Most of us had the same tolerance as you when it first happened, but this has been an issue for most of us for over 1 month or 2 now and happening almost on a daily basis...I doubt you will have the same patience after a couple of months =)

 

I hope it never happens to you again. It is good to have confidence in your dealership. But many of us are dealing with this for over a month now and it just gets on your nerves. There are enough things in this world to stress you out, no one needs this aggravation on top of it. I have a meeting with the GM on Saturday and hopefully, he'll answer some of my questions. He assured me again today that Lexus is taking the car back and they are going to replace it. I am cautiously optomistic.

 

I got a call from my service manager today at Lexus of Maplewood in MN. He told me that the fix was released yesterday, and I had my car in service today for the update to be applied.

I just picked up the car, and so far, so good. Has anybody else heard about this?

 

Ditto ... my car is going in tomorrow for the software update.

Mutatedfro, are you seeking compensation from Lexus regardless of the fix?

 

I was considering asking for some kind of compensation from Lexus prior to getting the software update. But at this point, I am glad that I no longer have to be embarassed when my new lexus wont start in a crowded parking lot.

Also, I am not even sure what kind of compensation lexus would even be able to give me.

 

My dealership told me I was getting a replacement vehicle and I should have the car early next week if all goes well. I am still asking for compensation. I owned the car for a little over a month and didn't have the use or possession of it. I don't think it's fair at all that I'm responsible for the lease payment. It wasn't my fault. My dealer was also annoyed that the survey I filled out was didn't exactly reflect a glowing review for my dealership and the delivery experience. He's more concerned about his dealership reputation than he is concerned about the fact that I should pick up the tab for a car I didn't have. This whole thing has been quite a disappointment. How long have you had to deal with this situation? I certainly think you should ask for compensation. They need to be more concerned about customer satisfaction. Lexus makes a great claim about customer satisfaction, but so far, they don't any better than any other car manufacturer I've dealt with. Good luck with the fix.
Has anyone gotten an explanation as to exactly what the problem was?

 

I picked up an 08 gs350 AWD at the beginning of January, but didn't start driving it until Feb. 1. My car was only starting normally once every day or so. I'm assuming it was because of the cold weather. (Anywhere from -10 to 30 degrees).

I believe my car was the first that my dealership had to apply the update to. I was told it would only take 30 min, but after waiting an hour and a half, I asked for a loaner. I was told that they had to "apply the update manually for it to work." It took several hours for the dealership to figure out what was going on, but I still received my car that same day.

Other than asking for a new car, what kind of compensation do you think Lexus would offer?

 

I definitely would ask Lexus to make a payment for you. Why would you pay for a car that you weren't able to drive? I'm sure they won't just offer it, but I would make a big deal about it. You work hard for your money, right? You bought a car and had a problem that was not your fault and it took quite some time before they came up with the fix. Why does that become your problem?

 

I just got a call today from my lexus dealer about the unsolved starting problem and apparently there is a fix! He told me I need to come into the dealer and get the software re-flashed with some new programming and that should fix the problem. So I guess this may work,

 

I'm still waiting for my dealer to swap out the defective car for the 2nd new car. Those of you who have had the fix done, did it do the trick? I'm curious.

 

Yeah, my car starts up perfectly now.

 

Thanks, mutatedfro. That's good to know. I just read in the new Consumer Reports that the GS 350 awd got a below average reliability rating. Lexus seems to be slipping a little with certain models. Other than this starting problem that they seem to hopefully have under control now and the rattles I'm reading about, is there anyone out there who wished they wouldn't have bought this GS? The rear wheel drive seems to have gotten a better rating.

 

nope... dont believe what you read... AWD in CR got the lower ratings due to NAVI system... which is exactly the same as in other GS's :-).

My 2007 GS 350 AWD is beautiful car.

 

That's good to know. But why did CR rate the Navi system low?

 

My '08 AWD is going to the dealer today for this also.

Hope they get it working, I'm really annoyed that this car won't start like it should.