RickC5

We recently bought a 2008 GX that has spent all of its life so far in the desert--Reno, NV and here in Grand Junction, CO. Aside from Phoenix, it doesn't get much hotter, nor the sun more intense during the summer months. We've already broke 100 and this weekend is supposed to be extra hot.

The good news? No cracks in the dash. Perhaps Lexus actually found a solution to the problem after five years of production.

rcgunner

Finally got a new dashboard -- my car is like new again!

I posted pictures of my cracked dashboard on the thread quite a while ago. The cracks were managable at first, and then just spread out of control. Over the instrument panel, along the passenger airbag, from the vents, etc. I called Lexus corporate, and they refused to help at all. I am the third owner (04 GX, 75K miles), and because I didn't purchase my car from a Lexus dealership, they said they couldn't help.

I decided to go to my local dealer to see what they could do. They took pictures of the cracks, and said they would get back to me. Eventually, they told me they would pick up the labor if I paid for the part, and they offered additional discounts if I had other services done at the same time. I decided to take them up on the offer for a couple reasons.

First, I've never had any mechanical problems, and I intend to have the car for several more years. Honestly, I was just tired of looking at the cracks every single day and denying people a ride in my car because the dash was so embarrassing.

Second, the car is 8 years old. The fact that they offered me anything, being the third owner, with no past service through Lexus, I thought was a good gesture. If I was the original owner with every scheduled maintenance through Lexus, I would have argued more for a lower price (or free), but that's not the case.

So, even though this is a problem that never should have happened, and I do think Lexus should just fess up to the defect, I am happy with their offer and my new dashboard. I can actually enjoy my car now!

TampaBill

My dash is full of cracks - took it to the dealer in Clearwater, FL - they said they would notify Lexus and that typically, Lexus provides the new dash for free if the owner pays the labor . . . waited 3 weeks and made an inquiry. Lexus of Clearwater said Lexus Corporate never replied and they promised to send another email. Waited 2 more weeks - Lexus of Clearwater said corporate still had not replied. Asked that they forward the emails they sent to Lexus Coroporate to me - they said "sure". One week later, Lexus of Clearwater still has not forwarded emails. My only conclusion is that 1) this is a defect that Lexus is very much aware of and 2) the service people at Lexus of Clearwater are either incompetent or dishonest. Stay tuned - they are messing with the wrong Lexus owner.

sprocket

Thanks for posting this. I bought mine at Clearwater too and need to contact them about my dash. Please post back with your results.

ZoeZhe04

iTrader: (9)

Sorry to hear about your experience in Lexus of Clearwater. Do you have a regular service advisor in there? When ours was done it took them 2 weeks to order the parts and when I was there to show them the cracks. The Service Manager came to look at it and he only made a quick glance to it and told my regular advisor to file for it to the corporate office. I paid for the labor about $460 and thats it. BTW, we are a regular customer of Lexus of Clearwater and my regular advisor name is Eric that always give us an excellent service for our GX470.

ichiban18c

Just wanted to post about my experience with Lexus and the dashboard cracking issue.

I have a 2004 RX330. The dashboard was cracked all over the place. So after reading some of the posts here, decided to email Lexus. 24 hrs later got a reply from Lexus Customer Satisfaction via email and a phone call. Long story short, 3 days from the day I emailed Lexus, I got word that it would be a 50/50 split. I took the offer in a heartbeat. Lexus of Orlando took care of everything else paperwork, pictures etc.

Actually pretty surprised this worked out the way it did. Usually car manufacturers are not so easy to work with but this was a breeze. Thumbs up for Lexus.

TampaBill

Happy to hear some of you are getting satisfaction. I haven't had much luck with the Lexus of Clearwater dealership thus far. I took my 2011 IS350C in for the 5,000 mile oil change and found out the next morning that they neglected to tighten the oil filter. A couple quarts of oil in the driveway and all I got from Lexus was, "bring it in and we'll tighten it". I've been pretty busy, but will go back to see them soon and hope to get a fair resolution.

sprocket

Have you had any luck with them on the dash?

Tact

iTrader: (1)

I took my wife's '04 GX in to the dealer, who said they would probably replace the dash but I would have to pay the labor, $750. I might have to try a restoration shop first before I shell out $750. It has over 100K miles and I don't know how much longer we will keep it before trading it in on a newer model.

TampaBill

Sprocket - I haven't had any time to get back to Lexus of CLW, but I am going to try ichiban18c's suggestion and email Lexus Customer Satisfaction.

sunflower

While waiting for my daughter's plane on Sunday, I discovered 4-5 large (4-6") cracks in my dash. I swear they weren't there Friday when I drove home from the office. Totally horrified, I sent Lexus a email asking them to consider meeting me half way with the dash and I'll pay the labor...I remember reading an earlier post where Lexus of Austin was not particularly receptive ponying up with a dash. I'm waiting with my fingers crossed.

sprocket

Thanks for the follow-up. I emailed my salesperson about a month ago and she was going to talk to service on my behalf. I have not heard back and I've been up to my ears with other "stuff". I'll follow up with her and keep you posted. I live in the Orlando area, so I have not used their service department. It may help that I use a Courtesy Toyota dealer over here though.

jeff6500

i've got the same problem, the dash just suddenly started to crack. Checking with a few companies to repair the problem, car is out of warranty but had a rear diff go a few months ago and Lexus had no answer other then well pay for the part you pay for the labor. expensive lesson!

netmana

I too just noticed a long crack (1foot) above the odometer cluster. My car is a 08 RX350, with 55,000 miles. From reading this thread, it seems like this is a purely manufacturing problem; perhaps the dash board material was too thin that's why it is more susceptible to cracks. I would like to get it replace, but then i would like to know if anywhere here noticed the same problem after replacing the dash board? I hope that lexus did something to strengthen the dash board material; otherwise, i dont even know if it is worth replacing, since it can happen again as soon as within 2 years.

TampaBill

I have an update . . . 3 weeks after taking Sprocket's suggestion and notifying Lexus Corporate Customer Service, I rec'd a letter for a $650 credit toward Lexus services (Thanks Sprocket!). I got to thinking, I've owned lots of cars in my 56 years, including 5 made by Lexus - and never had a dashboard crack. Nonetheless, I accepted the offer and took the car to Lexus of Clearwater for a wheel bearing replacement. Decided to change the timing belt at the same time and was quoted a "special" of $350 plus another $550 for the wheel bearing replacement. Long story short - Lexus of Clearwater called to say the waterpump was also leaking (never had any leaks beneath the GX), but since they had to remove the old one and the car has 111k miles, I told them to replace it - but that I would not pay for the labor since the old one was off anyway. My girlfriend picked up the car and paid a $600+ bill (still haven't figured out how it took the $650 credit plus $600 in cash to cover what should have been $250 plus the cost of the water pump). She picked up the car and when applying the brakes, the vibration rendered the car un-driveable. Took it back to the same dealer Friday - today they left a message that all four rotors need to be cut and the tires balanced. Having replaced numerous wheel bearings in my time, I'm 99.9% sure they damaged an ABS sensor on the same wheel that needed the wheel bearing replacement. A phone call by my girlfriend asking to speak to the GM of the dealership resulted in some rapid back tracking by the service manager and a promise to fix the car at no add'l charge because we are a "valued customer". Can't wait to pick up the car tomorrow to see those four re-surfaced rotors (that were absolutely fine when I dropped the car off).

I'm sure that not all Lexus dealers treat their customers this way - but my experience with Lexus of Clearwater has been the worst experience I've ever had with a car dealer. Stay tuned for an update after tomorrow's meeting.

Sorry for the long post - I'm just amazed that a car dealership would treat a long time Lexus customer like Lexus of Clearwater treats me.