XBimR

One of the big reasons I bought my 2013 GS Fsport over BMW/Audi was reliability. My wife has had a couple of RX's and they were bullet proof. Regular maintenance, maybe one or two things unusual went wrong in 10 years.

While everything below has been covered by warranty, it's not giving me a warm fuzzy on owning this car long term. While far from being a lemon, it feels like I should not have had so many things go over 3.5 years and 37K miles - it's more BMW pace than what I would expect from Lexus, especially given my mostly commute driving style (I'm not hard on the car at all).

What do you all think, seem in line with your experience?

@ 19 months - brake petal recall
@ 30 months - radio on/off dial pushes all the way into the dash, have to replace entire unit
@ 37 months - battery dead
@ 42 months - front strut leaking

mrpartsman

The brake I can understand , that was just a recall, the radio I have never seen it or hear about it, I had 13 and no issues at all I have 16 now, battery is normal In CA 3 years to 4 years, the hot weather we get it kills it, I know I sell them so 3 to 4 years max u get, and the strut leaking interesting, I don't know and was it both fronts or just one side.

Sevn86

Seems normal to me, besides the radio dail issue. Every car manufacturer has recalls from time to time. Dead battery isn't something new either. I was actually expecting you to post much more serious issues honestly.

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

I could fill this forum with problems on my 2011 BMW 550. The 2014 was better, but still had problems (drinking oil, engine malfunction errors, etc.). Perhaps it would help you feel better if you looked at the problems this way...has the Lexus ever left you stranded? Maybe the battery issue could have, but at 37 months I don't think that's a fault of Lexus. The remaining three issues could all be handled at your convenience, perhaps even done during the scheduled maintenance visit.

You'd feel differently if you experienced some of the problems many BMW and/or MB owners face. When your car is in the shop every six to eight weeks AND you are nervous about taking it on a long road trip for fear of being stranded...you'll look back on your Lexus ownership very, very fondly.

XBimR

Thanks all for the feedback.

You're right, I do trust it. However I had three 3-series over 16 years and I trusted them too. They all needed something pretty much every year, although never a battery oddly enough.
Perhaps my expectations were too high.

It's all relative. My wife's RX, which she's had for longer, has had zero issues.

It was the front drivers strut that went bad.

Afrosheen

Battery doesn't surprise me. Since manufacturers switched to sealed, maintenance free batteries, the expected life has plummeted.

dougm213

- Brake pedal recall, seems minor and happy they are fixing it.
- Radio button, not something I would expect, but ok one fluke.
- Battery - Boderline - should last longer but not terrible
- Leaking strut - I would be unhappy, should not occur.

I would give a C+ based on my expectations of a Lexus vehicle..

I have 32K and so far no issue (knock wood) (A+). I expect many untroubled miles. Although since this car has a lot of technology, something is bound to happen. I buy lexus for the reliability and even though many people complain about outdated features or technology, I like it because they are proven. Top criteria in buying a car
1. Reliability/Quality
2. Comfort/Ride
3. Features
4. Performance
5. Style

Afrosheen

Honest issues I've had with mine, all niggles, zero show stoppers since 2013.

1. Ticking during low speed turns. Faulty floating rotor assembly, replaced under warranty at around 5k miles. This was adjusted with a new part number a few months after the initial production run so it only applied to the 2013's.
2. Rattling sunroof assembly when open fully and driving over any kind of pavement. Adjusted at dealer, still not right but less annoying. It was thumping inside the roof near the back of the car, and that part they did fix by tightening the assembly.
3. Rattling/buzzing door switch controls on driver and passenger side with heavy bass. A few felt strips at dealer on contact points, fixed.
4. Squeaking brakes. Something to live with due to the aggressive compound on F Sports, but still replaced under warranty in first 5k. Once they warm up OR if they are pressure washed they do it less often.
5. Excessive wind noise. No fix here. Some 2014's got upgraded glass (cold weather package glass) if they complained about it, or so I've read.
6. Excessive road noise. Fixed at 18k when I upgraded to Pilot Super Sports. Factory Potenzas were loud, hard and terrible in the rain.
7. Driver's side seatbelt slow to retract over time. Replaced entire seatbelt assembly under warranty, no charge. Can probably be prevented by cleaning the seatbelt tensioner hidden inside the B pillar, or regular cleaning of the seatbelt itself. No clue here but the tensioner gets gummed up from lint and dust from your shirt/jacket/whatever over time.
8. Paint chips off the hood too easily. Figured that's just the name of the game with gravel trucks running 75mph on the highway, nothing can be done besides a clear bra. One chip has rust bleeding through, about the size of a pinky thumbnail, and that makes me mad but a sharpie can cover it up for 50 cents.
9. Funky smell from mildew build up on evap coil inside the cabin. For some reason it hasn't suffered from it this year and I keep the air set to "outside", i.e. don't recirculate about 99% of the time. A lot of cars do this and the smell can be covered or cleaned up if it really bugs you, so I let this one slide. It's just a design flaw of having a horizontal evap coil in the dash and tons of cars do this.
10. Faulty streaked coating on the F Sport rims, under the clearcoat. Dealer initially pushed back, suggesting a tire treatment might have melted it. Nope, never use that stuff, and if any was ever on it, it was from the dealer. After mentioning Club Lexus and others having the same problem with the graphite wheels, dealership agreed to have all wheels refinished free of charge, took about 2 days.

That's pretty much every problem I've had with my F Sport. There may be one or two I've forgotten. I can forgive the paint since pretty much every manufacturer uses these garbage environmentally friendly primers and final coats now that chip like nail polish at the slightest hint of an impact. Maybe 2 or 3 manufacturers use premium ceramic based paints that are hard enough to survive and they charge extra for them. Nothing critical to the function of the car has gone wrong in 34k miles yet. Easy for me to say Lexus is on top of their game and they build a solid car. Plastic on plastic interior rattles are a problem with many cars and felt tape fixes all.

Like I've said many times, ultimately for me what matters is how these problems are handled. No cars are perfect off the assembly line (some more perfect than others) but it's how your dealer handles it that counts. "Ok, no problem sir, would you like a loaner car" is all I want to hear when I bring a list of legitimate gripes in. On the way out, I expect the SM to go over the list and give me a report. I don't consider that high expectations really, just good service, and I almost always get it.

faifai83

Have you tried shutting off your A/C unit 2 minutes prior to shutting down your engine?

Dallasguy1

As the other ex-bimmer owner mentioned I could fill this thread with the problems I had with Bmw F10 535 so compared to that maintaining a Lexus is a walk in the park for me.

dougm213

How about giving us the top 10? I've never considered the BMW or Mercedes because I've mostly heard disaster stories.

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

I won't highjack Dallasguy1's response, but here's a quick glimpse into my 2011 BMW 550 ownership. I purchased the car pre-owned, but it still had about a year's worth of original warranty.

1. Drank a quart of oil every 3,000 miles or so. Dealer said that's normal and I would stop by the dealership about every eight weeks (when the Add Oil message would appear) and they would add it for free. The guys in the service bay would tell me they get cars in all the time for the very same thing. We'd laugh about it as it was like doing a pit stop, you wouldn't even have to get out of your car.
2. Radiator replacement under warranty
3. Lower radiator hose sensor replaced under warranty
4. Lower radiator hose replaced out of warranty for $750
5. Battery (out of warranty) was $450 to replace, as the car needs to be "recoded" when the unit is replaced
6. Fuel injectors and spark plugs replaced under warranty.
7. Power steering rack replaced under warranty
8. Dealer over tightened the lug bolts and broke the keyed bolt. Had to drill it out and damaged the wheel.
9. Squeaky brakes - no apparent fix
10. Fuel injectors the second time

The out of warranty radiator hose was a joke, as that should have been covered. I was out of warranty by five weeks, even escalated to BMW NA...nope. They gave me $50 off of a $800 bill.

I only owned the car for around 18 months but I got rid of it. You should also know that it wasn't just the problems with the car, it was the REPEAT problems AND the dealership's attitude. There were one or two professional Service Advisors, but most of them were jerks and I was always friendly and courteous.

Some would say that my 2011 550 had problems since it was the first year of that particular model, and they would be right. There's a lot of information on the BMW forums, a newly released BMW recall to replace the motors, and a potential class action suit all based on the 2011 models like mine.

But what about three years prior with my wife's 2008 528? AC not working well and excessive wind noise from closed sunroof. "Ma'am, you'll need to get used to it that's just how the 5 series cars are" said the Service Advisor. After escalating to the SM and calling our salesperson, we brought it in...the AC compressor was faulty AND there was a TSB on the sunroof seal!!

My 1995 540i (owned from 1998 to 2000) was as bad as the 2011 550. I was paying $550/month. I would drive the 540 for five weeks, then have a loaner for one week...that went on for two years. I'm making a big car payment and driving a Dodge Dakota (yes, I typed a Dakota) and/or a Pontiac Grand AM and/or a Toyota misc.

You guys have me going now! The 2014 550 was by far the best, but it too drank oil and had two unscheduled repair issues. When processing my lease return, "why are you returning it, it's a beautiful car and we will negotiate the price?" My response, "it's only 9,000 miles from being out of warranty and I've played that game before." "But you can purchase an extended warranty for around $5,000" Me, "So I'll purchase my leased car for around $50k, plus add $5,000 for the extended warranty?" His response, "yes, and if you do that we can waive the $350 lease re-letting fee!"

By comparison, my wife drove an RX for eight consecutive years (2000-2008). During that time we leased three different models (if memory serves me, it was the RX300, then another RX300, and finally the RX350). During that time, we had a battery go bad...once. And the local dealer came to the house and replaced it at no charge. I had a 2000 Acura RL for a couple of years. It never went to the shop during my entire ownership. My 2005 Acura RL had a few TSB/recalls, but once those were done it never went to the shop. Did my routine maintenance and drove it for years. Sold it to a friend and he loves it. Tires/gas/oil changes, that's it. Has over 140,000 miles on it. He knows the problems I've had with BMW's and would send me a text stating, "don't feel bad, the RL has an alert message that just popped up too." He'd send a pic of the low fuel warning light. lol, bastard

shardul

Lexus has the worst warranty. There answer to any complaint is it is normal for the car to do that.

jdigga99

I used to do that on some of my previous cars and it seemed to work. Never dealt with that funky a/c smell.

Afrosheen

Actually you're supposed to change to outside air instead of recirculate for the last 2 minutes to allow the evap coil to dry a little before parking it, because the shutters will close when you turn the car off. Also, keeping the intake grates at the base of the windshield free of debris (leaves and twigs) helps alot, because mold spores are everywhere and especially on organic material.

Maybe the fact that the car gets washed every two weeks now that it's near lease end (and I'm not trying to keep the black perfect by only hand washing once a month) helps too.