Bill, sell your Model A and Vette, and I'm sure a Tesla could fit in your garage .

 

Lexus corporate finally called me back and pretty much told me there was no fix. I told them if there was no fix I was going to pursue the lemon law route and contact the better business bureau.I let them know how I've bought over 10 Lexus all my life and how I have 4 in my garage right now. They didn't even try to comfort me saying there was a fix in the works and told me they would be sending me a buy back letter in 4-6 weeks...wow I've lost complete faith in Lexus. This leads me to believe that there is no alpha fix, as much as I'd love to believe there is one...why wouldn't they try to sway me away from taking a legal path?

 

Can you tell me who you are working with at Lexus and how you got them to go the "buy back" letter route? My case is with Amber and I cannot even get her to get on the phone any longer, I only am allowed to talk to the first line operators.

Nearly 8 months now waiting and waiting sucks.

Cheers

 

I think that Lexus is just blowing smoke at you and believes that you will not suceed with the Lemon Law. In PA, under the law, the issue must be safety related. Not just a sound system issue. I don't know about your state but I think it's probably similar. In any case, I'm thinking that Lexus hopes that all of you with the ML complaints will become frustrated and just go away.
This issue - which has been going on now for many months - does not instill confidence in one for Lexus customer service and complaint resolution. Too bad as I believed they were above other vehicle manufacturers.

 

I called the 800 number that the dealer gives you after you buy the vehicle and they called back, told me they were going yo call my dealer then called me 2 days later.

 

"Lexus is just blowing smoke"

My local dealer has ordered a new amp which they say will correct the issue (as has been reported here recently).

 

Robodog posted this a while back, have any of you given this info to your dealer, I gave it to mine in Atlanta a week ago. I have not heard anything yet but it might help you.

"Have your service tech call Robert at Riverside Lexus @ (951) 353-0903. tell your tech to ask Robert about the recent ES350 owner that came in and met with the mark levinson engineers and had a new amp installed that fixed the bass distortion issue. He is very aware of the problem and the resolution. He would give your tech all the info and tech notes to possibly get an amp ordered for you. There is a fix that vastly improves the bass in the car, however I don't know if it is released to the public yet, my amp was a prerelease to get me to stop my lemon law case. the new amp rocks BTW."

 

I've been following this thread since its inception, as I had a similar situation with the ML in my '09 ES UL that took quite a bit of time and effort to resolve.

I think it's fair to say, based on the disparate experiences being reported here, that it's questionable whether Lexus (actually Harman) has produced a solution involving a new processor/amp. I'm NOT saying Robdog hasn't experienced an improvement, but I will entertain the possibility that the quality of the ML hardware is far from the bullet-proof reliability of true high-end audio products, and that Robdog had a clunker that was replaced with another one off the shelf that works nominally.

The reality is that Lexus contracts with Harman to provide an "audiophile" experience at a negotiated price point that precludes true high-end performance.

Not to rain on anyone's parade here, but may I suggest that your best bet is to insist that Lexus reimburse you for the dollar amount you paid for the ML. Simply put, you didn't get what you paid for, so a refund is in order.

 

Bobsobi, IMHO the system actually sounds pretty good, except for the distortion in the bass which only occurs at very high volume levels (which most would not typically listen to), which also happens primarily when you are listening to compressed audio such as XM and I assume other sources that deliver compressed audio such as Pandora. Overall, I am quite pleased with the sound it produces when listening to a high quality sound source. I now listed only to high quality digital audio on DVD and really enjoy the system, and have fine tuned the bass, mid and treble settings to maximize the sound of the system. It is far, far superior to the standard premium sound system.

Based on the description of the sound with the new amp, I suspect that Harman has increased the bass to the front subs and reduced it to the rear one, which is causing the sound issue. This would indeed fix the issue and improve the overall performance of the system, if that is the case. I should know shortly once the new amp is installed in my vehicle, hopefully in the next week.

Keep in mind that the sub can easily be upgraded.

 

So how do you put a price on this option since it is packaged in the "Ultra Luxury Package" at $8,700 USD or for the delta between this package and the "Luxury Package with Additional Options Package" meaning $2,375 USD?

The "service credit" that I have been offered so far is a bad joke regarding this issue and would be interested in getting a refund for this poorly designed / implemented "premium" option.

 

I couldn't agree more. I've only heard the distortion once. The higher the quality source, the better. XM is almost un-listenable on the system at volume levels higher than 45. Pandora actually sounds 10x better than XM. My 256k MP3's sound outstanding and DVD-A is amazing. Maybe all amps aren't created equal and I just got lucky.

 

Are you sure ML is decoding the DVD-A (surround sound, 96khz)? Or is it just reading the cd layer and and synthesizing surround sound? I haven't found documentation that our version of ML has the DVD-A codecs.

 

Kind of a PITA, but on DVD-A disc, I start with the car in park and the parking brake engaged. That's the only way to get to the audio menu to choose the high res layer. Default is DD 5.1, which isn't bad either. Just need to make sure the surround processor is turned off.

 

it sounds as though Lexus is taking a while to approve the amp. my only guess is the increased bass has caused the car to vibrate, the trim makes more noise during sustained notes.... given that Lexus Engineering has to revise the designs and update the manufacturing aids for Japan. I am a design engineer for an aerospace corp and I know firsthand how long engineering changes can take even when expedited. Could take months.

now, given I have the new amp tells us that while trying to resolve a lemon law case, Lexus can pre-approve a un approved amp installation of a component as long as it does not impair any safety component of the car from functioning properly. So, b/c I had a pending lemon law case Lexus installed a un approved amp in my car to get me to stop the case.

My recommendation to you all is.
1) Wait until Lexus approves the new amp with the new acoustic damping gear
or
2) File a lemon law case b/c of the distortion and hope that Lexus approves a install of this amp ahead of the official release. The lemon law case is free, and since its a bluff you don't have to submit any forms. I never did.

Good luck.

 

My dealer has ordered the new amp for me. I have not filed a Lemon Law case.