New 3IS/IS 250 Owner - What should I expect?
12-23-23 | 11:19 AM
#16
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
From: TN
New to this forum, and a new owner of a used 2015 IS250. Really like the comments on this post, and hoping to have this car for the next 5 years or so (it has 80k miles on it).
OP, how was your experience so far. Anything you want to add to the post?
If anyone has resources to study about keeping this car as reliable as possible, please send it my way. I am on a deep dive in this forum and other places to really try and future proof this car.
OP, how was your experience so far. Anything you want to add to the post?
If anyone has resources to study about keeping this car as reliable as possible, please send it my way. I am on a deep dive in this forum and other places to really try and future proof this car.
12-26-23 | 08:19 PM
#17
Thread Starter
10th Gear
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 10
Likes: 2
From: FL
New to this forum, and a new owner of a used 2015 IS250. Really like the comments on this post, and hoping to have this car for the next 5 years or so (it has 80k miles on it).
OP, how was your experience so far. Anything you want to add to the post?
If anyone has resources to study about keeping this car as reliable as possible, please send it my way. I am on a deep dive in this forum and other places to really try and future proof this car.
OP, how was your experience so far. Anything you want to add to the post?
If anyone has resources to study about keeping this car as reliable as possible, please send it my way. I am on a deep dive in this forum and other places to really try and future proof this car.
I've owned the car since around 37k miles, and just recently hit the 72k mark. 99.99% of my service/shop visits have been for normal routine maintenance or just wear and tear items (like brakes), with no mechanical issues up to this point.
I've generally followed the recommended maintenance schedule from Lexus (e.g. oil changes and engine/cabin air filters every 10k miles). I did go a little bit off track and had some more services done for peace of mind- specifically a singular transmission drain and fill at around 55k and the differential fluid at 70k. There's been extended discussions on here about how often to do transmission drain and fills, but regardless of which path you choose I will say that I haven't had any shifting/transmission issues, even with daily [spirited] use of the manual mode.
In the 35k miles I've owned the car, so far I've only changed the tires (at 55k, due to the front inner tire wear) and front and rear brake pads/rotors once (both at 70k). At 70k miles, I was also made aware that my serpentine belt is "glazed"/worn out, so I'm planning to have that changed soon. Of course, your experience may vary depending on how you drive.
If you haven't done so already, I would definitely recommend signing up for a Lexus Drivers account and registering with your car's VIN. If the previous owner had any service done at the dealership, you'd be able to see the service history along with the recommended maintenance schedule. I'd probably go from there just to see what has been done so far and if anything needs catching up. From what I remember, the 60k service was a bigger one that included spark plugs and brake fluid, which aren't routine maintenance items.
Some things that I was worried about when I first got the car was the amplifier failure, inner tire wear, and carbon build-up. I've been lucky to not have experienced any amplifier failures so far, but from what I've read this tends to affect more 2014 models than 2015s, so you should be fine on that front. Carbon-build up has also not been an issue to this point; some do carbon cleaning (e.g. Seafoam, walnut blasting), but I haven't found a need to do that yet.
The issue I did experience was the inner tire wear. I believe there's a pinned thread on it, and I would highly recommend swapping out the stock lower control arm bushings for a pair from the RCF/GSF or an aftermarket set. I had about 18,000 miles on my tires before I had to grab a new set due to the excessive inner wear on the front tires. Since putting on the RCF/GSF bushings (and a new set of tires), I've had little to no inner wear after 20,000 miles and counting.
Another issue that I didn't experience but am aware of on the car include the A/C blower doors blowing hot air. I believe that this was covered under a service campaign, but I'm not too sure if its still active. Not everyone experiences this problem, but it is just something to be aware of.
As for documents to help keep the car reliable, I personally haven't found much. If you do plan on doing maintenance yourself, I would probably recommend YouTube. The 3IS platform is a bit older, so there's a good amount of information about how to do certain jobs/maintenance. I did find a IS Service Manual on here, but I had some issues attaching it. It's also from a 2017 model, but some of it may carryover: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...op-manual.html
Overall, I've had a great experience with the car. Like you, I'm hoping to keep it beyond 100k miles- and I don't doubt that it can hit that goal. It sounds cliche at this point, but Toyota/Lexus products really do live up to the reliability title. In my opinion, staying ahead of maintenance and wear and tear items is the best way to keep it "future proof."
Apologies if that got a bit wordy, but I hope that helps! Let me know if there's any other questions I can try to help answer.
Congratulations on the new car!
12-27-23 | 12:08 PM
#18
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
From: TN
Hello, and welcome to the forum!
I've owned the car since around 37k miles, and just recently hit the 72k mark. 99.99% of my service/shop visits have been for normal routine maintenance or just wear and tear items (like brakes), with no mechanical issues up to this point.
I've generally followed the recommended maintenance schedule from Lexus (e.g. oil changes and engine/cabin air filters every 10k miles). I did go a little bit off track and had some more services done for peace of mind- specifically a singular transmission drain and fill at around 55k and the differential fluid at 70k. There's been extended discussions on here about how often to do transmission drain and fills, but regardless of which path you choose I will say that I haven't had any shifting/transmission issues, even with daily [spirited] use of the manual mode.
In the 35k miles I've owned the car, so far I've only changed the tires (at 55k, due to the front inner tire wear) and front and rear brake pads/rotors once (both at 70k). At 70k miles, I was also made aware that my serpentine belt is "glazed"/worn out, so I'm planning to have that changed soon. Of course, your experience may vary depending on how you drive.
If you haven't done so already, I would definitely recommend signing up for a Lexus Drivers account and registering with your car's VIN. If the previous owner had any service done at the dealership, you'd be able to see the service history along with the recommended maintenance schedule. I'd probably go from there just to see what has been done so far and if anything needs catching up. From what I remember, the 60k service was a bigger one that included spark plugs and brake fluid, which aren't routine maintenance items.
Some things that I was worried about when I first got the car was the amplifier failure, inner tire wear, and carbon build-up. I've been lucky to not have experienced any amplifier failures so far, but from what I've read this tends to affect more 2014 models than 2015s, so you should be fine on that front. Carbon-build up has also not been an issue to this point; some do carbon cleaning (e.g. Seafoam, walnut blasting), but I haven't found a need to do that yet.
The issue I did experience was the inner tire wear. I believe there's a pinned thread on it, and I would highly recommend swapping out the stock lower control arm bushings for a pair from the RCF/GSF or an aftermarket set. I had about 18,000 miles on my tires before I had to grab a new set due to the excessive inner wear on the front tires. Since putting on the RCF/GSF bushings (and a new set of tires), I've had little to no inner wear after 20,000 miles and counting.
Another issue that I didn't experience but am aware of on the car include the A/C blower doors blowing hot air. I believe that this was covered under a service campaign, but I'm not too sure if its still active. Not everyone experiences this problem, but it is just something to be aware of.
As for documents to help keep the car reliable, I personally haven't found much. If you do plan on doing maintenance yourself, I would probably recommend YouTube. The 3IS platform is a bit older, so there's a good amount of information about how to do certain jobs/maintenance. I did find a IS Service Manual on here, but I had some issues attaching it. It's also from a 2017 model, but some of it may carryover: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...op-manual.html
Overall, I've had a great experience with the car. Like you, I'm hoping to keep it beyond 100k miles- and I don't doubt that it can hit that goal. It sounds cliche at this point, but Toyota/Lexus products really do live up to the reliability title. In my opinion, staying ahead of maintenance and wear and tear items is the best way to keep it "future proof."
Apologies if that got a bit wordy, but I hope that helps! Let me know if there's any other questions I can try to help answer.
Congratulations on the new car!
I've owned the car since around 37k miles, and just recently hit the 72k mark. 99.99% of my service/shop visits have been for normal routine maintenance or just wear and tear items (like brakes), with no mechanical issues up to this point.
I've generally followed the recommended maintenance schedule from Lexus (e.g. oil changes and engine/cabin air filters every 10k miles). I did go a little bit off track and had some more services done for peace of mind- specifically a singular transmission drain and fill at around 55k and the differential fluid at 70k. There's been extended discussions on here about how often to do transmission drain and fills, but regardless of which path you choose I will say that I haven't had any shifting/transmission issues, even with daily [spirited] use of the manual mode.
In the 35k miles I've owned the car, so far I've only changed the tires (at 55k, due to the front inner tire wear) and front and rear brake pads/rotors once (both at 70k). At 70k miles, I was also made aware that my serpentine belt is "glazed"/worn out, so I'm planning to have that changed soon. Of course, your experience may vary depending on how you drive.
If you haven't done so already, I would definitely recommend signing up for a Lexus Drivers account and registering with your car's VIN. If the previous owner had any service done at the dealership, you'd be able to see the service history along with the recommended maintenance schedule. I'd probably go from there just to see what has been done so far and if anything needs catching up. From what I remember, the 60k service was a bigger one that included spark plugs and brake fluid, which aren't routine maintenance items.
Some things that I was worried about when I first got the car was the amplifier failure, inner tire wear, and carbon build-up. I've been lucky to not have experienced any amplifier failures so far, but from what I've read this tends to affect more 2014 models than 2015s, so you should be fine on that front. Carbon-build up has also not been an issue to this point; some do carbon cleaning (e.g. Seafoam, walnut blasting), but I haven't found a need to do that yet.
The issue I did experience was the inner tire wear. I believe there's a pinned thread on it, and I would highly recommend swapping out the stock lower control arm bushings for a pair from the RCF/GSF or an aftermarket set. I had about 18,000 miles on my tires before I had to grab a new set due to the excessive inner wear on the front tires. Since putting on the RCF/GSF bushings (and a new set of tires), I've had little to no inner wear after 20,000 miles and counting.
Another issue that I didn't experience but am aware of on the car include the A/C blower doors blowing hot air. I believe that this was covered under a service campaign, but I'm not too sure if its still active. Not everyone experiences this problem, but it is just something to be aware of.
As for documents to help keep the car reliable, I personally haven't found much. If you do plan on doing maintenance yourself, I would probably recommend YouTube. The 3IS platform is a bit older, so there's a good amount of information about how to do certain jobs/maintenance. I did find a IS Service Manual on here, but I had some issues attaching it. It's also from a 2017 model, but some of it may carryover: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...op-manual.html
Overall, I've had a great experience with the car. Like you, I'm hoping to keep it beyond 100k miles- and I don't doubt that it can hit that goal. It sounds cliche at this point, but Toyota/Lexus products really do live up to the reliability title. In my opinion, staying ahead of maintenance and wear and tear items is the best way to keep it "future proof."
Apologies if that got a bit wordy, but I hope that helps! Let me know if there's any other questions I can try to help answer.
Congratulations on the new car!
I am planning a on the bushing replacement; something I can do at home. Also some regular maintenance stuff (breaks...etc).
I came from land rover, so I am expecting less of a headache, but hoping for peace of mind 🙏
12-29-23 | 12:03 PM
#21
Pit Crew
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 178
Likes: 79
From: tn
I got my car at Lexus of Knoxville , how about you?
12-29-23 | 12:07 PM
#22
Pit Crew
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 178
Likes: 79
From: tn
The following users liked this post:
cerbois (12-29-23)
12-31-23 | 01:33 PM
#24
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
From: TN
I am shopping for the bushing. Either aftermarket or Lexus ones, I am still deciding. Aftermarket: I am looking at FIGS and RR. Lexus: I am looking at what was recommended in here which is a part from GSF or RCF. (this part if I am not mistaken: https://parts.lexus.com/t/Lexus_2020...-ARM--NO2.html) I still need to check fitting and all that fun stuff so I can decide on what to get.
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xESOSxChaos (12-31-23)
01-03-24 | 02:12 PM
#25
Hello, and welcome to the forum!
I've owned the car since around 37k miles, and just recently hit the 72k mark. 99.99% of my service/shop visits have been for normal routine maintenance or just wear and tear items (like brakes), with no mechanical issues up to this point.
I've generally followed the recommended maintenance schedule from Lexus (e.g. oil changes and engine/cabin air filters every 10k miles). I did go a little bit off track and had some more services done for peace of mind- specifically a singular transmission drain and fill at around 55k and the differential fluid at 70k. There's been extended discussions on here about how often to do transmission drain and fills, but regardless of which path you choose I will say that I haven't had any shifting/transmission issues, even with daily [spirited] use of the manual mode.
In the 35k miles I've owned the car, so far I've only changed the tires (at 55k, due to the front inner tire wear) and front and rear brake pads/rotors once (both at 70k). At 70k miles, I was also made aware that my serpentine belt is "glazed"/worn out, so I'm planning to have that changed soon. Of course, your experience may vary depending on how you drive.
If you haven't done so already, I would definitely recommend signing up for a Lexus Drivers account and registering with your car's VIN. If the previous owner had any service done at the dealership, you'd be able to see the service history along with the recommended maintenance schedule. I'd probably go from there just to see what has been done so far and if anything needs catching up. From what I remember, the 60k service was a bigger one that included spark plugs and brake fluid, which aren't routine maintenance items.
Some things that I was worried about when I first got the car was the amplifier failure, inner tire wear, and carbon build-up. I've been lucky to not have experienced any amplifier failures so far, but from what I've read this tends to affect more 2014 models than 2015s, so you should be fine on that front. Carbon-build up has also not been an issue to this point; some do carbon cleaning (e.g. Seafoam, walnut blasting), but I haven't found a need to do that yet.
The issue I did experience was the inner tire wear. I believe there's a pinned thread on it, and I would highly recommend swapping out the stock lower control arm bushings for a pair from the RCF/GSF or an aftermarket set. I had about 18,000 miles on my tires before I had to grab a new set due to the excessive inner wear on the front tires. Since putting on the RCF/GSF bushings (and a new set of tires), I've had little to no inner wear after 20,000 miles and counting.
Another issue that I didn't experience but am aware of on the car include the A/C blower doors blowing hot air. I believe that this was covered under a service campaign, but I'm not too sure if its still active. Not everyone experiences this problem, but it is just something to be aware of.
As for documents to help keep the car reliable, I personally haven't found much. If you do plan on doing maintenance yourself, I would probably recommend YouTube. The 3IS platform is a bit older, so there's a good amount of information about how to do certain jobs/maintenance. I did find a IS Service Manual on here, but I had some issues attaching it. It's also from a 2017 model, but some of it may carryover: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...op-manual.html
Overall, I've had a great experience with the car. Like you, I'm hoping to keep it beyond 100k miles- and I don't doubt that it can hit that goal. It sounds cliche at this point, but Toyota/Lexus products really do live up to the reliability title. In my opinion, staying ahead of maintenance and wear and tear items is the best way to keep it "future proof."
Apologies if that got a bit wordy, but I hope that helps! Let me know if there's any other questions I can try to help answer.
Congratulations on the new car!
I've owned the car since around 37k miles, and just recently hit the 72k mark. 99.99% of my service/shop visits have been for normal routine maintenance or just wear and tear items (like brakes), with no mechanical issues up to this point.
I've generally followed the recommended maintenance schedule from Lexus (e.g. oil changes and engine/cabin air filters every 10k miles). I did go a little bit off track and had some more services done for peace of mind- specifically a singular transmission drain and fill at around 55k and the differential fluid at 70k. There's been extended discussions on here about how often to do transmission drain and fills, but regardless of which path you choose I will say that I haven't had any shifting/transmission issues, even with daily [spirited] use of the manual mode.
In the 35k miles I've owned the car, so far I've only changed the tires (at 55k, due to the front inner tire wear) and front and rear brake pads/rotors once (both at 70k). At 70k miles, I was also made aware that my serpentine belt is "glazed"/worn out, so I'm planning to have that changed soon. Of course, your experience may vary depending on how you drive.
If you haven't done so already, I would definitely recommend signing up for a Lexus Drivers account and registering with your car's VIN. If the previous owner had any service done at the dealership, you'd be able to see the service history along with the recommended maintenance schedule. I'd probably go from there just to see what has been done so far and if anything needs catching up. From what I remember, the 60k service was a bigger one that included spark plugs and brake fluid, which aren't routine maintenance items.
Some things that I was worried about when I first got the car was the amplifier failure, inner tire wear, and carbon build-up. I've been lucky to not have experienced any amplifier failures so far, but from what I've read this tends to affect more 2014 models than 2015s, so you should be fine on that front. Carbon-build up has also not been an issue to this point; some do carbon cleaning (e.g. Seafoam, walnut blasting), but I haven't found a need to do that yet.
The issue I did experience was the inner tire wear. I believe there's a pinned thread on it, and I would highly recommend swapping out the stock lower control arm bushings for a pair from the RCF/GSF or an aftermarket set. I had about 18,000 miles on my tires before I had to grab a new set due to the excessive inner wear on the front tires. Since putting on the RCF/GSF bushings (and a new set of tires), I've had little to no inner wear after 20,000 miles and counting.
Another issue that I didn't experience but am aware of on the car include the A/C blower doors blowing hot air. I believe that this was covered under a service campaign, but I'm not too sure if its still active. Not everyone experiences this problem, but it is just something to be aware of.
As for documents to help keep the car reliable, I personally haven't found much. If you do plan on doing maintenance yourself, I would probably recommend YouTube. The 3IS platform is a bit older, so there's a good amount of information about how to do certain jobs/maintenance. I did find a IS Service Manual on here, but I had some issues attaching it. It's also from a 2017 model, but some of it may carryover: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...op-manual.html
Overall, I've had a great experience with the car. Like you, I'm hoping to keep it beyond 100k miles- and I don't doubt that it can hit that goal. It sounds cliche at this point, but Toyota/Lexus products really do live up to the reliability title. In my opinion, staying ahead of maintenance and wear and tear items is the best way to keep it "future proof."
Apologies if that got a bit wordy, but I hope that helps! Let me know if there's any other questions I can try to help answer.
Congratulations on the new car!
Thanks for the thorough response, not wordy at all. Hopefully a great resource for others as well.
I am planning a on the bushing replacement; something I can do at home. Also some regular maintenance stuff (breaks...etc).
I came from land rover, so I am expecting less of a headache, but hoping for peace of mind 🙏
I am planning a on the bushing replacement; something I can do at home. Also some regular maintenance stuff (breaks...etc).
I came from land rover, so I am expecting less of a headache, but hoping for peace of mind 🙏
Meaning, if you see inner fronts wear take it in and compare the As Found total tow to the As Left total toe. They need to toe it in based on How YOU use the car. Not just numbers on a screen.
Last little bit 1, before removing old LCA bushings, measure where the center of the big nut is from something that won't be removed and position the new LCAB back by measurement taken before.
2 don't have the tires weighted by the vehicle.
3 don't fight the sway bar, let both tires hang freely.
4 only tighten the pinch nut of the LCAB when tires are on the ground under full weight of car or the bushings will be damaged from over-rotation.
gl
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abe8k (01-09-24)
07-11-24 | 03:12 PM
#28
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
From: TN
Been ~4 months since I switched the bushings. I followed @2013FSport comments above, and everything went smoothly.
No issues with the alignments. Explained to the tech what I did and my markings of the LCA. Turns out I probably didn't need an alignments.
Keeping the pressure 4 PSI higher and monitoring.
The car feels responsive, but not crazy sporty. Honestly not that big of a difference in day to day driving.
No issues with the alignments. Explained to the tech what I did and my markings of the LCA. Turns out I probably didn't need an alignments.
Keeping the pressure 4 PSI higher and monitoring.
The car feels responsive, but not crazy sporty. Honestly not that big of a difference in day to day driving.
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