Servicing a Lexus LFA Is Incredibly Complicated and Fascinating

Special Car, Special Service

The legendary Lexus LFA is a precise piece of machinery. It's built to an incredibly high standard, one that draws many parallels to an average Formula One car. So as you might imagine, servicing an LFA isn't quite the same as your typical Lexus road car. Or any road car, for that matter.

Every three years, Lexus' own LFA is taken to Europe’s LFA Center of Excellence at Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Cologne, Germany for service. It's there that manager Peter Dresen oversees all the maintenance work done to every LFA in Europe.

Racer for the Street

“We treat an LFA more or less like a Le Mans car,” Dresen said. “The principles of servicing it are the same as a normal Lexus road car, but it’s quite a lot more complicated to do certain things and access certain parts. So in reality, the LFA is closer to a racing car in terms of how we take care of it.”

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Nut and Bolt Job

The first step in this process is a thorough examination of every single nut and bolt on the car. All of the panels covering the suspension, steering, and subframe are removed so those components can be checked. Lexus also tests the hydraulics, which is quite difficult to access.

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Brake Obsession

Special care is taken while inspecting the brakes. After removing the discs and pads, a technician checks the carbon-ceramic material for cracks. The discs are then weighed to ensure they're within specific wear limits. TMG even has an x-ray machine to check both discs and pads for any internal issues invisible to the naked eye, which isn't a problem they've encountered yet.

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Simple, yet Complicated

“We’ve never really encountered any issues with the materials,” Dresen explains. “But if we see anything strange relating to wear on a disc or pad, we will just replace the item. We also check for things such as play in the brake pedal. Lexus has very strict guidelines, so we have to keep within the allowed limits. An LFA service is quite simple, but you do a lot of checks in addition to what you would do for a normal car. It just takes more time.”

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Body Check

The next step in the service process is to check the LFA's carbon fiber reinforced plastic body. And in this case, Lexus' car checked out just fine. “The blue LFA is actually in very good condition apart from some small scratches on the front bumper, but that’s normal for a car driven at a lot of events and used by journalists for tests,” Dresen said.

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Time Saver

However, a small leak in the oil pump was found on this particular car, which was an easy fix requiring nothing more than a new internal seal. The team also preemptively replaced the sump, just in case. 

“To disassemble the oil pump you have to take out either the engine or the step up gearbox and the transmission tube," Dresen explained. "We went the gearbox and transmission route because it saves about a day-and-a-half of work.” 

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Extreme Care

Next, the TMG team changes the oil, oil filter, and cabin air filter. Pretty basic stuff. But they then use a high-tech electronic tool to check the brake fluid and determine if it has any water mixed in. Finally, it's time for a test drive. Or in this case, three different test drives. 

“You have to warm the engine first and then build up," Dresen explains. "It’s very important that you take care and don’t just start driving hard directly after working on the LFA, particularly when you’ve replaced parts such as the seals."

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Method to the Madness

And there's a good reason behind all of this, of course. “The first test drive is done around the TMG building without the under-body panels re-attached because it takes around two hours to fit them back on," Dresen explained. "You have to be sure the car is running exactly as it should before putting them back on. Once we have done that, we take the car out on local roads, and if everything is okay then we take it on the Autobahn for a test over about six miles.”

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

Caretakers

The European Centre of Excellence looks after all 38 LFAs in Europe, but they also assist American owners, as Dresen explains. “Normally, customers would nominate a Lexus dealer to care for their LFA and we work through them because we want the service to be as seamless as possible. We have no problem with owners talking to us directly if that’s what they prefer, though.

“We also look after cars coming over from America, when owners want to drive at the Nürburgring, which isn’t far from us. People ask for technical advice, tire changes or brake checks before they head to the ‘Ring and we’re always happy to see another LFA.”

Sounds like a nice change from your "average" car service, no?

>>Join the conversation about the service procedure for the LFA right here in the Club Lexus forum.

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