I called Lindsay Lexus the other day to get a quote for replacing a blown ML sub woofer. The gentlemen on the other line said $435 dollars for just the sub, I said "exsqueeze me? Are you f-ing serious?" For $435 dollars I can replace the amp and buy a nice after market sub woofer. Did I hear this guy right? maybe he misheard me or someting, $435 dollars for a 8" sub is beyond ridiculous.

 

welcome to the wonderful world of OEM parts markup

 

The sad part is...I have tried locating this part through different retail channels, to no avail. It seems like the only way I can replace this sub is by going through Lexus.

 

Call Carson Toyota, www.l-tunedparts.com and talk to Luis at the parts counter, he just quoted me $210 for one for my 02 GS. I would be curious to hear if they are much different.

 

I thought this is a common issue with ML systems the amp blowing up, shouldn't LExus replace them under warranty or something?

 

i second this, im wondering why it isnt covered by warranty. i mean i def wouldn't consider a blown sub wear and tear, i mean they let the stock system go that loud right

 

The amp would be covered, but the speakers normally are not. ANY speaker can be damaged by overplaying with an amp clipping at high output, unless the amp has some sort of Power Guard that rolls off the output to avoid destructive clipping (McIntosh home amps come to mind with this feature). I would not assume you can turn your ML system up full tilt with the expectation that a blown speaker will be covered. Sometimes a dealer will replace a speaker as a courtesy, but many won't if it's obvious the speaker was overdriven. Use common sense, if the output starts to be distorted TURN DOWN THE VOLUME. Just because you can turn the **** to it's max doesn't mean it should be.

 

That's ludacris they want that much!

 

retro fit a better sub in ints place. just match the size and ohm. you will get better performance to boot

 

Hey at least your dealership didn't tell you, you were imagining things when you thought your sub was blown..

 

Speakers are part of warranty.. If its blown, it can be replaced under warranty..

Its not like your going in there any telling them "I maxed out my volume and blew the speaker"...

just say it stopped working... as I'm sure it did..

Jz

 

About warranties, i've learned along time ago, NEVER EVER VOLLENTEER information from your side, ALWAYS say, 'i don't know why it doesn't work i'm not a technician'

About the ML, i know how everyone who has it lubz it, its a upgrade after all but a its still a STOCK upgrade, $2k'ish more for activation of the center spkr and 100watts more power... im so glad i passed on ML.

 

I think this is something that should be covered by warranty. If it wasn't designed to be played that loud, then maybe that shouldn't have made the radio's volume go up that high. My friend blows her stock speakers out all the time and everytime she brings her car in, they replace the speakers under warranty.

 

I would think that it would be covered by the factory warranty. You should be lucky that the sub is not actually manufactured by Mark Levinson (a Harman group) Otherwise, the price could run into the thousands. Anybody who knows about their home equipment knows that they are among the best, and most expensive. Their #40 surround sound processor alone is 40k!! (That's forty thousand dollars) If you want 5.1 surround, you'll need 2 amps at around 12-15k.

 

A speaker can fail for reasons other than customer abuse. On my Audi, the glue that holds the speaker cone to the metal frame let go, causing horrible buzzing and distortion as the cone flopped loose. The dealer replaced it, no questions asked. I'd pursue it as a warranty issue.