will_is250

So just the other day my 08 is250 started acting weird. With the a/c on it is very slow to start off from a light, it feels similar to how a slipping clutch would feel (mine is an auto). Occasionally while accelerating from a light it will even shudder to the point of almost stalling.

I tried driving without the a/c and it did drive better, though it still feels much more sluggish than usual. I will be taking it into the dealer once i get a chance, but has anyone else had this problem or have any idea what this might be.

In the past I did have the top end cleaning done from the car going into limp mode randomly and idle dropping at stoplights.

Any ideas what's going on?

eggwoll

iTrader: (9)

hmm i have something similar happening to me. when in park with the A/C on the rpm drops to from 700 to 500 and the car shudders then shoots it back up. it constantly repeats too; when im at a light in D it does something similar.

600rr05

iTrader: (9)

that is odd. i know one member on here took his car back several times for that top engine clean maybe its that.. I know right before i took my car in for that it happened with the AC on. keep us posted with what lexus says.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Could it be a bad or deteriorating battery/alternator? The reason I think it may be this is I don't see any reason the car would perform or act any different with the AC on rather than off, unless it's because the battery or alternator is dying and the AC pulls extra power to operate. Just a thought - your symptoms sound similar to mine just before my LS400's alternator crapped out.

will_is250

Wow, okay so I finally got around to taking the car into Magnussen's Lexus in Fremont and decided to have them look over the AC issue as well as an occasional grinding noise on start up and both keys not working even though the batteries are pretty new. They kept the car overnight and called to say they could not find anything wrong with it and both batteries were dead in the keys. They want to charge me $166 now(said they are only charging me half or 1 hour diagnosis) to basically replace a $1 battery and stand there scratching there heads. The car has 52,500 miles on it so it's still covered by OEM power train warranty AND i bought the 7yr/100k extended warranty from this dealer.

Any tips on how to deal with these crooks? Basically told them I would love to pick up my car but there is no way I'm paying that fee.

kinglexus99

If you bought an extended warranty from them why in the hell would they charge you a diagnostic fee? That's ridic. If they had found something all of the work would have been warranted so how now because they didn't do they think their entitled to a payment outside of warranty? I'd speak w/ the service manager and get it handled.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

First off, don't pay them to replace the key batteries. The instructions for doing so are in your owner's manual, and you can buy the batteries from Sewell.

It sounds like you already had the carbon build-up TSIB performed (top-end cleaning), but you say you're experiencing an occasional grinding noise on start-up. That's the cam gear TSIB, and they should perform it. Go to the "engine cranking/grinding" thread for an explanation of the issue. I had this issue as well, but it was intermittent so the dealer couldn't replicate. I recorded the audio from the YouTube video posted on the above thread on my iPhone and brought it in to the dealer, played it for them, telling them I'd recorded it one morning, and they performed the job under warranty.

Was the dealer able to replicate any of the issues at all? If not, I'd go in and try and replicate it for them myself. In any case, I wouldn't be paying the diagnostic fee, since there truly are issues and they're just not finding or replicating them.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

^ Doesn't the Cam Gear TSIB only affect the 350's and not 250's??

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Nope, it affects both. The valve spring recall is what affected just the 350s.

From the 2IS Buyer's Guide:

will_is250

So they just gave me the car back and said they will talk to Lexus corporate to see what they will do about the charges for diagnostics so they aren't gonna bill me for that as long as it gets taken care of...WTF is that!

Yeah I knew about the valve spring recall on the 350 and just figured they were leaving us 250's out of it but looks like it may be more of a problem with the cam gear TSIB. I did have the carbon-build up TSIB performed awhile back already and it actually made a difference.

Lexus corporate just called me back and I mentioned that so i will see what I hear back. Is it just me or does it seem we have a lot of issues with this car? I mean I love driving it but I figured i would have less probs all before 50k miles...

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Just to be clear, the valve spring recall and cam gear TSIBs are completely unrelated.

As far as issues with the car, I think there are a handful of issues very common to the 2IS, but outside those common issues there aren't many problems overall. That contrasts with most other cars, where there may be some common issues, but there are other totally out-of-the-blue unexpected problems as well. For the 2IS, there's the cam gear TSIB, carbon build-up TSIB, and dash rattle (I'm not counting recalls because they're covered regardless of year/mileage). For the two TSIBs, they're both covered under the 70k mile powertrain warranty, and all extended warranties. The dash rattle is covered by the factory warranty, but not after that, however it's a nuisance problem that doesn't affect performance or operation of the vehicle. So there are really two big main issues with the car, and they tend to occur to vehicles under 70k miles, so within the warranty period.

If you check threads about high-mileage 2ISs, you'll find that most people have almost no problems outside these common issues, even up to 200k miles. So I think while the car has some common issues, every car does, and in the case of the 2IS the problems are generally limited to these common issues and they're also usually covered under warranty. It can certainly seem like they have many issues though when several occur around the same time as each other.

Keep us updated, hopefully everything works out for you.

will_is250

Thanks for the heads up on the cam gear TSB guys. Just to update, took the car to a different dealer, Putnam Lexus Redwood City and they had no problem replicating the issue with grind on startup and the cam gear TSB is being done right now. Also the driver's side door lock actuator is being replaced since it has officially stopped working.

Wasn't really saying these car are necessarily unreliable, just that the minor annoyances and time spend at the dealer is a little much, although I can say for the most part they do resolve most issues.

When I first bought a Lexus though I really didn't expect to have all these probs. I am now at 53k and the engine has been opened up twice, once for the carbon build up and now again for the cam gear. I have had the entire rear bumper replaced due to an issue with the paint after 10k miles, and then there is the fuel leak from the fuel pressure sensor that was fixed. I fully expected to be replacing tires every 17kto 25k miles, but replacing brake pads every 25k is a little much.

I absolutely love this car, how it looks and how it handles(once i put some Tein SS coilovers on it) but now I'm thinking about trading for a Subaru WRX.