Just bought a 2016 IS 200t.. Reliable?
 

Hi everyone!

I have owned a 2015 RX 350 since July of 2014 and put 38,000 miles on that car. 5 Years (almost) this has been the longest I have kept a car before. I have had no issues, and its been an amazing SUV. However, something in me just became tired with the same old drive all the time and long story short I went out and got a CPO Lexus IS 200t last week to replace the RX.

I wanted something faster, sporty and fun to drive. I am turning 38 this month and maybe it's a sign of a mid life LOL. Anyway, I really love the car and am impressed with how soft the seats are (even compared to my RX) and how SMOOTH this car is during normal driving. The car has 23K on it.. and I have about 2 years of bumper to bumper with the dealer so all in all I am happy with the deal. The service records look good, all the intervals were taken care of (it was a leased car) and the car is almost in perfect shape in and out.

Now, my goal here is to keep the car for another 5 to 7 years. I take care of all my cars, and dont drive like an idiot. Maybe its too soon for anyone to really say, but I am all of the sudden worried about having a "turbo" engine (for reliability) Granted, I should have shopped more and got a 350 IS but.. in my area the better deal and car was with the 200t and the one I picked is super nice. Just hoping that this engine will not be a nightmare as time goes forward.

It looks as if the NX also shares that engine.. and also the GS, and it appears they are still currently using it. So, I would have to assume that Lexus has confidence that this is going to uphold their brand and reputation for reliability?

In terms of driving it.. (yes I see and notice the lag when you want to pass from slower speeds) it seems to be a great smooth engine, and frankly other than the audible note cant really tell the difference vs. the V6 in many cases. For example, driving normal around town its almost silent and feels just like the V6 did. Call me crazy, but I almost feel like this engine is MORE fun than the 350 V6 because of the low torque, and unique driving feel.

Anyway, what are your thoughts and experiences been I would love to hear! I saw that the 2020 IS may have a BMW engine in it (not happy about that) so.. I REALLY lol hope this one will last me a long time. I drive about 8k a year.. so.. in 7 years this car will have less than 100k on the clock and most of this is just around town, or on the highway..

Thanks so much!

Congrats! The low end torque is definitely nice.
There has really only been two prominent issues with the IS200t:

1. Vacuum valve regulator (boost regulator) failing resulting in uneven acceleration due to boost pressure fluctuations. Some users also experience a loud fan noise when the regulator has failed. This issue doesn’t affect normal driving, but you may feel the rocking feeling under heavy ish load. There is a service bulletin for it and it is covered under warranty.

2. Inner tire wear on the front wheels due to the vehicle design to want to have toe-in under hard acceleration/braking. This will wear the inner side of your tires much faster than the rest and will result in reduced life before a replacement is needed. Members have replaced their lower control arm bushings to a harder material like the ones used on the GS-F to significantly reduce the issue.

The engine is still relatively young, but hopefully there isn’t further issues down the line when we see more 100k+ mike engines.

Thanks so much for the reply!

I just took a look at the thread on that valve regulator issue on the 200t. Wow, a lot of people have that issue and I see many people have gone through several replacement parts for the same problem.

That's not a good sign. Just reading that alone makes me second guess the 200t engine for long term use. Man.. that sucks! Is there an updated thread that has a happy ending where the part has been revised and it's something that can actually be fixed?

EDIT - My car is 2016 (made Nov. 2015 and was first sold 6/2016) and has 23K on it. So far it seems to be okay. When I accel I dont feel any hesitation. But, all the posts of people having the issue over and over again is a big concern?

The boost regulator going out has been an issue for only some. I have yet to have an issue after 13k miles. It’s hit or miss, but overall it’s not a big deal. If you don’t have a very heavy foot, expect your 200t to last you a LONG time. Lol

I'll be writing a review soon after my 3 year ownership experience with the 200t.

Engine is enough to do the job. Nothing more nothing less. It's extremely thirsty. 15 -17 mpg average for me. 18-20 for most. About similar to the 350 when driven normally, more thirsty when driven hard.

Yep. lag is real.

the engine itself should be reliable. it's a recycled engine from Toyota's past where toyota reinforced the block for turbo things. And threw in stronger pistons and crank.

I've managed 32 MPG on long roadtrips that are on flat roads while mostly on cruise control. I average 25 MPG while in my local area and that's with a lot of hills and I have a heavy foot half the time I'm driving not to mention I'm usually on Map 1 on my BMS JB4 tuner which increases the turbo's PSI by about 5 PSI. I guess it just depends on the person and the environmental factors.

i've done all the "i've done XX" mpg too. i've also done about 35mpg on highway trips, and 26 avg around town. but usually, that's not the case. usually it's mid teens in realistic commuting. we're very very hard here in socal. deep deep stop and go and very intense. no leisure drives through rolling hills with swaying tree stuff. lol. it's a fight out here every day.

I actually see advertised or slightly better fuel economy on my 2017, but I don't drive the car hard daily, only when required and I've planned out my routes for travel into and out of the office to reduce my time stuck in stop and go.

Definitely boost eats my fuel like nothing else. Also my fuel economy running Shell is higher than Esso, I probably get at least 50km additional range per tank vs Esso 91.

If I were seeing constant grid-lock daily, I'd definitely be regretting my decision going with the 200T.

I honestly have never gone below 22 MPG and that's me driving hard more often so not sure what's up with your guy's mpg haha. Anyways, off topic now, the reliability should be there. I can't imagine any issues before 150,000 miles or so I hope.

Wow, you guys are great! Thank you for all the replies!

Good to know that the engine itself is an older Toyota design! and.. I think that Lexus is prob. conservative with the turbo too (from what all the you tube reviews say) and I bet that's for longer life. Nothing worse than buying a car and then regretting it LOL. So, getting some confidence from others who have the engine makes a big difference. MPG I can deal with (so far I thinks it's better than my 350 RX), but being in the shop every 10K for some part that broke.. is definitely not what I want either.

I spent some more time today (all day) just driving the car. I did about a half tank of gas.. highway mostly. Very smooth car. and once you step on it, and that downshift happens and the turbo fires up.. its got a lot of power.. especially when your already going 60mph. getting to 100mph seemed to only take a few seconds. I also like that I can cruise at about 80mph around 2K rpm. That's pretty darn good.

Around town the car seems very soft and quite, the only thing is that lag from a dead stop.. its about a solid second before anything happens. But, honestly this is something I can see getting use too. In fact, I find it quicker to ease on the gas first and then press hard. Seems to get going faster that way.

Still getting use to the "cockpit" feel of the cabin vs. my RX LOL. My wife, she has 2018 RX 350 and thats a beautiful ride too. Although, the acceleration (or transmission) in that car is a little weird and not nearly as smooth as my old 2015 RX was. Thankfully, the IS has been great for this week that I have owned it.

Well, I hope that I dont run into any issues.. and if I do I hope that its that valve part and that Lexus as an updated part so it wont keep breaking. ;-) I will do oil every 3K and not drive like an idiot and I hope to see 100K over the next 7 years!

If you want some miles out of the tires you will need different lower control arm bushing that mitigates the dynamic toe when braking/acceleration.

Boost valve is easy to do and cheap

I have been averaging 29mpg since 10/30/18, and 11k mileage
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.clu...c293e8b9a4.jpg

This is good to know. What kinda miles can I expect as it is now?

Do you happen to have a link to the parts I would need for that upgrade? I know a indy mechanic in town that could prob. install it cheaper than the dealer..

No need to do oil every 3k miles. That's a huge waste of money if you're using full synthetic like you are supposed to. Go 7k miles minimum on full synthetic. Lexus recommends every 10k, but I'm not comfortable with that since I drive pretty hard often. Also the LCA bushings that most of us upgraded to are the RC-F/GS-F LCA bushing since they are a bit stiffer, but not too stiff like aftermarket poly bushings. Megazip has them super cheap shipped from Japan. It's an OEM toyota part.

I saw this mentioned on another thread. The LCA bushings, will that void any Lexus warranty? Even if it's an OEM part. I wonder if that ruins anything if the IS is leased.

Thanks for that! So, I will def. roll with the OEM parts vs. the aftermarket ones. I like the idea of stiffer but not so much so (track). This is just a daily driver. Hell, I live in Miami and about as exciting as it gets is the on and off ramps of I-95 LMAO. So, no nice twisty roads to enjoy I am afraid. If I am being honest here.. I bought the car mainly because of the "fitted" feel inside and the outside looks. I drive about 8K a year around town. If I can find a way to make tires last 20K I will be happy enough with that ;-)