Timing Belt

GaryD1975 · April 28, 2015

Hi all, I have an IS250 SEL and just lately especially in a morning when i press the start button the engine sounds a little rattly just for a 2 seconds then its fine. Someone said to me to keep an eye on the timing belt. Has anyone had this or should i get it checked out? The car runs perfect the rest of the time, no more sounds from engine or anything

Ideas????

ahmed24 · April 28, 2015

Hi all, I have an IS250 SEL and just lately especially in a morning when i press the start button the engine sounds a little rattly just for a 2 seconds then its fine. Someone said to me to keep an eye on the timing belt. Has anyone had this or should i get it checked out? The car runs perfect the rest of the time, no more sounds from engine or anything

Ideas????

These cars don't have timing belts, they have timing chains. The noise you are hearing is a known cam gear rattle issue on these cars. Seems to disappear for a while when oil is changed and comes back closer the oil change time.

ChumpusRex · April 28, 2015

No timing belt on these cars.

The noise is a faulty valve timing adjuster - Very, very expensive to replace, but not thought to be a major problem for the is250 (the is350 got this fault in a more severe form, and quite a few got blown up engines, promoting a recall in the US).

The use of correct 5w30 oil, and keeping the oil fully topped up to the max line can help keep if quiet. If it is very bad, a thicker 5w40 or 10w40 oil could be tried, alternatively an oil additive like BG MOA may help (worked wonders on mine when it got a cheap oil after a service).

is200 Newbie · April 30, 2015

As Mark and Ahmed above - its a known issue but nothing really to worry about

I had it off and on for a while back and to be honest it is a good indication of when the oil needs changing. I usually change the oil every 6 months (try to anyway) and the rattle has not returned.

Keep the oil topped up and use the correct grade - I have used both the Castrol Edge and Magnatec grades and (for my car anyway) the Magnatec brand works best and there has been no rattles since using this. I did experience rattles with the Edge brand.

I also, when changing the oil, and I guess in changing it every 6 months or so it does help, use an engine flush to flush the engine out. Whether that has helped I don't know but there are no rattles.