Strange Running Problem

[floggit]

Hi, i have a 95 series 3 which in 2 yrs of ownership has been a dream to drive but this week its been missbehaving !

I live 6 miles from work so do a 12 mile round trip each day.

For four days the drive into work has been as expected , however on leaving work for home 10hrs later the car developes lumpy or rough running 2 minutes into the drive back home. Its done this four times consistently . Morning is no traffic, on way home is start stop driving . On 3 days the car ran rough until i got home on one day it cleared just before i got home. On two nites ive driven it an hour later and its fine again.

It sounds chuggy and has slightly reduced power. In drive with the brake on it feels like it will stall but doesent..

Petrol was quarter tank and now filled to just below full but same fault. .

Any ideas gratefully recieved , its weird its just the drive home.

thanks steve

[ROYT]

Hi, i have a 95 series 3 which in 2 yrs of ownership has been a dream to drive but this week its been missbehaving !

I live 6 miles from work so do a 12 mile round trip each day.

For four days the drive into work has been as expected , however on leaving work for home 10hrs later the car developes lumpy or rough running 2 minutes into the drive back home. Its done this four times consistently . Morning is no traffic, on way home is start stop driving . On 3 days the car ran rough until i got home on one day it cleared just before i got home. On two nites ive driven it an hour later and its fine again.

It sounds chuggy and has slightly reduced power. In drive with the brake on it feels like it will stall but doesent..

Petrol was quarter tank and now filled to just below full but same fault. .

Any ideas gratefully recieved , its weird its just the drive home.

thanks steve

/quote]

A couple of guesses..misfiring plug or plugs, HT leads tracking[run engine in total darkness and look at engine for any flashes], dirty injector etc...

[floggit]

Thanks roy will try that next time it does it lol. Given me somewhere to start though.

thanks

[Mybikesacx500]

Mine developed a faulty HT coil 2 weeks after I got it, perhaps one of your coils is partially failing as it warms up, its usually the passenger side one, I think because it runs hotter, as it lives close to the exhaust. The test is to check the coil resistance. but its not too easy to get to

[Mybikesacx500]

Hi, i have a 95 series 3 which in 2 yrs of ownership has been a dream to drive but this week its been missbehaving !

I live 6 miles from work so do a 12 mile round trip each day.

For four days the drive into work has been as expected , however on leaving work for home 10hrs later the car developes lumpy or rough running 2 minutes into the drive back home. Its done this four times consistently . Morning is no traffic, on way home is start stop driving . On 3 days the car ran rough until i got home on one day it cleared just before i got home. On two nites ive driven it an hour later and its fine again.

It sounds chuggy and has slightly reduced power. In drive with the brake on it feels like it will stall but doesent..

Petrol was quarter tank and now filled to just below full but same fault. .

Any ideas gratefully recieved , its weird its just the drive home.

thanks steve

Codes! you need to get the error codes read, doesnt need to be a Lexus garage, you will find a list of the codes and what they mean here somewhere. I think your car has the OBDC II diags

[floggit]

ok thanks for that . Ive looked over what i can and nothing is loose or looks amiss.

Car now booked in at my usual place for thursday. Guy who works there is lexus trained.

Will suggest all of the above to him as a good starting place.

thanks steve

[floggit]

Hi, car now fixed and running as she should.

New plug/ ht leads fitted as one was breaking down .£180 from lexus plus fitting at my independant garage.

Expensive but an easy fix and cant complain , ive had 2yrs easy motoring from her.

Mot in couple of weeks so thats the next test lol.

thanks steve

[floggit]

Hi, car now fixed and running as she should.

New plug/ ht leads fitted as one was breaking down .£180 from lexus plus fitting at my independant garage.

Expensive but an easy fix and cant complain , ive had 2yrs easy motoring from her.

Mot in couple of weeks so thats the next test lol.

thanks steve

Do you mind telling me who you use in Plymouth who is Lexus trained? I have just purchased a LS400 MKIV and need to find a decent mechanic for it.

Cheers,

Richard

Hi Rich, yes no problem, ive recomended them before.

Station View garage 01752 662372

its the garage right on the entrance to plymouth train station, you probably know it.

Ask for ed and tell him steve recomended you with the white LS400. Got to know them well since ive had mine and can 100% recomend

Theyve regularly serviced mine and mot and timing belt jobs.

Ed is lexus trained but now works here ( i think he may own or be a partner in the garage). He Has his lexus stamps on reception wall.

Hope this helps

Steve

[floggit]

What colour is your mk4 rich ? i will keep an eye out for you

[OluGTR]

It's gold (beige) and can be seen around the Compton/Mannamead and dockyard areas.

Thanks for the recommendation, I have been wondering where to go since I got the LS and defected from Mercedes.

Hello There,

Any reason why you "defected" from Mercedes? Just curious...

[Manc]

ok thanks for that . Ive looked over what i can and nothing is loose or looks amiss.

Car now booked in at my usual place for thursday. Guy who works there is lexus trained.

Will suggest all of the above to him as a good starting place.

thanks steve

1st rule - never give the mechanic any extra info - they'll just bill you for stuff thats not needed...he will find out himself if he is honest enough.

Does your model have the throttle body troubles that the mk2 gets? Tiny ducts let air into the main engine block and these get blocked over the years leaving the engine struggling for air.

Happened on mine last year, similar erratic lack of power but still drives, jumpy/dropping revs it sounds exactly the same

What did the mechanic say?

after saying all that i just saw your post about it being fixed...cant eat my words b'cos they'll taste awful but if it happens again try to make sure you are there when he tests the old leads (voltage)

[floggit]

ok thanks for that . Ive looked over what i can and nothing is loose or looks amiss.

Car now booked in at my usual place for thursday. Guy who works there is lexus trained.

Will suggest all of the above to him as a good starting place.

thanks steve

1st rule - never give the mechanic any extra info - they'll just bill you for stuff thats not needed...he will find out himself if he is honest enough.

Does your model have the throttle body troubles that the mk2 gets? Tiny ducts let air into the main engine block and these get blocked over the years leaving the engine struggling for air.

Happened on mine last year, similar erratic lack of power but still drives, jumpy/dropping revs it sounds exactly the same

What did the mechanic say?

after saying all that i just saw your post about it being fixed...cant eat my words b'cos they'll taste awful but if it happens again try to make sure you are there when he tests the old leads (voltage)

Hi yep i believe it does have a throttle body assy that can be cleaned. As for the leads i was talked through the process of what they did and checked and saw the old leads so am happy .

Just glad its back to normal quiet mode lol,,,, mot in two weeks ,,, then xmas lol

cheers steve

[OluGTR]

I am a big fan of 1985-1995 Mercedes, but what they made between 1996-2007 was a joke in terms of quality.

I still have a 1991 500SL in the garage, so not totally defected

I agree with you 100%. In my opinion, Mercedes should be setting the benchmark when it comes to car quality, but then you hear horror stories of rust appearing on 05/06 models around the number plate surround area. My favourite Mercs are your SL, which I believe appeared in the movie "The rookie" with Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen. When they drove out of the "warehouse" form a certain height and landed on the ground, Clint uttered the immortal words "engineered like no other car" Believable back then!! My other favourite Merc is a W124 500E / E500 / E60 AMG (5.0L/6.0L V8), that was built in collaboration with Porsche between 1991 and 1995. The E500 (326bhp V8 5.0 litre) is the facelifted version and the E60 version is the AMG factory upgrade that was built in the latter stages of the cars life. (381bhp V8 6.0 litre). http://www.e500.org/index.html. Saying that, thank goodness for Lexus!!