wharfhouse

Yep - all petrol/diesel cars registered after April 2017 pay £145 per year regardless of emissions after the first year. Alternative fuel vehicles including hybrids, bioethanol and liquid petroleum gas cars registered after April 2017 pay £135 per year regardless of emissions after the first year. Zero emission (full BEV) cars pay nothing. However, you have to pay an extra £320 a year on these figures if you have a car (and accessories) with a ‘list price’ (the published price before any discounts) of more than £40,000. So even full BEV cars like Tesla have to pay £320 per year if their list price is over £40,000. For a Lexus with a list price over £40,000 you would therefore have to pay £455 per year - worth being very careful checking the list price including any additional packs/accessories if you are close to the £40,000 threshold... The additional £320 applies for 5 years from new and then reverts to the standard amount after that (benefiting buyers of older second hand cars).

Doesn't surprise me - the WLTP really shows how relatively poor SUV fuel consumption is - the old system could hide this due to the way the test was conducted but the WLTP really shows up the overall cars efficiency for the basically the same power train as a saloon. However this first year tax is buried in the initial purchase price so no-one will really notice paying it since subsequent years is the same flat rate for all cars regardless of emissions (other than the +£40k list price uplift). There was a recent report that said despite all the work on cleaner engines emissions are still rising due to the massive shift to less efficient SUVs.

Moved wiper arms today using the images as a guide and then checking the sweep - so much better now - thanks

Yes for every one who does change the oil there is another who doesn't. In the case of traditional auto boxes there are lots of narrow channels which is what disturbed crud can block up. On the Lexus / Toyota ecvt this is not the case as far as I know and so changing oil should actually pose less risk i guess than traditional autos.

When I had the E39 I used to read the E39 BMW forums - in the USA where they do some high mileages it was actually quite interesting as reports of auto gearbox failures seemed to be higher when the gearbox oil had been changed over those where it hadn't - and some of those where it hadn't been changed had covered 300k+ miles. Although completely un-scientific it was partly on the strength of these reports, and from talking to my BMW dealer, that I never asked for the oil to be changed on mine over its 210k miles. Unless Lexus advise changing the e-cvt oil I think I will leave well alone on my current IS 300h too. Currently I have covered 85K miles but I do however have the Lexus extended warranty on the car so if the e-cvt goes kaput it will be covered - I plan to keep the extended warranty in place until I sell he car or I can't renew it any further, at which time I will sell the car anyway but by then it will be closing in on 150k miles.

I was told changing the oil can disturb sediment and cause more problems than it cures - can only comment on my experience based on this 210k miles as that's the most I've ever done in a car (had it from new).

Had a BMW E39 528i that did 210k miles over 10 years with sealed for life auto box - was still working perfectly when I sold it - always dealer serviced but gearbox oil was never changed.

Hi - many thanks for these - yes that position is more what I remember before the windscreen change - my passenger wiper sits well above the VIN window now whereas previously I thought it was lower as yours is. The drivers wiper arm also looks a tad higher than mine too. I will have a look at altering mine to closer match yours. I am assuming the facelift wouldn't have altered the wiper placement (mine is pre-facelift).

Looks good - being able to mount the phone in different positions makes it better than the one I have where the phone obscures the hazard warning button - might have a look at replacing mine with one of these - let us know how you find it whilst out driving.

Hi - I had a replacement windscreen fitted the other day (to my 2014 IS 300h) and my feeling is that the wiper arms have been refitted in a slightly different position. In particular that in the parked position the drivers (large) blade is a touch lower (so doesn't go quite as far across towards the A pillar when it wipes) and that the passenger side (short blade) is higher on the windscreen (I see more of the blade through the windscreen from the drivers seat than I seem to recall). Of course it could just be my memory playing tricks on me... but if anyone is able to take and post a photo for reference of where their wipers sit on the windscreen when parked I would be most grateful so I can reference the wiper position to the black band and the VIN window at the base of the windscreen. Or if there is an "official" Lexus positioning with measurements (I did find one for the previous IS but haven't found one for this model) - thanks in advance.

I use this CD Slot Phone holder in my IS 300h - the only downside is that the phone covers some of the dash buttons making them harder to get to and the hazard warning button is particularly difficult to reach. However it doesn’t get in the way of the gear lever in P so I'm happy with it. I use it with a Google Pixel 4 phone. Although I use the Lexus sat nav I find it useful to be able to pull up Google maps now and again. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019DCBJYQ/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_tpjeEbFDV1AY5

Felt a need to add my two pennyworth… We have had numerous BMWs over the past few decades interspersed with other marques too. For pure driving enjoyment then yes, on a winding fast road absolutely, a large engine BMW delivers. Reliability-wise ours have been middling. My all-time favourite was an E39 528i auto. I covered 210,000 miles in that car all around the UK and Europe and it was generally reliable – never let me down anywhere other than not starting once in my drive but did need catalytic converters and radiator replacing along with some other more minor items. As a long-distance high-speed mile muncher though I couldn’t fault it. My other notable BMW was a 330i auto (can’t remember the model number but same era as ganzoom’s from his photo – mine did not have the turbos though). The 330i was fast and handled well but actually a disappointment to me compared with my E39 528i as no-where near as accomplished or as comfortable for long distance journeys. Didn’t do so many miles in that 330i but it was 100% reliable though build quality was also down on the 528i. Had a colleague though with a 335i of the same era around the same time who sold his after not too many miles when the turbos started making an odd noise before he was hit with a large repair bill… When I was looking again to change I seriously considered another BMW – I loved the straight six engine, probably the best engine ever made, but started to struggle to justify buying very top of the range to get this engine as the middle ground was now 4 cylinder turbo units. This fact along with growing congestion, roadworks, ridiculously placed speed cameras and simply a lack of places to really enjoy driving a powerful car at close to full tilt (outside of a track day), led me to re-evaluate what I needed. I looked at several different marques, but nothing really grabbed me. Reliability is important to me and I wanted something a bit different if I was going to make a switch from BMW. I started contemplating left field and read the reviews of the IS 300h which were “mixed” … I decided to take one on a day’s test drive and was very impressed – I went back to the showroom and bought a two-year-old one the next day. I put the IS 300h in the same league as my E39 528i. A fast and comfortable long-distance tourer with the added benefit that in urban, slow moving, stop start traffic, fuel consumption does not take a hit and progress is serene (compared to an ICE stop start system). In real-life day-to-day driving I haven’t found it lacking in performance. I often leave it in Eco mode to be fair unless I need to push on. For overtaking on A roads, I always put it in Sport for a more immediate response. Does it respond like the 330i – no. In the IS300h mashing the throttle to the floor and point and squirt driving does not give the same satisfaction and there is some lag compared to say the 330i (though it’s no worse in my experience that some other auto boxes – such as Mercedes… - the BMW auto is particularly good). However, if you drive the IS300h regularly (i.e. as your only/main car) you find that feeding in the power progressively rather than mashing the throttle pretty much eliminates much of this lag feeling and pleasingly fast progress can be made in a manner better suited to the car and drive train. So, in summary what does the OP want from a car? If it’s a point and squirt, pedal to the metal traffic light grand prix, or maxing out on the twistys style of driving, then there are plenty of hot-hatch or other performance saloons that will suit better – in some cases they may come with large and regular repair bills though. If it’s more rounded long-distance touring on today’s congested, roadwork filled and camera festooned roads but with adequate performance for making fast progress when needed (if you ever get the chance) then the IS300h fits the bill. I have no regrets making the change to the IS300h and would get another without a qualm.

Not trying to to be flippant but I am always surprised how much light is lost from slightly dirty headlamp glass. Mine seemed dimmer today - looked at the lenses whilst at the garage and they didn't look too dirty but washed them off with some water and then got back in the car again and was surprised at how much brighter they were. It doesn't seem to take much road dirt on the glass to scatter the light and the headlight washers don't seem very good at removing the road grime film that builds up at this time of year. Also I have noticed the bulbs seem to get brighter after being on for a while which is something others have mentioned here too - it maybe it's just my eyes night vision kicking in....

This prompted me to look at the IS 300h fuel consumption quoted figures - the change to WLTP figures is significant. The old NEDC for my IS 300h with 17" wheel was 65.7 mpg and the new WLTP figure is 47 mpg. That is quite interesting as I have had my car 3 years and put 42K miles on it with a good mix of motorway and town driving (I purchased it at two years old at 40K miles) and my overall average mpg for that 42K miles according to the trip computer is pretty much bang on the new WLTP figure of 47 mpg. I had a NX 300h as a courtesy car a couple of months back whilst mine was in for a service as I did have an interest in getting an SUV, and although only having it for a day, I did find that to maintain the same driving style as the IS 300h required quite a bit more throttle (perhaps not surprising but the NX did feel quite a bit more sluggish to respond) and the mpg for that day was certainly lower than the IS 300h and so based on my experience of my IS 300h mpg being pretty bang on with the new WLTP, my experience with the NX 300h for a day did bear out that the WLTP of 37 mpg would be what I would achieve for the same sort of driving.

Depends how much you like the gadgets and how much you are prepared to spend. Also the trim levels are rather confusing - it's not so much that each level up gets more kit, sometimes they get different kit and lose out on other kit... And there were some further options buyers could add to some trim levels (such as Premier Sat Nav and leather trim where it wasn't standard for example). If you are considering the specs above then I assume you are looking at used cars circa 2014 - 2016. In 2016 I bought a two year old 2014 IS 300h Executive which, for me, was the right balance of kit at the right price (it had different kit to the pricier Luxury but more useful for me - including SatNav and Leather which oddly was not on the Luxury as standard, though some buyers had added it). I've attached the IS 300h brochure from that era which may help you with what is included (and what was optional) on each of the trims you mentioned - however do note that Lexus changed what was in each trim level regularly and for example the Executive trim in 2017 (I think after the facelift model came out) lost the leather seats and became the base trim (Lexus dropped the previous base trim which was the SE trim)… If you go with Premier trim (the top level) then you do get the lot but they tend to carry quite a hefty premium, even used. Best advice is to check each car carefully as to what it has or has not got fitted and don't go completely by the what it might be labelled as since there is nothing on the cars to identify it. Lexus IS.pdf

I often leave my key in a jacket or coat pocket on the back seat and it worka fine - in fact gives less low battery messages than when in my trouser pocket next to my wallet...

Haven't got the smart card but have the normal smart entry key. I find that sometimes says low battery if it's in my trouser pocket with my wallet. I think the signal gets blocked somewhat if you have other items around it as I replaced the battery but still get the same message from time to time. Make sure the key is less obscured / covered and see of it still does it.

Definitely not a problem in my IS 300h - even with 4 up. I pretty much never change my climate control from auto with AC on and just let it do it's own thing. If the car is indeed dry inside (e.g. carpet in the footwells etc.) and after checking the other suggestions I would suspect the clogged drains next. On my BMW that has this they said it happens with road dirt getting into the drains and blocking the ends. If not that then if AC is running properly and vents inside the car are open this should definitely keep the inside of the car clear of any condensation.

In all my cars when the weather has been very damp or turned cold outside there can be a very brief period when starting the car that there is some slight fogging of the windows when the AC is on but this clears within a few seconds as the internal fans come on and so is not a problem. I did have a BMW once where the fogging persisted and when the garage checked they found that the drains for the condensation form the AC (that exit under the car) had become blocked. The garage blew them clear and the problem went away. Since then I do look now and again when the weather is hot to make sure there is a small puddle of condensate under my cars after stopping so I know the drains are clear. If you have persistent fogging on the inside of the windows with the AC on then it could well be this problem that the AC drains are blocked and need clearing.

Mine always feels smoother after a service - just had 80k mile service done amd 4 new tyres fitted and it feels like a brand new car!

I was also looking recently as I purchased my IS second hand at 2 years old with 40K miles nearly 3 years ago from a Lexus dealer. Comparing list price of the car I purchased (on the forecourt - I did get some negotiated off of course) with one the same age and mileage as mine now has on the clock (79,500) on the used Lexus website I just worked out it has only gone down £3,500 in forecourt value in that 3 years. So depreciation of just over £1,000 per annum from a 2 year old to a 5 year old car. Really can't complain at that. I appreciate I would lose a bit more than that if I trade it in of course at a dealer or sell privately but as a like for like comparison found it interesting.

Yep - the services will be done on an annual basis in that case rather than miles (12 months or 10k between services) - if you want to get the service plan and to pay monthly, call Lexus and tell them that you will need 2 services over 2 years (it will be one major and one minor - the order depending on which it had last) and that you want to start the plan today with the first service due in a year's time from the previous one (which you say was recent). That way you will be able to spread the cost of the 2 services over the 24'ish months (depending on when the first is due) and so keep your monthly payments down to the minimum. If you wait until the next service is due to start the service plan you will have to pay that service in full and then the plan would run 2 years from that service for the next 2 services...

Could it be contamination on the discs/pads?As you have just purchased the car it may have been stood some time. I would take the car onto an empty road and then do a few hard braking runs from about 60mph which should clean up discs and pads. If that doesn't work then probably a trip back to the dealer to query it.

I suspect that the test threshold may be the issue - I had a similar warning at my last service (10k miles ago now) but the dealer said that it is not uncommon and not to be concerned as its often that the test is done after the car has been sat for a while drawing current from the 12v battery,for example during the a service. I haven't had any problems since the last service but have another coming up in a couple of weeks so will see if the check reports the problem again at that one. My IS 300h is a 64 reg, 79,000 miles and still original 12v battery. I do keep one of the emergency jump battery blocks in the glovebix just in case but never had to use it yet.