heidihidin

i have spent several month and many hours at a japanese car mechanic and the lexus dealership and hope to save others wasted time and money
i will try to attach a video to this post to show you what my 08 es with 96k miles serviced every 5k at a lexus dealer and filled with 93 octane shell did at start up:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11s9...ew?usp=sharing
if your issue is similar to this, get rid of the car while you still can if you don't feel bad that your buyer will inherit a serious issue
after a month at the dealership my car was looked at by a lexus corporate engineer and diagnosed with defective vvti cam controller
it is out of warranty and will do nothing besides taking my money
i saw many articles via google that this issue does not cause engine dame = this is not true
i was told that the issue causes vvti oil starvation and sooner than later the gears will crumble most likely flying into the cylinders, etc
the total repair estimate at lexus is $8300 and this is not an engine replacement, just the top repaired
(amateur poor quality home video by mr heidi, we originally filmed this to show to the dealer and only noticed the rattle after the car sat outside in extreme heat - disregard that part)

oldgrump

I'm not going to find all your posts but........you do know that there is a TSB for camshaft drive gears (bolts loosening) on some cars? That repair shouldn't come close to $8300, I don't think. What the hell is the VVT cam "controller". The timing of the camshafts is controlled by the ECM. There is one camshaft position sensor for each camshaft and the ECM changes the camshaft position by use of the associated camshaft timing oil control valve. The sensors and the oil control valves are installed in the camshaft covers. If there are no associated fault codes then did anyone bother to check the VVT oil supply filter (one per bank) in the oil supply pipe banjo fitting for contamination (such as rubber)?

heidihidin

thanks for your reply
i am not a mechanic or even close
yes there is a TSB and yes my car falls under the tsb but it being a 2008 and 96k miles Lexus said : it is long out of warranty and we feel bad for you but we cannot help you
i do not know what thry checked but i know that hey had a "corporate engineer" come look at the car
i will post a copy of the diag sheet and estimate here in the next few days and then i thin you will understand better what the charges are for

DJPsystems

Video does not work.

jagtoes

Still slightly confused here. Are you saying that to have the dealer do the TSB it will cost $8300. Or the TSB won't correct your problem or you are not willing to have the TSB done on your dime.

heidihidin

yes to have the dealer do the TSB is $8250 after tax and shop fees

LexBob2

You seem to be having a number of issues with your ES and this one that sounds $$. Think you'll keep it or stat looking for something else?

heidihidin

hi Lexbob we will not be keeping it
i think if we had a friendlier dealership or multiple then we would
this dealership sets their price the way they want and has no competition
a synthetic 5w30 valvoline change is $140 and if we buy the car from them new and service it there every 5k miles including $1800 on the 90k service 7 month ago, we were expexting some support

LexBob2

Probably the best thing to do, If your dealer is in Indy, I remember seeing them listed as one of the Lexus Plus (fixed price) dealerships. I wonder how well that is working for Lexus. When the Plus program started there were 13 dealers in it, now after some time, it's down to 12. It looks like it's not being embraced by dealers in markets where there is more competition. IMO not a bad concept but I can see a lot of resistance from buyers as well as the dealerships. Good luck with whatever you decide to get.

heidihidin

yes they are a lexus plus but being one does not effect them negatively in any way as the next closest lexus dealer is fort wayne about 130 miles away so again, no competition

jagtoes

I don't defend various dealers as there are good ones and bad ones. I do find most are all in line with their pricing for service +/- 10%. $140 for an oil change is not considered out of the norm. My Jaguar goes for $160 while the kids Audi goes for $150. Then the Chevy truck goes for $125. I'm sure the other brands are in the same ball park. One of the reasons behind this is the extended oil life claimed by the manufactures. So if you do a 5000 mile change or an annual change you pay top price. If you do the recommended 10,000 mile change it's half the price. As far as dealer support when you buy a car as is , where is with high mileage (over 75K) you get what you get and should expect to pay for near term problems. So watching your posts it appears you need a new Toyota or Honda and sell it at 50K miles. Good luck.

heidihidin

thanks for your comment
the car was purchased brand new from the same dealership

jagtoes

If you were the original owner I would expect the dealer to bend over backwards to please you. Then again once the warranty has expired then all bets are off. The older I get the more I started to use dealers. My approach was to meet with the service manager and the GM of the dealership to understand how they support their customer base. If I didn't like what I heard I would go to another dealer. I now deal with 2 different dealers and one is 80 miles and the other is 60 miles from home. If they need the car overnight I get a new car loaner. So far I only have to go for my annual service and any required updates.

salvojimmy

heidihidin

can you tell me how to do this check?