Hi,

I've been wanting to buy the 2is until I see a good deal. But I was wondering which engine is better in terms of reliability. I do want the is350 engine for the extra 100hp but does the extra power come with less reliability and of course more fun haha?

 

No. Quite the opposite, actually!

The 3.5 engine uses both direct injection, and also port injection, whereas the 2.5 only uses direct injection. Since there is no fuel flowing past the valves on the 2.5, the valves inevitably have carbon build up which will eventually make the car run terribly, and remedying it is not an easy or cheap task to pull off.

I worked at Lexus when the IS250s and 350s first came out, and after driving dozens of the 250s, the IS350s felt like a damn missile by comparison! (the 350s were rare here in Colorado since they weren't available with AWD at the time)

 

Life's too short, get the 350.

 

Spent hours and hours and hours of searching a cheap 2IS to become a new project build (RC is done!). All I see are 250s and the prices especially these days are ridiculously high - some of them higher than a 350.

So now I found a decent 2008 IS350 RWD @ 151K on the clock - got it for $13k which is in higher price range based from what Cargurus site. But clearly it was not. I was about to pull a trigger on a 2012 IS250 RWD with 121K on the clock - but thankfully the deal did not happen.

So yes, get the 350 and the first thing that you don't need to think about is the carbon build-up. Though all cars will have carbon build somewhere late in their lifetime, I'm putting an oil catch can to ultimately prevent the issue.

Already replaced all fluids including the risky transmission fluid since I don't know if it was even replaced - no record in service history.

Now the car is riding like brand new and it feels like it is lighter and faster than my RC350 AWD.

 

Maybe because it is?? You have a build thread? And that has the 8spd trans, yes?

Get a tune for it and good axle-back... Then the IS-F EPS ECU, RC-F LCAB...

 

Definitely getting the IS-F steering ECU since I don't like the current handling - feels like a child just learning to walk that I have to really hold the steering wheel.

The bushings, hmmm I don't know since the current tires shows so much wear (but not uneven) on the rear(obviously!). And the fronts - it looks like it's wearing evenly.

i'll probably hold off on the tune for the meantime since the power is already enough for daily driving. I drive 50 miles a day so it's currently on the "mild" italian tune up right now - I want to see first if the car has some unknown issues.

It's an NA 6-speed (2GR-FSE) and didn't know there is a 8-speed version of this.

 

I think it depends on what you want the car for. The 2gr is a well known, reliable, power plant. It will also take a bit more gas comparatively.

Our IS is a 250 and our ES is a 350.... We got the IS for the AWD and gas mileage.

 

In fairness to the 250 and the carbon build-up "myth"?, I see so many 250s (2IS) still on the road other than a 350(could be because of 350 rarity or a lot of people got the cheaper 250).

What's your mpg on the 250AWD?

I'm getting 20mpg on the RC350 (80% highway 20%city) and surprising 22mpg on the old beat up IS350.

 

@s3v3n : My 2011 IS 250 gets great milage; ~10L/100km city, ~7L/100km highway, or usually around 9.4L/100km combined. There is a bit of carbon on the back of my intake valves, but I've cleaned the worst of it off, and I fitted the 250 catch can kit from RR Racing, and that's been doing its job well so far.

I chose this model because it had the option of 3 pedals, and I think it's a great car.

 

That is great fuel economy, but not downplaying. Someone can make a stickshift car very fuel hungry so you've got light feet on the pedal. I only had this oldie for 2 weeks so I don't know how it will turn out. This car was neglected, so sad, but she is now in good hands.

Just called Lexus corporate regarding the sticky dash since I didn't see anything done with it from the service history. They are giving me hope but I won't expect anything. I'm sure the worst that they can say is, we can have you scheduled to your nearest lexus dealer, but you'll have to pay for it.

 

We've only had our 250 for a couple weeks (just shy). It had a slew of lights on the dash that I took care of - that was until the O2 popped back up.... sensors on the way.

It has 241k miles on it, seems to have headers, an intake, and the mufflers straight piped (which I hate - if FedEx would do their job I might be able to drive it more).

Today I got a little over 22 in the city and 28 overall on a shorter trip. On the original trip home I believe it was just shy of 30 on the freeway.

250 with AWD

 

No there isn't. AWD get the same A760 6-speed. RWD the newer 8-speed.

I missed your comment about the rc-350 being AWD.

 

@ISspeed04 : Make sure you get OE O2 sensors; apparently anything else will not send the appropriate signal to the ECU.

 

@s3v3n: Not really light feet; I just live in a rural area that doesn't have many stop signs and has a few roundabouts. I love the way the engine sounds with the F Sport lower intake box and the Magnaflow mufflers/res delete I've got on there, so I step on it whenever I can. When the variable intake opens up, the engine gets a really satisfying intake honk/howl from the exhaust.

I'm also a bit overzealous with maintenance. Like, I flush my brakes every year, and I've replaced the transmission and diff oil once a year since I've owned it. The car remains healthy by virtue of its Toyota-ness and my maintenance.

 

Agree on the fluid maintenance intervals. I'm sure others will say you are overdoing it and should follow the slavemaster's book says, but in the end of the day it's our cars and it's our money spent.

Same thing with me, all fluids every year and 3mo/3k on engine oil. The car always drives brand new.