Thoughts on 2003 Lexus IS 300
#1
Pit Crew
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Looking to purchased a used 2003 Lexus IS 300 sedan
It has over 200k miles on it.
Is this a good, reliable car??
would love thoughts!
It has over 200k miles on it.
Is this a good, reliable car??
would love thoughts!
#2
Lexus Fanatic
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I owned one for almost 5 years. Basically as reliable as a rock, but it does have some quirks (I'm talking about the 5-speed automatic version). The shifter cannot be manually downshifted to first. The upshift buttons, on the rear of the steering-wheel spokes, have to be accessed by feel alone....the downshift buttons are on the front of the spokes. The transmission restricts upshifts for a while, at very cold temperatures, until it warms up a little, so you have to keep your speed way down until it warms. The 2-3 shift sometimes flares or bumps a little due to an ECU quirk (most of the time it's fine)...a factory ECU did not solve it. Acceleration from a rolling start, at low speeds, can be extremely sluggish from another ECU quirk in the engine's Throttle-by-Wire system....though it does not affect starting from rest. And, in the climate control, the settings have a tendency to default to recircuated air, which can fog up the windshield in the defrost mode. You are often re-setting the intake-**** to fresh-air. Oh...and the RWD s**ks in on really slippery winter roads, even with all season tires, traction control, and snow-mode in the transmission. Get used to these quirks, though, and, especially if it is low-mileage and has evens serviced well, it should be reliable. But keep in mind that any vehicle that old is likely to have a number of rubber parts (hoses, weathertripping, seals, etc....) that may soon need replacement.
#3
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Thanks so much for your response. Its a manual, and we just bought it.
NO... sorry It’s the 5-speed automatic with auto manual
NO... sorry It’s the 5-speed automatic with auto manual
Last edited by PrisyCrisy; 03-03-19 at 06:39 PM.
#5
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I've owned an 03 IS300 for around a year and a half now and it's a really cracking car. It's silky smooth to drive for it's age and the 2JZ Inline 6 sounds great when you rev it up! I'm sure you'll enjoy the car!
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#6
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Congratulations.
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You much have had to search some for a used 5MT in good condition......there weren't very many of them sold in the American market to begin with.
#7
Lexus Test Driver
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that's definitely my favorite generation of IS, the engine in that is about as solid an engine as has ever been built... and an inline-6 by design is essentially perfectly balanced and smooth with a lovely power band
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#9
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I have no idea why I said it was a manual... sorry
but it’s like a mix of both... kinda.
Theres a learning curve with this one ... but I’ll get it.
My last Lexus was a 2003 RX 300 and I miss her terribly
I also bought a little 97 Toyota Celica GT convertable in September...
so I have a lot of reading to do!!
but it’s like a mix of both... kinda.
Theres a learning curve with this one ... but I’ll get it.
My last Lexus was a 2003 RX 300 and I miss her terribly
I also bought a little 97 Toyota Celica GT convertable in September...
so I have a lot of reading to do!!
#10
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Luckily we are in North Myrtle Beach, SC so the weather is reasonable and rarely ever slippery or slick roads!!
its got 220k miles... so I am heading to my “boss” mechanic in the morning for a thorough look over and list of things I need to work on.
At the moment there are several things to fix... tires, couple
of brakes, a couple sensors and the liner under the engine popped down in one corner on the way home ...
It has the original window tinting ... which looks like crap and is causing a distortion.
Needs some filters, oil change, check battery, some paint work, headlights resurfaced, a complete detail
new wipers, and I just noticed a crack in the windshield.
Wish me luck!
its got 220k miles... so I am heading to my “boss” mechanic in the morning for a thorough look over and list of things I need to work on.
At the moment there are several things to fix... tires, couple
of brakes, a couple sensors and the liner under the engine popped down in one corner on the way home ...
It has the original window tinting ... which looks like crap and is causing a distortion.
Needs some filters, oil change, check battery, some paint work, headlights resurfaced, a complete detail
new wipers, and I just noticed a crack in the windshield.
Wish me luck!
#11
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At noon you asked about it and before 4 you’d bought it. ![Big Grin](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
anyway, congrats, that’s a fun car, and as mmarshall knows first hand, extremely reliable. Now hopefully your one with over 200k mi. was well maintained, but either way, it should be checked over thoroughly, and sounds like you’ve got that covered with your ‘boss’ mechanic.
best of luck to you.
![Big Grin](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
anyway, congrats, that’s a fun car, and as mmarshall knows first hand, extremely reliable. Now hopefully your one with over 200k mi. was well maintained, but either way, it should be checked over thoroughly, and sounds like you’ve got that covered with your ‘boss’ mechanic.
best of luck to you.
#12
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Haha! Yes it’s true! It happened so quickly and was a good deal that was about to
slip away so we went for it!!
I hope they did take care of it... I guess I will find out!
Thanks for responding!
slip away so we went for it!!
I hope they did take care of it... I guess I will find out!
Thanks for responding!
#14
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Good luck.
EDIT: oops, too late I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#15
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I bought a Lexus IS300 lately.
I experienced a problem with the Iginition coils. This is a weak point of the car that can occur anytime and isn't talked much about on the english forums. It's well discussed on the french ones though. Car can also show problems with it's injectors. Both problems will be less costly in the USA than in the EU, due to the cheap US prices, even for OEM parts.
The advice of Mmarshall is great too :
"But keep in mind that any vehicle that old is likely to have a number of rubber parts (hoses, weathertripping, seals, etc....) that may soon need replacement."
That is a rigth sentence. When a car is this old, he could start having light problems with some rubber elements.
I experienced a problem with the Iginition coils. This is a weak point of the car that can occur anytime and isn't talked much about on the english forums. It's well discussed on the french ones though. Car can also show problems with it's injectors. Both problems will be less costly in the USA than in the EU, due to the cheap US prices, even for OEM parts.
The advice of Mmarshall is great too :
"But keep in mind that any vehicle that old is likely to have a number of rubber parts (hoses, weathertripping, seals, etc....) that may soon need replacement."
That is a rigth sentence. When a car is this old, he could start having light problems with some rubber elements.