Notamech

All of your experiences sound very useful. To be frank I have never heard an ML system personally but i do like having a good sound system and the poverty spec 6 speaker on my exec was disappointing at first but ive managed to tune it now to where i find it acceptable. And an ML is definitely not a must have for me. Just that all the reviws glorify it so much. Nor do i need all the modern day ADAS features. The one thing i feel is truly missing is the auto mirror dipping i feel like i use the mirror so much to avoid kerbs and later when i set off i have forgotten to readjust it like 80% of the time and its so frustrating..but its something i live with. Like you I am frankly not too keen on an SUV but of the 2 cars in the household the IS is the one that goes on long trips and sometimes it does feel like a compromise on space. The NX300h is the only SUV thats reasonably priced (being old) and that provides the kind of space and luxury i would probably need for a long trip with a young family. The GS450H on the other hand is something that wouldn't give me space but the luxury and sportiness to please the car enthusiast in me. But will come at an additional cost i.e insurance tax etc. When i think about it practically and given my ultra low usage of 3-5k miles annually the IS does offer the best balance all things considered. The lack of gizmos means i can keep servicing the car myself once relax runs out and save a ton of money. Plus any new car means a big expense i will have to bear in terms of investing more + depreciation on the current IS. So it just makes sense to stick to with the current car. I have taken your suggestion and will do the brakes all round and stick with the IS until i get full value from it and use it till the hybrid battery warranty is over. Then probably see whats out there. Im really hoping the next gen IS imported from japan are available more easily and for a reasonable price then...that might be something to consider. Thanks again for ypur suggestions they have been very useful in providing some perspective on things.

Yeah that makes total sense and frankly I am not totally sure on how long i want to keep the car. I have around 95k and i keep swinging between "I bought a lexus so i will save money and drive this till the wheels fall off" to " The mirrors dont dip when i reverse it and doesnt have ML so I now need a car that does those" . Originally the idea was to keep it for 5 years of which i have done 2 so far and honestly the car is fantastic with no real issues...but i keep yearning for a different one from time to time and feel like one day im going to see a well priced GS450H or a NX300H and might give in to temptation and buy it. But you are right assuming i do keep it for 5 years it might just make sense to do it.

Thanks so much.Thats very useful to know might just cancel the order as it hasnt shipped yet and just go ahead with stripping and lubing the current brakes. I wanted to paint the dust guards as well so i will need to remove the disc anyway but at least i wont have spent nearly £200 for nothing. Also on the front might just change the brake pads only to resolve the issue with excessive dust.

Damn! I was hoping new brakes would fix it. Now i feel like im doing it for no real benefit. As my brakes are within spec.

Exactly same situation. My brakes seem to still be within spec but just very old and it does groan when im in stop and go traffic like a second after i stop i hear a grunt from the rear. Might do the fronts as well in a few weeks. Considering EBC for the front as they seem to do low dust pads. My current brakes make a lot of dust on the front. Not sure whether my current pads are original.

I ended up ordering original lexus parts for the rear from ebay. Got it £15 cheaper than the dealer.

I found this video that sort of explains it on a different lexus car but i reckon the procedure is the same. https://youtu.be/dTAwhihxj2s

Not based on experience but just research....it appears that the disc should come out without having to adjust the parking brake wheel as long as the parking brake is off. But the service manual says that in case it doesnt then you need to turn the asjustment star wheel to release it. Happy for people who have actually done this to chime in @IS300FSPORT @dazzlar http://zatonevkredit(blocked word)/repair_manuals/raw_content/AWHukXVwrzlLPWuuGKKR If you turn it all the way then i think it takes 7-8 turns to set it back to the correct tension based on a video i watched. Alternatively you can read the section on adjusting the parking brake in the above service manual.

I did mine back in feb 2023 no issues so far. To be fair there were no issues before as well. I think this recall was more a precautionary measure as it could potentially lead to safety issues. Also curious as to why import an is300h? Sounds like a lot of extra work and expense. Also the head unit will be japanese from what i understand. The IS350 sounds like it would make more sense to import.

Thanks a ton. I agree whatever work i have done so far on the IS300H has been a breeze. And buying spare slide pins and the bolt to undo the disc is a good shout. I did buy spare slidepins when doing the fronts for the Jazz as a precautionary measure after the fiasco with the rears. Unfortunately indies using incorrect grease is far too common i am guessing causing slide pins to seize. I bought something called pro slip on amazon which have different tubes of grease for pins pads and clips am really happy with it as the wifes jazz does not squeal anymore and it always did before even after we got new brakes fit at an indie. I dont plan on touching the parking brake mechanism i did watch a video and it appears too complicated to do within a few hours. i feel like i will struggle to put it back together. Im surprised that you have very little material left on the parking brake shoes as they basically only hold a stationary car normally and dont see any wear. Maybe the friction material on these are thin by design? But ive heard that they typically go the distance and should last the life of the car. The only instances i have read of people changing them are when they seize or corrode because people lost the rubber cap for the adjustment hole. I did have an advisory on my last MOT on brake pipes starting to corrode. I assume these are the metal pipes before they connect to the rubber hose to the caliper? I anyway plan to wire brush and hamerite the dust guards when doing the brakes as they are also heavily corroded and appear to be a pain to replace so will do the brake pipes too. One more thing im torn between is getting EBC vs original Lexus. The price difference isn't much but sounds like EBC promise less dust and low noise with their ultimax OEM replacement pads. But seem to read mixed reviews with some claiming premature corrosion issues on the disc. Any long term ebc reviews are appreciated.

As mentioned above. Could be a problem with the rims themselves. My reco would be to go to a proper professional place that does wheel refurbishment so that they can check and assess if there is a problem. If so you might want to consider repairing your wheels.

The black part is the sensor and the silver part is the valve assembly. Maybe something just came loose or wasnt tightened enough. Perhaps they can just put it back together?

Exactly this. The info on the portal is probably as bad as the printouts thwy gave you. Also any services done outside the lexus network wont be recorded on the protal. Further a hybrid health check certificate from 2021 is pretty useless as you are meant to run these every year to keep your hybrid battery warranty going ( for up to 15 years) but presumably since the select cars come with a 1 year warranty you should be covered for this year anyway.

Thanks i plan to attempt this soon. Hopefully like you say i should be able to get a socket on there. I have an impact wrench - a not so expensive one from amazon. It works fine and i wanted to use this initially but because the socket was on at an angle a power tool would definitely strip the bolt head so did it manually. If theres more space on the IS then using a power tool will definitely make life easier.

Thats not bad considering the parts themselves are around £200 from lexus. I can find them on ebay slightly cheaper though and i like learning and trying DIY out myself gives me a chance to inspect other components nearby. While i hope lexus will do a good job my experience with indies has been bad. The rear brakes on my wifes jazz was done just about a year ago but the brakes were sticking so i decided to take a look. Turns out they used copper grease on all components instead of the correct silicone based high temp grease on the pins causing it to get sticky. Also one of the brake pads was stuck and not moving freely the garage should have ideally filed the ears down and ensured the pads slide freely in the hardware. I did a thorough job myself and am happy with the outcome. It doesnt squeak anymore nor is it sticky. Also this garage gave me an advisory on this years MOT saying the tie rod end rubber boots had perished. I cleaned it and nothing...its all fine no tears...makes me wonder how many people get duped like this. I also sprayed down all the rubber suspension components and bushings with silicone to keep the rubber supple which no one else will do.

Thanks. Have you done the rears yourself? Is there space to fit a socket to remove the carrier bolts? I struggled with this on the jazz and somehow managed to get the socket on at an angle but that wasnt ideal and the edges of the bolt head are now stripped (but it still turns.will replace it next time). I later realised that an open ended spanner would be a better choice but wont provide enough leverage. I did buy some additional tools now though so i should be able to extend my spanner with a braker bar if that is needed. But would prefer if i can fit a socket on to these bolts as i would prefer to torque them back to spec when putting them back together. Which i cant do with a spanner.

Let me know how it goes. I plan to do my rears as well but am a bit scared frankly and coulduse tips from people who have done it. I did rears on the wifes jazz recently and it was a complete nightmare. I didn't anticipate bolts being stuck. I managed to break the slide pin bolt with half of it stuck in the slide pin. Had to urgently source a replacement over the weekend. Another issue was lack of space - there was no space to fit a socket to undo the carrier bracket bolts and you need decent leverage to undo these. Then i stripped the screws that hold the disc and they had to be drilled out. Fortunately I dont think lexus uses screws to hold the disc so that should make it a bit easier. Overall The fronts were so much easier and a breeze to do vs the rears. So haven't yet attempted doing the rears on my is300h yet.

We shouldn't have to pay an annual VED at all in my opinion. The basics of our civic systems taught to us in school seem to tell us that revenue from taxes are used for our benefit. Well i pay income tax, council tax, VAT, annual VED, insurance premium tax and maybe a few other types of taxes for very little benefit...the roads I drive on are average at best. The NHS is a complete **** show. So what benefit am i really getting that the several other taxes I am paying for dont already cover? They should at least give me basic third party insurance for my annual VED. It is this sort of thievery that drives people to evade taxes.

Just to double check are all the tyres the same size? I think on the is200t the rear tyres are meant to be thicker 255/40 18 and 225/40 18 on the front. If so theyre not meant to be rotated. Not sure if having those on the front now means they're fouling something. As someone suggested try swapping them back and see if that resolves the issue.

It could be because a connector is loose or corroded making intermittent contact.

I would recommend doing it. Its not that hard. All you need is a ratchet set a flat head screwdriver or a plastic trim removal tool. I did mine at 90k and it was very dirty i pulled out a large clump of crud which was composed of hair and dust. But @wharfhouse is right in saying that if airflow is reduced you will get an error on the dash saying hybrid cooling function low or something to that effect. Whether to do it or not is completely down to personal preference and your situation. If you plan to sell the car after 3-5 years and just do normal 10k a year dont ferry around too many people in the back you will most likely be fine and can wait until 15 years are up and you no longer have a warranty on the battery. To some people the car is a tool and its fine to treat it like that. To others its a hobby and they tend to pamper it a bit more.

Have a look at the service manual here. Sometimes the code might point to other problems such as with the wiring harness or the ac amplifier. http://zatonevkredit(blocked word)/repair_manuals/viewdoc_html/AWHuj7EURvZszzJrV4Yg/AWHuk8H7RvZszzJrV56j

Its the same for me in London. I paid around 1k this year for my wife and I. 5k annual mileage only social domestic and pleasure. No claims so far. And this is on a 2014 model valued at <10k. If i check insurance for a similar nx300 for example it is 800ish. My previous merc e class was the same i.e 800ish. Our jazz with business insurace is 650ish. Its as if the value of the car itself forms a very low proportion of their calculation.

A trick to ensure that the oil "catches" on the dipstick vs just flow away is to rough up the portion between the 2 dots with some sandpaper or a scouring pad. Clean it thoroughly before putting back. Also i have noticed that to read the dipstick correctly you have to look at the top side i.e the side thats facing the engine. The underside rubs againt the bent tube when pulling out and smears the oil.

Do you know if this was ever re-gassed before? Asking as a lot of local centres will fill it back up with the wrong compressor oil. Given its an electric compressor it needs a special non conductive oil.