hengkoy

I have an 07 IS-350 with 65,607 miles. It's out of basic warranty, and I didn't purchase the extended warranty. Yesterday as I was leaving to go to work, and pulling out of my driveway, my car stalled! I turned the car back on, the Check engine and VSC lights came on, the engine was vibrating so much making the whole car shake. At idle, it felt like the engine was going to stall again. I pushed on the gas pedal, and tried to drive it. The car didn't have any power at all! It felt like I was driving my old Toyota 4-cylinder Tercel!

So I went back to my driveway to check things out. I opened the hood and tried to look for any obvious things like disconnected vacuum lines etc. Everything looks good, so I decided to reset ECU by disconnecting negative terminal on battery, thinking this might help. It didn't - same symptoms!

So, I decided to sputter along and take it to the dealer. It sounds like the engine, and it should be covered by 72-month/70K powertrain warranty. I made it there alright. I was given a loaner car (HS250H). The Service advisor called me at work a few hours later, and told me it's going to cost me $350 initially just to get in there and tear it apart because it's showing cylinder #4 Fuel injector fault, and they have to spend time to tear it apart and find out what's wrong. I said, isn't this part of the 72-month, 70K powertrain warranty? He said unfortunately, if it's the fuel injector, then it's not covered because it's not internal to the engine, but if it's something else inside, then definitely it will be covered. I was also told the $350 will be applied to the total cost of repair if it wasn't going to be under warranty. At this point, I felt I was at the mercy of the dealership because I need to find out what's wrong. I'm thinking if I can have them pin point the problem, maybe I can opt to get it taken cared of somewhere else cheaper if it's going to cost me a lot more.

Today, my Service Advisor called back to tell me the good/bad news. Bad news --> I will not be able to drive my IS-350 for a while, but good news --> everything will be covered under factory warranty! It turned out I have a broken valve spring!! This is what the recall was about! Recall was announced in early July. Apparently they haven't put together the replacement parts kits yet. My service advisor can't give me an estimate of when the parts kits will be available, but he said of course my car will be given priority since it's broken. They may have to put together that kit locally if it turns out it will take a very long time to get them from the factory. All day yesterday, I was thinking I will be spending at least $350, so I'm thinking to myself, there goes my F-Sport intake! But now, I'm happy I can still look forward to it! I was also looking at the forum to see if there are any other IS-350 owners that experienced this problem. All I found out was IS-250 owners experiencing rough idle etc. but I did find a post where the op was going wot when he experienced the check engine/vsc, and it turned out to be valve springs, and it was also cylinder #4! I just couldn't find that post anymore, sorry! I guess his problem was the spring was getting weaker, but mine totally broke.

I just hope they do a good job in replacing those valve springs! No leaks, please! Link to CL post about the recall:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...placement.html

The recall states failure rate is expected to be at .2% I feel special cuz I'm in that elite group fo 0.2%!

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

I heard late august or September for those parts

hengkoy

Dang! That's a long time. I better talk to my Service Advisor to see if he has an IS-F available for a loaner. This HS250h loaner ain't cutting it. But hey, I'm saving money on gas, huh?

Do they have to take out my spark plugs to replace the springs? I bought new spark plugs from Sewell about a month ago for my 60K, but hadn't had a chance to put them in yet. Do you think I can talk him into replacing them if I give them the replacement parts?

SoDiezl350

iTrader: (2)

Damn you should buy a lottery ticket. I think the odds of actually having one fail was lower than winning the jackpot.

Also, did they say what the extent of the damage was? And what if you had been out of warranty, I take it the recall would have covered all the costs anyways correct?

hengkoy

I was told the valve spring was broken, but didn't cause any internal damage. Although it was broken, it remained in place. I imagine if it broke into several pieces, then it would have caused some serious damage. I have to wait until the final repair is done to find out if what they say is true.

Yes, since it was a recall it doesn't matter if my car was out of basic warranty. I'm also assuming it's part of Lexus drivetrain warranty which is 72 months or 70K. Aren't the valve springs internal part of the engine?

Call me unlucky, but since this happened to me, I recommend seriously thinking about getting this recall done once it's available for you. As I have mentioned earlier on my post, there is at least one other IS-350 owner in this forum that had a failure on one of the valve springs. The odd thing is, we both had the same #4 cylinder failed! I just couldn't find his post!

hengkoy

I found the other confirmed valve spring failure: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...need-help.html

hengkoy

Aside from the valve springs, does anybody have inside info on what else is included on the valve springs recall parts kit? If the dealer is putting together a replacement parts kit for me, I would like to make sure they're the same.

Thanks!

isthrizzy

Damn, sorry to hear that man, at least you got covered under the warranty!

hengkoy

Thanks. Yes, I'm glad I don't have to pay, but I just hope they fix it right!

hengkoy

Got a call from the dealer. Parts are getting here tomorrow, then another day or so before I can pick it up. I miss my ride!

Service advisor confirmed again no other internal damage in the engine. They're replacing all valve springs.

Here's a pic of the valve springs I ran across the web:

SatxIS350

iTrader: (1)

I have mine @ the dealer.. Gave me a RX350 nice but just isn't the IS... I'm glad they're getting your kit tomorrow.. Mine has been at dealer for 2 weeks now and still waiting GL

syzygy

Do you go to lexus of austin? I'm fairly certain I've seen your car there many times before. Do you have red outs?

soupdawg

is this the valve spring recall? it shows this when i log into the lexus website for my car

Safety Recall ALE - Certain Lexus GS 350, GS 450h, GS 460, IS 350, LS 460, LS 460L, LS 600h and LS 600h L Vehicles

hengkoy

Yes it is. You can look here:

http://www.lexus.com/recall/

hengkoy

What did you take it in for? Is it for the recall, or was there something wrong with your car?