Poor Fuel Consumption And Whine From Engine - Linked?

[Durban24ave]

Having now had my IS220d SE MM for a month and covered approx 3000 miles, I took the car into Lexus Glasgow to investigate the fuel consumption (started at 40 and is now down to 30). I also asked if they would investigate a whine from the engine which I can only liken to a belt being too tight - the whine increases with the revs and never goes away.

They tell me (after 15 minutes of revving the nuts off it in the workshop) that there is no fault and that the MPG is within tolerances and acceptable (even though it was reading 28 when I got back into the car).

Has anyone else experienced this whine from the engine or have any clues as to any other course of action? I intend having Lexus Edinburgh have a look as am very aware that Lexus Glasgow is operated by Arnold Clark - enuf said!!

Any help/assistance/advice greatly appreciated.

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Can't help as I have a petrol, but I think I'd be whining at Lexus Glasgow ;) Did they say what the noise was / is and did you ask what the acceptable tolerances for mpg are?

[FinLex]

Well, it is a turbocharged engine, so the whine could be the turbo...

Maybe the fuel consumption is a result of driving at high revs to display this whine?

[Durban24ave]

Can't help as I have a petrol, but I think I'd be whining at Lexus Glasgow ;) Did they say what the noise was / is and did you ask what the acceptable tolerances for mpg are?

Said they couldnt tell what the noise was unless they stripped it down and that mid 30s is what we should expect to get. When pressed that this is way short of Lexus's claims and the easy 48 I used to get on my previous Audi A6 2.0 Tdi, he spouted some pants about the fact its a cleaner burning engine than the A6 - actually its got a higher CO2 than the A6 and it certainly aint cleaner burning on my wallet - more like burning a hole in it!!!

[Durban24ave]

Well, it is a turbocharged engine, so the whine could be the turbo...

Maybe the fuel consumption is a result of driving at high revs to display this whine?

Finlux.

The whine is present from 1000 rpm and is definately not turbo whistle. I always keep the revs down as low as possible as thats where the torque is and it should be more economical than revving its head off

[FinLex]

Finlux.

The whine is present from 1000 rpm and is definately not turbo whistle. I always keep the revs down as low as possible as thats where the torque is and it should be more economical than revving its head off

Okay, no offence. Just my first thought.

Haven't heard of anyone having that kind of whining sounds. The fuel consumption problems have been covered from just about every angle. Things that have been considered to have an effect include (but are not limited to) the fifth fuel injector, EGR, DPF, excess weight, driving habits, engine temperature, high idling revs, sulphur content of the fuel used and crappy engine design. Some of these might have an impact, some of them might not. All I can say for sure is that I get 48 mpg regularly and lately 50+ hasn't been unusual at all.

[Durban24ave]

Finlux.

The whine is present from 1000 rpm and is definately not turbo whistle. I always keep the revs down as low as possible as thats where the torque is and it should be more economical than revving its head off

Okay, no offence. Just my first thought.

Haven't heard of anyone having that kind of whining sounds. The fuel consumption problems have been covered from just about every angle. Things that have been considered to have an effect include (but are not limited to) the fifth fuel injector, EGR, DPF, excess weight, driving habits, engine temperature, high idling revs, sulphur content of the fuel used and crappy engine design. Some of these might have an impact, some of them might not. All I can say for sure is that I get 48 mpg regularly and lately 50+ hasn't been unusual at all.

Hi Finlex. None taken.

Maybe my wife would say that its the excess weight on me thats having an effect??

The only good news is that we only keep them until they have covered 10k miles and then hand them back - but at 30mpg it will be a costly 10k!!! I could do 50+ in the Audi but thats now a distant dream. Thanks for your help - its very much appreciated.

[Lex Bhoy]

Hi Durban,

I left Wishaw at 6 on a Sunday morning went to Glasgow airport along A8 / M8 just me in the car, sat at 70 on cruise control slowed down to around 60 going through town, then back to 70 till the airport.

Picked up the folks took them back to Hamilton and got a grand total of 36mpg.... Pointed this out to Lexus Glasgow and was told same nothing wrong with the car, be gratefull your getting that milegae ... Car is 9 months old with just over 7K on the clock.

As for lexus Edinburgh they are not much better, they reported a EGR valve gasket away but Glasgow said there was nothing wrong with it and I was about the 4th person to come to them after same fault being reported from Edinburgh. Also if you are going to Edinburgh they will charge for a courtesy car even if it's a warranty repair. Tight ars*s from the East

Lexus Glasgow try their best but think the problem is they suffer from Arnold Clark Management mentality, wonder if the BMW dealership they bought over last year is now suffering similar problems.

PS if anyone from Arnold Clark H/O is reading this feel free to contact me and I will tell you how bad your service really is!!!! Oh thats right you don't call customers we have to call you for updates... Must be the poorest presented Lexus dealer in the UK.... Appologies everyone but it's rant time

[Northern Boys Luv Gravy]

Hi Durban,

I left Wishaw at 6 on a Sunday morning went to Glasgow airport along A8 / M8 just me in the car, sat at 70 on cruise control slowed down to around 60 going through town, then back to 70 till the airport.

Picked up the folks took them back to Hamilton and got a grand total of 36mpg.... Pointed this out to Lexus Glasgow and was told same nothing wrong with the car, be gratefull your getting that milegae ... Car is 9 months old with just over 7K on the clock.

As for lexus Edinburgh they are not much better, they reported a EGR valve gasket away but Glasgow said there was nothing wrong with it and I was about the 4th person to come to them after same fault being reported from Edinburgh. Also if you are going to Edinburgh they will charge for a courtesy car even if it's a warranty repair. Tight ars*s from the East

Lexus Glasgow try their best but think the problem is they suffer from Arnold Clark Management mentality, wonder if the BMW dealership they bought over last year is now suffering similar problems.

PS if anyone from Arnold Clark H/O is reading this feel free to contact me and I will tell you how bad your service really is!!!! Oh thats right you don't call customers we have to call you for updates... Must be the poorest presented Lexus dealer in the UK.... Appologies everyone but it's rant time

That 36mpg does seem low for that journey. The other day I went from Newcastle to Stockton and back , through the Tyne Tunnel, cruise control at 70 mph, a bit of pootling around and returned 41mpg - in my IS250 Auto.

[GJD]

Hi Durban,

I left Wishaw at 6 on a Sunday morning went to Glasgow airport along A8 / M8 just me in the car, sat at 70 on cruise control slowed down to around 60 going through town, then back to 70 till the airport.

Picked up the folks took them back to Hamilton and got a grand total of 36mpg.... Pointed this out to Lexus Glasgow and was told same nothing wrong with the car, be gratefull your getting that milegae ... Car is 9 months old with just over 7K on the clock.

As for lexus Edinburgh they are not much better, they reported a EGR valve gasket away but Glasgow said there was nothing wrong with it and I was about the 4th person to come to them after same fault being reported from Edinburgh. Also if you are going to Edinburgh they will charge for a courtesy car even if it's a warranty repair. Tight ars*s from the East

Lexus Glasgow try their best but think the problem is they suffer from Arnold Clark Management mentality, wonder if the BMW dealership they bought over last year is now suffering similar problems.

PS if anyone from Arnold Clark H/O is reading this feel free to contact me and I will tell you how bad your service really is!!!! Oh thats right you don't call customers we have to call you for updates... Must be the poorest presented Lexus dealer in the UK.... Appologies everyone but it's rant time

There is definitely something not right with your 220D - I am 99.99% sure that if I did above journey in mine, I would get 46+mpg no problems at all

When I first had mine, I was very disappointed in the MPG to say the least, getting similar to you, took it in and got the same brush off as it sounds like you did.

I then started driving like a monk for a couple of weeks, saw a huge difference but got fed up and started driving 'normally' again and found that I was still getting low to mid 40's mpg each and every tank now.

I'm not fussy on fuel either, normally Total or Morrisons for me and don't use any additives mixed in with it.

I'm sure something WAS done to my car without anyone admitting to it and I reckon not all of our 220Ds are having all of the recommended Lexus fixes applied to them. I'm now on 22k in a 9 month old car so it has had 2 services and only Lexus Bristol would know what really went on in those services behind the scenes.......

Yes, diesals do improve with age but normally it is a gradual process, you don't see sudden huge jumps like I have.

I'm not knocking Lexus or the car itself here (I am one of the lucky ones and am now very happy) just wish they (Lexus) would get their act together and ensure all of your cars are fully up to date with the latest mods etc - shame we cannot get a printout of the ECU version etc and then we could compare notes............