Car Model Guide/ Lexus/ IS/ XE20/ IS 250

IS 250 4GR-FSE

A chain-driven V6 with both direct and port injection, which is why it stays cleaner than the German direct-injection engines. It's smooth, revs well and has no failure mode that ends the car, so a decarbonise every so often is about the extent of it.

Overview

The IS 250 is the 4GR-FSE petrol version of the Lexus IS sedan (XE20), sold 2005–2013 with 208 PS and manual or automatic. Low risk at level 1. A chain-driven V6 with both direct and port injection and no recorded failure that ends the car. Carbon on the valves is the only real habit. 1 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

Lexus IS sedan (XE20) · photo LEXUS IS 250 (XE20) China (5) by Dinkun Chen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Power208 PS

Torque252 Nm

Years2005–2013

Fuelpetrol

DriveRWD

Engines4GR-FSE

Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 1 recorded in total.

99Dependable

Carbon on the intake valves€350–€600partly checkable

no deductions · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 8 with no recurring fault reported

Engine✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Fuel system✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Intake & airwatchCarbon on the intake valves, €350–€600.

Cooling✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Emissions✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Transmission✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Electrics✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Suspension & brakes✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Body & interior✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

The same badge either side of the changeover. Bands are split at the facelift year from the generation record.

Phase	Years	Low	Average	High	Good buy	What differs
pre Pre-facelift	2005–2009	€4,500	€7,000	€11,500	€5,750	The specification the car launched with.
LCI Facelift (LCI)	2010–2013	€4,900	€7,650	€12,550	€6,300	Revised bumpers, lights and interior trim; IS 200d joined below the IS 220d; Suspension and refinement changes

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

Carbon on the intake valves4GR-FSE 2.5 V6€350–€600

A slightly rough idle, a cold misfire, and a gradual loss of response over a long period. Direct injection means no fuel washes the back of the intake valves, so oil vapour deposits build up. The additional port injectors keep this far milder than on the German direct-injection engines, and it takes high mileage to matter.

Check: Borescope the intake valves, or simply ask whether the car has ever been decarbonised at high mileage.

Turbo & intakeoccasionalPartly detectableevidence: documented150–250k km

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once.

Pre-purchase inspection

The same issue records, reordered into the sequence you can actually check them in: cold start, static, drive, paperwork.

1 checks · saved in this browser ·

1Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

Carbon on the intake valvesBorescope the intake valves, or simply ask whether the car has ever been decarbonised at high mileage.

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

Distance suits it. And these were bought by careful owners and serviced at dealers, so a full history is common and worth insisting on.

Service item	Interval	Cost
Engine oil Basic maintenance on a durable engine	10,000–15,000 km	€90–140
Walnut-blast intake Direct injection still leaves some deposits	as needed at high mileage	€350–600
Rear arch inspection These corrode at the rear arches in salted climates	on a ramp	varies

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

median €7.3k

€4.5k€5.8k€12.6k

Cheapfind the reasonGood buyif it checks outFairnormal moneyOverpricedneeds justifying

Asking price (€)Mileage (km)

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD · 2026-07

🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€5,750band €4,500–€12,550

🇺🇸 United StatesNot soldIS 250 4GR-FSE was never a US-market car

What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

ModelLexus IS IS 250
ChassisXE20
Engine4GR-FSE
Years2005–2013
MarketCentral EU
Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07

Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the xe20 median, all 2 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. The good-buy figure assumes the known failure items are either done with receipts or verifiably not yet due. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record

The IS 250 is the quiet answer to an E90 or a C-Class and it's aged remarkably well. The 4GR-FSE V6 uses direct and port injection together, which keeps the intake valves cleaner than the German direct-injection engines manage, and the chain and bottom end simply last. It isn't as fast as the badge suggests and it drinks more than a diesel rival, so it suits someone covering moderate distances who wants nothing to go wrong. So budget for tyres and fuel, not for repairs.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine code	4GR-FSE 2.5 V6
Configuration	V6, naturally aspirated · 2499 cc
Fuel / injection	petrol · direct + port
Model years	2005–2013
Facelift phase	Sold either side of the 2010 facelift, 2005–2009 pre, 2010–2013 LCI
Power / torque	208 PS · 252 Nm
Transmissions	6-speed manual · 6-speed automatic (Aisin)
Gearbox families	Aisin six-speed automatic
Drivetrain	RWD
Economy (real-world)	9–11 l/100 km mixed
Markets	EU