2016 Is200t Vacuum Valve Regulator Issue

rx350guy · February 4, 2017

So about a month ago at around 12,000 miles on my 2016 IS200t, I noticed an unusual noise coming from the left side of the engine. As OCD as I am, I immediately took it in to my local dealership for a quick diagnosis. Answer: 'that's a normal sound from these new turbo engines, so don't worry about it'. Okay, sounds reasonable, and after all they're the experts, right?. So I didn't think any more about it (at least for a few weeks) until it continued to bug me, and I thought, if it's a 'normal' sound, then why am I just now hearing it after 12,000+ miles on the odometer and a year's worth of driving?

I started doing some research on the web, and quickly discovered that this was being reported by a few other 2016 IS200t owners at around the same mileage. One owner reported that his dealer told him it was a 'turbo regulator vacuum valve that was stuck open'. Hmmmmmm, now that doesn't sound 'normal' to me; so armed with this newly discovered information, I revisited my dealership again and received a completely different response this time. 'Oh yes, I know exactly what that is. We had another IS200t owner in here just 2 weeks ago with the exact same problem, and it's the turbo regulator vacuum valve. Let's go take a listen. Sure enough, as soon as the service adviser heard the noise, she said 'yep, that's what it is, but let's get our senior technician to officially validate the diagnosis'.

After the official diagnosis, it was in fact determined to be that 'the vacuum valve for turbo regulator was stuck open'... bingo, finally nailed it down! Service adviser said that the part needed to be ordered (and it was currently backordered), so it may be as much as two weeks before the part will come in, then maybe 2-3 hours to install (all under warranty of course).

The technician said that the car was okay to continue to drive in the meantime while waiting for the part to come in, I just hope it doesn't take too long for the dang part to come in. My service adviser did say that the previous owner's part still had not come in yet, and it's been more than two weeks now.

And the adviser also said that 'this will likely turn into a campaign notice, as 'it is appearing to be an ongoing issue with the new IS200t engines'. Just a heads up to all you other IS200t owners that may be out there.

TrevC · February 7, 2017

Thanks for sharing that information Robert, very useful heads up as to a potential recall.

I don't imagine any problems will be caused by running the engine with a faulty valve but performance may be slightly affected, if anything.

rx350guy · February 18, 2017

As a quick update, it took 2 weeks for the backordered part to come in. I took the car back in today, and it took them about 3 hours to install the new part.

No more noise!

David IS · July 20, 2018

Had the exact same issue with my car @ 15000 miles. It took 6weeks for the part to come in. Its now 18 months later and guess what wife got ready for work today car doing the same thing again

rx350guy · July 20, 2018

David, Thanks for sharing. Your experience is not encouraging to say the least. So far, no recurrence of the issue in my car <knock on wood> but it's now right at that 18 month later mark that you describe since my original issue.

Hoping this does not turn into a full blown 'campaign notice' for the 200t, but if it keeps happening at around 12-15K mile intervals it just might. And if Lexus' fix is to simply replace the part, this doesn't appear to be the long term solution. They may need a redesign of the defective part.

I'll post here if my car starts exhibiting the same issue again.

TurboIST · May 10, 2019

I own a 2017 lexus is200t f sport, now at 61000+ miles, daily work drivin, just notice the same noise, does anyone know which warranty this is under? is it 10,000 miles, 30,000, 50,000, or 70,000. thanks in advance.

rx350guy · June 6, 2019

Guess what... Just recently returned from a relatively short road trip to Palm Springs, and that dreaded sound is back again. Already made an appointment with my dealership for tomorrow morning.

Lexus needs to step up to the plate and declare this issue an official 'Campaign Notice'!