[font="Calibri"][color="#000000"][size="3"]First of all let me make this clear, this is in no way a complaint, in fact it is the opposite, I have nothing but praise for the Poole Lexus dealership. My car went in for servicing in November and the technician picked up on an oil leak and a turbo lag issue on the car, Alison from the service dept. informed me that they will have to take the engine out of the car and have it inspected by Lexus UK due to this being the second time the car has had a head gasket problem, but this wouldn’t be done till January. So on January the 30[/size][sup][size="2"]th[/size][/sup][size="3"] the car went into Lexus Poole for repair, and they have given me the exact same car but newer as a courtesy car. After taking the engine out of the car, it seems the problem is a lot worse than they originally thought and looks like I need a new short block engine. At this point I am so happy that[/size][/color][/font]

[color="#000000"][font=Calibri][font="Calibri"][size="3"]1.[/size][/font] [/font][font="Calibri"][size="3"]I have a great garage looking after my car[/size][/font][/color]

[color="#000000"][font=Calibri][font="Calibri"][size="3"]2.[/size][/font] [/font][font="Calibri"][size="3"]I took out the extended warranty[/size][/font][/color]

[size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]I am hoping that I get an update tomorrow so watch this space but in the meantime well done Lexus Poole [/font][/color][/size]

One way of looking at it I suppose.........

The latest about the car is that Lexus will replace the block with a new 3 quarter short engine, as parts for a block are on a long back order, again Poole Lexus have managed to get Lexus to ok the 3 quarter block engine (which was above the Warranty limit) in order to get my car back to me ASAP, in the meantime I am enjoying the IS220d I have as a courtesy car.

One of the noticable difference between the 200d and my 220d is the pulling power, the power comes in at around 1100 rpm, in fact you can hear the Turbo whining when you start the car with the heaters runnings. what this does to the drive of the car is it makes it a pleasure to drive as you dont get that terrible lag that is often associated with the 220d and is certainly evident in my car. I m hoping that this will be resolved once I get my car back as this is one of the things that the technican picked up when Lexus had my car in for servicing in November.

So hopfully I will hear more this week until then stay tuned.

Good news, I got my car back today and what a difference. The car has much more torque below 2000 rpm where as before it was flat until 2100 rpm and feels considerably more powerful than the 200d I have been driving for the past 3 weeks, and in true Lexus Poole style the car has been valeted to a high standard. The car has been fitted with a optifit engine and has to be run in for the next 600 miles, but already the car is performing much better than before. the cost for all the work was £5068 fortunately covered by my extended Lexus Warranty hats off to Poole Lexus because they even fixed my noisey suspension so I feel like i have gained a new car. will update you all in a few hundred miles (which will take me a couple of days) on how she is performing.

Ok so I took the car for a 240 mile run to Eastbourne yesterday and what a joy the car was to drive. Due to the car needing to be run in means that I have to vary my speed and not allow the car to labour for the next 600 miles, but even with such restrictions the car felt like a dream to drive.
The key differences are the car has loads of torque from 1100rpm right through to 3500 rpm and the turbo lag that is notorious with some of the 220d’s (and was terrible in my car) has all but disappeared, and the fuel economy is not bad either, I got 34mpg doing not more than 70 MPH. I expect this will improve as the ECU will need to re-learn my driving style since being reset after the new engine fitted. All in all, it’s been a good experience to date. I was considering selling my IS but after the service and the performance of the new engine, I am now back to being a loyal follower.

Great to hear your problems sorted.

[font="Calibri"][color="#000000"][size="3"]The car has now completed it running in process and I am still smiling from ear to ear. The car has so much torque that I can comfortably drive in sixth gear for the first time for the majority of my journey. Yesterday I drove from Poole to Pinewood Studios and only came out of sixth gear twice for slowing traffic (I have a 220d sport which has a lower sixth[/size][size="3"] gear ratio than the standard IS gearbox) the car, comfortably and quickly recovers as low as 1500 rpm without labouring or any noticeable turbo lag. [/size][/color][/font]

[size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]So far the only issue I have come across is speed, namely I have to watch it, as I thing I was caught by a mobile speed camera unit as I was distracted by the smoothness of the car, oh well should find out in a few days if I was caught or not and if so, it will be the bus for me as I am at the high end of the naughty point scale!![/font][/color][/size]

I know this is tad off thread, but thought I would share this here, if only to demonstrate the fact that there are plenty of other marques suffering problems.

Quote " I've just bought a 53, 2003 320d with 71k. Thinking that this is probably one of the most bomb proof engines.Boy, I was wrong! After 400 miles - engine goes bang.Mechanics pull it apart to find the one of the inlet manifold butterfly flaps had dislodged itself and went through the engine. Totalled. Piston 2 & 3 were totally distroyed as was the head and values.Spoke to local BMW dealer and they have had 3 320ds in recently with the same fault - and same result - engine mashed. Spoke to BMW and they 'are aware of the problem' "

Quote " My 320d went the same way as yours some five weeks ago. Unfortunately as my vehicle didn't have a full [b]BMW[/b] service history. I was offered a generous 20% off parts on a £10k bill!! When you add this failure to the[b] failed turbocharger, the failed injectors, the failed fuel pump, the failed springs and the failed front wishbone rear bushes[/b] over its five year life, I bought a vehicle that has turned out to be less of "the ultimate driving machine", more like a piece of overpriced junk!!

Makes quite sobering reading really. Look around and you will find similar types of thread with Mercs and Audis too. I'm not having a go at the other brands, merely pointing out there are issues all over the place.

Good to read occasionally of experinces like Paul's with a happy outcome.

Totally agree. It's also a nice when members actually post when the issues are resolved.

I may have spoken too soon; on the way to London today I had a load of white smoke as I accelerated, the car was cold and I was only doing 40 with no more than 2200 RPM on a dual carriageway but there was a lot of smoke for the first few minutes. I have notices some small traces of smoke over a number of days but it usually clears as the car warms up, but today there was a lot of smoke which almost made me turn back for home but it cleared and was ok for the rest of the day, also noticed a strong smell of diesel with the smoke almost as if the car is running really rich. The car is going in to Lexus on Friday for its 1000 mile fluid check so I’ll break the news to Lexus then, it’s a shame because up until this morning, the car has been perfect.