Cali_Girl

Anyone ever had problems with the reflector inside the headlamp? The reflector came loose, without evidence of broken or cracked latches that hold it in place. The Lexus service advisor informed me that the reflector cannot be snapped back in place because the entire headlamp is completely sealed. I'm not sure if this is a defect or a poorly designed headlamp. My 7 week old car was struck on the bumper by a flying object on the freeway. The paint on the bumper was barely chipped and there is no visible impact mark on the headlight. All lights are working fine. I'm not sure if the reflector displacement was the result of the slight impact due to the road hazard or was the reflector already loose to begin with. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Cali_Girl

I forgot to add....if this is not covered under warranty, I would have to pay for it on my own. One dealership quoted me $1500 including parts and labor to completely remove the bumper and engine cover in order to replace the entire headlamp. I'm working with another dealership to have it covered under warranty, but just wondering if the headlight design will always be vulnerable to such displacement of the reflector. If so, I may consider selling the car altogether to save me headaches in the future. I was happy with the car until now.

t0e

iTrader: (1)

You got NAV? And yes the OEM lights are very expensive. around $1000 at least.

You're the first I have heard of having this issue. But the reflectors seem loose, as it is.

Cali_Girl

Yes, I have a NAV system. And Yes, I'm extremely disappointed that this had happened to a 7 week old car. The flying object impact was very slight and didn't even hit my headlamp, so I'm extremely not happy that the reflector actually came loose and is now held in captivity by the outter lense. When driving the car at high speed, it makes a rattling noise, which is quite annoying unless I have my stereo on. Lexus did a special order of the headlamp yesterday. I'm just hoping they will not charge for the light and installation since I strongly believe this was some kind of defect in the headlamp system. I'm going to fight to have it done under warrant or else my insurance company will have to take a hit. That's why I'd like to know if this had ever happen to anyone. Lexus told me I"m the first, which would not trigger a national recall on this car. My other Lexus and all my previous cars never had this problem so I thought this was very unique and strange. And it shouldn't have occurred with such low impact.

t0e - you mentioned the reflectors seem loose. How loose are yours? I'm not brave enough to do a self test to see if my other reflectors will come loose with a hard knock on the lense.

Cali_Girl

OLP - Lexus told me they are unable to open the headlight to push the reflector back in place since headlamp is a sealed unit. Do you know something they don't know?

RshaoKh

I think he's talking about actually opening the headlight by breaking the silicone seal (I think it's silicone?). If I'm not wrong, some people heat up the headlight somehow and when the seal gets soft they carefully pry it open. I doubt Lexus would want to do this since it's difficult to do a nice job when you're breaking it open and resealing it. That is probably why Lexus won't open the headlights.

t0e

iTrader: (1)

You should have never said something hit the car.

Maybe you should have said, a Bump on the road, as long as you see no damge.

The High beem reflector seems loose, but not as bad as yours, i can image if something did wack the bumper, it would come loose.

Cali_Girl

tOe - That's why I had to go to another dealer to do the repair under warranty. At the first dealer I went to, I thought the repair consists of only taking the headlamp apart and re-attach the reflector. Thus, costing almost nothing and reported it as a road hazard. Since they quoted $1,500 including labor to replace the entire unit, someone (a customer) suggested I take it to another dealer to do the repair under warranty and not report it as a moving object impact that caused it. Live and Learn. The second dealer checked it out and wrote it up as a warranty repair and went ahead to order a new headlamp. So far, the second dealer did not deny that Lexus will not pay. Anyhow, both dealers felt the reflector shouldn't had come loose like that. They felt it was probably not glued on correctly. The only problem is that the original dealer cannot fix it under warranty since it was already reported as an impact.

I hope this will not occur ever again.....or I'll me one unhappy Lexus customer.

I guess if the second dealer ever found out (using the National repair history), I can always explain that I was shopping around for the best solution to my problem or that the original dealer wrote up the order incorrectly and then cancelled the work order.

Cali_Girl

Took my car to another car dealer and two service advisers agree that the reflector shouldn't have come loose like that and wrote the order to replace the headlamp under warranty. Otherwise, it would have cost $1500 for parts/labor. A week later the part came in. They took the car apart today to realize that they ordered the wrong headlamp. Since the bumper and engine cover have been dissembled (and they do not want to assemble it knowing that they have to dissemble it again), my poor car will have to wait in the shop until my new headlamp arrive. I hate all this waiting. But Lexus did compensate me with a loaner car until my car is done. I love the loaner car.....brand new ES350. I truly love the feel and and power of this car. The interior is so luxurious.....I think it is the ultra luxury package. Man, I should have thought about this one before buying the IS But I do miss my IS.....it looks cuter.

With the bumper and engine cover open and having the car sitting in the shop like that, I'm crossing my fingers nothing will fall into the engine or any screws or nuts get lost that will later present a problem.

Kuki_350

What model of the IS do you own? because i dont think the ES350 has more HP than the IS350.
Sorry to hear about your problem, hope it gets fixed soon and nothing else happens for it's a Lexus.

Cali_Girl

IS 250 with nav and premium and 18" wheels. I drive mostly bumper to bumper L.A. freeway so I cannot drive fast even if I wanted to.

Way back in March, my original choice was the 2007 ES350 but I have no patience waiting for the ES350 to come out. Plus, my ES300 was dying of old age and needed a replacement fast. Also, the ES350 and Camry are like twins and I don't want to pay a premium to have a Lexus name in a Camry body. My ES300 didn't look like a Camry. I though about IS350, but my husband said I didn't need the power since I don't drive fast anyway. Overall, I'm happy with the IS250.......just don't like my headlamp....and being the only one with this problem. Now, I'll be really mad if this should ever occur again.

Cali_Girl

Got the new headlamp replaced free of charge!

shox

Yeah thats good. You don't want to take apart the headlights. I have, it's a pain in the ***. I did it to paint the inside not because something was broken. Anyhow, yeah, never heard of a loose reflector before.