2006-2010 Is250 Owners Beware -- International Lexus Warranty/recall

[KarlHess]

I have an IS250 Sport Manual (2006), and I love it...

Unfortunately, it 'uses' about 1 liter of oil every 1000 miles or so... To make a long story short, I have a UK import here in New Zealand.

There was a 'warranty defect notice' / 'recall' issued on my vehicle, but only for the USA market. The problem is identical, but the dealerships here in New Zealand 'know nothing about it.' New Zealand is not honouring the warranty fix (which is a pricy piston and ring replacement)!

What recourse do I have as a consumer? Beware all 2006-2010 Lexus IS250 owners, as this may apply to you as well...

Thanks for your help/advice. This cannot be how Lexus wants to reflect on its brand!!!

Cheers,

Karl

[Lexus Nerd]

The issue with excessive oil consumption on your 2006 Lexus IS 250 is discussed in these threads:

Other owners' experiences and how they dealt with it: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/11490-lexus-sipping-too-much-oil/

Oil consumption's relation to carbon build-up and how to avoid such build-up: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/12389-servicing-and-oil-consumption

Use an intake valve cleaner, not an injection cleaner: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/12342-does-carbon-build-up-issue-affect-australian-is250s/page-1#entry44689

Choosing the right oil: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/12377-allianz-extended-warranty/?p=44920

Some additional thoughts:

- IMHO, Lexus USA may have initiated a recall, not because they are more concerned about customer service, but because they are more restricted in the choice of oils to minimise the problem. A 10W oil seems to work better with direct injection engines (for reasons explained in the above links), but USA recommends 5W or even 0W in the name of fuel efficiency.

- Besides an annoying warning light and the extra cost of 1 or 2 bottles of oil per year, is it really causing problems? I'd rather high oil consumption than, say, a rattle in the cabin.

- Hypothetically, if there was a worldwide recall, your car still wouldn't be entitled to it. I vaguely recall a discussion on this forum where a recall fix wouldn't be applied to an IS which was imported from Japan into Australia.

[dis-lex-sic]

Where do you start with this one?

The car is 8 years old............................they don't come with an 8 year warranty.

US recalls don't apply to cars from the UK. They apply to cars on the US.

You also fail to mention how many miles/km on this car.........I'm guessing more than the space shuttle.

[KarlHess]

Where to start is a problem... Not as much of a problem as my Lexus Dealership here in Wellington. They have to be aware of this problem, as should every other Lexus dealership worldwide. In my case, the dealer took me on an investigative journey costing me about $200 to monitor the oil consumption, soon followed by their proposal to take apart my engine to try to find the problem ($2500 disassembly cost only, not to fix the problem or put it back together!!!). They pretended to have no idea why a 2006 IS250 would be burning 1 liter per 1000km,.. Yeah right!

I went for a second opinion and it was my local mechanic that told me about the real problem...

BTW, My car has average miles for its age...

To be very CLEAR: This is a manufacturing defect, not dependent on the mileage of the vehicle. Also, it applies to IS250's up to 2010, many of which are still under warranty :). I just hope that the owners that still have legal rights under warranty go and make their dealers replace the pistons and rings in their ride, gratis...

Get the word out --- fight the power that is global corporate corruption and avoidance of responsibility.

From a consumer point of view, in any western country, I could make a compelling argument to force Lexus to own up to their f-uck up.

[KarlHess]

Just for completeness, I am attaching a PDF describing the recall in the USA...

LexusIS250 Oil consumption Issue.pdf

[Scared little bee]

Hi there,

I have a Lexus 2006 IS250 Sports Prestige Auto. I had the same problem as your car. My car starts up with an abnormal noise, after the vehicle has sat for a period of time- to be consistent with VVTI CAM SHAFT TIMING GEARS. It was tested by a Lexus dealer, I have spoken to the company. IS 250 2006 models are not included in any Australia Recalls. But they agreed to raise the problem in their system; if it is found there are more cars to have the same problem, they will take action. I am still awaiting their reply. I am in Australia, the car being made in Japan. To fix the problem, it will be very expensive. Hope you can send your problem to the company for the problem you have so it also registers in their system. Good luck, any good news I will let know.

SLBee

[Scared little bee]

Hi Karl,

As I just post the problem on above mentioned, I have same problem as your car, engine burning oil. I have to keep top up the oil frequently. It is scared me to driving around. I felt I bought the lemon. Please keep contact the top officer (CEO). Let the company know you are frustrated and not enjoy the experience. They need hear our voice.

SL Bee

[rossv]

Hi SL Bee,

Where did you get your car 'tested' and who did you speak to?

Just curious because my 06 IS250 has been burning through oil like crazy ever since the odometer went past 90000km (it's now at 105000km).

It also has a lot of other issues that are all mostly covered by TSIBs in the USA (not here of course) including i) Bad smell from the catalytic converter, ii) Disintegration of the rubber seals on both sides of the windscreen (actually covered in a TSIB!), iii) Side mirrors changing position after I reverse (also in a TSIB), and both the DVD stacker (ML) and the Naviation ECU have failed. I am an Electrical Eng and I verified that the Navigation ECU failed due to cracked joints on the BGA processor (similar problem to the red-ring-of-death and other failures in game consoles). Replacement cost of that part alone is phenomenal.

My father has a Toyota camry from the same year with similar mileage and nothing has failed in his car at all! I'm really turned off by the poor quality of my 'premium' vehicle and the lousy way that Lexus treats this market and probably wouldn't buy one again.

Regards

Ross

[Scared little bee]

Hi Ross,

The problem you have. you should ring your lexus dealer where you bought the car, see what they can do and let them know to let head office know, I have common view like others, we should expected the luxury car have better quality and last lot longer than normal rang of Toyota cars.

My car it only had a engine cylinder compression test done by Lexus in North Shore. they find the problem. It is not open engine inspection. Therefor only cost me less than100 $. Anyway I have see news.com 16 Oct. 2014 have latest news for Lexus globe recall 1.75 million and Australia Recall 10,000 cars. Stated mode including all is250 from 2005-2010. You can check online find details and your VIN no. is in recall or not. I'm waiting for receiving a recall letter. meanwhile I just top up oil. I love the car, but also it worries me too. If that helps I am happy.

Good luck, SL Bee