kqmalik

On July 31st 2012, we purchased a brand new RX350 from “Lexus on the Park” dealership in Toronto . The next day on August 1st, at 77KM warning lights appeared on the speedometer. This displayed issues with the ABS and Brake Malfunction warning. After switching the vehicle off and then on, the warnings notifications were disappeared. The dealership was notified. On August 2nd 2012, Thursday, again both the brake malfunction and ABS warnings appeared on the display. The dealership was informed and the vehicle was picked up from our home by the Lexus dealership. They checked the code and removed it as no appropriate action could be determined at that moment. The component suspected of being faulty was manually operated by a technician and was found acceptable for use. The technician kept the vehicle overnight and after a test drive of almost 65KM it was returned back to the customer. On August 3rd. upon returning the vehicle to the customer, the technician displayed the computer connected to the vehicle with no new coding information. On Saturday August 4th we, the customer, drove to London Ontario for a Wedding ceremony. On our way home at 2:00 AM on August 5th the Brake malfunction notification as well as the ABS warning reappeared on the speedometer. This put the driver in a peculiar position, as there was no safe area to immediately stop. The 401 highway was filled with heavy traffic including large trucks. After a few kilometers, the vehicle was stopped on the side of the road and turned off. After a fresh start the warning notification disappeared.
These set of events are particularly disappointing considering this is a BRAND NEW vehicle which has not even covered 1000KM and has a quality issue which jeopardizes the safety of the vehicles passengers. The quality control from the factory end and the inspection process during the PDI are completely oblivious to this issue. This issue could have been easily identified and rectified at those earlier stages. Instead it caused great inconvenience and unnecessary stress to the customer who paid full price for this supposedly premium vehicle. This vehicle caused me to take two unnecessary days off from work and ruined a special occasion over the weekend. It is to be noted that we had great amount of trust and faith in Lexus over other manufacturers while making this expensive selection.
This matter was taken over by Lexus corporate office. They kept the vehicle for a week at the dealership to replace the faulty component because they didn’t have the new ABS actuator part available. During this time they provided a loaner vehicle. Our RX350 was repaired and so far the warning light is not appeared. Customer requested extended warranty on the faulty system because it was happened on a brand new vehicle.
Initially we wanted to return or replace this vehicle because it is a brand new. During negotiation, the Lexus Canada offered $1000 towards the extended warranty of $2260 for 120000KM/72months. It is to be noted that at the time of the purchase, the customer didn’t purchase the extended warranty thinking that the Lexus is a very reliable brand. Because of the brake issues, the confidence level went down on the Lexus reliability and in order to safeguard the investment, the customer has no option other than to spend $1260 dollar from the pocket.
There is another interesting thing that after few days of extended warranty purchase, the dealership “Lexus On The Park” auto system sent an offer via mail to the customers on the discounted rate of the similar extended warranty from $2260/- to $1750/-. Customer contacted the dealership to reimburse the difference amount of $510/- because of the reduction in extended warranty price but they are reluctant to issue any re-fund. Lexus corporate office is denying their help in this matter because of the dealership pressure. They are saying that it is between you and the dealership. “Lexus On The Park” dealership new Car Service Manager is not answering my phone calls. Overall attitude and the customer service of this dealership is below standard in comparison with other service providers.
I am really disappointed with this purchase. First there is no reliability promise by the Lexus Canada customer service manager on this expensive vehicle. They said it can break any time and that’s why they have a warranty. It means I have nothing else to do except visiting them again and again for warranty claims. This purchase has caused me a lot of grief and stress. If I like to spend so much money again, I would rather go to BMW or Mercedes make. I am forced to spend extra money because of the Lexus poor quality control and dealership poor Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) for which they charged me a hefty amount. How come the brake defect appeared on the very next day at a very low mileage. It was probably there in the computer but was overlooked by the dealership during the PDI process. I am claiming PDI money back.

Brian@Vossen

Sorry to read this . Good luck to you.

GoHuskers

I am sorry for your inconvenience and hope it will work out in your favor.

If I am you I will CANCEL that warranty. You can buy it again when you are closer to the 4yrs/50k miles (if you keep the car that long). Second, I will note all the incidents of the ABS/Brakes issues and if they can't fix it after many tries I will want Lexus to buy the car back.

Good luck.

MEP7557

Not every car can be 100% perfect. Lexus 'farms' out these parts to other manufacturers. Lexus gives them the specs for the parts and it's up to the manufacturer from there. I agree, not a good start with Lexus. The part was replaced and you were given a loaner which some companies will not do. Hopefully that is the worst thing that will happen to your RX. I would cancel the extended warranty and sell the car when the Lexus warranty is up. Good Luck.

MikeP

I can empathize with the OP in this case. It does not sound like his dealer cared very much about solving his problem. If after the 2nd complaint from the OP, the dealer would have gotten Lexus Corp involved, or reached out for another solution, I don't believe the OP would be as dissatisfied. Retailers, including car dealers and manufacturers need to remember that it's usually not a product problem/defect that will cause a customer to look elsewhere next time but the way they are treated while waiting for a solution. Lexus almost invented this approach, but for the last couple of years the striving for perfection, at least in customer service, has (IMO & experience) significantly deteriorated and replaced with designer coffee and cookies.

Liphotoman

Although this thread is a bit old, I just had the same problem. My new 2013 RX350, at about 1000 miles, started showing "Brake Malfunction. Check ABS." If I turn engine off & back on, it goes away. THen, while driving, that warning came back on again.

My dealer wants me to bring the car in. They're about 20 miles away, via a very heavily travelled city street with lots of stop & go. Do I really want to drive a car that indicates "Brake Malfunction" that far?

kitlz

Liphotoman, sorry to hear you're having a problem. Call Lexus Roadside Assistance and ask that your RX be towed to the dealer because you don't feel safe driving it. Good luck.

User 41924

Anita is absolutely right! Take her advice and call Roadside Assistance. Hopefully, you have a better dealer than the OP did! I would be interested to hear about your experience.

I feel cheated when someone labels an entire brand bad because a part broke. Obviously, it would be better if they never broke, but that seems a bit unreasonable to expect, right? Cars are incredibly complex with thousands upon thousands of parts. Some of them break occasionally. In the case of the OP, Lexus fixed it under warranty with no argument. I'm not sure what more can reasonably be expected of any MFG. Unfortunately, they HAVE to rely on their dealer, and in this case, it was the dealership that made this a negative experience. They should have replaced the part on the FIRST visit, regardless of their inability to reproduce the issue. For the need to try and save a few dollars, they cost Lexus a good customer, and created negative publicity. I would think Lexus would like to hear about this experience.

Hopefully, there is more than one dealership in his area.

Liphotoman

My dealer was excellent.
Addressed the issue immediately, and found a faulty sensor for the ABS. It would not be an issue of the brakes themselves, just the skid control if I had to use them on wet road. Since it hasn;t rained here in a week, that was not a safety issue. I still had "normal" brakes.

kitlz

That's great news. Never good to take a chance with something like that. And thanks for letting us know what was wrong.

VAmom2

In May of 2012 we purchased our second rx, this time a 2010 rx 350, based on the reliability of Lexus products. Our 2002 rx 300 has 160,503 miles on it currently and have never had an issue with it, so we assumed that the 2010 would be built like a tank as well. Well, were we ever wrong. On Sunday night September 1st 2014, I came downstairs and heard what I thought was the washer or the dryer running, which was odd since I had done laundry earlier in the evening. In trying to locate the noise, I opened the door to the garage to find the loud humming/fan noise coming from my car. Of course, my immediate thought was that the car had started on its own. I opened the driver door and found the car wasn't on and realized that the noise was coming from under the hood. There was a fan/blower running at high speed on it's own. Once my husband started the car the fan/blower would go off only to have ALL of the warning lights on the car light up(ABS,power steering, etc...). Once you turned off the car, the fan/blower would start running again, eventually draining the battery to dead.
Of course with the next day being Labor Day, we couldn't get it looked at, and out of safety, we had it towed to the local luxury store here in town. They brought in their best Toyota technician from another store, within the dealer group, but still couldn't resolve it. They ended up taking it to closest Lexus dealer which is in Greensboro, NC on Wednesday, the 3rd. The shop manager got it in and, lucky for me, says that he's NEVER seen an issue like this one. What was happening was the ABS actuator was faulty and was actually sending a back flow current obviously, throughout the car's electrical system and would cost $2400 to fix!!! Four year old Lexus for goodness sake of which I have only owned for two of those years!!! I had also been having trouble with my radio which turns off and wouldn't turn back on when pushing the power button. I would have to use the mode button on the steering wheel to turn the radio back on. I now wonder if that's a result of the back current going through the system.
I contacted Lexus corporate last Friday and detailed the problem and they assigned a case manager to review my situation since we were seeking comp. Well, the case manager called me back today to inform me that they respectfully decline any offer to offset the $2400(not including tax) cost that it would require to fix the problem. I was at work when the call came in and stepped out to take the called and attempted to contain myself while explaining that I was completely shocked that Lexus wouldn't stand behind their product in a situation such as this. She went on to explain that I was out of warranty(by maybe 9000) miles and their was nothing that they would do. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I was shocked. I am a brand loyal customer and love my car, want my car and want my car to be safe. I hate that I am now questioning that very safety of my car...What effect did that back current have on the brain of the car?
We had a power surge go through our house last year and it fried some appliances due to that high current back flow. When I spoke to the power company regarding that situation they explained that some appliances may not show any effects until later on. Can you honestly say that there won't be any negative effect from this in my car??? Never thought I would EVER feel this way about my Lexus.I baby that car and have it serviced regularly.
It's a long shot, seeing as how the NC Lexus service said that they had never seen one with this issue, but has ANYONE experienced or heard of this happening? Angry,shocked and depressed...
I concluded my call with the case manager telling her that I bought a Lexus NOT a Kia or Hyundai! (no offense).
Very disappointed with the lack of care and concern on the part of Lexus.

pamiboy

Very sad to hear about your experience. They should have replaced your part in "good faith". But obviously they don't care anymore.

NotADood

Lexus master technician here,
This is why the 2013 RX350's were recalled for a brake actuator reflash. This is exactly what the vehicles were doing. I recall seeing one come into my dealer with 86 miles on the odo.

NotADood

Contact Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. If you are a loyal customer, they will do their best to take care of you.

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

You're out of warranty by 9000 miles on a 4 year old vehicle. Not sure what is not so concrete about the situation. A part failed on an otherwise reliable vehicle. It happens.

Can either pay the repair price that the dealer quoted for you repair OR:

Now that you know what's wrong, buy the part yourself from either Sewell with the CL discount or Rockauto.com and then take it to a mechanic to install.

Not sure where there is this belief comes from that Lexus owes you something more as nothing in your purchase paperwork says that it does. So why should Lexus take the loss and 'comp' you for an out of warranty repair. You want to offset the cost, get the part you need from an available cheaper source and then don't spend your money at the dealer for repairs. Which they likely won't do there anyway and will outsource.

Please lets stop giving people unreasonsable solutions to common problems faced by ALL vehicle owners worldwide.