Shahpor

Excellent. Even 5mpg is pretty good. Sounds like something every 220d owner should use Thanks for the info.

Hmm, this sounds promising. Any idea how much better the mpg is? Thanks.

I also agree. Yes, the IS250 is a superior car, but the 220d is still a Lexus, and I love it just the same. Had it 7 months and 5k miles so far. Hopefully I will have it for many more miles to come.

That is interesting. I had a look at the TDi tuning box, and it looks pretty good. Did you get the regular or twin channel one? Also, has it really decreased the turbo lag and improved economy? Thanks.

Hi there. I do a fair few miles on the M25 and M4, and what I have discovered so far is that 5th and 6th on the IS are terrible for UK motorways I tend to either do 60mph in 5th or 80mph in 6th. I don't like to hang around between those speeds really since neither gear seems to suit. Although I suppose 77mph is close enough that I would use 6th. What I have learnt is that going around 80-85mph as apposed to 60-65mpg loses me roughly 5mpg. Between a mix of town and motorway driving, I am currently managing about 38mpg. Last few trips I was in more of a hurry, so with the higher motorway speeds, it dropped to 33mpg. As for the carbon build up, to keep your EGR value and DFP clean, it is recommended that you do at least 15 minutes driving at a constant 1800-2000rpm. Since this corresponds to the speeds I do, I tend to manage more than 15 minutes at that RPM

Hello Leigh Concerning the idle, as long as it drops to 800rpm when you turn the fan off, then it is normal. The gearbox on these cars isn't the greatest and does take some getting used to. 1st and 2nd are the worst. However, as long as it doesn't pop out of gear, then it should be fine. For some strange reason, Lexus decided to fit a very long 6th gear. You should be changing into 6th at around 75-80mph. Personally, I just stick to 5th and cruise at just under 70mph. Also, driving between 1800-2000rpm for extended period helps clean the DPF, which could save you some trouble. If you are driving only in town, then 31mpg is about right. But if you are adding some motorway miles to it, then 31 is a bit low. See Matus's excellent guide here for tips on increasing mpg: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/72447-increase-your-mileage-in-few-steps/ The only thing not mentioned in that post is you could try something called BG244, which is an injector cleaning additive. Might help a little.

The temp should be between 86-90, so 87 is good. The needle is where mine sits as well.

Thanks Keith :) You know what, I have only had mine 4 months, but I love it. And now that it is performing the way it should be, it makes my journeys effortless and pleasant. Yep, the customer service was very impressive. In fact, I am probably moving out of London soon, but I will still be taking my car back to them even though they wil be over an hour away.

Hey all. Just wanted to relay the story of what has happened to my IS recently in case it might be of some use. So, about a month ago, I started experiencing the infamous clutch judder when moving off. Since I have an extended Lexus Warranty, I took it to my local dealer to have a look. Sure enough, they diagnosed a faulty dual mass flywheel. Luckily, Lexus UK agreed to foot the bill for the flywheel under my warranty, and they would change my clutch as long as I paid for that part. So far, so good. The complications began after I collected the car and discovered that the judder was still there. I took it back to the dealer, who immediately agreed that the problem was not resolved. My old flywheel was worn out, but that was obviously not the end of it. During the next week or so, they kept my car for testing while giving me a Prius to drive around in. In that time, the mechanics check my fuel injectors, remounted my exhaust, checked my prop shaft and rubber donuts, examined the diff along with the drive shafts, and finally the rear wheel hubs. They even rebalanced my rear wheels because I had a vibration on the motorway. Still not fixed. So, for the next step, they took the car back and removed the gearbox again to check the flywheel and clutch. They found the flywheel slightly out of spec, so they changed that along with another new clutch. Judder still there. Running out of ideas, they next wanted to change the engine mounts, but at this point, Lexus UK let me down. The warranty people said that the mounts were wear and tear items and not covered. This is even though the dealership staff reckon they weren't wear and tear, and in fact have never sold a set! At this point, my dealer came to the rescue and a deal was done for changing the mounts. I picked the car up last Tuesday and have been giving it a road test since. Finally, no judder :) This, apparently, is such a rare occurrence that the master tech at the dealership is submitting a technical report to Lexus UK in case others experience it. Previously, they had contacted Lexus for ideas, but were told they didn't have any. Anyway, at this point all that is left to do is praise my local dealer; Jemca Edgware Road. The staff there have bent over backwards trying to solve this issue for me. For example, after I complained that the Prius was uncomfortable, they lent me a 65 reg CT with 400 miles on the clock for a week while they worked on my car. Also, because of the inconvenience caused, the service manager agreed the knock off £850 of the cost of the engine mount replacement. So in the end, I got my engine mounts changed at a main dealer for £150 all in. It is service like this that will keep me coming back to Lexus for my future cars. If you have read this far, well done :) Apologies for the essay, but I found it an interesting journey, so I thought I would share.

Well, you did ask :) How much you are prepared to pay for your car is your business, but for me, a £900 saving would be significant. However, the issue here is that I think you hold an exaggerated view of how bad the 220d is. Whilst I agree the 250 is the better car, the diesel isn't that terrible. Once you get used to the 'quirks', it isn't all that bad to drive. In fact, on the motorway, I would say it is rather good; if I need to speed up, a quick squeeze of my right foot gets an immediate and strong response. Also, apart from the engine, which is not the worst I have ever tried, the manual box isn't as horrible as people make out. I am sure many 250 manual owners, such as yourself, are happily driving around changing their own gears. Finally, no, I don't skimp on maintenance or tyres just cause I own a 220d.

Economy is not marginal between the two. I agree the IS250 is the better car, but I do a mix of town and motorway which would see me average about mid and late 20's mpg. My last tank averaged 38mpg, but I did more town mileage then usual. 10 extra mpg over a 14 gallon tank equates to an extra 140 miles. Not exactly an insignificant amount. Also, while the tax saving is marginal, it is a saving nonetheless. £85 over the IS250 Auto isn't huge, but the £285 over the manual IS250 is worthy of consideration.

It does seem a little low. I am averaging between 45-50mpg on the motorway. I do tend to do 60-65mph though, which seems more fuel efficient. There is some sound advice mentioned above. I use BG244 on mine, only fill up on Shell V Power and have changed all my filters. I also took out and cleaned my EGR a while back.

19 weeks?!?!? that is ridiculous. If Lexus told you it could only be the fuel rail or suction valve, and the problem still isn't fixed, than that is surely a lie? I would tell the dealer to refund you the cost of those parts and to keep looking for no extra charge. I would also tell them that for the £85 inspection fee, I would want a definite diagnostic, not just changing parts until the answer is finally found. In the meantime, I would leave the car at the dealers and contact Lexus UK to complain.

Do you mean just IS250's or all of them? Well, I can't say for sure, but I have been through all my old invoices and there is nothing mentioned of a water pump being replaced. The previous owner seems to have had all his work done at the dealer (tyres, battery, etc..), so there is a good chance that it is a complete record.

I am actually quite surprised cause £570 sounds too reasonable for a Lexus dealer :) Seriously though, I changed my own discs and pads after my warranty started and it was fine. The warranty only requires that they are in good condition and work as intended. Having said that, perhaps you should ask how much just the parts from the dealer are? Would probably be preferable to getting the stuff off Ebay.

While I agree that the tyres and water pump problems should have been taken care of before picking it up, I am not actually surprised that they are an issue. What most people don't realise is that low mileage is not always a good thing. Cars need to be used, or they start developing faults. Tyres, like has already been mentioned, have a shelf life; just because they aren't worn down to the canvas doesn't mean they are ok. Similarly, problems like the water pump occur because seals dry up over time if the car isn't used, so it is not that uncommon for leaks to appear when the car starts getting used again. Having said that, none of these things should be your problem since the dealer should have sorted them. As for the other issues, all manual cars can be pulled out of gear when moving. They can even be put into gear, but that is not recommended since it will grind the gears badly. Not sure where you heard that the gearbox has reliability issues? Don't get me wrong, the change, especially from 1st to 2nd, is hardly smooth and the whole box lacks finesse, but it is a robust unit. Of course, noises shouldn't be coming from it, so perhaps you are just unlucky with your one. And lastly, yes, you can move away in 1st from idle. I actually rather like this feature :) Oh, and I am not sure exactly when leaky water pumps and cracked tyres happened on only diesel Lexus's? :) Hope you get it sorted.

How is the temperature when it is running? Does it overheat? Also, have you checked the cap on the water reservoir?

That does not look good :( Appears to be over pressurization of the cooling system, which is most likely head gasket related. Can you get a mechanic to sniff test it? Then you should know for certain.

I see. Look forward to seeing the results :)

I'm sorry if I am being dense, but who is reflashing the ECU's? Thanks.

Hehe, well it is certainly easier to read now. Was going to do something similar myself, but was worried it might cause offense. Anyway, is £5500 a good price on this car? I don't mean to question it, but I am curious how it compares to the price of mine.

I don't mean to be rude, but that is rather long sentence! Perhaps you could break it up to make it easier to read? Thanks.

Very interesting. Not heard that one before. I wonder if it affects only the early cars or all of them?

Out of date ECU? That is a new one for me. Let us know what they say. Did you also have the 5th injector tested?

Haven't really done anything :) Your fuel consumption seems a little high. I get around 28-30mpg around town and 40-45 on the motorway. Perhaps you should try an ODB2 reader? In the thread here: Post 14 is where Paul recommends what I picked up. The good thing about it is that your phone logs the journey, so you can have a look back at the figures later. That way, if the smoke does occur, make a note of when it happens and have a look at the logs after to see if anything is up. Other than that, you could test the sensors again with a multimeter to see the resistance. White smoke suggests water being burnt, so perhaps check the water connectors going to the turbo again? What's strange is that white smoke indicates burning water, which shouldn't effect performance, but a dodgy sensor wouldn't cause white smoke to come out. Perhaps someone with a better understanding can shed some light on this? Either way, I would love to know what is going on.