Ever since the refresh in 2017, Lexus IS overseas has been offering Triple Beam LED. It was a total shade move from Lexus not to give it to the US-Spec.

But finally - its here. We get it. I'm quite excited about this.

https://www.lexus.com/models/IS

 

 

 

Dang. Sorry for double post. I didn't know it was already posted in Lexus IS forums already.

 

Hey, it's cool. I am all for some IS evangelizing. As if we need any.

They look pretty amazing. If I end up getting another one, triple-beams will be high on my list of wants.

 

This is the mini-refresh for the US market at mid-point of the facelift XE30/3IS (2016-2020), as I somewhat predicted 2 years ago. Although the date I had originally was July 2020 for MY 2021, does it mean that could be shifted forward to spring 2020?

 

I think we will learn about the new IS in either late 2019 or early 2020. Hard to say.

All we know is, it is coming in the next 3-4 years: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...19-2022-a.html

 

Yeah. On a Lexus Enthusiasts post, you refer to some "change" in the 2019 model year. This could be the last change on the Lexus IS which will trigger a design freeze until the new generation.

I think you'll still be right about the production of July 2020. If July is start of production, that means sometime in September/October the car will be available for sale. With the 2019 being introduced and probably in dealers by October, this will match up 2 years later for October 2020 to have the 2021 Lexus IS.

 

Actually, I'm strictly referring to this thread LOL at that website. I had mentioned this speculatively back in late 2016, expecting some minor improvements for MY 2019 and then felt this thread confirmed that. Visual updates to a model at any mid-point (ie 4 year cycle of major facelift), often parallel and follow a design freeze.

I'll also be very honest and say, my method of figuring out something so sensitive and private, is my ability to decipher certain stages of development between supplier or employee and OEM. A lot of text is deliberately coded or use weird acronyms, which of course exclude model name. Someone working on this program as a design engineer, highlighted that he started work on engineering the body design to "design freeze" a year ago. The timeline on his tasks ended in March 2018 and he's working on something else now with a different model code, so maybe that is when the design was frozen?

My info was based strongly on that, but no one face-to-face has point blank mentioned that to me, on the US and UK end of things Lexus and probably will never know themselves, unless briefed by Japan HQ. My cousin-in-law, who works for Lexus UK marketing, only verified my findings a smidgen, but still doesn't much on that end. Just that it arrives by Q1 2021 in the UK.

I am obsessed about knowing such details regarding every automobile known to man, and worked in this specialty as a studio engineer at JLR (where we didn't even have a wind tunnel on premises!). The Job 1 date, is in a different category and I worry if it is old news, as I accessed this info in late 2016/early 2017. Some industry access stuff point to Q3 2020, but July 2020 date was semi-internal Lexus info in Japanese language.

A March 2018 design freeze, hopefully means it might just need 24 months? Or in this case, 28 months? I just don't know if at Toyota, if there is a lag between last date of changes and actual managerial and executive board approved design freeze (formal date of no more changes to styling hard points). The current IS reached that point in April 2011 and was styling around October 2010. Even a Lexus exec commented on how radical the 3IS was in August 2010, so clearly they work very early to make final commitments.

The date of his work seems like starts it in October 2017 and ended in March, but 5 months seems little from final styling approval (concept established at 90%) to final design freeze (99.9% production model). Some OEMs will take 9 months to do that or years (like Rolls-Royce of yore), but then again Toyota once managed just 4 months from styling approval (at CALTY) to design freeze (in Japan) on the SC 400 in 1988-89.

 

You know there is a cheap remote start option for this car ? It's under $70 US, uses the factory remote, and is only 5 wires to the ECU....

LS remote start install DIY - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

I did this kit in my 2007 and also swapped it directly into my 2014....