My dealer can't get my changer fixed. It has been replaced three times already. The first time they gave me a single disc player. The second time I couldn't even load the discs. The third time it still shows "Error-1" and sometimes plays, and sometimes doesn't. I am now really annoyed and angry. And I had asked my service advisor to test the changer before I picked it up, but that obviously never happened. At first, going through all this trouble didn't seem that bad, after all, it is just a radio and not the tranny or something. But now this is getting out of hand. How should I handle this? Complain to the service department? Write a letter? Switch dealers?

 

Complain to the service department, see if they can swap the entire audio system, as they might be swapping just the changer and another part is causing problems. If they are unable to resolve it within a week, call and write to lexus.

 

This might be stating the obvious, and you might have already run this test, but I though I'd add my $.02 based on an experience I had with the same type of problem you're having, but in another car (not a Lexus).

You say you asked the dealer to test the new unit. Is it possible that the dealer may have successfully tested the unit with CDs that are not yours, and the issue could be with some of your CDs? When I had my CD problem, the dealer dismissed it out of hand and claiming the unit was showing errors because my CDs were scratched. In truth, some were, and in addition, they were CDs that I'd burned myself, so I initially considered it plausible that the problem was with my media rather than the player. What upset me about the experience, however, was that the dealer (whose responsibility it was to troubleshoot the problem), never bothered to test my CDs in another unit or try to play known good CDs in my unit. I proceeded to go out and buy a production CD, and used it to confirm that the unit was indeed bad.

Having said all this, I still maintain that it is the dealer's responsibility to do the proper troubleshooting steps to determine the root cause of the problem. But if you're going to contact Lexus, it might be worth going out and buying a new production CD, if for no other reason than to a) head off any possible response from Lexus similar to the one I got (the unit's fine, it's your CDs) and b) to give you a bit more "ammo" if you do wind up calling Lexus (if a new CD doesn't work, then they didn't test the unit like you specifically asked them to, AND you even went to the trouble to test it to ensure that the problem wasn't with your CDs).

Just sharing some past experience, hope this is helpful in resolving your problem.

 

Keep taking it back to the same dealer until the problem is solved. That is what a warranty is for. They have to make it right. Just out of curiousity, is your changer the in dash 6 disk changer?

 

Thanks for the replies. I have been using only production CDs (no burned CD-Rs.) And yes it is the indash 6-disc changer. I'm going to take it back to the same dealership and complain to the service director and to Lexus headquarters, and write a letter. Hopefully this can get resolved...

 

Aah, the famous CD changer problem... I thought it was fixed but I guess not. I had the player in my '01 IS300 replaced 3 times. Situations were similar, couldn't load discs (1 was stuck inside), couldn't play at all.

I'm sort of doing a study w/ my 330's player. In my IS, I'd only have 1 disc in at a time, since I like to change my music often but don't like loading the player w/ 6 cds. Now with my 330, I'll maybe load 2 or 3 at the most, to "exercise" the cd-changing components. I've had my 330 for only 5 months now, so I can't really tell if this works. The player went out after my IS was about 2 years old.

DAYWALKER: How many cds do you have in the player @ any given time?

 

Daywalker --

You might also try contacting Lexus via the Lexus Owner's website (go to Lexus.com, select "Owners" and set up a login for yourself. You can also track any recalls for your vehicle there. In the Owners section there is a link to contact Lexus. I used this with an issue I had with my dealer concerning the ECM update TSB (when I originally requested at the dealership to have the TSB done on my vehicle, the service rep told me that the TSB didn't apply to RX330s, which was wrong). I used the "contact Lexus" link, saying that I was experiencing some harsh shifting, and that I'd tried to have the TSB done, then went on to explain what happened at the dealer. I received a message in reply that the TSB did apply to my RX and that Lexus customer service had contacted the rep at the dealership directly and set him straight, and that I should schedule the TSB at my next appointment.

I was very happy with the way customer service addressed the issue directly with the dealership on my behalf, and I would definitely use the Lexus website again if I ran into any other issues.

 

msilveris- I hope your method works, but seems like alot of trouble for something that shouldn't need it. I've always had all 6 CDs in at the same time.


cmstahl- i am planning to do that too, but did you also complain or write a letter to your dealership's service director/manager? Or was complaining through the website enough?

Thanks again everyone for your help.

 

daywalker --

I didn't talk to anyone at the dealer other than the service rep that I dealt with originally for my service appointment. When I inquired about the TSB, he initially said he wasn't aware of any, but he checked with someone else in the service department (don't know whether it was the manager or another rep). Honestly, I was a bit annoyed, not so much that they weren't aware of the TSB (although they certainly should have been, as there had been several users of this forum that had already had theirs done by that time), but that the guy was rather dismissive when I inquired about it, saying it wasn't advisable to reset the ECM anyway because it takes a long time for the transmission to "re-learn" shifting patterns, etc. To add insult to injury, I requested the TSB be done when I originally scheduled the appointment about a week before, so they had plenty of time to find out about it between the time I booked the appointment and when I brought the car in.

I contacted customer service shortly after the appointment, explaining my harsh shifting problem and inquiring about the TSB, and explained that my dealer had said the TSB didn't apply. I received a reply confirming the TSB did exist, that it did apply to my shifting problem, and that customer service had contacted the service rep who handled my appointment directly and provided info to him on the TSB, and that I should request it be done on my next appointment. I certainly shouldn't have to get into a "there is not, there is too" discussion with the rep about a TSB, and basically customer service did it for me.

Given you're on your third replacement, I don't think "going over the dealer's head" is uncalled for. Be as specific as possible in your email, providing details on the exact problems you're having, dates you brought the car in, and what was done, including the fact that the unit obviously wasn't tested. At this point, every "bad" changer Lexus has can't have YOUR name on it, it's time to start looking elsewhere for the root of the problem.