BackInTime2012

In 2012 I Went from a 2012 LS460 to a 2013 A8. The A8 was great for 10 years but began to fall apart and my extended warranty was up. So Im actually returning to my SAME LS 460 model (2012 with mark lev and 44K) miles. and I saw an older LS460 . They are actually shipping the car and it should be here next week. . But then I stumbled across the "Melting Interior Console" issue interior. So I blew up the pics of center console and sure enough, I see a couple of buttons melting along the edges. The car should be here Mon. Looks like that car was initially bought in Texas - and I live in FL so not good for melting interiors. Im going to call Lexus wit the VIN # on Mon - just to see if they ever replaced the parts in the past

Wow I have had 4 lexuses since 1997 in Florida and I have never seen anything like this. Im glad I caught it.

Marc780

Oh my, the hazards of buying a car sight unseen... the whole idea just makes me nervous buying a car this way.
When I was pricing my 2017 LS460 I used Carvana, Carmax, et. al., And Carvana will sell you a car that needs to be shipped to you, for an additional fee of course, usually you have to pay a couple thousand bucks extra just for that! This alone was enough for me to not consider buying any car I can't even test drive first. Also - for what you spend on shipping, you have a greater choice of cars to choose from (since that $2000, from the customer POV, could be better applied to the car itself rather than being wasted on shipping)

I said none of this to make you feel bad about your purchase! It's just that the problem you're having, would be a non-issue had you laid eyes on the car first - is it too late to get your money back ?

swfla

iTrader: (1)

If you can’t cancel the deal, there are many discussions here about sticky dash and panels. Do some searches. This car is too old for any Lexus repair programs, there are a few products people have used to coat the vinyl. I don’t understand “melting buttons” . It’s dash, door and panels including center console. While heat doesn’t help, it’s “melting” due to chemical reaction. My car has been garaged it’s whole life, 2013, and I see a few areas are starting to show signs.

BackInTime2012

I havent bought the car yet. I bought it from Carmax. Shipping was $599 - no biggy. But let me splain an important reason for car max.

I have a neurological condition where a working and reliable car is a must, A warranty is a must for every day I have a car and especially with todays abusrd labor rates. My A8 aftermarket warranty expired in 2021. Before I knew it, The A8 began to tank. Money spent on it with still no resolution was a concern. I was not going to go deeper into the rabbit hole . I cut my losses and said "This will never happen to me again". So I made a decision to go to car max, go back to A lexus model , even if ts an older one, and get a warranty

Car max sells Exclusionary warranties on all their cars, even their aged models with high mileage. Most have no idea what an exclusionary (as opposed to Inclusionary) warranty is. But this seems like an educated forum so I digress. The carmax warranty for this LS460 5 yr/100K warranty is $2800.

So as strange as it may sound, I went to Carmax solely for a great warranty on an older model lexus along with and my past experience.with carmax. I found out about the melting a few days after the shipping. Thats my fault for not doing more research prior to shipping. Its also my fault for not blowing up the pics until I read about the melting. Thing is I had this same model - I already was familiar with it and I had no melting for the 5 years I had the car So it was a shock to me.

Putting the melting plastic aside, lets say - worst case scenario - they dont take care of it for me (which they may not) . I have to ask myself - How bad will it get? l im tryimg to is justify the purchase based on mechanical reliability but at the same time, how bad can the melting get?

I will try to post a pic of what I see so far. .

Piney1

You can’t go wrong with a good warranty if it is from reputable warranty company. I’m a member of a federal credit union that sells a very good warranty that is from a Deerfield Beach, FL company (same folks who own Southeast Toyota and about a third of the Lexus dealers in FL). Bought a 2013 Yukon Denali for my wife and got their warranty for $2,100 & there were about $6k of warranty repairs on it (air suspension, power step bars and some minor stuff). About 3 months before the warranty was to expire, I sold it and got the GX for my wife as she wanted a ‘forever car’ & there was no way I was having a domestic or European make that wasn’t under warranty. The J vin and L on the grill is something that I will have out of warranty.

CARMAX has a good warranty and the peace of mind it provides is worth every penny if you keep a car more than 3 years.

Gerf

What made you go from one new car to another new car? I've seen this happen alot but never had the chance to ask this question directly to someone involved.

BackInTime2012

Thanks for your reply. Yes I'm familiar with Deerfield Beach as I live not far from there and I was a member of Bright Star credit Union when I had my Audi A8 and they gave me a great 4 yr extended exclusionary warranty (2017 - 2021) for $2600.. It paid for itself with a water pump failure a couple of O2 sensors and an AC issue

In terms of going to different manufacturers I had owned s few Lexus cars but the other ls460 being the last one. One day I took a 2013 A8 for a test drive and I was hooked. The stability was amazing. The cockpit was ergonomic and beautiful. It's just a different car and the only way you can see that is if you drive it yourself

At the end of the day they are just two different cars it's apples and oranges.

I'm returning to Lexus for reliability and just in case I get one of those cars that are having issues I will have a warranty to back it up.. let's remember the labor rates are today are just totally ridiculous so a warranty is an absolute requirement

I'm still surprised about the warped melting plastic in the LS a model that I owned for 5 years. Had I held on to the ls460 for more than 5 years perhaps I would have run into it

I showed the pics to the CarMax sales rep showing the warped melting buttons in the center of the console..he said it's a picture defective . I had to laugh. he's going to see you when the car gets here the warped buttons and plastic in the console - not the pictures (don't I wish!)

he did however say that if the plastic is melting then they'll fix it Hopefully he will stay true to his word on fixing but something tells me that they're not going to just replace it because of the expense. We shall see

The car has 44 k miles on it.. I just want it for 3-4 years and I'll just move on to something real nice and newer..

Striker223

An interior replacement costs north of $9k on these, I wouldn't buy any 460 that hasn't had the ZLZ recall done for that reason. Mine has a fully replaced interior and is one of three reasons I bought it, the other is the brake actuator was done within 2k miles and the last was no water leaks.

What's wrong with your A8 and what engine is it?

Gerf

It would be great if they fixed your interior for you but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one, some people on this forum have spent a lot of money on these cars for repairs. There seems to be quite a few for sale in the US on different sites so if this one doesn't cut it... you can always shop for another or just go straight to the newer/nicer.

BackInTime2012

Sorry for the late reply.

Took delivery from Camax on the 2012 LS460 3 days ago and it wasn’t long before I noticed the sticky doors and sticky glove box from the hot Florida sun. I actually put my thumb and left a print on the glove box – lol. But I noticed other indentations too. I doubt Carmax will fix it. Its very expensive and its just 4 doors and the glove box. The dash seems to be ok.

Its too bad, I was beginning to warm up to my old friend from 12 years ago. I forgot how simple the center console and nav cockpit setup was. Mechanically she is sound. ZYZ Recall is over. What a shame.

Previous owner did not capitalize on the recall. They should make every car that was affected recallable once – 1st 2nd or even a 3rd owner if the car wasn’t done. Granted it will likely happen again.

I found a related lawsuit link to Nisaan and Toyota – all 3 were accused of using poor materials where there was a claim to dashboard glare which is likely how it made it as safety recall.

BackInTime2012

Well to answer your question, going to the A8 was all about that "road connection feeling" You have to drive an A8 to see what I mean, to feel that stability. Then its actually hard to go back to an Ls because
of that road connection feeling - especially for 10 - 12 years. Heck even for a day, after the A8 test dive, when I got back into my LS (This was 12 years ago) the LS felt like like she was all over the road. I knew
I waned the A8 . That road connection from a Lexus is absent.and in fact you feel less confident in the drive. But thats ok for me nowadays I suppose. Point i you cant drive a Lexus like german car

I will say this - Lexus workmanship even in the 2012 is stellar . The german interior workmanship is cheap in comparison. Thats why you get a german car for no more than
6-8 years and move on. Having said that, look what Lexus has done with this sticky doo panel /melting door parts disaster ??? Argh!
Its hard to trust any of them. What a waste

BackInTime2012

2 water pump failures and the last periodic Overheat we couldnt find the issue and I couldnt put more money into that rabbit hole. My mistake was warranty lapse after the 1st extendsed warranty. One of life's late lessons I actually got $5200 for the car and I told the guy the issue. Maybe he wanted it for parts or he's a mechanic and feels he can fix it.

Striker223

They didn't bleed it correctly, the Audis need to be bled in a very particular way otherwise you will get air lock and heat spikes.

I have to totally disagree on interior quality. It's no comparison......the high German stuff holds up far better over time and is just way tighter. I've had both cars interior out and it's just no contest

RandyV

Just so you are clear - the sticky issue was with the interior panel surfaces, not the buttons. See the 'sticky' thread at the top of this forum for details.