When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
TL;DR: After more than a month in the shop and $800 in unnecessary parts, my original problem persists. And they also broke $4600 worth of AHC components during diagnostics and flat refuse to take any responsibility.
FULL ACCOUNT:
I had been a regular customer of Lexus of Winter Park/Lexus of Orlando for oil changes and other various services, repairs and parts since I had purchased my LX in 2016. On April 25, 2018, I brought my vehicle to Lexus of Orlando to locate and eliminate a "clunk" noise which sounded to be emanating from the front passenger-side suspension. My Service Advisor, Joshua Montgomery, was young guy who called me "bro" repeatedly. Note: At a premium brand dealership, I expect to be called "sir," not "bro." I explained the "clunk" I was hearing to Joshua, and suggested I go on a ride along with the tech to point out the noise. Joshua insisted that wouldn't be necessary and sent me to the waiting area. After about an hour, he came to me and said they couldn't hear the noise I was talking about, so I again offered to go on a ride along with a service tech to point out the noise. Tech acknowledged he heard the noise, and set about finding/fixing it. I knew it wasn't going to be quick, and suggested I be put in a loaner, but they declined. After a few hours of waiting, they finally agreed to put me in a loaner and sent me on my way.
I received a text from Joshua later that day saying my wheel bearings are bad. (I later checked and they were not. They were just hearing my off road rated tires and suggested I replace all wheel bearings, instead of checking them properly. Every single time I go to either dealer for a repair or oil change, they tell me my wheel bearings are bad. They aren’t.) No report about the “clunk.” The next day, Joshua tells me a lgihtbulb in the dash is out, and asks if I want to replace it for $98.48. I decline, and ask for an update on the “clunk,” and he tells me they’re going to need to use “chassis ears” to find it, and it will be an increased diagnostic fee. I agreed.
The following morning (April 27), he calls and tells me they used “chassis ears” to trace the “clunk” to my front passenger shock absorber, and that it would need to be replaced along with the front shock on the driver’s side. I explained that this seemed strange — my shocks seem to function normally. The LX470 has Automatic Height Control (AHC) which, amongst other things, adjusts suspension damping (firmness/softness of the “shocks”) allows the vehicle’s ride height to be raised and lowered at the press of a button for driving over obstacles off-road or loading/unloading the vehicle, respectively. I explained that this system was working flawlessly, the height goes up and down normally, and the sport/comfort suspension settings all operate as designed. **This is very important to keep in mind for later in this account** No matter, he insisted that their diagnostic specialist, Chris, used chassis ears to find the “clunk” was coming from inside the shock absorber. So, hesistantly, I said that if Chris was sure, then I would agree to replace them. This cost $768.46. It did NOT fix my problem.
They told me it was fixed though, and I drove it home, thinking it was fixed, but on the way home, I heard the “clunk” agian. I called Joshua immediately and told him that I was coming back because the noise was still present, and also mentioned that it was NOT cool that I had told him prior to installing those shocks that I thought they were fine and there was absolutely no change in performance or in the “clunk” sound. He said he spoke to his manager and assured me they would “take care of it” and to bring it back in.
I brought the car back in and leave in a loaner. They had my car until May 10th (15 days after I brought it in!). On that day, they told me that they would need more money from me in diagnostic fees to find the clunk I came in for. I told them they had already charged me the diagnostic fee, and the advanced “chassis ears” diagnostic fee, and they had not “diagnosed” anything yet, and they also had charged me $768.48 for shocks I insisted I didn’t need, which I was right about. The service manager told me that my car was old with a lot of miles so to find the problem they would need to replace “everything in the front suspension.” I told him I had JUST finished replacing everything in the front suspenion prior to this visit, which is true (all OEM parts). I offered to show him a list of what I had replaced—but he insisted I pay more money to them to find the problem.
So, 15 days, two diagnostic fees, and an unecessary $768.48 front shock replacement, and I’m leaving with the problem I came in with!! Whilst being insulted for not driving a BRAND NEW car with no miles and no problems. (Which is sort of insane for a service department if you think about it… Cars needs repairs/maintenance/fluid changes as they age… Thats the whole point of the service department. Unfortunately, the reality is of course, it doesn’t exist for the benefit of the customers, it’s just a way for dealers to maximize profits. But a “luxurious” dealership experience doesn’t include being treated as a second class customer merely because my $100,000+ Lexus isn’t brand new anymore. I’m willing to pay out of pocket for my post-warranty repairs. So long as you’re actually repairing what I asked you to repair and all that… anyway, moving on…) No wait not moving on— I almost forgot: When I left the Orlando store, I took a survey, which predictably I left bad scores on. I got a call from Joshua insisting I change my scores to all 10s! Unbelievable. I tell him maybe if he refunds me for the unnecessary shocks I’ll change his scores, but he texted me “Good morning John, its Joshua, unfortunately we are unable to refund you [sic] money. But we can give you future service credit on you [sic] account, as soon as you complete my survey with all 10s.” — that is a verbatim text. Extraordinarily unprofessional.
That same day (May 10) I head to Lexus of Winter Park, thinking that this being the older, more established branch, maybe I’ll get better help/treatment. I get to Lexus of WP and talk to the Service Manager, Jeff Moler. He initially seems very helpful and apologetic, and promises to put his Diagnostic Specialist, Terry on the job of eradicating the noise. He also promises me service credit for the $768.48 I spent on the shocks. Well, when they set you up for service, they give you a number you can text to ask about your service. I texted that number just about every other day for updates and got very few replies, and really felt like I had to hound these guys for updates—not cool. I really don’t have a full idea what they even did. Terry said he put a wrench on everything underneath the truck to make sure it was all torqued correctly. They mentioned the fluid getting changed a few times, even though it had just been done when Lexus of Orlando put the new shocks in.
Well finally, on May 23rd, they finally claim they have an answer. Body mounts. They take days to confirm. Around May 29 they tell me they think they’re right but the only way to confirm is to send it to a body shop and have them remove the body from the frame. So again, I’m told to get lost, in essence. I push back on this but eventually I give up and go to take my car out of there. I get in my car and find the height control (AHC) is taking an unusually long time to bring the car to normal ride height. I immediately turn it back over to them to diagnose this issue. I tell them it worked perfectly since I’ve owned it until they spent 4 weeks tinkering with it. (THEY BROKE IT)
June 8, Terry tells me they cycled the pump a lot with all their testing, and it seems to have worn out. They tell me I need a new AHC Pump & Motor Assembly and a Heigh Valve Assembly which will cost $4618… $3700 of that is parts! I insist that since they clearly broke it (they had it for a month, told me about 20 other things that they claimed were broken, but never mentioned anything AHC related being broken. Also, they defintely would’ve noticed it being broken when they replaced the shocks. So it 100% broke during their testing!). They tell me no way, it is not their problem. They denied all responsibility (even though Terry had stated their testing likely wore the pump out) and told me I could give them the $4618 and they’d replace all that stuff —— still not having fixed my original issue!!! I again insisted they were responsible and I refused to pay and insisted they fix it, but they told me no again. I asked to ask the store manager (Howard) about it, and Jeff went and “asked him” but he came back after literally about 2-3 minutes saying no way again.
I called Lexus corporate. The woman who answered my call and took my report initially sounded very concerned and seemed like she was going to help. I was promised a call back within 24 hours. 24 hours later, I had not been called back. I reached out and they promised a call by the end of the day. Finally I get a call, and I speak to someone who says they don’t deal with anything out of warranty, and so they can’t do anything except “facilitate a phone call between” me and the dealership management. I watied almost a week for that call, but they never called. I called back with my case number and let them know I’d been waiting on that call, and it hadn’t come. So they connected me right then — to Jeff Moler!!!! *Facepalm* I said “but thats the guy who already wasn’t very helpful… i was told i was going to speak to dealership management.” Jeff is on the line along with the lady from corporate, and he promises me Howard will call me. Howard never calls. I call corporate AGAIN and say tell them I’ve been waiting on a call from Howard for weeks now and I’d like to speak to him immediately. They call him with me not on the line, and come back to me (I had to wait 15 minutes on hold total during this last call) and tell me that he said he’s not going to do anything about it.
Germain Lexus of Naples is a legit shop. I would steer away from the main cities in FL, like Miami, Orlando, and Tampa & Jacksonville, for Lexus maintenance. FL is basically the wild west of the USA, I have had no problems here at Scanlon lexus Fort myers or Germain Lexus of Naples. Screw those major cities Lexus garages. Feel free to disagree. Hope your car problems gets worked out.
Germain Lexus of Naples is a legit shop. I would steer away from the main cities in FL, like Miami, Orlando, and Tampa & Jacksonville, for Lexus maintenance. FL is basically the wild west of the USA, I have had no problems here at Scanlon lexus Fort myers or Germain Lexus of Naples. Screw those major cities Lexus garages. Feel free to disagree. Hope your car problems gets worked out.
Lexus of Wesley Chapel (1 year old dealership) is really awesome (owned by Williams Automotive) here in the northern Tampa burbs. I stay away from Lexus of Tampa Bay and Clearwater since they are autonation dealerships and super high volume but unfortunately Lexus of TB is the one that operates the LExus Certified Collision Center, so hope I never have to go there!!
Lexus of Wesley Chapel (1 year old dealership) is really awesome (owned by Williams Automotive) here in the northern Tampa burbs. I stay away from Lexus of Tampa Bay and Clearwater since they are autonation dealerships and super high volume but unfortunately Lexus of TB is the one that operates the LExus Certified Collision Center, so hope I never have to go there!!
I actually had good service the certified bodyshop @ Lexus of Pembroke Pines, but did not deal with the service station or sales there so I won't say, theyre probably like Lexus of TB & Clearwater. Ive heard lots of bad stuff about Lexus of Winter park also. Germain Lexus of Naples is really small shop and so they care about their customers alot, they still will try to make a buck or two off you if purchasing but their customer service is top notch.
I have to agree with Shadow on the big city dealers even though some of them are owned by the same as the small ones. Like Miami and Pines are owned by same group. Regardless, my car spent 5 months at the dealer in Miami with them tracking down an electrical issue. Car was finally returned to me and shortly after while at a small car meet, I was approached by a lexus tech (he had on the uniform) and he mentioned that he worked on my car but his shirt read pines, not Miami where my car originally was. Come to find out, Miami couldnt find the problem and was taken to Pines to resolve the issue. He knew exactly what the symptoms were so it was my car indeed.
Interesting article about Lexus of Orlando/Winter Park. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with them. However, I am not surprised.
I bought four cars from them ( all Lexus' ) over the past several years, and up until recently have been very satisfied. I believe something has changed
since the opening of their dealership in Orlando. Perhaps a change in management that DOES NOT put a premium on customer service.
I have experienced similar management changes that require each department to be independently profitable. That change requires Service, Parts, Sales, etc
to show profit without considering the affect on each other, Your case may be a classic example of that change. Each department involved was unwilling
to "lose" money to help resolve your issue. Teamwork was lost, and you the customer were put in the middle.
When I attempted to get help from corporate Lexus, I received the same treatment you did. The dealerships are independently owned, and corporate
really has no control over them. The customer interface at Lexus of Winter Park and Lexus of Orlando is the same person. I could sense she wanted
to help but she was limited by their policies. No one is empowered to override the decisions of individual department managers and insist they do what is best for the customer.
Lexus has exposed it's brand to the whim of each dealer.
I have owed a 1997 LS400 coach since 2012. This car was bought in Ft Myers and brought here to Orlando.
I am the second owner....thank to Lexus engineering “opal is running great...”. I perform all maintenance myself and the ONLY help ever from Lexus dealer (s) here has been ALL the service records before I bought her.
Lexus of Orlando has tried to screw me ( over priced parts) every time I need something I call them and when they see the car for diagnostics all I get is a service fee. (Did this twice). Money hungry service center. NOT interested in helping just wanting to charge $$$$. I imagine if I had a new model they would give a crap....but NO. They recommend parts and services it does not need. Btw. I was a ASE mechanic in my younger days.... I have changed out the capacitors and a few resisters in the ECU, rebuilt transmission, timing belt etc... just my two cents
STAY CLEAR OF DEALERS IF YOU HAVE AN OLDER LEXUS. THEY SEE YOU COMING.....At least in central Florida 1997 Lexus LS400 12/16 154K
I never had a problem with Lexus of Orlando. I get my ISF service there all the time. They never try to sell
me anything. Heck a few times they fixed minor things on my ISF and no charge. I’ve even bought 2 other Lexus from them. Sorry to hear about your personal experience.
TL;DR: After more than a month in the shop and $800 in unnecessary parts, my original problem persists. And they also broke $4600 worth of AHC components during diagnostics and flat refuse to take any responsibility.
FULL ACCOUNT:
I had been a regular customer of Lexus of Winter Park/Lexus of Orlando for oil changes and other various services, repairs and parts since I had purchased my LX in 2016. On April 25, 2018, I brought my vehicle to Lexus of Orlando to locate and eliminate a "clunk" noise which sounded to be emanating from the front passenger-side suspension. My Service Advisor, Joshua Montgomery, was young guy who called me "bro" repeatedly. Note: At a premium brand dealership, I expect to be called "sir," not "bro." I explained the "clunk" I was hearing to Joshua, and suggested I go on a ride along with the tech to point out the noise. Joshua insisted that wouldn't be necessary and sent me to the waiting area. After about an hour, he came to me and said they couldn't hear the noise I was talking about, so I again offered to go on a ride along with a service tech to point out the noise. Tech acknowledged he heard the noise, and set about finding/fixing it. I knew it wasn't going to be quick, and suggested I be put in a loaner, but they declined. After a few hours of waiting, they finally agreed to put me in a loaner and sent me on my way.
I received a text from Joshua later that day saying my wheel bearings are bad. (I later checked and they were not. They were just hearing my off road rated tires and suggested I replace all wheel bearings, instead of checking them properly. Every single time I go to either dealer for a repair or oil change, they tell me my wheel bearings are bad. They aren’t.) No report about the “clunk.” The next day, Joshua tells me a lgihtbulb in the dash is out, and asks if I want to replace it for $98.48. I decline, and ask for an update on the “clunk,” and he tells me they’re going to need to use “chassis ears” to find it, and it will be an increased diagnostic fee. I agreed.
The following morning (April 27), he calls and tells me they used “chassis ears” to trace the “clunk” to my front passenger shock absorber, and that it would need to be replaced along with the front shock on the driver’s side. I explained that this seemed strange — my shocks seem to function normally. The LX470 has Automatic Height Control (AHC) which, amongst other things, adjusts suspension damping (firmness/softness of the “shocks”) allows the vehicle’s ride height to be raised and lowered at the press of a button for driving over obstacles off-road or loading/unloading the vehicle, respectively. I explained that this system was working flawlessly, the height goes up and down normally, and the sport/comfort suspension settings all operate as designed. **This is very important to keep in mind for later in this account** No matter, he insisted that their diagnostic specialist, Chris, used chassis ears to find the “clunk” was coming from inside the shock absorber. So, hesistantly, I said that if Chris was sure, then I would agree to replace them. This cost $768.46. It did NOT fix my problem.
They told me it was fixed though, and I drove it home, thinking it was fixed, but on the way home, I heard the “clunk” agian. I called Joshua immediately and told him that I was coming back because the noise was still present, and also mentioned that it was NOT cool that I had told him prior to installing those shocks that I thought they were fine and there was absolutely no change in performance or in the “clunk” sound. He said he spoke to his manager and assured me they would “take care of it” and to bring it back in.
I brought the car back in and leave in a loaner. They had my car until May 10th (15 days after I brought it in!). On that day, they told me that they would need more money from me in diagnostic fees to find the clunk I came in for. I told them they had already charged me the diagnostic fee, and the advanced “chassis ears” diagnostic fee, and they had not “diagnosed” anything yet, and they also had charged me $768.48 for shocks I insisted I didn’t need, which I was right about. The service manager told me that my car was old with a lot of miles so to find the problem they would need to replace “everything in the front suspension.” I told him I had JUST finished replacing everything in the front suspenion prior to this visit, which is true (all OEM parts). I offered to show him a list of what I had replaced—but he insisted I pay more money to them to find the problem.
So, 15 days, two diagnostic fees, and an unecessary $768.48 front shock replacement, and I’m leaving with the problem I came in with!! Whilst being insulted for not driving a BRAND NEW car with no miles and no problems. (Which is sort of insane for a service department if you think about it… Cars needs repairs/maintenance/fluid changes as they age… Thats the whole point of the service department. Unfortunately, the reality is of course, it doesn’t exist for the benefit of the customers, it’s just a way for dealers to maximize profits. But a “luxurious” dealership experience doesn’t include being treated as a second class customer merely because my $100,000+ Lexus isn’t brand new anymore. I’m willing to pay out of pocket for my post-warranty repairs. So long as you’re actually repairing what I asked you to repair and all that… anyway, moving on…) No wait not moving on— I almost forgot: When I left the Orlando store, I took a survey, which predictably I left bad scores on. I got a call from Joshua insisting I change my scores to all 10s! Unbelievable. I tell him maybe if he refunds me for the unnecessary shocks I’ll change his scores, but he texted me “Good morning John, its Joshua, unfortunately we are unable to refund you [sic] money. But we can give you future service credit on you [sic] account, as soon as you complete my survey with all 10s.” — that is a verbatim text. Extraordinarily unprofessional.
That same day (May 10) I head to Lexus of Winter Park, thinking that this being the older, more established branch, maybe I’ll get better help/treatment. I get to Lexus of WP and talk to the Service Manager, Jeff Moler. He initially seems very helpful and apologetic, and promises to put his Diagnostic Specialist, Terry on the job of eradicating the noise. He also promises me service credit for the $768.48 I spent on the shocks. Well, when they set you up for service, they give you a number you can text to ask about your service. I texted that number just about every other day for updates and got very few replies, and really felt like I had to hound these guys for updates—not cool. I really don’t have a full idea what they even did. Terry said he put a wrench on everything underneath the truck to make sure it was all torqued correctly. They mentioned the fluid getting changed a few times, even though it had just been done when Lexus of Orlando put the new shocks in.
Well finally, on May 23rd, they finally claim they have an answer. Body mounts. They take days to confirm. Around May 29 they tell me they think they’re right but the only way to confirm is to send it to a body shop and have them remove the body from the frame. So again, I’m told to get lost, in essence. I push back on this but eventually I give up and go to take my car out of there. I get in my car and find the height control (AHC) is taking an unusually long time to bring the car to normal ride height. I immediately turn it back over to them to diagnose this issue. I tell them it worked perfectly since I’ve owned it until they spent 4 weeks tinkering with it. (THEY BROKE IT)
June 8, Terry tells me they cycled the pump a lot with all their testing, and it seems to have worn out. They tell me I need a new AHC Pump & Motor Assembly and a Heigh Valve Assembly which will cost $4618… $3700 of that is parts! I insist that since they clearly broke it (they had it for a month, told me about 20 other things that they claimed were broken, but never mentioned anything AHC related being broken. Also, they defintely would’ve noticed it being broken when they replaced the shocks. So it 100% broke during their testing!). They tell me no way, it is not their problem. They denied all responsibility (even though Terry had stated their testing likely wore the pump out) and told me I could give them the $4618 and they’d replace all that stuff —— still not having fixed my original issue!!! I again insisted they were responsible and I refused to pay and insisted they fix it, but they told me no again. I asked to ask the store manager (Howard) about it, and Jeff went and “asked him” but he came back after literally about 2-3 minutes saying no way again.
I called Lexus corporate. The woman who answered my call and took my report initially sounded very concerned and seemed like she was going to help. I was promised a call back within 24 hours. 24 hours later, I had not been called back. I reached out and they promised a call by the end of the day. Finally I get a call, and I speak to someone who says they don’t deal with anything out of warranty, and so they can’t do anything except “facilitate a phone call between” me and the dealership management. I watied almost a week for that call, but they never called. I called back with my case number and let them know I’d been waiting on that call, and it hadn’t come. So they connected me right then — to Jeff Moler!!!! *Facepalm* I said “but thats the guy who already wasn’t very helpful… i was told i was going to speak to dealership management.” Jeff is on the line along with the lady from corporate, and he promises me Howard will call me. Howard never calls. I call corporate AGAIN and say tell them I’ve been waiting on a call from Howard for weeks now and I’d like to speak to him immediately. They call him with me not on the line, and come back to me (I had to wait 15 minutes on hold total during this last call) and tell me that he said he’s not going to do anything about it.
WHAT A NIGHTMARE
I'm sorry for your nightmare but was glad that someone verified my suspicions about Lexus of Orlando. I posted yesterday about taking it in yesterday for the final recall replacement (glove compartment) and the laundry list they handed me of things that needed to be fixed -- to the tune of $7k. I literally laughed out loud because it was such an outrageous amount. I moved to Orlando several months ago and am looking for someone decent to service my car. I did take it to a Toyota dealership near my job, and of course, they said I needed a front brake job and resurface front rotors, replace brake pads, alignment, etc. I got it all done but didn't feel a bit of difference with the brakes. I take very good care of my car but I'm sick and tired of dealing with b.s. and selling me things i don't need. So, if you find a decent place in Orlando where I can have my car serviced, please let me know!!!
Lexus of Orlando is a complete joke and waste of time. Back when I was looking for a part the idiot on the phone told me he's not allowed to give me the part number . I asked him what if I need to verify what you looked up is correct he just stayed silent. I then called 3 other lexus dealerships two in miami and and a JW lexus all 3 gave me the part number I needed no problems. Lmaooo. Would never let them service anything if they cant even get that done right
Anyone try Lexus of Melbourne?
We have a 2015 GX460 and I do most of the work myself because of this. Resurfacing rotors is $12 each at O’Reilly and pats are same compound. Just with the oil filter was easier to get to.
also feels like every time they give you a loaner is to try the cars and hook you for a new one. Wife took out old RX330 one time and came back with a different car but needed to return with me so I could co-sign. Went back and said heck no, well take out almost new RX back please.
we just took it in for 60K service and it was just like half as I had done cabin and engine filters and had new tires so they didn’t even need to rotate.
I've had three experiences with Lexus of Melbourne -- all bad. They tried to sell me on a part to the tune of $1,300. I told them I'd have to think about it, and the rep there insisted how dangerous my car was -- she went on and on. I didn't take the offer and took it to Toyota. Guess what? That part had no problem with it and the rep there told me that part rarely breaks. Went another time and again they pressured me to get a full maintenance job when all I wanted was an oil change. Finally, the third time they pulled something about the "safety" of the car. Again, took it to Toyota and there was no problem found. So I am here to say -- DO NOT TRUST LEXUS OF MELBOURNE. They WILL try to sell you things you don't need and lie about the safety of the car.
12-20-18, 12:24 PM
Lexus of Orlando/Winter Park
