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. 10 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. 10 recorded in total.

80Dependable

Front control arm bushing wear€300–€700checkable
Run-flat tyres and kerbed or cracked wheels€150–€900checkable
Corrosion at the rear subframe and arch seams€300–€2,000checkable

Likely spend vs price −20 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 3 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.

CoolingwatchCoolant expansion tank cracking, €120–€250.

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

TransmissionwatchxDrive transfer case actuator failure, €600–€1,200.

ElectricswatchFootwell module (FRM) failure, €150–€700.+2 more in this system

Suspension & brakeswatchFront control arm bushing wear, €300–€700.+2 more in this system

Body & interiorwatchCorrosion at the rear subframe and arch seams, €300–€2,000.

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.

Front control arm bushing wearE9x chassis€300–€700

Knocking over bad surfaces, vague or wandering steering, uneven front tyre wear, steering shimmy under braking. The front lower arm bushings are a known wear item on this chassis and go well before the ball joints.

Check: Drive over a rough road at low speed with the windows down and listen. Check the inside edges of the front tyres for feathering.

SuspensionuniversalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented80–150k km

Run-flat tyres and kerbed or cracked wheelsE9x chassis€150–€900

Harsh ride, vibration at speed, slow punctures. Stiff-sidewall run-flats transmit impacts straight into the rim, and these alloys crack rather than bend.

Check: Inspect the inner rim edge of every wheel for cracks and hairline splits, not just the face for kerbing. Budget for a set of conventional tyres; most owners switch and the ride improves markedly.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Corrosion at the rear subframe and arch seamsE9x chassis€300–€2,000

Bubbling at the rear arch lip, scaling on subframe mounting points and rear suspension components. Age plus road salt. This generation isn't a notorious rotter, but nothing from 2005–2013 is immune in a salted market.

Check: Put it on a lift and look at the rear subframe mounting points and the arch lips from behind. Largely a non-issue on cars from southern Europe, a real one on northern and Baltic cars.

Body & corrosionoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Footwell module (FRM) failureE9x chassis€150–€700

Headlights, indicators, windows, wipers and central locking stop working at once, usually right after a battery change or a jump start. The module's memory corrupts when supply voltage dips. It is the single most common electrical failure on this generation.

Check: Test every window, both mirrors, the wipers, all exterior lights and the central locking before you drive. If any cluster of these is dead, this is why.

ElectricalcommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Rear shock mount wearE9x chassis€250–€500

Knock from the rear over speed bumps, a hollow thump from the boot area. The rubber mounts perish. On hard-used cars the mount can crack the surrounding turret metal, which is a far bigger job.

Check: Lift the boot floor and look at the top of the shock towers for cracking or a lifted mount. Listen for a knock over bumps.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented100–180k km

xDrive transfer case actuator failureE9x chassis€600–€1,200

Grinding or binding at low-speed full lock, 4x4 warning lights, a shudder when manoeuvring. The actuator motor and the transfer case's internal chain wear, especially on cars run with mismatched tyre sizes.

Check: Full-lock circles in both directions in a car park, slowly, listening for binding. Check all four tyres are the same brand and wear, mismatched tyres destroy these.

DrivetrainoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented120–220k km

iDrive CCC head unit failureE9x chassis€300–€900

Black screen, rebooting, refusal to read the drive, non-functioning navigation. The early CCC unit's hard drive and mainboard fail with age. Later CIC units are more reliable.

Check: Turn it on and use it for a few minutes: navigation, radio, settings. Reboots during that window are the fault showing itself.

ElectricaloccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

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. All 10 issues in full →

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. 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

IS 250 4GR-FSE

Overview

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Pre-purchase inspection

1Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

2On the driveInclude low-speed manoeuvring, not just an open road.

3PaperworkOn these cars the folder is most of the value.