JulesinSD

Hey I recently got the recall letter for the seatbelt on my IS, so I made an appointment to get that fixed, and also to get my 5,000 mile service. Which brings me to my question, whenever you get your oil changed they always give you a date and a milage and they say: Next oil change due at (insert date here) OR (insert milage number here) Now does the date really make a difference? I was always told that the milage is what matter because oil gets old because of use, so why the date? Is that really important? Iam over my 4 months from purchase it will almost be seven months from purchse but Iam only at like 3,400 or 3,000 something. So Iam under my milage (5,000) Either way does the time REALLY make a difference?

Thanks for the answers, it's much appreciated!!

Yes, oil does break down over time. I would do what Lexus recommends to avoid any potential warranty issues later on.

I'm curious about the speaker configuration betweeen the "standard" Lexus stereo system and the optional Mark Levinson system. The service manual says the Mark Levinson Premium Audio system has 14 speakers - including a center speaker in the middle of the dash. The standard system is not supposed to have this center channel speaker. I have the standard system (no navagation system or Mark Levinson system) yet I do have the central speaker in the dash. Otherwise, the configuration matches what the manual says - the standard system has a tweeter, mid-range and woofer in each of the rear doors, while the Mark Levinson has only a tweeter and mid-range in the rear doors (with 2 extra "satellite" speakers - along with the sub-woofer) on the rear deck. Maybe the service manual is not current with what is being built. Do other owners with the standard system have the central channel speaker? I like the sound a lot - I traded an ES-330 with the Mark Levison package, and I think the standard system in my IS-350 sounds better.

David

I have the standard system in my IS250 and I think it sounds quite good. Mine also has the center speaker in the dash...or at least it has the grill for it. I'll have to check and see if sound actually comes out of it.

Got the chrome wheels installed this week. I think they look pretty good.

Like the topic says, just wanted to get an idea what you IS guys and gals do for a living, where your from, and what other cars you drive besides the Lex.

I’m from Nutley, New Jersey been here almost my entire life, aside from some 7 yrs in Florida.

I’m a Financial Specialist for the 4th largest bank in the US.

I’ve had my Lex for 2 months now, its my first one :D I also have a 06 Acura TL (my g/f and I)

By the way im Vito. :)

I live in North County San Diego, CA.

My wife and I own 2 cars, the 2006 IS250 we just bought and a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE.

She is a realtor and I'm an accountant.

We own a 4bd 2bth house near the coast and we have a 4 year old son.

I’ve tested it out a few times. It seems like the car will give you the freedom to rev out the gears before you shift but once you shift, the shifts feel laggy. Its not an instant response unlike the BMW SMG gear box which gives you total control with 5 different sport modes and the trans reacts precise with no sign of lag. Its not something i will be using often but when I feel the need to take a spirited drive, I will be sure to use it as it does give you a pretty good sense of control.

How is that SMG transmission as far as reliability goes? Man, I'd hate to see what a replacement costs...

I haven't really used it at all. Our car only has a couple hundred miles on it though.

My wife and I bought an IS250 last weekend and when I filled up yesterday we drove 288 miles on 12 gallons of gas. That equates to 24 mpg, and I've been romping on it a bit when I've driven it. All city driving with no prolonged highway stints. I'm thinking the IS250 might be the luxury eco friendly car of the year.

Don't suppose you have the scheduled maint supplement would you?

Thanks for this though. Excellent stuff!

1500+ more?? thats insane Mine was like 35,xxx i would have never bought it for 36,xxxx unless i was getting HID's, XM/Sirius, etc.

Well, I'll say this.

My local Lexus dealer, Lexus of Northborough, MA, is full of sales people who know little to nothing about the cars they are selling.

One sales guy claims the new '07 IS is $1,500 more than the '06.

The Internet Sales Manager also told me that the '07 will no longer offer the backup parking sensors.

I cannot confirm either of these facts yet.

Other than that, I have no info on what the car in '07 will offer or include.

But I agree... it's a lot of coin once equipped the way I like it.

Adding another $1,500 brings it way over $40,000.

That's why I started thinking on the lines of the '07 ES350, or the very affordable, fun to drive TL.

I'll have to drive the ES once there's one on the lot to play with.

In the meantime, I may take a TL for a torture run. B)

I have to say, Lexus Carlsbad has very knowledgable sales reps. There was no pressure whatsoever and when we test drove the car he kept telling my wife to floor it to see how powerful it was.

Even after we agreed on a price he took my wife over to this kiosk and started going over the safety features of the car. I almost said to him, "hey, we already agreed to buy it, you don't have to sell us on it anymore" but he was on a roll so I let him go. Learned a few new things about the car that I wasn't aware of too. Our saleman actually owns the same car we bought though so I would have been surprised if he didn't know everything about it.

When I stopped in there a few months ago I had a different guy let me take out both the 250 and a 350 for about a 10 mile test drive and he also encouraged me to get on the throttle to see what they could do.

Acura was also very gracious with test drives on the TL though. I have no complaints with them on that.

Congrats on the new car!! Got mine 2 months ago, and love it.

As for the TL and IS250, like I said above I got mine a short time ago and my girlfriend got a TL about 4 months go.

The TL has some serious pick up the trans shifts are smooth and accurate, the IS I feel doesn’t have the same throttle response as the TL; the trans feels like it has a slight lag between gears. I mean there is a difference of about 60-70 HP (the TL having more).

The IS has a very refined interior, the leather is smooth and soft, the TL has that harder style leather and the interior doesn’t seem as elegant. The TL defiantly has more room on the interior then the IS.

The base TL comes with HID's, Drivers memory seat, and XM. The Base IS AWD doesn’t have the HID's, memory drivers seat or XM. But the IS has air-cooled seats, No KEY which is cool and the biggie AWD.

Her cars sticker was 33,XXX and mine was 35,XXX so there is a difference in price. If you start adding HID's and Nav, and XM to the IS the price goes up quite a bit where as the TLs only real option is NAV which still only tops out at around 35K. (Not talking A-Spec TL)

As for Acura service, they have always done good by me, never had a problem with them at all. (I also had an Acura before the IS250).

All in all you can’t really go wrong with either car, there both 2 of the most reliable brands in the world, and both have one of the highest resale values (Toyota and Honda). You should be able to get the better deal on the TL though; we got a crazy deal on my girls. Good luck with what ever you decide to go with, they are both a good choice in my opinion. :D

My boss has an Acura MDX and she came from a Lexus IS300. She's the one who told me that Acura wouldn't give loaner cars when she drops it off for oil changes but Lexus would. Acura would make customers wait or give them a ride somewhere in their shuttle van. She told me that she originally thought she'd keep the MDX for many years but is now talking of trading it in for another Lexus.

Our neighbor also has a Lexus and she raves about their service. She's had nothing but Lexus cars for the past 10 years.

I dropped off the IS tonight to have the chrome wheels installed. I was out of there in 10 minutes in a Lexus ES330 with 7700 miles on it. Nice car but slower (certainly less responsive anyway) than the IS and the steering feel is much lighter with less feedback. Brakes aren't nearly as good either.

I’m looking to put wheels on my 250

It didn't come with wheels?

I don't use it.

Nice car man. I'm still trying to decide between the Acura TL or the IS, but I still have about 2 months left yet until I have to make my decision. What made you choose the IS over the TL? Be sure to post some more pics when you get the chrome wheels on there.

I drove the TL and liked it quite a bit but I heard mixed opinions on Acura service. Lexus service on the other hand is supposed to be excellent. The TL is also FWD which I don't particularly care for. We have a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE which suffers enormous amounts of torque steer when you really open up the throttle.

Personally, I like the interior of the Lexus more than the TL even though the TL is more roomy.

The ultimate decision was my wife's though. She got the car she really wanted. See, this will allow me to get the car I really want in a couple years. I'm not saying the Lexus isn't the car I really want but if it were me I would have held out for the IS350. We'll see what kind of cool stuff is out in a couple years. B)

Idiots. There is no way I'd do that to any car I owned.

Fantastic car. Lexus really did a nice job on the styling. My wife and I were originally considering the Acura TL or the G35 sedan but once she drove the IS it was all over. Granted the IS is a little smaller but it will suit our needs.

I drove the IS250 and the IS350 back to back a few months ago and personally would have preferred the IS350 but she felt that the power was adequate from the 250. Since she's going to be the primary driver I didn't argue with her about it.

It is Matador Red with premium package and 18" wheels. We got them to upgrade to chrome wheels at no extra charge and they will be installed later this week.

Anybody know of a good way to prevent brake dust from accumulating on the front wheels of the new IS? The problem isn't too bad, but the previous Lexus cars we've had never had this problem. Any special kind of detergent/cleaner that actually prevents the dust from accumulating in the 1st place?

I just clean them often and put a coat of wax on them periodically.

The Lexus brakes do produce quite a lot of dust though. Similar to the German cars anyway. We had 2 3-series BMWs and this car seems on par with them as far as dirty front wheels go.