Hello all. I’m new to the club, but I have an issue that needs expertise from my community…

I recently dropped off my 2010 RX350 at my local dealership for a large (and expensive) job involving replacing the ECU and basically retiring the whole vehicle…Which is really another story in itself/
I’ve had good experiences with this dealership in the past and being as it was gearing up to be a detailed and exhaustive service visit I knew I needed the help of mechanics under the Lexus umbrella. I paid $500 for a full diagnostic report before pulling the trigger on what was quoted as a $6,200 job…

One of the things on the report was that I needed to replace MAIN FUSE ASSEMBLY ($837.67) as it was Damaged.

Today I was contacted by my service rep and informed of this…

NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

Recommended Service
Electrical Systems Concern l EPS 60a fuse blew after installing new main fuse. $210.95

NEEDS IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

Recommended Service
Other l Replace 60a EPS fuse(part # 82620-48140) $981.20


Which would bring the total to somewhere around $7,700 and some change. An extra $1,200 !!?!!

My question is this, shouldn’t the dealership be eating this cost as they obviously the ones that blew the fuse??

There are plenty more details but that’s the meat of it.
Please help me understand this or throw me some feedback, words to take in there Monday when I have a sit down with the manager due to me refusing to pay this extra $1,200.

I’m attaching pics of the diagnostic report that was initially emailed to me.





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All I can say is that you are always better off at a well-respected long-time-in-business indie shop that is very familiar with Toyota/Lexus. Dealership service quality varies so much from location to location, and their job is to sell you as much service as they possibly can regardless of whether you actually need any of it. The only time ANY dealership ever sees me darken their door is for warranty work or recall work, period.

 

Now that's what I call firing the parts canon holy crap. Do as suggested and find an indy mechanic.

 

Something needs to be understood [not necessarily agreed].

Any repair work done by any repair shop needs prior approval.
Q for OP: Did you agree to replace the fuse the second time. The attachment has a name Almeda Dakota. If you are Almeda, are you now having second thoughts? Any one can, but after agreeing to pay the price and giving approval, you are counting on the good gesture by the shop. The "Monday" discussion should have happened before the approval. If Almeda is not you, then Alameda should be responsible for the repair (second time around).

Personal opinion: I think the diagnosis was done wrong. The ECU replacement was un-necessary as the short was somewhere else .. as the fuse blew the second time. Before installing the ECU the shop should have verified that there is no external to ECU short. They made a diagnosis and blindly replaced the ECU while the problem was not addressed. Specially when they charged a substantial diagnosis fee. Would the shop 'fess up? Does this thing happen in the repair industry? Has "Salim" made such a mistake and now he is passing judgement on it? [food for thought].

So now you are faced with "negotiations"

To start discussion, I would ask "where was the short that blew the fuse and how did you fix it?" ... this is a loaded question. Wait till they give you an answer and not before, then ask "Why was the ECU replaced?" wait again for an answer.

Then say, [be assertive but remain polite and don't let the guy interrupt you, if he does insist that he should let you finish and then you will give him full attention] "Respectfully my position is, I agreed and paid for diagnosis. I understand it was best guess diagnosis. Your tech did not verify the problem and in the process burnt up a newly replaced part. I am willing to pay for the part that was burnt when I brought the vehicle to you and need to be replaced. I agreed to replace the ECU based on your findings, but it was unnecessary replacement, so you should restock it, and put back my old ECU. The second time the fuse block replacement was [not-approved-by-me/happened-due-to-lack-of-due-diligence-of-tech]. This is my position and now let us discuss dealership's position .. your expense and labor .... Then give him full attention. Then summarize both perspectives and throw in your trust/loyalty and willingness to negotiate. Keep a list of items you both agree on and list of disagreements.
If things heat up, don't get into the emotions. STOP. Narrate the things you both agree [Thank the opponent] and disagree [make sure you say regretfully we disagree] and say lets reconvene some other time or lets get the next higher up involved.
Service Rep -> Service Manager -> Dealership Manager -> Corporate Lexus

Your personal style may be different and the above may not come naturally to you. So follow what works for you.

Dealership is ruthless and they will likely fire the Tech if they have to eat the cost. So give a little and take a little.

Salim

 

82620-48140 costs $20.

 

Typical cause for the main fuse (and others) to blow is connecting jumper cables backwards.

I suspect what you experienced was a Smart Key access/Certification ECU crash: start button would not respond. When a no-start condition occurs, a well-meaning volunteer connects jumper cables (incorrectly) blowing the fuses.

So, the certification ECU, steering lock ECU and also the fuse assemblies need to be replaced.

The fuse box(s) must be disassembled to replace those fuse assemblies, the contacts are held with screws. Perhaps you can negotiate for reduced labor hours, technicians sometimes overestimate the replacement labor for main fuse assemblies.

 

$500 for diagnostics is steep in my opinion. tells you everything else you need to know about the dealership.

 

Steep? It's a flat-out rip-off. This poor guy got hosed big-time.

 

Thats why I said steep, rather than a bit steep.