Have you tried running Red Line MTL or MT90 in it? Grinding gears means the synchros are not working well. Any lubricant with an EP additive (the vast majority of gear oils) will make the synchros slip more than they should. MTL and MT90 do not have any EP additives and are specifically intended for gearboxes and transaxles.

If the noise is coming from the flywheel (as I suspect) you'll be hard pressed to find any modern manual without a multipiece flywheel. LUK makes them (along with a bunch of other drivetrain stuff) and they're in everything from Chevrolets to Toyotas to BMW. They're supposed to make the driveline quieter but they don't always deliver.

ihkskim - I thought about getting the manual for all of two seconds and realised being 100 hp short wasn't going to do regardless. It wasn't a hard decision at all really. Power vs. gearbox? Power wins every time.

Hello everyone. just adding myself to the list of disgruntled is250 owners. I too have the IS250 MT, with exactly the SAME problems. I've mentioned it to the dealer 3 times, and got the same "it's normal" response. so yeah, looks like for now i'll have no choice but to deal with it. but i will bring up the flywheel to the dealer next time i bring my car in.

it's really a shame because i absolutely love everything else about this car.

Add my name to the list as well. Shuddering clutch, noisy and sloppy gearbox, dealers that are completely uninterested in trying to resolve the problems. Very un-Lexus.

no more ****** lexus for me.

I gave the car back and paid the breakout for the lease... I will never drive a piece of ****** made by this company again.

Sorry to hear about your problems and your decision. Did you speak to anyone with Lexus Canada, or for that matter, Lexus North America down in Torrance, CA? I'm sure they could have come up with a reasonable solution that would've kept you in your car.

Lexus is known to have a horrible manual tranny. I test drov the MT IS250 and I did not like it AT ALL. I have been driving MT's all my life. So I bought a IS250 AUTO. If it had a good MT tranny like the TSX then I would of gotten an MT.

I am 100% happy with my Auto IS250. I love the Lexus/toyota brand one of the best brands out there.

What are you getting now??

If you want a car with good MT get a Acura TL/TSX.

Lexus is known to have a horrible manual tranny. I test drov the MT IS250 and I did not like it AT ALL. I have been driving MT's all my life. So I bought a IS250 AUTO. If it had a good MT tranny like the TSX then I would of gotten an MT.

That noise you have been experiencing really is normal. Lots of people have it and just have to deal with it. I even think my 96 Acura GSR has a clunk noise from 1-2 gear. I started hearing this noise after probably 4 years of ownership. Its just one of the characterists of a MT some certain cars.

I am 100% happy with my Auto IS250. I love the Lexus/toyota brand one of the best brands out there.

What are you getting now??

It doesn't make sense that some MT's are noisey and others aren't. Something is not right somewhere. I bought a 250 6spd. used, and I have no noise at all. It shifts just fine through all gears.

Maybe it's there but you dont heart it. Some of us in here are very picky.

How many miles are on it? It could be quieter because it has more miles, or because the 1st owner put a better tranny oil in. I was amazed at how much queter my S2000's tranny was after going with a better oil

It had 4,411 miles on it. Most of the cars I've owned were stick shift so I am familiar with them. This transmission is smooth and quiet.

while reading the problems on the MT is disturbing, i neither heard nor felt any of the symptoms you guys have mentioned on a 2006 IS 250 i was test driving at Magnussen's. IIRC, that vehicle was being used by the managers and it had 9k+ miles on it.

Did anyone notice this? Who is prepared to drop this kind of money for a flywheel?

WOW, I hope I'm rich when its time to do a clutch/flywheel replacement. That is uber expensive.

Is that the MSRP of the OEM part?