage. I can only say I have had no problems with the rear brakes since they were changed by Lexus. I thought £355 was reasonable for new discs and pads (others may disagree) especially as the old ones had done 150k miles - they would likely have gone further other than the sticking caliper. If the new set do the same they will probably outlast the car. I had front discs and pads changed at 80k miles, again they still had some life left in the but as I was having wheel bearings changed decided to get them done. Currently on 150k miles and the replacement fronts are still in good shape.

Depends how the HA measures hybrid battery capacity as Lexus don't charge the battery beyond 80% (or discharge below 20%) to maximise battery life. The hybrid health check is the only way that Lexus would be able to say that the hybrid battery requires replacement.

Cost me £355 all in to have rear discs and pads changed at Lexus if you don't fancy doing it yourself. I'd check first though as they said to me that was some sort of fixed cost deal they do.

Good to find out it wasn't anything wrong as such - interesting it have those faults. The hybrid system is generally very reliable.

Such updates on problems are really useful as our cars start to get older. My IS 300h is coming up to 10 years old and has done 150k miles. I've had the Lexus 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty on it since 100k miles and recently had a rear caliper changed under this warranty. However, I have reached the mileage limit for that warranty now and so from here on out anything further will be at my own expense. I will keep the hybrid battery warranty going though as that can be maintained for 15 years with unlimited mileage with the hybrid healthcheck every 12 months / 10k miles.

It doesn't sound like there is much left to be making the noise other then the compressor itself. With these being electric rather than belt driven I'm not sure what moving parts there are on them that could be making the noise (unlike a traditional compressor with belt, bearing, clutch etc.) and so it may unfortunately mean a visit to the dealer or an AC place that knows about hybrids. As others said above if the car was serviced by Lexus within the last 12 months / 10K miles (whichever comes first) then the compressor may be covered by the service activated extended warranty (Relax warranty) and so a visit to the dealer may then be the most expedient way to get it sorted.

And this - in which case it may not be anything to worry about and could be an old code that was stored: If the vehicle is left with neutral (N) selected (parked or stopped) for a long time, the battery cannot be charged. In this case, the SOC may drop below the lower limit and DTC P300000 may be stored. (This is not a system malfunction.) When the engine cannot be started, DTC P300000 may be stored because the HV battery cannot be charged. Repeated engine start checks may cause the SOC to drop, resulting in DTC P300000 being stored. In this case, charge the HV battery using the THS charger. Cranking the engine once causes the SOC to drop approximately 1%. Charging the HV battery once (10 minutes) using the THS charger restores the SOC approximately 2%. Charging the HV battery using the THS charger takes approximately 10 minutes when the battery temperature is 25°C (77°F) or approximately 30 minutes when the battery temperature is 0°C (32°F). The THS charger is a supplemental charging device that enables the hybrid system to start (READY-on state). If the result of this inspection is to charge the HV battery, clear the DTCs and then charge the HV battery using the THS charger.

A quick Google search brings up: P3000 Code (Battery Control System Malfunction) Possible symptoms of the P3000 code may include: Engine light and triangle light on Common causes may include: HV Control system Low fuel supply HV Battery assembly Description: Based on the malfunction signal obtained from the battery Electronic Control Unit (ECU), the system alerts the driver. The DTC is output when the state of charge (SOC) of the HV battery decreases as a result of running out of gas, leaving the car in the N position, or a malfunction in the HV Control System.

If the hybrid health check (or a service at Lexus) was carried out within 12 months / 10k miles of a previous hybrid health check them the hybrid battery will be covered under warranty. What I can't understand is why they didn't discuss this with you when you collected the car?