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Hi Paul. I finally was able to take my car into the Dealer this morning. I discussed the problem with the service clerk and he said it was not a common problem. I told him there was a recall in 2006 for my model and he said we should keep this to apples and apples. He said if there was a recall then any subsequent vehicles would be fitted with the proper components. Anyways.......they took in the car and both the clerk and mechanic came back to me about 45 mins later. The mechanic said they ran up the temperature very high and there was no smell at all. He wanted to know the circumstances of this happening as in where I'd been driving. I told him it didn't happen regularly and it was about every few weeks and always when I get home for the day explaining sometimes it's just a whiff and other times it just stinks out my garage. I gave him my daily route - up a long steep hill, onto a level freeway, down the freeway hill and up a small hill to my home. The clerk said they've made a note about it on my file and he would check with Lexus (head office?) and see if they had any related problems and if they can suggest how to deal with this. I am satisfied with this right now because it's on the record. If it gets worse, hopefully it will be before my ECP Agreement expires. Sounds good. You have their attention. Now, the next time it stinks, if you can get to the dealer right away you should be on your way to a solution. Hi Paul. I finally was able to take my car into the Dealer this morning. I discussed the problem with the service clerk and he said it was not a common problem. I told him there was a recall in 2006 for my model and he said we should keep this to apples and apples. He said if there was a recall then any subsequent vehicles would be fitted with the proper components. Anyways.......they took in the car and both the clerk and mechanic came back to me about 45 mins later. The mechanic said they ran up the temperature very high and there was no smell at all. He wanted to know the circumstances of this happening as in where I'd been driving. I told him it didn't happen regularly and it was about every few weeks and always when I get home for the day explaining sometimes it's just a whiff and other times it just stinks out my garage. I gave him my daily route - up a long steep hill, onto a level freeway, down the freeway hill and up a small hill to my home. The clerk said they've made a note about it on my file and he would check with Lexus (head office?) and see if they had any related problems and if they can suggest how to deal with this. I am satisfied with this right now because it's on the record. If it gets worse, hopefully it will be before my ECP Agreement expires. Sounds good. You have their attention. Now, the next time it stinks, if you can get to the dealer right away you should be on your way to a solution. Thanks Paul!! I will do that. Hopefully it's during their operational hours! :-) The mechanic said that he checked "everything". I should have asked him to elaborate a bit more. That info you gave me said that it could be something as simple as the fuel filter. I forgot to ask them if they'd ever changed that. I can't see it on any of my service records. I do see that on my last service in April they replaced an element, filter. Would this be it? They also replaced a gasket and did a fuel system clean. I wonder if this is why I'm smelling the sulphur less? I dunno. I will document this more closely from now on.

Hi Paul. I finally was able to take my car into the Dealer this morning. I discussed the problem with the service clerk and he said it was not a common problem. I told him there was a recall in 2006 for my model and he said we should keep this to apples and apples. He said if there was a recall then any subsequent vehicles would be fitted with the proper components. Anyways.......they took in the car and both the clerk and mechanic came back to me about 45 mins later. The mechanic said they ran up the temperature very high and there was no smell at all. He wanted to know the circumstances of this happening as in where I'd been driving. I told him it didn't happen regularly and it was about every few weeks and always when I get home for the day explaining sometimes it's just a whiff and other times it just stinks out my garage. I gave him my daily route - up a long steep hill, onto a level freeway, down the freeway hill and up a small hill to my home. The clerk said they've made a note about it on my file and he would check with Lexus (head office?) and see if they had any related problems and if they can suggest how to deal with this. I am satisfied with this right now because it's on the record. If it gets worse, hopefully it will be before my ECP Agreement expires.

Excellent! Thank you very much Paul! I will come back and let you know.

Interesting. The friend that I was talking about with his mazda used to manage 2 chevron stations and of course used nothing but Chevron for many years. It was only when he got his mazda that he ran into a problem.

I just want to thank you all for your help and suggestions!

Yes!! I think I will do that too although I've been with Chevron for years. As a matter of fact, I just got an email from a friend who's husband was a mechanic. He said he had the same problem with his Mazda and switched from Chevron to someone else. Definitely worth a try!! Thank you! Costco's out of my too. All the gas stations are in sync around here.

ok - Thank you!!

I did. For 3 yrs I bought the grade up from regular at of course a higher cost. That's what the Dealer told me to buy. I couldn't remember the name of the additive my husband used to put in when the car was running too rich or something, so I started using Regular gas. Didn't have the smell for a week and now it's back again. I don't know what you pay for gas but our gas here is the highest in the Continent.

Well I never got a letter and the Dealership is mute. The only TSIB I found was the one I mentioned above for 2006 IS250 and IS 350. Regardless, I'm going to take it again with my Warrantys and ECP which I paid $2500. for and specifically covers the catalytic converter. They sure like you to get all these add ons but then turn a deaf ear when you have a problem. Thank you for your response!

Never with a cold start. It doesn't happen every day. With that 2006 recall I mentioned above, they said this odor was caused by: 1. Stop and go driving 2. Heavy accelerating Well, my stop and go driving would only be for traffic lights and periodic traffic backlog but I am on the freeway every day doing the speed limit. I shouldn't be having this problem. Thank you for your response too!

It seems that this Dealer only wants to deal with a problem if there's a recall as in my floor mats and now the windshield wipers. They recalled the 2006 IS 250 and IS 350 for the excessive sulphur and provided a new catalytic converter assembly. The smell occurs after I've driven awhile and where I live it's up and down hills. It doesn't occur everytime either! Not once has it done it when I've arrived at the Dealers for a service. Ironically, I had the same problem with the brakes squealing in reverse. Weird huh? Now that's embarrassing backing into your garage. The service clerk came out with me for a test drive and we backed up a number of times and do you think they would squeal??? Nope. I had a more obliging mechanic at the next service and he put some lubricant on them but this was a temporary fix. I've since had a complete brake job ELSEWHERE and haven't heard a squeak. Thanks for your response. I'll figure out something.

I have 2010 IS 250. From the first month I purchased this car, I have had an excessive odor of sulfur coming from the exhaust. I mentioned this to the Service Dept when I took my car in for it's first service. I was told that they had to smell the odor in order to investigate the service. Yes, folks, I am a woman, however, I wasn't born yesterday. I have enough knowledge to know that this involves the catalytic converter. The odor is not consistent. A few months ago when I took my car in for another service, I got another guy and told him about the problem. He said it was quite common because I'm travelling up and down hills. Yes, I do, however, the odor is so bad now, it's coming into the cab. It actually stinks out my garage when I park and to say the very least, it's embarrassing. How do I get this Service department to look at this problem? I have the Extra Care Protection and I am still covered for this problem. I would appreciate any advice you can give me!

Hi everyone! Finally got here! Purchased my IS250 2010 almost 9 months ago. Very pleased with it Has anyone used the snow mode or the skid control? I'd appreciate your comments. I haven't had to.....yet even though we have had some snow. I LOVE the paddles especially going down snowy hills when I want to be in low gear. The only thing I don't like about the car is that it's too low to the ground in the front. Gotta be careful parking diagonally - I've already scraped the bottom a couple of times when I first got the car. At least you can't see the scratches. I should have got that warning option.

I just bought a 2010 Lexus IS250 last Wednesday. I'm starting to think I made the worst decision of my life. I questioned the salesman on all of this and he said the mat had been adjusted and my particular car is safe. A friend of mine has a 2008 same model. She got the letter you're talking about regarding the brake override system. I phoned my salesman a couple of days ago and asked him about this. He told me he would get back to me today. I've been doing more googling and came up with this: Quote: Toyota has announced the recall of the Lexus ES 350 & IS 250/350 models to have their accelerator pedals reshaped and/or replaced. This recall is to be a permanent solution to the risk of unintended acceleration, no matter what floor mat is being used. Starting in early 2010, dealerships will be equipped to reshape the affected pedals by “shaving” a 3/4 inch from the existing pedal, followed by a brand new pedal in April 2010. In the case of the ES 350, the floor surface will also be reshaped. Both affected Lexus models will be receiving a new brake override system that will cut engine power if both the accelerator and brake pedals are pushed simultaneously. http://lexusenthusiast.com/2009/11/25/lexu...call-announced/ Under similar stories it says the recall has been extended to Canada.