According to the owner’s manual, my 2006 Lexus IS350 with the 2GR-FSE 3.0L V6 engine uses a 5W-30 viscosity oil, but 10W-30 can be used as well if the former is not available. You should replace your engine oil depending on what type of motor oil you go with. When changing the oil and oil filter, you will need 6.6 quarts of oil to perform an oil change.
The windshield molding on the IS350 can become brittle over time and start cracking. It may even get as bad as separating from the windshield completely. The right and left molding pieces fit onto the car via five clips on each side of the windshield. The unfortunate thing is the design doesn’t incorporate reusing these clips and therefore if you want to replace the trim pieces, you will likely need to replace the moldings as well as the clips that hold them in place.
The serpentine belt (a.k.a. the drive belt) plays an important part in running the various pulleys tied to critical components of your vehicle. There aren’t really any specific drive belt change intervals on the Lexus IS350, but it is typically recommended anywhere from every 90k miles to 120k miles. Given that drive belts are very easy to replace and the belt itself costs somewhere between $20 and $30, it’s worth it to be a bit more conservative on your change intervals for this part.
Signs of a failing alternator can be an excessively noisy alternator, a burning smell coming from the alternator, and flickering of vehicle lights under electrical load. In this case, the car completely lost power while driving on the highway. The alternator is not too difficult to replace, however it does require some time. The drive belt needs to be removed and there are few difficult bolts to get to. However, it is a direct replacement so in all it can be done successfully if you take your time and do it right.
A car battery replacement is pretty simple to do: disconnect and remove the battery, then install the new battery and reconnect the leads. Fully charged 12 volt batteries are considered fully charged with a reading of 12.6 volts or higher. If the car battery tests as anything lower than 12 volts, it is considered dead or fully depleted. I got a reading of 10.34 volts, which indicates the battery is completely discharged.
While removing the center console unit on my wife’s 2006 Lexus IS350, some parts of the dashboard starting breaking off as any trim or trim removal tools pressed against it. I stumbled upon this moldable glue called Sugru, which would be able to be shaped, textured, and color-matched to the dashboard. Sugru is an RTV one-part moisture curing silicone elastomer that can be molded like a putty into any shape needed.
The touch screen suddenly stopped working on my Lexus IS350. After realizing a repair with a conductive pen wouldn’t work, I decided to replace the whole digitizer. At only $20 for an aftermarket one online, I thought it was a no brainer.
The center console is not that difficult to remove on a Lexus IS350, but there are a couple things that can make it arduous. First, the vent trim can be tricky, and second, the dashboard can crumble apart if it has had many years of prolonged sunlight exposure.
A bad wheel hub bearing is a common issue on the 2nd generation Lexus IS350. To resolve this issue, the wheel hub assembly needs to be replaced. After some research and shopping around, I was able to find an OEM-like alternative that costs 70% less than the dealer option.
