SSxblazer

It's never as simple as that. Because you feel as soon as a business says no, you feel its over with. A lot of people feel this way. This is never the case. Keep fighting , you may look like an annoyance to them, but you're getting what you need.....proper service that you come to expect from a flagship brand of auto maker. This isn't a Ford Focus......this is a brand that sets itself apart from all others because of quality, craftsmanship, and technology to ensure that they are not like the others.

Yes, I was aggressive in my post. Because I hate to see someone get hosed over because the term "stealership" did not come from anywhere. It came from dealers always trying to get one over on someone.

If you lived near me, best bet I would be backing you up and getting in the trenches with you and helping you out.

Case in point, my Procharged G8 GT.......my dealer would not work on it TSB's and recalls that needed to be done , because the procharger was on it. It took 2 months of speaking with GM, this was min wage phone monkeys, to vice presidents of customer care in North America.

Needless to say after quoting magnuson moss law, and constantly calling them via my phone and on-star.....word spread quickly. However, they almost had to fix my supercharger because there was a recall for the a/c pulley....they put the blower belt on wrong.....I found out about this after months and months.....but they replaced the blower belt, all was good.

I get mad when other people don't get mad. You spent a hell of a lot of money on your car and you deserve to have it longer than a few years before it goes bust. I hope you keep persisting to the dealer that they need to fix it. Call you local news.....make a youtube video showing what it does.....and that Lexus will not fix this issue for free or at least just charge you labor......tag it on facebook , friend Lexus on facebook.....show them what is wrong with your car and force it on them. You didnt spend this money on buying a car that grenades after the warranty is up.

And to be honest, the only reason I posted on this thread was because I am passionate about this subject because of what I have been through. And because I was thinking of getting an ISF or an LS460L. Cannot decide......but I can say this, if Lexus is treating you this way....I do not think I want to even consider Lexus again (previous L models: 03 LS430, and current 03 GS300). I love the Lexus brand, but if I were you.....I would not be loving it at all......

edit: You do sound like a busy man, not harping on you for kicks. I understand people are busy. But geesh, you let this thing go for too long and Lexus won't care at all. Just make small moves....start with befriending lexus on FB.....post on your FB that Lexus won't help......idk....do something other then thinking how little time you have to deal with this matter. Sucks man , really does suck.....I feel for you. But you need to start making waves now......other wise you won't be taken seriously.

And to lobuxracer, how dare you give me a yellow card and then ask OP if he sells his car for 18k you'll buy it and fix it up. I am actually here to help him and my verbiage gets me in trouble. You spit on him while hes on the floor trying to get back up.

If anyone deserves a yellow card it is you my friend. We are here to help one another, not spit on the weak and flaunt money.

vbb

iTrader: (3)

Well then, I guess we're all wasting time and keystrokes. It seems you've made up your mind. I can't fault you for wanting a new car... I mean, you were already looking before any of this happened anyway... though I still think letting them rake you over the coals on a $18K trade value is sad. They will fix whatever is wrong with your transmission and end up making a ~$10K profit on the whole deal. It would be worth it to at least get the car home (tow, ship, limp it home, whatever) and deal with all of this with your home dealership. I guess you disagree. Oh well. Enjoy whatever new ride you end up getting.

Rider

just take it to another dealer and dont mention the tranny issue and they may give you a decent price for it and call it a day .. yawn.

Just F Me

Not really wasting time I don't think. I'm just sharing my experience with everyone. Can I be more aggressive? Maybe? I agree with everyone though...the car should last. This was my FIRST "high performance car". Has it been a good experience? Yes...was it expensive? Yes...But...you live...you learn...you make mistakes... Like i said, perhaps the next car I get, I take it to the stealership for all my maintenance so I have a track record.

I usually get like this with cars...every car I've had in the past...for some reason, there's this dark cloud that lingers over it and the car starts having problems or needs regular maintenance, but it all comes at once. My last car, a 2005 Acura TL...within 3 months, 2 broken windshields, blown tire, cd player stops working, LED lights on steering wheel controls goes out, and I bent 2 of my Volk Racing wheels hitting something on the freeway at night that I did not see until it was too late. 12 days later, the car was gone and the IS F was in my garage....looks like everything is happening all over again.

I work in the commercial graphics industry...people buy $30-$60 printers...and extended warranties for 1 year is like $2000-$7000 depending on the cost of the printer. In this industry, you don't buy a warranty...tough. Thats' why they sell it. And I tell my customers the same thing. The nice thing about it is they actually let you buy an extended warranty RIGHT BEFORE (sometimes even a few weeks) after your warranty actually expires (but they don't let you make a claim for 30 days if you let the warranty lapse).

Some extended warranties for the big printers I deal with in the $200 - $500k range, extended 1 year warranties could be $50k (parts and labor all included). Granted, this is on something that MAKES you money unlike a car...which if it's an exciting car will make you change your undies often.

I will admit, am I the most aggressive person? No...definitely not. I ask politely a few times, etc, and if I get the same answer, I analyze am I actually getting ripped off? When I came to the dealership, I didn't say..."check out my car, if it's broke let me know so I can buy a new one instead of fixing it". If i said that, and 10 mins later they tell me "yeah it's broke", then I'd be like wait a minute wtf is going on?

So I look at my situation in thinking...as long as it is actually broke, then I'm ok with getting rid of it. Lesson learned? 1) Buy an extended warranty. 2) Sell the car once the warranty is up. New cars are so advanced now a days, too much electronic crap.

Stealerships are in the business of making money. All I can do tomorrow is inspect it myself, and see what kind of report they give me and trust that they're doing the right thing and not hiding anything. I've gone to 4 dealerships and none of them want any part of it this car as a "trade in". Am I losing money on this? Sure. But if I get a new car...won't have this fear that something else maybe wrong. Or if i pay someone to tear the whole transmission apart for them to say...yep...new tranny.... Or, you tear the whole thing apart, rebuild it, put it back together, I end up paying thousands in labor.

^^^LOL...I've thought about this...the second they need to reverse it...wtf...it's not going in reverse. lol

cremaster

iTrader: (1)

read the entire thread. i agree a little w/ a lot of you that commented, including OP. by nature i can be easily confrontational and aggressive (i'm an attorney). i hate nothing more than feeling ripped off and i will take things as far as i can just on principle. but you always have to weigh everything and decide which battles to pick. my time is valuable as well, so although it would be nice to have the luxury of getting multiple opinions, speaking to corporate, waiting, posting things on other forums, fb, etc., etc. for your cause, sometimes it's just not worth it for the time being. maybe you have a lot of other stuff on your plate. work, family, etc.

whatever your decision, gl man.

vbb

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, at this point I'm not even suggesting he go to war with Lexus over this... my suggestions were that he either try and get it fixed first, then trade it for full trade-in value, or at least try to get his home dealership to offer him more on the trade value or less on the repair costs than the dealership in Sac-town where he's stranded. If he has done his research and looked around a few places, and the best he can get on a trade is $18K, then so be it. As a last ditch option, I would list it for sale on here, even for a week or so. I can't imagine someone wouldn't jump on it for $20K or more (probably more). Though my time is money too (I'm an attorney as well), it'd be worth it to me to wait a week and put up with a little more headache if that meant I wouldn't be leaving potentially $5K on the table.

In the end though, it is his time and money, and if he says F-it (pun intended) and goes down to the Porsche dealership and drives back home in a GT3, I'll be the first to demand he posts pictures.

zapa

I think giving a call to lexus customer satisfaction would be a good route to go. Make sure you speak with someone that has the authority to do something about your problem. Lexus values that fair treatment of customers so much. They should be understanding and help you out.

Joe Z

iTrader: (10)

Tommy,

I'm sorry to hear what happened...

But honestly.. There are dozens of salvaged IS-F's across CA..

Pick up a used tranny and slap it in there already..!!!

You stopped going to the dealership a long time ago... Why start now ??

(I haven't read the whole thread yet..)

~ Joe Z

bradhop15

iTrader: (1)

I agree. Find the best priced used tranny, swap it in, and enjoy. If you planned on keeping the car for another 4 years or more then you might want to go the route of new or rebuilt, but it sounds like you might be in a new car within a year, so why spend all that money on a new tranny.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

All Toyota Lexus Parts in Rancho Cordova has a 2008 gearbox for $2100. Seriously, this would be your best bet. Vlad in West Sac has one for $4800 and claims only 10k miles and is willing to warranty.

Trade the car for a gearbox? You've got to be kidding.

RCM83

iTrader: (1)

Ya this seems crazy to me, unless you are rich or something and just don't care! There is no way I would go down without a fight if my F does this at 80k miles, hell 150k miles. There is a reason I chose the IS-F over an M3 or other competitors, and that is reliability. The second I lose that there is a serious problem and better believe Lexus will be hearing about it.

Just F Me

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ion-issue.html

So I found this earlier... I'm going to call Lexus again tomorrow and talk to someone else. I talked to my sales person at Lexus Sacramento that's working with me to get me into a new 2013 GS350 F-Sport and He talked to the service techs on my behalf because I've been busy with meetings for the past few days.

They said that there was very little fluid inside the transmission and what was in it was extremely black and dirty and it over heated and THIS IS WHAT THEY THINK is the cause of failure as they haven't taken anything apart. But the thing is that I heard (don't know where I heard it), that the tranny doesn't need trans oil for 100k miles....so that's what I did...yeah I drove it hard and had fun with it because it's a performance car, and that's why I paid $60k for it, but if it says you don't have to do this for 100k...I never read anything that said...if you drive the car like a high performance car, you better do it at 25k...

vbb

iTrader: (3)

So you're just going to take their offer for $18K on the trade in and buy a new GS-F sport? What about the links above the lobux and others have posted showing where you can get a transmission for a fraction of the cost that you were quoted? That doesn't change anything for you at all?



If I weren't on the opposite coast, I'd love to pick that thing up from you and turn a profit on it.

Just F Me

well...its also the cost of putting it in and all that labor. Might in the end cost me $5000+.

I guess I rather not dump $5000+ into the car that's getting close to 100k miles. It's almost like one of those things where it's almost not worth it to put money into it. Car also needs new brakes...which is another $1200 for OEM brembo discs...more cost. What if i put in the tranny and the motor goes out next? Honestly...kinda scared what "could" be next...peace of mind has a price.

Been getting a lot of PMs for the car...LOL

MisterSkiz

iTrader: (2)

They are probably right.

When you were describing your original issue it sounded like you were low on trans fluid.

I bet that the trans had a ATF leak somewhere along the line (cooler lines, cooler, etc) and over time became lower and lower. Black/dark fluid usually means the fluid is toast due to overheating (and possible contamination of clutch pack material). If this car had a dipstick for the trans fluid, you would have been able to check it and see/smell the fluid.

Guys with big powered V8 auto trans cars with modified stall torque converter usually put in aftermarket in line coolers to keep the temps down. Heat is the main enemy of automatic transmissions.

Have you spoken with the Service Manager yet? Just remember be aggressive but polite.