bartkat

The rear AC/heat ducts are under the front seats.

Near as I can tell from the parts diagram, they're "clearance" lights. ?

Those links are for 2nd generation IS. For the IS300 1. locate light gray cap on headlight, turn cap a few degrees clockwise and pull off. (the cap is the big circle with the wings on it in the diagram and it's sealed with a reusable rubber "O" ring. 2. turn socket clockwise and pull off 3. unclip bulb (two clips, one on each side of bulb, unclips at top) 4. remove bulb and install new one then reverse the process to finish the light gray cap and the socket have arrows on them to tell you which way to turn to lock. the clip is little more than a thin metal rod bent to retain the bulb on both sides. iirc you push it out away from the bulb to unclip it. the metal fishing pole thing on the bulb will be the bottom. small hands are good for this job. my hands got some nice scratches and scrapes. remember to not touch the bulbs , if you do, clean it with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and a qtip, make sure no fibers from the qtip remain on the bulb. I started on the passenger side as the threads I found in my search[]/b] suggested. It was easier and since it was my first time, helped a lot that I started on the easier side so I knew what I was doing when I got to the harder side (cramped driver's side) * You can remove the intake, airbox, and or move stuff like the washer fluid filler neck, to help gain access to the headlight caps. IS300_Headligh_adjustment..pdf

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...howtopic=31697#

If there's a way around it, I haven't heard about it yet.

Could just be a bad bulb or bad connection. The first and easiest thing to do would be to pull the plug on the bulb and make sure all the connectors are clean. Put some dielectric grease on it and try it. If that doesn't work, try swapping parts from left to right, starting with the bulbs, one thing at a time until the problem is found.

Eshift is standard on all IS300 automatics. It has a "manual" mode whereby you can shift up and down using buttons on the steering wheel. There were several cases of the CD players jamming, but that was covered by a TSB and the units were repaired or replaced. I don't really know of any failure prone items. I do know of some people with 130,000 miles plus now with no problems or maybe only a couple of burned out bulbs. The back seat is useable, but not all that great. Leg room can be a problem. You can ride with people in the back seat, but I wouldn't want to take them on a long trip or something like that. If you can find a car that the seller has all the service records that show the car was well maintained and a car that hasn't been abused, it should do just fine. Power specs: Power: SAE and 160 kW , 215 HP @ 5,800 rpm; 218 ft lb All the specs for 2002 are here: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2002/lexus/...ions/index.html There were really no major changes for the later years.

People either install TPMS sensors in the new wheels or live with the light, as far as I know.

Again, of all the people that I've seen post, none have had a warning light come on. From what I've read, the kits from Xenon Depot are quite good.

The only place I know to get that info would be http://techinfo.lexus.com/ It costs $10, but well worth it. You get 24 hrs access and can download all the tech files your car if you wish.

Are you sure that's not the high beams for DRL? The low beams are HID.

I'd suggest an '02 Eshift (auotmatic) if you can find one in your price range. Most of the first year glitches were taken care of that year. The auto trans is stronger than the manual, and much eaiser to find. I bought an '02 used when it was a year old, then drove it for two years and only did routine maintenance. The car was just as good when I traded it in as it was when new. I didn't have NAV or many other extras, so I can't really speak about that. The only complaint might be tire wear, but I understand low profile high performance tires don'tt get great mileage anyway. 15-20,000 miles seems to be the norm. I got 19 MPG gas mileage in local driving and 25 MPG on extended interstate trips. The most amazing thing, for me, about the IS300 was that it had a very nice ride, but also very good handling, a tough combination to achieve. Power was more than adequate, especially at highway speeds. The car would cruise effortlessly and respond well if you wanted to get on it.

I'll be the first to ask the stupid question. What is meant by "bagged"? I presume an air bag suspension by which the car can be raised or lowered with built in compressor.

Thanks for the clarification. I know the ES runs that way, I wasn't sure if the IS did too. As I remember, the older generation GS had these bulbs too. steviej 2nd gen IS has separate bulbs for DRL.

I don't know of any. Maybe look at IS on cardomain or other sites like that.

Several people have installed kits and haven't gotten any warnings.

Maybe you should lemon it, take advantage of the California law.

Those may be the parking lights. Turn the light switch stalk one click and see if they come on. It also may be an extra turn signal bulb. Play around with it till you find out. The DRL is the high beam bulbs with power reduced through a resistor. They come on whenever the engine is on and the headlights are off.

Since the car is in Cleveland I'd be somewhat concerned about it having been in salt during the winters. I bought my IS300 up there and ended up spending lots of time on the underpinnings, mostl cosmetic, but the rust was there and the car was just a year old. Here's one example of what it looked like when I got it. http://f3.yahoofs.com/users/41cc0d9fza4bdc...ho42CFBhNFobRUp

The seats are leather covered, but the little map pouch things on the seat backs are plastic.

Don't be too tough on your buddies. Unless they're midgets, there's no way they could ride in the back seat of an IS without their knees being against those panels. There are several plastic surface repair products you could try. Perhaps a simple magic marker woud at least darken those scuffs. PS: Please stop with all the foul language. There's a reason for all those being bleeped.

All things considered, I thought the ride of my IS300 was quite nice. The JoeZ intake along with a high flow drop-in filter works well and gives a really good bang for the buck. http://koti.mbnet.fi/~foo/wtf.jpg

Yep, that's the only ballast I've seen on a IS300. It has the shielded output cable that's hardwired to the box.

There is no card key.

It doesn't look like anything I've seen on an IS.