The OEM IS300 - Ownership Log

oem_is300

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Been meaning to make this thread for a while now. Since I've recently started dailying the IS, I figured this would be a great place to keep track of my ownership experience.

Little back story on me/the car. This is a 2004 IS300 Sportdesign in Thundercloud Metallic with the Smoke Grey interior. It has the 5-speed manual and LSD as well. I believe the only option not on it is the OEM navigation. My dad bought the IS new in 2004, I was 13 at the time. In 2006 I drove it for the first time when learning how to drive stick. Got my license in 2007, and my first car was a ’95 civic. I moved on from that to my ’03 Jetta, which I still own, in 2009. The Jetta doesn’t have nearly the fit and finish of Lexus, but it has been a fun car to own, and it was the perfect car for college.

Just graduated from college this past May and now I’m finally in a position to own the IS. Most of my driving is just to and from work (currently ~15mi/day), but this will likely be the car I take on longer road trips as it’s far more comfortable than the Jetta. The IS has been my dad’s daily up until this past fall and currently sits at just under 90k miles. Knowing the complete history of the car is great, and with continued care I expect this car to keep going for a long time.

As the thread title and my user name probably hinted, I don't really have any plans for this car right now. I'm really enjoying the comfort and reliability this will provide and its been a fun daily so far. I plan to keep track of maintenance and other general ownership events throughout this thread. So far, the only “upgrades” done to it are a VAIS-Tech ipod adapter for the stock head unit and window tint.

Some initial impressions and thoughts
  • The inline-6 is very smooth
  • Gearing is short which is nice for acceleration, but it spins pretty high at highway speeds
  • A lot quieter and much more refined than I'm used to
  • Stock sound system is very nice
  • Seating position is a bit high
  • The manual transmission is a little tough going into 2nd and 3rd when cold, but smooths out once it gets up to operating temperature. I've heard using MT-90 helps and I'll be looking at that for the 90k service due soon
Here are some pictures. Just a few of the Jetta since this is the IS’ thread:

Jetta1.JPG

Jetta2.JPG

And here’s the IS. First a slightly embarrassing picture of me at 13 with the car. Please excuse the poor quality, it’s a picture of a picture haha.

IS2004.jpg

This was a random picture taken after I washed it (I believe this is 2006), and before it was tinted:

IS2006.JPG

And these are from a photoshoot I did with a friend back in 2009:

IS2009.2.JPG

IS2009.JPG

IS2009.1.JPG
 
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oem_is300

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New plates I ordered came in earlier this week

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Finally got around to throwing them on today

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Which reminded me of a few other things I'd like to look at. Anyone know what might have caused cracking paint on the taillight and centercaps? I'll be looking to replace the centercaps hopefully in the near future and the taillight eventually and want to know if there's anything I can do to prevent this from happening again.

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RAL

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What a great car! Don't have a clue as to the paint problems. I'm sure some on here will though. I'm having a problem with the paint starting to flake on the wheels of my ES ultra. Strange because the exact same wheel on the spare is not painted.

Quick blurb ... I remember when the IS was introduced but hadn't come to showrooms yet. The Lexus salesman cautioned me: "This is not going to be a typical Lexus ... It's going to have a sporty feel!" ;)
 
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oem_is300

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Yep, I remember hearing that the typical Lexus customers at the time were not big fans of the ride and compared to the other cars in the lineup in the early 2000s this was quite different. I look at this car as one of the first steps Lexus made in creating a more sporty brand. I think its all a matter of perspective though, as this feels pretty luxurious to me!
 

oem_is300

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Been meaning to update this for a little while now. Took a little road trip in the IS down to Charlotte, NC from northern VA for a friends wedding at the end of April. Round trip was just under 1000 miles and really gave me a chance to experience the car more. Overall I was beyond impressed with the car. It was pretty much a perfect road trip car for me. I still wish the front seats sat a couple of inches lower, but have gotten used to the position and it only tends to be a problem if I'm wearing a hat. On the highway I feel like this car could benefit from a 6th gear because the engine spins pretty fast at those speeds, but that meant it always had power for passing without a downshift which was nice. Also managed about 27-28 mpg fuel economy on the trip (almost all highway) so I was really pleased with that.

My comparison/perspective is a little different than most on here because before this I was used to the Jetta, but it was a nice change to have a quiet, comfortable car on the highway (Jetta has an exhaust, uncountable number of interior rattles, and is on coilovers). I really started to appreciate the fit and finish that Lexus provides on their cars - even the 'entry' IS.

Wish I had taken more pictures, but grabbed this one on a quick stop in Blacksburg on my way back up.
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oem_is300

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A couple of weeks after that trip the odometer rolled over 90,000 so I started looking into the service. Ended up going with all OEM fluids/belts/filters Exocet for the transmission fluid. Since we're getting into warmer months, the 1-2 shift hadn't been as bad in the mornings, but still isn't quite as smooth as once it has warmed up. Did some research and a lot of people used synthetic GL-4 fluid and have seen a considerable improvement so I have Redline MT-90 a try. Went in and completed the service this past Saturday and everything seemed to be in great shape. Initial impressions with the MT-90 are very positive. I've noticed a pretty significant ease in changing through the gears. I have not noticed much of a change when downshifting into 1st when at a roll but that is just a minor annoyance , plus the car has enough torque and is geared low enough that putting it in 2nd in those situations is not a problem. Here are a few pictures I snapped a few pictures while we had the car on the lift and taken apart.

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oem_is300

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Spent some time cleaning up the car this past weekend. The headlights/fogs/rear inner tails have been needing a polish for a while now and I finally got around to doing it. I have a couple before and after shots to show the difference IMG_4271.JPGIMG_4280.JPGIMG_4277.JPGIMG_4279.JPGIMG_4276.JPGIMG_4282.JPG

I had ordered some lamin-x for the front and rear lights on the car a couple of months ago. Plan was to install after I had polished and cleaned them up. I was able to apply on the inner rear lights but ran into a lot of trouble laying the outer rear taillight ones down. Decided that this would need to be a two-person install to heat the film and get it to sit properly so that will all be finished another weekend in the next few weeks
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mmcartalk

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Nice car. :) IMO, this is one of the very few products (other than a Mazda Miata and some other small sports cars) where you are probably better off with the manual transmission. I owned an automatic IS300 myself for some 5 years, and there were some quirks in the way that both the shift-lever and the transmission itself operated.