is 250 using oil

denz72 · June 29, 2022

Hi Guys my is250 is using a bit of oil 1litre after 4000 miles is this normal

Spock66 · June 29, 2022

I would say not unreasonable for a car of that age and nothing to worry about, what is the mileage?

Texas · June 29, 2022

Depending where it is actually going ( it’s not a leak is it?) it may show up at mot time as a high HC reading on emissions.

Linas.P · July 1, 2022

On 6/29/2022 at 5:47 PM, denz72 said:

Hi Guys my is250 is using a bit of oil 1litre after 4000 miles is this normal

It is not great, but it is within spec. First thing - what is the mileage and how the maintenance history looks like (cars with poor maintenance history could be notorious for burning oil)? Second thing - when was last service done i.e. have you done 4k miles in 6 month, or a year or maybe 18 months? I am asking because many people assume that car only needs maintenance after 10k regardless of the time, whereas really it is whichever comes first and there are further caveats - 10k miles is what is called "extended service schedule" (or something to that effect) and car has to qualify for it. The normal service is actually 6k and could even be 3k for heavy use (e.g. city traffic). The third thing, are you sure right amount of oil was put in the car when service was done - sounds stupid but such things happen? Although in IS250 oil is more likely to be overfilled than underfilled - that is because oil level has to be measured when engine is in operating temp, which is tricky. Which brings to final question - how you measured it? This is because measuring oil on warm engine is tricky (stupid and unusual as well) - you have to get engine fully warm, so the best thing to do is to measure it after a long trip, stop the engine... but not measure it... that is because it takes time for all the oil to drain back to pan, set the timer for maybe 15-20 minutes for all the oil to drain and only then measure it (long enough for oil to drain, but not for engine to cool). When I owned my first IS250, I have overfilled the oil few times because of this, either because engine was cold and measurement was wrong, or because oil hasn't had time to drain and I thought it is missing. Obviously, with some metal gymnastics this could be simplified. For example when you do oil service and you are certain there is correct amount of oil in the car, check where it sits on the dip-stick (should be around lowest mark), so then the next time when you check oil on cold engine you will know that around that mark the oil level is right even if dip-stick indicates it is low.

In summary - 1L over 4k miles is acceptable, but not great, however it is very important to confirm with absolute certainty that it is indeed burning oil, which sounds easier than it is. You need to do oil service, check, double check and triple check correct amount of correct oil was added there in the first place and then monitor at say 1000 miles intervals. And only then it is possible to say with certainty that car is burning oil. Dip-stick on Lexus is about as accurate as trying to measure thickness of paper with inch ruler.

When I had high mileage IS250 (160-200k) it was certainly burning oil, but not very much. As well it was burning more oil towards the end of 10k miles i.e. for first 5k miles it would burn virtually nothing, but then at the second 5k it could burn 1-2L. However, the first time I noticed it was hard to tell and it took some time before I was more certain about what is happening. In my case I check/top-up oil, check tyre pressures after every second fuel tank (600-800), sometimes before longer trip as well - that is just my normal routine even on brand new car (if I ever buy one lol) and only after second service I was able to confirm that. In the end my solution was to do oil service twice a year or 6k miles, whichever came first, this mean I no longer needed to top-up as cars was burning almost no oil up-to 5k miles and overall engine was noticeably smoother, especially on start-up, eliminated lifter and chain rattles etc.

Flaviu90 · July 1, 2022

Hello. I am just joining in with my 2008 IS 250 Sport Auto which I've bought around 3 months ago.

Mine has just burned 1.5(+) liters/1000 miles. I am using Millers 5w30 EE Performance C3 Nano Drive.

I have just ordered a PCV valve from Lexus parts direct (39£ with postage)..hoping it's gonna help with the consumption.I am going for a long trip in August through Europe. Already bought another 5l bottle of oil to have with me in the boot..

I have changed spark plugs with new Denso iridium. Mileage is almost 126k miles.

Service history: most stamps present but no actual invoices,can't trust any previous owners(had around 7 before lol). They changed only 1 HID bulb instead of the 2 leaving me with one bulb with 6000k and one with 4300k in temperature. I have sorted this as well. Appaling as some people never care for these cars.And no, I haven't bought it from a garage. Mistakes are costly.

ColinBarber · July 1, 2022

20 minutes ago, Flaviu90 said:

I have just ordered a PCV valve from Lexus parts direct (39£ with postage)..hoping it's gonna help with the consumption

Possibly but more likely the oil control piston rings are seized up with carbon and sludge.

Flaviu90 · July 2, 2022

I am only running Shell Vpower hoping the additives will help clean some of the sludge. As well as the classic ' italian tune-up' occasional driving. Anything else that I can do that will not cost me thousands of £?

Spark plug · July 2, 2022

When I got my Lexus last October with 76,000 on her she was using a lot of oil. I changed the oil when I got her, then at 78,000 then again at 83,000 and she hasn't used a drop in the last 500 miles so hopefully this has helped her. She had full service history but oil only changed every 10,000 or two or three years as car wasn't used a lot which is way too long between services.

This causes the piston rings to get gunged up and stick to the pistons. I used Castrol GTX oil for all my oil changes.

Flaviu90 · July 2, 2022

5 minutes ago, Spark plug said:

When I got my Lexus last October with 76,000 on her she was using a lot of oil. I changed the oil when I got her, then at 78,000 then again at 83,000 and she hasn't used a drop in the last 500 miles so hopefully this has helped her. She had full service history but oil only changed every 10,000 or two or three years as car wasn't used a lot which is way too long between services.

This causes the piston rings to get gunged up and stick to the pistons. I used Castrol GTX oil for all my oil changes.

Any particular reason for using Castrol GTX? Isn't that a mineral base type of oil?

So are you saying that if I do a couple of oil changes regularly this might help the problem. Probably owners before only used E10 fuel and changed oil who knows when..

Spark plug · July 3, 2022

19 hours ago, Flaviu90 said:

Any particular reason for using Castrol GTX? Isn't that a mineral base type of oil?

So are you saying that if I do a couple of oil changes regularly this might help the problem. Probably owners before only used E10 fuel and changed oil who knows when..

Castrol Magnatec Stop-Start A5 Engine Oil - 5W-30 is synthetic and what I used. And I use bp ultima petrol. Castrol oil is a old and trusted make that I've used for years in all my cars that did big mileages. So I think it's worth a try

Flaviu90 · July 3, 2022

From what I know,Castrol Magnatec was always a semi synthetic oil ,it was just labeled as fully synthetic a few years ago. Probably not a true base 4 oil. Edge was the best Castrol has had for ages and even that is not as good as for example Amsoil,Royal Purple,Redline or the best that Motul and Miller's have to offer .

I have been using Millers oils for the past 6 years in my Hondas( including Type R). I think the oil I am currently using is definitely of a higher spec than both Castrols, according to Opie Oils( who are a main Castrol supplier themselves)

Millers 5w30 C3 EE Performance Nano drive Is a fully synthetic with an Ester base ( the more expensive NT+ I was using in the Hondas was a triple-base ester) and nano drive particles which help reducing the wear and friction.

Arguably Shell Vpower fuel has the best cleaning detergents ,additives, and maximizes power snd efficiency, not from my opinion but from other more experienced people and actual tests.

I'm not trying to have a debate on oils and fuels, I have always used the best I could afford for my car from all the research I could make.

Spark plug · July 4, 2022

I've been driving and using Castrol oils for 40years and all my cars have done over 150,000 and one over 200,000 miles and the engines where still going well when I got ride of them. I'm not going to debate either about which oil is best I'm just sticking with what I know. Shell petrol isn't available where I live.

Spark plug · July 4, 2022

I can't see a big company like Castrol claiming their oil is fully synthetic if it's not. There would be law suits for false advertising against them.

Flaviu90 · July 4, 2022

Just ask Opie Oils (Cornwall). They are specialists in oils. I trust them as they have been in the business for quite a while and are very knowledgeable. Castrol oils are also one of the most counterfeited products on the market.

I have used Magnatec and Edge on my 1995 Golf TDI that I had for 10 years. Edge was a bit better but once I changed to Motul Specific the engine was definitely running better. Just because you didn't have problems with Castrol oils for a long time doesn't mean you can't get (much) better oils.

Oil is the life of the engine. So I'd rather use a very good one especially in a premium car/engine.

It's been proven the gains engines get from using Millers NT+ range of oils as well as oil film stability. Motorsport companies use them.Just like they use Motul in Moto GP.

Again,I'm not trying to win any arguing contests .I am just trying to find a solution without selling the car or spending thousands in repairs.

I have been reading about walnut blasting to take carbon out of an engine, yesterday. Does anyone know some shop that does that in the UK? Is it worth it?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-2nd-gen-2006-2013/822505-is250-walnut-blasting-valves-diy.html

Spark plug · July 4, 2022

On 7/2/2022 at 7:42 PM, Flaviu90 said:

Any particular reason for using Castrol GTX? Isn't that a mineral base type of oil?

So are you saying that if I do a couple of oil changes regularly this might help the problem. Probably owners before only used E10 fuel and changed oil who knows when..

It's worth a try. use which ever oil you think has the best cleaners to clean the piston rings.

AFlex · August 13, 2022

On 7/1/2022 at 7:11 PM, ColinBarber said:

Possibly but more likely the oil control piston rings are seized up with carbon and sludge.

I second this. Worth a try with Marvels Mystery Oil for 1000 miles or so to try and flush it out

Flaviu90 · August 14, 2022

Will this 'miracle' oil additive help if the car is also burning a bit of coolant?

ColinBarber · August 15, 2022

19 hours ago, Flaviu90 said:

Will this 'miracle' oil additive help if the car is also burning a bit of coolant?

It won't help your coolant issue. You need to determine if the two are related or separate issues.

AFlex · August 23, 2022

On 8/14/2022 at 1:44 PM, Flaviu90 said:

Will this 'miracle' oil additive help if the car is also burning a bit of coolant?

Marvel mystery oil only helps if your problem is caused by gunked up piston rings which are therefore not sealing properly against the cylinder walls, allowing oil to seep past and get burned by your engine. It basically cleans out the gunk.

Apparently gunked up piston rings is a common issue on modern Toyota engines as they are using weaker strength piston rings to help improve fuel economy