SultanOfSix

Status update: I got the battery charged again at an AAP store put the battery back in and the car started. So it ran for a few months with no issues, then just a few days ago the car wouldn't start on me again. Power came on, cranked, and then power went out. I checked the voltage in the battery and it read 11.8 V. So, now I think there is some electrical issue. I've read about a possible parasitic drain on the vehicle is possible. Once again, I took the battery back to AAP and they charged it again. However, this time I tried to start the car again, and now I am getting nothing. No power at all again, but the battery is reading 12.4 V. Can it still be a battery issue? Regardless, odd thing is when I connect jumper cables to the vehicle and try to jump it, it gets power, and cranks, but it won't start. So, with jumper cables and the other car running, the vehicle gets power. Disconnect the jumper cables, and use the connected battery, no power at all. Wouldn't that point to a battery problem then? Thanks.

They did not do a load test. They just drained the battery and the charged it again and he said it was fine. I checked the voltage after he had recharged it and it was a little over 12.6 V. Sure, I can replace the battery and try again, but I would think that while 11.6 V may not be enough to start the car, then it would at least be enough to have power come to the vehicle so that the dash and/or inside lights would be working. But once I tried a couple times to start it after putting jumpers on and it didn't work, eventually nothing was working electrically in the car. At that point I took out the battery and wanted to get it tested. But before I put the battery back in, I want to take some readings (if I can) with a multimeter to make sure that the ground connection is OK because if that isn't working, then if I connect the battery, it's still not going to start the car. Unfortunately, I don't know where to do that and was asking here for that help.

I have an old 2006 Lexus IS250 that all of a sudden won't start. A few days ago, the engine was struggling to start. The next day, I tried to start it, and I would just hear a click, click, click. At that point I had power. I measured the voltage at 11.6 V which was low so it made sense why it wasn't sarting. I tried to jump it, but it wouldn't take charge. Now the car has no power at all. I took out the battery and took it to an AAP store to test the battery if it was faulty. It's only 2.5 years old and was still under warranty. They tested it and it is fine. I haven't been able to put the batter back in and try again because now the hydraulic supports on the hood started failing and it became dark. So I reordered new ones and will replace them, but I'll try to hold up the hood with something else and try the batter again tomorrow. I've read that it could be issues with the ground connection or the alternator. How can I diagnose it without taking it to mechanic which means I will have to tow it there first since I obviously can't start it. Thanks.

Your basic warranty is 50,000 miles or four years from your car's inservice date. The powertrain warranty is 70,000 miles or 6 years. The engine portion of the powertrain warranty covers "Cylinder block and head and all internal parts, timing belt and cover, flywheel, oil pan, water pump, fuel pump, engine mounts, engine control computer, seals and gaskets" So, if yours is a valve problem, it should be covered under the longer powertrain warranty. Sorry. I meant after the four year warranty period ended. Regardless, even if it is another engine problem that is covered under warranty, I am quite disappointed that my first Lexus seems to have resulted in this many issues.

Interesting. I also had some sort of manufacturer related issue, where I noticed this type of shuddering, and the sales rep originally told me it was the ethanol in the gas build up that was causing soot on the valves and they wanted to charge me like 250+ for an engine flush. I was like no thanks because I had already done my 30K major service there and it seemed like they were trying to milk me for some more money. I then called corporate Lexus and complained like hell to them. Next thing I know, I received a call from the same service people and they told me their was some sort of manufacturing issue with the valves that was covered under warranty that they would replace. At that time I believe one of the engine lights had come on as well, maybe even the same "Check VSC" light, but I can't be certain because it was a while ago. I asked the consultant if this was going to fix the problem and whether it could reappear in the future, and he assured me that it wouldn't. Now, my warranty period just ran out just a few weeks ago, and I find it rather convenient than the "Check VSC" light had come on once again. The time is so convenient, it's almost as if it was "programmed" to come on less than a few thousand miles after the 40K warranty period ended. If the service people tell me some BS again about some valve issue or something else that is going to cost me a bunch of money, I'm going to be really *BLEEP*ed. I bought a Lexus because of its supposed best in its class "reliability" and already I've had manufacturer replaced parts and four recalls conducted on the vehicle.

Hello, Today I had the Check VSC light come on form my 2006 IS250 so I took the dealer. The service consultant told me that it was diagnosed, but the machine basically tasked it to stop or something like that. Since Lexus wasn't available to be contacted on the weekend, he told me it would have to be diagnosed on Monday. Regardless, the reasoning that was given was the car was "running too rich". Now, he really couldn't explain that too me, which is disconcerting because one of the reasons I bought Lexus was because it's supposed to be the most reliable car in the industry, and I've already had a engine misfiring issue and valve problem fixed under warranty. He said that "running too rich" typically happens when a change of gas type is being fed into the car which seemed a little strange to me. However, I've always used 93 octane so that couldn't have been the source of the problem. Does anyone know what this actually means? Thanks.

I've decided not to go with it. Trusting my gut as well getting a vibe as a preventive maintenance thing from the service person, although he threw out some 50-60% numbers which I didn't get, and of course what you said here. Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.

No, I never felt any problems at all accelerating that I've noticed. I haven't had any engine lights come on or any other problems. I just decided to take it into 30K service as the time was right. I use premium gas every time I fill up and synthetic oil changes every 5K miles, and I don't tend to accelerate or decelerate quickly (I tend to do more highway driving than city driving), so I don't understand why it would happen so quickly.

I am having my 30K service done on my 2006 Lexus IS250 AWD, and I got a call telling me that I have carbon build-up in the fuel system. They said it will cost be another $225 to get it cleaned. The car is only 2.5 years old and I've used premium gas in it every time. Is this something I should do?

Hello, I was driving just recently from lunch back to the office and I noticed this sound that increases in frequency when driving. It's kind of a low duh-duh-duh that increases in frequency as the speed of the vehicle increases. It seems to be coming from the left side of the vehicle, and I have no engine lights on or anything that would suggest some problem from it, but something maybe from the wheel or suspension, but I'm not sure. Does anyone have a clue as to what it might be? Thanks.

Hello, Does anyone know any good service centers in Maryland that aren't dealerships? Thanks.

Hello, I took my Lexus IS250 into a a body shop to get its rear bumper fixed after I was rearended. About four days later, I noticed that underneath the driver's side side skirt, there was something hanging underneath. So, I looked under the vehicle and saw what appeared to be a broken plastic clip like thing hanging from some foam. This piece appears to be part of the side skirt and unfortunately, I don't know excatly what it's purpose is. There appears to be two of the same types of clip looking things on each side skirt about the same distance from the front and back tires. The other clip (closer to the front wheel) that isn't hanging that is on the same side skirt as the one that is (closer to back wheel), sits inside a pocket and the clip isn't any lower than the height of the side skirt (at exactly the same level), meaning that it doesn't appear than anything can get caught on it when driving. So, I don't think I hit anything that could cause the clip to break off pretty cleanly and dangle from a foam. I can push the clip so that friction holds it up inside the pocket (at least for a while until it falls back down). In fact, I never hit anything on the road and I don't think some mini flying debree could cause it to snap like that. And if anything larger hit it, there would be more damage to the vehicle. In other words, I did nothing to cause the damage. So, I took my car to a Lexus dealership to see if there was a part that could be replaced. But, when I got there he told me the whole thing is one piece and clips are part of it, so you would have to replace the entire part (the side skirt) to fix just the broken clip. Then I told him about the body shop and he was like they could have done it because he said he used to work in one, and sometimes when they need to remove parts they have to clamp the vehicle or lift or whatever (can't remember exactly). What I'm wondering is 1) What the hell are those clips and their purpose? 2) What could the body shop have done such that they could have broken the clip? Any car experts out there?

I'm not really sure how bad it looks, but I had a similar situation in that I had to decide whether to repaint or not, except mine was a bigger repaint job because of where it occured. I had taken my car into an establishment to get something installed on the vehicle. When whatever was done was installed, the guy pointed out that there was some strange mark on the car. Well, it happened to be a circular area about 8 inches in diameter on the left hood of the car that was a little darker than the rest of the paint on the hood. Though it was barely visible (no one would have noticed it unless you pointed it out to them), it bothered the hell out of me. My Lexus IS 250 is silver (or tungsten pearl ;)). Although, I knew he did it - he didn't admit to doing it - he offered to pay for any repaint job that was necessary. So, being the nice guy that I am - I didn't yell at him because I know accidents happen - I said I would. At least he was honest and guilty enough to point it out to me, which tells me he's a good human being who has a conscience. Well, the body shop I went to told me they would have to repaint portions of the left side next to the hood as well as take the clear coat off, repaint the portion of the hood that had suffered whatever was done to it and then blend the paint in, and of course, refinish the clear coat. I'm not exactly sure what was done, but from what the guy at the body shop told me, he thinks the person may have scratched somethng, then tried to fix it by reblending the paint and then clear coating it again and he said that was a big no-no on this type of car. Long story short, I went along and did the paint job, and although it's not "factory" quality and I can notice a few tiny blemishes here and there, they did a pretty damn good job such that the weight felt knowing that the mark was there no longer lingers on. It cost 600+ dollars (the guy paid for it) and there was no physical damage (dents), so it was a pretty expensive paint job, but I wanted it done right.

Hi, I have a relatively new 2006 IS 250 (6 months old) that was rearended this morning and has suffered some minor bumper damage. I'm not sure if there is a whole lot of structural damage to the entire bumper itslef, but there are a few hairline cracks and the area of impact seems to be a tiny bit indented (2 mm) with some small marks from the impacting vehicles license plate cover as well. What I'm wondering is does this situation require that the entire bumper be replaced, or is there some sort of bumper cover that can be replaced, or will they have to do some sort of molding and crack repair. Does the Lexus IS 250 have some concept of a bumper cover, where the fiberglass cover sits on top of a shell of "the bumper" and this can be removed and replaced, so the cost (even though I'm not paying for it) and time for repair will be minimal. Excuse me for my ignorance, but that's the best explanation I can come up with. Though the damage is not much, I'm a little picky about any scratches or damage to my vehicle, and this happened at a traffic light that was red in good weather. I have no idea what the person was thinking. Thanks.

Hi, Do any of you guys know of places that sell car bras for the Lexus IS 250 2006. I've been searching around and my local dealers don't seem to have it (VA). If any of you know of third party providers, please post them. Thanks.

I got 1900 off of MSRP for a 250 AWD with Nav, but a friend who used to sell cars helped me out.

Ok, I just tried burning a new CD, but this time when I wrote the CDs (using Microsoft Explorer) I created data CDs with HighMat checked. Some of the mp3s on the disk were converted to WMA files. This seemed to resolve the issue (for anyone who has future issues), but I'm not sure if it was because I just burned a new CD, or because of the HighMat check and the conversion of some mp3s to WMAs. Thanks for the replies.

I made a CD with my songs… 99% are WMA files…. What I have found is… when you first click on the CD… it shows all the folders…. But once you start playing… you can only switch the folders by the up and down button on the screen… The “Folder” icon is blacked out… just a minor annoyance… I’m still smiling from driving this car….. :) Well, the problem isn't switching of folders. The problem is seeing more than one folder. On the CD I have multiple folders, but the only I see is the first one I wrote to the CD in the NAV. What am I missing, or is my NAV broke?

Hello, I burned a CD with MP3s and put several folders (for various artists) on the CD. However when I play the CD in the NAV system, I can only see the first folder. I try to use the up and down arrows for switching folders, but that doesn't help. Am I missing something? Thanks.

Hello all, N00b here. Just bought my first Japanese car and it happens to be the Lexus IS250 AWD. I used to be an avid VW owner (loved their handling and interior), but wanted something hopefully more reliable (according to Consumer Reports Lexus seems to be pretty good). I never used to like the Japanese interiors compared to the VWs, but the new interior of the IS as well as the outside looks made me a believer. Anyways, just wanted to say hello and if I have any questions I'm sure I'll post them here as well as read any posts that capture my attention.