Greg1217

I bought a 2011 is250 with 75K miles. It has very little history of service. My question is what should I have done to this vehicle? I'm thinking of things like transmission fluid, spark plugs, coil packs.....basically what besides obvious filters should I do or have checked ? Any advice or threads I should read would be appreciated.

Thank you and I'm exited to be the owner of my first Lexus!

mandyfig

Welcome to CL. First thing to do is to register at the Lexus website for owners. Good luck.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

When done, you can download the maintenance brochure.
It has a page by page maintenance check list that will cover everything. Well except trans/diff. EPA forced their hand.

JM2C - No on the coil packs. Yes on the transmission dump and fill, yes on coolant flush (10 year mark), yes on rear diff drain and fill.

Do a search for #2IS Maintenance
You'll find a DIY Transmission flush I wrote.

Let know if you have any questions.

YoshiMan

Check the radiator cap (which is actually on the engine under the plastic cover) and make sure that the spring loaded "snout" is not broken off and wedged inside the filler neck.

Common problem which will cause the coolant to overpressurize and blow out through the water pump.

If it has already broken off and is stuck, it is easy to pry out with a screwdriver, but you don't want to deal with this at the top of a scenic mountain pass with no cell phone service (ask me how I know)

I would replace the cap just for the sake of safety.

Greg1217

Thanks for the replies! I've noticed wind noise on the highway that seems louder than it should be, seems to come from the windshield. I changed the sunroof seal and it didnt seem to help. Any other things I should check for the wind noise, it doesn't make sense on such a nice vehicle.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

You can try to replace the L/R windshield pillar trims. It may help to some degree. I had my windshield replaced once with an aftermarket. The noise was present with the OEM. It made no change with aftermarket. At one point I tried to stuff foam in the crevices near the fender area. Thinking at high speeds the wind would just ride up under the window trim. I could never isolate it. It's mostly coming from the passenger side.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

One trick to isolate noise like that or window / door frame air leaks is to use wide painters tape and tape over suspect areas and test drive. Yes, you might be entering through the other door.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

Adding to your to do list!
Clean the MAF sensor with maf sensor cleaner. Inspect and clean throttle body. You can unbolt it to get to both sides. Warning, the edge of the butterfly blade will cut you if being aggressive.

Obviously check the air and cabin filters too.

Greg1217

found the noise using your tape idea. I taped the upper windshield seal and the noise improved dramatically. I’m thinking about a silicone caulk type product will do the job but any suggestions would be appreciated.

s3v3n

iTrader: (3)

11 years old car? For starters, I'd replace ALL the fluids on that clunker (coolant, brake, transmission, differential, engine oil) on DAY 1 since you said not much in service history. Next are the filters (cabin and intake) and clean the maf and throttle body at the same time.

Use lexusdrivers.com and register your car. Not sure if you checked but if you haven't, you will at least see what was done in a stealership.

Next is check the consumables - rotors/pads and tires.

When it's all said and done, detail-clean your car. To remove any unwanted smell, get one of those ozone generators from amazon. Depending on how strong the smell or how sensitive your nose is, it may take two-three 30-minute treatment (once a week) until the unwanted smell is gone. Also, driving your car everyday helps removing smell, too.

After all of the above, check to see how the car drives. Does it pull left or right whenever you applied braking? That's the LCA bushings - highly recommended to replace them with RCF/GSF version.

Since you mentioned maintenance, the key is not one-time. Document your maintenance (I use lexusdrivers.com site) and write down all you did.

Greg1217

Thank you for the great reply’s! Very knowledgeable people on here I can see.

I have an after market windshield, this is what’s being blamed for the wind noise. This is common I have heard.

what am i smelling only when flooring it on the highway? Carbon buildup?

my car is missing the passenger side engine cover. Is it important I replace this part? Just curious.

2013FSport

iTrader: (2)

I can't imagine the window is to blame, can you take a picture of the seal and/or suspect area?

If the smell is Sulphur upon deceleration, it's pretty common for all vehicles. IMO vehicles that rarely see sustained high load, higher RPM's do it worse as the cats are full of soot that slowly builds up and stinks more than cats that are soot free.

An example is 3 weeks of just puttering about in the 350 then romp on it from a stand still and you see dingy dark cloud in the mirror from the soot and carbon being blown out.

Many run w out any covers, I don't see that missing as an issue. Id say it's purely cosmetic. Maybe grab one from a local wrecking yard for cheap as shipping would be more than the part.

What all have you got done so far?

firestart9

subbing this thread for updates.

just got my plugs done. will leave the coolant and/or brakes for another year.