Raykwon02

For the first time in 7 years of driving a Lexus, the CEL came on in my IS350. Immediately took the car to Lexus and the tech told me they found low octane fuel to be the reason for CEL. Car has only seen premium fuel pumped at the same 2 gas stations I go to fill up both my IS350 and RC F, which does not have this issue. Tech recommended filling up with Shell 93 octane and using an octane booster to top off the tank. They removed the CEL and I left the dealership hoping this was just a hiccup. I did as instructed by the tech for a total of 3 tanks. The CEL returned during the 3rd tank of gas, but now the car completely lost power and the engine shook like crazy. I took it back into the dealership and they said it had a multiple cylinder misfire. Tech also said they found bad gas in the vehicle again, now I am really confused. They offered to drop the tank, clean fuel rails, throttle body and injectors... none of which would be covered by warranty because of the whole "bad fuel" issue. I went ahead and did the job, cost was ~$1,200. Drove the car for 2 weeks with no problem, but then.... the dreaded CEL and again the car lost all power. This time I noticed it happened when I tried to accelerate, I wasn't putting the pedal to the floor, I would say it was about 75% throttle. Now I take it to another Lexus dealership, but they don't find bad gas, what they recommend is changing out the Fuel Rail Pressure Regulator, they claim it is damaged. They also find a multiple cylinder misfire, which the tech said would damage the catalyst converter eventually. They can't guarantee replacing the FRPR will fix the problem and advise they may have to replace both the port and direct injectors if the issue returns after replacing FRPR. The cost to replace the FRPR is $600, the cost for the injectors would be $3,800. I'm not sure what to do at this point, could bad gas really damage all these parts? This is really frustrating! Has anyone experienced this before?

brendanf

I would ask the original dealership about how they determined you had bad gas.

Did they have it tested? And if they did, can they provide you with a copy of the report? If they didn't have it tested, then it is all hearsay and utter bs. If they do give you a copy of the report then I would seek legal action against the gas station.

There have been other members on here who have had similar faults with their cars (a misfire) I would search for their threads and see about their results.

I can't see you having a faulty FPR. If you do and they claim it is damaged why did it work for so long before suddenly acting up. It doesn't make sense.

In the future, whatever repairs you do, if your paying out of pocket, ask for the old parts back, because you can have them checked to see if they are actually bad.

nathantse

What gas/station did you use to fill up the IS350/RCF?

And just to clarify, is this IS350 7 years old? or are you saying you driven Lexus cars for 7 years?

Raykwon02

I only pump at the nearby Chevron and Mobil stations. What I meant is I've driven Lexus vehicles for the past 7 years. The IS350 having this issue is a 2015MY with 20,000 miles.

AMNss

I do not think it is related to fuel octane, maybe water in the fuel or diesel. Definitely ask for the fuel report if you can, or get a sample from the gas station and send it to a lab just for you peace of mind ( since you fill all of your cars from the same gas station).