Touche

Went to have this looked at today. They pressure tested the engine for 45 minutes and couldn't find any active leaks. There was evidence of a leak at the top of the radiator with a crust of dried coolant covering it. I took the car for a 20 mile test drive where I really thrashed it on Motorways/A-roads as well as a spell driving around back streets. When I got it back to them there was no coolant loss. So they think the problem may be a leaking radiator which has crusted over and sealed itself at the moment. We'll see... I'm starting to loose confidence in the car sadly. It's due a service in 2k miles and with the spectre of a radiator replacement looming I'm considering selling it... Only problem is my wife! We're looking to buy a house over the next few months and she's decreed that selling the car and buying another before we buy a house would be grounds for divorce!

Ugh... I checked my coolant level the other day and found it was on the "low" mark. It's only been 6 months and 8,400 miles since the new engine and water pump went in. I topped it up with deionised water and checked out the engine bay the next day. I can see evidence of coolant being expelled via the overflow pipe! I haven't had a chance to take her for a spin until this evening... Some further coolant has left the overflow pipe :( I'm now quite suspicious that the engine has gone again. I called the service manager at Coventry this morning (before my drive) and explained the situation and said I'd call again on Friday once I'd done a bit of driving to see what was happening to the coolant level and to book her in for them to look at. Quite an annoyance! At least the engine is warranted...

I had a drive of an RX450h a while back while my car was at Milton Keynes having a service. To me there was very little difference in the quality of the interior and not as much extra space as I had expected. I was more than happy to stick with my IS220d given the massive hole in my wallet an RX would have left.

You can reset the ECU by unplugging the battery overnight. The EGR valve is just a valve and a bit of pipe. If it's been replaced and is working I don't see why it would change your idle speed. Maybe you need the fault codes reading again?

This looks great. Would love to edit your design for my Galaxy Note if possible. PM sent :)

That was probably my car. It was manufactured in Apr 09 and registered in Sept 09. It's had a new engine under warranty.

Lol, it's definately a Lexus engine. I cleaned out the EGR valve the other day. Wasn't being towed and my computer is only around 1% out based on brim to brim calculations. I've had 640 miles out of a full tank (which was around 48mpg tank average). I know that's by no means typical but at the moment my is220d seems decent enough. Having said that my old Alfa diesel was even more economical and my wife's Seat is also better.

If I'm very gentle (56-60mph in 5th gear) I can get over 60mpg since my new engine (had the HG issue at 71,000 miles). This was Oxford to Birmingham on the M40. This was London to Derby on the M1.

Hi, Just thought I'd share my experience of the notorious head gasket issue which I've had fixed this week. Bought my 2009 Lexus IS220d at 57K miles just under 3 years old last year. I had it serviced at 60k miles and there were no real issues. I was getting 55-58mpg on the motorway and around 42mpg tank average. It had a FLSH with 5 stamps in the book. A few weeks back I noticed a drop in the economy to around 33mpg and found the coolant was spraying over the engine bay. I hadn't noticed any overheating issues but found the heaters weren't as powerful as they should have been. The engine oil cap was didn't show any white material inside and there was no oily stuff in the water reservior that I could see but having read up a little I still had a good idea it was the head gasket. I was due a 70k service in any case so phoned around for quotes in the midlands. Coventry were cheapest and offered to fit me in the next day. They confirmed I needed a new engine in addition to a new water pump which was also apparently leaking. They offered me a CT200h as a courtesy car for free and said they could have a new engine the next day and would start working on it right away. With the car's FLSH they said they would the work under the engine's goodwill extended warranty. So I took the CT200h (not bad, but not as nice as I'd hoped; my wife was considering getting one so it was nice for her to see one in the flesh and let me drive her around in it over the weekend) and went on my way last Thursday. Yesterday (Tuesday) I had a call to say the car was ready and had been road tested so this morning I went to pick it up and it's a pleasure to drive again. I just paid for the servicing. I'm limiting my revs to under 2k at the moment and drove home with a very light foot... It managed 61.7mpg over 66 miles on the motorway cruising at 60mph and showed 60.6mpg by the time I got home and battled another 8 miles of traffic. I've had a quick look and the coolant currently shows no signs of a leak. The dealer has offered to take a look at the car again after I've covered my first 1000 miles to check there are no issues. At the moment I'm a happy bunny, well done Lexus Coventry.