NastyIS

iTrader: (1)

So, I took my 2006 IS350 in for the valve spring recall last year at around 55k miles. It was my understanding that lexus was providing an extended powertrain warranty to 100k on all cars that were affected. I even told the service adviser that I was not too pleased about them having to go into the engine. He reassured me that the recall had been done on many cars and there wouldn't be any issues.
I'm currently @ 72k miles. This past weekend, while changing my oil, I noticed oil all over the front of the engine. I could see it when looking up past the oil filter housing and it's obviously an active leak. I phoned my local dealer to speak with a service adviser and asked if my car has a 100k warranty due to the valve spring recall. He basically said he wasn't sure. I told him what the problem was and he said I would just need to bring it in to see where the leak was coming from. When I pressed him about the extended warranty, he kept being evasive and saying that it may not be covered under the powertrain warranty if it was a maintenance item. I asked like what type of maintenance item and he told me valve cover gaskets,seals and items such as that. I replied, I didn't realize a valve cover gasket was supposed to be maintained and asked where that was found in the maintenance suggestions from lexus. He said it was not in the owners manual or the maintenance schedule.
In fact, under the powertrain warranty shown on the lexusdriver website, it plainly says that seals and gaskets are covered under warranty. At this point, I know this guy is not being straight with me and I ask him to get me a definitive answer about whether or not the car has the 100k warranty. He checks and tells me no. He said there was no extended warranty and the repair was going to be on me if it was not directly related to the recall. I asked who I could talk to about this and he gave me the 800-25-lexus number and basically said good luck. Now I have NO confidence in this dealership and I'm afraid if I take it there, no matter if they screwed the recall up or not, they're gonna hang the repair cost on me.
I'm not saying for sure they screwed up the recall, I just feel like they aren't being straight with me and I though I'd share this and see if anyone has had any similar situations. I've not called the lexus 800 number yet because I wanted to get some input.

TimboIS

I had the TSB done on my '06 as well. No issues, and no 100K extended warranty. Where did you see info claiming there was one?

NastyIS

iTrader: (1)

I believe I originally read it in a thread here and then I called lexus customer service as well. I can't say for sure but thought they said the warranty would be extended for all cars that were subject to the recall.

Boostd

iTrader: (1)

My recall was done and in fact it is covered until 100K. When I bought it, I even called the number to transfer warranty and they told me since it had the recall it was covered to 100K.

TimboIS

I don't understand. Why would you need to transfer warranty, CPO, added on extended warranty? Please elaborate. Likely CPO, as that covers 100K, not the recall.

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

Not sure how replacing valve springs under a service campaign would entitle anyone to having a front engine cover resealed for free outside warranty... Powertrain warranty is 6 years/70k miles.. you're clearly out of that by miles. Even if there was an extension of warranty, it'd be to the parts replaced during the service campaign, not additional parts. Id suggest you take his advice and call Lexus. They may help you out.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

There seems to be confusion here.

The Valve Spring Campaign wasn't a TSIB, it was a recall of certain 2006-08 IS350's and some other Lexus models.

Some owners have reported getting additional incentives for the trouble - Powertrain warranty extended to 7yr/100k, $500 Lexus Gift Cards, or a special discount off their next Lexus. From what I understand, most owners of the 2006-2008 models recalled either got the warranty or the gift card. Some people have said they haven't got anything, not sure why. I'm not sure if the gift card or warranty was supposed to be a given for sure, maybe someone else has the answer to that, but there was a free extension of the powertrain warranty for at least some people who had the valve spring recall done.

NastyIS

iTrader: (1)

Thanks KillaIS250, that may explain it. I believe the previous owner of my car received the gift card but did not have the recall performed. If it was an either / or situation with the gift card or the warranty, then I understand.

I still have lost confidence in my local dealer though.

NastyIS

iTrader: (1)

Who said this was a front engine cover seal issue for certain? Do you have a 250 or a 350? If you have a 350, you may be unsettled by the top end of your engine being worked on at such a low mileage as well and would want some reassurance that lexus was going to stand by this if issues arise down the road.

Nevermind.... I just read your signature and see why you were defensive.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

To add to this a bit-


As far as I knew all 350s under the recall were to be given a powertrain warranty extension to 100,000 miles (no extension of the 6 year time period though- so kinda crap) with the following exceptions:

1) If you already had an extended warranty you could instead get a $500 lexus gift card- it was a $500 prepaid credit card good at any lexus dealer for parts, service, whatever, and generally expired 1 year from issue

2) If you lived in Florida apparently there's some law that would have prevented them from doing just the warranty thing so you got the giftcard there too.



There was a long thread about this, and the consensus from nearly all posters was as above.

Also all (or nearly all) folks involved got a certificate for like 1-2k or something off a new lexus purchase, but it was also only good for a year or something so probably not used by many.


There was some confusion over if the extended powertrain warranty transferred to new owners and whatnot, don't know that a clear answer ever came out of that.


But of note- the OPs car is a 2006. Most 2006 cars are past the 6 years of the powertrain warranty (since again they didn't extend the time, just mileage), so perhaps that's the reason his dealer says he's out of warranty, regardless of mileage.

accelerate

Yea well I live in Fla, never got my gift card

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you should speak with lexus then (the 800 #, not a dealer)

I know quite a few folks in the huge thread about it did that and got theirs soon after.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Sounds like the dude put you on hold, he went to the bathroom, came back to the line, and just told you no on your warranty. Sounds like he really wasn't sure about anything to be honest. But the positive is, if it is just a VC gasket/seal...it'll be cake to replace. But if it is the seal/gasket for the chain guide cover...that's gonna be a *****!

accelerate

Yea i called lexus back then and they sorry not everybody is getting those.

NastyIS

iTrader: (1)

A follow up on this thread. After calling Lexus Customer Service, the rep said for me to take my IS350 to my dealer to get the issue diagnosed, then we would discuss whether or not they would give any assistance with the cost since the car was just outside of the 70K powertrain warranty and each claim is evaluated on a case by case basis. She said they were not obligated to help cover the repair, but they want to stand behind their product and owners expect a quality product. The following day, I took my car to the dealer to see where the leak was originating from and they discovered that something WAS left loose during the valve spring recall. The local dealer was very gracious and obviously did not charge me for the repair. I worked with a different service adviser this time and was very pleased with the level of service that was provided.
One footnote though. When I phoned the Lexus Customer Service rep back to let her know the leak was taken care of and I had not been charged, I had to speak with a different rep. When I gave her my info, she said "yes, I'll be happy to help you. It seems your claim was DENIED." I said "denied..... how can that be when they just diagnosed the problem and it was the dealer's fault because they left something loose?" She replied... "Oh..... I'm sorry, you're right I misread that. Well, I guess we can close this out then?" By now, my BS meter is pegged out and I cannot believe that she just said that. I told her to close the claim. I may be a bit pessimistic at this point, but I can't help believe that the first rep I spoke with had already denied the claim before they ever knew what was wrong.