Jamalaya

Just got home - it has been a long week. some quick photos: this model with navigation.

Hi all, Not new to Lexus, but I did swap my trusty old IS220D to CT 200H auto (navigation) 2012. Very happy and I am already saving a lot a money as I do 1200 miles month. Not photos yet, I took delivery and immediately had to drive 200 miles for a job and back. Tired. This car makes the journey comfortable and economical. I will post photos when I catch my breath.

To be honest I did not even know I had one. the DPF itself cost £800 including fitting but then the sensor was a problem and they had to install new one which cost additional £600. Sigh .. but the VSC warning has gone. Yesterday, the alternator gone and so another £400 .. sigh , not a good start for new year. Now they say that the turbocharger may fail in about a year as it is whistling.... they want £1850 when it fails as it may fail MOT any ideas on this. Can I install it cheaper than this? the car itself drives brilliantly now and still goes over 42 MPG on a trip from Swindon to Cambridge (70 mph/+) and it did 135K miles so far.

Hi there, Sorry for the delay. Just working like a work donkey. So the car started to lose power every 2-3 miles or so. Engine power cut off completely as if no fuel coming into the engine any more (all electrical are still working). I had to stop, wait few seconds and start it again and so on. I broke down on the M11 on my way to Swindon :-) that was a good 130 miles. Called the AA, who plugged their computer into the car and diagnosed the problem. The Diesel particulate filter (I think). So after 8 hours (They asked for £500 to take me home :( ). I drove and stopped every 3 miles until I reached Swindon after 6 hours (and many angry drivers). I took it to the dealer, and they agreed with the diagnosis. The DPF was shot and need replacing, which also needs changing the sensor which also caused the VSC warning on the dashboard. Total cost £1500. :-) I will get it back tomorrow and test it. I know but I love that car. t still races and give me 42 miles to the gallon driving at 70 or 80mph (on 6th gear) (more if I drive like 60 mph). So far it did 135K miles. Just a brief update.

Hi All. They said catalytic converter @ £3500. Not a chance. I have been driving it for 2 years now with no less of power, and within 30 miles drive I reach 42 mpg and it passes every MOT. I will try the EGR method. One thing I noticed, when it is HOT, like we had the past few days, the warning went away for few days. Also, happens when it is very cold. Weird. thanks.

Hi all, I have the VSC check light on. My is IS220d. I have been driving with this light on for 2 years now. The car did so far 130K on the clock. I have no loss of power whatsoever. I do a trip Swindon-Cambridge twice a week every week. I can easily do 44 MPG at 70+ mph on sixth gear. So Power wise no problem there. But this light is getting on my nerve now. I took it to Lexus dealer and they claimed that cat converter has gone and wanted £2500 to fix even though I told them what I said above. Any ideas how to fix this? or what else can be causing this light to come on?

Well I have been testing it for few days, no overheating at all :hocus-pokus:. One more thing I have , The car had a full 2 years service, and passed MOT just few days ago. I have a "check MVS" (I think) warning light, with skidding icon on the right and an engine on the left. Again, the car is working like new. No loss of power whatsoever and still makes 42 mpg @ 75 mph from Swindon to Oxford (daily). Taking the above into consideration what can cause this warning? (have been on for a month now). One upon a time I read somewhere on how to get rid of the warning but I cannot remember the sequence. Still I need to know possible causes. I will check with a mechanic later who can read the code. Thanks for your time.

Hi James250 Thanks for the reply. I actually (embarrassingly) made a mistake :-) . I checked the coolant last night , and it was way down, below half. So I topped it up and this morning I pushed the speed up to 90 mph and there was no change in temperature. I will check it again on my way back home. However, as you mentioned, I find myself topping it up every 6 months or so (or after a long distance drive 400 miles @70-80mph) . I'll check the pressure cap and the thermostat as well.

major service (2 years period) done in Swindon for £299.

HI All, I just did a 2 years service for my Lexus IS220D and also passed MOT. However, I have noticed that the car very very slowly overheats when driving at 80-90 mph (OK I don't do this all the time :-) ). It goes up by a dash or 2 (on the dashboard meter) over a distance of 100-150 miles. As soon as I go back to 70 it cools down immediately. it will take sometime for the temperature to rise but it does rise. I cannot see any leak, or white smoke. I slightly lose some coolant over a period of months (about 6 months). What should I be looking for? Thanks. Just to add, it sill does 42 mpg and I don't feel any difference in driving.

OK,I should have updated a long time ago. :megaangry: I finally managed to fix the car and it cost me nothing. The dealer fixed at Lexus specialist but not Lexus themselves. that was 6 months ago. Now I am warm Maybe not related but recently I started using Shell diesel Nitro and the power and saving I am getting in unbelievable. Swindon to Blackheath I managed 55mpg Tank average (driving 60+). For work Swindon to Abdingdon it does not go below 43-44 mpg tank average (trip mpg is 40+) and here I drive 70-80mph but I use six gear a lot. The trick with 6th gear is not to accelerate but to keep it at constant speed. I don't know if the fix affected the car performance!. Because seriously much more powerful and economic than before even from stand still. No loss of power whatsoever. That is it, just wanted to say I am happy now.

I agree with what you are saying. Initially I was going to foot the bill myself but then I changed my mind (as you said because it is a design flaw.) and it became a matter of principle. As I said they could have taken most of their cost from the my warranty (so it won't be free really more than 2/3 of their stated cost) and did a great good will towards me, as customer :-), You go to a restaurant and no matter how fantastic the food is, if the service is crap you will never go back. I am sure they won't blink an eye but that is not the point.

OK, 2 weeks on and the car still sitting in the garage and I am very disappointed :eerrrmm: with all involved. I think Lexus should have made an effort and earned a new customer. It is not something that is broken but a design fault that they are fixing for free. The car now is with the seller and I got a courtesy car a BMW 540I (not bad actually). Lexus refuses to budge, and they claim they are doing this to rewards customer loyalty .. eh???? My warranty people are willing to pay but Lexus is charging a great deal of labour. Ok, don't fix it for free, take the money from the warranty people (at least 2/3 of the cost) and make everybody happy. But the difference in labour was great. There is a Toyota and Lexus specialist nearby so it might go there. Compare this with VW, I had a passat, and that model had a fifth injector problem and VW was fixing for free. Car was bought second hand (like the lexus) and was never previously serviced with VW and yet they took the car and fixed with no questions asked. For this they earned 2 customers (myself and my wife). I'll just put this down to bad experience and learn my lesson.

OK, I spoke to Lexus and mentioned the design fault and the warranty and they said because my car was not serviced by Lexus the the warranty is null and void. Can they do that? I am now calling the seller and explain the problem. My biggest worry is that if the head is warped then the warranty will not pay anything.

Hi all, I have decided on this course of action. 1. talk to Lexus abut this known problem. Car is under 7 years, 70000 miles and full history but not Lexus. Should not matter from what I was reading and your suggestions. 2. Talk to the dealer and inform them of the problem. 3. talk to the finance company. (2 and 3) are jointly liable according to the Sales of good act. 4. talk to the warranty people. if they still refuse, I will write to Lexus HQ, write a letter to Dealr and Finance company. Stop payment of car. Add any expenses I will incur in hiring a car to get to work. and see what happens. I feel I don't have to pay a penny for dead car. Any other ideas or input please let me k now. I would have paid the labour difference but if it is warped I will have to pay the lot. This what really pushed me and now I will not pay anything. thanks all for your advice.

I hate my ignorance sometimes :megaangry: What I have read here so far I feel that they should do it free. What if the warranty company (AutoProtect) heard about this? Will they still pay for something Lexus is supposedly fixing for free? I am also wondering why the warranty people never contacted me?

yes I agree. I don't have FLSH. I will check the other route. I must admit they are being very good with me. They did not even charge for the 2 hours they spent on the car. I know no problem with them at all and I prefer them to local garage.

The mileage is 70233. thanks.

Sorry for the delay, work :( Ok, looking at the service book, it is stamped for every year. It does not look like Lexus. It is by Galvin Garages in Glasgow for the first 4 years and last year at Kingsdown MOT Centre Swindon. I am still confused, and here is why (mainly because of my ignorance), There was nothing unusual with the car. I tried to use the heater to demist my windows. I get hot air for about 2-5 minutes then it is cold again (freezing). I tried AC and FAN. I called the Warranty people (AutoProtect) and they called Prestige who put in touch with a local garage, The local garage said it is the hose pipe even though there is no leak on the floor. They would have to order the hose and fit but it will cost 180 including fittings and he continues, the car is still leaking coolant but we don't know where. So they need further investigation. At this point I lost faith, since they had the car for whole day and they came up with nothing and will have to pay 180 quids. So I took it to Lexus who diagnosed the Head Gasket. Now here is my confusion, is there a relationship between the head gasket and heating or coolant? Lexus did not know about the warranty until I told them after they gave me the bad news. After that they did all the paper work on my behalf and offered a replacement car until my car is fixed (about 13 hours labour)). Th warranty people agreed to pay for the head gasket (as long as it is not warped otherwise I have to pay the lot) and the difference in hourly labour. While I was at Lexus, a mechanic was there as well and he is confident that it is not warped since it drives really good and they have not come across cases where the head was warped. The car is not due in till Tuesday so I am using the car and behold the heating is working perfect. (maybe they did a temp fix or something). AS I said there was nothing wrong driving the car. It pulls like a truck. Then again my knowledge in cars is limited. Thanks

Hmmm .. But I am not the original owner. I bought the car just over 3 months ago. Will that make a difference?

OK, now you are scaring me :-) I don't drive hard, 99% motorway drive at 60-70 m/h and I think this is normal driving. The car is hardly driven on weekends. Unless it was driven hard by the previous owner then I think I might to check my rights. I di test it when I bought and the A/C is working fine. If the head gasket is already blown then I would have noticed right? Loss of power or something? The car drives fine and has a lot of power (no loss of power at all) and it is very smooth and quiet. I think they just caught the problem or they are doing it as a pre-emptive strike :-). I spoke with the mechanic and he thought I was losing power as well which I was not. So he thinks it is unlikely. Well it is going in next Tuesday so fingers crossed. That link is useful I am going to research it deeper. thanks

yeah I agree. They just called me, and the warranty will cover the head gasket. The difference in labour payable by me is £560.00. Which is not bad considering the work, I think. There is one caveat, They need to strip the engine to find the exact problem for the warranty people (although their mechanics are very confident what the problem is). If they find that head gasket is warped then it is not covered by warranty. The chance is slim as I was assured by Lexus. How likely that this might happen?

OK, I got the is220d just over 3 months ago. The car is fine and drives smoothly until I decided to use the heater since it started to get cold early morning. It heats up for about 5 minutes and it goes really cold. So I cannot use it. The car is still under warranty. I called them for a claim and they work through Prestige and they sent me to a local garage.He said the pipe is leaking coolant even though I never saw leaking anywhere. He needs to change a pipe and then he said but the car is still leaking somewhere and still needs more diagnostics. At this point for changing a pipe I was quoted £180.00. I am not a mechanic but it sounded a lot for half hour work. I declined. I went to Lexus for investigation. They spent 2 hours on the car and it needs head gasket, pistons and rings. Price £2250.00 ouch. I talked a bit and they agreed to do the lot for £1650.00 and reduced their hourly labour from £110 to £70. The warranty pays only £59/hour The head gasket is included in the warranty but probably not the piston and rings unless it is the cause of failure. I need the car for work obviously. Lexus dealer will contact the warranty people and take care of all the paper work and negotiation. I don't think I will pay the whole bill. Lexus did not charge me for the 2 hours and they will also give me a CT for the duration of the repair. Are they being nice or am I about to be screwed :-) Thanks

very nice mate. Yeah, how much did the respray cost?

Only Lexus? Are you driving in convoy? Will I get lost if I don't know the places :-) sounds interesting and would like to join.