Notamech

Dont buy a diesel. Given your use case it doesnt seem like the right fit. You said you plan to do loads of short trips within london. You will most likely end up with a clogged DPF. Those things are fairly expensive to clean and repair. Also you might be able to save for a new car but on the other hand your mazda will depreciate over the course of the year. Also diesels are becoming less favourably perceived by the general public and hence harder to sell which is why you might find one for an attractive price to begin with. As Linad suggested above if you cant buy a lexus now. Get a toyota hybrid instead. Many models to choose from. You can get something like an Auris, prius from 2013 14 that will still offer a good driving experience and decent fuel economy will be reliable and last years and fit within your budget.

I am interested in knowing this too. I have very limited experience with brakes. I did jack up the wifes jazz and spun the wheel i suspect had a caliper thats sticky and it does spin freely but with a minor scraping noise. Then i did the same for the front wheel and it spun freely without any noise. Its not corrosion as the car was used just a few hours ago. Googling it i got loads of different answers some saying its normal for the rear brakes to make some contact when the handbrake is released and that it should go away with a bit of driving and braking. So not sure if i have a sticky caliper or not. The wife said she experienced resistance and vibration when driving on the motorway once which is why i started to suspect a sticky caliper. But it doesnt seem to happen always. Also this wheel seems to have more brake dust than the other wheels which further strengthens my suspicion.

Sadly many of us are in the same boat...lexus's service is no longer premium. Before buying the brand i heard loads about their Japanese way of doing things. The awesome customer focus and how everyone who leaves the dealership leaves satisfied. However my experience was far from it. When i bought mine used first thing i did was book it for service at a big name lexus dealership. I found their staff to be border line rude...no followups ..insensitive to the fact that i travelled far to get to them and to add to it incompetent. I ended up pointing to them things they missed as part of the "major" service. I was very disappointed as local indies have offered me better service. But what i can say is try a different dealership if you have options around where you live. Fortunately in London I have that luxury so next time i just went to a Toyota Lexus workshop that was close to me smaller in size and not affiliated to any big dealership. I found their service levels to be far more acceptable and prices for repairs cheaper.

I think @Mr_Groundhog has had this done and can advise.

Makes sense.So sounds like in your case given the age and mileage it could be a number of reasons the caliper gave up e.g. sticky slide pins, worn piston seal resulting in dirt ingress etc. Also, my understanding is that not changing your brake fluid regularly does result in the caliper piston corroding and eventually siezing. In the case of a car like the jazz people generally dont go to the main dealer after the warranty runs out nor do they bother changing the brake fluid at all. Strangely the problem started after i decided to get the brake fluid changed. Perhaps some of the corrosion inside moved. The slide pins would have been fine as it had new discs and pads just a couple of years before the 1st caliper went kaput. When it failed we got new discs and pads along with a new refurbished caliper. Like you said we didn't catch it in time. Now the other side seems to have gone. The outer pad wear doesnt look too bad so far. maybe i can still salvage the existing discs and pads. Will have a proper look at the inner pad with the wheel off over the weekend. As these are the ones that wear our more.

What a coincidence..its all ive been researching today. The wifes Jazz has a caliper that seems to be sticking intermittently on the offside rear. Last year the nearside one got stuck and took the brakes and pads with it. Cost us a good £550 to set right. Spending another 550 seems too much on a low value car. Considering doing it myself will be a good learning experience for when it happens to my is300h. Was just wondering did they say why it seizes? I thought lexus change the brake fluid every 2 years so in theory the calipers shouldnt go bad.

I reckon most people who buy an IS300H would never drive it that way. And while it may not be faster than a c250 in the real world its definitely fast enough where it matters e.g. roundabouts. I had an e250 before this and despite the torque it had like a 1 second delay in response at roundabouts at times it felt dangerous. I assume the c250 from that era might be the same as it had the same OM651 engine. The response on the IS300H is instant and i love that.

Pretty sure nothing like this exists. While the costs for a minor and major service and hybrid health check are pretty much standard across all dealers. When i wanted to replace my waterpump i got significantly different quotes from different Lexus service centres. The service centres that are not attached to a dealership tend to be cheaper for repairs. They all use genuine toyota lexus parts though.

You can use it. But might not be the best option. You can squeeze more revenue + invest less on something toyota instead. Plus maintenance and repairs wont cost as much with something like a prius or Corolla vs an is300h.

I think the reason why its not a viable business is for 2 reasons. 1) These sensors are sealed and not meant to be re-used. While pople have been replacing batteries and re-using them. Given that they werent designed for this can potentially bring into question the long term efficacy of such a "repair" e.g using hot glue to re-seal it might not be as reliable as the factory weather proof filling thats used. 2) Labour costs in the UK are quite high. So even if i assume a rate of £60 an hour and it takes ~30 mins to remove the old one and solder in a new battery...thats nearly half the price of what lexus charge for a new one anyway. And you can get a new one for ~£25 anyway from other sources.

Aah ok. Got it. I thought you wanted it for gen4. Maybe try googling the part no. You might be able to find it cheaper somewhere.

Not sure what you mean. Its the same part number. Here is the part no directly from lexus https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product/lexus-gs-phase-4-tyre-pressure-monitoring-sensor/ its the same as the ebay link.

Buy an early 2017 or 2016 theyre the facelift version but the annual tax is only £10 /20 depending on the variant. Earlier 2013 2014 models were prone to waterpump failures at high mileages. Not as common on 2016+ but still check. As far as battery goes if you get a hybrid health check done at lexus every year the battery is warrantied for the next 12 month. You can do this for up to 15 years. So nothing to worry about. Other than that its an ultra reliable car with not many common problems. Just get a premier if you can it will have almost everything you need like ML sound system. Blind spot assistance etc. Else get the F-sport if you like the looks of it.

Maybe in a few years time japanese imports of the facelift IS will make it to the UK market for a reasonable price. Until then i guess the only real options for a reliable saloon thats not massive would be the older IS or the GS. The IS is a tad bit more practical given the back seats fold.

I haven't purchased these myself. But am pretty sure they come with everything. This other listing of the same part no seems to indicate it comes with 1 set of the valve and fitting nut https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265348809443?epid=18051064779&itmmeta=01J273MWBJ80T0W5PH3R7ETENC&hash=item3dc80582e3:g:ztoAAOSwf0hlhGAM&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwEoF%2FmHzGN09HmCXeCxxgStF9oqZl7S8YOit0wK7p0qrr0aY3XLfe7s0Yb%2FtJ%2B%2BlrDfLnlHWtYnChCKvSQh0MFLZ0KUPlt2GB6YBz5XsjKWxWmMsXbz%2BOySxnc3%2FAUyI952x%2FSP0Nl%2BGcj0ADi5E25UWMft3jID9Rcy8EuOI8Nx1gVqoMT22M9tMT5Bbo4m4wj7f3xoyW0HGkIx3IPMeKGRJEftvJMYU2ycgJ0XaWakivxEitXVIkBbR3rZdOKM%2Bvg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-7F0-ORZA Even if they dont the tyre shop should be able to supply the air valve you linked in the listing and youcould potentially just use the old nut. When i changed my tyres they included the valve in the price i.e if you're not changing your sensors the tyre shop will still replace the valve when fitting new tyres. So they definitely stock those and they are universal. As far as part nos go. The 4 pack in the ebay link is the exact same part no as the one on Lexuspartsdirect. So i asusme its the correct one. Also imagery from the above ebay listing in this reply seems to match the 4 pack. Though its different from lexus parts direct. So i assume they've updated the design now and imagery on LPD is older. https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/product/lexus-is-phase-3-tyre-pressure-monitoring-sensor/

As pointed out potentially a defective wheel bearing alternatively it could be a leaking exhaust or something. Maybe record a clip and post it here if you can.

Yes they're genuine. The part nos are the same + they're made by the same company (pacific industial co). Perhaps toyota sells them cheaper for their budget cars. I have never used techstream but im pretty sure you can indeed program them using techstream if the shop cant do it.

Check your part number. You can get the originals much cheaper on ebay. Here is an example for a set of 4 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314744520503

If one has failed it is likely that the others are of a similar age meaning theyre on their way out as well. My recommendation would be replace all 4 sensors when changing your tyres. You can buy the sensors yourself on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314744520503 Its much cheaper than lexus charging £70+ per sensor. Then most reputable tyre shops should be able to fit and program it for you when you change your tyres. Perhaps just google tyre shops near you can find the ones with the most positive reviews. Call them before scheduling an appointment to check if they can program new original tpms sensors that you will be supplying.

Thats a good shout. Will look into RAV4. Also not clear what you mean by newer engined is300h? As far as I am aware the engine on the IS300H has remained the same since launch until it was discontinued. One of the reasons i have held on to the IS is i love the way it drives. My heart wants to upgrade to a GS450H but the head says i need to succumb and get an SUV / crossover.

Its because most of the world is moving to SUVs and crossovers. While they are relatively more expensive to run they are more practical for daily family life. They also end up being more comfortable. The demand for sedans is very limited in todays market with mostly people looking for a sportier edge going with them and even those people mainly buy a german brand. Which is why even lexus have only 1 sedan offering and they even changed their entry level car from the CT to the LBX and previously the UX all crossovers. I have an IS300H and as my kid grows and i turn older i keep finding it harder to get her into the car seat because of how low the car is. I suspect i will need to start looking at buying an NX soon too. Im just a bit worried about all the lexus thefts that have been going on lately. Hopefully there will be a solution soon.

100% agree with this. Pricing is one thing. Even the terms of insurance are also so heavily lopsided....just so that they can force us to declare stupid things like stickers, spoilers etc. to raise prices further or get out of paying when the time comes. If our policy makers truly had public interest at heart and were not lobbied by the insurance cartel we would have a system like australia where the basic mandatory 3rd party insurance is covered as part of the annual VED. Truth is we live in a corporatocracy and nobody cares about the common people. Were just consumers to them. Also china might be communist in their political outlook but their economic system has a role for private capital and is very exploitative of its labour which are clear capitalistic traits.

Yeah that could work. The only issue is that the colour of the trim is some shade of grey and not black so its hard to match it.

I sort of did...not the armrest exactly. But just above the armrest, i managed to burn a hole in the fake leather of the door card(same material as the armrest) when trying to take out a scratch with a heat gun. You can use specialised leather glue you get online which is flexible. You also get patch kits where you put the patch on the underside of the cut making it less visible.Or like you say you could use superglue and tape. All of which will be visible. Short of having it re-upholstered or professionally fixed none of the DIY solutions will be perfect. In my case i bough 2 small lexus logos (the epoxy gel type) and stuck it over the hole to cover it. I put one on the other door card as well just to give the car an even look. But in your case i think superglue would be good to help prevent the tear from spreading then put a cool sticker or vinyl over it to make it invisible.

As stated above this sounds like the vvti actuator rattle. Common on most toyotas of that generation. The only real fix is a new vvti actuator. For a lot of engines toyota updated the part at some point. Its not worth fixing on most old cars. You can ignore it. By the time any meaningful damage is done the car will probably be at the end of its life anyway. Here's some more info