Tim Roberts

I get this very often when the oil is getting old. It only happens when the engine is hot. The issue always disappears after an oil change and returns after about 5000 miles so I take it as a cue to change the oil. I decided against the Lexus TSB as the work was so complex it wasn't worth the risk compared to a bit extra on oil.

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

Thanks for all your replies so far, this is really useful information. My Honda Accord has been almost faultless for over 140000 miles but it feels tired now, I love the idea of a 6 cylinder engine before they become illegal. I'd be looking at a 2007 car, I guess I need a test drive to see if the car is a good or bad one.

My first post - I currently have a 2004 Honda Accord and I am considering buying an IS250 auto but I'm worried by the posts about rattling dashboards and doors, everything else seems great. Do they affect all IS250s produced or is there a model year when these rattles were fixed on cars leaving the factory? Many thanks, Tim