Flat Spots On Is 220d

[andy07841]

Hi guys, sorry if someone has already covered this but my 06 plate is 220d went in for the fifth injector recall and had the egr valve done and a new cat fitted as well,also a ecu upgrade,now granted my fuel economy is better, but the car has now got terrible flat spots in 1st,2nd,3rd gear up to when the turbo kicks in,up until i had the work done the car was like a rocket. to be honest there's more pull in me wife' focus 1.6 now

any help would be great cos i am seriously losing my patience now.

[Boothby Coggles]

Hi guys, sorry if someone has already covered this but my 06 plate is 220d went in for the fifth injector recall and had the egr valve done and a new cat fitted as well,also a ecu upgrade,now granted my fuel economy is better, but the car has now got terrible flat spots in 1st,2nd,3rd gear up to when the turbo kicks in,up until i had the work done the car was like a rocket. to be honest there's more pull in me wife' focus 1.6 now

any help would be great cos i am seriously losing my patience now.

I don't now get a flat spot on my '06 220d SE in 1st but it can be a bit tricky with 2nd if I am trying to emerge at a junction in 2nd when the car has a bit of momentum on the approach to the junction. I had the 5th injector & ecu done a few weeks ago but not the egr valve. Can't say that I've particularly noticed a great problem with 3rd.

Now that the weather has turned cold I do find that, until it's warmed up pretty, well that I do have a problem engaging 1st gear from neutral & 2nd can be difficult as well - needs a fair bit of effort to select the gear.

Did your egr get changed without any question or did you have to "push them" to do it? When I had the injector done I asked about the valve but was told that it didn't need doing as part of the recall.

[andy07841]

Hi guys, sorry if someone has already covered this but my 06 plate is 220d went in for the fifth injector recall and had the egr valve done and a new cat fitted as well,also a ecu upgrade,now granted my fuel economy is better, but the car has now got terrible flat spots in 1st,2nd,3rd gear up to when the turbo kicks in,up until i had the work done the car was like a rocket. to be honest there's more pull in me wife' focus 1.6 now

any help would be great cos i am seriously losing my patience now.

I don't now get a flat spot on my '06 220d SE in 1st but it can be a bit tricky with 2nd if I am trying to emerge at a junction in 2nd when the car has a bit of momentum on the approach to the junction. I had the 5th injector & ecu done a few weeks ago but not the egr valve. Can't say that I've particularly noticed a great problem with 3rd.

Now that the weather has turned cold I do find that, until it's warmed up pretty, well that I do have a problem engaging 1st gear from neutral & 2nd can be difficult as well - needs a fair bit of effort to select the gear.

Did your egr get changed without any question or did you have to "push them" to do it? When I had the injector done I asked about the valve but was told that it didn't need doing as part of the recall.

hi ,the egr valve was done without me asking and the cat was changed for whatever reason (i don't really know) but when i asked they said the egr valve contributed to the mpg problem (not to sure really,don't know to much about cars)

[IS220d SE 06]

Hi,

I am having the same issues after having the ECU reflashed in January. They've apparently cleaned the EGR too. Any suggestions?

TA

[nelson.neal]

Hi,

I am having the same issues after having the ECU reflashed in January. They've apparently cleaned the EGR too. Any suggestions?

TA

I have a 56plate 66k, I was having the worst flat spot you can imagine, to the point of being dangerous when pulling out at junctions! Nothing until the turbo kicked in at about 2200rpm. I took it to my Lexus dealer in Coventry, the mechanic came out with me, told me straight away it was the EGR valve, & showed me the readings on his screen, instead of getting 97-98% it was reading 68%! a lost of 1/3 power output!!!

I have had ALL the recalls done before, but he said there was a new ECU reflash 14/06/2010. I had the reflash done free of charge, but had the EGR valve REPLACED not cleaned!!! I picked the car up, drove it out the dealership, & wheel spun off! Couldnt belive it! It was like a new/different car, I gave it some stick all the way home & am still smiling! Was not cheap at £400+ but GOD ITS WORTH EVERY PENNY! The service & help from Lexus Coventry was second to none!

[bigmick777]

Hi,

I am having the same issues after having the ECU reflashed in January. They've apparently cleaned the EGR too. Any suggestions?

TA

I have a 56plate 66k, I was having the worst flat spot you can imagine, to the point of being dangerous when pulling out at junctions! Nothing until the turbo kicked in at about 2200rpm. I took it to my Lexus dealer in Coventry, the mechanic came out with me, told me straight away it was the EGR valve, & showed me the readings on his screen, instead of getting 97-98% it was reading 68%! a lost of 1/3 power output!!!

I have had ALL the recalls done before, but he said there was a new ECU reflash 14/06/2010. I had the reflash done free of charge, but had the EGR valve REPLACED not cleaned!!! I picked the car up, drove it out the dealership, & wheel spun off! Couldnt belive it! It was like a new/different car, I gave it some stick all the way home & am still smiling! Was not cheap at £400+ but GOD ITS WORTH EVERY PENNY! The service & help from Lexus Coventry was second to none!

14/06 - that was lucky, the day you go in. Will ask when I next go in to see what the fixes were and if I can get mine done - maybe someone else on here can find out?

[Delta1]

We all agree there is a problem. Can we measure it? In third gear on a flat road if I sit at 1000 revs and then put my foot down it takes 8 seconds to reach 2000 revs!! I know this is not how to drive but it demonstrates the issue. Can a few others try the same test and post the results? I would like to know if mine is better or worse than average so I can complain to Lexus with some data to back me up!

57 reg is220d

[bigmick777]

We all agree there is a problem. Can we measure it? In third gear on a flat road if I sit at 1000 revs and then put my foot down it takes 8 seconds to reach 2000 revs!! I know this is not how to drive but it demonstrates the issue. Can a few others try the same test and post the results? I would like to know if mine is better or worse than average so I can complain to Lexus with some data to back me up!

57 reg is220d

If I do the same it takes ~4 secs before the turbo is fully in and I have to ease off. I do have the sport tho so the gearing ratio does seem to make a big difference.

[C4MYC]

Hi,

I am having the same issues after having the ECU reflashed in January. They've apparently cleaned the EGR too. Any suggestions?

TA

I have a 56plate 66k, I was having the worst flat spot you can imagine, to the point of being dangerous when pulling out at junctions! Nothing until the turbo kicked in at about 2200rpm. I took it to my Lexus dealer in Coventry, the mechanic came out with me, told me straight away it was the EGR valve, & showed me the readings on his screen, instead of getting 97-98% it was reading 68%! a lost of 1/3 power output!!!

I have had ALL the recalls done before, but he said there was a new ECU reflash 14/06/2010. I had the reflash done free of charge, but had the EGR valve REPLACED not cleaned!!! I picked the car up, drove it out the dealership, & wheel spun off! Couldnt belive it! It was like a new/different car, I gave it some stick all the way home & am still smiling! Was not cheap at £400+ but GOD ITS WORTH EVERY PENNY! The service & help from Lexus Coventry was second to none!

Do Lexus normally charge for this?

[Delta1]

We all agree there is a problem. Can we measure it? In third gear on a flat road if I sit at 1000 revs and then put my foot down it takes 8 seconds to reach 2000 revs!! I know this is not how to drive but it demonstrates the issue. Can a few others try the same test and post the results? I would like to know if mine is better or worse than average so I can complain to Lexus with some data to back me up!

57 reg is220d

If I do the same it takes ~4 secs before the turbo is fully in and I have to ease off. I do have the sport tho so the gearing ratio does seem to make a big difference.

Thanks for the input. A difference of 4 seconds seems too much even with the gearing difference. I hope a few others will post data so we can build a profile. Thanks

[bigmick777]

I have had ALL the recalls done before, but he said there was a new ECU reflash 14/06/2010. I had the reflash done free of charge, but had the EGR valve REPLACED not cleaned!!! I picked the car up, drove it out the dealership, & wheel spun off! Couldnt belive it! It was like a new/different car, I gave it some stick all the way home & am still smiling! Was not cheap at £400+ but GOD ITS WORTH EVERY PENNY! The service & help from Lexus Coventry was second to none!

Car was in Lexus friday for two new HIDs (got them myself and Lexus fitted for free - excellent service yet again!). Anyway, why I was there I was talking to the mechanic and asked about the new ECU flash. He confirmed and said he was downloading the update over the weekend and they would flash mine next week.

He checked my version and said it was running 400, the one he currently had was 500 and the new one he is downloading is 600. No idea what the "fixes / updates" are!

[bigmick777]

Thanks for the input. A difference of 4 seconds seems too much even with the gearing difference. I hope a few others will post data so we can build a profile. Thanks

Didnt do the test under any sort of controlled circumstances, no stop watch etc. Tried it again today and its 4 to 5 seconds. I was on the motorway after and can drive in 6th at 50mph. Dont need to change down to overtake under normal conditions, at around 52 + mph the turbo / torque just starts to kick in(this is at just over 1500 rpm).

[Delta1]

Thanks for the input. A difference of 4 seconds seems too much even with the gearing difference. I hope a few others will post data so we can build a profile. Thanks

Didnt do the test under any sort of controlled circumstances, no stop watch etc. Tried it again today and its 4 to 5 seconds. I was on the motorway after and can drive in 6th at 50mph. Dont need to change down to overtake under normal conditions, at around 52 + mph the turbo / torque just starts to kick in(this is at just over 1500 rpm).

I checked mine with my watch second hand but it comes out at 8 seconds time again so it is somewhere near. Anyway booked into Lexus Thursday so we will see what they say, again. Thanks

[bigmick777]

I checked mine with my watch second hand but it comes out at 8 seconds time again so it is somewhere near. Anyway booked into Lexus Thursday so we will see what they say, again. Thanks

Let us know what they say.... I know the sport helps with the gearing ratio but not sure how much! For info, on the way back today I can comfortable drive (and accelerate steadily without dropping down a gear) at:

4th - 30mph

5th - 40mph

6th - 50mph

All tends to be ~1500 rpm

I am contemplating the reflash of the ECU to the new one from Lexus, very happy with performance on car at the mo but curious to see how the upgrade affects it (maybe a little worried)!

[Delta1]

I checked mine with my watch second hand but it comes out at 8 seconds time again so it is somewhere near. Anyway booked into Lexus Thursday so we will see what they say, again. Thanks

Let us know what they say.... I know the sport helps with the gearing ratio but not sure how much! For info, on the way back today I can comfortable drive (and accelerate steadily without dropping down a gear) at:

4th - 30mph

5th - 40mph

6th - 50mph

All tends to be ~1500 rpm

I am contemplating the reflash of the ECU to the new one from Lexus, very happy with performance on car at the mo but curious to see how the upgrade affects it (maybe a little worried)!

If ir ain't broke...........

[bigmick777]

If ir ain't broke...........

Lol - perfect timing! Check VSC and limp mode on the motorway today! Have the extended warranty so Lexus roadside sent the AA. Although took them 2 hours to arrive they have taken the car to Lexus and I got a brand spanker Merc 220 CDI blue effeciency with all the extras from the hire company.

[JANUS]

We all agree there is a problem. Can we measure it? In third gear on a flat road if I sit at 1000 revs and then put my foot down it takes 8 seconds to reach 2000 revs!! I know this is not how to drive but it demonstrates the issue. Can a few others try the same test and post the results? I would like to know if mine is better or worse than average so I can complain to Lexus with some data to back me up!

57 reg is220d

Hello Delta1,

my IS220 (also long gear ratio) runs very well for a IS D-CAT. But he takes also 7 - 8 seconds in third gear. When the temperature is about 27°C, then the ECU reduce the power and the "flat spot" will be bigger, you can feel it until 1700rpm and about 4000rpm. It´s normaly and a "wish" from the engineers of TOYOTA.

[Delta1]

We all agree there is a problem. Can we measure it? In third gear on a flat road if I sit at 1000 revs and then put my foot down it takes 8 seconds to reach 2000 revs!! I know this is not how to drive but it demonstrates the issue. Can a few others try the same test and post the results? I would like to know if mine is better or worse than average so I can complain to Lexus with some data to back me up!

57 reg is220d

Hello Delta1,

my IS220 (also long gear ratio) runs very well for a IS D-CAT. But he takes also 7 - 8 seconds in third gear. When the temperature is about 27°C, then the ECU reduce the power and the "flat spot" will be bigger, you can feel it until 1700rpm and about 4000rpm. It´s normaly and a "wish" from the engineers of TOYOTA.

Hi

Lexus Teesside,who are very good by the way, have changed the EGR valve and the VSV there is a slight improvement but I guess as your info suggests that this is something we have to live with. Thanks for the response

[colbecoz]

We all agree there is a problem. Can we measure it? In third gear on a flat road if I sit at 1000 revs and then put my foot down it takes 8 seconds to reach 2000 revs!! I know this is not how to drive but it demonstrates the issue. Can a few others try the same test and post the results? I would like to know if mine is better or worse than average so I can complain to Lexus with some data to back me up!

57 reg is220d

I'm intersted in this as I've had my EGR valve replaced. I don't drive hard, but I can never get wheel spin.... Should I ask for the re-falsh???

Col...

[bigmick777]

I'm intersted in this as I've had my EGR valve replaced. I don't drive hard, but I can never get wheel spin.... Should I ask for the re-falsh???

Col...

Had my EGR done and got the ECU upgraded from 400 to 500. 600 is the latest but they had issues getting it onto the ECU mapper. I didnt have problems with flat spots before the EGR valve failed (as per my previous posts). Post the new valve and upgrade it does seem to run even better. Bit too early to say if MPG has improved.

[Monocle]

Yes, I have the same problem. 8 seconds for a 1k-2k acceleration in 3rd.

I find myself now drving in lower gears. I used to change to 5th over 50mph. Now i wait until +60mph. I don't touch 6th until at least 75mph. The fuel consumption works out a lot better. Get about 3-4mpg better on average.

[Lex Bhoy]

Just had mine in getting the alloys changed before warranty runs out and asked them to upgrade ECU...

They did this and to be honest biggest difference I noticed was I could use 6th gear from around 65mph and seemed to pick away better from lower revs, was on motorway most of road home but on the short run from motorway to home noticed that I could come off a tight roundabout in third where usually I had to drop down to second.. Hopefully this keeps up..

Once car is out of warranty will Lexus offer free flash on any future upgrades or will this be dependant on the dealer???

[C4MYC]

Just had mine in getting the alloys changed before warranty runs out and asked them to upgrade ECU...

They did this and to be honest biggest difference I noticed was I could use 6th gear from around 65mph and seemed to pick away better from lower revs, was on motorway most of road home but on the short run from motorway to home noticed that I could come off a tight roundabout in third where usually I had to drop down to second.. Hopefully this keeps up..

Once car is out of warranty will Lexus offer free flash on any future upgrades or will this be dependant on the dealer???

I think that`s a question lots of us would like to know the answer to.

Mine`s 4 years old and out of warranty but surely an ECU re-flash should come under safety and therfor a freebie. Or at least a reasonable cost to make it affordable.

[bigmick777]

I think that`s a question lots of us would like to know the answer to.

Mine`s 4 years old and out of warranty but surely an ECU re-flash should come under safety and therfor a freebie. Or at least a reasonable cost to make it affordable.

Mine is hopefully being flashed today to 600. It was done last week to 500 whilst having the ballasts looked at for free. They have got it back in today to fix the ballasts under extended warranty - phew, parts would have been ~£1200 without! Suppose my point is, wait until service or issues and ask them to do it, be cheeky and ask for nothing, dont believe it takes long to flash followed by Battery disconnect.

[martingale123]

Regarding the turbo lag in 2nd (whilst pulling away at low speed)....... I have always wondered myself if it should be so hesitant. To be honest i have just adjusted my driving style and dealt with it.

I am looking to get the chipped / remapped as i know this will fix the problem, give more power,and more economy.

http://www.chipexpre.../products/1095/

One of my friends has recommend this particular company to me a however i know alot of people who have remapped their car and it makes a diesel so much worth having than a petrol model. (one of my friends remapped his alpha 147, the day he bought it (1 day old car).

Please let me know your thoughts on the lag in 2nd at low speed.

Martingalea123