Hi folks!

im very sorry if theres a thread already with this but i could not find anything seriously, tried search button and didnt find anything, maybe theres no problems at all with this model? anyway.

Im really out looking to buy an is 300h the hybrid one from 2013 and im very curious about what sort of problems the car has? if any at all? iv been a bimmer guy all my life and im tired of the germans. Im only after this jap car because of the great looks and reliabilitty, so im very hopefull the car lasts forever. does this model have carbon buildup issues like is 250? or is it spared by this? does it have any common or uncommon faults i should be aware of? please tell me anything important i need to know, lookin to buy one 2013+ hows road noise/cabin noise on this one? as good as e39 or worse?

Thank u kindly very much.

 

After 80k kms, my 300h has a leaking rear shock, discovered during routine servicing and will be replaced under warrenty. Other than that it has been completely trouble free. If driven gently 1000km per tankful is possible. Hybrid battery makes the car balance at 50/50 so handling is not bad, and it rides well, mine being a non F sport model. Brakes also lasted much longer than a normal car without brake regeneration. No sqeaks or rattles at all. Folding rear seats good to have. Super comfortable seats especially in the front.

Engine is good, and ecvt is mostly good, though it can frustrate the keen driver, its a good cruiser at very high speeds.The reward is smooth progress at most times in traffic. It is essentially Prius tech, with same up and downsides. Run flats and no spare, but they do provide a jack.

Wishlist for next generation: 330e level of performance, more engaging gearbox, less road noise, less Stone Age infotainment system.

Conclusion: Typical Lexus, compromising performance significantly for reliability. And looking much faster than it goes. If reliability is not a worry, go for the 330e.

 

Hi and thanks for help!
Reliabilty is a worry! coming from bmws iv always have had something to fix, like broken gearbox on f10 manual. Now looking for reliable good rwd car and lexus are very cool looking. Is road noise bad? anything else u can say about the car? apart from its reliable? i drove one and didnt think it was slow really, i think the F sport looks really bad ***.

 

If you are looking for reliability in a rwd over everything else, then the car is worth considering. The current IS range is, however, a generation or two behind its rivals which are lighter, stronger, faster, quieter, and with gearboxes that are more than one dimensional, and more advanced hybrid tech.

In in the end it's about the type of compromise....performance for reliability or vice-versa. I don't see one as a better achievement than the other.

 

Do u really think performance is so bad on 300h? 0-100 8 sec isnt that bad really, where i live top speed on motorways is max 110km anyway, and i really dont need more hp than 220 that is has. im really new and curious about hybrids now and their gas/electric type of combo. is the 300h noisy on the motorway? or is it quiet like bmw 5 series? really reliability is top 3 for me right now, looks-reliabilty and rwd^^ now how are noise levels in cabin?

 

I would love if Lexus offered the hybrid IS here.

 

ye and at our side of the pond we dont get the monster 350 ofc, we only get 250-300h and 200t, but 99% sales are 300h the hybrid, very curious about the hybrid tech. must be quiet and smooth ride, plus toyota reliability

 

Isn't it basically a Camry hybrid powertrain just turned sideways? hehe. But yeah modern, leaner, smarter countries get the better, smaller, more efficient powertrains. america has a thirst for massive power. i guess it fits our wide open roads better.

 

Cars that use a similar powertrain include the new Camry hybrid and the ES300h as well as the Crown in Japan. With the IS they turned the engine 90 degree to fit the rwd layout. However, of the 3 the IS300h is the one with the highest rated HP but actually the slowest in acceleration.

Also be aware that there is a big difference in acceleration between when the hybrid battery is fully charged (8bars) or Low (2bars). In a twisty mountain road it's possible to deplete the battery charge.

I am very sensitive to noise. Below 60 kmh the car is limo like. Above that then it depends on the road condition as its quite sensitive to coarse surfaces. Overall a GS or 5 series would be quieter. I have been told the GS300h is better in this respect, but I have never been in one, and it's rated 1sec slower still to 100kmh. The ES300h or GS450h is definitely quieter than the IS300h based on my test drives. The GS450h is a terrific car.

I think the old battery and gearbox tech in the car lets the Lexus hybrids down for drivers looking for performance and economy. Lexus is not likely to change this soon so enthusiasts like me will need to look elsewhere.

 

testdrove 300h 2017 today and was impressed by power, has very decent power i think, i dont know why poeple say its down on power or feels sluggish, i didnt get the feel at all that its slow. It felt fast enough, i heard tyre noise on some surfaces but not too much i think, maybe drove the car 5-10min but i guess u can get used to it unless its too much, i think maybe my seat on bmw 5 series is comfier than in 300h but maybe thats also a thing to get used to. overall Lexus here has awesome service, almost bought the car just was a little too high for me.

 

Did you get a chance to drive with 2 bars on the hybrid battery?

 

what u mean with 2 bars? can the battery get empty? and thus have no more power to deliver? isnt it allways charging? its not a plugin car, just hybrid. i have driven 2 300h now and both seemed more than enough in power^^ or maube u guys are used to cars with minimum 300hk

 

Yes it can. This is the flip side of the antiquated Prius derived hybrid system. Below 2 bars on the hybrid battery charge indicator the acceleration drops off considerably. Some road testers have measured the difference in terms of several seconds per lap around a test track. But the real life effect is that spirited drives up a series of mountains, for example, can deplete the battery, and the car becomes a very heavy underpowered sedan when there is no torque boost from the hybrid system. And as great as the GS450h is, it suffers the same problem. Hope they solved this in the LC500h, but then that car costs a lot more and even then the technology isn't necessarily going to transfer down to IS's for a Long while.

 

i dont belive that^^must be bs. the battery is charging when in higher speeds becuase of the generator while the petrol engine is on. how can the battery get depleted if u drive some longer period? it even gets charge while u brake. i dont think u lose power that way, sounds nonsense really. They even tell u that u dont have to think about the battery, just drive and enjoy. the batterys should charge while u drive.

 

Yes I know its hard to believe but its true. I have had my car for 4 years and it has always been like this. Same for the GS450h or any Toyota/Lexus hybrid for that matter. For example in slow traffic jams one would be crawling around on ev power and the battery gradually drops to 2 bars without a chance to charge up. If you needed to accelerate then you will find the hybrid system no longer boosts the petrol engine and acceleration is much slower. Once traffic frees up and it has a couple (or more) kms to charge up you get your boost back.

However, when I do spirited drives up mountains, especially in convoy with other cars, I use up more battery charge than it can put back in time, so it ends up at 2 bars and I loose the boost. Then its one heavy and slow car. It does show though, that the boost by the electric motor of the hybrid system is significant.

Autocar UK magazine found on their test track it was more than a couple of seconds difference and they published this in their road test.

That could be one reason why they have finally gone to the Lithium Battery for some of the new Prius models and the LC500h. The other models soldier on with the old technology, like my IS300h.