McShmoopy

If you’re after boot springs I’d just suggest getting the SGS engineering ones BC99 has linked. I’ve fitted these to my 2010 F sport with a spoiler and it’s a little less smooth due to the additional weight of the spoiler but have had no issues. Some people have fitted BMW struts on one side and this is the cheaper option. However I would recommend this as that causes an uneven gap to form and both struts should be replaced at the same time to ensure longevity and prevent uneven wear and tear.

The funny thing is there was a few posts saying that the VLANDS may technically fail due to the DRL bulb being fixed voltage and not being able to dim at all. However many fellow members have had the VLANDS pass an MOT without issue, mine is due next year so i won’t know til then. The specialist I take my car to for its MOT isn’t particularly over the top so it’ll vary which garage you take it to! they will need adjusting for height out of the box so if that’s untouched those will no doubt cause a fail if not adjusted correctly

The main thing to identify is the type of infotainment you have, some 2009 vehicles were pre facelift and some 2009s were facelift. easiest way to tell is by the loon of the infotainment, if it’s silver / white you’ve got the facelift one (I’ll attach a photo for good measure) I have a IS250 SE-L from 2009 and this does support usb audio, the port is located in the centre storage console next to the 12V cigarette socket.

I can’t comment on the bulbs but I believe you need to have specific ones due to the way the low beam are housed and the beam pattern. One alternative is you could upgrade the entire headlight unit to something like VLAND or something else and this would give you LED lights and indicators. They are pretty much plug and play also. you can DIY for them with a few hours spare on a weekend but take it somewhere if you’re not confident!

I wouldn’t be too fussed on the DAB radio, from what I’ve seen generally the reception for it was known to be fairly poor for those who got it with their MK2 IS’s. An aftermarket solution for DAB would be dramatically cheaper and probably better reception! One example people do is get something like a GROM VLINE and buy the DAB accessories for that

Yes the SE-l (lowercase) does miss out on some of those feature. Unfortunately I did have a link to compare the trim levels side by side but it’s now stopped working! The facelifts did come with USB connectivity support (including iPhones) as well as Bluetooth. I’ve never tried a USB stick but I can certainly try it out for you. Pre facelifts only had aux or required a mod for Bluetooth so I’d stick with the post facelift unless you’re willing to change the head unit or get a grom audio unit. i assume the multimedia pack is the Navi screen with reverse camera, it is a definite must and it saves you doing any drastic mods to the car so that alone is worth it.

Hi Roland, I'd highly recommend going for a fully loaded SE-L model or an F Sport as you get a lot of creature comforts which now I couldn't live without! Don't let high mileage examples put you off, as long as the service history looks good these cars run into very few issues compared to the competition. I got my 2010 F Sport at 135k miles and aside from an air con regas no issues really to report, compared to our 70k miles IS250C they both drive pretty much like new. Most pre facelift cars (Before 2009) that had the NAVI option almost always come with Mark Levinson Audio. Any NAVI opted car after 2009 it was something you had to opt for specifically, but the speaker systems for both are quite impressive so don't let that be a deal breaker necessarily. The main reason to go facelift I'd say is the additional features like auto folding mirrors when you lock / unlock the car as well as wing mirror indicators. In addition to this they've addressed some carbon build up issues the pre facelifts suffered from and added a few styling changes. Regular servicing yearly as well as good fuel with additives and you shouldn't have those issues really. High mileage IS250s can be picked up for an absolute bargain, so if the service history looks good and the bodywork is in good condition its an option worth seriously considering!

Hi Paul that looks like a rather nice example however it is only an Advance trim so personally I'd go for a fully loaded SE-L as you get all the bells and whistles for the most part! Don't be too put off by the mileage, as long as its had regular oil changes you shouldn't encounter many issues reliability wise particularly if its a facelift (after 2009) as they addressed the carbon build up with these engines.

The IS250C is a lovely car to live with, its not mine but I near enough drive my mums more than she does as I tend to look after it and I like it more than my IS250 F Sport sometimes (Especially when you can get the top down!) You don't see many of them on the road so it is a pleasure to see fellow drivers on the road with one. 😁

So strange update, got the car back and the air con seems to be working how it should be! The garage working on the car were telling me they intermittently got the air con blowing ice cold but it could be the compressor playing up. I'll be calling an Aircon specialist still to get it looked at to diagnose what my issue was.

Thanks for the insight Dave, you and Herbie are right. I’ve been mulling it over and after looking at other forum posts, the cost of compressors I’d rather get the second opinion from an Air Con specialist and there seems to be a few that I could contact. I’ll keep you all posted on further updates!

Quick update on my end, dropped the car off and the car still seems to have gas and has no error codes or leaks to speak of. The guy said it looks like it may be the compressor so I may need to look for a replacement one and try having that fitted in. Sounds like it could be a very similar issue to myself! Seems like a lot but I’ll try sourcing one, j did see a similar forum post on here where they found an aftermarket one instead of OEM that worked just fine

Thanks for the insight, I suppose that could be an option. Once I take the car on Monday I'll be sure to update everyone 🙂

Haha the funny thing is I pretty much use it 24/7 as I hate being warm as I tend to sweat easily. So I can probably rule that out, I got the car at 135k miles and the aircon was flawless until probably last week so unless I've had a rock chip do some damage. I'll be certain to keep everyone posted!

Hmm that is an excellent point to be fair, I was planning on doing all the general servicing myself such as filters oil changes etc but its been a hectic few weeks so free time is limited. This reason alone I may consider servicing myself next year at least you know its done that way! The IS250's seem pretty nice to work on yourself compared to most other makes

What usually causes the leaks, wear and tear? I do tend to look after my cars but the previous owner did alot of motorway miles and was the sole owner. For that reason this is why I've taken my car to this garage as they state they're a Lexus / Toyota specialist and I'd rather have people who know what they're doing! But that is good to know that you should only need to recharge AC if there's an issue or a very minor leak.

Thanks for the input, very disappointing indeed which is a shame as I've taken my mums IS250C here and not had any prior issues. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they can rectify this on Monday hopefully without charge.

Thanks for the insight, I did suspect they maybe missed a leak although that is disappointing considering I paid £50 and they claimed to have checked it all. Depending how it goes on Monday I may have to take it to an aircon specialist

Hi Guys Recently my cars Air Con suddenly started blowing warm air compared to before when it was ice cold. I figured it'd be the refrigerant that needs gassing or some sort of leak so I've taken it to a Lexus specialist in Nottingham they just advised it was empty so they had regassed it alongside my MOT and oil and filter changes. Now on the drive back I noticed the Air Con was slightly colder but no where near compared to before. I figured I'll drive it home and see if it got colder over time but no improvement. I've just rang the garage back up and I'll be taking the car back on Monday for them to take a look however the guy assured me the air con was ice cold after he gassed it. Thought I'd get a second opinion from you guys before I take it back, could this perhaps be a refrigerant leak somewhere or some other potential fault?

Congrats on the car it looks great! I took my mums newly purchased CATD IS250C to a lexus specialist based in Colwick called A&M and they did a nice job sorting out the seized callipers but it may be worth speaking to them and seeing if they're well equipped to handle an LS. https://www.aandmnottinghamltd.co.uk

I was in a similar predicament where I was really after a ultrasonic blue IS and I almost gave in and got an F sport 200d, my heartfelt recommendation is steer clear. Even if remapped or just straight up buying a 200d, you’d experience clunky gear changes, unexceptional economy and from what I’ve been told the car is quite sluggish in comparison not to mention the reliability issues. Whereas with the IS250 the gearbox is a silky smooth automatic and the economy is acceptable and almost beats out the 200d and 220d.

You could get one of those android head units fitted in and combine that with 360 parking cameras. This was an option I consisted but it was tricky finding some something compatible with the existing NAVI so I opted for a GROM. Few possibilities ￡155.46 40％ Off | Carplay+Auto Android 11 6+128G For Lexus IS IS250 IS300 IS350 2005-2011 Car Radio Stereo Multimedia Player GPS Navigation 4G Lte https://a.aliexpress.com/_uzZN3M ￡118.21 42％ Off | Car Radio Android 10.0 10.1'' DVD Player For Lexus IS250 IS300 IS200 IS220 IS350 2005-2012 Stereo 2 Din Head Unit GPS Navigation https://a.aliexpress.com/_vCx082 ￡181.77 3％ Off | Car AHD 3D 360 degree Camera Driving Panorama Recorder Bird View Parking Front Rear Side DVR Kit For Toyota Prado 2016-2020 https://a.aliexpress.com/_vcpXnM

Congrats on the new Lexus, I've had my IS250 F Sport for around 9 months and its certainly has been a welcome upgrade from my Corsa! I'm not able to answer some of your questions but I'll try and provide as much info as I can. The sunglasses holder I believe was only for non UK spec vehicles like the US, as UK cars have the alarm / immobiliser fitted in that area so I don't think its worth you trying to retrofit anything into there. I think I have experienced the seat getting warm at times but I can't easily reproduce do that so I'll do some investigating myself on that front. I'm not sure about your boot issue but like mine and the IS250C we got for my mum, it had worn out struts so it may be worth replacing these with some from SGS engineering to have the boot easily open. In terms of the type of fuel the car needs, it will do fine on 95 which is the bare minimum in the UK as far as I'm aware . Depending on the year of your car (I believe yours is 2005 based on sig) you may occasionally benefit from using the higher octane fuel as pre 2009 IS250s suffered from carbon build up issues so those higher octane fuels with their additives do help with keeping the engine clean and will help prolong the life of the car and minimise issues. My car is a 2010 and I've not had an issue using Texaco Unleaded 95 fuel and the car seems to return 400ish miles of range depending on my drive style. The range on the trip computer is somewhat misleading as it depends on how light your foot is but you can usually go off tank average. Cruise control at 70mph will easily return 40 to 43 mpg depending on your load so while the car isnt exactly economical its not bad for a 2.5L V6! One thing worth doing in your car depending if it came with the NAVI system or not is upgrade the infotainment. I myself have a GROM VLINE2 in my car and while its not perfect, its getting me Wireless Apple CarPlay in my car while preserving all the OEM functions so it does help modernise the car!

Thanks for the heads up mate! I assume your car is an IS250C also? I may consider this option as it seems cheaper then LEXUS Nottingham in any case. Ah I didn't realise you could get them custom made, in fairness SGS engineering isnt too far from me as they're based in Derby so it may be worth me giving them a ring...

Hi Guys I've recently changed out my boot struts for my IS250 F Sport with some from SGS engineering and they've worked a treat. However with my mums IS250C which I look after, I notice it suffers from the same issue as my car so I thought I'd try and see if the same struts can be used for it. Unfortunately it looks like they're a completely different length so I don't think it would quite work. Has anyone else managed to replace the struts on their IS250C's specifically? Lexus Nottingham quoted me £180 for the pair and £58 via SGS engineering was enough of an ask!