hhink

I believe there IS a widespread problem with this amp. I bought my 2006 Lexus IS250 brand new with the upgraded, Mark Levinson "premium" audio system with navigation, which has the higher powered 300W ML amp. My amp has now gone out due to overheating from the diagnosis I had done. Since my car is now outside of warranty, I initially took it to a local radio shop, who won't touch it because they state Lexus makes all their components proprietary, so that nothing else will work with the system except another ML amp. And, as I'm sure you all know, Lexus dealers won't even 'fix' the amp, they can only replace it. My dealer wants $1300 to replace the blown amp. Are you kidding me??? I saw someone else post here about how Lexus finally agreed to replace his amp even though his vehicle was outside of warranty, so I called the company (not the dealer) to see if they would look into this problem. I explained I would not even approach them about this, since my warrantee has expired--but when I saw how many others were having the same problems, I felt they should be reviewing these claims and taking them into consideration. When I talked to Lexus, they would not even review my problem yet as I had not had the car to a dealer for a diagnosis. They would not accept the diagnosis from the local shop. So I took it to the dealer, and they said the same--it needs a new amp.

I call back to Lexus with those results, they tell me they will have a Case Manager call me back in 2 days. A week later, I call them, and they tell me somehow my case was "accidentally" closed. They said they would refer it back to a Case Manager and I'd be contacted within 2 days. I get a call a few hours later, and the girl asks why I'm calling them about this. I told her my file should be clearly documented already, but I went over the whole story again--how I ordered this car brand new in 06, and paid over $2000 additional to have this "premium" sound system, and with the quality Lexus attests to have, I assumed certainly that my radio would not fail after 80,000 miles. She tells me they don't have to do anything as my car is outside of warranty. I explain to her how it looks for me to be driving a luxury Lexus, which is in excellent condition, yet having to have my iPhone in my lap while I drive listening to Pandora through the little speakers. I explained I am not only embarrassed, but both Lexus and Mark Levinson should be, and I feel since this is not what you would consider a normal 'wear and tear" or "maintenance" item, that the company should be looking into whatever design defect is causing these issues and out of good customer service and in interest of protecting their image, they should be taking care of this problem for us. She finally offered to give me $200 credit at my dealership to have them replace the amp, which is still going to be $1000 out of my pocket. I asked if I could get the $200 towards having the amp fixed, if I was able to find someone (like United Radio out of New York) that would repair mine. She said no. I could only have the $200 credit at a dealership. She kept telling me I would have to take it there to have it repaired. I told her she obviously is not educated on what their dealerships will and won't do, as I told her over and over the dealerships won't even repair them, they will only replace them. So, I tell her I would like to speak to her supervisor as I am not satisfied with her assessment. She tells me she is over the entire region where my dealer is, and she has final say. She would not let me talk to her boss.

I called back the next day, and asked to speak to this Case Manager's boss. Again, they tried to dissuade me from being able to get through to this person. I told this person I am quite sure the "Kelly" I talked to was not the CEO of Lexus Corp., therefore I'd like to speak to whomever "Kelly" reports to. She finally told me she would have Kelly's boss call me. 2 days later, I get a call from "Kelly" again, asking me why I want to talk to her boss, telling me her boss is already aware of my issues and agrees with her decision. I told her I do not want to speak to her again, I was told her boss would call, and her boss is who I would like to speak with. This was 2 days ago and I am still awaiting a call from her boss.

This treatment, from Lexus who is supposedly a superior auto company, with purported top-notch customer service and quality, is not impressing me. In addition to the multiple times I have had to take my IS250 back in for recalls--this reaction from them is not inspiring confidence in this manufacturer. Also, I have called United Radio, and they tell me the upgraded 300W amp will likely cost me over $500 for them to repair.

SprtDesign

iTrader: (21)

Wow. That's BS. Hopefully you can get it sorted out.

SupraBlur

That's funny I had an '09 Audi S5 with the B&O system and thought it was terrible. I ended up using a JL Audio Cleansweep to abstract some of the channels from the B&O and use my own Eclipse amps and replaced the factory sub (similar compromised placement as the ML in the 2GS) with a better one. In the end it was "acceptable". I hear the A8 had way better execution, so hopefully the A5/S5 was just the anomaly. Otherwise for an $850 stereo upgrade, it was just barely worth it. Maybe a 4 out of 10.

My '04 GS300 with ML is compromised in its own ways (zero presence, rolled off treble, scooped upper mids, etc) but at least it's actually balanced. It reminds me of a pair of Grado Labs SR-60 headphones -- not the best in the business by far, but totally acceptable and without any major flaws. I think 7 or 8 out of 10 is a fair rating, and I think the 2GS version of the ML system is more balanced than newer iterations.

That being said I still own the JL Cleansweep and might go to town on the GS when I get bored. My reference point is the full system I did in my old C-class Merc, which was McIntosh head unit and amps, DLS components/subs, and Eclipse amps/EQ, pretty well damped and tuned. Miss that setup.

some

I'm convinced there is most definitely a widespread problem with these amps.

I wasn't about to pay the $$ to swap it out so I pulled it out my trunk and tried to repair.

I finally took apart my 86280-0w100 Mark Levinson amp from my 2004 ES330 after almost a year of sitting in silence.
I found one tiny component causing the problem: A blown capacitor. It was clearly rattling around the case and the internals were flopping around as well.
I identified the part number as "Nichicon PW series 39uF 16V aluminum electrolytic capacitor"
I will order a couple and fix the one that was out as well as possible the one next to it.
Such a simple fix? The tricky part was getting to the amp in my trunk:



finding the screw drivers (Torx T10 and a 5/16 socket wrench)
and lastly finding the hidden screws under the Mark Levinson label on the amp

Hope this saves a few people money.

dnguyen_GS430

I have the same problem for many years with my 01 GS430. When ever this happens, all I did was adjust the fader an balance to get the sound back the adjust the up/down of the BASS/MID/TREB to get the sound quality.

However, lately the SUB started to rattle and I believe it's ripped or torn. I have seen people repair them but I want to just replace it because I don't want to take the seat out again if this repair doesn't work. Any suggestion for the SUB? I found some JL 10IB4 that other members recommended. But it's has been discontinue for a while. Let me know what you all can suggest. Thanks.