Tro209

Hey guys, I'm a pretty frequent user of CL for the past 2 years since I bought my 06 IS350 in May of 2014. Lately I've been really thinking about paying off the rest of my car by years end and upgrading to an ISF finally. However after lurking on the F forums of CL for a whole I see that the ISF also has its fair share of issue just as the IS350 does.

You see, in my head I always thought the ISx50 was bulletproof. But then I found out about the carbon build up issues of the 250, the water pump of the 350 and airbags (smh Lexus) and now apparently even the F has the water pump issue as well as the coolant leak I've been hearing about..

Anyway as a potential ISF buyer in the near future I was wondering what you guys would say the ISF's reliability is like for a daily driver as well as general maintenance costs are compared to my IS350? I'm sure there are a few of you here who have done the upgrade I'm contemplating and I would really appreciate your input and advice. Is there anything minor or major I need to know about the ISF I may be unaware of? And do you any of you Ex-IS250/350 owners regret the upgrade to an F? Thanks

mahcah

iTrader: (3)

None here. I'm glad I made the switch because it's fun having the power

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

I am good friends with 2 other local F owners... we all have 2008 models. Mine has just 44k miles on it, but each of theirs have over 100k. None of us have had to deal with any issues personally, and I think we would all agree that the car is extremely low maintenance and reliable compared to many other cars in this segment of the market (BMW M, Mercedes C AMG, etc). As far as "issues" go... a water pump is really no big deal relative to what other makes/models consider common issues. I wouldn't let that bother you. Airbag will be fixed for free, so again, no big deal IMO.

I upgraded from an IS250 to my F, and one of the other local F owners upgraded from an IS350. Neither of us would regret the decision. I now smile every time I drive, and I miss driving my car when I have to travel. If you've never driven an F, I would highly recommend it... you'll be sold

F Monster

I agree with zmcgovern4. No car is perfect, an ISF is one of the most reliable luxury sports sedan out there. I've had mine for a year this August 1st and it has given me zero issues. I've put about 9k miles into the car driven it back and forth from Arizona and California a couple times. Yes there are quirks here and there like the earlier models having water pump issues but that's not as bad when you compare it to the German counterparts. To give you an idea, my friend's BMW Z3 is almost always down, they have to do "preventative maintenance" to keep their cars in checked. His car is down right now because he has to change out his vanos. He had rod bearing issues before, fuel pump, blown head gasket, etc. The ISF will be more to maintain (tires, oil, gas, etc) compared to your ISX50, but so will any other high performance luxury cars.

Tro209

Wow great answer right here, you only make me want the car even more now haha. Thank you

Tro209

Yes that is understandable, I came from an 03 330i BMW before my purchasing my IS350 and the difference is night and day in terms of maintenance and down time. My IS has been flawless compared to my old e46 which was down for months at one time as I figured out what was wrong with it. On top of that it an oil leak that I never fully fixed when I sold it to carmax. Super glad it's out of my life and I swore off German cars for good until I could afford a new one with a warranty at least. So when you say the ISF is reliable by comparison I'm sure it is since it is a Toyota after all. The way I've heard it be put was that the most reliable engine out of the entire 2IS lineup was the ISF followed by my 350 and then the 250 due to its carbon issues.

I know tires, oil, gas and brakes will be a bit more but I'm more than willing to pay the premium for a superior vehicle. I was just concerned about the coolant leaks and such since I had never previously heard of that before. And people on here didn't seem to happy with Lexus about it not being a free fix.

joshthorsc

Having owned many performance cars each one has always had it's unique problems. To me, dealing with faulty water pumps is way better than chances of blown motors from bad bearings, dropping valves, etc. When I had my E46 M3 Cabrio, the only things that went bad on the car was the ignition coil pack( a common problem) and the CD changer stopped working. Besides that, it was a pretty reliable car.

Usually before I buy a performance car, I always research it the way you did. If I don't like what I hear and sometimes (the internet can blow it out of proportion) then I won't buy the car. The C6 Z06 is one car I passed up cause I did felt the problem was there and especially there wasn't a "fix" for the dropping valves. The most reliable vehicle that I've owned was my 2004 Tundra. But there are no performance numbers there.

ISF4life

iTrader: (30)

Tro boy :P , up graded already, i came from IS300, IS350 and ISF , zero issue put 103k miles on the IS300 and almost 40k miles on the IS350 both were brand new, and then slightly use ISF only had 18k miles from the make up artist in Hollywood now i have 40k miles on it :P

MWIS350

I was thinking the same, but could trade it in before paying it off. If you can I would recommend 2011-2014 ISF.

Tro209

I would if I hadn't dumped so much money (IMO) into it already. Plus I'm missing the original axle back, the grille, and have already messed up my fenders by rolling, pulling and shaving them slightly. That along with the fact that I have 132k miles on it and it's an 06 doesn't help. I'm sure the amount I would get on trade wouldn't be worth it. Also I would much rather pay off my IS350 completely and keep it as a show car / project car while my future ISF will be my performance car

And for sure I will be looking for a 2011+ model year. But if the price is right, I wouldn't rule out an 08-10 either.

Meraki Autoworks

iTrader: (8)

No issues. Don't buy an 08 to avoid water pump issues. Otherwise.. Come

-Josh

zebani

iTrader: (5)

IS300 to IS250 to IS-F owner. No regrets whatsoever Reliability is same as the other Lexus' I owned if not better but 10 times more the fun.The maintenance cost is not really high, except the brakes maybe. I am still getting 20-22mpg around town and 25-28mpg on the hwy, if I am being easy on the gas.

Tro209

Wow that's impressive fuel economy for what the car is. Although the way I drive thats probably irrelevant lol. But still nice to know it can do okay if one were to try

Tro209

Noted. Plus I did some more research and found that the 09 has piano black interior which I think is pretty cool. So I'll probably avoid 08 unless the deal is too good to pass. But preferably I'm going for at least a 2010 for the LSD.

Meraki Autoworks

iTrader: (8)

Yup, I love my 2010!

-Josh