roninlexus

So I got my 2013 ES at an Infinity dealer as they were appreciably higher for my trade in(s) rather than Lexus of Frederick. However, the cars service history (every 5k) was done at the local Lexus dealer which = a plus in my book. The last entry on car fax was “replaced engine timing cover”. Hmmm- So, the last couple weeks I have smelled something burning but not bad. Checked oil etc. all good. Yesterday when I backed out I looked at the garage floor. Oil! Not much but enough…So called Infinity in Dacono (where I bought it) and got the Heisman-“don’t bring it here, take it to Lexus”. Ok, over to Lexus (they are 2 miles apart). They jumped on it with both feet. Tried like heck to get me a loner but with no apt., it was impossible. (I asked if the owners LFA was available but that just got as laugh) Got it in (I was there maybe 40 min total) and determined yep- oil is coming from about the same spot.. So I’m due in Tuesday to drop off and get a loner. The repair sounds extensive as they were not sure it could be done this week. So maybe 1500-2K+? Anyway, I did buy an aftermarket warranty and the factory warranty is up I believe, but I was told repairs are no charge. They want to make it right.So, we will see how it goes. I’m impressed so far and just wanted to share the story and see if anyone else has had an oil leak “up top” near the cam/timing cover? I see posts about avoiding high costs by going to Toyota for service. Based on quality of service so far and prices (45K service at 89 bucks for instance) I will stick with these guys .. Hope others have some good experiences too although I'm sure service levels change shop to shop... However if you are in northern Colorado, I highly recommend these guys...

Gekko

>but I was told repairs are no charge. They want to make it right.

what is the Lexus dealer's rationale for doing a $2K job for free out of warranty? "they want to make it right" does not fly with me.

roninlexus

Hmm. Ok- I'm glad you are not the Service mgr. While I did not ask for a "rational" or argue with them and insist I pay (BTW- that $ estimate is just a swag on my part) my guess is as like I mentioned, they did the original repair which would of been under warranty. If they are still trying to correct the original issue or are repairing the "repair" then either one makes sense to me. And it's not just the fact they are covering it but they fact they got me in immediately and got me out of there with a plan to correct the issue in a very professional manner. Perhaps they can do this as a "warranty" repair.

dchar

The 45K miles service is deceiving cheap because it's a service of only inspections and tire rotation. I found the services at Lexus are much cheaper than the Germans. Customer service at my local Lexus service department is great, and I find their prices somewhat reasonable, especially since they always give 10-15% off.

lesz

I suspect that you are correct in saying that the reason why the dealer is offering to do the repair at no further cost is that they are standing by the work that they previously did and which did not solve the problem that it was supposed to solve.

That is correct. If you are paying $89 for 45,000 mile service, you are essentially paying that $89 for a tire rotation, which could be done at a Toyota dealer or other shop for $15 or for $10 with a coupon. And the Toyota dealer or other shop is also likely to be offering, again, perhaps with a coupon, free inspections of the same items that the Lexus dealer is including in the 45,000 mile service for $89.

roninlexus

For #1 above- agreed...

For #2 I was told that yes, the tires are removed, the brakes and etc (including the infamous floor-mat inspections) are performed but also the oil was changed. Hence my surprise at 89 bucks for the whole service. However, now that I look at the maintenance schedule it does not mention an oil change. That deserves clarification when the time comes. I'll also make a note if the oil is indeed changed as part of this repair...
Thank you- good point(s)

Gekko

i don't follow the recommended "X Miles" service "packaged" recommendations - i think they were created as pure-profit centers for the dealerships at the financial expense of gullible customers. i created and follow my own by looking at their recommended schedules and stripping out the fluff. as you allude to above, many times you are paying for a lot of money "fluff" - including "inspections" that they will do for you anyway during an oil change to generate revenue. it's in their best interest to FIND things to fix - so you can bet they will look and find any chance they can get - no need to pay for inspections! this is what i have followed since i bought my 2004 Lexus ES330 Nav/ML brand new back many years ago and at 140,000+ miles, it's still running buttery smooth and strong. i examined their recommendations and stripped out the meat and this is what i came up with - it's "a la carte". yes it's minimalistic, but effective IMO -

LEXUS MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE
1. Every 5,000 Miles - Oil and Oil Filter Change
2. Every 30,000 Miles - Air Filter, Cabin Filter Change
3. Every 100,000 Miles - Coolant Change
4. Every 1 Year - Tire Rotation, Wax

obviously, if wear and tear items like brake pads, tires, etc. need replacing i get those replaced too as needed - you can be sure the dealer will inspect/tell you for free when you get an oil change, etc. again, they are always looking for revenue. but the above list just my personal scheduled by miles/time mandatory service list.

for the first 8 years of ownership i was getting my services done at the Lexus dealership. but for the last 4 years i've been going to the Toyota dealer and saving roughly 50%. same parts, same fluids, same techs, same service. good luck all.

lesz

Your post reminded me of the experience that I had a couple of years ago when I took my ES to the Lexus dealer for the (complimentary) 10,000 mile service. When the work was completed and when I got the car back, I noticed that the floor mat latches for both front mats were not rotated to properly lock the floor mats into place. My assumption is that, when they did the (complimentary) car wash after the service was completed, the car wash guys removed the mats when they vacuumed the floor and that they did not lock down the mats when they put them back into the car. Still, I found it amusing that Lexus tries to convince me that it is important for me to bring the car back to them every 5,000 miles so that they can check (among other things) to see that the floor mats are properly locked down. Yet, they evidently don't bother to make sure that their car wash crew knows that they need to lock the mats down to floor when they are completing doing their jobs.

lesz

That has been my experience, too. When I had the most recent service done on the 2013 ES that I had at the time at the local Toyota dealer, I paid $40 (with a coupon) for the full synthetic oil change and $10 for the tire rotation. And the Toyota dealer includes the same list of inspections as Lexus does as a part of the oil change service.

Several years ago, I had a leak in the AC refrigerant line on my GX. The Lexus dealer said that the entire refrigerant line needed to be replaced at a cost of $1800. The Toyota dealer quoted me $800 to replace the refrigerant line, but they also said that they thought that just replacing the fitting where the leak was should solve the problem. They charged me less than $150 to replace that fitting, and that $150 repair has held up for about 6 years and done the same thing that spending $1800 at the Lexus dealer would have done.

With regard to tire rotations, I've typically had them done annually when I have the yearly or 10,000 mile oil changes done. With my ES, at the time of the first rotation, there was about 1/32 more wear on the front tires than there was on the rear tires. After that first rotation and by the time of the second rotation, the wear had evened out for all 4 tires. Assuming that you haven't hit a pothole and that you don't have alignment issues, I've found that there is no benefit with regard to tire wear with having the tires rotated at 10,000 mile intervals, instead of the 5,000 mile intervals that Lexus says are needed.

Gekko

i buy all my tires from NTB/Tire Kingdom and have them install them. i always get the high quality Michelins because i believe in never going cheap on tires. the prices are a lot cheaper vs. buying them from Lexus or even Toyota dealers. plus they include free lifetime tire rotation. i primarily do the tire rotation in order to preserve the warranty. if Michelin has no record of tire rotations, they won't honor/prorate your mileage warranty.

roninlexus

Based on what I'm reading here and my previous car being a 2010 Corolla which was serviced at, well, Toyota; I'm definitely going to compare prices. (I also have a pretty good relationship/track record with them) My guess is I was told wrong regarding the oil change and therefore 89 for a "rotation" (which it would hardly even need with 6-7K on the tires) does not seem like much of a deal. However for the current "warranty" work, I'm at the right place for sure. Thanks for all the input (above).

Gekko

i'm shocked that no one has beat me up yet on my minimalist approach to scheduled maintenance.

bc6152

my opinion is that your policy is dead on. Most dealers do the same thing; add unnecessary checks and replacement items whenever possible to generate revenue. A biggie is the cabin filter which costs around $17.00 and takes no more than 10 minutes to replace. Lexus wanted $55.00...

There are those that will follow the manufacturer's recommendations to the letter and that is their prerogative. Like buying an extended warranty which IMO is unnecessary.
Whatever makes you comfortable. I'm just one that doesn't like getting taken for $$$.

roninlexus

Update-
1. The 45k service does not include an oil change (per service dept vs when I called in) so 89 bucks does not seem like as fair a deal as I thought before for 45k service.
2. 10K miles on an oil change seems like a ton but that's what they recommend. Not sure if my service will include one. I started leaking pretty bad though. I could even smell it.
3. I have no issues with the above maintenance schedule but one thing that got me on this car was the fact Carfax showed service at Lexus every 5K. It was a warm fuzzy buying the car. But every buyer is different.
4. bc6152 same thing on my Toyota- cabin filter 55 bucks. 13 bucks at Autozone. I'll do the same on the ES.
5. My loner is a 2017 GS350 with 6k miles. Damn nice car. And just as an add in (as there is a nasty thread/poll about this) My NuLuxe feels as good to me first blush as the heated/cooled (I assume) leather seats in this GS. However it's a damn nice car. Auto everything, bigger screen it looks like etc...etc....

roninlexus

So to follow up- It turns out it is the Front Crank Seal that is leaking. Replaced in about 90 min. N/C for repair or loaner. We will see how the week goes. Tech stated he drove it 5 miles and re-checked and all was dry... Oh yeah, my drivers floor mat is a-ok...