When to change spark plugs

[jackcramerr]

Is250 2009. It had a change maybe nearing 50 k miles years back. When does it need the next one? It is sitting at 90k miles now.

Is ECP OK place to buy them?

Thanks

[Texas]

Manual states 6 years or 60,000 miles ( which ever comes first!)

ECP….what at £26 each! ( that’s With the Mickey Mouse Discount code!)

Lexus Parts Direct…£84 Delivered.

 

[Mr Vlad]

There are many threads about this subject. Many have had their cars spark plugs changed at 50k 60k miles and were told the plugs were good for another 50k miles. Concensus is change at 100k intervals unless there's a specific spark problem. 

[Texas]

‘What he said’ 👍

prob not gonna change mine (unless reason to) until 100,000 miles as they were done at the 6 year from new point ( 22,000 miles then) and car is on 48,000 miles now 9 years later, the Time interval for plug change is a weird one if you ask me! If they ain’t being used then they ain’t gonna wear out! 
standing by for fallout on that last statement 🤔

[J Henderson]

Replaced mine at 64K and was told they would've still been good for a while.

Seems like they've increased in price since I got my set, albeit that was 3 years ago.

[Bongo]

Changed mine just before car turned 100k miles, to be fair, the old ones didn't look too bad either. I think this was the first time they had been charged, as I couldn't see any paperwork to say any different. 

[Texas]

The 6 year/60,000 mile point I think is to ensure emissions are kept to a minimum, the plugs themselves are usually fine for 100,000 ( in a properly functioning engine that is…ie no excess oil ingress into combustion chambers)

[MrTrendizzle]

On 4/21/2022 at 5:43 PM, Mr Vlad said:

There are many threads about this subject. Many have had their cars spark plugs changed at 50k 60k miles and were told the plugs were good for another 50k miles. Concensus is change at 100k intervals unless there's a specific spark problem. 

I tend to just remove mine and manually inspect them. Takes a minute to pop them out, check the gap and give them a quick wire brush down and blast of brake cleaner. If they look good they go back in. If they're pretty bad it's time to change them.

[Mr Vlad]

A minute to pop them out? Surely you're just taking the left 3 out, the other 3 look a pain in the derier to take out.

[Texas]

“A minute to pop them out” 😳 

Yes when you can actually See them that is🙄

[Thelongterm]

On 4/21/2022 at 5:43 PM, Mr Vlad said:

There are many threads about this subject. Many have had their cars spark plugs changed at 50k 60k miles and were told the plugs were good for another 50k miles. Concensus is change at 100k intervals unless there's a specific spark problem. 

What about year's as opposed to miles? My 07 Is250 had the sparks done at 6 years and 31k in 2013, it's now just about to go into 50k, shall I wait until I hit the 100k ?

[Mr Vlad]

Yes wait till your car hits 100k unless an issue related to spark plugs occurs. My 07 year car had its plugs changed when it was 6 years old (I'm it's 2nd owner from new) and I can only assume at that time it was the 'norm' to change plugs if they needed it or not. My car is now on 88k Mike's and no ignition or running issues what so ever. It'll be about another 6 or 7 years before my car hits 100k miles so personally I'll wait till then.

[Ozzay]

Mine were changed around 2014 with 63,000 miles or less. I got the car at the start of 2021 and its now close to 94,000 miles.

So that's probably close to 8 years. 

I am thinking about changing them the car sounds like a diesel on acceleration and there seems to be nothing wrong with it, fresh oil and coolant change very recently.

I am looking to change them just to be on the safe side. Anyone know where I can genuine plugs from. Lexus Parts Direct are about £80 including delivery.

 

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, Ozzay said:

I am looking to change them just to be on the safe side. Anyone know where I can genuine plugs from. Lexus Parts Direct are about £80 including delivery.

Unfortunately that is a good price. Similar price at sparkplugs.co.uk, ehybrid on eBay, autodoc.co.uk etc. You can get them for around £10 each on American sites such as Rockauto.com but unless you are ordering other things at the same time then the shipping outweighs any product saving.

If you find some cheaper there is a good chance they will be fake.

https://www.denso-technic.com/images/news/en/2020/spark-plug-counterfeits-poster.pdf

 

[Ozzay]

2 quotes for £120 labour.

1 guy said £60 but not sure if he knows its a V6 as one of the garages changed their mind after thinking it was inline and said £50 initially. 

I am bit weary on doing it myself because it will be on the road and I don't know if it will end up taking me forever, inline would have been easy. 

 

[Texas]

Have you seen the vids on youToob of the spark plug renewal for the 250?, looks perfectly doable ‘in the street’ as you say.

 

[AntC]

Not a difficult DIY job, you just need to use the right tools and need to be careful when removing the old ones and installing the new ones.

Also, while the original Denso iridium plugs are not on the cheap side, keep in mind that the plugs can last you more than 100,000 miles.

I got mine at 120k miles, there was no mention of a spark plug change in the service history. Decided to change them anyway and was told that the old ones are fine.

[Ozzay]

Defo doable but just depends on how you cope with stress. I take a lot longer doing things sometimes and would rather not have anything go wrong and be in chaos. Much easier when you got your own garage/drive.

Anyone recommend changing the gasket seal? Or do you think its no big deal I have not bought it.

[Texas]

IIRC the gasket seals are of the silicon type so unless actually damaged ( remove them carefully) they should be reusable 

 

[chr15gb]

I reused my old ones, they looked fine.

It is a bit of a punt, i.e if you assume the old ones are good but they aren't, can you leave it undressed until you get some or will you have to reassemble it all then take it apart again to replace?

I changed mine at about 90k, no evidence they had ever been changed before but both the plugs looked fine and the seals looked fine

[Ozzay]

Changed mine today from mechanic. Oil on 3 of them. He said rocker covers need to be changed on both sides. Put new ones in for now. How long can I drive without replacing the gasket seal cars been OK most of the time but last
2 months slight drop in performance. Anyone know where I can get the best rocket gasket covers from (high quality). 07 IS250 Petrol Automatic

[jackcramerr]

How has your oil consumption been ?

[Ozzay]

3 minutes ago, jackcramerr said:

How has your oil consumption been ?

Been fine always max in between the lines.

[jackcramerr]

In my experience with other cars, there is no real advantage to changing the rocker cover gasket. 

[Ozzay]

1 minute ago, jackcramerr said:

In my experience with other cars, there is no real advantage to changing the rocker cover gasket. 

OK but what does it mean if oil went on the spark plugs. Bear in mind the plugs were not changed for 8 years. 

The old ones were NGK ones. New ones are original Denso ones. Have not driven the car yet.

Any recommendations.