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Hi Graham, Could you please check the coolant level, colour and odour and report back. If you see coolant residue on the radiator and around the fan or around the cap, let us know. Good luck Hi Flavio, Coolant was a little lower than it should have been I'm embarrassed to admit. Difficult to say if there's any colour, however it smells a bit burn rubberish (for want of a better nose) and did dry to leave small dark particles on my hand.... appreciate your thoughts. G.. Here's what happens with those engines, and it's entirely Toyota's fault. They assumed a certain driving style and a certain level of fuel quality when they designed it, and reality is different, so now, they are replacing thousands of engines all over the place. I'm referring exclusively to 2.2 D-CAT and 2.2 D4D engines. The more powerful they are, it is more likely they will develop problems. The correct way to handle it is to go to them, make them measure CO2 level in coolant and determine that it's the blown head gasket, and then have them replace the engine free of charge or almost for free. They have instructions to do it when necessary, but, of course, they don't advertise it, so they have to pushed a bit most of the time. It's easier if you drive a Lexus then a Toyota and I'm talking about out-of-warranty cars. Basically, because of several design flaws, and other factors, such as driving style and fuel quality, which don't have to be anything out of the ordinary, head gasket eventually gets damaged and exhaust fumes find their way into the engine cooling system. The gasses bring the pressure up in the system and when it goes over one bar, the safety valve on the cap releases the mixture of coolant and gases out through the small black hose near the tank cap. That way you slowly lose coolant, and after some time, without enough coolant left, the engine starts overheating and then it gets really bad. At that point coolant also usually finds its way into the piston chamber and the block gets damaged. If you can smell and feel burning things in you coolant it's only matter of time before the engine has to be replaced. That's the brutal truth. You can do whatever you want to slow down the process, but if your head gasket lost some of the coating, it won't get repaired by itself. Replacing the gasket is as simple as those things get on modern engines, so that would be the most painless thing to do right now. What I would do now when I know, I'd go to Lexus, have them determine why there is smoke in the coolant and why the car is losing it (they know it, but you have to dance the dance with them), and negotiate the best terms on how to fix it. Good luck

Hi Graham, Could you please check the coolant level, colour and odour and report back. If you see coolant residue on the radiator and around the fan or around the cap, let us know. Good luck

Hi Allen, The code corresponds to what they told you, so they are right. If I were you, I'd drive the car and see what happens. I know it's annoying to have all the lights come on all at once, but it's just a way of communication. :) One light or ten lights, it's all the same, The actual problem is what matters. You probably won't see it happen again and you probably have every reason to be happy. I wish I got away so easily with my problem. This is, of course, just my opinion and I'm just trying to be positive. You can feel about it any way you want. You have every right to. I'm happy the problem is not worse and I hope nothing happens again. Happy driving. :)

I'm sorry, It's something I haven't seen before. Does the car start and run? Does it go to limp mode? Is it on from the moment you start the engine, or it appears at some point? I wouldn't drive it if I were you. Common sense dictates it's never a good idea to drive a car with warning lights on.

Hi Allen What do you mean, all the lights and check VSC? What other lights beside the check VSC went on?

Normski, you know what my first though was? :D They made it that way so that engine can be removed from the car without removing the bumper. :D

Exdee, my car is not here right now, so I can't check, but I think it's not fully electric and that is has some hydraulic fluid. I could be very wrong, but I'm almost sure I saw hydraulic steering fluid tank somewhere.

ColinBarber, thanks a lot. You're probably right about the prices. Some people here have serviced their Lexus cars at Toyota services, though. I didn't care much about the quote and I wasn't going for a lower price, so they could have quoted me either Lexus or Toyota prices and I wouldn't have known the difference. :) I've checked and even at the Lexus place where they'd want me to go, they issued me an invoice from Toyota service. Silver Arrow, thank you for your reply. The car has all regular services and all repairs so far done at Lexus, but that's not important right now because it is out of warranty anyway (2008). :) I believe that a brand new engine installed at a Toyota service would actually bring the price up not down, so I'm ok with that. You're right about manufacturers, because that exactly is the source of my problems. It should be all the same to them because the engine would be bought from them anyway. The only thing is that they want me to have it installed at a Lexus and not a Toyota service and that's something I can't and won't do.

juicestop. thanks a lot. It makes perfect sense. Toyota Motor Company built the car in the first place, so why shouldn't they be able to supply parts or repair it.

darkoracle, I don't live in UK, so I'm pretty sure they'd come up with some kind of excuse of examples being from a different countries and so on, but I'd be very thankful to anyone providing the info. As you could see, I've already contacted the Toyota/Lexus country office and spoke to the director. Basically, he told me their internal rules wouldn't allow the Toyota service place an order for my replacement engine. And it's not a warranty work or anything. I'm paying for the engine and labour and all. That's why I wanted to know if such rules really exist. It all seems very dodgy to me now. I'm starting to think that the Lexus dealership has strong, possibly not entirely professional, connections with the Toyota/Lexus country office. Nothing else comes to my mind because it all doesn't make any sense. I've had Audis before and I always took them to a VW service for maintenance and repairs. What, if I had a Scion, I guess they'd want me to ship it back to US for oil change?!? My car is produced by Toyota Motor Company. It's says that on the plaque and Toyota can't repair it now? That's some radical thinking on their behalf. But hear this, and it's for crying out loud. I double checked and there isn't even a proper Lexus service here anyway. They only have two lifts with a differently painted floor underneath in a Toyota service, and it says Toyota on the building, and the mechanics are the same ones repairing Toyotas. How does it make different from the service where my car is at right now? Maybe, they should paint the floor and that would sort it out for me. Since there isn't a separate Lexus service, that means they would like me to take my car out of one Toyota service and bring it to another Toyota service. I'm speechless. Please, does anyone have any suggestions on how to reach someone helpful at the Toyota Europe Customer Service? I'd like to talk to them before I consider taking other courses of action. What's worst, the word Lexus started making me sick, and I'm not sure what to do with the car when I get it back eventually.

darkoracle, me neither. :) I spoke on the phone to the top guy at Toyota/Lexus country office here and he told me this. After I read what you and other people said, which is basically, that it's not so uncommon, let alone impossible, that Lexus cars are serviced and repaired at Toyota services, I don't know what to think. I see no reason why they wouldn't let the Toyota repair the car, apart from being very bureaucratistic and short-sighted. They would want me to pay a lot of money for nothing (taking the engine out and apart and then back in again) in order to take my car where I don't want to take it. Go figure.

colbecoz, the guys at the service are confident they can do it and I don't care about the stamp, so that's not the issue. To be honest, for me, it's all about the people and the people at the Toyota place, not Lexus, are the ones I believe to do it. I'm honestly starting to regret I've ever laid my eyes on a Lexus. I haven't lost my nerves when the car broke down and I had to have it towed for over a thousand kilometers. I kept cool when it turned out to be the head gasket, which is something that is basically a design flaw. I even held it together when they told me they need to replace more or less the whole engine because the block is damaged, but when they told me they wouldn't let it be repaired because of some administrative bs they have, that really ruined it all for me. I'm a really calm person and I understand that things happen. I've had worse disasters in my life. Who cares, it's just a broken engine, but this is downright stupid and could have been avoided very easily. I mean, I will have it repaired even if I have to send it back all the way to Japan, but making it more difficult for your customers is the way to go. Kudos, Lexus.

Normski, I've experienced some very nasty things at the only Lexus service around and the next one is about 500 kms away. :) There is a Toyota service about 100 kms from here where people are very professional and courteous, even friendly, and I really wanted to repair the car there. However, they found out that they can't order parts for my car because they are not a Lexus service. Of course, the parts are exactly the same (even I could verify that on toyodiy), only when they submitted my VIN, they got refused from the above. The Toyota/Lexus office (the above) told me that technically it's possible, but they won't let them order the parts for my car because it's a Lexus and they are a Toyota service! Basically, in different words, they said they don't care for me as the customer as much as they care for who repairs it!?! If it weren't sad, it would have been almost funny. :) In all fairness, they used very pleasant tone and language while telling me that, but that' doesn't mean a thing. But, that's not all. The engine is already removed from the car for the repairs at the Toyota place because they had to do it to see what was wrong. Now, "the above" would want me to pay the Toyota guys for removing it and refitting it (and doing nothing in the process for about EUR 1.000,00) and drive the car to the Lexus place for repairs, which I wouldn't do for I have extremely well founded reasons not to go to the local Lexus ever again. So, I don't know what to do now. Anyone interested in a set of wonderful leather seats and a Mark Levinson system? :D I honestly, really still can't believe all this. Obviously, I'm at a place far worse than Italy. :D :D ;)

Hi Carl911 From my basic knowledge on engine operation in general, it sounds like it has much to do with the oil pressure. The valves are regulated by it and when the car is cold and almost all the oil is down in the pan, the pressure to the rocker arms is not sufficient and the valves slap. If you had a car with oil in the engine far below the minimum, this is exactly how it would behave. I've heard a similar in configuration and displacement, albeit much older engine with almost no oil in it, and it sounded quite like this video. It's normal it goes away when the pressure builds up and some oil reaches the lifters. Other possible reasons, that are less likely because the sound wouldn't go away so fast or at all, are, in order of un-likeliness, that the oil is of the very wrong kind, or the oil filter is clogged, or the oil pump is faulty, or the camshafts are damaged, or the rocker arms are damaged or the chain slipped. Now, there is one more thing that could cause the oil to lose pressure. There is always a hose sucking the oil from the pan, and normally it has a very fine mesh in the end to prevent larger particles from entering the engine with the oil. It could be clogged, but that's extremely rare. Again, I haven't had or worked on the 250, so I could be very wrong. This is all based on what I've learned on other engines and cars.

Hello :) Has anyone repaired or services their Lexus at a Toyota service/dealership? How did it go? I've just been told that I can't do it! :) Thanks