mountGreen

We bought a CPO 2008 Lexus RX 350 on Jan, 25, 2012 from Longo Lexus, CA. The SUV came with 3 year or total 100,000 mile warranty.

We bought the car from the dealership after work so it was already dark when we picked up the car then drove it home. The next morning I found there's water in the right front HID headlight. So I made a service appointment with the dealership, the earliest time I could get was Feb. 4th.

I dropped the car at the dealership as they couldn't fix it on the appointment day . They called me in the morning today, Feb, 6, saying both of the front lights are leaking and need to be replaced. The cost for replacing is $1,600/each. The person called me said he needed to call Lexus to find out who is responsible for the cost and will call me back tomorrow.

It seems like a very common problem for a lot of Lexus owners but Lexus hasn't do anything to address the issue.

Before we making the decision of purchasing a Lexus we did a lot of research and believed Lexus to be brand we can trust. Didn't expect such a surprise!

I'll keep this post updated to let you know how it turns out.

RX330inFL

Welcome to Club Lexus.

Yes, this is a common problem and complaint amongst forum members. If you use the search feature you will find a number of existing threads on the topic. The water in the headlights more than likely came from the car wash your vehicle received just before you picked it up.

Being you had just purchased your RX the cost should not come out of your pocket.

Once you have the problem corrected, there is a post which shows how to seal the top of the units with a common silicone sealant.

mandyfig

Sorry to hear about your situation. How many miles on the RX?

Too late now but if you type in headlamp condensation, there's a ton of threads on it.

Wish you luck in getting Lexus to pay for your replacement set.

Being a CPO you should be OK. The dealer should take care of you. But ot looks like you were dumped already. Was this a Lexus CPO? Or a dealer CPO?

You should be fine.

...and welcome to CL.

mountGreen

Thank you guys for the info.

I received a call from Longo Lexus guest relation few mins ago asking if I'm satisfied with my purchase. Told her about the leaking headlights and two other problems, the steering wheel shakes when driving around 70-75 mile per hour. it also pulls to right even on a completely flat road. (checked tire pressure, all 4 tires have same tire pressure.)

It has about 50,140 miles on it when we bought it.

For the CPO, I don't even know theres a difference between dealer/Lexus CPO.

RX330inFL

The tire shake could just be a bad tire balance.

The pull to the right could be an alignment. We also saw a recent incident where the alignment was spot on but the tires had worn uneven. A tire rotation from left to right I think solved that problem.

mandyfig

CPO by Lexus, is warranted by Lexus and you can take it to any Lexus dealer for warranty issues. Also you can call lexus corporate and argue any warranty issue.

Dealer CPO means you only deal with the dealer and Lexus will not be able to help you. Means if the dealer who you bought this from is not a GOOD dealer, then you might be holding the short end of the stick.

Hence we recommend to our members and potential members to peruse through our extensive knowledge base here at CL to help them watch for pitfalls.

Good luck to you.

mountGreen

CPO by Lexus, is warranted by Lexus and you can take it to any Lexus dealer for warranty issues. Also you can call lexus corporate and argue any warranty issue.

Dealer CPO means you only deal with the dealer and Lexus will not be able to help you. Means if the dealer who you bought this from is not a GOOD dealer, then you might be holding the short end of the stick.

I think the sales person mentioned we could take our car to any Lexus dealership for service so it must be a Lexus warranty. Lucky us on that

redrocks

Big difference between getting "service" and items covered by "warranty"?

mountGreen

update 1:

Just got a call from service rep. saying the they will fix the passenger's side leaking headlight for free. ( This is the one I found has water in it).

For the headlight on driver's side, ( I didn't find water in it but was told by service rep. that it's also leaking) the repair guy used high pressure water hose to on it ( I don't know what he used water hose for) and somehow the water got inside the headlight through air vent.

( The headlight has air vents so when the lights are on and air got hot it can flow out to keep the pressure normal. )

All services are done at no charge to me. Sounds pretty good

They will call me either tomorrow Tue. or Wed. Will keep update the post.

Thank you guys for helping me out.

RX330inFL

Check the service invoice for the work done to see if they included replacement of the ballasts or not. As you have HID this is important.

mandyfig

Good that it worked out for you.

mountGreen

Another update:

Got a call in the morning saying the repair had been done and I can pick it up today or tomorrow.

For the ballasts of HID headlight, why it is important have them replaced? What if they didn't? Thanks.

RX330inFL

Sorry, ballast may have been the wrong term to use. It is one thing to replace the glass housing. However, if the electronics and bulbs have been continually been exposed to moisture there may be problems with corrosion down the road. Do a search on and read up on some of these related threads.

So, just be sure to look at what they replaced and have an understanding of such for future reference. The HID bulbs alone are very expensive to replace.

mountGreen

02/08/2012 Update:

Just picked up my RX 350. They replaced right front headlight for free but saying it's not covered by my CPO, usually Lexus will pay for the parts and customers will have to pay for the labor, which is around $250, but because I just bought the car so the sales department ended up paying for the labor cost.

I was also told they did tire balance and alignment for the steering shaking and pulling to right problems when driving around 75 m/hr, but after left the dealership I took it to freeway and it still pulls to right.

I actually found a Service Information Bulletin addressing this pulling to side issue,

link here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/34717584/L-SB-0174-08.pdf

I did give them a copy of this last weekend when I dropped the RX350, but I guess they did bother to read it and just did alignment assuming that's the cause of the problem.

I thought Lexus is a pretty reliable car but now I started to wonder if I bought the right car.

RX330inFL

Your RX will be fine once you get all the kinks worked out with the purchasing dealership. They are your roadblock to having a good experience. You can always have your routine maintenance done elsewhere afterwards.

Call and ask for the Service Manager to take a test drive with you regarding the alignment issue. Also, be sure to check the tire wear as mentioned previous. You may need to have the tires rotated from L-R to correct.

Now that you have your headlights replaced you can work on sealing them to prevent future problems.