They are a second or third owner issue now, which should hurt resale but doesn't because of people like you that leghump all things Toyota. Fact is, the problem was bad with first owners too, with many of them experiencing failures before their warranty periods were even up.

If we were talking about GM, Ford or Chrysler here, your tone would be completely different here. But of course we're not, we're talking about Toyota so it's "what's the big deal?". Let's face it, you are either a hypocrite or an idiot.

Secondly, it's not so much that Toyota had the problems, it's how they handled it. POORLY! Blaming the vehicle owners and refusing to cover cars that were still under warranty when it was clearly their fault due to an improperly specified oil change interval and a poor design. They only finally relented when they realized the magnitude of the problem and how big of a reputation hit they were going to take if they continued to blame their customer for the companies mistake. As for your other comment, I hardly consider something that happened from 1997-2002 ancient history.

And for your information, there have been several manufacturers that have had sludge issues. Saab is another company that screwed themselves with a poor PCV design. However, they handled the problem much better than Toyota and took care of everybody that was affected.

 

You really have to wonder what "sludge" in the base oil of some '97 Camrys, (or blown head gaskets in 15 year old pickups) has to do with a 2006 Lexus that's setting a new standard for power in the near luxury segment.

This thread is about the new 300hp+ (315 horsepower?) Lexus IS350.

 

It was more than the 1997 Camry affected, it was all Toyota vehicles including Lexus between 1997 and 2002 that had either of those two engines in them. Nice way to try and minimize the problem, though. You seem to take every opportunity you can to bash anything Big 3 and especially GM. I just thought I'd return the favor! I see you don't have anything thoughtful to say about the issue so I guess I'll get back on topic.

I can see why you'd be proud that Lexus is finally a class leader in power, however temporary. They've been so far behind everybody else on power for so long! Now if only they could give something some style. That's one area where they are consistently worse than everybody else.

 

Ahh, you mean the one that's supposed to topple the BMW and Mercedes industries right?

Funny how if a new GM car gets introduced, you bring up "ancient history" about how crude X component is in Y car. Yet when we say something about a Toyota, or an expensive Toyota(Lexus if ya didn't know) it's not a big deal.

The point of your thread about this new rumored 300+hp Lexus IS350 is that Toyota is your love child. Be sure to trade in your Camaro(If you really have one of course, and not a Toyota Tercel) on this new High Power Lexus for us. You can run synthetic and 93 Octane gas, because the soccer mom driving the Lexus SUV knows all about Octane ratings and Full Synthetic.

Your rumored High Power Lexus will not be a competitor to BMW or Mercedes Benz period. It will remain an expensive Toyota. You lose

 

You just don't get it. The 300hp+ Lexus IS350 isn't rumored, it's a reality.

 

Where's the press release?

 

It wasn't "all Toyota vehicles including Lexus between 1997 and 2002," for starters. Unlike BMW's little known cylinder bore erosion problem in early V8s from over a decade ago, the Toyota issue isn't all that serious, or startling, or even relevent to any current Toyota. I mean, seriously, Toyota no longer makes the 2.2 liter anymore and the 3.0 liter was superceded in product planning a couple of years ago by the 3.3 liter, and now the 3.5 liter looks set to replace the 3.3 liter.

...And now Lexus is leap-frogging the whole industry.

 

The IS250 will have a 204hp V6.

I'm guessing the 3.5L engine will be rated higher than the Avalons 280hp rating but lower than the 2006 Lexus GS430's 300HP rated V8.

 

Do you need reading lessons? I believe I said all Toyota or Lexus vehicles with either of those 2 engines (2.2L 4 cyl or 3.0L 6 cylinder), not ALL Toyota or Lexus vehicles. I'll say it again, you are a hypocrite. If it was GM and not Toyota you'd be jumping all over it. You're not fooling anybody here. We all know what your agenda is.

With one whole car for a presumably short period of time. Real big achievement their champ!


EDIT: For clarifications sake I'll state the problem was with the 3.0-liter IMZ V-6 and 5SFE 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engines. Does that make you happy? That narrows the possible problems down to only 3.3 million vehicles.

Camry, Camry Solara, Sienna, Avalon, Celica, Highlander, Lexus ES 300, and Lexus RX 300 all were affected.

 

Just becaue they now have more HP than BMW 3 series in there teir two 6 cyl? Infiniti and Cadillac have already done that. BMW, Cadillac, and Infiniti will still have more base HP than Lexus. There is more to Luxury cars than HP

The out going 3 series also had that 333HP I6, which is going to be replaced by a 380HP+ V8. The 300hp+ engines are nothing new to BMW and the 3 series

 

So I've been reading on your precious IS on some other boards. It's speculated that we're looking at IS250 215 HP, IS300 245 HP, IS350 315 HP. Let's keep in mind here that this high dollar lexus pretty much looks like the sedan version of my $18k econobox. The higher engine model is probably going to come in around $40k, which is creeping way too near M3 territory to draw in the performance buyer. The car doesn't look like it'll inspire people like the 3 series, and will continue to lag wayyyy behind it.

Congrats, Toyota made an engine with more than 300hp and put it into a car. The car is a subpar overall package and won't sell well, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it undersold the last car, since this one looks even bigger and blander than before.

Regardless, you're a sad sad fanboy, and this car obviously doesn't cut it. The other board I go to, no one said a single positive thing about the car.

Edit: I take that back. Some people said it has a really nice interior, but looks like an unoriginal copy of various car models. Anyone notice the car looks HUGE now? The old IS looked thin and sporty, this thing is proportioned like a Camry.

 

The press release for the IS350 will have to wait until the U.S. launch.

The silver car shown in Geneva was the diesel-engined IS220d. Europe is definitely getting the 2.2 liter diesel (that was a "no-brainer") and a 2.5 liter IS250 to replace the last generation IS200.

 

So if there is no press release then aren't you talking about a rumored engine?

 

High Power BMWs are out, High Power Mercedes Benz are out. The Lexus IS350 isn't. Next?

 

Because you just said that synthetic oil made less frequent oil changes a reality! Again, if I were concerned about sludge, I'd be swapping synthetic every 3000 miles! Thats why I do, and so do you (in this supposed camaro). I had a friend with the 2.2 camry - and he was switching oil every 3000 miles, and still is. No problems yet (knock on wood). Why is that an issue? You dont seem to think so, but a LOT of those vehicles are still on the road. Just like the 4.3L trucks running all over the place.

For inline engines, I'm not going to go into the harmonics issues or anything else. And I also wasnt just talking GM's Inline engines (notice I didnt say that). There are advantages, plain and simple. BMW is FINALLY looking to start moving upward from it's inline 6 engines, but after keeping the 3 series in charge for 20 years, maybe moving up a little bit to a v8 would work. Also it allows them to shorten the engine bay (though widen it) which will mean they can package some things differently.

Lexus has some good cars. They are toyotas. I enjoy toyotas a lot. But they dont have the prestige. Prestige has nothing to do with reliability, or comfort, how much power is under the hood, or anything like that. Prestige is only something that exists in the human mind, an image created by society.

Notice head turns at a lexus. Then notice the head turns at a Mercedes or a BMW. The difference is very much a reality. It doesnt matter how reliable toyota is, or if they are better cars for cheaper. People will still buy Mercedes - just like people still buy the "high value v6". It may not make sense, but people do it anyway. People also talk on the cell phone while driving. And people also sue McDonalds to the point where "Super Size" isnt even on the menu anymore...

People still buy the CTS-V, even with it's 13 year old transmission. Just because it's that old you seem to say there is a problem. You know when you fly in an airplane, do you know how old those things are?

You know how old the telephone is? We should all be using cell phones!

You know how old a keyboard is? We should be typing with our minds!

Televisions! Everyone should use LCD's! How DARE Toshiba still produce a standard color television! Toshiba is crap!

Yeah right.

Most of the other forums said March 1st. You said March 3rd, and I waited. It's now March 3rd, and I'm looking for this press release you said was coming...

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