New IS 250 Manual Owner - Need Some Help
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New IS 250 Manual Owner - Need Some Help
Hey guys, I've had a few BMWs over the years but missed not having to do so much damn maintenance so I decided to go back to a Lexus for my most recent car. Previously I had an SC400 and loved that car, a growing family made me sell it. I still have my E36 M3 Cabrio for summer though.
Anyhow, 3 weeks ago, I picked up a 08 IS250 RWD manual with 60,000 kms for the wife to drive. Off lease, clean, no hits, Lexus maintained it's whole life and purchased from a reputable dealer. I test drove it before I bought it, seemed ok but a bit weird in shifting, I thought I just wasn't used to the shifter/clutch feel of a manual Lexus. Lately my wife was complaining that she can't get used to the car, doesn't like it. Being a dude, I assumed she was whining about something new.
So I said I'd drive the car for a day or two to see if I noticed anything. All I can say is that I'm shocked, and she was right. It's been chilly and raining here, about 5 Celsius in the morning. When I start the car, it sounds like a diesel until it warms up... which takes at least 15km of driving. Thermostat? Secondly, it makes a grinding noise from the tranny with the clutch out, faint but noticiable, goes away when I clutch in. Clutch engagement is really high, feels like a worn out clutch at 60k. If properly driven, a clutch could last the life of the car.
The single most annoying thing... the car doesn't like to shift smoothly between gears. In every other car I've owned, I take 1st to 3000rpm and shift to second, second to third at about the same, about 2500 for the rest. In this car its impossible to shift smoothly unless I wait 2 or 3 seconds for the rpms to drop before I let the clutch out, otherwise I feel like the engine is trying to hop out of the car, not how a sport sedan should feel.
Anybody experience this? I'm not sure if this is normal for these cars or if I need to have Lexus have a look.
Thanks, sorry for the longish post.
Anyhow, 3 weeks ago, I picked up a 08 IS250 RWD manual with 60,000 kms for the wife to drive. Off lease, clean, no hits, Lexus maintained it's whole life and purchased from a reputable dealer. I test drove it before I bought it, seemed ok but a bit weird in shifting, I thought I just wasn't used to the shifter/clutch feel of a manual Lexus. Lately my wife was complaining that she can't get used to the car, doesn't like it. Being a dude, I assumed she was whining about something new.
So I said I'd drive the car for a day or two to see if I noticed anything. All I can say is that I'm shocked, and she was right. It's been chilly and raining here, about 5 Celsius in the morning. When I start the car, it sounds like a diesel until it warms up... which takes at least 15km of driving. Thermostat? Secondly, it makes a grinding noise from the tranny with the clutch out, faint but noticiable, goes away when I clutch in. Clutch engagement is really high, feels like a worn out clutch at 60k. If properly driven, a clutch could last the life of the car.
The single most annoying thing... the car doesn't like to shift smoothly between gears. In every other car I've owned, I take 1st to 3000rpm and shift to second, second to third at about the same, about 2500 for the rest. In this car its impossible to shift smoothly unless I wait 2 or 3 seconds for the rpms to drop before I let the clutch out, otherwise I feel like the engine is trying to hop out of the car, not how a sport sedan should feel.
Anybody experience this? I'm not sure if this is normal for these cars or if I need to have Lexus have a look.
Thanks, sorry for the longish post.
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Lexus is gonna have a look tomorrow. I guess we'll see.
Thanks for the reply.
#5
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A lot of people that actually do have the manuals have similar issues too. The transmission for the 2IS was borrowed from a Toyota truck (Tacoma I believe) so it wasn't really designed around a Luxury-Sports sedan really. I've seen a good number of complaints about reliability and performance of the 2IS manual transmission unfortunately.
#6
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Sounds normal. There has been several complaints about the feeling of the manual 2IS. As mentioned earlier, try the F-Sport quick shifter. I really like the F-Sport shifter feel much more. If you still don't like it, maybe the car just isn't a good fit for you. Good luck!
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#8
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Problem solved! I traded the car on an 09 330i M/T Sport/Premium!
So Lexus decided the car needs a tranny, clutch/pressure plate along with a new flywheel. Its a case-by-case 'recall' apparently.
They happened to have a 2nd hand IS M/T with the same setup on the lot which I asked to drive, still feels like crap..
So Lexus decided the car needs a tranny, clutch/pressure plate along with a new flywheel. Its a case-by-case 'recall' apparently.
They happened to have a 2nd hand IS M/T with the same setup on the lot which I asked to drive, still feels like crap..
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