Takata Airbag Recall!

Great, just great. Even though I had done research on this issue before I bought the car, it turns out that the passenger side airbag inflator is made by Takata.

Just a couple of days ago in the US, Toyota Motor Sales, USA announced that it would be recalling several cars, including select Lexus models.
http://toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota-takata-expansion-may23.htm

    * 2009 - 2011MY Corolla, Matrix 

    * 2006 - 2011MY Yaris 

    * 2010 - 2011MY 4Runner 

    * 2011MY Sienna 

    * 2008 - 2011MY Scion xB 

    * 2007 - 2011MY Lexus ES 

    * 2010 – 2011MY Lexus GX 

    * 2006 – 2011MY Lexus IS 

Give that the interior of the IS-F is near identical to the IS, I suspected but had no confirmation that the IS-F would also be included.

However, just last night I stumbled upon this:

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/staticcontent/en/techinfo/html/prelogin/docs/cp/g2gg2hlofaq.pdf

Which explains the 5 phase recall in detail, and the reasons why. Most importantly however was this graphic at the end:

which clearly shows the 2008-2011 IS-F as one of the affected models.  I've emailed my dealer and he is trying to get information, but for now, it's wait and see...

Do You Smell That? Nope, I Don't Either...

Buying a used car means, no "new car smell."  That, I understand. And yet, to me somehow the car, when I checked it out in Tokorozawa before buying it, still seemed to retain the hint of someone else, I think.  Not sure how to describe it, but it's not a bad smell. Just like a presence, kind of like a hand me down shirt.  Even though Kabe-san at RAPT later reassured me that the car smelled like any other Lexus IS, I'm still not convinced.

So I began to do some research, and ended up buying one of these even before I took delivery of the car.  It wasn't until after a few days with the car that I learned that the IS-F actually has a built-in "Plasmacluster" ion generating function in its A/C.

First, a quick review on how this "PlasmaCluster" system is supposed to work, from Sharp's Australian website:

Plasmacluster Ion technology is an original Sharp sanitising technology that purifies the air by emitting positive and negative ions. Plasmacluster Ion technology deactivates suspended airborne mould, viruses, dust mite allergens and bacteria. It attacks a wide range of odours including  pet, cooking, garbage and cigarette smoke. 
Positive and Negative Ions : Deactivates airbourne allergens, bacteria, mould spores and viruses.
Positive and Negative Ions : Reduces unpleasant  odours at molecule level.
Negative Ions : Refreshes the air by replenishing it with negative ions.

 Plasmacluster Ion Technology  :

• Reduces suspended allergens and floating mould spores with positive and negative ions.Plasmacluster Ions are helpful in deactivating  allergens caused by dust mites and in deactivating mould spores that can cause mildew in the home. Sharp Air Purifiers and Ion Generators help to improve the quality of the air you breathe. 
• Reduces suspended viruses with positive and negative ions.Plasmacluster Ions break down and remove projecting spike-shaped proteins of suspended viruses such as influenza, reducing their effects.
• Neutralises odour-causing molecules with positive and negative ions .Plasmacluster Ion technology helps reduce the source of a wide range of unpleasant household odours including cooking, pets, garbage and cigarette smoke odours. 
• Freshens the air with negative ions.Using negative ions, Sharp Air Purifiers and Ion Generators help to clean and refresh the air. Sharp’s range of Air Purifiers and Ion Generators release negative ions creating a “feel good” atmosphere similar to naturally occurring environments like a rainforest or near a waterfall.

So what does this really mean? I really wasn't too interested in the first two bullets, more in the second two about neutralizing odor and freshening the air.  Can I really believe this propaganda?

First, this is not an ozone generator, which, despite its effective smell reducing technology, is now widely accepted as being hazardous to one's health. And it's not a HEPA filter either (although the ISF has a "pollen mode"... I will have to research that).

Some articles do say there is a small health risk associated with OH hydroxyl radicals (aka PlasmaCluster), but when one carefully reads these articles, you can see that they are usually trying to sell a competing product. I would also argue there is a risk to DRIVING so a small risk from hydroxyl radicals is not going to keep me from trying to use the unit to eliminate smells in the car.  Because, once those smells are gone, then I no longer would have to use the PlasmaCluster?

******
So I wrote the above soon after taking delivery of the car.  I used the Plasmacluster and I think it helped but it took a full detail, inside and out, for the car to regain a true "new car smell."  I had actually done the chemical clean:

From: http://www.earth-chem.co.jp/top02/car/kuruma/mukou.html

As well as applied these Zaino items for leather surfaces of the car:

photo courtesy of: http://www.lazaino.com 
Zaino Z-10 is supposed to bring back the most authentic "leather" smell.  
In Japan, most Japanese cars with leather interiors purposely do NOT smell like real leather, 
because apparently the Japanese don't like that smell. 
I beg to differ so I plan to see what I can do with the Zaino.

And both helped, to some extent.   But as I will blog next, the detail that Kabe-san at Rapt did, was what really made the difference, although I wasn't as happy with the results as I had with my GT-R.

 Stay tuned!

New Bumper Cover... Part 2

Two days after I dropped off the car at the local Porsche shop CREF, I went to pick up the car.

That is one tasty 911 GT RS3....

As if not obvious by now, I had gone to this shop because they seem to be one of only a very few places in Japan that specialize in the application of protectant film for cars (they had a Bentley in the shop when I had arrived, and a Gallardo on the way...). Rather than anything from 3M, they use the Xpel line up, and in particular they used the latest self-healing type (Xpel Ultimate) for my car. Here is a video clip I found:

And here is a link to the nationwide association in Japan these guys at CREF actually head up.  I had gone ahead and ordered the full front bumper (of course), the door handle cups, the top of the rear bumper, and lastly, some custom work on the rear door entry areas (because of the kids). What's interesting is that, while the bumper of course is brand new, the other areas had some slight scuffs in the clearcoat - and yet as Ishiguro-san at CREF promised, once the film was applied those slight imperfections really can't be seen!

Yes, slight orange peel visible, but now I can fly on the expressway with no worries...
(the hood already has too many chips for me to care)

In any case, this being Japan the craftsmanship was, as usual, nearly perfect.

Door handle cups - all 4 done!

Upper bumper area which often gets scratched when loading stuff. You can see my finger pointing to the line

On the rear door entry areas, we originally were planning just a simple strip on the edge, but they went ahead and put down a whole lot more, just in case (and without changing the estimate!)

Arrow pointing to upper edge

Arrows show bottom edge and how it extends to the side.

Obviously several other areas of the car still need work - for example the hood needs to be repainted in places and the right rear quarter panel has some paint chips. But for now I'm happy with the additional protection.

I'm not done with CREF though... turns out they have 2 other key items I've been looking at getting done...

New Bumper Cover... Part 1

So, as the title says, one thing I had done at the Lexus dealer was to have the beat up original bumper cover, with all of its scratches and chips thanks to the previous owner, replaced with a brand new bumper cover from the factory. Being a Lexus factory part, the paint is absolutely perfect.

Beautiful!

But to stay absolutely perfect is not possible, not matter how much wax or sealant is applied, especially when the car is on the expressway often as it is in my case. But, I had, even before buying the car (but after seeing it), thought about getting certain parts of the car repainted so I had ordered several pieces of 3M clear protection film pre-cut for the ISF, from the US.

Here are the film cutouts for the bumper and mirrors.

On my GT-R, I had successfully cut my own templates, from which I cut headlight protection thickness 3M clear film, and then applied to the headlights. So, I figured that with lots of time and patience, application of the bumper piece on the ISF would be the same, especially because it was already pre-cut.

So, I took off the (required in Japan) license plate and its holder:

This must be the cheapest piece on the car. Will have to upgrade soon.

Those are some LARGE holes...

And then I washed the bumper and used a Zaino claybar to remove any dust, just in case:

After it was all clean, I sprayed the front bumper with the distilled water and baby shampoo mix:

The bumper film has yet to be peeled away and is sitting upside down on the hood

And then, as deftly as possible I removed the 3M film from its backing and tried to apply it to the bumper:

Was ok so far...

Finally got it on, somehow....

And then came the process of using the supplied squeegees to remove the activator fluid of distilled water and alcohol.

When I finished, however, I learned that 1) in getting the film to fit in some areas, I had overstretched the material so it would not fit in others, 2) despite my washing down the garage some dust had gotten trapped and caused some rough spots (redoing the application in places to remove this dust was driving me insane) and 3) some fluid just could not be removed.

What it looked like when I gave up...

Finally, after spending the entire afternoon doing this, as it began to get dark I decided to give up. The photo above was taken right before I walked away disgusted with myself.

The problem remained, however, what to do - could this be salvaged (I guess I could drive it around looking horrible until it was fixed) or was there another solution?

For the GT-R, I had also wanted to install some paint protection - I had bought a can of the 3M Paint Defender as well as a container of the Road Warrior Plus because I was concerned that I would not have the talent to cut bulk sheets of the 3M film to fit the GT-R.  But of course, for some reason I searched my garage and could find neither of these.

Finally I gave up, made some calls, and then found myself on Wednesday morning at a famous Porsche tuner in Yokohama, just 10 minutes away from where I live.

Stay tuned in Part 2 to see what I had done...

New IS200t Loaner!

So after the car's 6 month inspection, I decided to order a few parts to begin the process of improving the car. Just some minor tweaks. Yes, famous last words.

Anyway, because the car was kept overnight they offered me the use of a loaner car - in this case the new IS200t - four cylinder with single double scroll turbo (I think that is what Dino said, anyway).

The white one next to my car, with number plate 200, is the IS200T they lent me.

Since I'm not a motorjournalist, I won't bother with all the photos of the exterior and interior, etc. Just a few thoughts on the car itself compared to the ISF.

First, the car felt shorter than it really is. When I parked the car at home, I discovered that it barely fit in the garage, putting the rear wheels against the same bump stop as the ISF. I read somewhere that Toyota had engineered the car to be welded in more spots, and that they also used a new type of adhesive, in order to obtain better body rigidity. Makes sense, because my GT-R felt shorter once I had improved its body rigidity too.

Second, the engine I think is only mediocre. A car this class, I think, needs more power. I haven't bothered to check how much horsepower the car has, but at low speeds it is very Lexus like, quiet, but once acceleration happens the engine is working hard. Too hard, maybe? Still quiet but not the effortless power the ISF has.

Third, even in Sport+ mode I was not happy with how the car felt. Still overpowered and too light, although I think the suspension does a good job of a decent ride. Brakes were strong though.

Fourth, interior - I do like the new LFA inspired OLED gauges, but I think I still prefer 2 stand alone tach and speed gauges. Keep it simple.  The seats were too soft even after 5 minutes, too.

Fifth, exterior - I do like the way it looks. I do like the modern aero touches that probably came from the LFA, like this A-pillar "fin"... I think I saw something offered for the ISF which I will have to get eventually.

I like the way the front of the car looks. The rear, looks like it wasn't quite finished.  I found this, and if Lexus had offered an ISF based on the new platform and it looked like this, I may have gotten it.

why didn't Toyota offer the ISF in this new model?

Rear looks awesome!

Close up. See, that looks great!

In any case, in my next posts I'll show you what I got, and my impressions. Hint, one IS a TRD part...

GS-F Test Drive!

So when I dropped off my IS-F for its 6 month inspection, I took a quick look at the following cars:

The interior looked cheap. Same materials as used in the IS-F? Expected better from a GS!

The look is growing on me. Still think the rear quarter is weird though.

Turbo model! Curious to see how this drives...

 In any case, the next day I went to pick up the car:

And saw this monstrosity...

 But the highlight was when Ishikawa-san pulled this out of the garage:

Check out that license plate!!

Ok so I'm not as well dressed as Ishikawa-san. But very happy!

Forget to take a photo of the ultra-clear heads up display the car has!

Lots more legroom. Love the color actually!

Bit surprised that a real harness could not be passed through...

Same basic engine means, the car feels slower and less nimble than the IS-F

Looks much better though, I think.

Especially with these LED headlights!

Why they kept the brakes on the IS-F black....

Even from the rear, looks great. Hey, real exhaust pipes!!!

Everything in the car is much more refined than the IS-F, as would be befitting a GS sedan, and the power is fine. Not as urgent as the IS-F, but then again we are hauling around another 400kg I think.

What I was really impressed by was the ride quality - Sachs dampers apparently, the same manufacturer as that which supplied the later model IS-Fs.  I may have to eventually replace the early OEM Tokikos with the later model OEM Sachs in my car.

Meanwhile, I have a couple of mods coming up soon....stay tuned!

Easiest Mod Ever! Genuine Lexus IS (20 series) Door Weatherstripping

This is seriously the easiest modification I've ever done. All you need is the ability to apply a sticker and that's about it.

In surfing the web, I found several IS/IS-F owners had installed the Lexus (genuine OEM) weatherstripping for the GS.  Interesting, I found that non-Toyota owners were doing this mod too, including this Mazda Atenza Wagon owner. Seems to be a popular, cheap, effective and easy DIY mod.

The claimed benefits being, when closing the doors they sound more substantial, the additional weatherstripping helps to make the car even more quieter, and it prevents rain/water from carwash from accumulating on the B pillars.

Anyway I ordered from an online retailer and waited a few days:

Part numbers 67895-30020 (driver's side), 67896-30020 (passenger side). For RHD anyway.

Hardest part was making sure to apply on a clean and grease free surface. After using some cleaning items, I made sure that the length of the rubber strip matched up:

Making sure it lines up at the bottom.

 Warning, the strip is actually a few mm short. See below, make sure the top of the strip fits properly.

Here are the pull away tabs which reveal the adhesive underneath.

 Pull the lower tab away, revealing the adhesive on the lower half. Start at the bottom of the front edge of the rear door, and then slowly but securely apply the weatherstrip. That's it!

The top side looks like this. There is actually a small tab that needs to either be cut off or pushed behind the existing vertical strip.

As you can see the additional strip make the doors flush, except for a bit at the top

From a distance can barely tell. (And yes, I know the paint needs a professional polish)

Anyway, I then took the car out for a drive to see if I could tell the difference in sound.  Actually it was a 4 hour road trip with the family; I GUESS there is a small difference but likely a placebo effect. The biggest change is definitely how the doors sound when you close them now.  Interestingly, most Lexus owners reported the same thing in the links above; only the non-Lexus owners experienced a clear reduction in noise, telling us how well designed and built these cars are to begin with.  

And I suppose this also explains why the cars didn't come with them either. Oh well. To the next mod!