Hey everyone! This is my first post on here and Im interested in getting a second generation Lexus IS 350. Im coming over from BMW since my engine went toast on me out of nowhere (who knew the Germans in their infinite wisdom could ever make a manufacturing error!! Haha) and so I'm looking to get something more reliable such as these models I'm interested in. Do they have any sort of major engine design flaws (rod bearing issues and such)? I know that Lexus is made by Toyota so their mechanical reliability is much better than BMW, but I still want to make sure there are no major issues for me to worry about. Thanks!

 

As long as you do the basic maintenance (oil, filters, coolant swap every 2 or 3 years) these cars are reliable. The only known issues I am aware of is some is350 burn oil to which I recommend a gasket replacement to alleviate the issue and the lower control arm bushing may cause you to use up your tires a bit faster. RCF/RC 350 lca bushings alleviate that problem at $50 each (OEM).

The rest is standard high mileage maintenance, such as diff /transmission fluid empty/refill (not flush), alternator, serpentine belt, spark plugs, and maybe water pump. 200+ id recommend bushing replacement/shocks.

 

Thank you PewPew! you mentioned a gasket alleviating an oil burning issue... what gasket are you referring to?

 

Engine / head gasket. I know on mine they did that at 70k miles and replaced the block (there was some kind of issue with it). From that point (looking at history, i bought mine at 123k) hasnt burnt oil.

 

Head gaskets will not resolve an oil consumption issue on this vehicle. The early models had low tension rings to aid in fuel economy. If OCI is neglected and/or used for short trips only, some can become oil burners.

IIRC mid year 07 they revised the piston and Ring assemblies. Even then, some owners have issues for the reason mentioned above.

Reliable cars. Pretty hard to go wrong w a 350. The 250's are DI only and may need the intake and valves de-carbonized.

Also, all Yoda's have 10 year coolant in them, rare anyone changes 10 year coolant every 3 years.

 

The two things that come to my mind are that the water pumps seem to give up the ghost around 100,000 miles or so. Depending on how mechanically inclined you are, they are pretty easy to do, and even have a rubber coated steel gasket so that you don't have to sit there and scrap a baked on gasket away for hours.

Another problem which is pretty common that I have personally had to deal with is that sometimes the spring valve on the radiator cap breaks off in the coolant inlet (its on the front of the engine underneath the cover) which then gets jammed, and doesn't allow the coolant pressure the bleed off like it should. I had mine up in the mountains on a hot day and the coolant pressure decided to blow out through either the waterpump or the radiator, which almost left me stranded in an area with no cell service.

Once I pryed the radiator cap innards out of the coolant inlet with the screwdriver from the toolkit, luckily there was a stream nearby which I refilled the cooling system with and the car was able to get me home. I ended up replacing the entire cooling system afterwards and flushed the bejesus out of it to get the river water out!

Probably something you may want to check out if you decide to pull the trigger on one!

 

As long as they have been maintained properly, all recalls done etc they are very reliable cars, the 2GR-FSE 3.5L V6 being one of the best engines, IMHO. One member has reached past the 300K miles mark: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ther-100k.html

If I was looking for a 2nd Gen, personally I would look at 2010 thru 2013 models. Mine is a 2010 IS350 Sport I picked up in Sept 2019 with 52K on it. It now has nearly 75K, I've driven her hard over the last two years and have had Zero issues. I change the oil every 5K, and I don't have to add a drop between oil changes. I've done lots of trips between Northern Cal and Southern Cal, about 380 miles one way through brutal over 100 degrees in the summers through steep mountain passes going 80 mph and below 30 degrees in the winter. I'm about to make another trip next week

 

What is OCI?

 

Oil Change Interval...