adridodo

Lads, This is UNBELIEVABLE, my alloys started corroding (blisters formed on them) AGAIN on my Is 220D only 5 months after getting new 1s !!! The other set was changed under warranty but now that my warranty ran out I will have to pay for them myself ... Did anyone found a solution (getting a different type/material e.g. steel or painting them etc?) Cheers, Adrian

Lads, I went to the dealer yesterday and as I suspected the huge smoke clound was produced by burning oil as there was nearly none left in the engine. So they had to top up... And all of this after only 5000 Km (5 months after the engine rebuild e.g. head gasket, engine block, etc). Now I am ****** off and fed up waiting for this car to function properly. I wrote the Lexus management 2day that I want my money back for this junk. Also, as reported earlier my sound system fails (volume knob) on a regular basis now and cannot do anything (mobile phone out, navigation audio out, radion/CD out). After a day in the garage they said they cannot ID the problem and they will call me as soon as they have something. They actually asked me if anyone has solved it on the forum so they know how to go about it. What a waste of my time this is. I actually own a Dacia Logan 1.5 cdi (MCV), my work horse for heavy transport, and hit 60000Km without adding a drop of oil or fixing anything in the engine. It is 5 times cheaper and 5 times better than the Lexus. I would never believe it but this is happening to me !!! That is why James May (Top Gear) likes dacia so much i guess ... Good luck, as there is no science with Lexus ...insted of "Lexus the pursuit of perfection" ! Adrian

YES the 220d is a heavy smoker... I have the same problem with my 3.5yo, 2006 IS 220D (55000KM). After my engine block and head-gasket, among many others, were changed under warranty my car started smoking heavily on the motorway on a regular basis, especially when mildly accelerating to overtake (most pronounced around 2500rpm in 4th gear). At night I can see in my RV-mirror huge clouds of smoke behind the car made even more dramatic by the headlights of the traffic behind me. My CAT has probably drowned in the thick smoke and is laying dead drunk somewhere on the side of the road. I am going to the dealer today for the n-th time with this car, totally fed up, believe me. I have reported a long list of problems that I had before and were fixed, partly : just do a search 4 mee name if u fancy seeing it. I got a 2 year extended warranty for the power train but I don't sleep better... Good luck! U (we) needed it...it's not science anymore with Lexus, but pure luck ... Adrian

- Mine had an engine rebuild in Sept 2009, replaced power steering, rear brakes, alloys , water pump, 5th injector, 2 DCAT injectors, the clutch. After the oil change I noticed the engine oil level was 150% (50% over max level) cos it drinks it for some reason. - To be honest the car did not brake down atoll. All the above where discovered/done during the normal service (after 50000km). There were problems with the diesels but now they are getting better by replacing the faulty-design components e.g. injectors, etc. You might be lucky and never have to deal with the issues above. Enjoy you car...don't think about it too much...life's short live it to the max... ;) If I had to change my car I would only change... its engine and gearbox...the rest is perfect :winky: Cheers, Adrian

IT'S ALIVE ! :D Hope it will last... The volume-knob/sound-system works again...After parking the car and restarting the engine 6 hours later the bloody thing works again. I do not have a rational explanation...Last time I turned off/on the engine 4 times and it did not work... WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?! I will have to mention it to the dealer 4 future reference. Cheers, A

Thanx, found the thread indeed and dropped a few lines there too...I see some toyotas had the same issue in the USA but appears to be "intermittent" for them. Cheers

Hi All, SOUND SYSTEM PROBLEM - NO SOUND/VOLUME_KNOB_DEAD The volume knob does nothing e.g. it starts the unit but that's all... it just cannot adjust the volume. I can even hear the DVD player/changer running but no sound comes through the speakers. The same happens with DVD-movie/Navigation/Radio...not even a whisper cry.gif ... Anyone sorted out this issue? Cheers, Adrian

Hi All, SOUND SYSTEM PROBLEM - NO SOUND/VOLUME_KNOB_DEAD I have the same problem with my 2006, IS 220D. The volume knob does nothing e.g. it starts the unit but that's all... it just cannot adjust the volume. I can even hear the DVD player/changer running but no sound comes through the speakers. The same happens with DVD-movie/Navigation/Radio...not even a whisper ... Anyone sorted out this issue? Cheers, Adrian

Hi there, Well I had a long list of problems that built up over the 3 years while my car was under warranty (Sept 2006). And this year just before the warranty expired they changed the clutch, water-pump, and rebuit the engine (the engine block and the head gasket were replaced). I have written 2 very "disappointing" letters to Lexus Europe in Belgium and Holland (since I am based in NL) complaining about the quality of the car (diesel) and I asked them for an extended warranty for 2 years, even if I had to pay for it. Well after another 2 letters, the Lexus-importer agreed to give me full power-train warranty or 150k KM free of charge (engine, transmission, differential). This is the only reason that prevented me from selling the car, but it will happen eventually when I have 6 months warranty left. Good luck, I hope this helps. Mind u persistence pays eventually, I guess, although this should not be required for a Lexus. Cheers, Adrian

Lads, I can tell ya that I have asked the mechanics at Lexus if there is a new Diesel engine coming out. The answer was No...this diesel compromised Lexuss name and is on the way out. It might be cos as it was said above it will be replaced by a hybrid or a smaller petrol version. What is amazing to me is the fact that every time I've asked the mechanics at Lexus or Toyota(in Holland) what they drive, the answer is always the same: Honda e.g. Legend (eq. of Lexus on petrol) or Civic/Accord (diesels). Some of them have driven Honda's for 10-20 years and they've never changed brand. U want reliable and cheap to run... buy Honda...or Acura. I still prefer Lexus... but the 250.

Check this link out with my issues...hope it helps ... Extra issues: - Changed the right mirror also - my fuel gage got stuck on full last winter twice for nearly 2 weeks. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=62299

Forgot to say: I would buy the IS auto 250/350(US) any time. There is a minor problem for u I guess: they are all alcoholics & they like a good drink... Excellent to drive though !

A PLAIN NO... I wrote this letter to the Lexus Management-Europe/Netherlands (I am based in Holland) yesterday (they did not reply yet...we know why) and if you have the patience to read it, this is what I wrote: "Dear Sir/Madam (Lexus Management), After servicing my Lexus the other week and discovering the state in which my car is I decided to file the following complaint with the Lexus Europe Management: I am writing you to express my discontent with the Lexus IS 220d that I own (new) for 3 years now. I am a member of the Lexus Owner Club UK and exchange information on a regular basis with fellow Lexus owners. My car has 50000KM on board and the warranty is due to expire after tomorrow 28.08.2009. This car has been plagued with problems from the very first day (when the boot-lid open warning came up for no reason). The reliability of this car is simply ridiculous and I should be reimbursed the money that I paid for it or should be compensated, since I chose this car, after a proper enquiry with JD Power and A., for being the most reliable car; after I had problem with a new Toyota Avensis (diesel as well) before. It was said therein that this was simply the most reliable car in the world for a number of years. I am very disappointed with mine as I wanted to keep this car for 7 years (that is why I got all the options on it) but it did not even last 3 years and now it needs an engine rebuild. (I). I have mentioned the following problems over the years to your Service Department with the solutions, provided or not, below (point (II)): 1. Hand Brake did not hold on inclined slopes. 2. A metal screeching sound was coming out of the rear brakes when I backed up. 3. The clutch had a judder when pulling up, terrible in traffic jam or in the city. 4. The consumption got bad at one stage. And a rough sound was coming from the engine around turbo revs or when it was idle. 5. The rear-view mirror vibrates when my sound system is on and turned up or the road surface is rough. 6. After the windscreen (cracked by a stone) change my dashboard rattles on a regular basis. 7. My front tires were worn unevenly on the edges so I have to change them before time (the rear ones and the middle part of the front ones are perfect for another 15000KM). 8. Alloys corroded (blisters formed on all of them). 9. I have asked for extended warranty like e.g. for Toyota (5 years in NL or 7 years in Belgium). 10. Gearbox gets jerky and sometimes it does not get into the gear the first time, this slowing everything down when trying to get into the first or third gear. 11. Head Gasket leaks and is to be changed in a week and also asked to change the rest of the affected components but said these is no need to. I asked them to get the new rectified parts (engine block, pistons, cylinders, head gasket, injectors, etc) because I cannot afford to pay 6-15000 for an engine rebuild every 2-3 years in a car that costs already 55000 euro. I also asked about the warranty of the changed components. 12. Steering case has problems reported in the UK and the power steering can fail anytime. 13. Your service department never told me about all the recalls/known-issues and never gave me a clear list of what had design problems, needed to be changed and how many/which parts have to be changed in the car. (II) The following solutions were provided by your service dept. : 1. They checked the rear brakes and said it is fine only to find out this year that : "there is a recall/upgrade for the rear brake discs and pads ". But they still did not change anything regarding the rear brakes. 2. They said that there was dirt on the brakes and charged me Euro 70 for cleaning them but the problem was still there especially during winter. As seen in point 1 above there was a recall for the brakes but they changed nothing. Last service they admitted there was a problem with the rear brakes but they only changed a bracket and not the disks/pads as the UK guys are doing. 3. When I presented it the mechanic said "it is because of the big torque of the engine". Of course more people had that problem and a recall existed. Only now in 2009 I convinced them that the problem still exists and on the forum people got it changed in the UK. They eventually agreed to change it. 4. They changed only 1 DCAT and the 5th injector. But the recall was for ALL D-CAT injectors and for the 5th to be replaced with new types. If these are faulty the EGR valve was loaded and compromised as well. But the argued last time that if they change the EGR they will not get their money from the importer in NL. In the UK they change them all plus the EGR valve. 5. The sound system base is to strong. 6. It is a Diesel, that normally vibrates more. 7. It is a sports car (?). The angle of attack is different. 8. Known problem and they said they will change them in a week time. 9. They said no. There is not such warranty extension and we see why. 10. They said that this is normal because the gear box is made to be durable/solid (?). Well BMW and Mercedes are solid too but they are way better to handle. There is a recall to replace the selector fork in the UK but here they said they cannot find in the database and hence they do not want to change it. 11. They avoided answering the questions. I am not sure what warranty I get for this engine rebuild and what will be changed and what is left in. If the gasket leaked than I am concerned that coolant got into the cylinders and compromised the lubrication of piston rings, cylinders, etc. I hope they do a full engine rebuild or else I have to do it on my money again in a year or so. So what is still under warranty, is my question? 12. They will change it in a week. 13. I think it is fair towards the owner that all the critical problems in the car are fixed before an accident will happen. If there are better new parts these should be used to replace the old-design-faulty ones. We do not get any information on what should be changed until is too late and we waste our time and money with trips to the garage that nobody gets compensated for. At the end of the day it is not Service Department's (Den Haag) fault because the car is so bad but the engineers from Lexus that should instruct the Service here to change ALL the badly designed parts and not only those that visibly fail. I will send this letter to Lexus Europe as well as in Japan since they should work to correct all the problems for us, inform us about the technical issues on an otherwise lovely looking premium car. " I hope it helps YOU to decide for YOURSELF. Adrian