High Mileage Is 220D

[dr j]

Hello all,

Despite the killing of the diesel option by Lexus (which I did agree with), I am the owner of a 2007 IS 220d Sport. I have visited this site many times with relation to some problems I have experienced, and others I had heard about but did not have the pain of trying to solve.

First of all, most of my problems were minor and of the "easily solved variety".

My car as stated is an IS 220d from 2007 with pretty much the full package (except the ML stereo system).

As of today I have just over 268 000 kms on the odometer and have basically done nothing aside from basic maintenance.

Only one EGR was placed in the beginning and out of warranty due to poor research on my part. Other problems with the DPF, Battery etc have all been solved without much expense and the car is presently running as new. No cabin rattles, suspension is fine, acceleration is well under 8 seconds and fuel consumption is around 7-8 L/100 kms, very reasonable for this car.

Same water pump, transmission, clutch, DPF, injectors, fifth injector, muffler, suspension etc.

Although I am a fan of all things Lexus and gasoline, my living in Portugal along with frequent trips made me opt for the diesel. Some headaches aside, the car is actually quite fine and I´d love to help or attempt to help out anyone that loves the car but is having a problem that may be solved without great expense.

Cheers,

John

2007 IS 220d Sport 268 000 kms and counting.

[blackcts]

Class, that's superb mileage - wonder if some of the AD engine problems are down to UK fuel

[Guest bigbullhead]

Look forward to,your posts on all things and anything you feel you want to share please do

[dr j]

I think UK fuel is as good as any other fuel. I drive alot on the highway, which is probably the ideal place to drive a diesel. That said:

My first problem was with the EGR (back at around 100 000 kms). The EGR blocked and sent my car into limp mode. I had it replaced and shortly after it blocked again. The problem isn´t the EGR, it´s the soot build-up before the EGR. One option is removing the aluminum pipe that runs from the engine block to the EGR and cleaning it regularly, as well as cleaning the valve itself. If done regularly it won´t block. I opted for doing an EGR bypass - I cut the pipe from the engine to the EGR in half, removed the half that came from the engine and put a metal plate over the outlet where the pipe was placed. I then attached a rubber hose to the other half of the pipe (the half that is still bolted onto the EGR) and ran it around the back of the engine bay and fit it onto the oil beather inlet just after the air filter. The oil breather hose was then attached to a catch tank (placed near the air filter housing) and the exit hose from the catch tank was then piped towards the underbody of the car, The result -

1. The air entering the EGR comes for the Fresh Air in the intake hose.

2. The greasy oil vapor from the oil breather outlet is not sent into the intake, but channeled to the catch tank - excess oil is left in the catch tank and only a slight vapor leaves the hose exiting the underbelly of the car.

3. The only maintenance is emptying the catch tank every 30 000 kms.

4. No Errors registered - the EGR still functions normally, only the air passing through is not heated soot but instead cooler fresher air.

5. Acceleration is improved, combustion is cleaner.

Problems -

1. I don´t like having a hose running from one side of the engine to the other, despite the fact that with the engine bay covers it is hardly visible.

2. I don´t like any type of vapor or smoke leaving the car. I decided to channel the hose towards the underbelly because at the front of the car and especially at night and with Xenon lights, the car looked like it was smoking a Cuban Cigar. Some vapor is still evident, but less. No EGR problems since.

Options,

Attaching a Y shaped inlet on the intake, and thereby having the a common hose for the EGR and oil vapor - no messy vapor leaving the car, no need for a catch tank and a still functional bypass.

[dr j]

The other important problem I had was with the Diesel particulate filter.

Mileage was dropping and the fifth injector kept turning on, giving a vary unique "sweet smell" when the windows were down. The car began to regenerate more than usual and the dreaded CHECK VSC light came on. This happened at 150 000 kms. I took the car to Lexus and they did a DPF "burn" with the Lexus diagnostic program. This program allows the fifth injector to be turned on "manually" for a longer amount of time, resulting in a prolonged burn that theoretically cleans the soot in the Filter.

This worked for awhile, then problems came up at about 180 000. I then bought a DPF cleaner foam from WURTH (around €30). This is inserted via the orifice for the temperature probe BEFORE the DPF (there are two, one before the filter, one after - when the filter is blocked the temperature before the filter is higher than the exit temperature - this is one parameter of measuring filter blockage)

The foam is inserted, the temperature probe is placed and the car is taken for a run at 3000 rpm. The foam attaches to the soot and the heat of the exhaust then destroys the particles which are eliminated.

I did another 15 000 kms until the CHECK VSC came up again.

My cousin (a mechanic) decided on analyzing the problem and for this car it is highly recommended that a Toyota/Lexus Specific Program be used - He purchased a cheap copy of the Techstream program online and installed it on his computer. The only accessory needed was a cable to link the computer to the car (a USB/OBD compatible cable).

The program shows various parameters, allows for a manual burn of the DPF, The temperature sensors had similar temperatures, but the Pressure sensor had negative values (this sensor is located at the back of the engine bay, near the Battery and has two hoses, one runs from the DPF towards the sensor and the other back to the DPF. It should show a positive pressure (there must always be a positive pressure against the resistance of the Filter). He suspected the error was from the Sensor (the program also shows the error codes) and decided to clean the sensor and the hoses. After cleaning the hoses (compressed air) the error disappeared (and the program was used to delete it from the memory) and the car has 3000 kms after the cleaning. The Techstream program does everything the dealership does except remap the ECU and I highly recommend it. The car has a huge amount of information available and with this program many problems are easily diagnosed and solved.

The filter seems to be porous and working fine, which means that the WURTH foam probably did its job.

The program should be used by someone familiar with mechanical work, but I highly recommend it.

The pressure sensor costs over 500 euros, the DPF comes in one piece with the catalytic converter and also costs well over 600 euros. I didn´t need to replace either and probably only the pressure sensor is prone to damage, as it is a flimsy piece of hardware.

Cheers,

John

[Guest bigbullhead]

Sounds interesting also has anyone remove the inlet manifold to clean it,is it a big job and what would the costs be by a non Lexus garage

[dr j]

Hello all,

Despite the killing of the diesel option by Lexus (which I did agree with), I am the owner of a 2007 IS 220d Sport. I have visited this site many times with relation to some problems I have experienced, and others I had heard about but did not have the pain of trying to solve.

First of all, most of my problems were minor and of the "easily solved variety".

My car as stated is an IS 220d from 2007 with pretty much the full package (except the ML stereo system).

As of today I have just over 268 000 kms on the odometer and have basically done nothing aside from basic maintenance.

Only one EGR was placed in the beginning and out of warranty due to poor research on my part. Other problems with the DPF, battery etc have all been solved without much expense and the car is presently running as new. No cabin rattles, suspension is fine, acceleration is well under 8 seconds and fuel consumption is around 7-8 L/100 kms, very reasonable for this car.

Same water pump, transmission, clutch, DPF, injectors, fifth injector, muffler, suspension etc.

Although I am a fan of all things Lexus and gasoline, my living in Portugal along with frequent trips made me opt for the diesel. Some headaches aside, the car is actually quite fine and I´d love to help or attempt to help out anyone that loves the car but is having a problem that may be solved without great expense.

Cheers,

John

2007 IS 220d Sport 268 000 kms and counting.

Folks, I just realized I made a typo when typing the mileage. The mileage when I wrote this was 258 000, it´s now 268 000. My apologies.

[dr j]

Sounds interesting also has anyone remove the inlet manifold to clean it,is it a big job and what would the costs be by a non Lexus garage

Hello, I assume you are referring to the EGR inlet manifold? It´s easy to remove, just a couple of bolts on the engine side and a couple over the EGR. Once that is taken off you can actually see the valve itself. It can also be removed easily and pretty much any industrial strength degreaser will do the job. I use Locktite. Not sure how much they´ll charge. It´s at most a 25-30 euro job, much less work than an oil change.

[Guest bigbullhead]

Not the egr the actual inlet manifold!!!

[dr j]

Not the egr the actual inlet manifold!!!

I had mine looked at, it was never cleaned, but I´ve had the oil breather going to a catch tank since about 150 000 kms. It took about half an hour to remove, but needed no cleaning. If you have your car stored for a while or being worked on you can remove it but you won´t find much more than the expected and that will need no cleaning.

[dr j]

Not the egr the actual inlet manifold!!!

I had mine looked at, it was never cleaned, but I´ve had the oil breather going to a catch tank since about 150 000 kms. It took about half an hour to remove, but needed no cleaning. If you have your car stored for a while or being worked on you can remove it but you won´t find much more than the expected and that will need no cleaning.

[TraktorDriver]

On 7/20/2013 at 5:33 PM, dr j said:

Hello all,

Despite the killing of the diesel option by Lexus (which I did agree with), I am the owner of a 2007 IS 220d Sport. I have visited this site many times with relation to some problems I have experienced, and others I had heard about but did not have the pain of trying to solve.

First of all, most of my problems were minor and of the "easily solved variety".

My car as stated is an IS 220d from 2007 with pretty much the full package (except the ML stereo system).

As of today I have just over 268 000 kms on the odometer and have basically done nothing aside from basic maintenance.

Only one EGR was placed in the beginning and out of warranty due to poor research on my part. Other problems with the DPF, battery etc have all been solved without much expense and the car is presently running as new. No cabin rattles, suspension is fine, acceleration is well under 8 seconds and fuel consumption is around 7-8 L/100 kms, very reasonable for this car.

Same water pump, transmission, clutch, DPF, injectors, fifth injector, muffler, suspension etc.

Although I am a fan of all things Lexus and gasoline, my living in Portugal along with frequent trips made me opt for the diesel. Some headaches aside, the car is actually quite fine and I´d love to help or attempt to help out anyone that loves the car but is having a problem that may be solved without great expense.

Cheers,

John

2007 IS 220d Sport 268 000 kms and counting.

Hello! 

I am in the process of purchasing a 220d myself, 2009 registration with a lot of nice options. 

The vehicle has 159.000km on the Odo, had clogged injectors which have been cleaned with a bit of gasoline+highway high rpm driving, a whistling turbo (no smoke from the exhaust!; owner doesn t drive much since it hasn't moved that much since 2009 AND it supposedly whistles like such for a while now) no major, almost no minor leaks. broken handgrip on the door, new one ready to be installed given for free. Interior is a 7/10, i know a detailer though. 

Breaks need the fluid changed, breaks are almost new. Tires new ish. 

 

the car will set me back 2800€, which gives me another 1200€ or so to maybe have the turbo changed or refurbished. I know 2 injectors were clogged, Obd tester said the same. i might consider replacing those with used parts or new depending on availability and (hopefully) under 400€/piece pricing.

 

What i am getting at is that the whole interweb seems to tell me this car is **** while i personally absolutely loved its quirks and its handling so far; even with the sick engine. 

Are these truly as haunted as they say? Between the 220d and say a 1.8 Megane would i be any cheaper/better/more reliable with the french plastic toy?

Any other stuff for me to watch out for?

 

P.S. don t tell me how much better the is250 is, insurance would be much too high, i agree it would be better but they re also 15k here, which i do not have.

[H3XME]

19 hours ago, TraktorDriver said:

Hello! 

I am in the process of purchasing a 220d myself, 2009 registration with a lot of nice options. 

The vehicle has 159.000km on the Odo, had clogged injectors which have been cleaned with a bit of gasoline+highway high rpm driving, a whistling turbo (no smoke from the exhaust!; owner doesn t drive much since it hasn't moved that much since 2009 AND it supposedly whistles like such for a while now) no major, almost no minor leaks. broken handgrip on the door, new one ready to be installed given for free. Interior is a 7/10, i know a detailer though. 

Breaks need the fluid changed, breaks are almost new. Tires new ish. 

 

the car will set me back 2800€, which gives me another 1200€ or so to maybe have the turbo changed or refurbished. I know 2 injectors were clogged, Obd tester said the same. i might consider replacing those with used parts or new depending on availability and (hopefully) under 400€/piece pricing.

 

What i am getting at is that the whole interweb seems to tell me this car is **** while i personally absolutely loved its quirks and its handling so far; even with the sick engine. 

Are these truly as haunted as they say? Between the 220d and say a 1.8 Megane would i be any cheaper/better/more reliable with the french plastic toy?

Any other stuff for me to watch out for?

 

P.S. don t tell me how much better the is250 is, insurance would be much too high, i agree it would be better but they re also 15k here, which i do not have.

They are plagued with typical diesel problems + head gasket. Can't compare it to anything French, never owned it, but at this point, it's not that different compared to German diesels. The main difference is that the German diesels are a lot better on fuel than the 220d. Later models, 200d were a lot less problematic when they detuned them. It's a gamble. The UK has / had an unhealthy fixation on diesels resulting in people buying them to do their 5 miles a day short journeys. This is obviously not great for diesels with DPF.. You might be alright with yours if it's been maintained well. Injectors etc are just service items on diesels unfortunately.

[TraktorDriver]

On 6/19/2024 at 10:49 AM, H3XME said:

They are plagued with typical diesel problems + head gasket. Can't compare it to anything French, never owned it, but at this point, it's not that different compared to German diesels. The main difference is that the German diesels are a lot better on fuel than the 220d. Later models, 200d were a lot less problematic when they detuned them. It's a gamble. The UK has / had an unhealthy fixation on diesels resulting in people buying them to do their 5 miles a day short journeys. This is obviously not great for diesels with DPF.. You might be alright with yours if it's been maintained well. Injectors etc are just service items on diesels unfortunately.

Hello and thank you, H3XME. This is why i signed up here, to get an objective opinion, not senseless fearmongering.

I won't lie though, these past weeks while peeking through Lexus forums and searching problems and solutions i came to fancy the is250 quite a bit. Hopefully in due time i may swap the 220d for a 250 🙂