Bought the very same year and Sport runs very well things done oil changes 3000km water pump replaced and cooling fluids done Toyota type new fan belt a years running no issues just normal maintenance 90000km Upholstery alcantara just like new It's a keeper
Owner tip: take these onto the motorway and floor it to clear the carbon build up out. You have to drive these abit harder just to keep the carbon build up on the low side.
@@user-nt7ng7yh3v ... idle flutter when you come to stop. Just floor it and the car will smell like eggs. If it does, that carbon build up that you’re clearing off. You don’t need a sign, it’s something that happens on 100% of all these cars, particularly the 250s as they are solely direct injection. The 350s not as much because it’s port injection and direct at the same time, so the build up is half as bad. Don’t worry about carbon build up though. It’s just something you have to maintain. It’s more a nuisance in my eyes.
I subscribed to your channel too, keep up your great work. Lexus cars are unusually rare in the UK, my SC430 is coming back from its MOT on Monday so I'll probably do an update on that next :) Thanks for watching
Nice review sir and brought back memories of my exact same model. Lovely, smooth v6 with a solid and luxurious interior, great ML sound system! Underrated car imho. Switched over to IS300H which was typically comfortable but I missed the V6 smoothness!
I was lucky enough to get hold of a 2007 with only 37000 miles and good history. They are amazing cars. They do everything well and that's what a lot of the original reviews on these cars missed. They would nitpick the plastics, say the handling isn't as good as a BMW etc. With the benefit of hindsight we can see how shortsighted that was as these continue to make fantastic used buys. Yes a BMW handles better, yes a Merc has more badge credibility, but these strike a good balance of everything where the others will leave you wanting massively in some area. Reliability, smoothness, very underrated handling, composed over poor roads. Economy massively underrated, never been on a decent motorway trip and not returned 40mpg...what are people expecting when they diss the economy?! Lexus attempted to do everything well on this and while they didn't reach 10/10 on every area (maybe only reliability and smoothness) they never dropped below an 8.
@@ozhoneybadger I've still got mine, yes. Most are going to be 70-90k. It's not a big deal but buy on history not price. At that mileage I would look for signs the major service has been carried out on spark plugs. As it's an expensive service. Mine hasn't had it yet but theoretically at that age and mileage it could easily not have had it but need it in the next few years. Apart from that usual checks to weaker points. Check the brakes perform well and don't get too hot after test drive, calipers can seize. Check exhaust as much as possible as like many cars on UK roads they can corrode. Check around the water pump for any sign of leakage, they don't tend to fail completely putting the engine in danger but the seals can get weak and many will have it changed before 100k. Engine should have a light ticking sound on the outside due to the VVT but shouldn't ever be rattly or coarse. Should be smooth and quiet to drive. Gearbox should be silky smooth if auto. It's an easy car to test as if something seems wrong it probably is, they are extraordinary well made so anything awry sticks out. Not gonna find a better luxury drive at this age and price.
@@abraxas7779 Yeah will have a look these cars are very hard to bargain for people sure know their value. I thought maybe I should try this Lexus auto 6 cylinder out rather than leasing for 10k 2 years when I might not even drive. I always wondered why Lexus was so smooth being a passenger but then realised it was 6 cylinder. I hear these cars last long. Thanks for the reply
@@ozhoneybadger No worries. If you're in a drier climate than I you probably don't even have much to worry about with the exhaust. Also in America I believe the exhaust parts are not so expensive as here so less of a big deal. People in the UK check this very carefully due to Lexus prices or face the possibility of having to get a custom exhaust and then potentially ruin the sound in the car. I'm guessing if you're in America the prices are reasonably high as I hear Toyota products generally hold their value and second hand prices are way more over there compared to here
Hi im looking to get one of these id love to see a video on things too look out for or owners guide. any engine issues, suspension, interiors etc. this will be my 2nd car coming from 06 rav 4. great vid thanks
I would try get one with the mark levinson sound system as well as the back up camera (like mine did). If looking at the IS 250 they are pretty reliable, just need to make sure the ones you are looking at have been serviced every year. I had an issue with a sensor for the brakes but nothing major. Depending where you are looking, I guess rust could be a factor too!
The interior is uncannily like my Avensis T Spirit Tourer t27 2010. 🤪🇯🇵✌️ very similar equipment levels. As they’re pretty much the same car I can vouch for the quality of materials and engineering is what makes Toyota the number one manufacturer in the world. 🌎🌍
My 2007 IS 250 didnt have radar cruise control, my parents 2019 CT 200h and IS 300h did have radar. You just set it at the speed you want and the default is a wide gap. you can push the button on the steering wheel to bring the gap closer.
The one thing I don't like about this car is that it shifts to 1st gear if I slow down below 5mph. If I'm going over a major speed bump or sometimes crawling around a corner it goes down. Is this normal because if it shifts down to 1st from 2nd I immediately want to go while it's still rolling then it's an ugly upshift
Better when the cars fully warm. I use Mobil 1 ESP 5W 30 now. I think it's better than the a5 Castrol Magnatec. It's just the feeling of the car. I did change the transmission fluid too. Cars beautiful. But again it's probably not a fault of the car that it downshifts it's more down to the bumps around and the fact that I'm not willing to roll 10 mph over all of them.
Have you figured out how to work with this? I know what you mean. I think the reason it is programmed this way is because it's a heavy car and not much low down torque from this 2.5. It will change down to first when you may be in 2nd in a manual and it will also change up early for economy. I think you can work around it once you learn the car. You have to kinda "feel" for when the car wants to change and adjust with the throttle, I do this by applying throttle slower than you would expect to account for the slow shifts. That's for the smoothest possible drive. Obviously if you're just going for speed then the car will just do what it does and you kinda have to roll with it. But yeah 1st to second is the most awkward shift.