Suzeroo

OOPS! I made a mistake - it was premium ESSO we used b4 the valve job, not Shell. Suzeroo

All the valves were replaced, not just 2. We were told that this problem has only affected IS250s and not IS350s. U could b right about bad batch of parts. That's why I think we will b trading this car in, a lot sooner than we anticipated. Sure makes u lose confidence in the Lexus brand tho. Our other Lexus, an ES300, never had any problems.

The dealer replaced ALL the valves, not just 2. We had been using premium Shell b4 this problem. Now we r using Sunoco 94 octane. Not sure it should or would make such a big difference.... since premium gas should be clean enough, no matter what brand! The dealer NEVER suggested adding any cleaning solution 2 the gas, but it's certainly worth checking into. Suzeroo

We used premium Esso gas, not sure what octane it is???

We had the same problem - it turned out 2 b the spare tire, don't 4get 2 check that 2. Suzeroo

Needed a valve replacement job - due 2 gummed up valves @ 28 kilometers = 17,500 miles. Dealer said there were 7 other IS in Ontario Canada, that were in the same boat. Our VSC light came on, then the engine light and then the engine would almost die. Had 2 turn it off and then restart it. The dealership didn't know how to fix it and eventually (after a month) sent parts to Toronto, to have the experts look at them. Apparently even tho we put in premium gas, they said it was due 2 dirty gasoline. Since the new valves were installed we've had no more problems - yet!!! We now use only the highest octane of 94, from Sunoco. Did any of u have this problem??? Suzeroo

Brain(?):Don't kid yourself. Here's the scenario. You come into the dealership, under warranty, with a car that traditionally has ZERO problems running hi-test fuel for the 70K miles of the warranty, and you're having trouble. So they take a look at the engine. Compression is around 75 psi, and the only way that would occur is from bad valves or bad rings. The valves are most suspect. So they tell you that they'll take a look, but the only way that this car goes through valves is if you don't use Premium gas. So they ask "have you used Premium Gas?" Now, whatcha gonna say, because they will know for a certainty when they open up that engine. And then they'll give you the bill for the $6 - $7K that they'll charge for a set of valves and rings to bring the engine up to spec. Or else, you'll just drive your poor car home, limping with your tail between your legs. And all because you wouldn't pony up the extra $3.50 per tank. But you'll put in some gas additive every few tankfuls in your car for roughly the same amount of money. Go figger. I sure can't. But like Bart said -- It's yer car, you can do what you want. larry I own an IS250 AWD, 2006 that had a valve replacement already - under full warranty, of course. We have used nothing but premium gas in our car from the start. We live in Canada and the dealer recommends the highest octane available, which is 94 from Sunoco. Apparently our valves were totally gummed up - even with the premium gas!!! We were told that there were 7-8 other IS, that had this problem in Ontario, Canada. We wanted 2 keep this car 4 a while, but now we may trade it in, when the warranty is up. Hard 2 trust it, with that kind of track record :-( Suzeroo