Shahpor

Well, the only thing I can think of is that one of the items that tested as ok is in fact faulty. Not really helpful I know, but I am running out of ideas. When the white smoke comes out, does it idle ok? Also, you say the car is slow to respond, but once the turbo boosts, does it go like it should? Lastly, what fuel consumption figures are you getting?

Hmm, strange. Have you had the head gasket tested?

I assume you have had it checked for error codes? Also, things like MAF, MAP and fuel pressure sensors? These should through up a VSC light, but you never know.

Well, perhaps it is one of the O-rings leaking? If you take them out, you can also inspect the condition of the nozzle heads.

Have attached an image of what the manual says.

Seems familiar. Have a look at my thread : What's strange is that up until I bought mine, it had a full Lexus service history. I would check your pollen and fuel filters as well. I have the original invoices for the work Lexus did, and there is no mention of the fuel filter ever being changed. As for the brakes, I agree there is a high probability it is the caliper slide pins. Funnily enough, mine were seized when I bought the car. Although it is a easy job to take them apart and grease them. Your local Lexus dealer should be able to offer you a free health check; mine does. That is how I found out about my calipers being seized.; Good luck.

Jemca Lexus Edgware road. I have dealt with about half a dozen of their staff until now and they have all been polite, friendly and helpful.

Well, just to even things out, I have just got home after picking my car up from the Lexus dealer. It went in for a replacement flywheel and clutch. Absolutely brilliant service all round. The flywheel was done under my extended warranty, no questions asked. I did have to pay for the clutch, but that is fair enough. I dropped it off this morning and got a call around 3:30pm saying it was ready. So picked up my cleaned car in the afternoon with zero hassle. They did say that the service manager was worried that the car wouldn't be done today, so they had arranged a courtesy car for me, just in case. Luckily, none of the bolts got stuck. Perhaps certain dealers are better than others?

Well, another update. Fuel comsumption seems to be around the 35mpg mark. Not great considering how many motorway miles I do. Anyway, been playing about with the Torque Pro app and I may have noticed something. When the Commanded EGR value increases, I get a spike in the EGR Error amount as well. Does this mean my EGR valve is sticking? Thanks.

Well, to be fair: -) it is a Lexus, which is a good thing -) It is cheaper to run and tax, no matter how marginal. As for the Alfa, it would not be as reliable or well build as the Lexus, but that is not the point of owning an one. It is the quirks that give it character, which inevitably lead to some issues. Having said that, they are not nearly as bad as they used to be. My old 156 V6 would get me about 15mpg. It understeered like nothing I have seen before, and the driving position was horrible. Add to that the service when it required all 20 wheel nuts drilled out cause they wouldn't budge, along with the rust, and it wasn't the cheapest car I ever owned. Having said that, it looked lovely, and my god, what a noise it made! I also couldn't help stare at it when I got out. And I do still miss it today, even though it cost me a lot of money. Sorry about derailing your thread gypmaster. You going for the Civic then?

Well, that is a different issue, isn't it? It sounds like even if the IS220D was the most reliable car in the world, you still wouldn't want one. I agree a true petrol head would only buy petrol though. In fact, like Top Gear said, you can't be one until you own an Alfa Romeo. Just so happens I have owned one in the past :)

Have you had the engine tested? There is a tool available that can see if the head gasket has blown or not.

Not feeling too welcome here at the moment :( To be fair to the 220d, yes it is not as good as the is250, but I don't think it is quite as bad as you guys make out. Yes, there is an issue with the engine, but according to the guys at Jemca Lexus, there is relatively very few failures compared to the number of diesels they see. Either way, I would recommend an extended Lexus Warranty regardless of if you bought a diesel or petrol, which would make the engine problem a non issue. As for the problems, forums are generally places where people come if they have a problem. You don't really hear anything positive. Before buying mine, I considered many other cars and visiting their forum, you would think all cars are crap! My friend bought a BMW 118d 6 months ago. He should get it back today after a failure of 4 injectors, flywheel, timing chain, crank pully, engine mounts and water pump. His bill is currently in the region of £4500. The guy at the garage has done 4 timing chains in 2 months. Engine out job. Is the IS250 a better car? Yes. Are the diesels as horribly unreliable as you guys make out? I am not so sure. Just my opinion of course.

Another quick update. Got my Bluetooth OBD reader and the Torque Pro app like Paul suggested. Gonna give it a proper go today. Had a quick play with it yesterday, but to be honest, I can't figure out what most of the results mean? Basically, I was wondering if anyone who has used the app can tell me what I should be looking for, bearing in mind my fuel consumption problem? It is also a shame that the car's ECU doesn't support a lot of the functions that the app can do. Thanks.

Well, I finally found someone willing to change my fuel filter. Bugger of a job! Took him 8 hours to get it done, although he did say that it would take him about 2-3 hours to do it again if necessary. So I now have new air, pollen and fuel filters along with a drained fuel sediment filter. It is too soon to say what the fuel consumption is now like, but I would say it feels smoother. Of course this could just a placebo effect, so will wait and see. I took some snaps of the old filters. Not a pleasant sight:

Well, unless you are really unlucky, another EGR valve should at least prove that that isn't the cause. Perhaps your fuel filter is blocked? Also, check your air filter. Failing that, perhaps one your fuel injectors is blocked? Also, despite the fact it should throw up an error code, you might want to give the air flow meter a clean. Since the problem started, does the car smoke at all? Not sure about this, but I have heard (perhaps incorrectly), that some of the cheaper code readers don't read all the codes. I would recommended something like what IS200D told me: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/102540-is220d-fuel-issue/?p=924467

Wow, that is an excellent guide. Really like the way you have marked what to do on the pictures. Thanks very much for doing this.

Well, that is interesting. I am wondering if you could tell me what your IS250 does on the motorway run? Thanks. Also, I am now aware that I have pretty much taken over animus nocendi's thread, for which I apologise. Did you get the seal out in the end?

Yeah, already had a look and found it. It is rather inconveniently placed :) Funnily enough, mine also had the cover hanging off, and it didn't seem to want to go back on. I will probably have to do some acrobatics to get the thing plugged in too, but I am very interested to see what it has to say. Will keep you posted. Thanks :)

I am confused. Lexus told you that the warranty doesn't apply to 2007 onward cars? Could you perhaps elaborate? Also, my extended warranty cost me £795 for two years last month, so not sure where £500 came from?

Well, I am no expert, but I assume they cleared the error code last time? If so, have you checked to see if it has come back since you cleaned it? To me, that would point to a faulty egr. You wouldn't check the fuel filter, you would just replace it. The problem is, while the filter itself is cheap (Lexus charged me £18.50 inc VAT for it), it is awkwardly placed, so best to find a friendly mechanic to change it for you. Mine is quoting about £40-50 to change it.

It does sounds similar to what I am experiencing. Like mentioned above, have you had a blast to see if it helps? Most of my usage is on the motorway over 2000rpm, so I am thinking the problem with mine could be somewhere else. Have you checked the air and fuel filters? Lexus recommends changing the fuel filter between 50,000-70,000 miles, but mine has a full Lexus history and there is no evidence it has been done. So, as per my thread, I am changing both to see if it helps. Will report back results once it is done. Also, what kind of mpg are you getting?

That looks really handy, thanks very much! For that price, seems silly not to get one. Will see what it reads when it arrives. I am also on V-Power fuel now, and I am scheduled at the mechanics for Thursday to change my fuel filter, so hopefully my mpg will improve soon. Thanks again for the advise Paul, much appreciated. :)

Just put a tankful in mine for the first time, so interested to see the results. 8p a litre more, which isn't too bad.

Thanks for the link Paul. Already read it, and I agree it is very useful. I have already adopted what he mentions with the except of the fuel, which I will do at next fill up. I actually drive on the motorway at around 60-65 at the moment, partly because I am getting a vibration through the car between 70-75, and also to see how well I can do on fuel. I do this in 5th, which is somewhere around the 2000rpm mark. Seems to work well.