tbilisi79

I thought about that. My headlights are like new, no fading or yellowing,I would hate to have two different looking lights up front. I think I'll try to reseal the light myself at first and see if that helps. I'll use some silicone and see what happens. I wish taking the light out could be a bit easier. I think the bumper has to come off. I doubt they will let me have my old one, and if the light looks much newer than driver side it will be too late.

New seal I'll do for sure next visit, if not sooner. Will do differential oil at the same time.

roadfrog

People keep associating warranty purchases with life insurance, health insurance, home insurance and the like. That is not a valid comparison. Buying protection against potentially catastrophic financial doom (house fire, being sued from a car accident, etc) is not the same as spending money on insurance that protects you from a thousand dollar repair.

There's a reason why your Lexus dealer and every warranty company out there, spends more time trying to sell you a warranty than they do selling you the car....it's a HUGE money maker and they know they will come out ahead of you when you break out your cheque book.

As for "loaner cars" and "car washes", you guys are dealing with the wrong shops if you're not getting those... even without a warranty. Besides, I'd rather no one wash my car but me. Don't need some lot kid running a brush across my paint, thanks.

Devh

I'm going to have to disagree with you because of my own observations of how the car industry has found a cleaver way of keeping you coming back to them by adopting the insurance method.
Like medical insurance you take competition out of the picture and charge $30 for a pain killer and make it seem that insurance is a no brainier and without it you will be financial ruined. It soon becomes a reality when insurance is adopted by everyone and there is nowhere else to go because competition no longer exist and your choices are non existent.
We will probably get to the point where legislators will pass laws on behalf of the industry so you cant work on your own car and you will need car mechanical insurance as part of your premium because of safety issues to protect the general public or for the simple fact that you will be priced out of the market.
People like you and I will not be able to opt out and will be ridiculed for having the audacity of not leaving it to the professionals.

dlbuckls10

Each to their own. Many people choose not to purchase auto, life, health, flood or home insurance and we all know someone who made that decision. For those who do purchase any kind of insurance it's about protection when you do have a claim. With any kind of insurance or an extended car warranty it's nice to have it when you do need it.

Warranties may be a high money maker for all dealerships along with everything else the dealership sells. Try buying a quart of oil, wipers, parts, accessories and then go to the local parts store and see how much you could have saved.

When I have my LS serviced it always a do not wash for me.

Doublebase

I simply look at it like this...I'm generally able to make it to 100k miles on all my cars without issue, but then again I'm buying cars that have solid reliability ratings and I take care of them. The same holds true to the LS 460, it was rated as a very reliable vehicle and it has responded as such. If I was buying an Audi A8 or a BMW, then yeah, an extended warranty might be a good investment, but then again if I were buying either of those cars, then investments aren't something I really care about.

My LS460 has 105k miles on it now, it's never had or needed a major repair that would justify a $3k dollar investment into an extended warranty. The service history on the vehicle is a tow into the dealer at 30k miles for a dead battery and recall repairs, that's it. Everything else has been oil changes, tires and brakes. I am starting to hear a little noise out of a control arm on the driver's side, it's not bad, but I'm going to replace them if they do in fact need to be. I can buy aftermarket parts for it and do it myself. Realistically I can probably do one side for $300. I could let it go for 30k miles and probably not notice a difference. Or I could do the whole set for $600 and probably drive another 100k miles without a problem. Again, this is not a Mercedes, BMW or Audi we are talking about here.

I had breakfast with a friend who bought an 07 BMW 328 9 months ago...he tells me he's putting 2 quarts of oil into it every 1,000 miles. We both looked at each other like, yeah the car needs to go, it was a mistake. He's spending $70 bucks between oil changes on the thing - never mind what he's doing to his plugs, cat, combustion chamber, valves, and more. The car needs to go.

SW17LS

Its exactly the same thing, just on a different scale. Health insurance doesn't "just protect you from a catastrophic doom", it protects you against everyday and regular cost also. A warranty on anything is in essence an insurance policy.

People pay way more money for other types insurance than they probably should also, people are very commonly over-insured because insurance companies sell them policies playing on their fears of loss. Same with the extended warranty.

tbilisi79

We'll, imgot he car back and we went for a long drive up to Boston, then to Newport RI .

New brake actuator did NOT solve the problem. It did make it smoother during panic stops but the thud is still there if I want to replicate it, but not as bad. It's more evident in stop and go traffic. During long highway drives it's not there.
I give up at this point. Just not gonna use brakes as often, or use them in a very calm manner and apply the pedal ever so gently.

On a positive note. Lumbar works on the passenger side. And I got 30 MPG the whole trip.
My daughter had a blast at Edenville Thomas the train park.

Thanks for chiming in guys.

Doublebase

It's the control arm bushings, when the bushings wear, the movement of the sleeve and bolt inside them shift causing a noise. I know it's hard to believe that they are worn again - even though your extended warranty used factory parts - but it's just a poor design. Either that or the pins and clips in the fixed calipers are clicking upon braking (another common, but dirt cheap repair).

Devh

All of the LS 460s that I have tested including the one I own has a hard thud upon a panic stop.
If you stab at the brakes I can hear it and it's just a characteristic of the E brake. It caught me by surprise the first time when I was test driving the first LS when someone cut me off in the parking lot. I don't hear it often because I don't slam the brakes.

SW17LS

My brand new one has the same thud. Dealer checked it out at the 5k, operating as designed.

tbilisi79

Hello.
I'm going in for the oil change sometime this month and want to try to remedy this problem again, 3rd time now.
Again the front end still jerks like,crazy after driving the car a few miles and applying brakes.
All control arms are under a year old, new brake actuator, and brake pads. All work done at Lexus.

Some here are saying its a normal thing, but I refuse to believe it. It feels like,the control arms are all worn out even thought they are new. It's a huge turn off and is ruining otherwise very pleasant driving environment. Even the master tech who,drove my car told me they all do that, which just sounds unreal to me. He did replace the actuator hoping it would get better.
Again the thud both in reverse or drive feels as if the control arm bushing are completely worn out. Especially the strut rob bushings.

Can the caliper pins, or pad pins be bad, and if so what is the part name exactly that goes bad?

I'm taking the car to a Long Island dealer since I live there now. Let's see what they say.

roadfrog

There was a post recently form a member who stated that the thud disappeared after replacing the factory Lexus pads with aftermarket ones. I think they were Akeebono pads, but I'm not positive. They said that panic stops were now more linear.

tbilisi79

Thanks for chiming in.
I was actually suspecting the pads.
Because the thud is not there completely when the car is driven first thing in the morning. Cold pads.
Also not there when just driving on highway with no brake use, cold pads.

Heavy traffic conditions stop and go is when the thud is very noticeable.

I'd change the pads myself if I knew for sure that would cure the issue.

CRowe14

I'd say try it.
For about a $70-75 dollar investment (Akebono pads), you'd end up quite possibly curing the issue, and without a question, have better brake pads.