jstjohnz

I have an '01 430 Ultra and am curious what other owners are seeing as far as reliability. I have about 63K on the car (bought used with 15K). Make no mistake, I absolutely love this car. My wife and I recently took a 6,000 mile driving trip in 3 weeks, and riding in this car was never tiring.

The problems that I have had have all been minor, but I'm curious if any of these have been seen by others.

I have had the following problems:

Battery will completely run down if car isn't used for a few days. I had the Lexus battery replaced once under warranty then had the same problem develop within a year. This time I put in a Red Top and have not had the problem yet. Apparently there are several ECU modules that draw some battery power even with the ignition off, to the point that the battery can fully discharge in a few days of non-use. Unfortunately this is extremely hard on the battery and a few cycles of this will quickly wear out a battery. Possibly problem is worse if key left in ignition.

Intermittent failure of the PARK interlock on the shifter. Happens maybe once every few months, refuses to unlock for several tries, then all of a sudden works fine. I have seen this maybe 5-6 times in 27 months, always clears in less than a minute but is annoying when it happens.

Intermittent (2 or 3 times) park assist sensor failure warning. Lasts a few seconds to a few minutes then goes away.

Rain sensor for wipers failed.

Passenger seat "groans" when reclined with a person leaning back against it. Dealer tried to fix it (JM Lexus, absolutely the worst nightmare service experience I ever had at a Lexus dealership), but problem reappeared after a few weeks.

Steering column noisy when telescoping. Annoyed me to the point that I disabled the auto telescoping on ignition on/off.

Windshield wipers 'slam' at lower end of travel when operating in high speed. Loud enough to be annoying. I have heard that this is common.

Rear tail lamp bulb burned out.

As pointed out in another thread, seat cooling system is barely noticeable.

A couple of times the trunk latch has reset with the trunk lid open, so that when I tried to close it, it just banged down with a nasty metal to metal sound. The cure was to re-trigger the inside trunk release.

The CD changer "ate" CDs on one ocassion and would not eject them.


And a couple of annoying quirks:

Why does the power window lockout button also lock out the driver's window controls??? I though this was for when you have kids as passengers, keeps them from playing.

Why does the volume **** function even if the audio system is turned off? More than once I have cranked up the volume, then realized that the system was off, and turned it on before lowering the volume back down.

Maybe it's just me, but the change holder is nearly useless.

I think that's about it, comments welcome!

-jim-

RajaReMax

I've never heard of a late model Lexus having as many problems as yours. If it were mine, I'd sell and get another one. You may be missing out on the Lexus-Experience by keeping it.

RajaReMax

I forgot to mention the problems I ran into:

1) Tire Pressure light remained on after adding/removing air-Dealer fixed

2) Smart Key does not always work when you touch the car-handle.

3) Weak cooling in driver-seat AC

Minor issues I'm not concerned about...

jcramair1

I have not had any problems with my car. I do admit that the seats could be a tad cooler

BrickHead

My '98 had the same problem. The dealer replaced the windshield wiper 'transmission'. The problem went away.

I am sorry you have so many issues with your car. Did you buy it from a Lexus dealer? Do you have the repair history of the car prior to your purchase? Perhaps the original owner got tired of the problems and sold/returned it to the dealer.

usermel

I had the problem with my car not coming out of park. The dealer fixed it under warranty. I it is a problem with that 2001 model year. When i told them the problem they said they had it before and fixed it. Also the tele-scoping steering wheel noise was a prblem for me also. It was fixed by the dealer also under warranty. Im still under 50,000 miles and i also have a 2001 ls430, but not the ultra luxury. I have the mark/nav package. I said in a consumer reports pole on the LS, that I have noticed a slip in lexus quality in the recent history of the car. Along with, if you noticed, prices slowly being raised. Now this sounds like im crying about price, but in 10 years the lexus brand will cost like mercedes,jag, and bmw. This is just a short list of complaints compared to others i know of. I am i dedicated lexus man but am also honest. Lexus needs to look over its shoulder like benz and bmw should have when lexus burst on the scene. This car company i feel is a sleeper. Acura is the sleeper. I just saw the new 3.5 RL and it is completely redone. From the nav to the interior its stepped up. Lexus i hate to say it has gotten to cocky with its success. They remind me of my favorite teams, the Dallas Cowboys and the L . A Lakers. Both teams became to relaxed in there success and fell. Im still fans of both teams like i am still a fan of lexus. But hay we all know alot of lexus drivers were benz ,bmw and jag drivers we left those companies for the reasons were with lexus. Now that the quality is becoming a slight issue lexus please look over your shoulder. MY girlfriend has owned 2 new acuras, and the number of problems zero, none. She had a 2001 3.2 CL and now has the TSX and got that last july, and has had not one problem. We need to all be honest about our problems with our cars so lexus can stay on its toes. Not just with quality, design also i like my lexus and dont want to see the company slip. Also my local dealer was so rude to me at lexus, when i tried back in 2001 to buy the LS430 from him i didnt. I was trying to get maybe a few dollars of but he wouldn't move on the price. I called other lexus dealers out of my area and got a better price than my local dealer. I came back to that dealer, by the way he is the general manager and part owner of the lexus dealership here. He said he would feel uncomfortable doing service to my car if i purchased from another dealer. This is an example of the change that needs to be made in attitude at lexus. Mercedes doesn't have the quality that lexus has but they treat you like you matter. They give gourmet cakes and godiva candy and wine with your purchase lexus nothing. This happened to me after i purchased 3 lexus' from that dealership. Again there getting cocky.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

usermel,
I'm going to disagree that Lexus are having a lot of problems. Maybe it's just the LS models. My 95 SC has had only one serious problem, the a/c had to be fixed. Had one recurring problem, the cd changer sucks. It works but sometimes it needs prodding. Everything else has been maintenance and modding. My 99 ES300 has been trouble free. None of my buddies who drive GS's have complaints. The LS is the most tech heavy Lexus. Sometimes too much technology causes too many problems for what it's worth.
I say this because none of the problems I hear about are engine or drive train related. Lexus is trying to keep up in the tech wars with other marques. They are having the same issues with high tech...see www.lemonmb.com for illustrations of mercedes troubles. I'm sure Lexus will get it right real soon.

usermel

I understand reggiek and agree that its not all lexus auto's. And in your case its not that way, your cars have performed fine in your eyes. Cars are all case by case when it comes to problems. The only time it's all models are when it's a defect. What im saying is among the people I know who own a car from the lexus line-up in recent vehicles (not 95's to 2000 models) they have had problems. Nothing under the sun is without flaw, and cars are no exception. It was a time when people bought a Benz and didn't end up at the dealership with problems. In my opinion they slacked up and lexus took up there unhappy customers because the Japanese auto makers were set on making reliable cars with very little problems. Its like i said in my first post I am a lexus man, but feel it's not about you agreeing or not, you haven't had problems and im happy for you that you haven't. I'm talking to those that have, not those that didn't. Milla for example stated problems she had when she seen the post, not before she saw it, did she state all those problems. I said what i said in hope that if the customers always right reggiek, your next used or new lexus will have the same quality the ones you have now do I feel all lexus owners are in a family or fraternity so your opinion is respected, but let's not make it like lexus is or has been flawless. In all fairness what i said about my girlfriends acura's could be her good luck, or blessing from God she hasn't had problems. My point is if we have problems, lets make sure lexus knows so they don't start taking our business for granted. Lets remember the LS 400 was $35,000-$40,000 back in 1990. Its now 2004 and they are $58,000-$59,000 base, that's alot of inflation, if the dollar is losing that much value were in trouble. Car companies are in the business of selling to make money. Most dealerships get a bulk of there profits from the service department. And belive me after 50,000 miles or after your CPO warranty is up, you would not want to have to pay for things that can be avoided. In short my birthday was yesterday and the general manager in virginia that was rude to me, and the dealer in maryland i bought my last car from didn't call and wish me a happy one. So i must state the truth as i know it, i repsect your opinion again but it's those that say whats wrong that keep whats right , staying right. Maybe lexus views this site and will take into account all of our concerns , good and bad. And as for the mercedes site of the problems with benz people have had, I also left benz for quality issues but thats my point. I noticed some things that concern me like when i was at benz. Im not saying lexus is unreliable, Im saying lets stay in there ear and express concerns not just the greatness and positive's of the car. Also whats wrong because all car companies have some problems. There are people who like lexus and those that dont also. As well as people who dont like BMW and do like BMW and Jag as well. Im not biased because i like lexus, just honest if something is wrong.

usermel

I forgot to mention I have had my car not come out of park, like the person who started the thread. Got it fixed under warranty. My hood shocks to my engine compartment gave out, also replaced under warranty. The chrome stripping around my bumper also needed to be replaced. My battery also went out after not driving for days. My cd player also ate my cd's. Also the front armrest was replaced because an air conditioning vent was faulty. I have a 2001 LS430 with mark/nav. I like this car anyway and won't trade for anything but a lexus by the way. My outside rear view mirrors wouldn't automatically open and close either.

cschow

I have a 01 LS-430 UL which I bought just a few months ago. I've had the battery discharge on me once, when the car was at a detailer who kept it a few days. The dealer replaced it under warranty, but that did bother me as I saw on the service history that the battery had been replaced just a year before that when the previous owner had the car.

My main problem with the car is recently the front cup holders have developed an intermittent rattling sound. Also there is possibly another rattling sound I'm hearing on an intermittent basis. The LS is definitely much quieter than my MB, but because its reputaton of being quiet, I react to any tiny instance of noise, where if the same ocurred in my MB I would just ignore it. Somehow I need to figure out how quiet a 01 LS-430 is suppose to be, lol.

This, I believe, is actually the subject of a TSB. You should search through the TSB portion of this site and ask the dealer to perform every applicable TSB procedure. When I picked up my car a few months ago, I found 4-5 applicable TSBs and was shocked that the prior two owners didn't bother getting these issues addressed. The prior dealer didn't even bother with them either, and the car was sold as a CPO car to the prior owner!

usermel

What cschow said of his problems is what i am speaking on. The dealerships for all of lexus dont care about the customers the way we think. The car gearshift being stuck in park then releasing, is a problem with some 2001 model LS430's, from a base model to a ultra luxury. And the dealerships know of this problem. I had to go nuts on my local dealer to get them to respect the fact that i payed for a fully working car. I went of on them 3 years ago and now they fix items as soon as i let them know of them. Only under warranty items not whats not under warranty. Before i stood up for myself they ignored my concerns, lexus needs to be more on top of there dealerships. They are giving dealerships to people and they are becoming crazed with power. Im a customer who was told because i looked for a better deal on the LS430, that my local dealer would feel not good about doing my service on my car. This was the general manager.Also since i purchased my 2001 LS430 from another lexus dealer last year, that same general manager has been cold to me. This is not care for customers. I gave him a chance to sell to me after being told he wouldnt feel good about doing my service 3 years earlier, and he tried to make me feel like the bad guy. Back to cschow, your problem getting stuck in park should have been fixed under your CPO or original car warranty. That is a defect that all the dealerships are aware of. We need to be honest like this because reputation is not always who people, cars , mayors etc. really are. People change, and people make lexus, so we need to stay on lexus about not just car quality, but dealership honesty when there is a problem and treatment. I live in the Norfolk/VA. Beach area, my lexus dealer is the only lexus dealer within 90 miles of here. And in a month or 2 that same dealership owner is building another lexus dealership in Newport News just 20 miles away from Charles Barkers other dealership in VA. Beach. Also I bought 4 cars from this dealership and was told by someone who usta work for them that they usta joke how they overcharged me on my car purchases. I like my lexus car, but make no mistake your local dealer cares nothing of you, only your money. So if somethings wrong with our cars lets look out for ourselves. Customers keep business' in business not the other way around. Were like NBA fans and MLB fans we pay there salaries, and honesty when they know cschow's car has defect ,and don't fix it immediately is awful. I hold my tounge no more of lexus' cockiness iv'e seen over the last 4 years and iv'e read other forums with similar complaints, of bad treatment and service and being overcharged. Until they start sending you a check stop making excuses for them when there wrong. Thats how you keep big business in check let them know when its wrong. Yeah and when i called 1-800-lexus with what the General Manager did to me not only in virginia, but the maryland dealership lied to me to were i bought the LS430, they did nothing. THEY DIDN'T CARE. I can go on about lexus but this post is to to long.

cschow

Just to be clear, my experiences with the Lexus dealerships in the Northern Virginia area has actually be very good.

My post was primarily pointing out my surprise that procedures described in TSBs issued as early as 2001 had not been performed on my car when it was owned by the prior two owners or by the dealer who sold the car to the second owner, since that dealer had sold the car under the CPO program. (I'm also annoyed that the Lexus CPO program only pertains to the person who bought the car under the CPO program and does not flow to subsequent owners, but thats a different story). I encourage everyone to be familiar with TSBs and always ask on each service visit for them to perform any procedure described in any applicable TSB.

The treatment I had been subjected to by one of our local Mercedes dealerships, on the other hand, has been astonishingly bad. In the C-class one common fault involves a fuel sender sensor which causes the car to think it has a full tank of gas when the fuel level is less than full. The fix is to replace the sender. When I brought my C32 in to get that item serviced, the dealer kept my cars for about 2 WEEKS because, the technician removed the fuel tank to access the sender, but did so in a way which made it impossible to re-install the fuel tank, and then discovered that they did not have a suitable fuel tank with sender for my vehicle. They then further discovered that the part was apparently out of stock throughtout the east coast, and ordered the part from California, but refused to pay for next day delivery. Then, the wrong part was apparently shipped, but the idiot technician DID NOT REALIZE IT until AFTER he tried installing the tank. Then all of a sudden, the part which previously had not been availalbe anywhere in the East coast, suddenly shows in inventory at Baltimore, and then they were able to install the correct part and get my car back to me.

In another incident, I made a oil change service -appointment-, and they did not perform the oil service because they realized after accepting the appointment, and after I dropped off the car for service, that my car, being an AMG model, used a different oil filter than other C-class cars, and that they didn't have the oil filter in stock. Thus, it took 2 work days (spanning a weekend no less) to do a routine oil change.

I was seriously considering upgrading from my C32 to a E55, but after these experiences I bought my LS and kept the C32.

rcf8000

My LS430 was one of the first ones delivered in the US in the fall of 2000, and it now has 45,000 miles on it. I received notification on two occasions that I should bring in the car for something to be done to the Lexus Link. (Once they sent me a check for $50 to compensate me for my trouble! What other car company does that?) My car has the groaning when the steering wheel telescopes, but it has never bothered me enough to ask the dealer to fix it. The only real repair I have had done is that recently I thought the driver's seat bottom cushion was getting a little too firm, so I brought this to the dealer's attention, and they replaced the padding under warranty. I have had a lot of experience with Lexus vehicles over the years (including LS400, SC400, ES300, RX300, and currently an SC430 and an LX470 in addition to the LS430), and as far as I'm concerned no other brand of vehicle comes close to the customer satisfaction provided by Lexus.

usermel

I didn't say this before but within the last 3 years one of my best freinds became a dealer. And the dealership you purchased your car from knew of the problems of the car. But don't take my word for it, also i know other car dealers who talk to me about that business. I won't say all they told me because it was in confidence and i keep my word. But i can say that dealerships play dumb when it comes to service and warranty. Ask what there doing to your car during every service. You'll be surprised what your being charge for. Example at my dealership at every service a rotation of tires is over $80 and a brillstein engine flush i wasn't aware they were performing i think cost over $100. There some other items and services that jack up these services. Also if you haven't been to a car auction go to one trust me you'll be surprised at what dealers pay at those auctions and what they charge you. Don't be surprised if your car was purchased at a dealer only auction for between $30,000 and $36,000 at auction and sold to you for between $45,000 and $50,000(just guessing on the price. They are a good old boys network, a fraternity. They give info on cars to each other and don't to the consumer. And my experience with my dealer was mine your right cschow. As for your concerns for the problems your car had, trust they knew. They still pay techs for warranty services and defects. But when you pay for the problems they mark up parts cost to turn a profit. There isn't last time i checked a windsheild , ac filter, or tire plant at the local dealers in any lexus ,bmw,jag or benz dealership service department. That's why they send of for there parts. No different than getting smart and going online and ordering your own tires and saving $50 dollars a tire. Except when you buy from the dealer they add on to that tire cost . I have another friend who sold cars and said of the service department, thats were dealerships make a majority of there money. Remember when you go to your local dealer next time, to see how you never see the service department not make at least 30-50 transactions a day . Car sales on the other hand they may sale 10 a day if that, maybe less on a bad day, more on a great day. I'm just trying to stick up for the consumer, im sorry, something you rarely here from dealerships when there wrong. Usually they wait until after you purchase to tell you neagatives. Remember these guys are under pressure to sale in every department, there jobs depend on it. Not ours (the consumer). This message is bought to you by the Concerned Consumers of Luxury Cars. I'm usermel and i aprove this message. Life! Do ya love it? YEAH !

jstjohnz

My worst Lexus service experience was at JM Lexus in Florida. I had them try to fix the "groaning" passenger seat problem, replace the seat air filters, and change a couple of the programmable options. At the time I was travelling and just passing through their area.

They didn't have the filters but they did the other work. I left and was heading up the Florida turnpike, after about a half hour I get a call from JM, seems as though their mechanic left another customer's paperwork and keys on the floor in the back of my car! So I turn around and drive back to JM to return those items. On the road again, I make a stop about a half hour away and when I get back to the car I discover that the buttons on the remote don't work! Somehow the guy misprogrammed the system in such a way that all remote buttons were disabled.

I called JM and was told that IF I could get there before they closed they would TRY to take care of it that afternoon. Well I did make it back, and they did fix it, but they just acted like they were having to go out of their way to deal with me when it was there screwup in the first place.

Then of course the 'fix' for the groaning passenger seat lasted maybe a month.....

-jim-