This past X-Mas day I checked the oil condition on both my '04 GS and my wife's '08 IS250 and was surprised at the condition of the oil in her car. Back in May I did an oil change on my car using Royal Purple 5w-30 synthetic and did the same on her car in June. Switching over from Mobil1, this was the first time I used Royal Purple in my car and this was also the first time I changed her oil since she bought the car. The oil level and the color suggested that I hardly drove my car this year since it was changed in May. Her oil was very dark the the level was pretty low. I drive my car pretty hard but she is the total opposite on how she drives her IS. I used Royal Purple 5W-30 in both cars with my car taking 5.5 quarts and hers I put in 6.5. There are no signs of leaks on the garage floor or on the driveway so I'm going to rule out an oil leak. I read here that there is or was a TSB for oil consumption on the 250. Is this something any other xx250/350 owners here have experienced and should I bring the car over to Lexus?

Not to make this a "which oil is better" thread but I must say that I'm impressed with RP (in my GS at least) since I made the switch from Mobil 1.

 

You are correct about the TSB for oil consumption but it has to be a pretty excessive amount (1 quart in two weeks if I remember correctly). Personally, I would just start by keeping track of the amount and time of consumption. Then again, Royal Purple is kinda expensive to be doing this kind of a test.

 

Amsoil seems to burn the least of any oils I have tried. I noticed it kept my engine cooler than with other oils during dark driving in my IS350. I will be using it in the S2000 since they are known to burn oil like no other - like 1 quart every 3k miles according to my friends who have owned the S2000 longer than I have.

 

Mine does the same thing. On my last 6500km oil changed i topped close to 2 quarts and it was dark compared to orher toyotas I work on.

Check it often and dont let it go down to much all I can say

 

Okay so today I decided to switch to Mobil1 full synthetic 5W-20 and added just over 6.5 quarts. While changing the oil today I noticed no signs of any leaks which is a good thing. I'll be paying extra attention to the oil condition over the next few months.

 

How many miles on her 2IS?

 

80,080 miles

 

Hello i am having the same issue as the op. about a month and a half ago i changed my oil and used amsoil 5w-30. ive got a little over 100k miles on my car and this morning while driving my engine oil low light came on so at first i was thinking bad sensor before i could check but sure enough when i got out and checked once i got home it was pretty bone dry. i have never seen any leaks or smelled burning oil for that matter. what the hek could it be? thank you very much and i hope to hear back soon

 

Just wanted to update this thread. So we decided to take a weekend trip in her IS250 but before we left I checked the various fluids including the oil. The oil was pretty dark but the thing that has me concerned was the level which the pic below shows. Not wanting to take any chances I decided to add about a quart of oil before we left. There is something not right here. It was the end of last December when I changed the oil and I'm already having to change it after only 4 months. Any one have any ideas on what the cause may be? Once again... there are no leaks present.

 

Did you check the oil on a level surface and with the engine cold? It takes some time for the oil in all of the passage ways and in the head to trickle down into the pan.

 

Yeah I did that. She comes home at least two and half hours before I do so the car sat in the garage for awhile before I checked it.

I did some searching here and I read a few threads about this same condition and it appears that I'll be making a trip to the dealer.