I just want the leather dash and headliner off one.

 

Thanks for your responses everyone.

@doublebase - Thanks for your feedback and input. I am not so worried about $550 spent on starter battery. Definitely be interested in that they say next.

I have had 3 lexus' till now. What I am understanding is that I should sell the hybrid and move to LS 460L or to some other car. If the dealership give me a run around,I will just sell 600hl and buy another brand. I have been driving high end Lexus since 99. I will completely give up on Lexus then.

What I am disappointed with them is not about $4500 battery pack, it is more about the car stopping in the middle of a busy road without any proper warning.

 

Thats INSANE that particular car would suddenly just stop like thatluckily no one was hurt especially your daughter,i read the 600 wasnt really made for lower fuel mileage but solely for the POWER,438 total hp,you figure if it says HYBRID the fuel consumption should be much lower,seems like thats not the case.Good luck man hopefully that problem will get corrected or just trade it in for a 460...

 

Thanks Caha14

 

Still want to know where I can buy a Panasonic S75D31L for over $110. Like to know since my 08 hasn't replace the battery as far as I know, I am the 3rd owner and Lexus driver didn't have any record of replacement of the battery.

 

OP, can you clarify these points to understand the issue...

You had said "It showed Hybrid system failure ". Did the car continue to drive after this or you had to tow to the dealership?.

Did you check to see any CEL codes stored?.

When you picked the car from dealership, was the dashboard clear of all warning signs?. How long/far did you drive since picked up from dealership and before complete stop at traffic?.

How many miles on the car?. Does it have complete service history?. I believe there is a hybrid system check at 60k or something. Was it done?.

Here are my responses to your questions :

- Did the dealer do the proper repair when they changed 12v battery since the same issue happened last week? - Based on error code/msg they should follow proper steps to diagnose the issue. Being LS600 and hybrid system error, not sure how many technicians are trained to work on this. Remember LS600 is low volume car. In 2007, 6093 were cars sold worldwide.. In 2008 is the best year in US, 980 were sold in US. Since then it was on diminishing trend. 2011 saw only 84 sold. As I mentioned in one my previous posts, not all dealerships are equipped to handle LS600 whether you like it or not but that's the reality. If I were you, I would consult with another dealer if there is one. Other wise would call Corp.


- If I understand correctly from the blogs, Check Hybrid System is mainly a cell or module failure. If they at the dealership were able to charge the Hybrid System, does it mean it was working? Their health check showed 75% - I don't know. Refer above. I would check with another dealer or Corp.

- Since the car stopped abruptly at a stop light, if we were hit from behind, does Lexus/dealership have any liability? My major issue was that my daughter sitting behind does not get hurt. - Consult with a lawyer


- If I am forced to buy a battery pack, should we but it aftermarket or from the dealer? - what do you mean by battery pack, hybrid battery?. If I am planning to keep the car longer, I would go with OEM.

 

For a car to just stop right in the middle of the road without warning...my best guess is that something came completely disconnected. And where you just had it serviced, perhaps the tech didn't tighten the positive terminal enough and it came free? I don't know. Or maybe they misdiagnosed your hybrid system, or didn't do much inspecting at all and something caused the car to stop abruptly. Either way I don't think they're going to want to tell you the truth when you bring it in, like you said, there's some serious liabilities going on...they'll try to cover their behinds if they can.

It sounds like you can afford the repairs this car may bring you in the future, but it also sounds like you're pretty sour over the whole thing (can't say I blame you). Good luck. Let us know what it is.

 

There's a thread on here about battery replacement. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...s-600hl-4.html

The last two posts talk about the differences between the stock battery and how to put an aftermarket battery in. If you're interested in saving some money you'll have to do it yourself. I read about the Panasonic S75D32L on another forum...I looked for one, but all I could find were links to Panasonic. The price came from someone posting on another forum, but I couldn't find that price on the website, in fact I didn't find much specific stuff from Panasonic's website at all (I'd probably give them a call if you want their battery).

I think it would be worth reading that thread I linked, especially the last few posts. The thermistor doesn't go into the battery, it is clipped on top to measure battery temp. From what I've read that component can be siliconed to the top of a battery. As for the vent, if you can't find a battery to match the vent tube on the car, you'll have to retrofit the tube.

 

I think there is something else broken beside the hybrid or starting batteries. Neither will cause dead stop when the car is running.

I had to change my starting battery on my 08 600 because it died after 8 years and it never caused dead stop, only no start after I park it.

Also, according to the details description of the hybrid battery failure in other threads, it never caused immediate failure as in this case.

Again, I am thinking something else that we never heard about in this forum before...

 

Valid points; it's all good! And I hear you - not a fan of keeping a "money pit" car; just not sure how this one will play out. Personally, I intend to inquire hard about this "Lexus Hybrid Check" program that Arvid posted about.

And yes, highway mpg on the 460 is ridiculous (in an awesome way) for a V8 with so much power. I used to proudly tell people all the time!

I had that same headliner on my 460L, actually. No dice on the dash, though! You do have the cool distinctive features - matte wood, dual color seats, wheels, grille

I agree with Doublebase's theory that something must've become disconnected or perhaps shut down. If it's clearly identifiable (loose connection(s)), problem solved. If it becomes more of a mystery/"gremlin" (worst case - some inexplicable computer issue shutting the hybrid system down, taking it into a "fail safe" mode, if you will), then, like you, I would be concerned about keeping the car. While possible, the latter would seem less likely, but let's see what they find. It boils down to what you're comfortable with and if you are confident in what they tell you.

After Doublebase's point, though, I got this vague recollection about reading of a similar issue where a technician left a connection loose and am now searching for it like crazy... I believe it was here on CL but can't remember for sure; might have been a Prius post. Will report back if I find it.

 

Satiger, trying to respond with best of my knowledge. My answers in orange

 

@satiger, sorry missed a portion of your question. I had to get it towed to the dealership. It did not come to an abrupt stop but the engine/motor completely stopped. I was going north on Crooks rd in Troy, Michigan and may have had some momentum because of inertia if I was not so close to the stop light. I had lost power steering and power brakes. Since it was a stop light ( i was 10 yards away from the light when i felt this happen), I had to stop. After that it would not start even with various tries. Thanks to Troy Police who helped and rescued me Because the sun was south of me at 5 pm, people weren't even noticing my blinkers and coming too close to hitting us.

 

i never heard of aftermarket hybrid battery pack

 

@Caha/doublebase, thanks for your input. My response in orange.

 

They're out there, and there's more and more companies producing them and cashing in on the opportunity. I've researched this and found that replacing these packs is actually quite easy and straightforward. The hardest part of the work is the sheer weight of these packs and muscling them out and into the vehicle..

Here are a couple of examples:

http://www.dormanproducts.com/pages/...rid/index.aspx

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/hybrid-battery-pack

Prius battery packs can be had for 500 dollars and one for a chevy is about 800