I've had my 2006 220 Sport for a little over 2 years and after the first couple of months of ownership I noticed smoking after sitting in traffic then accelerating away quickly. I do mostly urban miles and a stop-start 17-mile journey into the office every day. I'd previously been doing 30 miles which was stop-start, then about 10 motorway miles, winding country roads and a stop-start last 2 miles. I had numerous calls and garage visits to Lexus but they couldn't recreate or diagnose the problem. I even posted about it here. Eventually they followed me on a typical journey and saw the effect for themselves. I took it in and they said I'd need a new engine!! Fortunately, it would be replaced under warranty.
Last month I had a stuttering effect driving down to Wiltshire but didn't think much of it. On Tuesday I drove from London to Manchester and it was more pronounced but I got there without any problems. Yesterday I was driving back from Manchester and 40 miles into the journey the warning light (check VSC), engine and traction light illuminated. I stopped, called Lexus Roadside Assistance (the AA - pfftt!) who advised that I do a regeneration. I literally drove all the way back to London at 3.5k RPM! I was getting a loss of power pretty much the whole way and I was surprised I made it home without the dreaded "Limp mode" I'd heard so much about.
Car still not great on my drive into the office this morning but stil no limp mode yet. Now I'm beginning to think that the great plumes of smoke that I used to see before the engine was replaced was actually a good thing and my system was cleaning itself out! If I take this to Lexus and say that I think it was a direct result of the misdiagnosis and replacement of the engine maybe they'll fix it for free! (And pigs might fly right?)
Anyway, does anyone know of anywhere in London (or counties to the N, NW, W and SW of London) that will reliably remove the DPF and do a ECU remap (or DPF emulation) at a reasonable price?