Is250 @ Lexus Dealer

[mrahman136]

Hi Al,

I was the proud purchaser of a 2007 IS250.

It was back with the purchasing dealer (Lexus Bolton) within a month for smelly aircon after being parked in heat, and also A-Pillar trim not flush.

The trim came away again on the drive back and the air con was still smelly, and also for a whole week my reverse camera did not work and it has been fine again since, so it has been back with them since last friday and only today had a visit from an "independant assesor" to report to Lexus regarding the air con and also a fault I raised since having the brand new IS250 they have loaned me. That problem being a very loud diesel type noise when gathering speed from a cold overnight start.

I called them to let them know thatmy car sounded significantly different to the loan car and were the 2 engines vastly different? I was told there were minor things, in any case the in house engineers have applied for a part to resolve as well.

I am waiting back to hear from them tomorrow as to the assessors report back to Lexus which will then govern what the dealer can and cant replace.

I am feeling a little like I am being called a liar, I have a video clip that has been sent to the dealer to evidence the camera fault, they have heard the engine noise and not really mentioned the air con unit. And never heard of assessors coming to see the vehicle before warranty work is carried out.

The blurb on the 5+ warranty on the website almost says its like for like to the original warranty, which are normally very much hassle free but this process isn't feeling that way and the service manager at the branch comes across as a little nervous all the time or something!

Anyone have any ideas for what the next step would be if my phone call tomorrow is not what I want to hear?

[Tango]

The rattle on cold start-up is a well known fault on some model year 2006-2007 IS250's and requires a top end rebuild. However, it's a very brief rattle/knock following a cold soak start-up. Lexus issued a TSIB for it (Technical Service Information Bulletin) designated TSIB EG017-07. Later models were modified to prevent the problem so it only applies to 2006-2007 models equipped with the 4GR-FSE engines before the change. Cars manufactured in the TMK factory were changed after after VIN JTHBK26272041664 and those from the Tahara factory after VIN JTHBK26275027761.

The necessary rework was covered under the Lexus Power Train warranty applicable for 72 months or 70K miles (whichever came first) from the registered in-service date, so if that's the cause you may be lucky.

[mrahman136]

Thanks Tango,

I think from the sounds of it mine is the rebuild, the noise is much more than just a few seconds, its much more continuous on press of accelerator for around 2 or 3 mins.

I hope that the dealer makes good of this and lives up to the warranty and 5+ claims.

[bluenose1940]

The rattle on cold start-up is a well known fault on some model year 2006-2007 IS250's and requires a top end rebuild. However, it's a very brief rattle/knock following a cold soak start-up. Lexus issued a TSIB for it (Technical Service Information Bulletin) designated TSIB EG017-07. Later models were modified to prevent the problem so it only applies to 2006-2007 models equipped with the 4GR-FSE engines before the change. Cars manufactured in the TMK factory were changed after after VIN JTHBK26272041664 and those from the Tahara factory after VIN JTHBK26275027761.

The necessary rework was covered under the Lexus Power Train warranty applicable for 72 months or 70K miles (whichever came first) from the registered in-service date, so if that's the cause you may be lucky.

Tango, this is a very knowledgeable reply to mrahman136's post for which I offer my own thanks having just purchased a 250 of that era myself. I will monitor my own car for any such problem. Thanks again.

[Tim Roberts]

Your rattle from cold sounds like piston slap. My 2007 IS250 does this for a few minutes after startup and if you Google IS250 piston slap you will see that plenty of others with same Lexus engine are suffering from this.

I have researched in great detail and it seems to be an undesirable feature rather than a major issue - unless it doesn't go away when the engine is warm.

This is a particularly bad example

[Tango]

Tango, this is a very knowledgeable reply to mrahman136's post for which I offer my own thanks having just purchased a 250 of that era myself. I will monitor my own car for any such problem. Thanks again.

The cold rattle on start-up was as it says, only on start-up. Probably lasted only a few seconds at most so a continuous rattle is probably caused by something else.

I wouldn't be at all happy with piston slap on an IS250 (if that's the cause), although my daughters Corsa has suffered from it for a couple of years without further problem.