Lexus, the luxury brand for Toyota, has been making cars since 1989. They have produced numerous models of vehicles over the years, and each varies in its maintenance needs. Regardless of which Lexus you do own though, most of them have the essential parts.

Ignition coils are essential. Without them, your spark plugs can’t spark. No spark, no internal combustion. No internal combustion, no power. Since the ignition coils and the spark plugs all work together, oftentimes when there is a spark problem people assume it is the plug. However, it can be costly to overlook the ignition coil as well.

There are many different models of Lexus spanning many years, but even if they do need different coils from each other, the cost is generally similar.

On average, a professional will charge somewhere in the range of $350 to $450 to replace the ignition coils in your Lexus, including labor.

On the low end of cost, you can take a DIY approach and only pay for parts. On average you may pay between $20 and $90 for one coil, $150 and $170 for 6, and $170 to $200 for 8.

Genuine parts will cost you closer to $400 to $600. The number of coils you need depends on how many cylinders your car has.

What is an ignition coil?

Spark plugs get all the hype but without the ignition coil, a spark plug is useless. The ignition coil takes the 12 or so volts provided by the vehicle’s battery, converts it to over 20,000 volts, and then sends that energy to the spark plugs so they can spark.

How many ignition coils does my Lexus have?

You can determine how many ignition coils you have by how many cylinders your vehicle has. Each cylinder needs a spark plug and every spark plug needs an ignition coil. A six-cylinder engine would therefore have 6 ignition coils.

How does an ignition coil get damaged?

There are multiple reasons that the ignition coils in your Lexus can get damaged. Under ideal conditions, your coils may last for over 100,000 miles, but the world is never ideal.

Particularly when you are hanging out in an internal combustion engine bay. Below are some of the many factors that can cause your ignition coils to become damaged before their estimated lifespan.

Environmental

Your car must deal with weather and moisture from the outside environment. More importantly, the engine bay is an extremely hostile environment.

Ignition coils can be alternatively extremely hot or cold. They can encounter corrosives. There can be pressure issues. Basically, your ignition coil lives in the dangerous part of town.

Mechanical

Ignition coils can be damaged when they are connected to other parts that have become damaged. If your spark plugs have faulty gaps, or if there is a frayed wire somewhere, your Lexus ignition coil can overload and need to be replaced.

Can an ignition coil be repaired?

Unfortunately, if an ignition coil in your Lexus becomes damaged, it can not be repaired and must be replaced.

Signs of a damaged ignition coil

There are numerous symptoms of a bad ignition coil you should be aware of. Some of these symptoms also relate to other issues, but the more of them you see at once, the more likely it is an ignition coil problem.

Engine light

It should be obvious, but you should inspect your engine if the check engine light comes on. Part of that inspection should include your ignition coils.

If you have a diagnostic device, you can use it to determine the issue without a visual inspection, but most of us will have to use our eyes.

Backfire

Your Lexus may produce a loud sound as you are driving known as a backfire. This occurs when one of your cylinders is not firing. Fuel builds up and is released through the exhaust pipe causing the backfire.

You will see black smoke and smell gasoline if this occurs. There are multiple reasons for a backfire, but you should check your ignition coils in your inspection.

Fuel inefficiency

If you notice a drop in your fuel economy, you may have an ignition coil problem in your Lexus. Fuel is wasted when you it doesn’t combust, and if a chamber isn’t firing you are getting less power.

Both things contribute to poor fuel efficiency.

Misfire

If you try to start your Lexus and you get a sputtering or coughing noise instead, your engine is misfiring, and your ignition coils may be faulty.

Stall

Sometimes when you have a bad ignition coil your Lexus will just stall out while you are driving. A faulty ignition coil can cause a spark plug to spark erratically, and this can cause your vehicle to shut down.

Rough idle/wonky engine

You might feel like you are missing some power in your engine. Your Lexus may take a second to begin accelerating when you press the gas pedal.

When in idle, your engine may feel and sound rough, and your engine may feel like it’s jerking around. Any of these symptoms can be a sign of an ignition coil problem.

Hard start

Even if your Lexus does not misfire, if you have a bad ignition coil, it may be difficult to start the engine. There are quite a few reasons why this may happen, but one consideration is an ignition coil.

Replacing The Ignition Coils in your Lexus

Once you have determined that you need to replace the ignition coils in your Lexus, there are other considerations to account for. Most of them are discussed below.

The most important thing you can do is research, however. Reading this is a good start, but you should consider all the potential options relating to quality of parts, mechanics rates, etc. A little bit of information can save you a lot of money.

Can I replace the ignition coil in my Lexus in my own garage?

Replacing ignition coils is a relatively simple engine repair procedure. If you have basic mechanical skill, some basic tools, and can follow instructions, you can very likely replace the ignition coils in your Lexus in a few hours in your own garage.

This is the best way to save you money since most of the cost to have this job done by a mechanic is labor.

Should I Replace All Ignition Coils If One Fails?

There is no specific reason why you would need to replace all the coils in your Lexus at once. If only one is bad, you can just replace that one, although you should probably replace the corresponding spark plug as well.

Anecdotally and logically however, when one ignition coil goes bad, others may not be far behind.

If you are going the DIY route it does not matter as much, but if you are using a mechanic, you will have to pay for at least an hour of labor every time you have this service done. It may be worth it then to just have them all done at once.

How Much Does It Cost to Replace the Ignition Coils in My Lexus?

The cost of replacing the ignition coils in your Lexus will depend on the specific vehicle you have, how many ignition coils you are replacing, your location, and whether you will employ a professional to do the job.

The least expensive option is to replace a single coil by yourself. The most expensive option is hiring a professional to do them all.

DIY

If you are going to replace the ignition coils in your Lexus by yourself, the cost to you will be the cost of parts, unless you are also missing some tools. To replace all of them, you will need as many coils as you have cylinders in your engine.

If you are only planning to fix the one broken coil, on average you may pay between $20 and $90. For a set of 6 you will pay between $150 and $170 and for a set of 8 from $170 to $200.

Different models and years may require different coils, but most of them are in this range. However, if you are getting genuine parts, a full set may cost you closer to $400 to $600.

Professional

On average, you can expect to pay somewhere in the range of $350 to $450 to have the ignition coils in your Lexus replaced by a professional mechanic.

You will have to pay for the parts and 1 to 2 hours of labor. The cost variation will depend on the labor rate in your area. Around the country labor rates can range from $60 to $200.

Further, labor rates will vary from mechanic to mechanic in the same local area. You should therefore shop around.

Conclusion

The ignition coils in your Lexus make it possible for the spark plugs to fire. There are multiple signs that you have a bad ignition coil, and if any of them are apparent, you should have your car inspected.

If you do need to have an ignition coil replaced, you might consider having them all replaced at once to save on labor costs.

The cost of replacing the ignition coils depends on several things, but for the bare minimum you can get away with doing the job yourself for less than $100.

Regardless of the final cost however, it is preferable to leaving the problem until other, worse, problems occur. Even if nothing worse happens, you will still have poor performance and inefficient fuel consumption.