Nospinzone

Wow, very sorry to read about your ordeal. That was shabby treatment in my opinion. I gather you didn't think to post your problem in the Lexus Customer Service forum?

You should have threatened to take them to People's Court, I bet you would have won!

aypues

Think you made a mistake. $1500 for a brand new hybrid battery is almost nothing.
If and when I have to replace an air suspension corner for $1500 I wont be ditching the car. It sounds like you wanted out for other reasons too.

Shibumi1

unfortunately these things happen.. but hybrid tech is designed to fail.... the batteries will inevitably fail...it does concern me that 1 system can't work without the other in some form of override/limp mode.

hybrid has been a gimmick since day 1...(& dont get me started on electric cars... in a word ALTERNATORS???) take your best hybrid mpg an it's drastically dwarfed by a diesel.. for those that don't know mercedes offers(not in US) a 2016 S350 ("bluetec" badge but not hybrid ) diesel with 53mpg...an I'm sure that's a modest figure.

here in the US they limit the diesel market(supposedly for emissions) but in Mexico they have the Toyota Hilux with 4 an 6 cylinder diesel an turbo diesel well into the high 50mph range.. an anyone who knows, knows diesels will last FOREVER. . that said.

Chris I hope to see u in your unicorn soon.. (you'll always be Flagship status in my book) RIP #600boyz... All hail the #460boyz....

CJITTY

Not sure if you read my entire post, but those reasons were stated

riknchar

Jitty - Your story will definitely shake some of the confidence many of us forum members have for Lexus customer service!

Many people (in the past), when talking about the possibility of future hybrid battery failures, have opined that Lexus would surely stick behind their loyal customers, even after the 8-year warranty, and replace the batteries at no charge. Now I guess we know that's not true, even for 1 day out of warranty... Very sad story!

I can't help but ask, though, why you didn't just keep your amazing LS600hL after having brand new batteries installed? Was it your shaken confidence in Lexus customer service, or were you just ready for a change? Your new batteries will surely last for many years (at least 8 years and 1 day, if your history is a guide ;-), and the rest of your hybrid components, like the REALLY expensive Power Inverter, are still covered by your CPO Wrap plan for another couple of years.

From looking at KBB Private Party sales prices for the 2008 LS600hL, it appears that you sold yours for around $23-24K. OUCH!!! I know the price has been dropping quickly, but the inherent "value" of the car hasn't really changed. I get depressed when I look at how cheap the 2008 LS600hLs are selling for now compared to 2 years ago when I bought mine (for $42K), but then I remind myself that I'm driving a car that cost $110K when new, and still looks, drives, etc. basically like new. I'm not a huge fan of the newer post-2013 style (I really do prefer the large touchscreen and dislike the overdone front grill), so for me the 2008 still makes great sense.

My batteries are warranted until early April of this year, and I will definitely be nervously watching them as my warranty expires. It does seem like my engine runs most of the time, even when sitting/idling, so my batteries may be degraded like yours were right before they failed.

Thanks for sharing your story, and hope you take this chance to hunt down your "unicorn" 460L so we can keep you around the LS forum for many more years!

CJITTY

BINGO. The warranty was there sure, but the prorated refund I knew I would get back was quite substantial so I didn't lose out on that. I didn't want to have a car for another year that was dropping so much in value so quickly. Tons more are hitting auctions so far this year as the majority of 2008 owners are out of warranty. I had 4 years with it..time to move on to a non hybrid LS sometime soon. It was fun, no regrets. But my experience left me questioning the brand

CJITTY

Thanks, I've had service personnel open up to me about the high rate of incidents happening more on the LS and other models. They also said customers are leaving for other brands more than they have noticed in the past. It's all subjective for sure, but they see it everyday more than we talk about stuff on our beloved forum. I've never had an issue with service until this situation. I don't know who really had the power to make it a full goodwill. The dealer or the mothership.

Gbp

If you could have had the same warranty starting with the replacement hybrid battery as applied to the original battery (and a decent remaining warranty on other hybrid system components) and if you were otherwise happy with the car, keeping it would have been understandable. The short warranty on the replacement hybrid battery makes it very questionable to keep the car however much you like it. You did the right thing.

Too bad about how Lexus Corporate responded. It supports the notion that Lexus has strayed from differentiating themselves from other brands: the superior treatment of their customers.

VQT

The dealer won't do anything, the corporate is the one making the decision. I had other incident with my other Lexus, it took more than two months, two dealers (one where I bought and the other near my home) and corporate involved to get the broken DVD screen fixed. It was under the factory warranty which should be correct right away, on top of that it is a CPO and I have extended warranty up to 100K miles. Until I drove 300 miles to the dealer where I bought the car from, talked to the general manager that get thing moving. the dealer where I bought the car from, wouldn't answer my call; I had to drive down there to see them physically. This is Lexus of Beverly Hill, sold car to movie stars and that's how they deal with used car buyers.

CJITTY

Wow, that is crazy. My thing is, Lexus LS is still the best car overall for me when you factor in ride quality, the general reliability, and luxury feel. I know there are other brands out there but I'm at the point where I just need to have a warranty if I am going to own a sophisticated automobile.

mjeds

sadly if you were in a CARB required state, the repair would have been covered.

my wife's 2007 Camry Hybrid suffered the same issue as you, and nearly to the day of purchase as well, actually she was about 2 weeks past her in service date.

In CARB required states like California, Toyota upped the warranty to 10 years 150,000 miles for the Hybrids due to backlash from the EPA over the failures.

and FWIW the battery pack isn't technically what failed. the pack is made up of multiple batteries connected to each other with copper connectors, the connectors get corroded and the batteries can't communicate with each other..




here is a good site that talks about the issue, and a how to fix yourself, for under $10..


http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...ot-4000-to-fix

justjosh

iTrader: (5)

I am having a similar issue with Lexus on the replacement of my Hybrid Battery pack on my LS600hL. Not very far out of warranty and needs new battery. Will report back with what happens.

RandyV

But, but, but - didn't you tell them you are a Moderator at Club Lexus?



Coulda been worse I suppose.

Best of luck on your new DD, whatever you decide on.

Rhambler

Get a refreshed LS 460! Awesome, awesome car. I love mine, the way it looks, the interior, everything! Then you can buy a new LS 500 after they work out all of the early-model bugs or possibly wait until they refresh that in circa (edit 2023, lol, didn't realize the length of time between) or thereabouts.

hfahmy

BTW, was the hybrid battery they put in refurbished or new?