Bluey

Mats......that was all that came as extra with mine....front and back. ;) First service at 15,000 or 12 months. Best bit is finding out all the little extra things the car can do, like the other night I walked passed the car in the dark and it turned on the exterior courtesy lights in the mirrors......I hadn't tried unlocking it, just wandering past with the key in my pocket. :P Enjoy the ride....I know i do.

Alan I've done 6000km over the last 5 months and no rattles or squeaks at all. I'm happy about that

Please do :P

ldc, I use BP ultimate or Mobil 8000. I actually got my first whiff of this smell, from my car, today whilst having a spirited drive through the hills. I had my moonroof open at the time. Was only there for a moment then gone.

I went to a place called SolaGuard and got their Endurance 38. Apparently it's their top of the line film and is metallic and comes with a lifetime warranty. B)

Foul odour bulletin Click the link for the service bulletin put out in USA for just this experience. As IS250X says, it seems to be exhaust fumes. Fix for odour problem This link for fix used in USA, if it's still a problem for you.

So what's new on the X model? Is it the prestige, sport or sport luxury? I believe there is a red version. I reckon I would have got mine in red if it was available at the time.

It's OK, I got full metallic tint, darkest legally possible, 38% or such. No problems and looks fantastic with the black car IMO

I used mobil 1 in my Subaru turbo engines and only changed every 15,000 km as per handbook, and it lasted without a problem. The only time I changed it otherwise was the couple of times i went around the race track. I think if your changing every 5000 km and you're worried about it being restrictive just get an oil with lower viscosity figures, but not at the price of mobil 1.

Save your money. Fully synth is good for performance engines or when changing at manufacturer intervals and the car is mainly driven in city traffic, country dirt roads or at regular extended high revs. If you're going to change as regularly as you suggest, then use the dealers oil.

Try the USA or UK LOC sites. They have many more participants. You'll find the links under the banner at the top of this page.

Yep, can't use a hose due to water restrictions. Watering can is the next best thing. Have you tried the NXT to compare with gold class? Does anyone use the Meguiars microfibres for drying? Any good? any other sources for good microfibres available?

I followed the instructions in the user manual and it works beuatifully. I can't remember the steps but did work easily.

It changes the distance you trail cars when you have the radar cruise control active.

I've never used gold class so can't compare. I also use water from the hose, hence the cold water, and you still get plenty of suds. I do similar with first bucket, with suds, being for quick whip around the bottom areas of the car that are dirtiest then the wheels. Then have one suds bucket and one rinse bucket to do the whole car. Wash car with sudsy mitt then rinse in fresh water then reload with suds and do next section. That way all the grime picked up by the mitt falls into the rinse bucket and isnt picked up again when gathering more suds. Due to water restrictions I now use a watering can to rinse the car, and it gives a good sheeting rinse, as you would get with a hose, but doesn't waste anywhere near as much, or get me as wet, as trying to use a bucket for the same job. :P

Cold. 2 buckets, one with wash solution, one to rinse the wash mitt. Meguiars NXT tech wash. ;) Brilliant.

Heads up, buddies, just learnt from a Taiwan is250 site, they put front and rear sway bar on the car, the rattle issue seems fixed. Not sure if that is the solution for the issue, but worth a try. Wil this be a retrospective fix though? I have no rattles at present, and only 1500km on the odo, but will be keeping an ear out for any issues.

Yes, I do like my 10 spoke rims gleaming when the rest of the car is clean. I just don't get around to blackening the tyres as often as I'd like.

Does anyone else feel like the brakes on the IS250 are somewhat touchy/grabby with light application? They don't appear anywhere near as progressive as other cars I have driven, The only other vehicle I felt was this touchy was an Isuzu ute about 25 years ago.

I can't see the point in having a car look lovely and clean and then not washing the rims. It takes bugger all time to do and really sets the car off properly when you clean it. :P Have fun keeping your new wheels clean when you do get them ldc. BTW the black on my car looks superb when clean and polished, but doesn't look clean as long as the white and red cars I've had before ;)

Does anyone else find their parkers come on for some time before the full lights come on? The dealer has said the driving lights come on when the auto system cuts in, but it's not working like that for me.

At least it started clean. If you use that logic then theres no point washing the dishes, or changing your sheets. I love driving a newly cleaned car, even if I'm the only one that knows it's been recently done. It also makes sure the finish keeps looking fresh and the nasties don't take hold to dull the paintwork, and gets rid of brake dust.......but that's another topic.

My lights don't come on until after most others have turned theirs on. Then they seem to come on with just the parkers first then the full lights about ten minutes later

The auto headlight function is waiting til too dark before activating (in my opinion). According to the manual this can be altered by taking it into the dealer. It says default is 3 and can be adjusted from 1-5. Does anyone know how to alter this themselves, and if so is 1 most sensitive to fading light or less sensitive? Thanks

Hard to tell. The report you mention has Audi and BMW. The 2006 data had Holden Calais and VW Passat along with the Alfa as the top 4. Your report looks to be 2007.