chrisliuw

My GX pops up message to require service, the car just on 14,500 miles. I checked one dealer website, the service does not even include oil change. So the question is what service should I do for 15k?
Thanks.

bd5400

The Lexus Service Guide can give you the list of services for each increment:

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do...MS-15GX460.pdf

pinoyesv6

Besides general visual inspections, pretty much just rotating the tires. Lexus recommends changing the smart key battery too, I didn't and it ended up dying when I was close to 20k so I can understand why the replacement interval is where it is.

Eppieguy

I have never done any of their mileage service requests. I reset the warning and keep driving. I do my own oil changes, rotate my own tires, replace my own fob battery and do my own inspections. No need to spend all that money for basically nothing. I'm at 53k and it's still driving just fine.

Just my .02

chrisliuw

Thanks guys. I think I can either skip 15k service, or spend time with dealer but change oil at the same time, make the trip worthy...

Swacer

It depends on your dealer to be entirely honest.

Some dealers are sticklers that if you don't go for the service and get the "stamp", good luck with your next warranty claim. Others are not near as **** about it.

15k is a visual inspection for the most part with the exception of your smart key (as mentioned above). They also will top off all fluids.

I laugh at "recommended" service. My god.....an extra $200 so they can pull your throttle body and wipe it down?

meitzler

My experience was tire rotation and inspection. I have 50K plus on a 2014 and I have never changed the kfob battery. At 30K, they charge you to replace the brake fluid which I have never experience on another vehicle with this mileage. Many simply reset the maintenance light at 15K..

jjscsix

Total BS. The dealer cannot deny a warranty claim for not having them do the service. It's not their call, and there are laws dictating what can and cannot void a warranty claim.

Eppieguy

Totally agree, it's called "The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act"

pinoyesv6

That is true, but it is up to the owner to prove that the recommended service was done.

Eppieguy

I got in trouble for this on another thread but as you said above, "Recommended", not required. If they deny a claim due do the "recommended" service was not done I'd find another dealer. Lexus dealers are generally pretty easy to deal with, they said nothing about my oversized tires, slotted rotors front and rear, lighting upgrades and beatsonic install.

Swacer

I'm so glad someone felt the need to throw the M-M act out.

See, this is where you are both incorrect. The M-M act can be utilized when trying to replace a heater core under warranty and they blame your aftermarket exhaust for causing the initial failure. the M-M act only applies in regards to aftermarket additions to a car. Please feel free to freshen up on that, I've utilized the act myself, I know how it works.

And when I said my previous post, did I at any point use the words "deny or void", or did you just assume that so you could type something back? So lets back it up for you. Yes, it is the dealership's call if they want to work on your vehicle. The dealership is privately owned and are welcome to make their own decisions. Lexus corporate can attempt to "force their hand", but in all actuality, they can't make them do ANYTHING.

Lets make up an example here. You are driving down the road and notice blue smoke coming from your exhaust all of a sudden. You take pride in your car and believe in yoru abilities to change your own oil, screw the dealership wanting $100 per change! Well, they open up the motor and find that you burned through a ring. Upon their diagnosis, they state that the engine was low on oil, which caused increasing temperatures/friction and caused destruction of the ring. The dealership is going to look at your manual and state..."hmm...did we do the last change here?" No? Then we did not do this" They ask you...did you do this oil change? You state yes. They will come back and say that they can take no credit that your change was done properly, and as such, will most likely not fix this under warranty because they can not prove the adequate amount of oil has been put into the car.

Now it becomes fun. The dealership can "deny" your warranty because they can say that they do not believe that Toyota/Lexus is accountable for your engine damage. Is it voided? Nope. Can you try another dealership? Absolutely. Can you whine and cry to Lexus Corporate? Absolutely. But don't think for a single second that a dealership can't tell you to pound sand and say they aren't honoring your warranty.

CAWjr

I find it hilarious that people will spend $50-100k on a vehicle and then ***** about a $100 service visit they will likely have to do 2-3 times a year that is just smart preventative maintenance.

I get wanting to be a shadetree mechanic, and if you have all the gear to change your own oil, go for it. But is it worth doing your own maintenance on a $60k vehicle with only 15k miles on it that is still in warranty when that will only run you $121? Go buy a beat up Jeep Wrangler and you can spend weeks wrenching on that thing.

Yes, be smart and don't fall for the bull**** throttle body flush and cabin air filter replacement, but for all the basic stuff under the hood & under the car, just let Lexus do it for you unless your time is not worth the cost.

jjscsix

The warranty is Lexus warranty, not the dealers warranty. Yes, the dealer can tell you to pound sand, but the owner of the car can escalate to Lexus because....it is a Lexus warranty. There is accountability on both sides...I get that. But you are implying that the dealer is the final authority on warranty claims.

I can assure you that there is a very lengthy dealer contract dictating their responsibilities as a franchised dealer. No, I have never seen one of those contracts. But I'm as sure as I'm sitting here that it includes language covering the dealers responsibility regarding warranty repairs. The reason I'm sure of that is that Lexus is giving the buyer a warranty, but Lexus has no repair shops of their own. They rely on the dealers to fulfill said warranty obligations. I think what really happens is that the dealer is the first line of evaluating whether the warranty applies, but not the final say in the case of a conflict.

Your example really is not applicable to telling us we are wrong. I fully get that they can deny a claim for legitimate reasons.

Swacer

When a dealership takes on a "warranty claim", they then have to justify to Lexus corporate that Lexus has to reimburse them for the work. If the dealership feels that Lexus may not reimburse them for the work, they will not take on the claim as warranty work.

If the dealership says to Lexus corporate, the engine on this GX will require an entire tear down. It will cost us $10k in labor and parts. Lexus corporate will respond to say "Sure, was it an OEM issue that caused this to occur?" The dealership will say "we can not confirm this as we did not perform the last oil change, however we can verify that low oil levels are the root cause to this issue". Lexus, like any other car company is going to go "woah...if the customer did this...why do we need to pay for it?"

Then the dealer will have an option. They can either "fight" on your behalf that you did not cause it. The dealer can then fix it at their cost and hope Lexus reimburses them, or they can tell you they won't fix it because you potentially caused it.

Then you are welcome to call Lexus corporate and plead your case. Your ability to get the work done at that point, is going to be tied to Lexus telling a dealership that they will reimburse them for the warranty work.

Magic contract or not, it all comes down to "who is fronting the bill".