chopstks

Husband drove his new HS 250H complete new car for 6 weeks and it stalled on Hwy 401 express last night with the error "Check hybrid system". The car completely loss power right in the middle of Hwy 401 express lane. Fortunately we manage to maneuver to a shoulder. We had to call Roadside Assistance and to add to the ordeal, the car was significantly scratched on the passenger front bumper after towing to the car dealer. My question is will Roadside Assistance or Lexus cover the scratch repairment? Anyone has some experience to share?

LexFather

Moved here for more views.

RXSF

Im pretty sure the towing company should be liable for the scratches.

hacker_720

This must be your first lexus?

Lexus will take care of everything for you, don't worry. I'm sure they will fix the scratch, they re-painted my bumper and fenders because the paint was peeling a little 6 months after they painted it, they also washed the car inside and out and gave me another lexus to drive for the day.

TheAirman

The scratch is bad, but what's worse is what would cause a brand new, high tech car to stall out and leave someone stranded on a major highway? That's bad, and dangerous at the same time. I bet with the recent bad press that Toyota has gotten, they don't want things like this to happen or get out. You would think that a car with a gas engine and two electric motors would have some sort of "limp home" mode. Not just stall in the middle of the road with cars coming at your rear at 70 mph+.

Please keep us updated on what the dealer found that caused your car to stall in such a manner.

hyperme

If the HSD completely malfunctions, I could see where the entire drive system could shutdown since the HSD controls everything. As far as the limp mode, when I ran out of gas last year, I was able to drive to the gas station approx 1.7 miles on EV alone at normal speeds (~25mph). So there is a fail-safe built in for those situations.

chopstks

This is my first Hybrid Lexus.

Roadside Assistance is keeping us informed of what's going to happen next to our Hybrid Lexus. Looks like they wanted to take care of it between them and the towing company. Frankly speaking, I am not too worry about the scratch. However, this is a real scary incident as the car is a complete new 6-week car. Now it has a serious "Check Hybrid System" problem and stalled on highway. And yes tractor trailers are coming at 100+ km/hr side and rear. By the way, we couldn't access the Roadside Assistance phone number unless we open the driver door! My other Lexus had it on the windshield.(edit by OP: It was also on windshield but it was too dark and we were desparate so couldn't see it)

chopstks

Updates:

Dealer returned the car the next day failing to detect any problem! They reset the error codes and the service manager hesitate to make the "safe to drive" gurantee despite request! We are looking at further legal action.

acheparev

Not the same, but my car would not start after a couple thousand miles. Could not be jump started and was completely unresponsive. Turned out to be a defective "gel" utility battery (the battery that starts the engine and runs the electronics). Dealer had to special order a new battery.

What you have sounds more dangerous. I would call Lexus Corporate and express your hesitation to drive a car that has not been repaired after stalling on the highway. Maybe you can get them to give you a trade-in on a different HS.

chopstks

We would rather keep this car rather than get a new one and start all over again. At least this car was thoroughly tested. Also we are documenting everything in case we need to go to Canadian Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan or Consumer Rights Ontario or Court. We did talked to a lot of people including Lexus HeadOffice, selling dealer, service dealer, CMVAP etc. You can imagine that what we want is a complete safe car to drive.

Vroomin350

iTrader: (28)

why wouldnt you want a new car? I mean I would understand if you've made 2 years of payment on it but its only been 6 weeks... I rather a new car, personally would make me feel more comfortable..

As far as not giving you a "safe to drive guarantee" I would call corporate and tell them whats going on. Good luck and I hope you get this resolved.

hypervish

This story sounds fishy. Plus, the OP only has 4 posts now. This thread was the first post.

chopstks

Even a new Lexus hybrid won't make us feel safe once this has happened as we thought this is about the newer hybrid technology. Anyway this is just our personal feeling. The service manager, after pressuring and talking to the head office did gave us the "safe to drive" gurantee the next day.

My previous posts in a year back was obsoleted even 1 post doesn't mean this is untrue. I can't believe people think that this story was a make-up when my main concern is have all hybrid drivers or potential drivers on safe drive alert because I have got a lemon hybrid. I also need dealer names to be confidential in case it becomes a court case. My first Lexus is a perfect car and it is a gasoline car and I used to have a Toyota Avalon and Camry which was perfect too.

Sorry if that's affecting anyone's car selling business. But buyers and owners deserve to know the truth and not all Lexus are lemons.

hypervish

No, I agree with you that you want to make others aware if there are any outlying problems. But, it doesn't sound like the Dealer is taking proper action. It just sounds fishy that you accepted to keep driving the car till it happens again.

chopstks

There is no cool down period in car buying in Canada and no lemon law as we were told by CAMVAP. It would be complicated to get to a new car that is unless the owner wishes to go through arbitration. The arbitration will need documentation and has procedures to follow.