Hi Everyone!

I recently picked up a new to me IS350 F-Sport with just over 20,000 miles on it. Love the car and is everything I was looking for in a daily driver. This is my first Toyota/Lexus V6 so I'm not sure if how my engine sounds/idles is normal and any feedback would be appreciated. I picked up the car with 19,500 miles on it, got the 20K mile service done at a Lexus dealer near the dealer I bought the car from and then drove it back home. Checked the oil level but I'm having some difficulty reading the dipstick (oil is smeared on the entire dipstick and is almost clear so can't seem to get a good reading). The car doesn't have any issues with accelerating, shifting, etc. but to me it just sounds like it is idling a bit loud/rough unless that is just how this engine is supposed to sound? If not normal, any idea on what it could be?

I recorded several videos and would greatly appreciate your input here. I have an appointment with my local dealer on Saturday but given that this is my daily, I'd like to get some insight on this to determine if it is okay to drive until my appointment.

1) Exterior Idle
2) 3)
Thank you!

 

Hello and welcome. I just traded in my '21 IS 350 after about 18 months with the car, and I can confirm sometimes the idle sounded a bit lopey or had a slight rumble to it. I couldn't detect anything unsmooth about your "revs" video above, and I would say the engine in my car generally felt smoother the more warmed-up it was. The injector noise is normal as is the repetitive chugging noise you hear in the engine bay in your exterior idle video.

Also, keep in mind the IS 350 has a sound tube that lets in a little more of the "noise" from the engine than you'd get in most cars. Sometimes, more of the unpleasant noise makes its way in, too. Even my IS 500 with its big V-8 never comes across as noisy inside because it does not have the sound tube like the IS 350 does. So, you may hear a little more of the whines and chirps from the engine than you would if it weren't there.

 

Yeah, those injectors make the car sound like a old tractor at times, or some say a sewing machine.

 

Thank you both for taking the time to read through my post and giving your insight. I feel a lot better knowing that this would be considered normal. I just realized that Youtube killed the audio quality haha. I was pretty concerned about the idle sounding like a tractor which is somewhat difficult to hear in the video compared to the video I have on my phone but if nothing seemed off to you guys then it may just be the new car paranoia kicking in.

Interestingly enough, I feel that my car seems to idle a bit rougher after it’s warmed up from driving (ie sounds more like a tractor). I thought it could have been an oil issue but doesn’t seem likely given that the car drove perfectly fine for the 700 mile drive back home.

 

The oil is super clear when it's brand new. I had the same panic on my IS 500. I checked the oil a couple days into ownership and could barely see it on the dipstick! I thought I had big time issues. But no, looking at it in a photo, I was able to zoom in and clearly see where the oil was.

 

Haha good to know I'm not the only one! I thought that the dealer I got the 20K service done at didn't put enough oil into the car I was freaking out. I'm so used to oil being darker soon after an oil change from my last two cars.

Won't lie though, the dipsticks on these cars a bit annoying; it seems like all of the oil smears on the sidewalls of the dipstick tube so I was getting some really weird readings until I did a couple of times and got a decent reading on it.

 

I had a 21 IS350 for 2 years , put 35,000 km on it. I honestly cannot hear or detect anything abnormal in the videos you posted. Maybe a bit of trouble with the audio quality. Agree with comments made by arentz07. Keep us posted .

 

Yep sounds normal and healthy. I had the nosiest IS 350. Even worse than yours. It never burned oil and various blackstone reports came back good.