spark plugs

[markeyszoo]

i have been looking at having my plugs done and am told that they are special iridium? plugs at ridiculous money. Where to buy and how cheap can they be got?

any advice

 

[johnatg]

The Denso recommendation is Denso IKBH20TT. You can get a set of 6 on eBay for £40.

It's a moderately easy job to do yourself - I wrote a guide on here somewhere. If you get it done by a garage it will be a couple of hours labour.

[johnatg]

Here's the post - mostly all you need to do it yourself.

[is200 Newbie]

Be careful with the eBay ones as there was a post on here a while back about fake plugs being sold, and you dont want to fit them!! Lexus Birmingham will sell them and at least you know they are correct ones. Don't take any risks with these as if fake they can fail and damage engine.

Not only that, its not a job you want to do twice if you find out they are fake.

[Mr Vlad]

Absolutely as above

[johnatg]

A fair warning and be careful who you buy from. I think Lexus dealers will steer you towards the original recommendation of FK20HBR11 which are considerably more expensive. Denso now specify IKBH20TT.  I had no problems with them. 

[Mr Vlad]

Thought I'd just add this. My car is now on 82k miles. I'm the 2nd owner and its got a full lexus service history. On the cars 6th birthday and at 32k miles the spark plugs got changed. So those ugs have now done 50k miles. My car runs sweet. Just last week I drove to Leeds from Rochdale but in sport mode. Car stayed in 4th gear all the way. I even maxed it in 4th at 7k revs. My journeys are short in the week and I give it a run at weekends. Do I think my plugs need changing? No. Like I said my car is running sweet.

Last service, last August, I asked for a price to do the plugs. £25 a plug. £125 for all 6 I said? Yes they said. When I go again this August I'll ask again and see if it's the same price. 

But my gist is plugs only need changing if there is a problem with ignition and running.

[johnatg]

The Lexus recommendation to change plugs based on age is ridiculous. These plugs (they are both iridium) are good for 60-100K miles, regardless of age, within reason. It is unlikely that you will face any running issues at less than 100K miles so long as oil change intervals have been adhered to. 

It's a good moneyspinner for Lexus. 

[Texas]

Think the change interval according to the Lexus schedule is more to do with keeping the emissions to their absolute lowest, and a wearing ( but perfectly acceptable for the running of the engine ) plug may start to affect the emissions slightly if the gap say were to be bigger and therefore not produce such an intense spark for the combustion process. That’s my first train of thought on the change interval and I agree the 6 year time interval is really irrelevant but keeps things nice and neat in the service schedule!

[ColinBarber]

On all current Lexus vehicles, the plug interval is mileage only, no timeframe provided on the service schedule.

[markeyszoo]

4 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

On all current Lexus vehicles, the plug interval is mileage only, no timeframe provided on the service schedule.

My service book states 60,000 miles for plugs. Seems contentious if all is running well? Is this a case for do not mend if not broken?

[johnatg]

It's fair enough to consider a plug change any time after 60K although they would probably be OK up to, or even beyond 100K depending on type of car usage. 

The contention is really about the 6 year recommendation. Lexus dealers try and persuade you to have it done even at much lower mileages. Maybe less so now but they tried to twist my arm at 6 years on my 2014 GS300h - 41K miles. No sir. 

[johnatg]

PS - But it's like any other service item - you wouldn't (shouldn't) wait for problems before changing oil, filters, etc. Likewise plugs. But at sensible intervals commensurate with the expected service life of the item. 

[ColinBarber]

13 hours ago, johnatg said:

It's fair enough to consider a plug change any time after 60K although they would probably be OK up to, or even beyond 100K depending on type of car usage. 

The contention is really about the 6 year recommendation. Lexus dealers try and persuade you to have it done even at much lower mileages. Maybe less so now but they tried to twist my arm at 6 years on my 2014 GS300h - 41K miles. No sir. 

Agreed, and most vehicles in the US have 100k miles schedule for plugs (the same engine/plugs) - just different markets, different expectations.

It's certainly correct that dealers like to stick to their 60k/6 year schedule and will always change the plugs unless you specifically state (or even have to argue) that you don't want them done.

 

[Herbie]

Just to add my two'penneth about where to buy plugs:

• eBay - should be alright as long as great trader feedback but still a risk of fake plugs and I'd stay away from the cheapest and/or anyone below a 99% positive feedback score
• Lexus dealership - genuine plugs but rip-off prices

Ideally, somewhere in the middle of these two extremes should be both good value and safe to buy from.

Places like Euro Car Parts or other motor factors. Here in Preston we have a place called Dodgsons who sell to the public but who also supply to the trade. They've been in business for decades and are still going strong, so I'm more than happy to buy stuff from them.

[ColinBarber]

Denso counterfeit checks:

identify-counterfeit-denso-spark-plugs-white-paper-_pk3.pdf

[H3XME]

On 5/29/2021 at 12:18 PM, markeyszoo said:

i have been looking at having my plugs done and am told that they are special iridium? plugs at ridiculous money. Where to buy and how cheap can they be got?

any advice

 

They are expensive, but luckily you don't have to do it very often at all.

Denso iridium plugs for the IS250 > Part No. _^IKBH20TT

https://www.sparkplugs.co.uk/denso-spark-plug-ikbh20tt

I'm due new plugs too.. Car is on 153k now. I've been putting it off for a while but the weather is nice so might do it one of the days in the near future.

[Sonu]

They are ~£78 from Lexus direct, which I think is reasonable for genuine plugs: 

 

https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-is/lexus-is-phase-ii-2006-2013/lexus-is-2-engine-service-kits/lexus-is-phase-2-spark-plugs-2-5-petrol/ 

[markeyszoo]

55 minutes ago, Sonu said:

They are ~£78 from Lexus direct, which I think is reasonable for genuine plugs: 

 

https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-is/lexus-is-phase-ii-2006-2013/lexus-is-2-engine-service-kits/lexus-is-phase-2-spark-plugs-2-5-petrol/ 

THAT SOUNDS GOOD, Who are Lexusparts direct then, not part of Lexus?

[Malc]

some people worrying about saving a few squid when the plug change is possibly ......... 100k miles, YES 100k miles, often once in a lifetime ....... so buy the best you, as a Lexus owner can afford, it could be your once in a lifetime plug purchase !

and for heavens sake, if it's 8 plugs they can take a little while to change, especially when the end one is almost impossible to shift and get to .....  so get someone with the skills to do it .......  it's quite likely your " once in a lifetime " change ....... and a few pennies, well £££ more 

Malc

[Texas]

7 hours ago, markeyszoo said:

THAT SOUNDS GOOD, Who are Lexusparts direct then, not part of Lexus?

I think, not sure, that they are the on-line selling site for Lexus Swindon.

Check out this How-to and see if it is gonna be doable with your skills and tools before you get waist deep!

 

[Tyre Tread]

Changed my plugs at 90K miles and they looked fine. I'm sure the originals are great for well over 100K but better safe then sorry. 

I bought the plugs and the necessary seals from Lexus Birmingham online. Decent savings but guaranteed 100% genuine parts so worth paying for.

You really don't want to risk putting fake plugs in with all the work involved to change them.

[LexV84me]

If you don't want to risk buying counterfeits from eBay, they're £58.99 (£9.50 each) + £1.99 p&p from Opie:

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-92173-denso-iridium-tt-spark-plug-ikbh20tt.aspx

[Texas]

The factory fitted plugs in my 250 were changed at the 6 year mark ( 2013) when the car had done 22,337 miles!, according to the schedule they should have been done again in 2019, but with only 42,000 miles on the clock then, I opted not to as the plugs had only done 20,000 miles! The car  has less than 45,000 miles on it right now so I don’t even think they will be getting done in 2025! I will prob wait til they start to play up or when they have done 60,000, which will be at the 82,000 mile mark!!! Could be some time.....

[Marleez]

May car has done 138k miles I done a full service with spark plugs change too. Last oil change was 5000 miles ago.