Equinoxe

I am considering getting a Lexus IS-250 from 2009. The car is beautiful and drives very smoothly and has been superbly maintained. But there is the carbon buildup issue. I read so many threads, the problem seems very real. Some people say it is a terrible problem, and that the pre-2010 IS-250 should be avoided. Some say the car should be fine. I talked about that to a Toyota car seller yesterday, he has worked 40 years in this job and had never heard of any carbon buildup issue. I am a little confused with that, so any informed and wise advice you may have is very much appreciated. The owner, a very nice person, actually did not know at all about the carbon buildup issue, which makes me think that perhaps the issue is that not that terrible after all. The car has about 1400000 miles. Thank you for your time and attention!

Aspect

I assume you meant 140,000 miles and not 1.4 million miles :P but anyways on the IS250 there's always a threat of carbon buildup regardless of the year. They may have improved the pistons and such but I'm pretty sure some later model owners have had it already. Any car with just direct injection is susceptible to carbon buildup as far as I know

Equinoxe

Thank you for your reply and help. You are absolutely correct, it is 140,000 miles! :-)

ostneb

I actually have a similar car and recently opened up the intake manifold and cleaned it all out. I would consider myself moderately mechanically inclined but not a pro by any means. It is a time consuming process but pretty straight forward and not complicated. If the car is in good condition and you can get it for a good price and the only issue is the carbon build up I would go for it and just clean out the carbon yourself. Its worth it and knowing that you will properly maintain it for the near future the cars are apart from the carbon buildup extremely reliable!

Equinoxe

Thank you for your helpful post! We did decide to get the car. We paid $8500 and it seemed a good price for a AWD model with all power options, which is immaculate inside and looks almost new outside. The idle is nicely low, which seems to indicate that the engine is problem free. It feels so nice to drive. The most impressive thing may be how quiet it is.

That being said, before biking for 4 years to save for a house and exercise, I drove a 96 Neon for two years and a 95 Civic for seven years, so the transition is quite spectacular...

Again, thank you guys for your help. We feel lucky to have acquired this beautiful car. The pale metallic blue is really something. My wife, who generally doesn't like cars, was in complete awe today. I thought I would need to fetch a chair so that she could sit and peacefully look at the IS-250...

Now I have to figure out how to best take care of it outside, because unlike what the Lexus had until now, it doesn't have a garage with us...

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

I also came from a '95 Civic 2dr EX coupe that I rebuilt the sohc 1.6l in it AND the 5sp trans. I couldn't deal without having A/C any more; so in came the Lexus!

Welcome to the club!

Equinoxe

Thank you very much! I am happy to be a part of this group, which is nicely active and positive. I do know what you mean about the A/C no longer working in the Civic. Mine was anemic and I would arrive breaking a sweat everywhere during the summer and fall. It makes the Lexus a dream, compared to it. In truth, the Civic served me well. I sometimes drove her 20 hours in a row to attend a conference. About the same on the way back. Never any problem. Very precise power-train. Everything was breaking inside (windows mechanisms, glove compartment), though, and the joints of the windows and windshield were no longer tight. It was a grey Civic, the liberal amount of duct tape I used in it remained discrete... Plus I never worried about potential theft, hehe. The Lexus so far seems like a very classy friend that will reveal its personality with each week passing. The silence is so impressive. The inside is just perfectly welcoming and well conceived. My wife seemed surprised of the noise in her 04 Civic when leaving for work today.