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Lexus GS Maintenance and Repair

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    lordy1lordy1 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 1994 GS300 that consistently displays a 41 & 71 fault codes along with “check engine” & “TRAC OFF” and the “TRAC” light comes on intermittently, I haven’t been able to interrogate the codes when the “TRAC” light is on.

    For code 41 I replaced the Throttle Position Sensor, for code 71 the EGR valve has been cleaned and the EGR gas temp. Sensor replaced. After replacing these parts and clearing the codes they come back within 20 miles of driving. I’m unconfused and out of ideas. Please help.
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    armitron165usarmitron165us Member Posts: 6
    My 2006 GS is at the dealership right now. The techs told me that my piston rings are bad and the car is consuming oil, something I suggested to them about 2 years ago. After reading online about your experience I want to make sure my short block is replaced as well since it is under warranty. My GS has about 70k on it right now. They said if any additional damage is found on the block they will replace it but if no significant damage is found they will just replace the rings. Any advice?
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    dan301dan301 Member Posts: 7
    They will measure the inside of each cylinder to know the amount of wear in 70k miles. If they furnish the results and acceptable wear limits you'll understand how their decision is made. It will be to your advantage having them explain how they reached their decision. I am looking forward to hearing the news.
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    armitron165usarmitron165us Member Posts: 6
    Ok great, thanks for the insight, I meet with the Lexus techs tomorrow to hear their decision. Will let you know what happens.
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    armitron165usarmitron165us Member Posts: 6
    Sorry for the late reply, have been really busy. So Lexus opened the engine and inspected it, I also requested to see the engine myself. Cylinders looked very clean so no short block replacement was necessary. The only parts that were changed out were the piston rings, which they quoted as being "re-engineered". Sounds like a recall should have been issued if you ask me. Multiple other GS 300's were in there with the same issue. I plan on calling Lexus again to complain and ask for a longer power train warranty. This is something they should have addressed before they sold me the vehicle. Ill update this post with any updates.
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    wjohnstone74wjohnstone74 Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2012
    Armitron, what was the outcome? I just noticed mine doing the same thing yesterday, oddly the same day I posted on this website about how flawless this car has been. I called my Lexus dealer and I am to keep an oil consumption diary. They mentioned there was a "whiff" in the air about Lexus coming good on this, whether or not my car would qualify if ever there was a resolution remains unknown.

    I don't know how long I have been consuming oil, I change it every 8000km and have never checked it between changes. Didn't know I had to with a Lexus and every other car I have ever owned - including some notoriously unreliable North American brands - has not burned a drop of oil.

    The car was born with and used 5-30 mineral oil, I switched it to synthetic two years ago. The dealer wants me to return to mineral, as this might have exacerbated my issue. Anyway, as I get more information and time goes by with my diary, I'll repost here, but I wanted to see what was done for you.

    Wayne
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    armitron165usarmitron165us Member Posts: 6
    edited July 2012
    This is a problem all 2006 GS models have. The lexus dealership had to replace my piston rings. Luckily for me I had extended warranty and it was all covered. This is a very expensive fix out of pocket. What ticks me off is that this should have been a recall since the piston rings, according to lexus, were re-engineered. The original rings allow for oil to flow past the piston and then offcourse ignite, which in turn leads to oil consumption and some residue by your tailpipe on the rear bumper. I tried to argue with lexus about this to extend my warranty since they had to disassemble my entire engine, will never be the same as a new engine. After my fix, I noticed more power (normal) but my gas mileage dropped about 4-5 mpg which I am not happy with. I average about 26mpg now, use to be around 30.

    Let me know how your whole thing pans out, but for sure that is your problem as well. I logged my entire fix with pictures, I suggest you do the same. Once they open your engine request to inspect everything before reassembly. Make sure your cylinders are not damaged. I also use fully synthetic oil and will continue to do so.
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    wjohnstone74wjohnstone74 Member Posts: 2
    Good advice, thanks. There are are lot of people over on Club Lexus with the same issue, quite a few of them (most it seems) are getting the repair done at minimal cost ($500 for one person) or for free, well outside the warranty.

    I will pursue Lexus armed with this information and hopefully they are just as nice to me. Funny, I was thinking of updating to the new GS, it is a work of art. I guess I'll wait and see how I'm treated. I was also thinking of the Chevy Volt - FWIW, I test drove one yesterday.

    Anyway, I find it very hard to justify the cost of the repair, this is an obviously poorly engineered component of the engine. I might just fix it with a jug of oil kept in the trunk.
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    roykulproykulp Member Posts: 52
    How many miles did you have on engine when this problem occured; is there a lexus bulletin for this potentail piston ring failure?
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    armitron165usarmitron165us Member Posts: 6
    I had about 70k miles on the vehicle. There is not a bulletin for this issue, not one that I am aware of at least. From my understanding its an issue that has plagued many GS300's and in my opinion should be a recall but Lexus is staying hush hush about it. I was fortunate to still have warranty cover the repair but others are saying they negotiated the repair and got it done for a couple hundred bucks. If you see your tailpipe charred or darkening, then your rings are probably the cause. After my GS was fixed, I noticed a a increase in power and a drastic decrease in gas mileage. Use to average about 29mpg, now its like 23-24mpg.

    Let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck!
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    dan301dan301 Member Posts: 7
    My oil consumption remains at one quart in 5K miles. Last week I received from Lexus a CSP Customer Support Program notice. It has todo with engine misfire (Intermittently Runs Rough). The warranty has been extended to 2015 (9 years with no mileage limitations) for rings and may include the pistons. The program is limited to specific vehicles.
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    dave394dave394 Member Posts: 3
    My wife's car had the problem fixed at about 94k as I recall. Now at 105k with no issues so far but didn't have any when the original engine had 10k on it.
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    caligirl1966caligirl1966 Member Posts: 3
    Had the same problem, my GS 300 engine was eating oil, received a recall notice in the mail and took the car in two days later. They replaced the pistons and what ever else was necessary. The engine never actually leaked anything before the repair. Now it is leaking what appears to be transmission fluid and I am totally frustrated! Anyone have any ideas?
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    caligirl1966caligirl1966 Member Posts: 3
    Hopefully you received the recal notice. It's the pistons and they have issued a recall.
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    caligirl1966caligirl1966 Member Posts: 3
    The repairs were covered under warranty, but after the repairs it is leaking transmission fluid and the engine is making a strange noise! Back to the dealer I go! I bought the car this summer and LOVE it, but I am frustrated! The transmission seems to be slipping under certain conditions (higher speed and higher load situations, ie up hill).
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    dan301dan301 Member Posts: 7
    Return to the dealer. I would expect that the problem will be solved at no cost to you. Let us know the outcome.
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    cfriskcfrisk Member Posts: 4
    Wow my trans was slipping The car would not go over 40 mph,they replace it in march of this year.They said it was no Fluid in it,if u look at the manual in the back pages it saids that the transmission is lock,mean there is no stick to check levels.DROP IT OFF ASAP
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    aett258aett258 Member Posts: 2
    Trans slipping has nothing to do with 2006 lexus GS300 oil consumption. Anyway, I reside in Canada and brought my 2006 Lexus GS300 to the dealership to complain about burning oil. They put me on an oil consumption test. I brought her in 1K miles later and they put me on another oil consumption test for another 1K miles. I did not mention the CSP that were sent to US owners. I will wait and see what they say when I bring in my car after another 1K miles. I will keep you posted.
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    aett258aett258 Member Posts: 2
    Have any Canadian owners have this issue resolved in Canada?
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    armitron165usarmitron165us Member Posts: 6
    Pistons? Or piston rings???? I thought the piston rings were the driver for this recall. Confirm and let us know as my rings were the only item replaced.

    Thanks! :)
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    ingoodtimeingoodtime Member Posts: 2
    Took my car into the dealer. It has exhibited many of the problems associated with the misfires caused by ring issue for a few years. I never knew what was causing these problems. I have to say, Lexus is a great company. How many companies stand behind their product when it is 6 years old? Lexus is taking care of the problem.

    I had a brand new Infinity I35 and it had font end vibration problems that I noticed on my ride home the night I bought it. They made it better and almost imperceivable after having an engineer look at the car and suggest some adjustments to the steering rack but it came back..... could never get rid of it and Infinity corporate said, if your not happy, lemon law the vehicle. Imagine how nice it would have ben to have them admit there was a problem and step up to do the right thing? Since then, between my wife and I, we have had 4-5 cars. No one has given us the type
    of customer service we get from Lexus and oh..btw, there will never be a Nissan product in my garage again. I know they make a great product and have made many owners believe in thier autos....every manufacturer can have issues. But the best step up and take ownership of their problems! Thank you Lexus.
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    ingoodtimeingoodtime Member Posts: 2
    Picked up the car. Only drove about 10 miles in stop and go traffic. Idle was nice and even and the car seems to have more power. Hopefully she I'll run nicely for another 100,000 miles.
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    peterpan99peterpan99 Member Posts: 65
    edited April 2013
    2001 GS300 with 75K miles failed smog test with check engine light on. Engine scanner finds code P0171, system too lean.

    Researched the net and tried a few diagnoses:

    1. The Mass Airflow Sensor was suspect but was electrically measured fine. There was a leak at the intake air filter, causing a collection of dust on the MAF sensor filament. Cleaned that out with electric contact cleaner. Did not solve the problem. Still code P0171.

    2. Checked air leaks on intake vacuum lines by blowing cigarette smoke into the air intake and ran engine. No leaks found

    3. Checked all oxygen sensors. All were fine.

    4. Check gas tank, gas cap leaks, fuel lines... all looked OK.

    Could not find the cause of P0171, system too lean. Lexus dealer suggested contaminated fuel system causing lean mixture. They proposed replacing fuel pump, fuel filter, 6 fuel injectors, flushing and cleaning fuel system, total about $3700. I rejected their stupid and greedy proposal.

    The engine is running with hesitation during acceleration, so MAF sensor may have been damaged by dust corroding the sensor filament. I swapped the $220 MAF sensor from another car. P0171 code was cleared. Car passed smog test.

    The MAF sensor looked and measured OK but the dust may have corroded and altered the heating and current profile on the heating and sensing filament, causing erroneous data being sent to the ECU.

    P0171 problem solved cheap WITHOUT THE EXPENSIVE HELP by LEXUS DEALER.

    The cheap knocked off MAF copies sold in eBay for $30-40 seem to work OK.
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    semilegalsemilegal Member Posts: 1
    I've been battling Lexus over the Oil Consumption issue for months now. My car sucks down .5 qt./1000 miles (1 qt./1,700 mi.) and it misfires too. The Lexus manual allows for this kind of consumption ... a manual written by Lexus. I did receive a "warranty extension" letter from Lexus, but they're battling me at every step of the way. They absolutely know there's a problem with the '06 GS300 because they also sent out a "notice" letter prior to the warranty extension letter (I didn't receive the former), which lists the codes your car will evidence if it's having the problem ... codes, incidentally, which my car produces. NOW, my dealer is trying to tell me that since I didn't put NGK factory plugs in the car, my "aftermarket" plugs probably caused my misfiring. OK, then what about the gross oil consumption and all the other GS300's with major issues - caused by aftermarket batterys perhaps? I practice law and I'm seriously considering a class-action effort if this continues. I've driven Honda and Toyota products starting at age 8 with motorcycles, various Accords, an S2000 and a few Land Cruisers and NOT ONE of those Japanese engines has EVER leaked or consumed a drop of oil. Don't tell me this is "normal" ... maybe if it were a 1980 GMC pick-up.
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    dave394dave394 Member Posts: 3
    Had high oil consumption in 06 GS300 we bought new. Started 87k mile range. Ended up getting short block for bad oil rings. Cured problem. Cost was high but dealer and Lexus both kicked in to get it below half of retail. I complained some more to Lexus and was told they could do no more. Car runs great now with 22k more on it since short block. Definitely shook my faith in Lexus. Good luck.
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    Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Dave, what was your oil consumption level?

    I think "normal" has to be viewed in relation to the age and mileage of the car.
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    lextech2lextech2 Member Posts: 1
    edited April 2013
    The bulletin is mostly for misfires. We have seen quite a few GS with oil consumption. Usually we cannot do much for it since Lexus uses a rule of 1qrt per every 1200 miles. If we can get the car to misfire as stated within the technical bulletin then the car will receive new pistons and rings (depending on the year).
    It seems most of the misfire is from excessive build-up of carbon on the intake valves and piston rings.
    Years before this bulletin we just did a top engine clean with a caustic solvent and cleaned off intake valves by removing the upper intake manifold and cleaning the valve tops.
    At that time the root of the problem wasn't known.
    Lexus stepped up and made a new bulletin to replace internal engine components.
    Some engines may still have issues afterwards as we are seeing now.
    Many if them run fine but still consume more oil than they should.
    Some engines will be replaced due to the consumption because we believe that the cylinders have become uneven in wear or the cylinder walls are too smooth without enough cross hatches.
    We are told not to hone cylinders because the pistons use a fitted type piston matched to each cylinder bore. Pistons are labeled type a,b,c.
    I hope the next step Lexus takes fixes the problem for good. There are many upset customers over this situation.
    I wish everyone good luck with the repair of their car.
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    rhl2006gs300rhl2006gs300 Member Posts: 1
    Were you able to get the problem resolved? I am SOOOO furious with Lexus right now I can barely see straight. My engine oil light started coming on in between oil changes on my 2006 GS300. The dealership told me to bring it back for a test and that if there was an oil consumption problem it would be repaired at no cost to me. Well, I took it back and there was an oil consumption problem except this time I was told the repair would cost me $6500. Since then I have called corporate and they offered to pay for parts of $1,120 leaving me with a bill of $3600 on what was now apparently a $4,820 repair. I asked if I could discuss the matter with someone else and "Elias" curtly told me that he was the decision maker, that he only made the decision out of good will as my car is well out of warranty and that I need to take it up with the person who told me that the repair would be covered (who I am told is no longer with the dealership). I told him that my view of good will is covering an otherwise uncovered issue on a warranty but was not refusing a repair that was from an obvious defect in the manufacturing of the vehicle to begin with. He again told me Lexus had no obligation to repair the car and the decision was final. I traded my unreliable Jaguar for a Lexus that has turned out to be even more unreliable. If you do pursue a class action, please count me as a member of the class! UGGHHHH! Iguess it's off to Mercedes-Benz or Audi as I'm not paying $3600 for this repair.
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    cfriskcfrisk Member Posts: 4
    Yeah but my RPMS was going high the car would not go pass 40mph i took it in & they said there was no transmission fluid in the car & told me tht i need a new transmission & they r not covering it & i payed for a extended warranty,I call my lawyer & told him,he researched it & told me its their problem because the transmission is lock meaning they can only service it,i can't check,change the fluid,it was in the car manual,i went back & show them the fixed for free the bill was like $8,000 because they also did recalls as well smh, if u need a lawyer let me know i have one free of charge,he takes his money when the check comes & this is the second time i use him for Lexus he got me $10,000 because my right headlight kept going out,lexus could not fix it correct we called the lemon law they came out & got shot done i got $7,200 out of the $10,000,,Good luck
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    pj_flygarepj_flygare Member Posts: 3
    Okay, so my previous car was a 2008 Toyota Avalon Touring with almost 120k on the meter.
    That car was amazing in many ways, I loved it and so did my wife when she had chance to drive to drive it.
    One week ago, she was shopping for a new used car, which she finally found and bought.
    I was just intended to take another car for a test drive while she went grocery shopping.
    When she got back I was doing my paper work on the 2006 Lexus GS300 AWD.
    Traded in the 2008 Avalon with 115k miles towards 2006 GS300 with 63k miles. This GS only with one previous local owner. Pristine in shape and has all bells and whistles.
    It even has regulated heat/cooling in the back seats!
    Sound system came with 14 speaker original badge.
    image
    Price tag: 22000 from dealer with two years warranty.
    First long trip a 250 miles round trip used just a little more than half the tank!
    I am impressed by the mileage. I am averaging 27mpg city/highway driving.
    No leakages, and so silent.
    My only complaint: Why isn't there any Aux in for other units? :(

    Any ideas regarding sound and other units attached?

    Grateful for any inputs.

    Happy GS300AWD owner
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    dan301dan301 Member Posts: 7
    I would like to know what was the amount of oil consumption before Lexus agreed to cover a portion of the rebuild. Thanks.
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    peterpan99peterpan99 Member Posts: 65
    You should email or call up Lexus customer service.

    I read in this forum someone GS leaks 1 quart oil every 1,000 miles and Lexus stull claims that's normal engine operation.
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    dan301dan301 Member Posts: 7
    Has anyone had the GS 300 piston & rings rebuilt at the Lexus dealer? What was your cost and Lexus' shared amount?
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