Colin ck

Hi! I have IS220d SE-l 2009 but mileage is only 24000. Because i only do short runs I have only used BP Ultimate Diesel for the past 3 years to prevent any carbon build up. Without stripping anything down I won't know if it is working. A month ago I was stopped by the Police because of exhaust emmisions. They thought it may have been piston rings but after discussing it over I realised it was because I had previously been sitting with my engine on tickover for about 20 minutes trying to keep warm. A week later I had my engine running on tickover for 10 minutes and on continuing my journey as I accelerated uphill I again noticed particles (it didn't look like smoke) from my exhaust. This only happened for a short distance then it was clear again. What was going on I could only summise with my limited experience. Because there was no smoke (I think) but just particles I assume there was no oily residue so it's possible that there is no carbon build up. Why doesn't the Particle Filter stop the emmisions? I would appreciate any comments please although I'm not overly concerned. Thanks for reading, Colin

Fixed it! I thoroughly cleaned the controller's circuit board with switch cleaner & dried well. The window now goes up & down but not automatically even after resets have been tried. only time will tell if I can ever trust it again.

Hi! My IS220D SE-l 2009 drivers window will not close. I've tried all of the resets & more but nothing will work. Each time I tried to close it with the help of manual handling it went down very quickly as though it detected an arm or head in the way. The cost of a new Controller is £190 + VAT; the cost of a new Motor is £155 + VAT. :o So, I want to cross over the wiring to the drivers side REAR window so when I press the REAR Drivers window switch it operates my drivers window. However, I suspect the motors are individually controlled by the processor on a data circuit. If that's the case would I have to change the motors over instead of a cross over wiring change? And! can they be swopped or are they individually linked to each door? Brain hurts now! Do I have to hurt my wallet as well? Thanks for reading, Colin

Hi! I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. My drivers window would not work at all on my 220d se-l 2009. I tried everything - Resetting; reading codes; disconnecting battery for a few hours; reading tips from here & WEB; doing all sorts of configurations with switches; resoldering joints on the Controller circuit board, everytime I got in the car I tried again - nothing worked. The thought of spending a few hundred pounds prevented me from taking it to my dealer. The day before yesterday I tried to reset my door mirrors, they weren't dipping in reverse. They only dip when the left hand mirror is selected - wierd! Yesterday, I tried the window as usual & to my shock it worked! It's still working perfectly and I have a feeling it was something to do with my door mirrors when I reset them. I would appreciate any feedback as I'm still puzzled. Thanks, Colin

For any car with a turbo you used to have to idle the engine for about 40 seconds to allow the oil to circulate around the turbo bearings. Although I think modern oils allow toleration I still wait for about 30 seconds before I rev the engine. When you come to a halt especially after a long fast run (eg Motorway fuel stop) wait about 10 seconds before switching the engine off, this allows the turbo to cool, preventing the oil cooking in the turbo, the hottest part of the engine. Again modern oils do their bit. It's always better never to switch an engine off until the engine is thoroughly warmed up. This allows all water content to evaporate in the oil and the exhaust to dry out giving it a longer life. It is why the rear part of exhausts always rots first. The original question about 'idling for 10 minutes' should have been interpreted as 'driven for 10 minutes' for reasons as above and also cars used to have dynamos with a maximum current output of 25 amps. It took 10 minutes or about 6 miles to put the charge back into the battery.

Ever since ICI started supplying fuel at service stations in the 1970's I have monitored some of the problems with fuel systems. As a Motor Association patrol we had to strip carburettors down to clean them out and the sediment that came out of float chambers was immense. So I always asked the driver which brand of fuel they used. I never bought fuel from these companies. I never came across a blocked injector which would initiate a call to us but they could become inefficient with deposits. That would not affect us as patrols. The same went for diesels and EGR valves! It is only my own point of view, limited experimentation & info from MOT testers that made me decide never to use supermarket, unknown brands and especially recycled fuels. I use BP Ultimate (no Shell in the area) diesel all of the time, mainly because I do short runs with the occasional long one and I want to keep my EGR valve clean. The cost is usually 10p - 11p more per litre than regular diesel but I enjoy peace of mind. It works for me!

I just realised this morning why my revs are only 800 when I first start up from cold. It must be to protect the turbo until lubricated. That is one mystery solved, I think. But I'm still concerned about the above.

I used to work for a large motor organisation and came across a few cars with pressurised latex cannisters. If you have a puncture in town they're not too bad. However, if you're on the motorway at speed and overtaking, by the time you've pulled onto the hard shoulder the tyre will have been destroyed. No amount of pressure or latex will fix that! Even if the tyre is serviceable, the cannisters I came across would inflate the tyre to a low pressure and the car would have to be driven at 30mph for 2 or 3 miles and then inflated further. ON A MOTORWAY? In my opinion they should be banned. They also should not be called "Spacesaver" tyres but "Costsavers".

Thanks Geoff, I'm new to this posting thingy. I couldn't find my post again! I agree, I think the rag is a better idea as well as the vacuum. I'll get around and check it out but in the meantime I'm driving with slightly higher revs until the engine is hot.

Speed on motorways is relative to other vehicles travelling at lower speeds. If a truck travelling at 50mph or slower going uphill, a car following doing 90mph overtaking another car doing 80mph do you think the difference of speed could be more dangerous than speed itself. There is no wonder why there is an automatic license ban for speedsters doing 100mph. If all vehicles travelled at the same speed there should be no danger of everyone doing 90mph. Unfortunately there is always someone travelling very slowly. Which is why there is a 70mph limit.

Hi! I don't know where you'll find a .pdf version but you can try Lexus own site, it's probably not what you want but it's still quite handy. https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/info/my-lexus/resources/submit-owners-manual-search#

Hi! Looking at the photo's from " bluenose1940" (Thank you!) I am a little concerned about any hard carbon deposits falling into the CAT. So! I thought, could a ballon be inserted through the deposits to be inflated before cleaning? Has anyone thought of any reason not to do this? ie. The balloon bursting and doing more damage!

Me too! But thank you for the best laugh I've had in years.

From the outset, I don't condone speeding at all. I always check speedo's whenever I get a new car because they are usually inaccurate. So I wasn't surprised to find that my IS220d was also inaccurate. When my speedo reads 70mph it was really only doing 65mph. Calculating the exact speed of a car can be done on a motorway using the marker posts which are 100 metres apart. Using the last digit of the number - ie; 2, travel at a constant speed of 70mph until you see the next marker post with 2 as the last digit on it, you will have travelled 1 kilometre. If your speedo is really accurate it would have taken you 31.95 seconds. Please have a passenger to use the stopwatch not yourself while driving. I accept no responsibility for this procedure or inaccuracies of the figures. Please don't quote me in court if these figures are incorrect. Colin

Hi! I've had my 2009 (09) 220d SE-L since early March 2012 which has the same problem. You say it's the emissions control system but there is no reason for the revs to be that high when the heater is on it's lowest setting. If the ambient temperature is near freezing, the engine is cold and the heater is on full blast I could understand it. Even when I first start my car up on a cool morning the engine revs are only 800rpm, that's when the idle speed should be 1200rpm. Only when the engine temperature is normal and the heater cuts in, on auto, does the rpm rise to 1200. This is back to front and it does affect the economy which is obviously bad for the environment. It's all very well that the service centers says that's it's normal but I'm afraid it's not logical. I have tried to reason using ambient, cab, coolant & oil temperatures, high current draw on the battery, engine vibration but I am at a loss for a good explanation except incorrect programming. I've been in the motor industry since 1965 starting off as an apprentice mechanic and things have obviously changed for the better but this fast idle seems a backward step to me. I will stand corrected if a logical reason is given! But nobody, as yet, has given one. Colin