My Trunk Struts are shot
Looks like I will have to replace them.
How much $ ? Can it be a "do it yourself " job.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

 

umm, if your car is still under warranty i think maybe you can go back, i read that someone got theirs replaced too

something like they got new structs in later yr that are stronger?

 

Thanks rominl ,
That's great news. I will check it out.
We bought pre-owned certified and
got the 3 years 100k warranty. Our
2002 was 18 months old and had
33K on it when we got it in May 2003.

Has anyone else hav knowledge
about this.

Thanks Joe

 

The first cars were sold in April of 01 (April 15th), and came with a four year warranty, so all SC430s are still under the original warranty, regardless of whether the current owner purchased the car new or used.

Get them replaced by any dealer before next April and it should be at no charge.

 

My 2002 trunk struts were just replaced last week under warranty. No hassle at all.

 

yeah like others say, warranty is still here so get them replaced soon

 

hehhee, not exactly. if you have over 50k miles on the car, technically you are out of luck

 

Thanks everybody,
We are at 46k

 

That's correct about the 50,000 mile limit on the warranty.

I got my car at the end of April in '01, and still have less than 20,000 miles on it now, so I sometimes forget that some of these cars really get driven a lot on a daily basis, and the mileage component of the warranty is not uppermost in my mind. (With 18" of snow outside today, that car is staying in the garage for a while.)

Those who are at the 45,000 miles point, or who are approaching the 4 year mark next spring of summer should give the car a good once over to see if there is anything that needs attention before the warranty runs out.

Merry Christmas.

 

yup, i agree, 45k miles should be the time that you become **** and point out every single little things and ask the dealer to fix, otherwise you might regret later

 

what exactly is the trunk struts? is that when u unlock the trunk and pull it open it opens smoothly? i notice that mine is kinda heavy to push open. i remember my other sc430 it was a little easier...but i maybe be wrong.

thanks
lisa

 

Your trunk struts are the gas charged "shocks" that raise your trunk open and hold it in the open position. If they are getting worn, the trunk will not want to stay open. If you pop your hood you will see the 2 hood struts that hold your hood open. Its the same thing in your trunk.

 

Mine are shot too...they seem to work better on some days and worse on others. I wonder itf it's a common problem for our cars?

Regardless my service advisor said that it was covered under the extended warranty. I'm curious to see the price tag though...they said I needed to get a loaner car so I suppose it's labor intensive? I'm getting it done after I get back from winter vacation so I'll post an update then.

 

I don't see how it could be a labor intensive job. Granted I have and Sc400 but I changed mine yesterday in 30 minutes

 

I just had mine replaced under warranty by my dealer last month.

I have a 2002 SC430 with 31,000 miles, delivered in April 2001.

When I first got the car, the trunk struts were powerful enough that I only had to raise the trunk lid halfway, and the struts would provide enough boost to raise the lid the rest of the way. A few months ago, I found that the struts had weakened enough that the trunk lid would "sink" if I did not raise it manually all the way open. This problem was more noticeable on cold mornings. When I brought it in to my Lexus dealer, the chief tech indicated that this was normal. I insisted that it was not. So, he replaced the struts under warranty and everything is like new again.

Note: when the service advisor called the parts department to find out if they had the struts in stock, they asked him if there was a spoiler on the trunk or not. Apparently, the spoiler adds enough weight that they have two versions of the struts.

Good luck!