MellonC00

in my area, the La La Land where all dreams of stardom and acting careers shatter into chronic EBT dependence, there are three reputable dealers. Keyes Lexus, BBB rating of C-, Jim Falk Lexis of Becerly Hills with BBB rating of D- and finally Lexus of Glendale with an F.

Over the last 18 months I tried servicing my car at all three for my CPO maintenance and warranty repairs. My conclusion: either Lexus, as a car company is going down hill or the dealers around me are greedy and deceptive to the point of being fraudulent.

For my 50k service, free with my CPO purchase, I went to Jim Falk Lexus in Beverly Hills. The advisor hits me right up saying need a transmission flush. When asked if its included in the service he says no but you need it for $380. I say no thanks. He asks me if I want wiper blades. I said no.

I had a 3 main issues besides the 50k service but he didn't write down my seat issue. Then I mentioned my squeaking noise issue to which he recommended a ride with a shop foreman who diagnosed the problem right away as the rear trailing arms.

Of course the adviser or the swindler calls me later that afternoon and tells me it's gonna be $1600. I ask 'why you telling me how much? He says you'll need to pay because nothing is broken. but you wanted it replaced". I say " your shop said it not me". He says Lexus won't pay for it. And says "the part is designed to be like that. ". Of course my Gen 1 RX had the same issue at 150k miles. So I'm familiar with the repair. It should not have gotten bad that quickly. (Bushings can crack if you a lot of dirt trails or rough riding)

he kep saying it is working as designed. I say why don't call your Lexus corporate guy and ask. Then I had to get a little serious and said I'll call them to which he responded , he will call. 10 mins later I get a call saying that they will fix it under warranty. He didn't give me any other details.

This was odd. Lexus dealer as I remembered, when agreed on a problem or ID'd as a problem by the tech simply applies the warranty. In this case they kept insisting I had to pay even after the tech said that there is a problem.

Jogging back to my memory Keyes Lexus said the said "could not duplicate problem" for the same trailing arm issue even after I rode with the tech when dropping off the car. When I asked why they didn't repair it, the advisor said that the tech isn't qualified to make that judgement and the shop foreman ask to make the call on whether the part is out of spec. So they told me to come back in another day.

When Visiting Glendale Lexus, they tried to charge me $150 for changing my door lock setting which was supposed to be done at the point of sale (some settings can only be done at the dealer). He was not cooperative until I agreed on an early 40k service (only had 38k miles at that time )

so out of curiosity I called my friend at Toyota who recently moved to TX from Torrance CA. VERY SIMPLE ASNWER. Lexus corporate pays the dealer reasonable money for maintenance. but warranty repairs are checked and double checked. Many times, they make certain hurdles like requiring certain persons or procedures before paying. And when they pay, it's at a rate that is quite different than the rate that the dealer like to fleece us at.

So that reason explained everything I was experiencing. I never in my life experienced an instance where the dealer asked me to pay for a failed warrantied part recognized by their own shop foreman.

Freds430

Regarding the transmission flush, the maintenance schedule states it does not have to be done. I asked my service manager about doing it and he said no need it actually can do more harm than good to change. I was impressed that he did not want to take my money.

You mentioned the free 50,000 service. Once your free maintenance is finished here is my routine. Every 10,000 miles an oil change and tire rotation is needed. At the Lexus dealership this should be less than $100. Every 30,000 miles the brake fluid needs to be changed and again about $100. Every 20,000 miles change the air and cabin filters. This combined takes five minutes and the air filter can be bought on line at Lexus Parts World for $18. The cabin air filter can be bought at Walmart for $18, It is the Fram Fresh Breeze #10285 with carbon and baking soda to filter the air. Wiper blade inserts again can be bought at Lexus Parts World for $20 for both refills and takes five minutes to replace. You are done until 100,000 miles. At Lexus Parts World use cl5 in the promo code for 10% discount. If you go in and ask for the 10,000, 20,000 30,000 maintenance you will be paying big bucks for a lot more items you do not need checked and inspected. Once a year replace the key fob battery cr2032. Keep receipts for everything. I take my oil filter and 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 purchased at Walmart for $24 to my local Toyota dealer and they charge me $20 labor.

salimshah

Trace the money and you will understand what is going on.

Dealerships charges the customer for service and for warranty they charge Lexus of USA. It would be a mistake to think that the dealership is paying for warranty work as a after sales service. The service writer will try to upsell services and charge the customer. When it comes to warranty work the service dept needs to get authorization by proving the repair is needed and is due to a manufacturer's defect. Lexus corp also would like minimize and duly scrutinize the warranty work. At times a minor irritant to a customer [who is justified in expecting it to be repaired under warranty] may be rejected by warranty authorization.

The little understanding I have, tells me that the money makers for the dealership are 1. Warranty repair and 2. Service and sales is a distant 3rd.

I have personally witnessed folks working at Lexus dealership here, who have gone out of the way to help customers. At the same time there some of the prices seemed high and I have declined to purchase or the service. Always ask first and decide by controlling your wallet.

Salim

MellonC00

Im with you there. And this has been my understanding for quite sometime. What I don't get is - why do they want me to pay???? Why quote me price in the first place and play games like "you should pay because Lexus likely won't cover it??? Do they think I'm dense enough to pay what is already covered in a warranty????

If this isn't a financial fraud in the tune of thousands of dollars (doing this to others, I'm sure) every hour and everyday at the dealer, I don't know what is???

Does Lexis corporate condone this? Do they even know???

salimshah

Let me start by stating the obvious that my opinion/reply does not come from Lexus or the dealership. If you grant me the latitude, please read on

If the problem is obvious, then the dealership should get on the phone with the warranty department and get the needed approval before they accept vehicle for repairs
If the dealership needs to open up stuff and then get with the warranty, the dealership is in the pickle.
On top of all this the dealership (repair facility) needs to share with the customer the expected repair charge and get authorization when they drop the vehicle
Then how do you get out of this predicament? ... tell the customer the worst news and get customer approval [they may or may not followup with the warranty dept]

Solution is to have clear communication with the service writer .... and the starting point is that both parties put themselves in other person's shoes.

Salim

Cocal

Agreed with all you've said ! One exception is the tranny 50K flush, if you're planning to keep the car for a long time the ATF change is recommended to keep the tranny healthy and trouble free. If you are trading every 3-5 years then perhaps not.

MellonC00

I'm thinking Lexus corporate must be reading this board. For some reason I never got the survey request after the Bernie Madoff repair salesman experience at the Beverly Hills Jim Falk Lexus.

I called Lexus corporate this time and complained. They said that it was already filled out?!?!?! I said what!?!?!?

it was weird and sinister at the same time. I asked to send me a new survey. I wrote them about the attempted "double dipping" experience at the dealer. Let's see if they call back.....

hovbuild

My 2012 is at 58000 and I got some prices to do the transmission fluid change. One independent shop that has been around 30 years and does Japanese cars and trucks only, quoted me 125 for the complete fluid change. The guy told me they use W1 and do not replace the "filter" since it is a screen and not changed in my rx 350. Unless the drain plug has a lot of large pieces material stuck to it. Then they remove the crossmember, pan and inspect the pan. Toyota wanted 280, Lexus 310 and Transmission shop ( another around for decades and is local) quoted 150.00. Toyota and lexus wanted a four wheel service added to do the diff and transfer case. I think 80. Both independent shops say this is usually unnecessary until 90,000 but both said they would check fluid levels and is the fluids look like they need changing. Under 40 dollars for both.

Cocal

$125-150 seems awfully cheap to me! In fluid alone you have at least $60 labour $100 (1hr at least) machine to do the exchange $ ? they must charge to amortize the purchase. To me a "proper" job ought to be around $250-300. I'd be leery of anything below this unless one knows all the specifics.

Clutchless

Unless the local shop is just draining the couple of quarts you can get out at one time and refilling it. I agree, the temperature sensitive level adjustment takes time, which means a lot of money to have it done correctly.

hovbuild

Both independent shops buy W1 in bulk. Both stated that it would be a complete fluid swap. Maybe they are lying but both told me that they never change the screen-filter but will inspect if there is a lot of metal shavings on the drain bolt. BTW I once got quoted by lexus and toyota for a complete brake job for the fronts for 540+. One of these shops used the same OME parts and did it for 325 out the door. Both toyota said my rears were shot these guys let me watch them measure the rear pads and rotors because I swore they were shot.....There was 75% left on both! I even have the written report from Lexus showing the failed specs for those rear brakes. Lying bastards. Now "who you going to call?" LOL!

I said complete fluid change I was wrong. The service was for what the dealer does a drain and fill. About two quarts and the one place that was open said they also bring it fluid up to temp and open the overflow valve to make sure it is not overfilled. So there is only 2.5 quarts of WS making the price about right. Sorry about that.

hovbuild

Both told me that it would be a two hour wait. Said temperature sensitive refills takes a little time. Remember the dealers make more money of warranty and service than sales. I have the money to spend for lexus or toyota to do the job but they have shown their colors and they can fool some of the people some of the time but not all all the time.

Cocal

I'm not saying that these mechanics were lying, dealers are notorious for selling unneeded services, but that there were some misunderstandings.
I'd never use anything in bulk, I specify that I want ATF,OIL etc only from small containers max 5 litres no bigger. One of the reasons why they don't change the ATF filter is that it's a PITA with all the little screws on the pan that MUST be torqued at a specific setting and a gasket that may have to be scraped off the pan most mechanics can't be bothered, the fact that the filter is a screen type and therefore less prone to clogging gives them that much more leeway. In the end it's you who has to make a decision, but if it's too good to be true it probably isn't worth it. We can only give you advice and suggestions

Cocal

OK that makes more sense! The reason why they do a drain & fil is because they DON'T have the equipment to do a proper exchange. I'd go somewhere where they can do a proper job (dealer or similar) even if more money.

Cocal

Bull S.... in a drain & fill they only measure the amount taken out and replace it with the same amount of fresh fluid, assuming that the tranny had the right amount of ATF in the 1st place. There is a nut on the side of the tranny with WS stamped on it, this is where you add the ATF.

There is another procedure, the PROPER one recommended by Toyota-Lexus which IS temperature sensitive and that is a real PITA to do and also for this one you must have a special kit to measure the level once correct temp is reached, and also you need a vacuum pump to maintain pressure, this was set up for those shops that don't want to spend the money for a ATF exchange machine, this procedure takes at least 2 hrs, but it's so fraught with potential pitfalls that most shops use the machine.