My experience with a used Lexus is220d

Scouselexus · March 8, 2017

Hi everyone, new to this forum so be patient with me. Just bought an 07 Lexus is220d. Having read this forum before buying went into it with my eyes open and was aware of potential problems. Bought it for 3k 96k miles on the clock. It is the se-l trim level. Having seen other cars just felt right in the Lexus as soon as sat in it. Love the layout and feel of the car the toys we all love. Owned it for over two weeks and have noticed the following. Yes the centre console cracks occasionally. Have a ticking noise from b pillar. And it smokes but more later. I love the audio esp with the multi change cd. Yes some of us still use them. Love the aircon very powerful. Love the seats and adjustments you get. I could go on.

My car only seemed to smoke when up to temperature and went away after few minutes heard about the 5th injector problem so had that in mind. Checked oil cap for Mayo had none and checked pink coolant level no loss so put my mind at rest a bit thinking no head gasket trouble fingers crossed.

Went to local firm and had a terraclean and egr valve clean done, mainly because the car had a patchy service history. You know the script first couple done by Lexus then local garage stamps. The difference it made was a surprise. Firstly drove next day had no smoke at all even after getting engine up to temp. Even did the 3rd gear drop to 1k revs floor it to 2k revs test. Before took roughly 10secs after took 5secs to get to 2k revs. Hope this info may be of use someone.

To finish sorry for long post, just want everyone to know very happy is220d owner, I know it's not perfect but for what I need I love it, glad bought it and saving the pennies for another Lexus lol. Thanks for reading

Farqui · March 8, 2017

It's good to hear that you appear to have resolved your major issue, was the work costly?

Creaks from the trim are pretty common but can usually be resolved with a little TLC, good luck getting them sorted as they can be very annoying.

Scouselexus · March 8, 2017

Hi farqui, al the work done terraclean and egr valve clean cost me £280. Money well spent. Even saw them doing the work very impressed. The liquid is injected I think through the inlet manifold under pressure. You see the liquid going in and the smoke billowing out. All controlled with a laptop connected up. I drove mine day after and no smoke at all I am impressed and happy. Fingers crossed has sorted it and don't need the 5th injector work doing. Just need to get on motorway for good long drive

Monocle · March 8, 2017

I think it might be worth your while searching for posts on cleaning the EGR valve yourself. Clean it every 5,000 miles. Also, read up on the regen of the DPF issue. Lots of conflicting comments but for the sake of a few motorway miles at high revs every couple of weeks, it won't do you any harm. Finally, and there is a current thread on this, grease the caliper pins.

Apart from that, from my experience, the rest is minor. Enjoy the car - I've had mine seven years and still love getting into it!

Scouselexus · March 8, 2017

Thanks monocle will do. I don't expect a 10yr old car to be perfect but for me mine is. I love driving it and being in it. Do expect things to crop up but atm love my lexus

Shahpor · March 8, 2017

Welcome.

Always nice to hear from another happy diesel Lexus owner

I had a clicky noise from around the door on mine recently, which turned out to be the door seal. A bit of silicone grease did the trick.

5 seconds from 1k to 2k is very good. I am around the 6-8 second mark myself, although it has been a while since I cleaned my EGR.

You know, if these cars didn't have EGR valves and DPF's, the amount of issues people post on here about the 220d would drop very dramatically.

Also, pics are appreciated on this forum.

Linas.P · March 8, 2017

@ShahporThat is the moment you were waiting all along - aren't you?

Shahpor · March 9, 2017

Hehe, I am beside myself with joy. In fact, there may even be a tear in my eye.

Scouselexus · March 9, 2017

Quick update after terraclean. Only had car two weeks. Had the dreaded vsc check eml light vsc off crop up. Second time in two weeks. First after hitting standing water ,second, day after egr clean. However after couple of journeys reset back to normal on both occasions. The mpg has increased but still doing urban driving. Waiting for weekend to flex her on a motorway.

How much do Lexus charge for adding a ctrl-alt-delete button to steering wheel? Like driving a PC rather than a car at the moment lol.

Still loving the car though, it's a lovely place to be.

Linas.P · March 9, 2017

VSC check can mean almost anything, from terrible things to nothing at all, it is important to check which code it shows via ODB2 to have idea what it is. I had VSC on my IS250 after running out of fuel, but it was gone after 1 mile driving...

Miłosz · March 9, 2017

For quick diagnosis you can use elm327 with elmscan toyota. For more you need mvci and techstream. BTW only reading dtc it's not good way to check what is wrong. You need to observe live data and use tech doc to compare results.

Psychotic Madman · March 9, 2017

I also have a 220d se. Couple of small problems at first, but all sorted now. Cleaned the egr valve myself, easy job, changed my slider pins as there was lots of knocking when going over bumps, but it stopped if i applied gentle pressure on the brakes. Again, another very easy job. Car is great now and i love it. Its good to hear someone else praising the 220d.

peachy · March 9, 2017

I had a few problems with the is220d but I really did like the car and enjoyed driving it. The gearbox took a bit of getting used to but yoy simply adjust your driving style to suit.

It previously belonged to my dad who's in his 70s and he drove it 3 or 4 times a week on short trips to the shops and visiting family. Not good for a diesel as these need regular good runs.