Mike728

Saw this in the GS forum. I guess Toyota/Lexus finally confirmed there's an issue. Might be time to get mine fixed!

http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/...dPdf?id=195332

lesz

I notice that it says that the necessary repairs will be done at no cost to the owner if the vehicle is still within the 4 year, 50,000 mile warranty period. Considering that, by the date when the TSB was issued, many of the cars affected would already have been out of warranty or very close to being out of warranty because of either mileage or time, it sure does seem like Lexus should be offering a warranty extension for any repairs needed to deal with this issue.

Mike728

Thanks for pointing that out. That means I have exactly 3 months to take it in.

Universe93

Is there another way to download it? That site doesn't work anymore. Can someone upload it to ClubLexus if that's allowed?

Anyone ask the dealership on a warranty extension? It's pretty sad of Lexus to limit this TSB to 50k/4 years.

Nelexus88

Link works for me.

Im guessing the warranty limit will cover most all the vehicles with bad gateway modules since electronic parts usually fail early in life or last for the life of the car. The early '13 models with the problem have hopefully been diagnosed and fixed already and can get reimbursed by Lexus. My '14 ES350 has never had any problems.

Kijug

I'm going in for 35K service next week (2014 ES) so it'd be good to add this fix in also. Logging into mylexus and other Lexus sites, I cannot find any official notification of this. Strange. I called the parts department and they could not find such a service bulletin. Nonetheless my VIN falls "before the fix" so I'll print out the service bulletin and show it to the service rep.

Maikerusan

Link also works fine or me. Try using a different browser if you have issues.

Emiddleb

THANKS (!) for posting the TSIB. I've had the battery drain issue too since I purchased my 2013 ES CPO last Spring. Prior owner (per maint log) showed he had the issue too. Each time the "fix" was to just replace the battery... "no trouble found."

Took them a copy of the bulletin on my last 5K service, and they did replace the Gateway as per the instructions under warranty (still 6k to go.)

FYI, dealer said it was about an $800 fix, so very glad to have the doc to point them in the right direction and get this done while still under warranty.

Now fingers crossed it solves the issue.

Kijug

Well, I took my car in for the standard 35K service and showed the service bulletin (see OP) and they just said, "We'll test the battery". They looked up stuff and there was no report of a repair or recall so they didn't do anything--and probably couldn't (Lexus "process" and all). I showed them the service bulletin, but that is not enough. "They" need to be told about it from Lexus or I need to complain there is an issue. I have a 2013 ES 350 and hope I don't have the issue out of warranty. I'll argue with them if that is the case...that I tried to get it replaced earlier and they didn't want to. Anyway, I'm not surprised. Dunno if it is software or hardware. If software, I'd think everyone would need it replaced. If hardware, it could be a few defective pieces of something some folks are experiencing. P.S. I haven't experienced any battery issues, but I thought I'd try to get things replaced anyway. I saved the service bulletin to print out again later if I ever need to. That's my experience, FYI.

Mike728

Update: My yearly oil change was due, so I took the TSB along to see what would transpire. I'm down to less than a month remaining on my standard warranty, so it was now or never. While explaining the situation to the service manager, he seemed to shrug it off as a normal occurrence with newer vehicles. He actually stated that after these newer cars sit for more than 4 days, it's pretty common for them not to start on their own. I just about lost it, but ended up laughing at his comment. I asked if he'd heard of any service bulletins related to my complaint, he said no. I then showed him my printout and asked him if he could look into it. I then moved to the waiting area.

About an hour later he comes out and says my car's VIN fell into the range listed, so they were changing the gateway computer per the TSB! He also said they wanted to load test my battery, but needed to charge it, because it was so low. I was barely able to start it on the way in. It's always iffy. I then decided to leave, since it was going to take too long to sit and wait.

A few hours later he calls and says the battery failed and would be replaced as well! I'm kind of in shock by the 180 they took with my issue. I now have a new battery that was covered under warranty after almost 4 years. Not to mention, my 3 year starting issue should be resolved with the computer replacement. As I'm paying for my $100 synthetic oil change, the cashier tells me I have $30 in rewards money, would I like to use it? The only thing that wasn't perfect, after the initial conversation, was they forgot not to wash it, as I had requested a few times. The service manager apologized and walked around the car with me to be sure it was ok, which it was.

This is the only issue I've had with the car in the 4 years I've owned it. The end result of my visit today, makes me a happy customer who will be strongly considering Lexus when my wife needs her replacement vehicle in about a year.

Emiddleb

Further Update= now mid-February, no further battery drain issues since the replacement in Novermber. Good fix!

bc6152

Well this is a happy ending! I've had no issues - none - with my 2013 and feel the same as you Mike.

PAcommuter

I just got back from having my 33k oil and filter change at Putnam Lexus in Redwood City. Since I bought my car from a non Lexus dealer in November, I wanted to take my car to one when it was time for it's next service. I got a great groupon deal and jumped on it. I printed the tsb and brought it with me. The service guy told me that I would have to pay for a full diagnostic first before they would even consider the tsb. I told him to check my battery and see how that went as I really didn't have time today for a repair. So everything went well, and they found that my battery was weak and a replacement was swapped out since it's still under warranty. What the service guy suggested was that after a month of usual usage to come in and have the diagnostic done and get a loaner car as it would take most of a day and if they found there was any more drainage from a fairly new battery they would track it back to what could cause drainage and then they would replace the component. He said, " It's not a recall in the true sense, but just a service bulletin to find a source for a problem."

Mike728

Have you experienced the issue and does your VIN fall into the range? If so, there should be no diagnostic cost to you. It would be covered under the standard warranty. Replacing the computer does not take long. I think it takes longer for them to replace the battery.

PAcommuter

Yes, my vin falls in the range, but I've only owned the car for 4 months so I don't have a long track record with the quirks of my car. The service rep told me that the service I had scheduled for that day (33k maintenance, oil change) only had visual inspection of covered parts.