pdnIS350

All of a sudden my 2006 is350 started burning a ton of oil to the tune of a quart per 200-300 miles. Now the engine is clacking - it sounds like it could be the lifters. Car has only 120k miles. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I'm having it towed to the dealer tomorrow to prevent possible further damage.

darkdream

It is probably leaking oil from worn seals or gaskets. That sounds like way too much oil to be burning that fast. Even very high consuming engines will only consume 1 quart every thousand miles, but the IS350's engine is not one of those.

Keo

iTrader: (9)

Yeah I notice mines started burning oil quick and coincidentally we are about at the same mileage. I top it up though to the 2nd dot dipstick line. I do commute 40 miles every weekdays. I'll check under my car when its time for a new oil change once the miles come due. Too lazy to go under the car now with this cold weather in LA.

IonSpray35

I'm nearing 137,000 miles and as of 115,000 miles began getting the low engine oil level towards the end of the 5,000 mile oil changes.

I was told it would cost about 400 bucks to do a partial breakdown to diagnose the problem.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

How loud is the noise? Easily audible from inside the cabin loud? Not good; could be a broken piston ring or a bearing. Start looking online to source a new motor if it comes down to it. Check parts yards online sites.

pdnIS350

No not that loud. I only heard it when standing in front of the car, and then of course louder with the hood open.

pdnIS350

Ok so the diagnosis from the dealer service department is it's leaking the oil from the timing chain cover and the noise is, purely coincidentally, the water pump bearing starting to fail. The good news it was easy to diagnose. The bad news, they are quoting 21 hrs to reseal the timing chain cover. 21 hrs? Really?

darkdream

Yup, that much oil missing is too much to be burnt off unless you was using some really shady oil. You can get it done for less at independent shops. Probably will still cost around $1200-$2000, since timing chain removal is time intensive.

pheonix72

iTrader: (6)

My 2006 IS350 started to leak oil around 106k miles. The dealer wanted $4200 to fix; the cheapest local indie still want $1800. The whole engine has to come out to get to the cover. Mine only leak a tiny bit so i just gonna keep an eye on it for now.

sealioo

I'm having the same issue at 109k. At about 104k the dealership did the timing chain cover fix (for $2k), and it's still losing oil at the same rate without a visible leak. I was quoted $5900 to tear down the engine to identify the problem. Needless to say, I'm a bit upset with Lexus at the moment, and hope Lexus Corp will come through with some kind of help.