jusclark13

I had my cam gear recall done and it took them 3 week to do that recall and replace my water pump. They informed me one of my fuel injector's connectors was broken so they replaced that as well. They also said they changed the oil. After having the car for a couple weeks I noticed I was going through gas like no other and my engine didn't feel right. I decided to change the oil Lexus put in with Amsoil (only oil I use). When I drained it, it came out thick and black as can be and it was only ran 450 miles, current amsoil has about 550 miles on it now. I had the oil analyzed and have included it in this post. I called lexus corporate and complained that something is not right at all and there is something majorly wrong with my engine. They told me to contact the servicing dealership, take it in, and see whats wrong. It is scheduled to go back in Tuesday where a tech is going to test drive it and look into the problem before "admitting it" to the shop. Im currently averaging 16.5 mpg on shell V-power (only fuel I use). Something just isn't right and it didn't have any issues before going into the shop for this recall. Please let me know what I should look for before taking it in or any lexus techs on here please advise accordingly.

Thanks in advance Club Lexus. You guys are lifesavers.

quick123

iTrader: (2)

Not the best of news from the oil report...aren't you the one where there was only 1 master tech at that dealer and that guy got hurt or something? I hope you are not bringing it back to the same dealer, or you might get more of the same.

I would suggest finding the largest Lexus dealer in your area, even if it means driving a good distance to get there. Usually large high volume dealers have multiple masters and even shop foremans, so there is a wealth of talent and ability to fix issues.

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't be too worried about the oil being "black". This is common, even in oil that has been circulated for a few hundred miles. The water and fuel readings aren't anything to be afraid of and are common in oil after being run for a few hundred miles. What is worrisome is the amount of metal particulates. If you still have the oil that you changes out, you can shine a flashlight on it. If it sparkles so to speak, the analysis is confirmed.

How long have you owned the car? This is my second winter in my 350. I'm averaging around 21 mpg in the winter (due to anti-freezing agents in the gas) months and 24 in the spring, summer, and fall.

jusclark13

Yes that was me as well. If they can't confirm or accept anything I will travel to Indianapolis where they are the biggest around.


I have owned the car for about 16 months and it did absolutely fine last winter with gas readings about the same as yours. Right now the gas mileage continues to fall and sometimes it feels like the ECU is confused because I will be slowing down and it will downshift on its own and rpms raise to 2.5k then it upshifts until I stop then returns to first gear once I'm completely stopped.

g2bme

iTrader: (6)

Same happened with me after the recall. I use to average about 25MPG and then it dropped down to 16 then now around 22MPG. I use to get about 390 on the tank. now it's 330ish. =T I'm presuming it's the winter, I checked my oil levels, no leaks and it's still a good amount. Ease up on the gas and get the car to relearn?

don

iTrader: (2)

Could it be winter blend fuel? My MPG dips during winter time.

NYKnick101

Winter blend fluel could be a cause but also remember that engines have break in periods for new major parts. When me and my buddy redid the engine in his G8, MPG dropped to about 10-12 MPG for the first 1-2k miles from averaging 25+. After a few thousand miles the computer pretty much readjusted the A/F ratio and we began getting 26+. Annoying because we paid more out of pocket than anticipated but you probably need to drive the car enough to get back.

For us it was easy to monitor the MPG's because we redid the engine before a road trip.

Also dont trust the average on the dash. It usually does a running average of your trip, instead of an actual MPG. Ive been on the highway when it says im getting 22 when im actually getting above 26-28

mong

iTrader: (4)

FYI when they did the cam gear recall on my car.. the ecu was reset due to them disconnecting my battery. Meaning the ecu will have to relearn your driving habit again. I was averaging 17-19 after the recall job but once the ecu learned my driving habit.. I was back at 23-25 mpg. With your oil being black.. they probably didn't change your oil.

tex2670

Keep in mind that the CAM gear issue was a TSB for years before it was a recall; if there really was an issue from the repair process, I think we would have heard about it before. I agree with mong--your avg MPG gets reset when the do certain recalls, which may have something to do with the mpg readings you are getting.

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Dout there anything wrong. Bet if you fill up drive HW for 10min and you'll get 25+mpg. Always calculate by actual mileage driven not by the average you see cause it drops when you gas . Fill up and take a pic of what miles to empty tank it's say on the display. If you getting 16.5 it should display 247. If its above 300 then it's the way you drive.

SeanIS350

iTrader: (2)

They did not disconnect the battery when they did my recall

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

To help others get the ENTIRE background on the OP's issue, here was his original thread :

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...pair-time.html

Seeing how they found water and fuel in the oil leads me to believe they REALLY F'd up your ride man; I'd not take that car back to the same dealership PERIOD! The very poor fuel mileage I think is permanent scaring on the internal components of the motor (crank/rods/etc) due to lack of PROPER lubrication.

Best of luck to you!

jusclark13

Thanks Gville for the link. I hate going back there honestly but the next closest one is 2.5 hours away. I honestly think they broke something tried to fix it and it caused more damage but they don't want to admit to it. I say this mainly because they admitted to a fuel injector being broke but not by them. It was "already broken before they got to it" and with today's advanced technology my check engine light would have came on ASAP had my connector broken prior to them touching it. And so far I've driven approximately 105 miles and have just a hair over half a tank left.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

^Have that AAA card handy.

smokyis350

iTrader: (21)

Wow, Blackstone is awesome. Very thorough analysis of the oil. BTW, you might want to remove your personal info from the blackstone file.

I had a similar encounter where my car was getting significantly lower gas mileage. ~20MPG on 100% highway when I normally get 25-30 on the IS350. I downloaded the torque app and bought a bluetooth ODB module for $10 and it scanned all the codes in my car. Turns out my MAF sensor was loose and was affecting my gas mileage. Reseted the ECU after and it was back to normal.