wayman28

I had a bad experience with a Lexus dealership and am looking for some advice on how to approach it.

I am fortunate enough to live in an area where there are several Lexus dealerships within driving distance (nine of them). As I have posted in a separate thread, a few months ago I was experiencing a vibration and humming noise from my front end. The previous owner of my car had it religiously serviced at a specific Lexus dealer in my area so I naturally went there for help. After a test drive and two hours of diagnostic time they told me that the vibration was coming from a torn front axle boot and the noise was from my tires. This didn't make a lot of sense to me but I'm not a mechanic. They suggested I get new tires and replace the entire front axle (they said they couldn't just change out the boot). The axle replacement would cost me about $2000. I paid them their $125 diagnostic fee and left to get a second opinion.

Based on research on CL I found that the tires I had, while brand new, had given other owners on CL a lot of trouble in terms of road noise so I was prepared to get new tires. I had an independent mechanic look at my axle boot and they said there's nothing wrong. So now I'm stuck as to who to believe. I replaced my tires with new Michelins which cost me about $900. The noise didn't go away so now I know the dealer was wrong on that part. I went to another Lexus dealer in my area and as I'm describing the noise/vibration to the service advisor and tech they immediately say it sounds like a wheel bearing. It turns out they were right and I had the repair done which eliminated the noise and vibration. It took them about 3 minutes of me talking to zero in on the issue and quite honestly a wheel bearing is not an exotic repair that should stump a Lexus tech. This second dealership also confirmed that there was nothing wrong with my axle boot.

Frankly I'm pissed at the original dealership for charging me $125 for bad info which led me to buy $900 worth of new tires that I didn't need. Not only that, had I replaced the axle boot like they suggested I would have spent $2000 on an unnecessary repair that wouldn't have solved the problem. There is so much wrong with what they did. If they didn't know what the issue was then they should have said so or taken more time. Instead they fed me a very sketchy diagnosis that wasn't in the ballpark of what was actually wrong. The real kicker is that the actual source of the problem wasn't even that hard to figure out when the other dealership figured it out in less than 5 minutes.

At a bare minimum I need to let someone know about this at Lexus. I'm not asking for any monetary compensation although I don't think it would be out of the question for them to refund me the $125 diagnostic fee they charged me.

My questions for this forum are whether I should contact the dealership in question with my complaint or go through Lexus Customer Service? Does anyone have any experience with something similar and sought any monetary compensation?

Thanks in advance.

caha14

I am sorry to read this but am glad that (1) your issue is now resolved and that (2) in terms of $, you are "only" out the diagnostic fee. I wholeheartedly agree that given the apparent and easily provable incompetence of the original dealership, you are owed that $125 back.

Personally, I would start with the dealer. I would handle this strictly in writing, outlining the situation in detail and clearly laying out what you want. I would send to the Service Manager/Director and (potentially) consider copying the GM. At that point, depending on how they respond, I would escalate to Lexus corporate if necessary. In essence, keep the Lexus Corporate chip until you need to use it (i.e., if the dealership doubles down on their sketchy behavior, which hopefully won't happen).

wayman28

Thanks Caha. The good thing is that my Lexus service history records fully support my story so they don't need to take my word for it. Their own service people wrote down the bogus diagnosis into the system.

Your suggestion makes sense. Thanks again.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Well, they aren't going to re-imburse you for the tires - they best you might get is a refund of the incorrect diagnostic fee. If it were me, I'd feel better just naming and shaming them on this forum and put the $125 down to experience - that will hurt them in their pocket far more than their diagnostic fee!

wayman28

Agreed. I won't lose any sleep if I don't get the fee back but I've got an itch to at least raise awareness of this poor service. As I mentioned there are nine Lexus dealerships in my area so they can't get away with this type of incompetence without losing customers.

roadfrog

I agree completely about the 125 dollar fee beng reimbursed to you.

As for being violated over a 1500 dollar wheel bearng, that's a whole other issue, but at least it fixed your problem. I would still let Lexus corporate know what happened. Also, keep in mind that we now have a Lexus Rep on our Forums.....maybe he can lend an ear to your plight,

7milesout

wayman - I only have opinions here. I'm not sure how much I can help you. I certainly think you should complain to the first dealership. My suggestion there is to contact the OWNER of the dealership. Any higher than that, and it may not trickle down. Any lower and they may tend to cover up. I've done it before, and it was effective.

I would be very constructive with your letter or email. But in the end I would state something like "due to lack of confidence, I may take all my future business to..." You may get a perk out of that (especially if you state you feel you should be refunded your diagnosis fee), because the one thing for sure an owner doesn't want to hear, is about a loss of business.


The thing about the mis-diagnosis (IMHO) goes like this: There are guys who are natural car guys. Their minds understand mechanical concepts. Other guys do not. This difference exists unfortunately in the garage of dealerships, in private garages, everywhere. My guess is, the guy(s) that figured this out are mechanically inclined. The one that did not, just works in a garage.

I'll give you an example. When I worked for Toyota in design, my mind was all about cars. It still is. Car this, car that, I wanted to know. And that suited me well as an automotive design engineer. There were coworkers I worked with who quickly leased the IS-300's when they first came out. They were a helluva car. And I would get to talking to them about their IS-300. They knew NOTHING about the car. If they popped the hood (which they never did) they would not be surprised if they saw a hampster running on a wheel (to serve as the engine). I was flabbergasted as I figured an automotive design engineer would be a car guy, like me. But these guys might have been better off working in a nail salon, as they knew nothing about cars and this was just a job. Same thing happens in a garage. I recommend you TRY to always discuss your vehicle's issues with the same guy(s) that figured out the wheel bearing.

The next time you go in there, find the same SA that you dealt with that worked with the mechanic that figured out the bearing. Just happen to have something with you to GIVE the SA, and mechanic if possible. I went in there first thing in the morning and had a couple extra breakfast biscuits and casually said, "hey my eyes were bigger than my stomach, you want these couple extra biscuits?" The guy gobbled 'em down and was always GREAT to deal with after that. One time I give him a brand new in the box power inverter. It was worth maybe $50, but I had managed to snag it for like $7 and I didn't need it. I knew it would serve me better to give it to the SA. And I did. That guy actually let me come in on weekends and use the tire balancer, and would have let me use the alignment machine too. Of course you may not want to go to that extreme, but a biscuit or two may save you thousands! Now that's a valuable biscuit!


7milesout

CRowe14

I do have something i'd like to add if I may..
To the OP, im sorry to hear about the issues you've encountered, but as a few others have stated, im glad and its always great when the issue can be resolved.

Im not sure if you read the thread I posted a few weeks ago regarding my write-up on my fist DIY brake job on my LS; pads and rotors.
After completing the job-front and rears, I noticed there was a pop noise coming from the rear when placing the car in P. I took it to a service writer at a local Lexus shop I've developed a pretty decent relationship with and he told me the noise was not normal and to bring it in the following Monday (this was a Sat afternoon) and have them look at the brakes.
Note: The sound would only occur when the AutoBrake was on. When it was disengaged, it wouldn't make the sound.
Since I had to take it to them, I figured i'd have them drain and change the brake fluid. When I was advised the car was done and ready to be picked up, the first thing I did when I got in the car was put the car in gear then back into P-the noise was still there! it was late in the evening, so the next morning, I shot a text to the service writer and told him that the noise was still there and I will be stopping by that afternoon to have it looked at again. This time I would like for the tech who worked on my car to be present, as well as 1 of the 4 other LS vehicles (an 08) on the lot to be pulled into the bay, park them next to each other and discuss this issue.
The tech insisted, not so much that the noise was "normal", but the brakes are fine, as he took them apart to "realign/adjust" the brakes (WHATEVER) and they worked fine ($60 brake inspection fee). Actuator was fine also. The 08 did not have produce the same noise mine made (mine is an 07), but he attributed that to the fact that I had just installed brand new brakes.
He said the install job was fine, so I then asked why did you charge me a fee to do something I've never heard of AND the noise is still there. He reiterated once again it was because they had to "align" the brakes and that although the noise is there, there is nothing wrong. I didn't say it standing there, but shortly before this convo ended between the tech and I, the service writer walked away. Once the tech and I concluded, I then noticed the writer was gone and it was really because of him that I thought something was wrong with the brakes. According to the tech, there wasn't.
A fellow forum member Doublebase told me that whenever dealing with shops, they have to make money. Now I will say this:
When they first inspected my brakes upon my request and came back and told me that they needed to be replaced, they didn't charge me anything. But I think they charged me once they saw that I did the job myself and felt as if they had to get something out of this situation. I understand there is a time element there (driving to the shop, lifting and inspecting), but communication never hurt anyone. It was only $60 so no need for me to scream and holler. And though my $60 versus your $1000+ is a far cry from being similar, honesty and communication are still the underlying factors here.
Personally, I'd want my $125 back as well as notifying any and all parties who can directly have input on that dealerships customer service/repair policies.

CRowe14

7, as always, right on point!
Funny because another trustee moderator (Tee) uses a very similar approach to relationship development regarding these Service guys and he recently shared this information with me. Its just s simple sign of appreciation, and it goes a long way. Im still in my developmental stages with my guy at my local Lex shop, and to be honest, my last experience with him regarding my brakes kind of left a strange taste in my mouth...but all and all, seems to be a decent guy, so i'll stay on the "building" path with him.
Hey 7! Valuable biscuit indeed!

R Z

I would pick up the phone and contact the owner. Sometimes speaking to them directly gets results. You may get the secretary, but a decent dealership will jump to action.

jarm

I had the same experience before. I purchased certified lexus LS from a dealer. The tires were bad. I came back to the dealer and they kind of told me to f... off. I wrote a letter describing everything that happened. I sent it to the Lexus USA CEO in California. I sent it certified. I tracked the date it hit his office. HE called personally the next day on the phone. He told me to go to the nearest tire dealer of my choice and purchase any set of tires that I also wanted. Bring the receipt to the dealer that I purchased the car from. I returned to the dealer. they acted like I was royalty. They changed the oil in my car, paid for the new tires, checked the alignment, and gave me a golf shirt. Go to the top, all popo flows downhill. Lexus does not like complaints.

BT3100

Don't do it here.
Most people on here will justify, deny and then blame you for any issues with the dealer.
The dealer network has good members and bad members.
I bought an 08' LS 460 CPO with 48K miles in NJ at Lexus of Atlantic City. The next day I took it to Thompson Lexus in PA for PA inspection. Thompson told me point blank that there is no way that this car was CPO inspected as it failed the PA state inspection and needed $5,000 worth of work to replace all suspension bushings.
They showed me the bushings. If Lexus of AC passed this car in this condition then they are incompetent, if they did not inspect and passed it as CPO then they are perpetrating a fraud as the bushings had 1/8" gaps in them.
I posted this information on here and people acted like it was no big deal.
"Oh... good thing you have a warranty" ... What is that?!!!!!!
Grow a man part
I bought a CPO for $2-$3K more than non-CPO as I want MORE than a warranty that will fix what the dealer failed to inspect. I bought a CPO because I wanted a car that WAS inspected by Lexus and signed off as GOOD.

That did not happen in my case and I am sure does not happen in many cases.

I KNOW that people on here WON'T respond to this post as they have their head so far up the A$$ of Lexus that light is only seen every 11 years and this is year 1
BTW I've owned 5 LS's a 94' 98' 02' 04' and now an 08'

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

?????? That's not how I read this post or other posts on this forum.