Hey guys! Super excited to join the Lexus community. I wasn't expecting to acquire a Lexus so soon but an unfortunate incident forced me to say goodbye to my 2005 Sentra sooner than expected (I'm fine, nobody was hurt).

So, I am now the proud owner of a 2008 IS250 AWD. Bought it at 110k km straight off Lexus (basically, the first owner returned it right when the mileage warranty expired).

Good news first, the car's had a full mechanic overhaul at Lexus since it was still under warranty when brought it, so they changed the pistons, cleaned up the carbon in the intakes and some other things that were on the common issues list. The car drives like a champ and it just feels like a bought a brand new car, very satisfied so far!

Now the bad, I was urged to look into the carbon buildup issues and act quickly, I've read that despite with the newer pistons, the issue can come back eventually. The solution that was proposed to me makes me slightly uncomfortable, i'm sure you can guess what it is. I've also been pressed to do a transmission cleanup as soon as possible. Since doing both at the same would come cheaper and there might be more things to lookout for, I would REALLY appreciate your inputs or personal experiences on the matter.

Note: I'm in Canada, so there's probably some different regulations regarding catalytic converters vs the US. I'm still open to all solutions though...

Note 2: Free kitten pic to reward you for reading the whole post. It's a stray squatting at my garagist's place, should I take him in?

Thank you so much and once again, very excited to be on this sub :)