ragu

Just started looking at is300 and doing a little research online as well as talking to some people. A lot of what i hear and read claim that the 2001's are problematic. From what i understand they changed/fix some bugs in the later years that they had. Also read that they have a trans issue that was related to the ecu. What I was wondering is if the 2001 are really that bad compared to the 02-05. Should i stay away from them, and only look 02 and newer. thanks

TheDane

I have had mine for two years now (it is the european version, don't know if there is differences) without problems with ECU, transmission etc.. I have only replaced some parts that has been worn, like suspension parts, brake discs and pads and xenon bulbs.. Of course the service parts as well It just drives happily all the time

neosxe808

one positive is no sticky dash, like 02-05

negative is it only came in A/T.....unless you convert to MT

grondie

The 2001's are fine, but there were a lot of changes to the 2002's, here's the list:

New Models:
5-speed manual transmission available on sedan
New SportCross 5-door offered (automatic transmission only), has 7.5x17" rear rims, foglights are much flatter

L-Tuned Edition available late 2002, includes:
- L-Tuned body kit (full front bumper with round 55 watt fog lights, rear valance, side skirts, rear spoiler and carbon fiber-style grille)
- L-Tuned 18x7.5" +42 rims in Silver or Gunmetal (Rays Versus Campionato SS7 with custom blue Lexus "L" center cap)
- 225/40ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport tires
- L-Tuned sport muffler & larger-diameter exhaust (60mm pipe diameter & 105mm tip diameter).Adds 8 hp over stock.
- L-Tuned springs (1" drop, made by Eibach)
- L-Tuned sway bars (Made by Eibach)(28mm front/17mm rear)
- L-Tuned exterior and interior badging
- L-Tuned floormats

Exterior:
New exterior colors are:
- Absolutely Red (AR)
- Cibola Gold Metallic (CGM)
- Crystal White (CW)
- Electric Green Mica (EGM)
- Intensa Blue Pearl (IBP)

Discontinued exterior colors are:
- Auburn Sky Pearl (ASP)
- Diamond White Pearl (DWP)
- Imperial Jade Mica (IJM)
- Spectra Blue Mica (SBM)

Tail lights receive smoked finish on the following five exterior colors:
- Absolutely Red (AR)
- Black Onyx (BO)
- Electric Mica Green (EMG)
- Graphite Gray Pearl (GGP)
- Intensa Blue Pearl (IBP)

Three horizontal bars on front grille, down from 4, detachable clip-on emblem backplate
Grille color darkened from medium gray to almost black
Rear spoiler, optional on sedan, standard on SportCross, third brake light removed if spoiler is installed as a factory option

Interior:
Front side curtain airbags standard
Optional Lexus DVD Navigation (pop-up screen & remote controls located between the front seats)
6.5" speakers in door panels now have a chrome ring around the speaker grill
Auto-dimming electrochromic driver's side outside and inside (center) rearview mirrors
Compass in center rearview mirror for vehicles without DVD navigation
Front center armrest standard (Black or ivory leather)
Optional leather shift ****
Black dash/center console with gray trim no longer available
Floormats have Lexus "L" emblem and read "LEXUS" instead of "IS300"
Driver's side floormat now has two retention hooks to prevent sliding
Lexus Luxury Package discontinued
Optional Full Leather interior in ivory or black, trimmed with piping
Seat piping now standard with Leather/Ecsaine Seats
Two-tone Black and Ivory dashboard & center console now standard for Ivory interior vehicles with Full Leather or Leather/Ecsaine seats
Walnut Switch Plates now a stand-alone option
Standard fabric interior available in Ivory

Mechanical:
Overall height raised 0.6" (from 54.9" in 2001 to 55.5")
Minimum running ground clearance increased from 4.9" for 2001 to 5.3"
Spring rate increased for 5-speed manual
Optional Vehicle Skid Control (VSC) (Automatic transmission only)
Brake Assist
Steering revised as follows:
- Overall Steering Ratio from 15.7:1 for 2001 to 14.5:1
- Turning Circle decreased from 34.1' for 2001 to 33.4'
- Turns Lock-to-Lock decreased from 3.25 in 2001 to 3

Performance:
ECU programming update

Other:
Tool tray material in trunk changed to plastic, now one-piece
Underbody panel (plastic) material changed; failures significantly decreased

az989

for me i think the only problem on my 01 is when it shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear, it feels so painful other then that it runs fine