Bad head gasket or bad head due to violent shudder

99574 Views 119 Replies 50 Participants Last post by Sheed, 10 mo ago

douglasvarney

Discussion Starter · May 16, 2017

Car is a 2013 CT200, one month ago had the EGR and manifold replaced due to shudder and shaking on start up. $1,100 and one month later the shudder is back.....VIOLENT shudder. Tech found codes for misfires. Diagnosis is either a bad head gasket or bad head that is allowing coolant into firing chamber.....when plugs fire it is put out by coolant in head, causing misfire and the VIOLENT shudder. Anyone ever hear of this? Seems to me if the shudder was there a month ago, that may have caused the head gasket to break or the head to crack. Estimate to repair is $4,500. WHASSUP?

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stormchaser

· #2 · May 18, 2017

Don't believe that at all.
Very common occurrence on CT,Prius and Auris (UK).
None have been due to head gasket failure. This engine doesn't suffer from head gasket problems and I've never read of any either.
Questions:
Does the engine suffer from coolant loss?
Are you having to keep topping it up?
Is there any oil in the water and water in the oil?
Which cylinders are misfiring ?
Mine had this problem last winter. I cleaned out the EGR valve and pipe and used a fuel injector cleaner. The car hasn't suffered with it since. It was also a really scary bad shuddering too.
Sorry for the questions but I would investigate it more as you don't want to be paying for things that aren't required.
Good luck.

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Manuel

· #3 · May 22, 2017

Not to hijack this thread but I have the same symptoms with my 2012 CT200h but without the replacement EGR and manifold. I recognise the shudder and shaking on start up and sometimes it stutters while accelerating. My local Lexus dealer states that it's caused by a bad head gasket probably due to stressing the engine while being cold.

I would like to compare notes if you don't mind.
Does the engine suffer from coolant loss? Yes.
Are you having to keep topping it up? Yes.
Is there any oil in the water and water in the oil? No.
Which cylinders are misfiring ? Unknown.

The quote I got from Lexus stated at a rate of € 130 / $147 per hour:
6 hours to open the engine / diagnose.
6 hours to replace the head gasket

Total: € 1500 / ~ $1700

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stormchaser

· #4 · May 23, 2017

Still in disbelief about this.
Engine stress whilst cold. That's utter rubbish. I'm yet to see one of these engines with a head gasket problem.
Unfortunately in the U.K. There was never a recall for the EGR valve or manifold.

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dougvarney

· #5 · May 23, 2017

Here is the answer; The head gasket was bad, water got into combustion chamber and caused VIOLENT misfire. Lexus changed the head gasket. Problem solved. Lexus did provide a $1500 one time good will cost sharing (my 3rd Lexus) and I paid $861.01. Regardless how senior member others are on this forum, they don't know everything. BELIEVE IT!

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Manuel

· #6 · May 24, 2017

Wow dougvarney, what an attitude...

I have to wait till next week for an update on the matter.

stormchaser

· #7 · May 24, 2017

I work for Lexus in the UK and we haven't yet had any CT failures of any kind.

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Jeffh

· #8 · May 25, 2017

I had my head gasket fail at about 130k miles. Had lexus replace head gasket, 10k miles later it threw a rod through the side of the engine. I had also never heard of any problems with these engine prior to my issues.

stormchaser

· #9 · May 26, 2017

Wow this is news to me and quite shocking to read. Maybe this is a US problem?

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Manuel

· #10 · May 27, 2017

Not really, posting from the Netherlands. The dealer told me that it was a rare occurrence...

Raidin

· #11 · May 27, 2017

FYI: I've had this happen on my 2014 CT and my 2012 Prius C. I've heard of the EGR TSB, but not the head gasket thing. It's so rare in my CT that I've only had it happen 2 times in 300k+ miles. Both are US cars.

Manuel

· #12 · Jun 2, 2017

I also have an update with some really bad news. My mechanic found out that the lower part of the engine overheated so I have to search for a replacement engine... When the red error popped up of 'coolant low' / 'coolant overheated' I stopped the car immediately but it didn't matter.

Not really fortunate with this vehicle so far. Costs $ 4500 for the replacement engine including montage.

abe84

· #13 · Oct 20, 2017

wwwooooowwww.
i have a 2013 lexus ct200h with approximately 131000 miles on it.
i too have been experiencing this issue. Im in riverside ca btw so the weather is not cold out here.
the issue has actually been getting worse because its happening more often( 3 to 4 times a day) on cold and hot starts.
i just changed the oil and cleaned the intake sensor( i believe its the maf sensor). i just put a half of a bottle of fuel system cleaner(dont remember the brand right now) and hopefully that will help some.
if that does not work Im going to do the injectors and egr cleaning.
Would anyone suggest doing the seafoam cleaning?
i will also try to post a video on youtube and send the link in hopes of helping others out in case it works or remedies the issue.
this just sucks that their are a lot of "lexus" owners going through this situation and the dealers dont make it any easier.
i just spent two days trying to deal with them and did not get anywhere so now i have to go hands on with it. definitely leaving a bad taste for Lexus and i have owned several in the past. anyway if anyone has any suggestions please let me know or types on making it an easy cleaning process. thanks.

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Takaiguchi

· #14 · Oct 25, 2017

abe84 said:
wwwooooowwww.
i have a 2013 lexus ct200h with approximately 131000 miles on it.
i too have been experiencing this issue. Im in riverside ca btw so the weather is not cold out here.
the issue has actually been getting worse because its happening more often( 3 to 4 times a day) on cold and hot starts.
i just changed the oil and cleaned the intake sensor( i believe its the maf sensor). i just put a half of a bottle of fuel system cleaner(dont remember the brand right now) and hopefully that will help some.
if that does not work Im going to do the injectors and egr cleaning.
Would anyone suggest doing the seafoam cleaning?
i will also try to post a video on youtube and send the link in hopes of helping others out in case it works or remedies the issue.
this just sucks that their are a lot of "lexus" owners going through this situation and the dealers dont make it any easier.
i just spent two days trying to deal with them and did not get anywhere so now i have to go hands on with it. definitely leaving a bad taste for Lexus and i have owned several in the past. anyway if anyone has any suggestions please let me know or types on making it an easy cleaning process. thanks.

Are you losing coolant?

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jayazusa

· #15 · Oct 30, 2017

Did you have the head Gasket Replaced? I am in the same spot, I have the shuddering when starting maybe 1-2 times per week, took it in a few weeks ago and have plugs and intake manifold replaced, problem reoccurred within a week. They are now saying head gasket and will give me credit for the Intake manafold repair so I am on the fence. I have a 2012 CT200h with 133,000+ miles car looks great but what is the breaking point on repairs? Input will be appriciated

Manuel

· #16 · Nov 3, 2017

My car was burning coolant and a lot of it...

abe84

· #17 · Nov 21, 2017

Ok update.
Did a egr , I'm, injector clean and changed my spark plugs.
And I am losing coolant unfortunately. Just added some today. Very frustrating.
Also looks like I'm getting some coolant in my oil.
Engine light came on and it had p0301 code which is cylinder #1 misfire.
Just like a lot of ppl on here the car was not driven hard. I always did oil changes at approximately 6000 miles.
That's where I'm at now. Kind of stuck.

I did order a bore camera I should get it by Friday and I want to see for myself where the coolant leak is.

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jodycochran

· #18 · Nov 21, 2017

Jayaza, Is the head gasket really damaged? I just went through the same repair steps. They replaced my intake manifold and did a fuel system flush and coolant flush and new spark plugs, however it is still knocking. Now they are telling me the computer is telling them fluid in the cylinder. Stormchaser said it could be an EGR issue, abe84 let us know if you can confirm it is coolant in your oil or where the leak is.

abe84

· #19 · Nov 22, 2017

Took the new spark plugs out to inspect and they were dirty. So here is a video that I recorded with my phone. The bore camera is not in yet. And this is cylinder one. "Closest to passenger side" if anyone knows why it looks that way please reply. Also here at the spark plug pictures that I have only had for about 1 week. And that's after I kind of wiped them off.

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abe84

· #20 · Nov 22, 2017

https://youtu.be/mZff3tzQqNE

Here's the link.

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