So I recently purchased another Lexus for my wife. Upgraded her from 2010 IS350 RWD to 2018 GS350 AWD F-Sport 55k miles. GS was mint condition CPO just before I purchased it. Within the 1st month 2 rear door locks broke, vacuum pump had to be replaced (known issue), radar broke and had to be recalibrated for some reason (close to $3k in repairs). I also know that water pumps are known to go early on these cars and been reading about issues with electronic shocks.
Now, I've had many German cars before (tuned as well to make alot more power over stock) and none of them had so many issues at such a low mileage. Has Lexus been going down hill with reliability?

I also watch Doug on YouTube, he recently sold his Land Rover with like 45k miles (the least reliable car on the market lol), and even that only had 1 check engine light due to some sensor and sunroof issue.....thats it.

 

It sounds like either you intentionally want to bash Lexus or you have bought your wife a lemon.

 

I also forgot. Previous owner replaced ton of HVAC parts.

The thing is, I looked at 2 other GS350s and both had water pump issues and one had all 4 door locks replaced. HVAC issue and Vacuum Pump are all documented and have TSB from Lexus.....it's nothing new. The shocks, well that thread is right on the 1st page here. And I already had GS owner ask me about vacuum pump because his is broken as well. So I wouldn't say I bought a CPO lemon......it's just all common issues.

 

Got a 2014 GS350 with 131k miles, and haven’t experienced a single problem other than routine maintenance.

*knocks on wood*

 

IS350 had 120k, also had it's share of issues. At 90k all 4 shocks blown, water pump, bunch of O2 sensors, head light leveling sensor, side mirror mechanism broke (mirror fell off the car), exhaust flex had to be replaced on both pipes, rear calipers seized....maybe I am missing something.
Wife said why you fixed up my IS350, sold it and bought me this sht box lol

But seriously, I like the car and so does she. But we are both surprised at so many issues. It's 100% fine now and all fixed, but what's next on the list? I hope I don't have to replace shocks on this like I did on IS.....that was pretty expensive.

 

Since you bought an F-Sport with AVS, don't be surprised if you have more issues with the suspension than you expect - many have had failed shocks on their 4GS F Sport earlier than anticipated. Door lock actuators are a common problem among many Lexus models, including the 4GS.

Your problems are interesting because if it was another brand (e.g. Land Rover), maybe none of those would be surprising. However, with any used vehicle, there are always things that come up regardless of how reliable. Unless the previous owner meticulously maintained the car, you shouldn't expect a flawless experience at 55k miles.

I have a '13 GS and within the first 3yrs of ownership under its CPO warranty, nothing failed between 43k - 58k miles.

After the CPO warranty, I had to replace the sunroof weather-strip, center mounted analog clock, serpentine belt, front brake pads/rotors, and have gone through two sets of tires and two batteries. Previous to my 4GS, when I had my '11 CPO IS350, they gave me brand new headlamps ($2200) because of an internal "bubbling" issue and fixed my out of round wheels as a courtesy under overlapping original/TSB's/CPO warranties.

I'm glad you bought it as a CPO as it seems like all those issues were addressed by Lexus under the certified warranty and didn't cost you anything (extra except your time of course). Since you've owned German cars that had no issues at 55k miles, with your Lexus, you're experience is proof there is merit to having a CPO car/warranty regardless of the brand...because you never know!

 

never heard of vacuum pump a well known issue, and the water pump is well known issue for this car too only the strut is well known issue with leaking

 

There is a TSB out for them. A lot of them get noisy.

 

The car is not CPO, I was saying the previous owner bought it CPO, shortly after that he realized it was too slow for him and traded it for a loss (maybe put 5k miles on it). Lexus CPO doesn't transfer to new owners like all Germans.
Everything was fixed under lemon law so I haven't paid the bill yet. I almost never purchase 3rd party warranty, but surprisingly I did for GS. I know these warranties are not as good, but hopefully it will cover things.

I've had BMW with AVS-like electronic suspension, never had issues myself and ive never heard of them having issues even at 100k. I always tried to stay away from air suspension.
I also just sold my Cayenne with 125k miles.....the car was nearly bullet proof aside from Diesel emissions that was all covered under warranty. Same thing....no noises, no rust on exhaust, original water pump, no electronics issues, no blown shocks....in fact not a single suspension part was replaced at 125k.

 

Yes, very noisy. I dont know if GS has 2 vacuum pumps or something. After they replaced one, the loud noise was gone but there is still noise (maybe 2nd pump), dealer said it's normal. My IS never had those noises.
As far as water pumps, i was going to purchase GS from member in here, he replaced pump at 40k. I looked at another GS with 60k miles, pump was almost gone on that one, and my IS had pump replaced at 90k. Lexus is the 1st car that I had to replace water pump on, out of roughly 10 different cars that I've had in past

 

Yeah @kolyan you're right. You win the award for digging out the facts! Lexus is a crap brand that is not reliable with tons and tons of major problems and troublesome issues at every turn. It's more than just pathetic, it's downright criminal how bad the Lexus brand is and how unreliable Lexus vehicles are!

Maybe that is why Lexus has the highest reliability rating of all brands with a 98.7% Reliability Rating.

Sounds to me you have no car buying experience or terrible luck and wasted a lot of money buying a lemon. I've heard some of those Massachusetts car dealers know how to identify a buyer they can easily sell a lemon car to and not be held responsible.

 

Antifreeze turns Acdic after a while; which eats away at the gaskets.

DO NOT WAIT 5 YEARS to get a radiator flush done at the dealer.

People who do this service every 3 years have had 0 issues. Can't find a single person who kept up with the radiator fluid who had a seal go bad.

 

lol I've been buying and selling cars for 25 years and had my own dealership. I know a thing or two about cars. And I purchased GS from Lexus dealership from the manager that I know. He was pissed just as I was when the car came back for $3k repair. (took 3 trips to fix it)

I buy Lexus cars for wife thinking they are reliable and I dont have to deal with them. I buy German cars for myself because I know they arent that reliable and I am willing to put time into fixing them. Unfortunately its been the other way around with IS and GS. <<knock on wood>> I am praying GS is all good until 100k for now, otherwise wife will keep nagging me on this purchase

Believe me, I know how butt hurt Lexus guys are when it comes to reliability. I just posted my experience. Obviously its not a lemon as many issues are documented in Lexus TSB (as noted above), unless you want to say that Lexus makes mostly lemons (central locks, HVAC, and vacuum pump(s) have TSB, not sure about shocks). Its not something new that I posted here.....

 

Its not the gaskets that fail, its the water pump itself. My IS wasnt leaking at 120k, the pump just died around 90k (havent had coolant replaced on this one, it was due at 100k I believe). Same on 2016 GS that I saw, same water pump noise as my IS had right before it kicked the bucket. I know water pumps dont last a lifetime, but I've had 2 Nissans with around 150k miles, 2 Hondas with 100k, bunch of BMWs with roughly 50k, Porsche with 125k.....all were on original pumps.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience with your new GS. That sounds like a lot to go wrong in a short amount of time/miles but hopefully it's smooth sailing from here!

Also sorry that you have to deal with other members getting upset at you instead of supporting you... I guess that's what happens when reliability is the only thing Lexus has left. How dare you question their reliability!!!