No, but managed to get the foam out of the way by force. It was a pain in the ***.

 

On the GS350, the driver side is a pita too. The plastic upper intake sits over it, you have to put a wrench on the coil nut and make 100 short turns to get it out, then the plug in more stress, in and out.

 

We tilt to conspiracy of greed when we don’t understand.
If we admire Toyota for its reliability and they but recommend something we don’t understand what are we saying?
what is the effect of a slow degrading plug on the long term of the emmissions output and the sensors that come with it?
Lets just say if the cars emmisons system fails at 80k, or any part of it and the plugs are not changed one will have to pay out of warranty.
Simple. You don’t have to like it, or do it. The risk may be low, but influencing others to not do it im sure validates to some extent. But that is subjective, not bonafide.
Im sure the difference of gettng new plugs is not profound like lowering the car, or adding a cool exhaust system.
Long term it could have some aggregate effect on overall reliability.

The vast majority of GS owners past and present are not crack heads like us on forums but simply drive the cars and are likely to “Be sheeple to the stealership”. But the vast majority have exhibited better then average reliability then other models and makes that many of us enjoy when we buy the cars used. I’d rather pay up for a used car that has been kept up. If Im selling, I might get more for it if I do so. In fact as a community we all help each other as good reliability helps keep prices up!
Not all have the same outlook.
If we are not putting in other monies into our cars for repairs then spending on the darn plugs or doing them is not awful if you think about it.
THere is a reason you get 311 hp but not out of a camry or Sienna engine. They don’t have plug replacement recommendations at 60K is guess?
Just because some of you have not had issues is not a valid reason to not change them.

 

On the 450h the manual says 100k miles. Just go by what the manufacturer recommends. Even at 100k miles my plugs were still in descent shape. Of course what the manufacturer recommends is going to to have a lot of headroom/margin above it.

 

I’d be looking for reasons why Lexus makes this recommendation for this car then comparing to others.

 

+/- $60k nice car. $60 for a set of new plugs. 45mins Max DIY. Seriously $60????

 

I also think the 60k interval is a scam. I've never owned a car since 2000 that required such frequent spark plug changes. So I turned it down when the dealer recommended it at around 58k.

Fast forward a few months and the car now has a bit over 60k. On a recent drive, the car started shaking and bogging down. Limped to the dealer and they pulled a misfire code on cylinder 5. They recommended cleaning the injectors and replacing the spark plugs. I accepted this time. The spark plug job was a bit over $400, which I know is a ripoff but I'm not mechanically inclined enough to do it myself. The car has been running fine since.

I'm not fully convinced the misfire was due to the old spark plugs. I don't drive this car much, maybe once a week at most. So not getting driven enough may have resulted in too much carbon deposit in the engine. Anyways, it's done and I don't have to worry about it any more.

 

Wow $400 to change spark plugs and dumping fuel injector fluid in. I am glad I am mechanically inclined. At this point, my 2013 is an old car with 65k miles on it, so if anything needs done, it is going to be my tired old bones doing it. As long as I can anyway. I always say, it may take me longer, but who cares more about my car than I do. Plus, there is that self satisfaction of doing the job people will pay over $400 for someone else to do. No offense intended…..

 

Cylinder 5 was no longer firing to perform its function in the combustion chamber as designed. I doubt it was doing everything perfect and then just stopped all of a sudden. Maintenance of keeping the upper cylinder paths, chamber de-carboned, and ignition is important. I also doubt that only 5 was performing poorly to the point of failure. Its also likely the the plug was not the cause but in fact deteriorated by other factors. The shop has pressurized injector cleaning machine, followed by a tank additive. Most likely there are many other unsuspecting no plug changers here with on the edge far less that optimal running 2GR's not doing these maintenances here, until something quits. Using extra fuel no less. lol!

Like I said before, $60 in plugs, 45 mins DIY change, $30 Intake spray cleaning, a $10 can of intake cleaner. Another option is Toyota Dealer at 40% less the cost. As these 2GR motors get miles and older. Just go to the 3rd Gen GS and 2nd Gen IS forum, and see what saving $100 could be later on down the road for your 2GR.

This is easy DYI, $30. Its also good to use something like Seafoam, or BK44 in the tank every 40k miles or so.

 

A pesky 10mm harness hold down bolt has me against the ropes. Heat does not help but clearly it is an excuse on my part.

Doing 60K service on my son's 2016GS. Everything went well, but I an unable to put the last bolt. The bolt had an awkward angle but once loosened came out with no issues. Now I cant seem to get the angle right.

Any tricks? Please don't say it is optional.

Salim

 

@salimshah - The bolt should screw right in of course. I'm not sure I understand the 'awkward angle' comment unless it may have been cross-threaded, but that's rather doubtful if it had never been removed previous to you removing it. I would recommend trying to replace the bolt with a new one.

Sometimes when the bolt hole is angled a bit differently from the surrounding surface - or what a person envisions it should be - it creates an optical illusion where trying to get the bolt started quickly becomes a bit troubling. However, if the bolt hole's threads and the bolt's threads are not damaged it should not present a problem threading it right in....

 

For now I have decided to walk away and give it a rest. I am simply unable to get the threads to catch. I will swap out the bolts just in case. There is not enough room for my fingers to reach in and get it started. Will try again later tonight.

Just needed assurance that it is possible to do. From the looks of it $400 at dealer may be the right cost ... just kidding.

Salim

 

Just swapped new spark plugs over last night, I bought the car with 57k and just rolled over 64k so they were due for their change out. Plugs came out looking normal, certainly were original though. Took me just under an hour, easy DIY job for anyone even remotely inclined!

 

You need a thin open end wrench. Then its just patience with a million short turns till you can get your fingers on it. It's not that tough. We did did cl member Jarions car just a few weeks ago. I did mine 2 times because I went back and indexed the plugs for performance in the combustion chamber.

That 1 bolt can beat you up and wear you down mentally. Don't let it. It's only 1 little bolt. lol!

 

Problem solved. I ended up with 6mm allen bolt + washer. With a long tang allen Key I could get a straight shot.

While taking the bolt off, I could sense the alignment issue but with a few slips, the bolt does come out. During the install the problem got aggravated as I tried to force the bolt in [it was not aligned right] and my all thumbs-no-long-enough finger could get in and start the threads. I got an allen-bolt and cut diagonal slots in the threads and ran a die to clean out the bolt threads. With a long tang allen key and a bit of coercion got the threads going.

Will all run into the problem ... may be not as the intake plastic overhang may be different for others. Just get the allen bolt and skip all the fuss.

Salim
PS: Service manual says 60k spark plug replacement is for emission. The ones that came showed no wear [as expected]