If you look up any publication, you will find complaints about every single vehicle and brand. No one is immune. People complain about everything when given a platform.

From my past and recent experiences with Lexus vehicles, they are as reliable now as they have ever been. I am not seeing any decline of quality anywhere. It is a very safe bet you will have a lot of positive luck with your purchase.

 

Lexus has to be one of the most consistent brands out there.

Look at their engines and transmissions. The technology practically hasn't changed at all over the years. The leaves me with one thing to blame.

The way the cars are maintained and serviced. Particularly - Lexus goes through great lengths to ensure you maintain (or rather, don't) your car a very specific way in the North American market. I believe this is the main contributing factor should anyone make the argument that quality is declining.

Again, new Lexus's don't have new technology. There is no reason why they shouldn't last hundreds of thousands of miles if maintained optimally.

 

Lexus is #1 in reliability for eight years in a row. Lexus is third in lowest maintenance cost but lowest by far in the luxury group. Lexus is #1 in brand loyalty. Lexus is # in customer satisfaction. Will put a lot more weight on these then posters on a forum complaining. In the US Lexus sells 262,000 vehicles per year so I expect some unhappy owners.

 

Lexus also has the #1 resale value in the segment. Lexus is #1 for customer retention rates. More people buy Lexus than they do lease compared to any other manufacturer. The Lexus parent company Toyota is a top 10 brand, up there with Apple, Microsoft, Google, Coca-cola, no other auto brand in on this level or in the top 10.

 

Huh? You can take a Lexus and basically never maintain it and it will still run forever. You can't do that with German cars.

 

They do not build Lexus vehicles as solidly as they did in the 90s. Thats not to say they are not built solidly, they certainly are, but the 90s Lexus models were over the top and they just aren't quite like that anymore.

I would say that Lexus quality hit a low point between 2006-2012 or so, and has improved since then with modern Lexuses being notably more solid with better interior materials, etc. The new LS and LC have beautiful interiors that are VERY solid and extremely high quality, the 13 refresh of the LS460 solved all the interior quibbles with previous LS460s, the 4GS is very solid and well built.

From a reliability perspective I would say newer ones aren't quite as reliable just because they are more complex, more to go wrong more complicated to diagnose and repair. My 98 LS400 was in reality a very simple car, it had the air suspension but that was rare and if you think about it, without that there isn't much electronic there to go wrong. My 2017 by comparison has direct and port injection, air suspension and AVS, 8 control arms in the suspension, electronic power steering, electronic brake assist, radar cruise, PCS, navigation, satellite linked so on and so forth...the new LS is a twin turbo on top of that.

With that said, I would never trade my LS460L for an LS430 or LS400 even if they were a little better made. Those vehicles are just ancient and lack all of the tech comforts that I enjoy and like today. I just have no interest in driving a 20 year old car.

 

What you are saying is identical to literally any car maker. Look at the quality of Nissan in 1990 or even BMW in comparison today. Less reliable, more electronics.

Lexus taking a hit with reliability between 2006-2012 like you said was roughly during the recession period, like many other car makers. No surprise there.

Lexus by far has to be the most consistent car maker in terms of quality. By a long shot. The only other brand which impresses me in terms of persistent quality would be Mazda. They are the only brand which improved over time - going from building fun but medicore vehicles back when they were parterned with ford, to sorting out all the kinks and building some truly excellent vehicles.

My 2015 Mazda 6 which I bought for commuting is one of the best cars i've ever owned - at any price point.

 

If you look at stats, thats actually not true. One of the issues for Lexus is other competitors are IMPROVING. BMWs today if anything are more reliable than they were, and build and interior quality is much better to the point where they have surpassed Lexus. Just sit in and feel around a modern BMW or MB or Audi and do the same in the equivalent Lexus. The BMW, MB or Audi feels better built and more expensive inside. That was NOT the case in the 90s.

I'm just telling you, as someone who has owned Lexus vehicles through all of these periods, they are not built like they were. Still very well built, but the competition has caught up big time and they have slipped somewhat.

Great example is rattles. LS400, LS430, ES300...zero rattles. I can get in and drive my 03 ES300 today with 210,000 miles (its still in the family) and it has NO rattles or vibrations inside. Never had to worry about one rattle or issue with the LS400 or the LS430 either, and we had the LS400 to 170k miles and the LS430 to 100k miles. However, every Lexus I have owned since 2010 I have had to address interior rattles, including both my LS460s, and I didn't own any of those vehicles over 45,000 miles. My LS460L has developed a little vibration in the console at idle that is solved by laying my leg against the side of the console, my 2015 LS460 had the same issue so I know how to address it in the 17.

One of the several reasons why I feel like my current Lexus will be my last Lexus.

 

Somethings sometimes are a wash. New Lexus models do not have power steering fluids, pumps, or motors dependent on drive belts. No more timing belts. No more power seat belts motors to fail. No more interference engine concerns.

But yeah, some of the electronic additions are worrisome, but some other parts become more reliable too. The engine is what I would be most worried about, if they work, that is a big relief. . Same with the screens for the dash. Turbos are not of concern as Toyota has been making turbos since the 80s, they just did not have them in the US.

 

Those are all valid points, but we don't know the longevity of the new electronic replacements for those components. As for things like power seat belt motors, I have never heard of one failing, little motors like that are very reliable.

Screens are pretty reliable, you dont hear a lot of stories of the screens on older Lexus models going bad. Turbos will absolutely have an impact on maintenance cost and vehicle longevity, and added complexity will.

 

Why not? The electric steering has been a Honda and Toyota thing since the early 90s. Honda has it a long time ago. Toyota I think was Prius for first gen.

Direct injection, what is to worry about? Do we worry about fuel injection from a 1990 LS?

I believe Toyota radar cruise, Pre collision has been in the US since 2005ish.

 

What Toyota or Honda in the early 90s had electric power steering? None lol.

Direct injection systems create issues that we didnt worry about when we were talking about port injection. High pressure fuel rails, carbon buildup, additional stress put on oil and rings and such are all very real concerns, engines as they age are more apt to use oil, etc.

And those components are expensive to replace if you want to maintain the functionality of those systems. Its just a reality that the newer cars have more things to fail.

 

Honda had electric steering in 1991 with the NSX. Prius was the first Toyoya whenever that debuted.

Direct injection for Toyota dates back to the mid 90s when Toyota announced it. The first engines were 2.0 I4. Japan only (I think)

 

And those issues I mentioned with DI existed and exist today.

The net result is, I wouldnt expect a modern Lexus or Toyota to go as painlessly to 300k miles and 20 years old as one built in the 90s.

 

Carbon build up, damage to the cylinder walls and piston rings, and fuel dilution of the oil supply is still possible with port injection.

Just because these issues are exuberated with DI does not mean it is completely nonexistent with older port injection designs.

Plus, simply using port injection to just wash the carbon off of the intake ports isnt exactly a surefire way to deal with the problem. For example Mazda rerouted the coolant passages in their engine away from the intake ports so that they get hot enough to burn off excess deposits during spirited driving. Software changes can also help. That would be an example of effectively tackling the issue head on rather than just bypassing it with a bandaid.

Also, high pressure injection existed back in the days with port injection as well. Direct injection isnt a new technology either. It was implemented in the 1960's by mercedes to allow the engine to run at a cooler temperature.