Did you go through a lemon law process, or through arbitration with Lexus, or something else? And did the corporate tech determine that your vehicle did have a defect?

After complaining to corporate, I worked with the district manager when I got my clutch replaced (described a few posts up), and they pretty much told me it was a "goodwill" repair, which I took to mean that I was SOL if wanted them to try to fix it again. Bu it sounds like you were able to get multiple repair attempts?

I also don't really think there's anything wrong with my transmission. It's occasionally balky getting into first, and sometimes "clicks" when going into second, but it generally shifts quickly and smoothly. The clutch however, is another story........

I am really tempted to just dump it and move on, but I would certainly pursue a buyback if it seemed within the realm of possibility.

I think the thing with my deal is that the transmission was replaced at least once. I went to the service shop a few times and finally the tech heard the grinding noise from the clutch or wherever it was coming from. A corp tech came out and said the car was "working within the reason". That is total BS!!! I owned a civic and an accord before that IS manual and the Honda's worked and sounded a lot better! So every time I spoke to someone I just simply said, "Would you be happy that you spent over $30K and your car made grinding noises???"

If anything, I would just try to complain and not take "No" for an answer. I think in the end Lexus wants to make each of their customers happy but you will have to go through the process before they do anything i.e. taking it into service several times, etc.

FYI... the car was considered a lemon when they brought it back but Lexus took care of everything. I didn't have to get a lawyer. I know some people that have with other manufacturers like BMW and it was a huge ordeal.

In regards to the transmission, it happened when I first got my car. Everytime I would press down on the clutch, I would hear a squeeking sound and thought it needed to be lubed up or something. Low and behold, they called me and told me the transmission had to be replaced. Shoot, I just got the MT 2 weeks ago!!! The car was so new they didn't have the replacement transmission yet so I was without it for a month. They did pay for 1 month's payment on the car and I drove the heck out of the loaner they gave me. Still, my 2006 Lexus MT was tainted from the start.

Carmax offered me 23k for my car. Meaning it would be on the lot a week later for over 26k.

i guess i'm one of the lucky 250MT owner because I've yet to experience this "sound" that everyone is complaining about. no squeeks nor "marble" sound coming from the tranny. Although i do notice that if i let off the clutch at a low RPM, I can feel the tranny shudder.

jhong721-

Thanks for the info. I made my first complaint at 181 miles, so mine has been jacked from the start too. I think I may explore further options with corporate. In the meantime, every time I go to the dealership, even for something unrelated, I will have them document my clutch issues....just did it this AM for my free six month service.

andoy-

You are EXTREMELY lucky I think.....I would definitely love my car if it sounded like a $30K+ automobile.

Looks like this thread has been around for awhile... but I am having the same issues with my IS 250 MT. I took it to the dealer, and they said I needed to replace the clutch ($3,500). Did anyone come up with a good solution, or does anyone have any helpful advice. Thanks in advance.

$3500 for a clutch replacement is absurd! I changed my own clutch in my S2000 for probably $400 in about 12 hours.

If the car is new or close to it, you may be able to fight for a warranty repair like I got. If that's the case, just search on my user name and there will be lots of info.

The cost of the flywheel is obscene. That's why they're charging $3500. It is also not possible to resurface the flywheel using conventional tools, so if you have the dealer do this job, you're going to pay dearly.

isnt it a little overboard for charging $3500 for a tacoma clutch?!

Looks like the dealer is quoting me $1,800 for the flywheel. How could they know that it needs a new flywheel, before they have taken anything apart? I may try some local shops, and see if I can get a better price. Hopefully, they may be able to machine the flywheel, instead of replacing it. Even thou the car is new to me, it has 47,000 miles on it. Either the previous driver was really hard on the clutch, or it is a piece of crap... or both.

I completely understand your frustration being I owned a 2000 VW PAssat that was a lemon. Fortunately I got it bought back under the lemon law. I just think it is unfair of you to completely dog Lexus due to your issues. As I stated before, I understand your frustration. You have a model that has known issues with the MT. That does not mean all Lexus's are bad. In fact Lexus is one of the most reliable cars on the road. Every car manufacturer has issues with something at sometime.

On another note. The new automatic trans. are state of the art and very performance oriented. I like to drive a manual and a auto. But with the technology of the new auto's I would never buy a stick again. The new auto's shift actually faster than you can shift a manual. Hope your BMW serves you well.

I'd suspect you are probably out of luck for getting a warranty repair.....I made my first complaint when I had 186 miles, and it still took several months to get everything approved.

My Lexus has been gone for a while, so I haven't been following the IS250M aftermarket, but maybe there are also other clutch and flywheel options besides OEM?