2007es350

My es doesnt have the grinding noise. However, the gs350 loaner had a bit of a grinding noise every time I turned off the car....now that I think about it...it was probably the steering column retracting.

LexBob2

We could also add a 4th group of people who were fortunate enough to get a problem free car. IMHO

twister

I mentioned that before, when you get a few cases with problems you can consider that as an isolated incident. When you get LOTS of these cases, it becomes a design flow. And, design flow affects every car, just the severity of these symptoms will vary depending on geographic location of drivers and driving style itself. Only time will tell if Lexus will come out admitting that. If this wouldn't be a big deal, they wouldn't keep shipping over their design engineers from West Coast to NJ in both of the cases when my tranny was replaced.

wanderer99

So flying out their designers\techs does tend to suggest that this is a big deal. Does anyone know if this type of thing has happened before with Lexus? Is this the first time anyone has heard of them flying engineers around to diagnose and examine issues first hand?

twister

When my dealership service run a diagnostics on the car they found a different error code associated with a cold start TSIB. That was one of the main reasons for flying in the first time. The second time, they got seriously concerned about brand new faulty tranny with October build.

I'm also curious if anything like this ever happend in history of Lexus with any of their previous models?

ES350Bob

We could also add a 5th group who have issues and compromise by accepting them and oddly want others to compromise too.

LexBob2

Or a 6th group, None Of The Above.

ES350Bob

Or a 7th group who have issues and did not even realize they had an issue, as Twister with his trans initially.

Twister, do you realize if not for this great forum you might not be in a GS right now, might not have been till much further down the road if at all?
CL Rules

malraymal

I have a loaner 2007 es 350, wow that thing is fast! Can't say much about it...I think lexus could of done a lot better considering the other 2007 models.

topgun04

"I'm also curious if anything like this ever happend in history of Lexus with any of their previous models?"

Yes, the launching of the original GS400 in 98 or so. We bought one a couple months after the launch and we had 3 computer re-programming, replacing the mirror assembly, a new set of tires, + some rattling stuff. But we loved that car and the latte is good at the dealership.

jeffofla

Or we could add an 8th group for those that are delusional and think everything is a problem and and design flaw, when in fact, it's working completely normal and as designed.

ES350Bob

Or we could add a 9th group, a group which is so delusional they believe that the 2/3 of posts on Celibon's poll from people indicating actual problems with their car are instead from people whose cars are working normally and as designed.

Patric

Although acknowledging the transmission problem Lexus' response to my questions sounds like standard canned corporate speak.

Pat



Recently you submitted a question to the Lexus Customer Satisfaction Department.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.


Subject
ES 350

Discussion Thread
Response (Jennifer McKee) 11/30/2006 01:34 PM
Dear Mr. Colwell:

Thank you for contacting Lexus Customer Satisfaction. We are dedicated to providing superior service. In circumstances that require our attention, we will assist in the resolution process.

Thank you for inquiring about the ES 350. While a very small percentage of our newly introduced 2007 ES 350s were identified with a transmission issue, we believe our engineers have worked diligently to successfully resolve this issue. Quality is extremely important to Lexus, as is customer satisfaction. The ES is selling extremely well and we have every confidence you would enjoy your ownership experience.

If you require further assistance, please respond to this e-mail, or contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987, Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.

Sincerely,

Jennifer McKee
Lexus Customer Satisfaction
Customer (Pat Colwell) 11/21/2006 09:03 PM
The new owners of the above are experiencing various issues such as wind noise, cold engine tapping noises and transmission flairs between shifts that have resulted in some TSBs that have not addressed the problem. Even after replacing some transmissions the problems come back.

Does Lexus have any permanent fixes in mind? If so, what is the time line?

I was going to purchase one but if quality is heading the direction of Mercedes Benz I may have to look elsewhere.

Thanks;

Pat Colwell
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wanderer99

Hmmmm... I agree with the canned responses in general - even when discussing things with them over the phone. I've highlighted some things in bold that I'll comment on.

Superior Service - I asked how I'd received superior service given my multiple repair visits with failed or no fixes. I was advised they couldn't comment on that. I then stated that I just couldn't see the difference in service for repair issues being any different to Ford\Chrysler\GM, and asked how I'd received better service from Lexus. I was advised they couldn't comment on other vehicle brands and what they did.

Successfully resolve - Umm... this board has owners that differ on that opinion. The TSIB was a part of that succesful resolution. Please refer to the TSIB results poll. Or go directly to the trans problem by month Poll

Quality - I advised that my vehicle had quality issues, which is why it is in for issues all the time. I was advised they couldn't comment on this either.

Customer Satisfaction - I made it clear that in no way was I satisfied at all, as I'd had issues reported from Day 3 of ownership, and ongoing from there. They were OK with this, and offered nothing more as a resolution than continuing to attempt to repair my vehicle by me continuing to go to the dealer.

Don't get me wrong - I still amazingly like Lexus and they have some awesome products. The ES is just a lemoncake though for some of us, and when we counted on Lexus to stand by us and walk us through to a great resolution.... well, we found ourselves standing alone. Lexus get an A+ for almost everything, but a solid F as far as solving issues with the new ES. I now understand that we're basically Beta testing this vehicle for Lexus, and there will be issues. That's fine - but that's not what I purchased this car for!

Incidentally, my dealer advised me that they've sold nearly a hundred ES vehicles, and I'm the third to date with the trans replaced so far.

2007es350

I agree that "Lexus Customer Satisfaction" is pretty much useless. They seem to work against the goodwill of their dealer franchises. The substance of the response of "Lexus Customer Satisfaction" is no different than the response you would get from Ford or Chevy....it's just that the "Lexus Customer Satisfaction" people spend most of the time touting how special the Lexus brand is. When I contacted "Lexus Customer Satisfaction" about my transmission issue, the one thing that I remember most is their arrogance.