ChickenIS

iTrader: (1)

It looks like this will be the next repair. My wife and I have experienced the shaking and near stall condition on various FWY off ramps when coming to a stop. The car has 60k miles.

To bad the fix isn't a track day "burn out". Seems like the carbon could be bruned away with a proper "heating" of the engine. Just a little drive it like you stole it.

MashinA

iTrader: (20)

so i get the check engine, vsc traction control lights on and the message is usually cylinder missfire...ive performed the carbon clean up myself and a week later i got the same message. i read through this service bulletin but all they do is pretty much the same thing....is there an actual fix to this or do we have to do it every so often...

SILVRLININ

iTrader: (5)

A local specialist advised that the cleaning should be performed at least every 30,000km or 18,000miles

shadowman

iTrader: (2)

Don't be surprised that other Lexus dealership will charge about the same since this is a luxury car. My dealer (Lexus of Stevens Creek) also charge about $120 on labor charges. How else are they going to provide all the free drinks and donuts?

On to topic, is the late 2010 models exempted ? Since I read the TSB that certain 2010 are affected. I bought mine pretty late in June 2010. I'm not sure if they fixed it... if they hadn't, then why didn't the extend the TSB to all 2010 models and up?

chikoo

Just for academic purposes, try using gumout 2 or 3 times in a row with each fillup and let us know if that makes any difference.

ChickenIS

iTrader: (1)

Made an appointment at the dealer and received a confirmation. The confirmation email saids the service takes more than a couple of hours and a loaner will be provided. When my wife gets there, the S.A. tells her if they don't experience it they won't do the service. He went on to say they are not going to do this service just because people are posting about it on the internet

This makes me proud to drive a Lexus.

SILVRLININ

iTrader: (5)

^Contact Lexus Head office and report the SA's negligence to your concern.
BTW, I too was given the cold shoulder when I had problems with mine. It reached a point where I refused to allow my family in the vehicle as I deemed it to be unsafe / unfit for the road. I reported my concerns to 3 dealers, who either used band aid solutions to get me off their lot or gave me the run around. I fired off a letter that consisted of a time line of my misfortune and the dealership's negligence to consumer safety to Lexus of Canada. Within 2 weeks, the dealers were contacted and advised to ensure my vehicle was carefully inspected and taken care of... At the time, the TSIB was not avail. in Canada, but thx to our members, I was able to print out the PDF and advise the Service Manager of the top end procedure. According to my Service Manager, I may have been the first in this region of Canada to have the work from the TSIB completed.

Thinktwice

I remember last year I used BG 44K when I was having this issue and that stuff worked awesomely. It noticeably improved it.

Just last week I went to the Lexus dealer to have the TSIB done since I was approaching 70,000 ('06 IS250). The thing is I knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to replicate the issue because I hadn't experienced it myself in a while. So I went in with two TSIB's in hand to kill two birds with one stone, this one and the valve spring one, and explained my two issues to the SA. They gave me a loaner and called me when I was at work saying they replicated both issues (which I knew wasn't true) and would do both repairs under warranty. Absolute excellent service!! After I picked my car up the next day I could immediately notice the difference... much smoother idle and startup.

So long story short, it really does depend on which dealer you go to unfortunately. I went to Lexus of Englewood by the way... very recommended if you live in the NYC/Northern NJ area.

A1Lexis

iTrader: (6)

This is what Lexus is using to clean the carbon build-up from our engines. Funny they are using a GM product. My tech gave me a bottle of this but I haven't tried it yet.

msb028

iTrader: (1)

This thread has some great info on this issue! Just wanted to share my experience as well.

Took my 07 IS250 (60,000+ miles) into the dealer a few weeks ago for the engine shuddering issue when at idle. Idle speed sometimes was about 500 rpm with occasional drops below that to the point where it felt like it was going to stall (no misfire or CEL though).

The Lexus Tech took it on test drive several times and could not replicate the issue. They said they would be happy to perform the top engine clean service for about $600 though (yikes!). My guess is that they couldn't perform the TSB service under the powertrain warranty since they could not replicate/confirm the issue when the tech drove it.

The tech did note that the throttle body appeared dirty, so I took the car home and cleaned out the inside of the throttle body later that week (there good bit of gunk and buildup in there behind the valve). Also ran a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner through the gas tank.

Idle speed has since been MUCH improved and haven't had a single RPM drop or shudder since I cleaned the throttle body. I'm still considering also doing the BG intake service through, does anyone have any experience with how much that would cost at a local shop?

A1Lexis

iTrader: (6)

Yea cleaning the TB is good but not enough on these engines. I just had the fuel pressure sensor recall done and the tech had the plenum off. Shining his light showed copius amounts of carbon build-up on the valve springs. I'm going to try the GM top engine cleaner this weekend. This isn't a problem that's going away anytime soon.

jonisgq

I'm in a similar boat. My car is getting a VSC alert, and the dealer tech said it was due to carbon buildup. I'm off warranty and was quoted a price of $900 for a top engine clean!

Anyone have any experience getting this job done at a private mechanic? Or, maybe at a cheaper price?

kamileon88

Try some sea foam. Fuel injector cleaner in tank won't help much since it is direct injection. The gm top end engine clean is what dealer uses. Pure some in each valve when hot. And bunch up 15 zip ties and use it as a brush. Jump the starter relay to crank the motor and repeat the cleaning process. Then add bg in the oil and drive the car wot. Change the oil When done

panda327

iTrader: (3)

what is consider rough idle ?

i do feel a very tiny vibration through the steering wheel at stop lights
but once the car starts moving its completely fine ...
no noticeable cabin vibration tho ...

I've had the engine almost stalling on my at the stop light about 2-3 times a year ago .. but non since then

chikoo

** putting on Kevlar vest **
** putting on my Flame retardant suit **

I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I did this, but I did do it and not sure if the results I am seeing are a direct result of what I did or not.

I purchased a big bottle of MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) and used it for 4-5 gas tanks consecutively in January 2011. I also poured in couple of bottles of Gumout in between. Then I went out for a month of vacation in February 2011 and when I returned in March 2011, and fired up my beloved IS250, it sputtered and coughed and finally started up.

Since then I have not had the idle dropping below 500rpm incident happen again all trough March and half way through April now. While I can very quickly reach the most obvious conclusions and declare MMO FTW and declare myself victorious (ala GWB.), I am still a skeptic and want opinions, ideas, and a discussion as to what happened here.