Lexus Quality/Reliability Overhyped
once again stop blaming the car and blame yourself for going all over the place and throwing parts at the car. This isnt the way things are soposed to be fixed...figure out why its doing it and fix it.
I'll Say this again
YOU NEED A NEW MECHANIC!
When you do find out stick with him...the window problem could of been fixed right the first time if it was diagnosed correctly...thats why you have to pay check out time to take off door panel, test switch,test motor,test ecu.
I'll Say this again
YOU NEED A NEW MECHANIC!
When you do find out stick with him...the window problem could of been fixed right the first time if it was diagnosed correctly...thats why you have to pay check out time to take off door panel, test switch,test motor,test ecu.
Great rant for being totally wrong.
I took the car to the Lexus dealership for the window problem if you took the time to read my previous post. I paid the "diagnostic" fee and they said it was diagnosed to be the master window switch. I wasn't gonna pay $700 for parts and labor at the dealership so i ordered the window switch from Sewell for about $330 and got mechanic to put it in. That still didn't fix the issue and he said it was most likely the window regulator motor (makes sense. When a power window intermittently works what are the two most likely causes? 1. Short in the Switch 2. Motor) Called Lexus and told them their diagnostic was wrong and what kind of diagnostic they did. All they said was that trying to find intermittent electrical issues are a crapshoot.
Ordered the regulator motor, got installed, same issue. Turned out to be driver door ecu.
So buddy, i wasn't as you put it "going all over the place and throwing parts at the car". I took it to Lexus(top rated dealer in Maryland) to have it properly diagnosed.
You say you work on cars for a living?
I highly you could have changed the outcome of my situation.Easy for you to say "find a new mechanic" when the ASE certified mechanic i go to has close to 20 years of experience working on Japanese vehicles.
Driver
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
From: CT
I'm not trying to dissuade you away from buying a German car by any means. What I mean to say is every chicken has its bad eggs. German, Japanese, Lexus, Mercedes, it's all the same no matter what. Some cars just come off the line in worse condition than others.
I personally love my car. If the suspension goes, I'll fix it. If the door locks begin to act pesky, I'll fix those too. My car is reliable and runs on a day to day basis. I can't ask anything more out of it. If you don't appreciate your car doing this then by all means sell it and look for something else. I'm just saying, if you buy a German car you will more than likely run into some pesky problems (sans the suspension issues) like you have with GS.
Great rant for being totally wrong.
I took the car to the Lexus dealership for the window problem if you took the time to read my previous post. I paid the "diagnostic" fee and they said it was diagnosed to be the master window switch. I wasn't gonna pay $700 for parts and labor at the dealership so i ordered the window switch from Sewell for about $330 and got mechanic to put it in. That still didn't fix the issue and he said it was most likely the window regulator motor (makes sense. When a power window intermittently works what are the two most likely causes? 1. Short in the Switch 2. Motor) Called Lexus and told them their diagnostic was wrong and what kind of diagnostic they did. All they said was that trying to find intermittent electrical issues are a crapshoot.
Ordered the regulator motor, got installed, same issue. Turned out to be driver door ecu.
So buddy, i wasn't as you put it "going all over the place and throwing parts at the car". I took it to Lexus(top rated dealer in Maryland) to have it properly diagnosed.
You say you work on cars for a living? I highly you could have changed the outcome of my situation.
Easy for you to say "find a new mechanic" when the ASE certified mechanic i go to has close to 20 years of experience working on Japanese vehicles.
I took the car to the Lexus dealership for the window problem if you took the time to read my previous post. I paid the "diagnostic" fee and they said it was diagnosed to be the master window switch. I wasn't gonna pay $700 for parts and labor at the dealership so i ordered the window switch from Sewell for about $330 and got mechanic to put it in. That still didn't fix the issue and he said it was most likely the window regulator motor (makes sense. When a power window intermittently works what are the two most likely causes? 1. Short in the Switch 2. Motor) Called Lexus and told them their diagnostic was wrong and what kind of diagnostic they did. All they said was that trying to find intermittent electrical issues are a crapshoot.
Ordered the regulator motor, got installed, same issue. Turned out to be driver door ecu.
So buddy, i wasn't as you put it "going all over the place and throwing parts at the car". I took it to Lexus(top rated dealer in Maryland) to have it properly diagnosed.
You say you work on cars for a living?
I highly you could have changed the outcome of my situation.Easy for you to say "find a new mechanic" when the ASE certified mechanic i go to has close to 20 years of experience working on Japanese vehicles.
As far as the Alignment.. again something doesnt sound right.. 3 shops? did you get the print outs from each shop? was the steering wheel ever removed? IDK..There is SO Much info missing..Hard to conclude
if you are fed up with the quality of your GS, why continue to pour money into it??? sell it and get the car you think you will be happy with... i'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are willing to put up with the minor issues your GS has compared to some of the more major problems you wll find with other car manufacturers...
I fell bad that a lot of these problems are coming along, most of these issues occur for most of us.
But seriously, be thankful you don't have any engine work, transmission work or electrical work to handle.
It could be a lot worse.
But seriously, be thankful you don't have any engine work, transmission work or electrical work to handle.
It could be a lot worse.
if you are fed up with the quality of your GS, why continue to pour money into it??? sell it and get the car you think you will be happy with... i'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are willing to put up with the minor issues your GS has compared to some of the more major problems you wll find with other car manufacturers...
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Totally agree. If you dont like the car because all the money u are putting to it, sell it and get another car.
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 229
Likes: 0
From: wi
I wanted to buy an S500, then someone came into the shop in an S430 where I worked to get their front left shock replaced. $1200 later, they drove out and i decided I'll never buy a German car. I love Mercedes/Audi/BMW but it's just not worth all the $ you will eventually put into them.
I have a friend that has gone through two S4s. To sum this up, look at the problems you've had with your Lexus. They are MINOR compared to the problems my friend had/has with his S4. Both of his were 2001 2.7 biturbos. Both of the engines were shot around 100k miles. You think you've spent a lot of money on your Lexus?
I'm not trying to dissuade you away from buying a German car by any means. What I mean to say is every chicken has its bad eggs. German, Japanese, Lexus, Mercedes, it's all the same no matter what. Some cars just come off the line in worse condition than others.
I personally love my car. If the suspension goes, I'll fix it. If the door locks begin to act pesky, I'll fix those too. My car is reliable and runs on a day to day basis. I can't ask anything more out of it. If you don't appreciate your car doing this then by all means sell it and look for something else. I'm just saying, if you buy a German car you will more than likely run into some pesky problems (sans the suspension issues) like you have with GS.
I'm not trying to dissuade you away from buying a German car by any means. What I mean to say is every chicken has its bad eggs. German, Japanese, Lexus, Mercedes, it's all the same no matter what. Some cars just come off the line in worse condition than others.
I personally love my car. If the suspension goes, I'll fix it. If the door locks begin to act pesky, I'll fix those too. My car is reliable and runs on a day to day basis. I can't ask anything more out of it. If you don't appreciate your car doing this then by all means sell it and look for something else. I'm just saying, if you buy a German car you will more than likely run into some pesky problems (sans the suspension issues) like you have with GS.
Yeah, i've heard of horror stories with audi. But supposedly, after 2006 the newer models are pretty reliable. Don't matter because i will never own anything without the best warranty possible.
Pit Crew
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 178
Likes: 2
From: FL
Yeah, but it was an old S class, one that could be picked up for about $4,000 today. The GS430 fully loaded was close to 60K brand new. Not exactly cheap. I just don't see the quality in there to justify the price. My buddy has a 2000 BMW 3 series with over 200,000 miles that is quiet and drives dead straight.
His has 150k and it drives well, and is quiet, but he has also put a lot of money and time into making it do so. Also replaced a few coilpacks that went bad on it not too long ago and that was a relatively costly endeavor.
I dont know, there is always the lemon or problem car out of the batch, but as a whole the GS line seems to be relatively reliable outside of the few known issues/quarks. My roommates GS has 205k + miles on it, just converted it to 5spd and did ball joints and tie rods and it drives fantastic. My other friends SC had 220k before we did the 1J swap, and another friends GS300 has 330k on it still going strong, original motor/trans.
The 2J motors are incredibly reliable as long as you keep up on maintenance. And the small quarks outside of the motor arent terrible to deal with.
Then again i only paid 8k for my car, not 50k + new price tag. Perhaps if I bought it new I would have different expectations. But all in all my car is quiet, reliable, reasonably good gas mileage, and i have no complaints.
Something doesnt sound right..Both the dealership and your mechanic not finding the problem would lead me to conclude that they may not be doing all they can. i take credentials/Mechanics/Dealerships with a grain of salt, but thats me.
As far as the Alignment.. again something doesnt sound right.. 3 shops? did you get the print outs from each shop? was the steering wheel ever removed? IDK..There is SO Much info missing..Hard to conclude
As far as the Alignment.. again something doesnt sound right.. 3 shops? did you get the print outs from each shop? was the steering wheel ever removed? IDK..There is SO Much info missing..Hard to conclude
Yep, got printouts. All were in green (even though that doesn't even equate to good alignment). Dealership even said they did something where they know tricks with the adjustments that other shops don't.
Steering wheel never removed. I don't know, maybe i should go to the stock 16's with fatter tires instead of 17's with low profiles that can follow the grooves in the road more
if you are fed up with the quality of your GS, why continue to pour money into it??? sell it and get the car you think you will be happy with... i'm sure there are plenty of people out there who are willing to put up with the minor issues your GS has compared to some of the more major problems you wll find with other car manufacturers...
Seems like you are complaining about a lot of wear and tear items. I have worked on my fair share of Lexus cars and have never seen issues like yours. Honestly seems like your car had some issues or a prior accident to your purchase. I've worked on GS's that had well over 200K on the clock with no issues that you speak of. An incompetent mechanic sounds like an issue also.
Have an 02 GS430 with 107,000 miles on it now and bought it with 41,000 miles on it. All stock. First Lexus and most likely will be my last. These cars are junk after 90,000 miles. As soon as you pay it off, issue after issue starts arising. Dumb sunroof rattles, door panel rattles when playing music, driver window seems randomly began letting loud wind noise in, Mark Levinson amp failure, door lock actuator goes out, replace it, 2 months later another one goes out, drivers windows randomly won't go up and down replace bad drivers door ecu 2 months later passenger side doing same thing. Check engine light code P0420, everybody here says exhaust leak, take it to an exhaust guy who seals cat gaskets where possible leak, check engine light comes back on, dealer says bad cats, replace both cats, light back on after a month.
Never got advertised gas mileage ever since I had the car even with feather foot driving, but sister and mom in laws heavier LS430 gets better averages than i do!?
Tires always balding prematurely. Car has never tracked straight. Always a fight to keep the car straight and causes driving fatigue. Change outer tie rods, shocks, ball joints,passenger side steering knuckle,lower control arms,caster arms,upper control arms,steering rack bushings, Lexus alignment and guess what....drum roll..... the car still drives like squirrely, always stock 17's and Michelin Pilot Sports. On top of that, the steering wheel seems to be tilted to the right when going straight on some roads. So much money dumped into this car with very little satisfaction.
Great car Lexus
Discuss? Please no flaming and no fanboys who believe Toyota cars are the only cars to buy and all other car companies suck.
By the way, drove my uncles 1998 Mercedes S320 and that thing was quiet as a tomb, no rattles, door closed like a vault and i could almost drive that thing with no hands on the steering wheel. Not saying ima buy a Benz, but Germans seem to put more quality materials in their cars that last. Audi is attracting my eye.
I laugh when i hear guys say "ok, leave Lexus if you want and go German, you'll be dealing with all sorts of electrical problems". Any car i buy next will pale in comparison to the problems in my GS.
Or maybe i'm mistaken and the LS430 was the only Lexus worth buying because it seems thats where they put all of their engineering/quality/reliability into?
Never got advertised gas mileage ever since I had the car even with feather foot driving, but sister and mom in laws heavier LS430 gets better averages than i do!?
Tires always balding prematurely. Car has never tracked straight. Always a fight to keep the car straight and causes driving fatigue. Change outer tie rods, shocks, ball joints,passenger side steering knuckle,lower control arms,caster arms,upper control arms,steering rack bushings, Lexus alignment and guess what....drum roll..... the car still drives like squirrely, always stock 17's and Michelin Pilot Sports. On top of that, the steering wheel seems to be tilted to the right when going straight on some roads. So much money dumped into this car with very little satisfaction.
Great car Lexus
Discuss? Please no flaming and no fanboys who believe Toyota cars are the only cars to buy and all other car companies suck.
By the way, drove my uncles 1998 Mercedes S320 and that thing was quiet as a tomb, no rattles, door closed like a vault and i could almost drive that thing with no hands on the steering wheel. Not saying ima buy a Benz, but Germans seem to put more quality materials in their cars that last. Audi is attracting my eye.
I laugh when i hear guys say "ok, leave Lexus if you want and go German, you'll be dealing with all sorts of electrical problems". Any car i buy next will pale in comparison to the problems in my GS.
Or maybe i'm mistaken and the LS430 was the only Lexus worth buying because it seems thats where they put all of their engineering/quality/reliability into?
My current 2 cars have been very solid. Only been to the shop for maintenance and recalls. Wifey's 3GS has over 70K miles and it still has been great.
Sounds like you have a lemon. It happens. No brand can escape intermittent issues. Lexus just seems to have fewer than others. Don't badmouth the brand just because u have a lemon when the rest of us are happy customers.
i've had my gs for 6+ years now, maintained regularly and have had 0 count them 0 issues. i also had a gs400 with over 250k on the motor. had 0 issues with it too. from what i've seen if you take care of it it'll take care of you. seems as though all these issues hit you at once