Lexus Nerd

I have heard of the battery drain as a common issue, just google it and you will see

We've had two Club members have their 3IS batteries replaced. In both cases, technicians have pointed to the batteries being "faulty", rather than the car itself draining the battery.

http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/12897-is-250-fsport-issues/?p=48322

Thanks for the update, Ramesh.

A similar issue has been documented here: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/12238-3is-battery-drain

In that thread, someone jumped to the conclusion that there must be something on the Lexus IS that rapidly drains the battery. I note that, in both of these cases, mechanics have said that there has been "a faulty battery". That is very different from saying that the electrical system of the car is draining the battery.

That said, there may be a bad (or very old) batch of batteries fitted to some 3IS sedans - and may even extend to the replacements stocked by roadside assistance agencies!

Where abouts do you guys meet? By Carpark do you mean IKEA (it's a big place)?

Time?

2 pm, at end of Leeds Street (industrial area a little north of Ikea)

Hi, Paul, and welcome!

any know problems with the 2013 is350 f sport?

has anyone lowered one of these and put rims on one? reason i ask as i read somewhere it has some tire pressure sensor so i dont want that to always be on if i change the wheels or lower it

I've had no problems at all since the multimedia firmware was upgraded to run Enform.

has anyone lowered one of these and put rims on one? reason i ask as i read somewhere it has some tire pressure sensor so i dont want that to always be on if i change the wheels or lower it

The tyre pressure warning sensor can be re-calibrated manually. You can lower or change your wheels, inflate the tyres to the desired pressure, and then press and hold the reset switch for several seconds. Then, the warning will only appear when your tyres are appreciably below their pressure at the time you had reset the sensor.

what kind of TPMS display do you guys have on the IS ?

is it similar like the one in US ? where it shows the tyre pressure on every wheels?

or just a warning when your tyre is flat / low pressure ?

It's just a single yellow indicator on the instrument cluster.

Congratulations to p0c1 on being the first Club member with a NX200t.

p0c1 returns to the Lexus fold after owning an IS 250 a few years ago. Welcome back, mate!

I have also tried to used external hard disk drives on a 2010 Lexus IS USB port in the past, to no avail.

At the time, I suspected that the Lexus USB interface s designed to only work with devices that appear to be USB flash drives, not USB hard drives; but I've read some material online and I have my doubts on that theory.

Try the following:

• Ensure that the disk is formatted to FAT32, not NTFS.
• Do a simple test by removing all files from the 120 GB drive, except for a few MP3 (.mp3), WMA (.wma) or AAC (.m4a) files in the root directory. Don't try to confuse the multimedia system by having other kinds of files - or too many files/folders - on the disk.

I rang lexus of parramatta service dept, told them my car was within the recall numbers, and was told lexus were repairing 500 cars at a time, and i would be contacted. I said i bought the car second hand and were doubtful lexus would have my address. He replied the Roads and maritime authority would have that information and they would contact me. Anyone heard that one?

Yes, RMS would have your address.

Would RMS contact you in relation to the recall? I don't think so.

Would Lexus Australia or its dealers be able to contact you about the recall, by first obtaining your contact details from RMS? Again, I doubt it. If that was the case, then car manufacturers would not have to spend money publishing recall notices in newspapers.

I think your best bet is to contact Lexus Customer Assistance Centre on 1800 023 009. Let them know you want to register yourself as the owner of your Lexus vehicle, and ask them when you can be expected to be formally contacted about the recall.

For those of you that can tell the difference between pre-2009 IS ML sound systems and those produced in 2009 and later, you will find the cause and solution in this thread:

http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/12532-sub-woofer-info-modding

Welcome to the Club, Danny! Thanks so much for sharing your research.

Would it be reasonable to only service the transmission after 100,000 km when there's early signs of problems, such as hesitation between gears and low idling rpm? (The latter could be caused by other reasons but, hey, if 100,000 km has already been driven, then it's reasonable to change the transmission fluid anyway.) Otherwise, if there's no issues, what about just leaving the transmission as-is? Arguably, this is the official recommended Lexus approach, as stated in the Owners Manual: perhaps it's "lifetime" transmission fluid, but you're supposed to see a mechanic as soon as there's any problems, including signs of gear change problems.

Hi, Martin, and welcome! Do you have a particular intake in mind?

BTW, is there a reason why your front slimline plate is on the back of your car?

Hi, AngelEyes. I agree - the LS430 is a beautiful saloon, and I remember almost regretting buying my new IS 250 from my dealer instead of the used LS on the showroom floor. Welcome!

Nearly seven months ago, it was revealed that Australia was about to sign a free trade agreement with Japan, signalling the promise of lower Japanese new car prices. Today, Lexus Australia have finally announced reduced sale prices of its new vehicles, as a result of the lower import costs.

It was predicted here, in our forums, that prices could drop for Lexus vehicles by at least $2000. Indeed, price reductions start from $2000 for the CT, with the CT 200h Luxury now starting from $37,990 plus on-roads. At the other end of the spectrum, Lexus Australia states that its LS sedan has dropped by more than $8,600.

The IS 250 has had price cuts of between $2500 and a massive $4700, depending on grade. The IS 250 Luxury is now less than $60,000 drive-away.

For the IS 350, prices have dropped by at least $2800. For the popular IS 350 F Sport, the price has dropped by $3600. Taking stamp duty into account, it actually means, for example, a drop of $3,780 in the NSW drive-away price and a drop of $3,787 in Victoria.

Lexus Australia states its RC and NX pricing already considered the effects of the FTA. It means that there is now a noticeable difference of at least $4000 between the cost of an RC coupe, and its equivalent grade in the IS sedan.

Topic moved to Lexus IS250 Club forum.

Another quick question...is it better for the car to use premium unleaded, or does it make no difference just using regular unleaded?

Thanks.

Lexus recommends that you use premium unleaded fuel - i.e., 95 RON or higher - with your IS 250. Using regular unleaded should only be used by exception; for example, if you are travelling through a rural area and premium unleaded is unavailable. Unleaded E10 fuel (typically 94 RON) is also acceptable, according to your Lexus Owners Manual.

There are plenty of threads in these forums about fuel. Here's one containing details of recommended brands of fuel, types of fuel (95 RON versus 98 RON) and links to other threads (e.g. use of E10):

http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/11749-best-recomended-fuel-for2011-is350/

hi all,

I pick up my 350 f sport on Tuesday, im just interested in knowing what others have done with the wide plastic number plate backing,seems to long for the plate as well as euro plates.

any ideas?

In NSW, the Classic Euro White plate should perfectly cover the front licence plate bracket (unless the RC's is wide than that of the IS - unlikely). I used that style of plate on a second-generation (pre-spindle-grille) IS, and it did a good job of hiding the black bracket on the white bumper - although whether the car looked better as a result is questionable.

On my MY14 (spindle grille) IS, I have considered replacing the bracket with one designed for the US market, which is narrower. However, I think that the Australian bracket is fixed onto the grille with screws positioned at each end of the bracket, and removing the Australian bracket may expose two holes in the grille.

Given that the black Australian bracket blends into the black spindle grille, may I suggest that you ignore its protrusion and just fit a plate that suits the car and the kind of person you are.

Rather than find out the exact build date of your car to determine whether your car is definitely affected, you really want to know the range of VINs affected, and see whether your VIN fits in that range. Here's some information on the recall on the ACCC Website, complete with the affected VINs:

http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1064548

Hi Ramesh, and welcome to the Club.

I have a 2013 IS350 F Sport. When it was two months old, I left it for 24 days without any issues.

Where did you leave your keys during those two weeks? Were they located within a couple of metres of the car? That could potentially drain the battery until the key decides to power off after inactivity, in - would you believe - two weeks.

Hi normholly, and welcome to the Club.

There wouldn't have been too many threads for you to have browsed through, to get that answer. Read from this point:

http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/12814-r-c-350/?p=47767

Lexus of Chatswood. They offered me the best price for respraying my front bumper, compared to all other Lexus Preferred Body & Paint Repairers in Sydney. They should be able to patch and repaint a fender, too.

Is the Torque Vectoring Differential (TVD) something completely different to IS F?

Absolutely, yes. TVD is different to the Torsen LSD or other differentials fitted to IS F. I haven't found a good technical explanation from Lexus on what it does but, to quote Yahoo! Autos, "electric motors control clutch packs that can shift up to 100 percent of the power to an outside wheel, based on steering and yaw sensor input, all to get the RC F around a corner in tighter fashion."

To quote Lexus: In Australia, "a Torque Vectoring Differential (TVD) is fitted as standard to the RC F which offers a greater level of control based on a range of vehicle conditions like accelerator pedal and brake operation. Three TVD modes can be selected using the switch located on the centre console. Standard mode delivers a high level of both agility and stability, while Slalom mode places emphasis on steering response for the kind of agility that you would expect from a smaller vehicle. Track mode, meanwhile, offers stability during high-speed circuit driving with tuning that enables you to accelerate with confidence. These modes aren't linked to Drive Mode Select and offer you an even greater level of personalisation for your driving experience."

According to numerous RC F reviews, TVD makes a dramatic difference to handling, compared to a Torsen LSD. Most reviewers who bagged the RC F in handling were actually driving the test vehicle with Torsen LSD, whereas those who tested the TVD loved it. It also helps the RC F beat the M4 on a winding track, despite its extra weight.

I'll leave it to others to answer your questions on tyre fitment.

Are you sure there is a clear choice of either alcantara or leather interior. The one I inspected had a combination of leather and alcantara, with the latter used on the the centre console and door armrests (over the 350) in a light grey colour - and overall didn't look as good as the interior colour matched leather finishing in the RC350 on the centre console. The Oz Lexus configurator doesn't seem to specify a clear choice for interior between the two materials - I may be wrong.

In all new Lexus vehicles, "leather interior" is more accurately described as "leather accented interior". For legal reasons, Lexus Australia's publications all use this term, while the rest of us continue to abbreviate.

Details of what is meant to be leather, and what isn't, is normally found here. Lexus Australia haven't provided the details for the RC yet, and RC F's should be there when becomes generally available next month. In the absence of the relevant drawings, I would say that, in the RC, synthetic material is used for the seat backs and sides, as well as the outer facings of the F Sport seat bolsters. Synthetic material is also used on the dashboard, centre console and door lining, while leather is used for the steering wheel and remainder of the seat. Rather than combine leather with synthetics with a faux leather finish, I guess Lexus has made a clear distinction between alcantara and leather in the RC F (where leather is fitted; i.e., the non-carbon edition).

Really appreciate the informative comparison, TRC. One question:

Touchpad screen control works well and is fun to use, but not as intuitive as IDRIVE, and more eyes off the road is required.

You've obviously driven a Bimmer before. A lot of journos like banging on about the iDrive's intuitive interface, and how Lexus Remote Touch is so awful to use by comparison. Lexus has actually developed an iDrive-like interface: it's called Lexus Display Audio, and it's fitted to every new Lexus around the world that *doesn't* have sat nav.

When you have to enter in an address consisting of, say, two digits and a street name consisting of at least 8 characters before auto-complete works, surely a dial interface such as iDrive's must be more painful to use than a touchpad or mouse? What's your experience?

Welcome - you may well be our first RC owner! Looking forward to hearing about your experiences with it.

Hi there,

I just join this website and wanted to said hi to everyone. And I also has a question anyone up here know where I can buy the bumper for the Lexus IS350? And I live in the U.S.

Thank you : )

As a starting point, try Sewell Lexus Parts: http://is.sewellparts.com

You've hit the Lexus Owners Club forums for Australian and NZ residents. Our sister site, us.lexusownersclub.com may have some US-based members who can help further.

Hi JC,

Welcome to the Club!