Damn that's a lot of carbon on those valves. I would love to see what a comparable mileage GS350 would look like. Even the pistons look bad...man!

 

I would assume a 350 would look identical as it still has the same style direct injection. From what i understand it is because direct injection doesn't have fuel to help "wash" the valves which is why the carbon builds up. I dont think the engineers considered this when designing this type of fuel system and i would suspect that most manufacturers will revert back to the old style thats worked fine since the engine was invented....... not many people want to take their fairly new cars in for some walnut blasting on a regular basis because the engineers designed a crappy fuel system, id rather lose 2mpg and have a clean engine.

As for oil consumption I've noticed mine has been using some between oil changes so I'm gonna take it to the dealer tomorrow and talk to them about it, I really love my 3GS but had i known about all these issues before i bought it i would have kept my bulletproof 2GS. Hopefully it will last me a year so i can trade it on a 335ix

One other thing i noticed is that it feels to me that my car seems to run "rough" when its cold, however once its warmed up its smooth as butter. Has anyone else experienced this??

 

The 350 has DI and port so fuel does 'wash' the seats of the intake valves. I'm just wondering how effective it is.

Wait...so you are going from one dreadful engine to another one? A glutton for torture...lol

 

I browsed through the latest copy of Consumer Reports today, which now only goes back to '09. For the '09, '10, '11 GS 350, "engine major" got black marks across the board. Before you degrade the '06 3.0 liter, remember the 3.5 isn't panning out be one of the legendary Lexus motors either. My resale value is going to be bad enough as it is, without the ClubLexus haters beating it down everyday. You are likely to suffer some other major engine maladies with your 350, according to CR.

 

Are you just looking for my post to bash the 350?I don't go by anything consumer reports says...but either way it doesn't bother me too much...I still have almost 2 yrs left on my warranty or up to 120k...im at 63k now and will never see 100k. I'll give it to my sister before then. Also, my car has been trouble free, doesn't shake, no rust, burns not a drop of oil...the only warranty work outside of the recalls has been the trunk release button...but keep trying...either way keep trying...

 

if what you're saying is true, regarding the Consumer Reports info, then their findings must be very very recent....because I have in front of me the Consumer Reports Car guide that is less than a year old (came out June 2014) and from 07' through 13'...none are listed with "black marks" on "engine major". Not saying I don't believe your statement...rather...assuming you're telling the truth (i don't have the most current copy of CR) a LOT of SERIOUS problems have been showing up on ALL YEARS of these 3gen GS's in only the last 8 months. Assuming that these engines didn't show signs of consistent problems until the higher mileages are being reached (thus the down-graded marks by CR)....I can understand how the 07's and the earlier model years would have black marks on engine major...but not ALL of the model years. I guess though...if the engine is unchanged from 07' up to 11'...then maybe they (CR's) don't need to wait for the issues to surface on the later/lower milage 09's, 10's, 11's...before they adjust their ratings??!??

 

The biggest issue going forward with this car to me seems to be the electronics part of the powertrain. Maybe the cars that are in the colder climates are having more issues...idk...but I don't see many major mechanical failures...but most seem to be cause by electrical component failures.....solenoids, ECM, wire harnesses....stuff like that...outside of the DI issues that are plaguing the 300 (no...not bashing...just stating the known issues)

 

which Consumer Report issue are you looking at? Is the 2015 "Buyers Guide"? Is it the CR monthly magazine? What exactly are you looking at? I'd love to confirm your findings. Thanks

 

Looked this up today.

 

again...where is that from? Internet site? Annual "Buyer's Guide"?

I have the last Buyers Guide, which is not even 10 months old...and the ratings are the exact opposite of what this is showing. Curious as to not only the changes..but from one extreme ("much better than average") to the other ("much worse than average"). Something isn't making sense here...

 

It was the April 2015 issue, currently at newstands.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...5/04/index.htm
I don't know how the '07 - '08 models fared, they are now too old to be bothered with apparently.

 

thanks. Wondering how valuable Consumer Reports information can be....when they're saying one thing about a car today...and the exact opposite 10 months later. I mean...people buy cars and keep them longer than 10 months, lol

 

Specifically it was the 2015 Annual auto issue, Best & Worst New and Used cars.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...5/04/index.htm

 

That doesn't make much sense...the engine is the same...I really doubt that many people had issues with the 09 and up engine...if anything it should have been better since they didn't have any of the valve spring or VVT actuator recalls...something doesn't seem right...

 

They ask for annual surveys from subscribers so maybe this batch of surveyors had issues with some of the models. Only thing that makes sense to me