I have a 2003 ES 300 with 67,000 miles. The engine died and the warranty is for 6 years / 70,000 miles. I am about six months out of my warranty period. The dealer promptly brushed me off and asked to call Lexus Cust Service 800 number for warranty. Apparently, the Lexus Cust Service looks at service records before making a judgement call to honor the warranty. I did not have much luck as Lexus Cust Service brushed me off too as I had not "serviced" my car at the dealers. I have had regular oil changes but not at the dealers.

I'd appreciate if Forum members can share:

1) What is the best approach with Lexus Cust Service to assist me - I understand I am outside the warranty period but its just 6 months out and on the fringes - this car was well cared for, has less than 70,000 miles.
2) Has anyone in similar situations had much luck by writing / fax to the CEO ?
3) Any legal options? Small Claims Court?
4) Letters to the media / consumer reports?

Thanks in advance.

 

You could try going higher up but in all honesty, you have not given Lexus a lot of business since you've bought the car and that must be one of the reasons why they're not going to warrant the work even though you're out of warranty. Had you done all your service at the dealership, this might have been a different story. Unfortunately, Lexus only garantees the car for 6 months/70,000 miles... and you're six months out of the warranty. This will not hold up in court as Lexus is in no contractual obligation to uphold a warranty that does not exist anymore.

 

A lot of deaerships will take into consideration customer loyalty. Things like previous car purchases weight considerably on their decision. Legally the warrenty has expired, so they have no obligation.

 

Do you have records of all maintenance done? When my engine failed on my RX, Lexus wanted copies of all receipts for maintenance work that was done anywhere but Lexus. If you have proof, then you may be able to go back to Lexus customer service and ask to speak to someone higher up. Just a thought...

 

I agree with the above posts. Customer loyalty is key in making calls for expired warranty claims. Especially big engine/transmission jobs. You could try to use to your advantage if you plan to purchase a new Lexus vehicle, have any other Lexus vehicles. Or like stated above, ask for someone higher up, and be the (pissed off customer that is threatening to not buy another Lexus) (works sometimes...) Thats pretty much all I can think of at this time.

I myself am a service consultant, not at a Lexus dealer, but they all work the same way.

Hate to see when things like this happen

 

Just curious,what happened to the engine?At 70000miles looks to early for it to go.

 

Buci: Dont know exactly but as I think the oil level was a problem.

As I dig out all the dirt on this, I find that during the warranty period, the "Check Oil" lamp had turned on. When I took it in, the dealer said "Gee, the oil level looks OK, must be the sensor so don't bother" Turns out that the oil was leaking and it ran out of oil. I have the dealer's written "Oil level looks OK" assessment in writing so I am seriously looking at legal options. I have written to the Chairman of the Board, the CEO (both in Japan) and their head of marketing as well as a Customer Service.

I am bracing myself for a long fight. This is unacceptable - I paid a friggin premium to buy this brand and will not accept such treatment - especially when the genesis of the problem occurred during the warranty period.

I will also post every bit of the gory details on this post and blogs elsewhere so that the world know what not to do....

 

Sorry to bring this back from the dead

Any updates on this case, what happen?

 

Wait a minute! if you're driving on a highway, a hundred miles from the nearest Lexus dealer, oil starts leaking for some reason, and your engine oil level warning light comes on, what would you do?

 

yeah, I am quite interested in this. What happened?
The previous inquiry with the dealer's service center might qualify the warranty repair by the dealer even though warranty expired. They have obviously overlooked such a serious problem. BTW, when exactly did you take the car in for check oil level light?

 

Looks like Elvis has left the building.

I doubt he's going to have much luck with warranty repairs. Unless he can prove that there was a history of excessive oil consumption during the warranty period, letting the thing run out of oil is not something likely to get much sympathy, especially since he didn't have the vehicle serviced at the dealership. If my low oil level warning came on, the first thing I would do would be to use that high-tech oil measuring devices called a dipstick, not go running to the dealer. Since he apparently didn't bother, he can't prove that the oil level was indeed low when he took it to the dealer, so he has no way to prove that the condition began during the warranty period. The second thing I would do would be to very closely monitor oil consumption, again using the high-tech dipstick rather than depending on the electronic nanny. Unless the thing was just pouring oil, there is no way that you'd run it out of oil in between fuelings.

 

I completely agree with this post. There's no point in blaming the brand in this case IMO.