Been a Hell of a month.Wheels,Tires, and now stranded for 7 hours.
12-01-03, 11:01 PM
#1
Been a Hell of a month.Wheels,Tires, and now stranded for 7 hours.
I had to share with some folks that would just appreciate life for it's strange turns.
Started when I decided to get the Supra big brake kit. Went smooth and flawless. Love them,
However, I had to purchase some new wheels. Not a problem. So I was going to sell the old wheels. 1 day before selling the wheels to a buyer I hit a massive pothole with the right wheel. BAMMMM!!!!! No sooner than 5 seconds later, BAMMMM! the left front wheel went into another crater. Result is two brand new bent wheels on the same damn road 10 feet apart! SOAB!!!!!!!! OK, so I can get them straightened out. The next day, I take the car down to have the tires placed onto my new rims. Fronts went ok. Rears? Chrome chipped on 2 of the new rims at least 1 inch wide on each! THEN America's Tire destroyed one of the 265/35/18 P-Zero Tires! So they placed the spare on the rear and ordered me a new tire at their expense. I am a resonable person, so I deal with this. Now keep in mind that I am now rolling on my brand new wheels with 1 spare.
This was on Saturday. So along come monday and then tuesday. No call. I call them up and was told that my P-Zero is in. I drive the 17 miles and guess what? Wrong tire. Was for someone else. So, then I was told that Pirelli discontinued that particular tire and that the new one would have to come from the next county. It should be in the next day. 2 days later-nothing. Now I am getting a little ticked. I place the call to the Regional Office and 4 days later I am running on 2 new Yokohama ES100 265/35/18's at their expense.
So everything is fine-right? Brother in law is over from Colorado. We decide to take him to Universal Studios. A 65 mile trip and a 1/4 mile from the offramp and the GS lost ALL power. Now keep i mind that I am on the 101 north folks-a very scary freeway due to the heavy traffic, the GS was now only half way off the freeway. Guess where the other half was???? Lucky for me, LA Metro was there in minutes for a free tow off the freeway into a parking lot.
Checked out everything. No codes. Checked the fuel pressure and noticed that it was very very low. Longo Lexus said they had one on the phone. I called Enterprise for a rental(now sporting an Altima-JUNK-but it runs). Come to find out Longo did not have one in stock though their computer says they had 1 left. In fact not a damn Lexus dealer had one in stock in So CA. A common GS problem area and nobody had one in stock! Well several hours later and a $250.00 tow back to my home (my GS does not stay in a strange place) I am home venting to those that can appreciate this. I will order up a fuel pump tomorrow.
Time for some Wild Turkey. Maybe I should watch Castaway to realize that it can always get worse.
Lee
Started when I decided to get the Supra big brake kit. Went smooth and flawless. Love them,
However, I had to purchase some new wheels. Not a problem. So I was going to sell the old wheels. 1 day before selling the wheels to a buyer I hit a massive pothole with the right wheel. BAMMMM!!!!! No sooner than 5 seconds later, BAMMMM! the left front wheel went into another crater. Result is two brand new bent wheels on the same damn road 10 feet apart! SOAB!!!!!!!! OK, so I can get them straightened out. The next day, I take the car down to have the tires placed onto my new rims. Fronts went ok. Rears? Chrome chipped on 2 of the new rims at least 1 inch wide on each! THEN America's Tire destroyed one of the 265/35/18 P-Zero Tires! So they placed the spare on the rear and ordered me a new tire at their expense. I am a resonable person, so I deal with this. Now keep in mind that I am now rolling on my brand new wheels with 1 spare.
This was on Saturday. So along come monday and then tuesday. No call. I call them up and was told that my P-Zero is in. I drive the 17 miles and guess what? Wrong tire. Was for someone else. So, then I was told that Pirelli discontinued that particular tire and that the new one would have to come from the next county. It should be in the next day. 2 days later-nothing. Now I am getting a little ticked. I place the call to the Regional Office and 4 days later I am running on 2 new Yokohama ES100 265/35/18's at their expense. So everything is fine-right? Brother in law is over from Colorado. We decide to take him to Universal Studios. A 65 mile trip and a 1/4 mile from the offramp and the GS lost ALL power. Now keep i mind that I am on the 101 north folks-a very scary freeway due to the heavy traffic, the GS was now only half way off the freeway. Guess where the other half was???? Lucky for me, LA Metro was there in minutes for a free tow off the freeway into a parking lot.
Checked out everything. No codes. Checked the fuel pressure and noticed that it was very very low. Longo Lexus said they had one on the phone. I called Enterprise for a rental(now sporting an Altima-JUNK-but it runs). Come to find out Longo did not have one in stock though their computer says they had 1 left. In fact not a damn Lexus dealer had one in stock in So CA. A common GS problem area and nobody had one in stock! Well several hours later and a $250.00 tow back to my home (my GS does not stay in a strange place) I am home venting to those that can appreciate this. I will order up a fuel pump tomorrow.
Time for some Wild Turkey. Maybe I should watch Castaway to realize that it can always get worse.
Lee
12-01-03, 11:35 PM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
I can feel your pain. Did you see my previous post a month ago about my fuel pump dying on me? Longo replaced it with a new one. It also had to be ordered. I had a 2003 ES300 as a loaner for 2 nights. Anyway, the service consultant said that this failure is considered rare that's why they don't stock fuel pumps. I had 72K when it happened. I had the car towed from Anaheim to El Monte for $140. I could have gone to Westminster Lexus but I'm afraid they would diagnose the failure for a bad (expensive) ECU
What you want to watch out for when you pick up your car is the liner in the trunk below the subwoofer. Mine was improperly handled that the staples jpoining the peices together came out. No big deal. I could put it back someday that's why I did not hassle Longo.
Also, when you get the car from them in the basement, be sure to turn it off and re-start. Notice if it would start exactly the same as before. Mine takes a tad longer now and I don't know if it is due to the fuel pump change. You know and you should have memorized the rhythm of starting your car as you've been doing this everyday for years ...so any little change in sound or length of cranking would be obvious.
Feel the car for vibration..like a dead cylinder. I'm saying this because mine is doing this when it's cold. I may have to return this back to Longo if it does not go away.
Anyway, good luck.
What you want to watch out for when you pick up your car is the liner in the trunk below the subwoofer. Mine was improperly handled that the staples jpoining the peices together came out. No big deal. I could put it back someday that's why I did not hassle Longo. Also, when you get the car from them in the basement, be sure to turn it off and re-start. Notice if it would start exactly the same as before. Mine takes a tad longer now and I don't know if it is due to the fuel pump change. You know and you should have memorized the rhythm of starting your car as you've been doing this everyday for years ...so any little change in sound or length of cranking would be obvious.
Feel the car for vibration..like a dead cylinder. I'm saying this because mine is doing this when it's cold. I may have to return this back to Longo if it does not go away.
Anyway, good luck.
12-02-03, 09:23 AM
#6
I had a buddy who ran into some potholes and ruined two rims and tires...anyway, he called the city and had them pay for it...maybe you should check into it, especially if they were doing any type of construction, etc...they will have insurance for that. Glad to hear you didn't get clipped on the 101 
though!
though!
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12-02-03, 06:31 PM
#9
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I can relate!
If it's any consolation, we ALL have days like that! I just bought a new house recently, and I could go on and on about gross incompetence, mishaps of all sorts etc.
Just tell yourself, "it could have been worse"!
Just tell yourself, "it could have been worse"!
12-02-03, 06:41 PM
#10
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Pearl -
Dang dude....I can't even fathom what you've been through. That sux. Hope everything works out for the better. Maybe a nice blessing with holy water will help.
Pete
Dang dude....I can't even fathom what you've been through. That sux. Hope everything works out for the better. Maybe a nice blessing with holy water will help.
Pete
12-02-03, 06:52 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
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Lee - sorry to hear about that, I know how hard you've been working on your ride lately.
I can certainly relate! I've had bent rims in the past... my front TRD sway was originally installed upside down and I went through a load of crushed speed sensor cables and dash lights and visits to the dealers over *10* months until I figured it out with help from CL tips and local CL help.
Anyway, sounds like you'll get fixed up in no time... hang in there! And keep up your great attitude, and vent all you like to keep it loose...
I can certainly relate! I've had bent rims in the past... my front TRD sway was originally installed upside down and I went through a load of crushed speed sensor cables and dash lights and visits to the dealers over *10* months until I figured it out with help from CL tips and local CL help.
Anyway, sounds like you'll get fixed up in no time... hang in there! And keep up your great attitude, and vent all you like to keep it loose...
12-03-03, 12:21 AM
#12
Thanks for the support guys. I never let it get me down. I just thought it was sort of laughable and wanted to share. The GS is up and running. I tried to find a Walbro fuel pump local to no avail, so I spent the $245.00 for a new one at the dealer. + a little for a new strainer. I did the install myself as I just do not trust anyone-especially the dealers techs-to touch my GS. Install took 15-20 minutes. Car runs nice and hard. Ask the NA Supra owner that got waxed afterwards. Plus I received my PI torque converter today from another CL member. This coupled with the new L-Tuned kit from Carson and I will be a little busy with the GS mods in the next few weeks.
I have to finish up someone else's Supra brake upgrade first though.
+ a little for a new strainer. I did the install myself as I just do not trust anyone-especially the dealers techs-to touch my GS. Install took 15-20 minutes. Car runs nice and hard. Ask the NA Supra owner that got waxed afterwards. Plus I received my PI torque converter today from another CL member. This coupled with the new L-Tuned kit from Carson and I will be a little busy with the GS mods in the next few weeks.I have to finish up someone else's Supra brake upgrade first though.
Last edited by Pearlpower; 12-03-03 at 12:23 AM.
12-03-03, 08:02 AM
#14
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Terrible ordeal you went through..good job for keeping your head up!
You may want to contact the city where the pothole accidents occured. The city will reimburse you for the damage if the pothole has been there for a while.
You may want to contact the city where the pothole accidents occured. The city will reimburse you for the damage if the pothole has been there for a while.
