Buying A 220D

[Hungry Horace]

Hi everyone

Been thinking about getting a 220D for a while and I have just found one I really like. It's a 2006 fully loaded and a good price.

I have done a fair bit of research about them but quite a few things have conflicting answers so I thought I would post a few of my questions here to see if I can get some definitive answers.

1. Does it have a cambelt.

2. Are the gear boxes reliable, some things I read say they are not.

3. Is the 220D reliable in general, some other forums have said it's the worst of the bunch.

4. Is the engine the D4D that is in Toyotas.

5. I have seen in a few ads that engines have been replaced, is this unusual, what sort of mileage should I expect from it.

6. I have read the gearing is very long and 6th is pretty much unusable, is this true and does it affect the driving much.

These are my main questions, if anyone can answer them I would appreciate it.

Thank you

[DennisJ]

Ok in order:

I believe they have a cam chain

The gear boxes may be notchy but that's all

The 220D engine may be the worst of the bunch and it has (on earlier examples) been known to suffer with Head Gasket issues. It is NOT unreliable though. Keep the EGR valve and system clean and service the car regularly.

The trouble with Forums is that you do see a disproportionate amount of negatives assembled in one place.

It is a variant of the D4D engine

The gear box and engine are poorly matched (although the F sport is better), with a very long 6th gear and some strange choices of gear ratios. As a result although the car will bumble along at 60mph in 6th if you hit a hill or want to overtake you will have to shift down the box.

Fuel economy is not it's strong point and very few can reach anywhere near the Lexus claimed figures. The German diesels are much better.

Now for the good stuff:

Although the engine is gruff and clattery outside the car, inside it is quiet and refined. The build quality is impeccable and the interiors are luxurious, comfortable, and well equipped. Find an SE-L (not an SE-I) or an F Sport and you won't be disappointed. If they had made an automatic diesel it could have been a winner.

[normski2]

Definitely has a timing chain.

I used to own a 220d and I would agree with all said above.

i used to get 39mpg around town and up to 54mpg on a decent run.

[Neddie]

I 've just got one

Nice to drive put your foot in and its quick enough

And it's not a very common car

[Silver Arrow]

Had one too and agree with most of the comments. The gearing is ruined by a final drive that is different to Sport version (not the gearbox) from that era. Personally i'd look for a 2006 IS220d Sport (The F Sport came in a lot later) - as I said it had a more "normal" differential, geared better and you could actually use 6th gear at 65mph. It didn't have leather if I recall, or cooled seats, but other than that it was almost an SEL in terms of spec.

1st to 2nd gear change isn't smooth; so check that. Make sure you can live with the turbo lag; the power delivery is narrow. The turbo kicks in at around 1800rpm, so anything below that and the car feels decidedly flat. Then it will go well to about 3600rpm.

Mine was a new one in 2006, an SE, and it had a lot of problems!

My honest opinion, and it is covered on here a kazillion times - get the IS250 Auto. It's almost as economical and much better all round. If it has to be a diesel, look at the competition!!

You really do need a long test drive.....to be sure it's what you really want. Compare it to the IS250 Auto. Seriously!!

[Hungry Horace]

Thanks for all the replies. Think I will test drive a 250 and 220.

Question about the 220. Has anyone had the head gasket issue and had to pay to get it repaired rather than under warranty, if so what figure are you looking at for all the upgraded parts and repair.

Cheers

[normski2]

Mine was covered.....but I was shown some paperwork that put it in the £5-6000 bracket all in.

[Carl911]

I must say I have no idea why a head gasket should cost so much. I replaced many head gaskets on my rover cars as they were quite a common failure and on average the gasket kit was £200 plus a possible head skim. I'd like to know what Lexus do that creates such a large bill.

It would be interesting to find out the total parts replaced and why as I suspect as a recall much more than just head gasket are replaced and also you have the main dealer labour which is probably 70% of the cost anyway.

My 220d had the recall work done at 40k and I have now done 85k. I have to say beside the afore mentioned odd gearing I still enjoy driving mine.

I have had mine almost three years and touch wood it has been faultless and driven the same every day since I bought it.

My journey to work is mostly around 40-60mph and the car runs beautifully at these cruising speeds with plenty of torque for over taking.

I agree they the gearing can make it less than ideal when pulling off in first and second gear smoothly but once rolling the car is impeccable.

I've said this before, as much as Bmw's often seen as the best mid size car perform better and are more economical, they are not nearly as reliable. I've own three BMW's and spent more in a year on them than I've spent on the Lexus in nearly three.

I also own an is250 sel so I drive both weekly and both cars have there pros and cons.

I also agree that the 250 is overall a better car but I still find the 220 feels more nimble to drive and not as heavy feeling. Despite both cars being similar in performance I find the diesel to feel the faster accelerating of the two cars. This may just be the fact that one is manual, the other auto.

Anyway, as others have said, test both and make your mind up.

Carl

[normski2]

Call me a cynic...but I'll bet most 220's had what I had done.

Had to have a new head as the existing was warped, I was told it could not be skimmed. Was not that bothered as I was not paying.

Apparently the engine has to come out of the car to perform the task too!

Having said that I would support the theory that a huge wack of the fee is in garage hourly charges.

[Guest bigbullhead]

I also get the impression that if Lexus uk are paying for the head gasket repairs a pricing scam could be going on between dealers getting the most back from any warranty jobs they do so you find the costs always increase so call me a cynic too lol I would always go to specialist independents for specialist works like gearboxes heads etc you get someone who is always more knowledgeable as that's all they repair unlike main dealers who do one once in a blue moon(Have you noticed dealer mechanics never get dirty anymore they are more like NHS surgeons nowadays)

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

The reason it's so expensive is what Normski says. Can't fix the HG, needs a total head rebuild, sometimes on Toyotas with this same engine (Rav 4, avensis etc) they just throw the whole engine away and put a new one in. I know this cos I have a friend who's a Toyota mechanic at a main dealer. In his words, he throws "loads" of these engines away....

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

And yes, the vast majority of that huge £5-6000 bill is in labour charge....

[Hungry Horace]

When I first started asking questions on here about the IS220 I had no real idea the head gasket was such an issue.

How widespread is it, as I have looked on Toyota forums and they seem to suffer as well.

Is it a case of every 220 will get this issue it's just a matter of when or is it really a lottery. Would love to know the percentage of cars that get the HG issue. Also were the later IS fitted with the updated parts so don't suffer or was this never the case.

[DennisJ]

I believed the facelifted 2009 on model had modified parts; however I recall someone on here has had a HG issue on a later model.

[normski2]

That was my understanding too.

I also recall the later HG issue you refer to...maybe ( and this is just a surmise on my part ) it was a car from the cross over point and not actually the facelift version.

I've not heard of anything untoward with the 200d.

[Silver Arrow]

Most diesels, from most manufacturers have issues. BMW with Swirl Flaps and Turbo's, etc. , Lexus with EGR's and HG's etc etc, DPF's etc, So if you really want a diesel, then whilst you might (or might not) get better economy, you have to be aware that there is a greater chance of it going pete tong.

So you either:

1) Buy one with a warranty (or buy the warranty afterwards and make sure the turbo is covered)

2) Wing it...and hope for the best

3) Avoid it

I went for the latter option, even though my BMW (525d) was bullet proof in almost 5 years of ownership (whilst the Lexus previously was a dogs breakfast with the issues - 5th Injector, EGR etc). But....I did buy an extended BMW warranty (which incidentally was almost half of what what a Lexus one is....) just incase due to so many horror stories, so I knew it was matter of time - which cost me £1000 for 2 years after the new car warranty expired. So I paid £1000 for nowt.

It was the main reason I went for a normally aspirated petrol this time, knowing that there was a much better chance of it behaving - especially as most my miles are gentle ones.

Personally, I would "wide berth" a 2nd hand modern diesel unless you do more than 12-14k per year; there is very little in it from a savings perspective. The chances of a non-turbo petrol engined car breaking down now a days is smaller, and even then you're unlikely to lose an engine as you might if your turbo actuators decide to fall apart and destroy the vanes, or the butterfly/swirlflaps decide to to be ingested by the engine!!

Then there's that DPF. Any 2nd hand derv car you get may have a chequered history with the DPF - how was it driven , did it get regular long runs to regen etc.

[Hungry Horace]

Right after much consideration I have decided to steer clear of the 220 and get a 250. I would be a fool to ignore the advice on here and the way I see it the extra the fuel may cost would soon be swallowed if I got the HG issue. Seeing as the car will mainly be used two or three times a month travelling from Germany to the UK I should get reasonable mpg from it. Can someone tell me the sort of range I can expect from a full tank cruising on the motorway.

[Silver Arrow]

Cruising on the motorway, from some of those I had as courtesy cars, you should get 35-38mpg

[Touche]

That was my understanding too.

I also recall the later HG issue you refer to...maybe ( and this is just a surmise on my part ) it was a car from the cross over point and not actually the facelift version.

I've not heard of anything untoward with the 200d.

That was probably my car. It was manufactured in Apr 09 and registered in Sept 09. It's had a new engine under warranty.