My IS250 is making me nauseous. Help!
05-05-15, 06:54 PM
#1
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My IS250 is making me nauseous. Help!
May I ask your help? I am desperate here.
My 2011 IS250 with 30K miles, AWD has a bad flutter/vibration when I am sitting at a red light with my foot on the brake. Once I take my foot off of the brake the vibration goes away. I did do a search on this forum and I see that other people are complaining about the same thing particularly with the all-wheel-drive which is what I have. I brought the car to Lexus twice because it is still under warranty and they said that they did a "health check" and no codes are coming up on my car and that this is the way it normally runs. The vibration is causing a fluttering in the cabin which honestly is nauseating inside the cabin and I hate to have to say it this way but it's also making my private parts vibrate. My whole seat bottom is slightly vibrating and the cabin is fluttering. Hey, I guess some people would find that kind of vibration a turn-on but it's annoying. And it is not just me, my passengers have noticed the fluttering as well. Is It an idle issue or is it maybe a small exhaust leak? I am at my wits end with it and I have only owned the car for three months and I am ready to trade it in and lose a boatload of money because I am not getting good trade offers.
I am hating this car at this point because the vibration is so nauseating every time I have to sit at a red light. I put it in neutral just to stop the fluttering in the cabin but I am sick of shifting into neutral every single time I am sitting at a red light. You all seem to be very knowledgeable folks here on this forum, can you please suggest to me what I can do short of selling this car after only three months of ownership? I really appreciate any help you can give me because I am going to take a huge hit on this car if I trade it in and at do want to keep it. I called Lexus customer care today and awaiting a phone call from a case manager. Thank you. Mary in Boston.
My 2011 IS250 with 30K miles, AWD has a bad flutter/vibration when I am sitting at a red light with my foot on the brake. Once I take my foot off of the brake the vibration goes away. I did do a search on this forum and I see that other people are complaining about the same thing particularly with the all-wheel-drive which is what I have. I brought the car to Lexus twice because it is still under warranty and they said that they did a "health check" and no codes are coming up on my car and that this is the way it normally runs. The vibration is causing a fluttering in the cabin which honestly is nauseating inside the cabin and I hate to have to say it this way but it's also making my private parts vibrate. My whole seat bottom is slightly vibrating and the cabin is fluttering. Hey, I guess some people would find that kind of vibration a turn-on but it's annoying. And it is not just me, my passengers have noticed the fluttering as well. Is It an idle issue or is it maybe a small exhaust leak? I am at my wits end with it and I have only owned the car for three months and I am ready to trade it in and lose a boatload of money because I am not getting good trade offers.
I am hating this car at this point because the vibration is so nauseating every time I have to sit at a red light. I put it in neutral just to stop the fluttering in the cabin but I am sick of shifting into neutral every single time I am sitting at a red light. You all seem to be very knowledgeable folks here on this forum, can you please suggest to me what I can do short of selling this car after only three months of ownership? I really appreciate any help you can give me because I am going to take a huge hit on this car if I trade it in and at do want to keep it. I called Lexus customer care today and awaiting a phone call from a case manager. Thank you. Mary in Boston.
Last edited by catsnmusic; 05-06-15 at 05:20 AM.
05-05-15, 07:24 PM
#2
Looks like someone dumped their problem off on you. I've heard nothing but bad things about the 2is. The 250 motor, the 250/350 chassis, the AWD's..
It doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor the is300. Sucks that is the case..
But it does make you wonder, the is300 was the last lexus actually made and imported from Japan. Now you have these Lexus's being built domestically and it shows. Japanese made cars are built to last and run seemingly forever. American made cars are made with cheap components to break down just after warranty so you're SOL and back at the dealership trading it in for pennies on the dollar to get into a new car, so you're trading out every 6-8 years and stuck with a constant car payment.
I mean it only makes sense from a business standpoint. Maximize profits and keep your customers constantly coming back to the dealership. I mean I wouldn't want to be one and done with my customers either, get you back in there enough I'm sure I'll slowly be able to weasel you into something else after you get tired of the constant issues with no real definitive answer/solution to the problem other than "you won't have to worry about that issue with the new line of autos. Let me show you what we've got."
It doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor the is300. Sucks that is the case..
But it does make you wonder, the is300 was the last lexus actually made and imported from Japan. Now you have these Lexus's being built domestically and it shows. Japanese made cars are built to last and run seemingly forever. American made cars are made with cheap components to break down just after warranty so you're SOL and back at the dealership trading it in for pennies on the dollar to get into a new car, so you're trading out every 6-8 years and stuck with a constant car payment.
I mean it only makes sense from a business standpoint. Maximize profits and keep your customers constantly coming back to the dealership. I mean I wouldn't want to be one and done with my customers either, get you back in there enough I'm sure I'll slowly be able to weasel you into something else after you get tired of the constant issues with no real definitive answer/solution to the problem other than "you won't have to worry about that issue with the new line of autos. Let me show you what we've got."
05-05-15, 07:30 PM
#3
Looks like someone dumped their problem off on you. I've heard nothing but bad things about the 2is. The 250 motor, the 250/350 chassis, the AWD's..
It doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor the is300. Sucks that is the case..
But it does make you wonder, the is300 was the last car actually made and imported from Japan. Now you have these Lexus's being built domestically and it shows. Japanese made cars are built to last and run seemingly forever. American made cars are made with cheap components to break down just after warranty so you're SOL and back at the dealership trading it in for pennies on the dollar to get into a new car, so you're trading out every 6-8 years and stuck with a constant car payment.
I mean it only makes sense from a business standpoint. Maximize profits and keep your customers constantly coming back to the dealership. I mean I wouldn't want to be one and done with my customers either, get you back in there enough I'm sure I'll slowly be able to weasel you into something else after you get tired of the constant issues with no real definitive answer/solution to the problem other than "you won't have to worry about that issue with the new line of autos. Let me show you what we've got."
It doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor the is300. Sucks that is the case..
But it does make you wonder, the is300 was the last car actually made and imported from Japan. Now you have these Lexus's being built domestically and it shows. Japanese made cars are built to last and run seemingly forever. American made cars are made with cheap components to break down just after warranty so you're SOL and back at the dealership trading it in for pennies on the dollar to get into a new car, so you're trading out every 6-8 years and stuck with a constant car payment.
I mean it only makes sense from a business standpoint. Maximize profits and keep your customers constantly coming back to the dealership. I mean I wouldn't want to be one and done with my customers either, get you back in there enough I'm sure I'll slowly be able to weasel you into something else after you get tired of the constant issues with no real definitive answer/solution to the problem other than "you won't have to worry about that issue with the new line of autos. Let me show you what we've got."
Last edited by laobo979; 05-05-15 at 07:52 PM.
05-05-15, 07:44 PM
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Buy a carbon monoxide detector that reads the levels by ppm put it in your car while you drive. Drive around for a week with it in your car. Check it daily to see if it reads any ppm levels. If it doesn't then most likely you do not have a exhaust leak. Also check under your seats and all around your trunk area and under the spare sometimes a mouse or a dead animal can cause you to get sick due to the smell. As far as the car's shuttering, not sure about that. If you are just tired of the car trade it in or sell it and get something else.
05-05-15, 07:56 PM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
If there is vibration like that with no engine/health codes, and the car is completely stock, then i am about 90% positive that it is the engine mounts. I would have the dealer go over it because the rubber on the mounts can deteriorate over time.
How many miles are on the car? where was the car kept (indoors or outdoors)?
How many miles are on the car? where was the car kept (indoors or outdoors)?
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05-05-15, 07:59 PM
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If there is vibration like that with no engine/health codes, and the car is completely stock, then i am about 90% positive that it is the engine mounts. I would have the dealer go over it because the rubber on the mounts can deteriorate over time.
How many miles are on the car? where was the car kept (indoors or outdoors)?
How many miles are on the car? where was the car kept (indoors or outdoors)?
05-05-15, 09:25 PM
#10
At this point maybe you can wait a little bit for Lexus to get back to you. Otherwise, you can try a different dealership that might help you. Some dealerships might have come across this problem or might be more willing to troubleshoot it other than just looking to read some codes.
05-06-15, 03:31 AM
#11
Pole Position
may or may not matter. but my gf's honda had stuttering problems and it was because there was cheap gas being filled. go with high octane gas like 91 and preferably not arco and something like chevron. also, you can tell the dealer to check if there are air bubbles or gaps in the gas (the part where the gas is fed into the engine, or something like that).
05-06-15, 06:30 AM
#13
Do your rpms drop and does that needle flutter up and down when you are at a light? If it does then it could be that you just need to clean your MAF sensor which you can do yourself easily. If not... if the needle doesn't move at all at idle then you can rule that out. I would then move on to having the motor mounts inspected and replaced with polyurethane ones.
These two things will both cause any car to vibrate at idle if they haven't been addressed over time. The first one will make your car feel like it's almost going to shut off. The second one is a more consistent vibration with no impact to that rpm needle. I've had these two issues on other cars in the past and both are inexpensive fixes.
These two things will both cause any car to vibrate at idle if they haven't been addressed over time. The first one will make your car feel like it's almost going to shut off. The second one is a more consistent vibration with no impact to that rpm needle. I've had these two issues on other cars in the past and both are inexpensive fixes.
05-06-15, 06:39 AM
#14
Advanced
could it be the infamous carbon build up problems
You should do your homework before talking cause these car are made and built in Japan. How I know cause when I order mine It was stuck at the ship port to be release to me from Japan.
LEXUS Manufacturing 1 - YouTube
LEXUS Manufacturing 1 - YouTube
05-06-15, 06:44 AM
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Do your rpms drop and does that needle flutter up and down when you are at a light? If it does then it could be that you just need to clean your MAF sensor which you can do yourself easily. If not... if the needle doesn't move at all at idle then you can rule that out. I would then move on to having the motor mounts inspected and replaced with polyurethane ones.
These two things will both cause any car to vibrate at idle if they haven't been addressed over time. The first one will make your car feel like it's almost going to shut off. The second one is a more consistent vibration with no impact to that rpm needle. I've had these two issues on other cars in the past and both are inexpensive fixes.
These two things will both cause any car to vibrate at idle if they haven't been addressed over time. The first one will make your car feel like it's almost going to shut off. The second one is a more consistent vibration with no impact to that rpm needle. I've had these two issues on other cars in the past and both are inexpensive fixes.
When I'm sitting at a light, the RPM's drop a tad on the tach (registers at the half mark, so the needle is not sitting at 1K, but at about halfway between 0K and 1K. But the tach needle does not flutter up and down and it does not feel like the car is going to stall. It's just not idling smoothly. Once I take my foot off the brake and/or drive, the vibration stops and is smooth as glass. It's like a humming throughout the whole cabin and both seats have a vibration and our ears are fluttering a bit like there is a rear window cracked a bit open (which there is not).l
Last edited by catsnmusic; 05-06-15 at 06:52 AM.