New To Lexus - 220D Sport Seems to have terrible MPG

[Jaro]

Hello Fellow Lexus Owners,

I am a newbie to the forum.

I have bought my first Lexus last week for a very good price (I'd like to think so).

It's a 06 IS220D Sport, with 115k miles and is in showroom condition inside out, one year full MOT, and I have paid (£1650) for it.

It drives exceptionally well, much better than the 1.2 07 Clio I have had before this 😄

I have had it for a week now. I have put £65 of diesel in it last Saturday, and I seem to be on less than quarter now! 

Trip computer says average of 23 mpg, but I can't see how many miles I have actually travelled!

I think I have done around 280 miles.

I have driven it mainly around town and took it on motorway yesterday for about 40 miles round trip.

This mpg seems the same as a 500hp m3 competition, which is insane for a diesel.

I did floor it there and then, but nothing too drastic.

 

[Linas.P]

welcome to the forum,

Quite sad you didn't come before making the purchase, but not there isn't much you can do- let's hope it will all go well! 🙂 

[steve2006]

Hi Jaro and welcome to the LOC.

Lexus only ever made 2 diesel engined cars, the IS220d and IS200d.

TBH they were a bit of a disaster with many serious engine issues which resulted in many having engine rebuilds under an extended warranty.

Fuel consumption figures as you are now discovering were never brilliant.

On the plus side some owners have never had any problems so I just hope yours is one of those.

As Linas mentioned,had you joined before purchase you would have been advised towards the petrol IS250

[Jaro]

Hello, thank you for your comments.

 

I have read that cleaning MAF, the egr valve and replacing fuel filter can increase MPG. I will try doing this sometime this week.

[Linas.P]

With consumption like yours I would expect leaking injector at very least... but there is no smoke? I think if there is leaking injector it would result in rich burning and black smoke. Any error codes?

[Jaro]

10 hours ago, Linas.P said:

With consumption like yours I would expect leaking injector at very least... but there is no smoke? I think if there is leaking injector it would result in rich burning and black smoke. Any error codes?

No error codes or smoke coming from exhaust

[Linas.P]

Yeah... not sure what else could it be. 23MPG around town is low, but not unheard of. Although, I would expect closer to 30, if it is really bad traffic then maybe 26-28, they don't go lower than that. On motorway you should be expecting easy 40MPG and upwards to ~55, not that amazing for diesel anyway.

Maybe car just needs to be driven more... maybe it was sitting for a while until sold. There are other less obvious things to check, like for example that brake callipers are not stuck, as dragging brakes would increase consumption quite a bit, tyre pressure and tyres themselves, wheel alignment. None of these things should cause such poor MPG, but all combined they could impact it nonetheless. 

There being no apparent issues with the car, maybe do few more tanks ant check MPG brim to brim and see if this matches with what is being displayed.

[markeyszoo]

If it is showing 23mpg then it will almost certainly be less in reality. try brim to brim and get out the calculator.😠

[Linas.P]

Not necessary on IS mk2, as generally if you use all the fuel and fill full tank and then drive until it is empty MPG will be correct.  When refilling Tank MPG will reset and stay correct, but if you refuel mid-way and keep topping-up, then it could show literally anything. That is why just not confident the trip computer was reset properly after refuelling etc. 

But I agree with you, that brim to brim will always be the most accurate way to tell. 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Jaro. The 220d wasn't as good as the 200d where economy was concerned. 23 round town sounds about right for that car. 

I recommend you trawl the site and look at as many threads about the 220d. Yes it'll take you a while but time well spent.

[Jaro]

Hello All,

 

Took it to a decent garage based on reviews today. They have had a quick look and it seems like a leak in between the cat and turbo. 
 

They also said it looked like it was messed with there already based on the screw there it was over tightened.
 

Seems like it could be the cause for the bad mpg. Got it booked for tomorrow, we will see if it improves then.

[Linas.P]

Not sure why leak between Turbo and Cat (DPF?) would cause poor MPG, but I guess you can check after they fix it if MPG improves.

[jumbojake]

you also might want to factor in the novelty factor of a new car.... along with the enthusiastic driving it encourages.... once that wears off and into the daily commute, it will perhaps be more representative. 

Usually, for a diesel, if there is no smoke, then it's usually pretty good shape, most problems throw out smoke!   I get about 45mpg in my 200d, never had any engine problems over 7years  .. but that's mostly motorway, which is really what a diesel is best for.

make sure you change oil often and use the low ash mix (c2 grade).. not much to go wrong after that.

[Linas.P]

Yes but IS200d was the improved, detuned, more efficient and more reliable version, so not really comparable with horrors of early 220d.

[markeyszoo]

5 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Not necessary on IS mk2, as generally if you use all the fuel and fill full tank and then drive until it is empty MPG will be correct.  When refilling Tank MPG will reset and stay correct, but if you refuel mid-way and keep topping-up, then it could show literally anything. That is why just not confident the trip computer was reset properly after refuelling etc. 

But I agree with you, that brim to brim will always be the most accurate way to tell. 

I have a Mk 2 which regularly tells me 25/30mpg. when i reset mpg ave (not tank average) to zero, on filling then do a brim to brim it is ALWAYS LESS than the computer says, ALWAYS.

[Linas.P]

Interesting - I has 3 different IS250s - 2012 F-sport, 2010 Luxury AWD (US model) and 2008 SE-L and I was surprised how accurate the tank averages were, yes indeed I always filled the full tank and I always used all the fuel until tank is empty (at least car said so) and I always filled it to the brim... and Tank MPG always was spot on.. maybe some deviation of +/- 1%, but that could be rounding issue.

To be fair I never used Average MPG, because it was never clear what it averages and when it starts and that value was always somewhat off... So in a sense I am just confirming what you are saying Average MPG is not accurate and it may as well always show more. I just never used Average MPG myself.

[Jaro]

See attached videos. 
 

Sounds to me like an injector is knocking, am I going crazy or is it actually knocking?

https://youtube.com/shorts/8J8YDOmfhIo?feature=share

[Lageoddvin]

14 hours ago, Jaro said:

See attached videos. 
 

Sounds to me like an injector is knocking, am I going crazy or is it actually knocking?

https://youtube.com/shorts/8J8YDOmfhIo?feature=share

Something is definately not right with that idle sound, but i have no idea what is wrong

[H3XME]

Not sure what to suggest other than cleaning filters and such, so sorry for not being very helpful. 23mpg is what I get around town in my manual IS250 and I don't exactly drive it like a grandad. I would maybe consider going back to the dealer or returning the car altogether because you've got 14 days to do so these days. Clearly it's not more economical than a V6 petrol that does 23-27mpg around town (depending on driving) and 41+MPG on the motorway with cruise control at 74mph. 

IS250's are A LOT more reliable. I got mine with 128k miles for £1600 almost two years ago. It's on 151k now, never had any issues, touch wood. The only downside is the £500/year tax but if you look for '55 plate IS250s or any year Automatics, they will be around £250/300 so similar to your diesel.

[Linas.P]

The only difference is that automatic IS250 will cost about double compared to IS220d, but it is still way better value that IS220d.

As well, on cars you have 30 days to reject the goods, not 14.

[Jaro]

Do I still have 30 days to return the car, if the trader who is selling these cars is selling them as 'sold as seen'?

In the Advertisement on Facebook, it did not say sold as seen, but he wrote it on the receipt he has given me.

[rich1068]

Linas is more knowledgeable in this area but I believe "Sold as seen" from a trader is a big no-no.

Where in Yorkshire are you?

[H3XME]

8 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

Linas is more knowledgeable in this area but I believe "Sold as seen" from a trader is a big no-no.

Where in Yorkshire are you?

Well, from a quick google, it seems like traders aren't allowed to sell cars "as seen".

"When you buy a used motor vehicle from a trader, you are making a legally binding contract, which is covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. ... Traders must not mislead you, perhaps by using phrases such as 'sold as seen' or 'no refunds', or by failing to disclose that the vehicle was previously damaged in an accident."

"As a trader, misleading consumers by using phrases such as “Trade Sale – Sold as Seen” or “No Refunds” is not only illegal but also completely voids the contract. The only occasion whereby this term could possibly be used, is for private sales."

[Linas.P]

Yes not much else to add, above is correct - "trader" can't refuse statutory rights. The only question is whenever the seller was "trader" or "private seller", however traders often tries to pretend they are private sellers (which is fraud). 

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/car-trader-who-pretended-private-14004337

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/car-dealer-fined-pretending-private-seller/82050

...and our favourite guy from Dudley:

https://www.dudley.gov.uk/news/second-prosecution-lands-dudley-car-trader-suspended-prison-sentence/

[H3XME]

1 minute ago, pope111 said:

paid only 1600 for the car it was an obvious red flag.

Not necessarily. I had a few cheap cars that were spot on or at least I knew what I was getting but never got scammed. I got my 250 for £1600 and it's been nothing but perfect. Mechanically. Market for these cars is weird. Prices vary too much