is350tx

i just bought an 08 is350 w/ 37k miles. everything runs great under regular driving. but on WOT at about 80 mph and above it will suddenly misfire and cel + vsc + trac starts to light up with the cel blinking. this is also paired with a totally misfired engine. it all goes away after you turn the car off and restart. but on the second incident, the lights stayed on. it's kinda scary when you're passing a vehicle on a 2way road and it misfires. so i took it to a lexus dealership and the first time they diagnosed it they just said it misfired and reset the lights. after a few days i WOT again and there it is again.

so i took it back to lexus and this time they gave me a loaner. after a week and 3 days the advisor called and said the car was ready. so i returned the loaner and got my car. the advisor told me that it was the #1 coil that they replaced and that the diferrence was like night and day. so i went on my way and as soon as i hit the beltway i WOT and boom! lit up like a xmas tree again with all the lights and the hideous misfire. so i quickly turned around and took it back to lexus. the advisor just shook his head and handed me back the loaner keys. he said it might take a couple of days again.

i received a call again today from the advisor and he told me that they found out that the vehicle had previous records from the other lexus dealers in the city and they couldn't diagnose the problem. he told me to just continue using the loaner because they need more time.

i need inputs from other members who had this case and go it solved. i've read various stories ranging from de-carbonize to valves to computer reflash to transmission. any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance!!

acefalcon2

iTrader: (20)

i have a misfire or at least carbon build up but i dont get any CEL or VSC lights i can't bring it up to the dealership..

Andre

XhyDra

iTrader: (8)

It could be one of many things; for one if there's history of many dealers trying to fix and diagnose the problem, and on top of that none could fix it then you're looking at a lemon law case. If there's more than three fixes on the same huge issue someone or some dealer should have just thrown the towel on in and lemon'd the car. Another thing could be it's full of carbon buildup on all the cylinders and it can be causing misfires. Or all the coils might be damaged. They have to find where the code is indicating the problem. If it's #1 then there's a chance that it could be a damaged cylinder all together. I've had multiple cylinder misfires because of carbon build up. The dealership did nothing I might add. Longo Lexus I believe. On top of that I had a service advisor tell me that "Lexus" had too many of these issues and was only working on the serious ones... Right. Like a check engine light with multiple cylinder misfires wasn't enough. Amazingly enough there's an LSB for it now. Hmm maybe it was serious enough. Anywho it's rare for an IS350 to have carbon build up but it is possible if the previous owner was careless or it was leased and only had 87 pump gas as I've seen many people put on IS250's and IS350's it's sad really but people could care less about a leased car. If nothing works out you have the right to get a full refund based on the lemon law. So let us know what happens and good luck!

is350tx

what about warranty? isn't lexus suppose to back up their credibility as far as warranty? so far they did not charge me with the first fix which was the # coil replacement. and i'm still using the loaner. from what i've learned about the tx lemon law, it only applies to new cars not used ones. btw, i got the car from a bmw dealership which is also owned by the same corporation that owns the lexus dealership. i don't really want to give up the vehicle i just want it fixed.

thanks for the replies. anymore replies/stories? any solid proof of the cause of this issue?

is350tx

bump...

anybody else having the same problems/ issues?

syzygy

Wow that sounds awful. Very sad to hear that you are experiencing so many issues with a car that should be in near perfect condition.

What you are experiencing is certainly not the norm for an IS350. This has never been an issue on the whole for owners, as evidenced by the fact that you literally won't see many (possibly any) other threads with people having the same issue.

Hopefully the issue gets resolved - if not, I say start talking to a lemon lawyer.

What you described is absolutely unequivocally unacceptable for an IS350.

The only recurring issues with an IS350 are very minor things - rattles here and there on the inside.

is350tx

i e-mailed the service advisor yesterday and he wrote back saying..."they are working on your car as i write this e-mail. i will be calling you before 6pm." i then got another email around 5:45pm saying "we were not able to duplicate the problem today with the car. We drove the car 20 miles and nothing. We know there is a problem with the car. I assure we are going to figure it out. My shop foreman that is involved in your car is on vacation and won’t come back until Monday. If he can’t figure it out we will have to call the Lexus representative for our area. Thank you for your patience."

the car has been there for a total of 3 weeks on monday. CL i need more advice/help. thanks in advance!

syzygy

Well if anything, I think the following two sentences:

"We know there is a problem with the car. I assure we are going to figure it out."

would leave me very reassured, at least. At least they acknowledge the problem and are going to make sure it gets taken care of either by them or by someone who knows how to fix it.

Can't give you any additional advice beyond that, I say wait it out (unfortunately) and see how it goes.

is350tx

i think you are right carlx. all i can really do is wait and pray at the moment. hopefully the issue gets resolved and i will share the info to CL.

350police

I have to agree with Carl here. If the dealership says the recognize an issue and they will fix it. Let it leave your mind bro. They are responsible for fixing it.

Mv350

iTrader: (23)

i would let them just try and figure it out. hopefully it gets taken care of. gl w/ everything!

thechosun

iTrader: (3)

it seems like the service manager has taken full responsibility for the issue so i say your are in the clear.

at least you know the customer service is top notch!

is350tx

thank you for the kind words fellas. yep, guess i'll just play it by ear. hopefully they don't turn around and just say that they didn't do anything because they couldn't replicate the problem. after 3 weeks of keeping my car, they should at least change or fix something. i hope they really consult their area representative to get an accurate diagnosis.

again, if it gets resolved..i'll share every info that comes out from this whole ordeal and gladly share with all 350 owners who might come across this phenomenon.

busdepot

iTrader: (1)

One thing you might want to consider is buying your own ODB-II code reader. They go for pretty cheap online. If the car causes problems and they start trying to screw you on "diagnostic" fees, it might save you a ton, especially if you're a DIY'er.

Hopefully the warranty covers you and it gets straightened out soon!

YellowCopy

iTrader: (1)

I wouldnt hold your breath on the regional rep. They seem to be better at accounting than mechanics. Typically the shop foreman has alot of mechanics experiance. When they call in the rep its because they want Toyota/Lexus to do something expensive on your behalf.

But the only lights I get at WOT is the trac/vsc light sometimes. Im due for new rear tires I have done the pedal dance too many times and wore through the pair I have now in only a year.

Like other have said, you are golden. I know you miss your IS. I remember when mine was in the shop for a couple of weeks for the fuel rail TSB (lexus picked up a minor head gasket leak at 68k) I hated the ES they put me in, but it was worth it. Not a spot of trouble since (besides the eating of tires, which is my fault)