larry chester

OK, you're right. But for winter, I have to do something. Tire Rack recommends the use of 16" wheels with winter studless ice and snow tires. I think that this is what I will have to do. Probably the Blizzaks. The price tag? $95 for each wheel, and another $120 per tire, rounding out to a bit over $900 all said and done. But, it's a one time expenditure, and I can change the tires myself. I happen to have a floor jack in my garage, but it's another chunk of change right now. Now for another piece of news. They recommend the addition of $425 worth of Tire Pressure Sensors to keep the car working as it is with the summer tires. OK, I really don't care if I have tire pressure sensors on my winter tires. But if I don't install the tire pressure sensors, do I do anything to the system to cause it to be damaged for the summer drive season? I can always turn off the sensor, I was just concerned that I'd damage something if it wasn't used. Anyone know? larry

Thanks, I'll check it out tonight. larry Bartkat -- you're the man. I tried it this morning after I read your post, and nothing worked. But then I got back to my office, and realized that I probably had the window lock on. Tonight, I got home, and parked the car. Put the window lock OFF and then went to each door. The switch was flashing, and each window went all the way down and then back up. As I closed each door, the car beeped three times. And as a check, I climbed back into the drivers seat, and the automatics worked perfectly again. I guess that I did no damage. Thanks so much. I love this car, and I've only had it two weeks. larry

Thanks, I'll check it out tonight. larry

Bartkat:Appreciate the advice, but the only window that works is the drivers window. The other windows don't work at all, either from the driver's door, or from their own door. I think that I might have blown the fuses for each of the window motors with my stupid human trick (jumpstarting backwards). Where do I find a fuse puller that will grab those fuses? The standard american fuse pullers are just too big to grab the small fuses in the Lexus passenger fuse boxes. Is there one located in one of the other fuse boxes? larry

2006 IS250 RWD MT6 Silver Purchased Nov 6th, 2006 used. At time of purchase had 14,000 miles on it. Someone defaulted on a lease. Paid $27,900 for it. Very basic car, Vented seats and floor mats. Bought at a new car dealer - not Lexus. Only problem was that my headlights stayed on one day at work. Got out at the end of the day, engine was dead. Jump started the car, but :cries: hooked up the battery cables backwards. After I changed them, the car seems to run fine, but the windows won't go up or down. I'm checking the fuses on the windows today. Wonder what else I screwed up. LOVE THE CAR - my second Lexus, my third Toyota product, last two cars, over 200k miles each. Expecting the same from this baby. larry

My last Lexus, a SC300, had 15 inch wheels with V rated tires on it. I wore out my first set at 15,000 miles. Spending that much on tires every year was appalling to me. So I changed my tires to T rated tires. It gave me a bit softer ride, didn't change the handling much, and the tires were going 60,000 miles, to say nothing of being cheaper. With car manufacturers going to these premium wheels (17", 18" etc) and low profile tires, they have added another regular cost to the maintenance cost of these vehicles. Not only do people now require replacing tires at 15k - 20k, but they also lose the flexibility provided by all season tires, and need to get second sets of wheels and tires. I really enjoy my car (a 2006 IS250 that I just bought - one week ago), but was wondering about the possibility of going to a 16" wheel, a higher profile tire with more of a highway rating, rather than a track rating, (let's say a T rated tire) and avoiding the need for Blizzaks in the winter and a second set of wheels for winter as well. I know that it won't look as "cool," but the burning through money on tires annually will just anger me annually. Any thoughts?? larry

You're thinking that it is always mandatory to get the biggest engine that you can. I first and foremost was looking for a car with a Stick. For the past 10 years I have been driving an SWC300 with auto, and though it's a great car, I missed the fun of shifting. So, when I looked for my IS, I looked specifically for a used MT6. In the last two months, there were only 2 for sale in the Chicago area. I bought one of them. The IS250 is a great car, but it isn't a drag racer. I am looking for fun on the road, comfort and reliability. Remember that Mazda scored a huge bullseye with the Miata, and no one was challenging them at the stoplight. I'm just a little confused as to why the MT6 gets so much less gas mileage than the auto? I am averaging about 24/25 combination. BTW, found my car used at a dealership (non-lexus_ with 13K miles) someone had it on a lease and must have defaulted. Great deal. larry