Another concerned Is220d owner......help,advise needed

Goldwyn · January 28, 2017

Hi!,
and greetings from Finland!

So i bought a 220d -07 with 195,000km on the clock for about 2 weeks ago, had passed MOT a month before.
So today went on a 50km drive to a shop and on the way it started smoking blue for 10-20 seconds ( felt like a lifetime ) i was going about 85-90km/h with cruise control..it did that 5-7 times! On the way back home the same 50km it only did it once..

So today i cleaned the erg valve and went for a drive and it happend again...smokes blue, the more i accelerate the more smoke i get...

Coolant level is Ok , clear pink
Oil level Ok

Did i buy a head gasket failure car ? ofq its a imported from a private person...

Any advise before i cry myself to sleep?

ahmedali44 · January 28, 2017

Hi welcome seems to 5th injector problem or head gasket, is220d known for these issues, if you lose power goes into limp mode it's dpf blocked

Any lights on dash?????

Best thing is get pressure tested could be anything

Good luck

Shahpor · January 28, 2017

Welcome Marcus,

Blue smoke does suggest it is burning oil, but if it was head gasket, I would have thought it would be doing it all the time. If your oil level is ok, then that makes it even less likely.

If you want to be sure, get a sniff and compression test done.

As for what it could be, @ahmedali44 might be correct in that the 5th injector could be at fault. To diagnose that though, you would either have to disconnect it or find someone with the TechStream software to check it. With the software, you can also check to see if it going into regen mode to clear the DPF.

Let us know what happens.

Rebecca · January 28, 2017

Hello. Sorry to hear your having trouble with your lexus vehicle. I had the same problem with my previous IS220D. I booked mine into lexus who diagnosed the 5th injector was causing my vehicle to smoke excessively. Within an hour they had fixed the problem.

Goldwyn · January 29, 2017

Hi again!

Theres no extra lights on the dash.

The thing is that i just recently bought the car and i really cant afford anything extra at the moment...tight budget, i thought i was buying a reliable diesel luxury toyota, but after reading more about the engine i was wrong. suprise! just my typical luck!

Closest Lexs dealer is about 150km away, but i guess a toyota dealer is pretty much the same eh? only 40km`s away
how much is a typical pressure test and a how much is the fifth injector cost ? guess you cant change the injectors yourself without a software ? ( god i hate theese computer cars )

ahmedali44 · January 29, 2017

If I remember right my is220d started to give slight smoke at 93k as did notice few times but now glad got rid of it got is250 instead.

Dpf blocked due to local mileage

Front calipers replaced

Just work out milage only done 5329 miles in 1 yr in is250 so wasn't worth keeping diesel.

You don't have to take to lexus dealer Toyota same and cheaper plus any garage can read codes who got equipment

Good luck

Goldwyn · January 30, 2017

Did a 30km test drive today, got it to smoke 2 times but it wasnt that bad, got some blue in the rear view mirror, barely noticble.

How often does the 5th injector inject ?
Cuse if it only happens randomly i think it should be the 5th injector, but i would like to know how often it actually injects ?
Could i be that i bought the car of someone whos been doing alot of city driving, and now i took it to the country side with further distances its started to clean out the dpf properly now ?

( wish i just spent a little more money n got a Is250 )

peachy · January 30, 2017

On average the 5th injector should inject at 200 miles approximately. I had trouble with mine but it was grey smoke not blue. Sounds like coolant is being burned to me.

Shahpor · January 30, 2017

It is tricky cause coolant being burnt is usually white smoke. Although the colour of the smoke has confused matters on this forum before, so perhaps we shouldn't discount anything at the moment. Having said that, if the coolant level is ok, then that seems to suggest it isn't burning that.

If the oil and coolant levels stay the same, then it can only be burning excess fuel logically.

Marcus, what I would suggest is taking it on the motorway and running it at 2000-2200 rpm for at least 15 minutes. Preferably nearer to 30 minutes. Then see what the smoke situation is like. That run should give the DPF time to get really hot and burn off some carbon.

Alternatively, if the smoke is coming out regularly, you can disconnect the 5th injector to see if the smoke disappears. It is located here:

Although I am assuming you can get your hand back there to disconnect it in the first place...

Goldwyn · March 3, 2017

Sorry for bumping the old topic!
but if anyone else has the same issue its fixed now!

So the problem to the blue smoke was the 5th injector! Got it fixed and while at the dealers i traded it in for a IS250 before anything else pops up!
Just wanna say thanks for all the reply`s and help!

220d, never again! :) luv my auto is250 ( so far )

Linas.P · March 3, 2017

24 minutes ago, Goldwyn said:

220d, never again! :) luv my auto is250 ( so far )

Good choice!

Rebecca · March 3, 2017

Yep had a feeling it was the 5th injector. Same problem I had with the 220d.

Glad to hear you traded it in for the awesome 250. It's soooo much better isn't it. 😀

Goldwyn · March 4, 2017

Yes!

Thanks to this forum is probably saved alot of money and future problems!
Lets just hope this one doesnt get the carbon build up prob!

Thinking of adding a oil catch can, might help avoid that problem! anyone experience about them ? should be rather easy to add :)

and heres a pic of my new ride, a plain simple is250 auto, -06 and 170,000km`s on the clock ( fack they are expensive in Finland. price tag 15,000e

toffee_pie · March 4, 2017

crazy money, used car prices are nuts in mainland europe (and scandanivia it seems)

much better than a 220d though.

Rebecca · March 4, 2017

I don't think the carbon issue is as much a problem in the uk as it is in the USA. From what I've been told our fuel in the uk is much better quality than across the pond therefore reducing the carbon build up.

Not many owners here have reported a carbon issue but reading the lexus usa forum it seems a lot more common.

Linas.P · March 5, 2017

On 3/4/2017 at 7:42 AM, Goldwyn said:

Lets just hope this one doesnt get the carbon build up prob!

Thinking of adding a oil catch can, might help avoid that problem! anyone experience about them ? should be rather easy to add :)

What fuel you mainly have in Finland? If it is 98-95 you should not have problem as fuel in EU (especially in cold climate) tends to be better than UK and miles better than US. If you use ethanol mixes like E10 or E25 it should be even less of a problem, though I believe it is not good to use E85 on IS250 (maybe somebody can correct me on this?).

Goldwyn · March 6, 2017

Hi!

Yes mainly 95 and 98 @ the pumps, always been using 98 cause price difference is so small.
E85 is cheapest around here but never thought about adding that to the tank, dont u need to install somekinda of kit to make your car run on it ? seen alot of ad`s for the E85 kits to convert your car to use it. changes the ignition timing or something? ( dont know anything about them )

Well sounds like i will be totally fine with just using 98 :)

Linas.P · March 6, 2017

You would need kit for pure ethanol. E85 is almost 85% ethanol and as such not great for cars not specifically designed for such application. It won't hurt using it once in a while - actually it can help to clean engine part, fuel lines, fuel pump and especially burn carbon deposits (I remember thread from US forum where they were adding like quarter of tank of E85, to their 91AKI (equivalent to 95RON) to prevent carbon build-up), but running it continuously will burn engine seals, corrode fuel tank and lines - that is especially true if you let it sit in a car for long time. Additionally, cars uses up to 30% more ethanol than petrol, so 1l of E85 give you similar mileage as 0.745l of e95/98 - I usually find that price difference is not worth it, often E85 is like 5% cheaper, but it gives you 20-30% less mileage.

There is no issue with ignition timing as Lexus has "smart" ECU and would advance or retard timing accordingly. Using 98 over 95 is not beneficial, unless as you say difference is very small.

In short - you won't have issue with carbon build-up ... that is mostly US thing.