Jls160

I have a RX350 and am pretty impressed with its reliability. My son is getting ready to leave home and start college in a state 24 hours driving away. I was thinking about trying to find a used 2006 - 2008 IS250 AWD. I have found a few with 110,000 to 150,000 miles for around $6000 on up to $8000.
Couple questions, are these decent cars for reliability and what kind of life can be expected from them?

Mrfix

I would avoid the IS250 ( carbon issue) and the IS350 might get your son into trouble unless he is super responsible. You also want to make sure the transmission was serviced or you might be in for an expensive surprise.

Jls160

What do you mean by “carbon issue”? Catalytic converters plugging?

DickH

They have direct injection engines so the valves and intake ports don't get washed with fuel. Over time, the buildup causes problems. The is350 is a good car, but it's a bit more sporty so it might not be ideal if your kid has bad driving habits. Maybe something like a Corolla would be better, all of the reliability without the temptation.

Mrfix

This is good advice.

If you are still determined to buy your son a sporty vehicle then get him an old GS350 instead of an IS.

kevin3344

We purchased our then 20yr old an '08 IS250 with 152k a few months ago. She loves it. It's very sporty yet not too fast. I knew about the carbon build up issue going in...not a big deal. Throw a can of Seafoam in and drive it WOT from time to time. I'll monitor it for her but I'm not worried plenty of these cars have over 200k. Also, if you can find one where the dash and door panels have been replaced that's ideal. Some from that year have had issues with the dash and door panels becoming sticky. The previous owner had theirs replaced under warranty so the interior was like new.

As mentioned the IS350 was little bit much for her as she already has a lead foot and we didn't want a college student with that much power.

nosurprise

iTrader: (1)

I think all brands of direct injection cars from those years have carbon build up issues.

You can check the service history to see if the car has been cleaned and parts replaced. Lexus issued a fix for those experience the issue within 10 years if the original owner has done it.

DickH

The buildup is in the heads and on the valves. Going WOT won't do anything for you and seafoam will only touch it if you run it through the intake and even then I'd bet it doesn't do much for you. What you need is to get a catch can or vent the pcv to atmosphere to reduce what can build up.

kevin3344

I did my research before purchasing this vehicle and the carbon build up isn't a big issue. Multiple threads confirm this. Again, it's something that happens with this engine.

OP Lexus recommended a carbon clean of the engine but the previous owner declined. You can go that route if you are worried about it.

Viru

+1 to this with one note: make sure you use the Seafoam intake cleaner (black lid, spray tube) and NOT the standard can. The latter will have no valve cleaning effect from being in the fuel, and is not designed to go through the intake.

Aspect

I'm with Mr Fix and DickH. As someone who's gotten a walnut blasting service done to my valves at 120k kms, I've already gotten some carbon buildup after 30k kms and that's with an oil catch can. That's just my 0.02c. In terms of reliability, you'll probably have to replace the alternator and waterpump off the bat given the age and kms if it hasn't already been done before. It's a given but bushings are going to start needing replacing and maybe even the suspension. After all that, yeah it's a pretty reliable car, hasn't left me stranded yet aside from the alternator dying.