Lexus IS Maintenance and Repair

razer70

Hey guys ,I am new to the group. I have just purchased this 03 lexus IS 300. I love the car but there is a thumping sound in the rear when i shift.It has 40,0000 miles and still under warranty. I brought it to the dealer they say they checked it out and all is ok,But adjusted the clutch.And that they don't get to many Is 300 with the stick shift?Ok. well i am bringing it back to dealer tomoorrow.Because the way the adjusted the clutch has got to be wrong. It picks up at the top now and feels wrong. now.I am gonna tell them to put it back the way it was. Anyway does anyone here have this thumping problem so I can tell the dealer what it is and how to fix it .Ha HA Any help appreciated Razer70............

albunad

Hello All, I've had my IS250 AWD for just over a month now. :shades: I must say, the car is a blast to drive. Handles corners with ease. Great power...comes with (S) paddle shift too! In the car, premium sound is excellent w/ 6-disc CD, moonroof, no Navi, though. A few comments: No Coin holder and back seat room is somewhat tight. Other than that, the car is very comfortable and sporty. Do not mind the stares, either.

maxidrive

Actually, I love the stares, telling me how great looking the car is! I'm also disappointed that it doesn't have a coin holder, but I improvise by using the ashtray area . Does anybody know whether the backs of the front seats are ventilated? I only feel the heat/cool air from the bottom of the seat.

louiswei

A few comments: No Coin holder and back seat room is somewhat tight.

I got my IS350 for about 2 weeks now and the only complain I have is there is no coin holder in this car. However, I did find a way to improvise...If you are not a smoker, you could remove the ash tray and the remaining space can serve as the coin holder.

Hope this helps.

wayde

I have a squeaking noise in my dash also. Very frustrating to hear this on a Lexus. Like ricksterq said, it will be a good test of Lexus customer service.

indexc

When I drive with the windows and sunroof open, especially on the highway, my rearview mirror (not the side mirrors) vibrates so bad that when I look into it, the cars behind me look blurry. Does anyone else have this problem? When I took my car to the dealership for the seatbelt recall, I had them look at this problem. They said they could not fix it and that they took an IS250 off the lot for a test drive and they said it did the same thing and that it must be an issue with all the cars and maybe a recall could happen if enough people complain. Just curious if it is just my car or if others are having this issue.

yanksphish

exact same thing happens to me. I bought mine (IS 250 AWD) almost 3 weeks ago now and I've put over 2300 miles on it and the only thing that I noticed was that the mirror vibrates when the sunroof is down and I've already gotten 4 dings from rocks on car. I need to get that fixed ASAP. Definitely get the 3m protection and get it on the A-frame on the sides of the front windshield. (I got a ding there too) Just unfortunate, I can't blame it on the car.

indexc

I'm assuming you will be taking your car to the Lexus dealership for your 5,000 mile scheduled maintenance. When you go, do me a favor and complain to them about how the mirror vibrates and have them look at it to see if they can fix it. Let me know what they do or say. Maybe enough people will complain so they have a recall and come-up with a way to fix it. Thanks

P.S. I feel your pain, I still had my temporary tags on the car when I was hit with a rock on the highway. It hit right above my windshield (right where the windshield and the roof meet) and took a good sized chunk out of the paint. I took it to a body shop, they said it would cost about $500 because they would have to paint the entire roof. I bought some touch-up paint from the dealership instead, it looks pretty good.

goldy06

Hello. I have a 2001 IS300 that goes through tires & front end alignments like crazy. I usually buy 2-4 tires per year and at least 1 alignment. The tires usually only wear on the inside edge, particularly in the front. Every time the car is on the Front End rack they tell me it does not look like anything unusual in the front end like a bad accident or anything. I bought the car used & I know it's been hit but there is no structural or front end damage that is visible. Is this a common problem? Is there a kit I can buy to modify the factory specs on the front end? Thank You

noel2

need help---i'm torn between buying a manual Is 250 vs the honda s2000. trading in my bmw 328i....i'm 41-no kids, live in north texas whre it's hot 8-9 months of the year.
i drive short distances in the city except for a monthly 5 hr trip to houston. love the feel of the s2000, but concerned about the blind spot on the left when the top is up--eg.driving in houston at 70-80mph and trying to change lanes..any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Mr_Shiftright

Hmmm....radically different cars you are choosing there...given your comment about short distances, I hope you have enough room for the S2000 to really rev up and run...it wouldn't be a great traffic car.

toydriver

I agree with Mr.Shiftright. The IS and the S2000 are radically different cars. I own both. Your bmw 328i manual is somewhere in between. The S2000 is my "summer toy". It's most fun with top down an open road and not much traffic. I don't enjoy driving it in rush hour traffic with top up, especially with bad weather. I assume the manual tranny doesn't bother you with stop and go traffic but the small, low profile S2000 next to 18 wheelers on the freeway might. That said, the S2000 is exhilarating when pushed into VTECH over 6000rpm. I like to describe the S2000 as having two personalities. It can be driven sedately and achieve close to 30mpg. If pushed a bit into higher rpm levels the engine takes advantage of a more aggressive cam lobe to achieve the higher power band. However, you need an open road to "wind it up".

The IS, on the other hand, is a very luxurious yet sporty sedan. It's my daily driver. I haven't owned a bmw but from what I read my guess is that your 328i will have more "direct road feel" than the IS.

Good luck with your decision.

albunad

I also have this issue with my '06 IS250 AWD. My first thought was maybe reverb from bass set in the front dash. On a drive this evening, I did not notice the bouncing mirror; most of the trip, the stereo was off. :confuse:

pfkis350

My husband took my IS300 to Atlanta for service and came home with the new IS350.
I was thrilled until the first time I ever drove my new IS350 when I noticed a horrible rattling sound coming from under the front driver's side of the car. It only happens and/or is more noticeable at lower speeds going over ANY size bumps in the roadway. It sounds like I'm driving a piece of junk. So we notified the dealership and told them we wanted it checked out at the 1000 mile service, since we live about 100 miles away. We took it in last week and the service guy drove it and heard the "noise" but had no idea what it was. (not a good sign.) He tightened the suspension drove it again and he said he still heard the noise, but only heard it again once- so he thought it might be fixed. what???? It's as bad as ever and it scares me that he had no clue. Has anyone had this problem or is it my bad luck to get such an expensive but crappy sounding car?

linsavy

This is fairly common. What you need to do is to align the front and the rear with some toe IN. About an 1/8th inch both sides. You can also set the camber to about 0.5 negative. The toe will have the biggest effect.
The car develops toe out when moving which causes the wear.
Also if you look at the factory specs, the centre of the range would be with toe in as I described. Most cars usually align with zero toe, but that is not optimal for the IS300.

ricksterq

Has anyone had this problem or is it my bad luck to get such an expensive but crappy sounding car?

I do not have a rattle problem. I've had my car for almost 2 months now and no rattles. I do have a squeaking coming from what I thought might have been the passenger side dash, but I think it might be from the moonroof when tilted. I'll have this checked out at first service.

pfkis350

I appreciate your input.
I have a bad feeling something "happened" to mine somewhere along the way before we ever even got it. I just hope if it's not fixable that they replace it.
In case you can't tell, it's really getting on my nerves after driving it over a 1000 miles now rattling over every bump.
And I have no idea if it could be dangerous to keep driving it. The service guy didn't know what it could be and didn't "see" anything that would cause it even though it's obviously coming from the suspension...somewhere.

ricksterq

I have a bad feeling something "happened" to mine somewhere along the way before we ever even got it.

Well, whether it happened while you had it or before you had it, Lexus needs to deal with it. I would hazard a guess that one of the big reasons most of us buy this brand is because of the reliability and customer service. It's time for you to test out the latter. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

noel2

Thanks for your input. Test drove a 6-speed manual- IS 250 last week and liked it, but the salesperson didn't get
one in her "allocation" this week - said that i had to pay an extra $1500 to have a black one shipped from the east coast..without telling me the selling price--which i assumed would be at or over msrp already 'cause it's hard to find one. so i'm back to thinking of other options -s2000 or___-? i'm just looking for a fun to drive car that's reliable without paying over 35 G. not interested in bimmers anymore--any suggestions????anybody?

white_trash

I am thinking of buying an IS so test drove a 250 & 350 and BOTH had weird
ripply distortions out the driver's side mirror. If you line up a building or bunch of
trees in it and move your head side to side they "move" and ripple. The sales guy
said he didn't see it. I rented one to go on a short vacation and that one had the
same problem. After driving it for a while it got downright dizzying. Does any one
else have this problem ? I had 3 other people sit in the driver's seat and they all
saw the weirdness too. It's not a huge deal but it's making me second guess buying one if I'm going to have resistance having it replaced.

mikeinmd

I rented one to go on a short vacation and that one had the same problem.

Where do you RENT a IS250 or IS350?

toydriver

I'm with you. I can't see paying over msrp for any car, period! The IS might be more available and dealers more "agreeable" later in the year, as the 2007 model comes out. Mine is the 250AWD version, that I will be driving in the winter months. It's fun to drive, paddle shifters and all, but not in the "same league" as the S2000 for pure fun. The IS350 has noticeably more "fun factor" because of the hp, but of course, comes with a price tag closer to 40K or above.

Not sure what YOU mean by "fun to drive". Everybody defines that for themselves. Manual tranny? Horsepower/torque? Cornering stability? Trendy styling?

Other options for "fun to drive"; how 'bout a Infiniti G35 coupe with nearly 300hp for close to 35K. As that one is about to be redesigned, they might "dicker" down several G.

Have you test driven the Acura TL manual with 260hp ??
(too big for me)

Possibly worth looking at for less $ (around 23K fully loaded), consider the Honda Civic Si coupe with 200hp 6sp manual and similar "rev happy" personality to the S2000, yet better behaved in freeway traffic and could handle wet weather better.

How about two cars? New S2000 and keeping your BMW ??

tchoups

I pick up my new IS 250 from the dealer this Friday. I tried searching the online owner's manual for information on the recommended break-in procedures, but couldn't find it. Can anyone provide me with the recommended procedures for this car? Such as the max speed of xx amount of miles, etc. Thanks.

ricksterq

I am thinking of buying an IS so test drove a 250 & 350 and BOTH had weird ripply distortions out the driver's side mirror

I don't have this problem. I've had my IS250 AWD about 2 months now. If it does exist, I've never noticed it, so I'll just say it doesn't exist in my car. I will say that the side mirrors are electrochromic (they dim to prevent glare). Perhaps this is causing some issues on the car you drove. Just a WAG.

benzoservceguy

Brought to you DIRECTLY from the LEXUS IS250 owners manual with NO commercial interruptions:

For the first 186 miles (300 Kilometers):
Avoid sudden stops.
For the first 621 miles (1,000 Kilometers):
DO NOT drive at extremely high speeds
AVOID sudden acceleration
DO NOT drive continuously in low gears
DO NOT drive at constant speeds for extended periods

Now, here's my .02:
Change the oil & filter at about 3,000 miles.
It's the same oil that was in the car when it was built & when it sat on the boat.
And good GoD man, DON'T take it to JiffyBoob, whatever you do!!
Just MY .02 :shades:

tchoups

Exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks for the help. I appreciate the added .02 as well - Don't worry, that car will not see the inside of JiffyBoob.

maxidrive

I got an IS 350 in March and so far no issue whatsoever, no dash rattles, no bouncing rearview mirror, no ripply side mirrors... as some posters have complained.

2004graphite

I have a 2006 IS350. Has anyone swapped the fog bulbs with a different bulb and/or higher wattage? I spoke w/ an aftermarket co. and they mentioned the bulb spec in the owner's manual may be incorrect. The manual (pg 383) indicates the replacement is a 9004, but I was told that proper bulb is 9006.

2004graphite

Has anyone come close to the Car & Driver published quarter mile time of 13.7??? If so, how did you stage?

louiswei

Hey maxidrive, how strong did you set your bass level to be?

maxidrive

3 bars over, 2 bars short of the max...

icp_professor

I have two questions:
1. How to turn off DRL
2. How to turn off seatbelt reminding beeper. It drives me nuts

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

sowku

i got my car in nov 05. anyway, there's a squeaking noise from the dashboard, and sometimes experience hard shaking vibration from steering wheel, like my engine shake. my longo lexus deal in SoCal can't seem to fix the problem, they fixed the squeaking sound by insulate from the inside, but it make my car look like a fat lady trying to fit in a tight jean. the crack open bigger, and they open the nav to fix it, now the speaker make noise (like cable touching each other). dude, those technicians don't know how to fix the car, making it worst. this would be my last lexus. i'm going for bmw. i'm gonna sell it soon. never in my life... lexus quality is going down... it's making terrible car now. don't buy IS, too many problems... save your money and get something better. don't go to longo lexus...

yellowcar

DRL's are controlled by the personalized settings. Your dealer makes changes to these settings for you (see your manuals) through a device called Lexus Scan (I think). Here is a link to images from the scan menus for the DRL's. Don't be surprised if you get some pushback: don't know how, safety issues, required by law (not!).

http://www.sketch5.com/DRL.jpg

pbuenafama

I feel like the clutch is not doing its job. When I shift from 1st to 2nd gear, I have to wait until gears are aligned and then let the gear engage completely (with the clucth press all the way down). If I force it, I will hear a grinding noise like forcing the gear to align so I can completely engage the speed. Does anyone have this problem with the IS250?

icp_professor

Thank you! Will push for it at the next service. They have not set my personalized settings yet.

ycamp5

can't decide which car to buy!!! need input

2004graphite

Consumer Reports provides repair statistics which tangentially address your question. In general, Lexus has much higher marks than Mercedes from Consumer Reports based on repair stats.

carmonkey

The correct bulb is 9006. Changing the bulbs is not overly complicated, but it's a frustrating process. Here's a link to some instructions. http://www.lexustech.org/Mntc.htm

nifty56

Just curious, why would you want to turn off your DRL and the chime for the seat belt reminder?
Thanks

maxidrive

Does anybody find a way to reduce the extensive brake dust on the front wheels? Don't see this much on either the GS or the new ES.

from_fl

clean rims every day or replace pads.

maxidrive

I do that everytime after I drove it. Wondering how long I'll be able to carry on, though. New pads won't make a difference, unless it's a different kind of pads, maybe. The wheels got the brake dust on the first day I brought the car home.

carmonkey

I wonder if cross-drilled rotors would help. Has anyone installed cross-drilled rotors?

richbf2

Has anyone in this forum tried to change oil on the IS 250 or 350? If yes. Please let me know the experience. Oh, what gasoline grade do you guys use? The car requires premium. Is that correct? please advise. thanks

vwcrusher

As I owner of a new IS250 AWD I inquired at the dealer which oil they recommend. The standard answer was standard oil changed every 5000 miles. After speaking with the service writer for a while, she admitted that if it were her car she would use synthetic oil changed every 6-7000 mi.

She also recommended that if I choose to go that route I should do so before the car has too many miles (~10,000). The cost for synthetic is about $80.

Thought I would share.....

carmonkey

I am planning on changing my oil in my IS350 myself fairly soon. I'll post details on how it goes at http://www.lexustech.org/Mntc.htm

pat

Lexus IS 350/IS 250 Squeaks and Rattles.

If you are having these kinds of problems, please come join us.

P.S. If you are not having these kinds of problems, be very grateful and don't come tell those who are hearing things that are annoying to them that they really aren't. Okay?

dfa001

I have has a 06 IS250 for 4 months now,serious VIBRATING REAR VIEW MIRROR PROBLEM, bass set a 2, normal driving when it is hot outside especially, and when the sun roof is open forget about it everything is a blurr!! Lexus response is they have no fix, maybe until enough people complain this problem will be fixed.

indexc

Everytime I go to the dealership for my 5,000 mile service I will complain about the mirror until they do something. We'll see if Lexus' customer service can come through. I suggest you do the same.

pfkis350

update: after six weeks in the Lexus service dept., inumerable phone calls, two 180 mile round trips, a claim that it was fixed but it was not at all- and sent back (a misdiagnosis from Lexus that the loud rattle was a loose fuel line hitting the floor pan) i finally got my car back today.
a bushing had been left off(!) the front left brake assembly at the factory. so it was slamming back and forth (hence the loud rattle noise) over every bump. gee, i'm glad it didn't completely come apart while i was driving it and hurt somebody. and i'm really glad i didn't just turn up my stereo and try to ignore it.