Is200 Sluggish, But Only Sometimes

[xdeity]

i have a 2003 is200 navigator, a while ago it was sluggish and i have the fuel filter cleaned which seemed to fix the problem.

its now behaving in a similar fashion, only te fuel filter is still clean and its not all the time, usually lasts for a few days at a time, seems slow on acceleration, but sometimes the power comes rushing back unexpectedly, for example when i'm driving on the motorway i'll have my foot down and it wont be doing much but then all of a sudden the power comes flooding back and the acceleration comes in very quickly.

after its done that the acceration and responsiveness until i switch the engine off overnight, when i go back to it and the engine is cold it invariably is sluggish again, regardless of the engine warming up, and then it may r may not get better, can last for days at a time.

its quite overdue for a service but i cant afford it at the moment, but surely just being overdue for a service wouldnt make it behave like that, or would it.

Ive tried using an engine cleaning product, cant remember which one it was but it wasnt redex.

i've also tried resetting the ecu by taking the leads off the Battery but that was no help either. one of my mates suggested it might be a collapsed catalitic converter, but another said there was no chance of that, so i thought i'd ask the people in the know.

so chaps and chapesses, any ideas on what could be the problem. there is plenty of oil in it and enough coolant, although it is a tad low, but i'll remedy that soon, the engine does not overheat but fuel efficiency seems to have taken a total nose dive, and it was bad enough before.

so, over to you, any ideas or fixes would be appreciated. has anyone suffered with this problem before.

cheers for any help

xdeity

[boddamloon]

could be the plugs? infact it could be many things and fault finding can be expensive if you need to replace a lot of things before you get a solution

[KevLex]

Find a local garage or someone with a code reader and see if there are any fault codes. See the thread on OBD readers, you could always buy your own.

It is likely to be difficult to diagnose without any diagnostic equipment.

[VVProtocolVV]

Seized brakes/handbrake can cause this, low tyre pressure etc etc, as mentioned before it could be alot of things, best to get it to a lexus garage and see if you can get a fault code. Over due service doesn't help either..

[Diapason]

Had the same problem, everyone thought I was nuts, couldn't persuade Lexus, they couldn't find anything untoward, never got to the bottom of it. Doesn't seem as bad anymore, and the periods of sluggishness seem more rare and much shorter. Why? *** knows.

Best of luck!!

[VVProtocolVV]

Can't say i don't get that too tbh, but i just ignore it as i think it may just be me when im on a hyper, so it would seemed slow. Other thing could be fuel wise, sometimes i have last 1/4 tank of unleaded and then i'll fill it up with premium unleaded. Car seems the same wether it's on full tank or near empty. Lastly maybe the ecu has learned the way you drive, so when u suddenly change it's trying to compensate fuel usage.

[evoelf]

Mine is always really sluggish when she's cold. Feels like something is holding the power back, but as soon as she's warmed up dshe drives fine I just make sure i run the engine for a min or 2 before i go out.

Will be changing the plugs, filter, oil...etc and then reseting the ECU this weekend so i'll see if it makes a diffrerence.

[WylieCoyote]

Mine's sluggish because she's an automatic IS200!!!! It's just slow, full stop!

[DJ Wozza]

Mine's sluggish because she's an automatic IS200!!!! It's just slow, full stop!

mine's not

[dazz32]

Doesnt the ecu cut back the engine power when its cold to stop you from driving to fast to soon..... and so stoping any engine wear before the oil has got up to temp? i.e stop you over revving sharply?

[evoelf]

Doesnt the ecu cut back the engine power when its cold to stop you from driving to fast to soon..... and so stoping any engine wear before the oil has got up to temp? i.e stop you over revving sharply?

Thats what i've always thought...but it is really annoying when you try to pull out onto a road and an OAP on a mobility scooter is pullin off quicker

[Rikos]

Doesnt the ecu cut back the engine power when its cold to stop you from driving to fast to soon..... and so stoping any engine wear before the oil has got up to temp? i.e stop you over revving sharply?

Thats what i've always thought...but it is really annoying when you try to pull out onto a road and an OAP on a mobility scooter is pullin off quicker

I'm very disappointed ........ firstly you've admitted being beaten off the line by an OAP on a mobility scooter .............secondly you get 50 points for an OAP and 50 for the scooter, so you've missed 100 points by not wiping them out

I am joking, just in case anyone thinks i'm a OAP ram raider!! :shutit:

[dazz32]

almost as bad as being beaten of the lights by a 6 year old on a plastic scooter.!

f**k me when im old im going to do my shop mobility trolley up..plenty of bling B) and stick a 2 stroke motor on the back be the fastest old moaning git in the south!! :D

[dazz32]

Doesnt the ecu cut back the engine power when its cold to stop you from driving to fast to soon..... and so stoping any engine wear before the oil has got up to temp? i.e stop you over revving sharply?

Thats what i've always thought...but it is really annoying when you try to pull out onto a road and an OAP on a mobility scooter is pullin off quicker

I'm very disappointed ........ firstly you've admitted being beaten off the line by an OAP on a mobility scooter .............secondly you get 50 points for an OAP and 50 for the scooter, so you've missed 100 points by not wiping them out

I am joking, just in case anyone thinks i'm a OAP ram raider!! :shutit:

You better watch out you will have the village council on ya case for ramming old gits!

[Rikos]

I think lexus should do a mobility scooter it would be brilliant. Could call it the MS!

[dazz32]

yeah good idea...lexus-mobility-scooter LMS and could bring out an LMS-F version

[Rikos]

Oooooo an F version ...... i like it!

[evoelf]

Doesnt the ecu cut back the engine power when its cold to stop you from driving to fast to soon..... and so stoping any engine wear before the oil has got up to temp? i.e stop you over revving sharply?

Thats what i've always thought...but it is really annoying when you try to pull out onto a road and an OAP on a mobility scooter is pullin off quicker

I'm very disappointed ........ firstly you've admitted being beaten off the line by an OAP on a mobility scooter .............secondly you get 50 points for an OAP and 50 for the scooter, so you've missed 100 points by not wiping them out

I am joking, just in case anyone thinks i'm a OAP ram raider!! :shutit:

Damn i forgot about the points system . Next time i drive by my local Spar i'll have to get the back end out sideways. 10 Points for every chav thats chin is on the floor +50 bonus points for street cred B) ... i should be back on track in no time.

[monpaps]

Hi Guys,

Had a Audi A4, 03plate, nearly killed me on m6, bloody gearbox gave up on me in front of a lorry, thank God i was doing over 90 i managed to control it and change lane, got rid of that and i got my self is200 auto 1999.

When i bought it the suspension was :tsktsk: , changed some bits now no more squick noise, last week was driving after filling £45 worth of petrol it cut off at the traffic lights, managed to start it and continue my journey, 20 min later it cut off again, so i stopped and waited for 20 min and start the car and i drove off.

so i assumed that the fuel filter was bad, when i went to buy it i was told its inside of the tank, so i bought a used one and swaped it, did not fix the problem, looked around the engine, changed some relays but no luck, so bought a diagnostic tool, was informed that number one coil was a gonner and mass air sensor, swaped them and reset the engine.

sadly engine check light came on, car feels heavy, stearing feels heavyan a squicky noise coming from the back, can anyone help?

Edited November 30, 2014 by ColinBarber