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If it knocks/rattles at startup after sitting for a while, be careful it's a warning that the intake cam gears are starting to NOT retain oil. (Starting up dry)
I know its not the engine becuase it sounds like a plastic rattle not a knocking issue. Only does it at cold start up,
Any experience to share from Canadian Lexus dealer?
I started to have CEL for misfire. 3 times in total.
However, most of the time, it happened over weekend or late at night.
By the time I visit the dealer, CEL is gone. (and dealer says they can't see the CEL record????)
Anyways, as a result, I was only able to had dealer looked at the CEL once.
They simply told me monitor and come back when CEL comes back again.
Any experience to share from Canadian Lexus dealer?
I started to have CEL for misfire. 3 times in total.
However, most of the time, it happened over weekend or late at night.
By the time I visit the dealer, CEL is gone. (and dealer says they can't see the CEL record????)
Anyways, as a result, I was only able to had dealer looked at the CEL once.
They simply told me monitor and come back when CEL comes back again.
2009 IS250 with 58000kms.
Have you tried run a record yourself with the lexus software TID.?
Mine does this and it is the cam gears but it only happens when the oil is warm. It doesn't do it when I first start the car but rather when I stop for an errand and start the car again. Is this bad? Can I keep driving like this?
you can, but you HAVE to replace it before it shears the bolts off. Eventually the two halves will separate. The timing chain will spin the gear but it will NO longer drive the cam. You will either have the engine just die or bend valves. It's all up to WHEN it fails.
My recommendation, get it fixed. The new cam gears were revised, I no longer see them fail or come in for knocking noises anymore...
Have you tried run a record yourself with the lexus software TID.?
even if you tried to supply your own data they wouldnt accept it. It has to be done by them.
Even though your check eng cleared bc your misfre went away there's still data in the ecu that indicates a history of misfire. Also there's data there and indicates how much timing it corrects for *such as pinging* reduced timing, and a 40 ignition cycle log misfire monitor.
All these this data read together will tell you if the car is going to be a candidate, a simple test at the dealer will produce the misfire (or not) right then and there. Thats the proper procedure to go about this problem.
If you want I can break it down in detail what exactly those data paremeters are called and what they're supposed to read...
you can, but you HAVE to replace it before it shears the bolts off. Eventually the two halves will separate. The timing chain will spin the gear but it will NO longer drive the cam. You will either have the engine just die or bend valves. It's all up to WHEN it fails.
My recommendation, get it fixed. The new cam gears were revised, I no longer see them fail or come in for knocking noises anymore...
Thank you for the response. I guess I better get this looked at ASAP. How hard is it to change them out your self? I have minimal mechanical experience. The biggest job I have done is replace the valve stem seals on a Toyota 2.4l 4cyl... I imagine this requires roughly the same amount of work? Is there a special tool needed for the cam gear to lock them in place before install or something like that?
I took my Lexus in when I started having P0302 errors. It's a 2007 Canadian IS250. Lexus told me that I was responsible to pay for a top engine clean and that the piston work would only occur if the problem came back. (Approx $800)
Is this really how it works in Canada for out of power train vehicles?
I got the top engine clean for free when still under warranty (6yrs/110k). Now at 147k I will get the piston rigs done, still under warranty. But I believe the dealer has guidance from Lexus Canada on what to do and enough room for interpretation on when/how it applies to IS
My mechanic poured Seafoam into the pistons when I changed the spark plugs as a way to get rid of some of the carbon, but aside from the huge amount of smoke that came out of the exhaust afterwards I can't say that I noticed any difference.
BTW, my car is doing it intermittently, but it's been having the rough idle since I got it, at 98k. Latest was all 3 lights lit onboard that did not go away until the next restart.
Good luck
Not sure if this the same problem, but my car shaking when at a complete stop at the light,
when i put in neutral it goes away,
when took to dealer for recall, i mention this problem, he told me that they couldn't find any errors,
took some data and send to corporate ( not sure why)
it happens to me once in the while.
I did realize once i had AC on, but other times can't recall.
4/04/15 - i bring in my car for the ELF recall. I figure it would be a good time for them to check the carbon build up issue as well. I have the usual symptoms, car feels like its dying in low rpms. The dealer performed the misfire test and found misfires in cylinders 1 and 6. The SA was absolutely understanding and helpful with the entire procedure. Lexus corporate denied the claim for the carbon build up because my 2010 vin falls out of the production period and states that it comes with the updated piston rings that is supposed to prevent carbon build up. I then called lexus CSP to file another request to have it fixed. I purchased the car with about 70K miles and now it has almost 97K miles. I feel like even with the updated piston rings, this is still an ongoing issue and it almost seems better off to have purchased a 2008 - 2009 model only because it falls within the period it will be covered! I explained to Lexus corp that I'm expecting a child in 4 months and this car was purchased solely for the 4 door purpose. This just sucks. it's awesome that they are covering vehicles from 2006 to pre - 2010, but for folks like me who fall out of that period, its a major blow.
Walnut Blasting - Possible Fix for Carbon Buildup Issue For Those Outside of Warranty
For those of you who may be outside of Lexus power-train warranty (or TSB requirements), you might want to see if a local shop offers Walnut Blasting (walnut shell blasting) to help clean the intake valves.
I had seen it offered for BMWs (see blog post) and wondered if the same logic could work for us. My questions were answered when I stumbled upon a blog post about this carbon build up issue and found out that they were trying to engineer this service for Lexus IS owners.
Long story short, they did the Walnut Blasting process on my car and the results have been great! I have seen improved (nearly instant) throttle response and smoother idle.
In my opinion, something like this should be offered by the dealership as a part of ongoing maintenance. One thing to note is that I did have the intake cleaned and a couple pistons and valve rings replaced under warranty at 85k miles, had this Walnut Blasting process done at 118k miles and still noticed a significant gain in performance. It blows my mind that I still accumulated all of this carbon buildup only after 33k miles! It scares me to think about how bad it was before I had the cleaning done under warranty -- although that probably explains why I was receiving the cylinder misfire errors.
Eh, I'd still rather be in your situation, and have the better piston rings straight from the factory, rather then the dealership rebuild they do on pre-2010 models. Yes you have to pay for an occasional cleaning, which is covered for pre-2010 models, but i would rather do that and have piece of mind on the engine.
Originally Posted by nippiexfam
4/04/15 - i bring in my car for the ELF recall. I figure it would be a good time for them to check the carbon build up issue as well. I have the usual symptoms, car feels like its dying in low rpms. The dealer performed the misfire test and found misfires in cylinders 1 and 6. The SA was absolutely understanding and helpful with the entire procedure. Lexus corporate denied the claim for the carbon build up because my 2010 vin falls out of the production period and states that it comes with the updated piston rings that is supposed to prevent carbon build up. I then called lexus CSP to file another request to have it fixed. I purchased the car with about 70K miles and now it has almost 97K miles. I feel like even with the updated piston rings, this is still an ongoing issue and it almost seems better off to have purchased a 2008 - 2009 model only because it falls within the period it will be covered! I explained to Lexus corp that I'm expecting a child in 4 months and this car was purchased solely for the 4 door purpose. This just sucks. it's awesome that they are covering vehicles from 2006 to pre - 2010, but for folks like me who fall out of that period, its a major blow.
85 pages long so far for this serious problem. I feel bad for 250 owners having to deal with this.
Does this issue only affect the 2nd Gen IS250 or does it also affect the 3rd Gen IS250. If it does not affect the 3rd Gen IS250 what did they do to the engine design to eliminate or solve the problem. I know someone interested in a 2nd Gen IS250 and possibly a 3rd Gen but I was not sure what to tell them about the 3rd Gen IS250 with the carbon buildup.
I think the 3rd gen has same engine with the better piston rings as the 2010+ models. So carbon buildup will be much less, no engine rebuild recall. If it does become a problem u just do a top engine clean, which is common for a lot of Direct injection cars.
Originally Posted by UDel
85 pages long so far for this serious problem. I feel bad for 250 owners having to deal with this.
Does this issue only affect the 2nd Gen IS250 or does it also affect the 3rd Gen IS250. If it does not affect the 3rd Gen IS250 what did they do to the engine design to eliminate or solve the problem. I know someone interested in a 2nd Gen IS250 and possibly a 3rd Gen but I was not sure what to tell them about the 3rd Gen IS250 with the carbon buildup.
03-02-15, 07:28 PM
. I feel bad for 250 owners having to deal with this.