Lfntman

First time on any forum. First time Lexus owner. Bought '06 IS 250 in January with only 58,000. Bought it from the original dealer who had serviced it it's entire life. Decided to buy easy care extended warranty because mechanical things break. At 61,000 engine made unusual clatter @ first start-up but immediately went away. Fluids all fine. Came time for first oil change since purchase so I changed it myself switching over to Royal Purple as all my other vehicles. Fired it up..same clatter.
I knew something was wrong so I checked the filter pleats & sure enough found significant metal shavings. Brought to dealer immediately & told them I want the engine checked including pan removal to find source of metal.
Got the call Saturday that #1,3&5 had spun bearings. Warranty people will rebuild this engine incl.new crank, bearings, oil pump & pick-up tube. I checked the engine myself today. Pistons & rings look great. When I commented how they looked (for 61,000) the tech told me they were replaced recently under a " maintenance enhancement".?? WTF is that?. So my quandary is I'm about to have a brand new rebuild done, top end & bottom end but am I getting a bandage for another 60,000? What did Lexus do wrong the first time? Will the rebuild (with Lexus parts)
last a short time like this one? Why should I believe that the issues have been corrected ? I'm questioning whether to keep the car with the fresh rebuild or do I off-load it & get another car and pass the possible issues off to someone else. I'm just not 100 percent convinced that Lexus has done the right thing and corrected the issues that brought me to this point. Any input is welcome.

Aron9000

Glad you bought the extended warranty, as the IS250 engine is a turd. The larger 3.5 V6 in the 350 is great and has NONE of the problems of the smaller 2.5 engine. If they would've installed a 3.5 V6 in its place, even if you had to pay a bit of coin, that would've been awesome.

Search this forum and you can read about carbon buildup issues with the 2.5 engine. If it gets bad enough it can warrant piston/ring replacement or a total engine rebuild. Most of the time they can clean the combustion chambers using various procedures(blasting walnut shavings into the combustion chamber using a special tool is one way to clean them).

As to if this has "fixed" the problem, read up on this forum, as I'm not really sure what all the change in terms of parts when they take apart and rebuild your engine. I'd say at least keep it until the extended warranty runs out , get your $$$$ worth out of that.

Lfntman

Thanks Aron9000 for taking the time to reply. After doing some further research what I learned was that the piston& ring replacement from Lexus was a one time repair courtesy. In talking with a tech the carbon issue was a multi-faceted issue where the owners were not properly maintaining the upper end and the fact that Lexus has too much blow by in the pcv system along with low tension piston rings. The result is excessive carbon buildup on the valves However if left unattended some carbon buildup worked from the combustion chamber to the Pistons. This would cause misfire @ low rpm. I still am uncertain how to deal with the issue because the low tension rings and excessive blow by in the off are still there. The tech advised every 15000 to have the upper end cleaned with a two part chemical injected right into the intake. Being an old gearhead we used to do a "carbon run" on the freeway late at night if you know what I mean...

davyjordi

for a lexus tech to say that part of the problem lies with owners not properly maintaining their vehicles is infuriating. i'm a former 2IS 250 owner and i maintained that car meticulously. the car still had to have the engine rebuilt at 50k miles.

Lfntman

Did you get rid of yours due to the engine issues?

davyjordi

no, lexus corp and my local dealership were awesome when it came to warranty repairs; it was all more of a hassle, really. i got rid of it when the 3IS was released.

UDel

It is not owners fault for not maintaining the upper end(how do you do that anyway aside from having someone clean out the carbon buildup which is not just normal maintenance a owner should have to do or have done. This was a design failure for the IS250 and owners should not be responsible for their design failure. The IS350 has port and direct injection which solves the problem.

Aron9000

Hey if it blows up again, LS swap that sob and throw a turbo on there for good measure.

GM LS V8 engine for those who don't know what I'm talking about. You can get a complete 5.3 V8 with trans from an SUV or pickup truck with low miles for under $1000. If you can fabricate and have about $4000 total its kind of insane that you can build a 500-600rwhp beast from an old junkyard pickup truck motor.

Fizzboy7

The 2.5 is no turd whatsoever. It does have carbon build up issues, but Lexus is doing a lot to rebuild the motors of those effected. Otherwise, it's one of the smoothest V6's on the market, with acceptable power and mileage.

Aron9000

From what I've read, Lexus is doing a generally good job in addressing and fixing the issue, even if the car is out of warranty.

I still say its a turd because the 3.5 V6 gets the same gas mileage, has 100 more horsepower, and doesn't self destruct.

Fizzboy7

Such disdain for the 2.5! ; ) I know, there aren't many big advantages with the 2.5 compared with the 3.5, other than the large cost savings on the window sticker. But to be fair and clear, the 2.5 does get better mileage- even if it's only a couple more. I consistently average 26 mpg's, which I'm pretty sure most 3.5 owners do not achieve with a city and highway split. It also idles and revs smoother than the 3.5. "Self destruct?" It has carbon build-up, which Lexus is fixing for people. More miles to be had.

davyjordi

after late 2010, lexus/toyota modified the engine to address the issue and the fix has by and large ameliorated the affected engine thus far. we are six years out from the modification and the forum isn't blowing up with members complaining of the issue as it was prior to. time will tell, although things are looking very promising for those with the revised engines.

i'll also echo fizzboy7's sentiments regarding the engine -- it's buttery smooth and peppy enough for everyday driving.

bagwell

meh, I didn't enjoy my 06 IS250 at all vs the IS350 I had later....downshifting when encountering an overpass??? lame - the 350 didn't do it. I got pretty much the same MPG with tons more power with the 350 (not to mention better brakes).

davyjordi

i mean, my comments aren't to say that the 3.5 liter engine isn't the better of the two, it is. rather, they were meant to convey that the hatred the 2.5 liter engine routinely gets is unjustified to a large degree.