As some of you know, I drove my 01 Rx out to AZ from Ga on vacation. My RX has 113k miles on it and nothing has ever failed on this car.
We are in Prescott, Az visiting my father for a couple of weeks. To make a long story not so long.....
The ignition switch went out in his driveway, it was stuck between acc and lock. The key would come out and all but the key just wouldnt move at all. So I called the two Lexus dealers in Phoenix. Bell Lexus pretty much pissed me off from the start by qouting me the wrong parts price. So I called Scotsdale Lexus and I was happy with them, they had the parts which I couldnt believe. I asked the service manager, Dudley, about towing the car down there, its about 2 hours away. He said Roadside assistance had expired at 50k. So I called another towing company, they were on the way, when I kept thinking about the Roadside plan. I logged onto Lexus.com and found out the Roadside is unlimited mileage. I could have sworn it was. So I had them tow it in. They were here in less than 1 hour.
It cost me a little over 500.00 bucks to get the car fixed. They called and said my battery was dead, wanted 200 bucks for parts and labor. I picked one up for 80.00 bucks and put it in at the dealership myself, im sure they were pissed.

My biggest complaint was that the Service Manager does not even know the stipulations or details of the roadside assisatance plan.

 

Roadside Assistance does expire at the end of the warranty, but when it is effect, it is unlimited miles to the nearest Lexus dealership.

 

Wrong! The original warranty expires at 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. The roadside assistance is good for the full 4 years regardless of mileage. This is right from Lexus:


"One of the reasons Lexus is renowned for its unmatched commitment to service is the way we take care of you beyond the dealership. Like our 24-hour, 365-day Roadside Assistance Protection program, which is available to every Lexus owner. Protection is provided for the first four years after the in-service date, regardless of mileage. "

 

from the Lexus web site

One of the reasons Lexus is renowned for its unmatched commitment to service is the way we take care of you beyond the dealership. Like our 24-hour, 365-day Roadside Assistance Protection program, which is available to every Lexus owner. Protection is provided for the first four years after the in-service date, regardless of mileage.

 

Didn't I just post that???

 

Yep, in fact, here it is again...

"One of the reasons Lexus is renowned for its unmatched commitment to service is the way we take care of you beyond the dealership. Like our 24-hour, 365-day Roadside Assistance Protection program, which is available to every Lexus owner. Protection is provided for the first four years after the in-service date, regardless of mileage."

 

Good point, it sounds like I get Roadside Assistance under 4 years but if mileage is over 50k I pay for the repairs, is that right? I can see some mileage limit to full warranty but it seems to me if I get stuck on the road under 4 years Lexus ought to foot the bill for the repairs.

 

Why should they pay for repairs? They guarantee you a vehicle that will not have problems for 50,000 miles, and if it doesn't, they will fix it free. Why should they allow you to drive it like a taxi and put 200,000 miles on it and just because you owned it for 47 1/2 months they should pay for it?

Nonsense!

 

Stryke, not nonsense imo; sure, use needs to be balanced but 50k on cars of this quality today is practically nothing irrespective of vehicle age. If I need to put 50k on my properly-maintained vehicle in a couple years should my warrany for everything be terminated? This seems a bit unreasonable to me.

Many drivers, probably most RX types, do not , " . . .drive it like a taxi and put 200,000 miles on it . . .," as you put it . There is a big difference in normal use, 50k - 100k in 4 years, and extreme use and imo the 4yr/50k warranty doesn't strike the necessary nominal balance between useage/age in normal vehicle deterioration given today's high-end vehicle quality and appropriate warranties in this competitive automotive industry environment. But I drive pretty conservatively so I might not need service as much as others . . . . Plus the other reason to handle on-road repairs or a few years, it just seems like good PR to me, in my opinion.

 

Keep in mind that Lexus is first and foremost, a business! They already offer one of the better warranties in the Japanese market (4/50k) compared with the standard 3/36k for other Jap makers. They make great money on parts and service so extending the warranty may not sell more cars to the point where it would compensate on lost parts revenue. It is a fine balance for their business and it seems to be working well. Heck, we all still bought them, right?

I collect watches and I use the same analogy when people ask why does Rolex offer only a 2 year warranty on a watch that can outlast the owner. Because they make close to a million watches a year and without exception, they sell all of them each year. They make a killing on service and parts and it's just good business. That's all. I got a 90 day warranty on my Sony TV and 1 year limited. Does that mean in a year I should throw it out as it's not expected to last longer?

 

IMHO Lexus service is going down-hill fast!! I can't wait to see if their rankings hold up.

 

You haven't stepped into an Acura dealership have you?

Mercedes Benz is the only manufacturer that I know of that offers lifetime roadside assistance. What Lexus offers is pretty standard in the luxury car market.

I almost never surpass the mileage limit on the warranties, too many cars to drive with too few places to drive them too!

 

I was shopping for another car and I really liked the Acura TSX, but not after I was ignored at an Acura dealer and told the lease on a $25,000 car would be $399/month!

You should have tried calling Lexus to get roadside service, either way, you might be able to get them to refund you for towing the car if it was less than 4 years old.

 

I did call Roadside eventually. They were there in less than an hour. I would have been one upset man if I wouldnt had looked at Lexus website to make sure I was correct and the service manager was wrong.