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Hi, I have a 2016 RX 450 Hybrid that died last week. They are telling me it's because a sticky liquid dripped from the cup holder and caused the connectors to short out both wire harnesses and that to fix this issue will cause $9, 356.38!!! I know nothing about cars and fear I am being swindled. I have taken it to the dealer as it is a lease. I have never spilled anything in my cup holders but it's possible that a paper coffee cup could have leaked into the holder but shouldn't cup holders in the main console be watertight? This seems to me to be a manufacturing defect and in any case how on earth can it cause almost 10k in repairs!? Thoughts? Thank you. Laura
Hi, I have a 2016 RX 450 Hybrid that died last week. They are telling me it's because a sticky liquid dripped from the cup holder and caused the connectors to short out both wire harnesses and that to fix this issue will cause $9, 356.38!!! I know nothing about cars and fear I am being swindled. I have taken it to the dealer as it is a lease. I have never spilled anything in my cup holders but it's possible that a paper coffee cup could have leaked into the holder but shouldn't cup holders in the main console be watertight? This seems to me to be a manufacturing defect and in any case how on earth can it cause almost 10k in repairs!? Thoughts? Thank you. Laura
Do you have a written quote? I am really curious how a short in the cup holder can cost $10K.... You might want to contact Lexus Corporate...
Hi, I have the dollar amount quote from the dealership guy but not with a breakdown of parts and labor...he was supposed to forward that to me. I contacted Lexus corporate and told them I thought they were trying to rip me off as I think if a cup holder leaked fluid onto some wires that is a design defect. I'm waiting to get the quote in writing and also I am demanding a second opinion.
Hope you can find a quick resolution to your problem. Definitely need a second opinion.
So I go through a drive-through and served with a faulty paper cup that starts leaking after a few hours but I am in a movie theater all of a sudden my car is dead and it will cost me 10K in repairs? How is that my fault? What if the rollers that hold cup in place are a little too rough for some cups.
I am suspecting that dealer is trying to take advantage of you.
Hi, I have a 2016 RX 450 Hybrid that died last week. They are telling me it's because a sticky liquid dripped from the cup holder and caused the connectors to short out both wire harnesses and that to fix this issue will cause $9,356.38!!!
If indeed there was a short to warrant the price of the repair you would have definitively smelled the after effects of shorting wires in the interior of your RX. You might have even seen the visual effects of smoke residue around the console area. Plus, there should be fuses and relays to handle such a short of this magnitude. ■ After recharging/reconnecting the 12-volt battery
● The hybrid system may not start. Follow the procedure below to initialize the system.
Shift the shift lever to P.
Open and close any of the doors.
Restart the hybrid system.
● Unlocking the doors using the smart access system with push-button start may not be possible immediately after reconnecting the 12-volt battery. If this happens, use the wireless remote control or the mechanical key to lock/unlock the doors.
● Start the hybrid system with the power switch in ACCESSORY mode. The hybrid system may not start with the power switch turned off. However, the hybrid system will operate normally from the second attempt.
● The power switch mode is recorded by the vehicle. If the 12-volt battery is reconnected, the vehicle will return the power switch mode to the status it was in before the 12-volt battery was disconnected. Make sure to turn off the power before disconnect the 12-volt battery. Take extra care when connecting the 12-volt battery if the power switch mode prior to discharge is unknown.
Originally Posted by Misslpc1
I know nothing about cars and fear I am being swindled. I have taken it to the dealer as it is a lease. I have never spilled anything in my cup holders but it's possible that a paper coffee cup could have leaked into the holder but shouldn't cup holders in the main console be watertight? This seems to me to be a manufacturing defect and in any case how on earth can it cause almost 10k in repairs!? Thoughts? Thank you. Laura
If the 12v battery went dead—not the battery pack that RX runs off—then your RX will not start. Did they say whether your 12v battery was still operable? Can you have it towed to another Lexus dealership for a second opinion? Also, if the handheld remote battery is dead, the car will not start.
■ Electronic key battery depletion
● The standard battery life is 1 to 2 years.
● If the battery becomes low, an alarm will sound in the cabin when the hybrid system is stopped. (→P. 508)
● As the electronic key always receives radio waves, the battery will become depleted even if the electronic key is not used. The following symptoms indicate that the electronic key battery may be depleted. Replace the battery when necessary. (→P. 508)
• The smart access system with push-button start or the wireless remote control does not operate.
• The detection area becomes smaller.
• The LED indicator on the key surface does not turn on.
● To avoid serious deterioration, do not leave the electronic key within 3 ft. (1 m) of the following electrical appliances that produce a magnetic field:
• TVs
• Personal computers
• Cellular phones, cordless phones and battery chargers
• Recharging cellular phones or cordless phones
• Induction cookers
• Table lamps
The car started and drove after I got the jump from AAA. What did happen was the doors would not lock and the push button on the rear view mirror would not open my garage door. They blame everything on a brown droplet that they say is spilled coffee on the inside of the car under the cup holder. They completely dismantled my car and want to charge me almost 10k. I don't even drink coffee in my car and nothing spilled. It's possible a cup leaked from the bottom of a cup but it would have only been a drop as is visible not a spill and seriously, it's in the cup holder...why would they put unprotected wires under a cup holder? BEWARE people, don't put drinks in the drink holder!
WTH?! Did the dealership go to this extent to replace the wiring harnesses or are the wiring harnesses yet to be replaced? Also, where are the damaged wiring harnesses? Does the dealership even know what they were doing on your RX?
I told my wife about your situation and she was more than surprised and very unhappy that actually using the cupholders (which she does all the time) can potentially lead to this situation. Something is very wrong here!
Right?! Color me stupid for thinking that the cup holders could hold cups with liquid inside!!! This is the quote from the dealership: "the cupholder is not designed to retain liquids"....I got off the phone with the dealership guy about an hour ago and he says he is trying to get Lexus to honor the warranty. To any rational, normal, logical person on the planet you should be able to put a cup full of liquid in your cup holder and if said cup should leak it should be into a watertight receptacle and not leak onto wires that are apparently not covered with anything. If this is really the case that the cup holders can't actually retain any liquid then why aren't there a thousand soccer moms and dads with kids who spill all the time clogging up the Lexus dealerships? It has to be a flaw with my car and or cup holder and it should be covered by the warranty...and if it isn't, and they make me pay $9,356 to get my car back you best believe that you will here about the crazy woman in front of the Lexus dealership picketing and warning people to not use their cupholders in their $65,000 car! And to your question about what is going on in the photos...I don't know why on earth they had to completely dismantle my car...it boggles my mind...it looks like a 2,000 piece 3D puzzle of a car. I can't believe this happened to me, I don't even drive very much. I've had it for not even two years and it has less than 10k miles on it. And the reason I even have this car is because the Lexus I was driving in (as a passenger) two years ago had complete brake failure and we ended up upside down after flipping on an embankment. This was my replacement car. Maybe I need to change brands.
What befuddles me, and it is impossible to discern from the absolute chaos in the photographs (plus, I do not have the service manual for reference) is that Lexus should have provided a diverter shield to the passenger side floor area for this issue—unless the cup holder area is a sealed area, which apparently your dealership indicates it is not (or they are being disingenuous) owed to the drop of liquid wiring harness shorting. I wonder whether there is a shield, but someone left it off during assembly or there is not a shield and Lexus should incorporate such a shield in future builds?
Right?! Color me stupid for thinking that the cup holders could hold cups with liquid inside!!! This is the quote from the dealership: "the cupholder is not designed to retain
I have a RX 450 and some time last year, I disassembled the center console to route a USB cable under it. Look under my post for pictures of the finished result. The cup holders were a single unit and looked reasonably water tight. Refer to page 34 of the Rear Entertainment System Installation instructions. In fact, I had a leak from a paper fast food cup. It just formed a puddle in the cup holder. Since it is a one piece unit, to leak underneath, the liquid would have to travel to the front storage area were you can place your phone, the left side leather trim, or under the joystick armrest.
Also I saw a few cables under the cup holders, but nothing that seemed high voltage right under the console. The radio amplifier is buried under there and I further down the high voltage hybrid battery cables routed to the engine. However, these cables should be a single direct unit with no connectors.
This is crazy. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can answer this: wouldn’t the fuses blown before burning up wiring harnesses? I can see a computer getting fried due to a short.
Did the display screens start showing or flashing warnings?
Did you have a cup in the holder at the time?
How many days between having a filled cup in the holder and the incident?
The short, I think, should have been instantaneous or shortly after the spillage.
And you had a dead battery? I don’t understand that either. Did you call Lexus service or Lexus roadside assistance?
Tearing the car all apart and then telling you the fix is 10K is just wrong. The expectation you will not spill in the cup holder is indeed poor design. I’ve had cups drip condensation without any problems.
I had an early 2016 with an info-tainment system failure. The Lexus dealership had a regional Lexus repair person come teach the local folks how to disassemble the dashboard, just to make sure everything was taken apart and reassembled correctly. I hope your dealership knows what they are doing.
Hope mother lexus comes through with warranty repairs.
I have an electronic background, and never seen a newer type vehicle dismantle like that without being in a serious collision.
Fuses & breakers are designed to trip or blow for overloads and shorts to protect costlydamage to the main components. There's also safety reasons to protect from fire & electrical shock.
It seems to me that hybrid models should have a more extensive protective circuit due to the battery charging system. My guess it’s a defect on assembly or poor design. I figure if it’s a design problem there should be more complaints for something that common. It should take more than a small cup of liquid to cause over $9k of damage which I'm sure most of that is labor. To cause something like that IMO is driving with the sunroof open in the pouring rain overnight, but If you did that you would have more things not working for sure. I'm curious if they can put it back together correctly.
I just got a call from dealership saying that my NX200 volume is gone due to damage to the harness under cup holder; apparently due to some dark fluid that leaked from the cup holder. I have not spilled anything in my cup holder or car, so I am confused as to how this happened. Lexus is quoting me no less than $8,000. Does not seem right.
04-30-18, 05:54 PM
Leaky cup holder causes connectors to short?
