Thinking about purchasing IS 220d, reliability?

Keanu · March 31, 2016

I'm thinking of purchasing a 2008 Lexus IS 220d. It's my first Lexus and I'm not sure what to expect. Generally speaking, does the car require a lot of maintenance and is it prone to big issues like broken transmission, fuel pump system etc... ?

The car has around 90k kilometers on the meter. Is the 220d generally considered as a reliable car ? I obviously don't want to spend a lot of time and money in having it serviced.

Hoping you could answer my questions.

Cheers,

Keanu

bluenose1940 · March 31, 2016

A big welcome to you Keanu. I had a very nice 220d before buying my 250 auto and then my current 300h. The latter two are much better cars.

There is an absolute mountain of information on here about the 220d and before long you will get many many replies to your question. Don't be at all surprised when you start being eased in another direction though, it will inevitably happen I can assure you.

All I can say is, digest all of the info that comes along, before making your decision.

I will say no more as there are much better qualified members than me to advise you.

rayaans · March 31, 2016

In summary no - the IS220d is not a reliable car by Lexus standard - perhaps on par with other brands such as Audi and BMW. Use the search function and you should find plenty of information regarding reliability issues on the IS220d

Bluesman · March 31, 2016

Hi Keanu and welcome to the LOC, we are a friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull them to bits and put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer left over.

I cant help with your present queries but I'm sure someone will be along ASAP and as Geoff has said don't be surprised when you are encouraged to go in a different direction. It will all become self explanatory.

We recommend you spend a couple of mins looking over the rules of the LOC, we will be asking questions later

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/terms-conditions/

Regards Mike.

ahmedali44 · March 31, 2016

Hi @ welcome had 2006 is220d for 2yrs sold it with 93k on clock, was nice car to drive but had gearbox replaced in about 2hrs of driving it back to London only had 75k on clock but luckily it had warranty so didn't cost me anything, replaced front calipers as common fault,they were seized,dpf blocked due to local miles, but other ppl had 5th injector problem,head gasket blowing but I never got these problems, now own is250 better car.is220d is only good if ur gonna do 30k per yr, it's not a town car as dpf will get blocked.geabox is a bit notchy not smooth as German cars overall it's not better then is250. Hope this is enough information for u to make ur own mind up.

Wisty · March 31, 2016

I have a IS250, and my (soon to be) sister in law has an IS220D, which she absolutely swears by. She uses it mostly for regular long journeys where the engine has plenty of time to get warm and avoid the associated DPF/EGR issues associated with all modern TDIs.

My IS250 is a much nicer thing to travel in though - the auto box is flawless and it goes very well.

My advice would be to try both, and think long and hard about what you're likely to do mileage wise.

Good luck!

toffee_pie · March 31, 2016

2 hours ago, Keanu said:

I'm thinking of purchasing a 2008 Lexus IS 220d. It's my first Lexus and I'm not sure what to expect. Generally speaking, does the car require a lot of maintenance and is it prone to big issues like broken transmission, fuel pump system etc... ?

The car has around 90k kilometers on the meter. Is the 220d generally considered as a reliable car ? I obviously don't want to spend a lot of time and money in having it serviced.

Hoping you could answer my questions.

Cheers,

Keanu

dont do it, buy a is250. Its superior in every way.

toffee_pie · March 31, 2016

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

In summary no - the IS220d is not a reliable car by Lexus standard - perhaps on par with other brands such as Audi and BMW. Use the search function and you should find plenty of information regarding reliability issues on the IS220d

there is a reason they stopped making 220Ds, putting a D4D tractor engine into a IS250 chassis was never going to work.

normski2 · March 31, 2016

Personally,.... I wouldn't do it.Lexus got badly burnt with the 220d effort and dropped it.

Take a read through these and see what you think. Please think long and hard about this.

Keanu · March 31, 2016

Thank you everyone for the replies! I appreciate it and it will definitely help me choosing the right car.I see a lot of IS250's for sale here in Belgium that are within my budget, although they have a high performance engine with high HP. This will result yearly tax and insurance to be extremely high. The diesel was just right regarding the taxes etc.

If I'd let the IS 220d get warm and drive normal with it (not sporty etc.) will I have less issues with it ?

How is the reliability of the inside electronics (navigation, climate control, camera, ...) ? Is it the same as any Lexus car?

Thank you very much for your answers and feedback!

toffee_pie · March 31, 2016

the whole thing is that the diesel is very bad compared to the petrol to drive, I never realised you were in Belgium.

I would take both for an (extended) drive and that will let you decide much quicker i will gather.

Petrol Lexus is probably the most reliable car you can get, I recently sold a 250 SEL and I had it 2 years, only thing I ever changed (aside from spark plugs at 50k) was a water pump and that was more preventative than anything else.

ahmedali44 · March 31, 2016

I think I had good is220d didn't face any hg problems but sometimes did smoke maybe it was normal for is220d.or got rid of it just in time before hg blew.mind u it had 93k on clock ,did clean egr when bought it but now me @ wife love is250.keanu either buy is250 or take out a warranty on is220d.

juicestop · April 1, 2016

Don't be put off by higher vehicle tax and insurance costs. From what I have read on this forum over the years it seems the 220 diesel is a dog and best avoided. In contrast, the 250 petrol is a lovely car. If you can source one that has obviously been well looked after then it will serve you well. And you'll enjoy driving it.

dougie175 · April 1, 2016

Never drove the diesel, it was what I was originally looking at doing quite high millage and running a string of diesel cars in the run up to my Lexus, but 10 minutes worth of reading on the internet and I never thought about 1 again. Had my IS250 for 5 months now and I know I made the right choice, there is no diesel car out there close to the refinement and pleasure of driving this car

Linas.P · April 12, 2016

On 3/31/2016 at 9:48 PM, Keanu said:

" here in Belgium that are within my budget, although they have a high performance engine with high HP. This will result yearly tax and insurance to be extremely high. The diesel was just right regarding the taxes etc.

That is off topic, but you have weird tax in Belgium. Fist of all IS250 doesn't have high performance engine ~205hp (obviously depends what you comparing with), but generally IS250 is not performance car (maybe US IS350 is something closer to performance car). Secondly, IS220d is very close with 177Hp (are you sure there are tax difference?) - and actually pollutes much more (as any diesel). As well check if IS250 AT and MT tax is the same, because at least in UK MT is twice more expensive to tax than AT (£495 vs. £295). Then next - IS220d really doesn't worth Lexus badge and if you really looking after more "practical" and less luxurious car (which lexus suppose to be) - I would consider diesel options from BMW,MB,Audi or even Toyota (IS220d is based on Avensis if I am right?) as they will have much more options available and will be cheaper to maintain.

Maintaining IS220d and driving with warm engine and long distances might actually improve reliability, but as we are talking about used car - How do you know previous owner have done that? Basically, you have a risk associated when buying IS220d, might get lucky and might not.

Finally, as you know IS220d is Manual only, and probably it is not that much the gearbox, nor the car is no reliable, but rather combination of both (and why on earth Lexus decided not to make AT 220d?). So you have less reliable engine in IS220d + less reliable Manual gearbox which requires more maintenance. All in all there are much more maintenance required for the car. Maybe taking this in consideration the Tax offset will by not that much when comparing with IS250 (not to mention it is BETTER car as a whole).