BrianL

Have an 07 IS250 with 43k miles. 2 weeks ago needed the engine warranty work done - change cam gears, engine clean out, front brakes (brake dust) ...

Was told the carbon build up necessitating the engine clean out is due to a faulty design with the fuel injectors. If Lexus does not come up with a fix, I'll need another clean out in another 30-40k miles ... at a cost of $400.

Now just had driver's side headlight burn out. Lexus wants $320 to replace. Yes, that's $320 to replace 1 headlight. Fortunately, I'm still under warranty. The parts department at the dealership told me that he keeps a lot in stock because it's a common problem.

But a headlight burning out after 3 1/2 years. And when should i expect the other to burn out.

Despite my reservations about this car's "lack of soul" and its tendency to be a bit underpowered, I bought it because I loved the styling, the comfort, and, mistakenly at that time, my perception of Lexus quality.

That perception has changed into a harsh reality.

Thanks for letting me vent.

ELL Y

iTrader: (1)

Duly noted. Sorry your experience didn't work out. I've had my radio volume button not work, and I get the engine rattle sometimes, but haven't had much else in the way of problems...

chikoo

Wow...does a headlight ever burn out nowadays?
In the last 10 years, and 3 cars that I have owned, no headlight or tail light has ever burned out. Each of them I have owned for at least 100K / 5 years.
Sadly none of them was a Lexus. They were 2 Mazda and 1 Honda.

BrianL

That's what I said to the Lexus service department. They were quiet and polite - I kind of got the feeling this wasn't the 1st time they were involved in this discussion.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

To put your numbers in perspective though... let's assume you need another carbon cleaning at 80k miles (under 70k it'd be covered by the powertrain warranty FYI). Let's further assume you need another headlight replaced too. Then the car will go another 40k before it needs anything.

That's $720 in total repair costs for over 100,000 miles.

I'm not really sure I'd call that an unreasonable lack of quality control.

(and from what I've read, the carbon issue is happening on other brands too- it's from the direct injection only setup...which is why the 350 doesn't suffer from this)


One note on the headlights, at that cost they must be HIDs- HIDs don't like being turned on/off for short periods. I know one common cause of premature failure here is folks who keep the lights on "auto" when they park in a garage.

the HIDs turn on when the car does, then turn right back off again 60 seconds later when you pull out into daylight. Bad for the bulbs.


(but to be fair, I personally intend to only keep the car while it's under warranty, which can be as long as 8 years if you get the extended, because lexus parts costs are pretty insane outside of warranty).

ScKcBc

iTrader: (2)

yea what actually blew out? The ballast? The bulb? Whatever it was, even if it blew again, it could probably be replaced for cheap

BrianL

Good points Kurtz. It's my lack of confidence in the product that has me ready to sell.

And i don't know what failed ... the light or ballast. I'll find out when i take it in Friday to be replaced.

I talked to the service rep about having them replace the passenger side also under warranty even though it's working. Not sure that'll fly.

Hapa88

If it's just the headlight bulb, you can get the replacements pretty cheap. The D4S replacements from DDM tuning are currently listed at $47.50 for the pair!
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/HI...lacements-Pair

As for quality issues, if you think you have it bad, then definitely stay away from European cars. I had tons of issues with my old 2001 VW Jetta (MAFs, Ingition Coils, Coolant Temp Sensor. . .), and tons of my friends have problems with their BMW 335i's (fuel pump, windows).

BrianL

Yea, I hear you Hapa88. I came from a BMW 3-series, and after that repair experience swore i was done with BMW's, despite the super driving experience.

I guess it's a factor of my expectations.

Maybe i'll find a good young horse.

chikoo

Same thing (well almost) happened to me.
I test drove BMW 328i, 335i. Felt real good, even though interior trim is on the "cheap" side like paint flaking off the armrest and steering wheel

I called for Extended Warranty quotes and got a range from $3500 to $5000 (with $100 deductible)

I then checked out ext wty quotes for the IS250 and they were under $1500.

That speaks to the reliability compared to the bimmers. Let us see how it works out.

chrisyano

Kurtz raised some very good points. I just did a bunch of very minor stuff as well as some recall work on my car. I was feeling a little down on the purchase from 2007 at the time because it seemed like so much needed to be done for such an "expensive" car.

Bottom line? All of them were truly minor issues that I could have easily ignored if I wanted to. I chose to bring them up and the Service Department fixed every single one that they could get warranty coverage for. Only things not covered so far (3+ years in) are the high-traffic wear areas that I never expected to be covered anyway.

They had my car for a while, and I had the chance to check out the 2010 IS250 (I have the 350 Sport). It's pretty clear that Lexus is working to fix the problems that owners seem to be having. I could see a number of "different" or redesigned parts throughout the car--all barely perceptible unless you're looking for it but they are there.

Lexus takes their business seriously. They take customer satisfaction even more seriously. My Service guy found about 3-5 things I didn't mention and just had them taken care of for me since they already had the car "open". Some stuff they just came across while doing other work. Either way, I got free new parts and some were not cheap.

This last experience is what sold me on Lexus. I feel like I got a new car back and I will likely shop Lexus first from now on.

Just my 2 cents.

funglenn

iTrader: (10)

Try European cars the quality is worse and the parts are inferior. Whatever this IS gives me it cannot be as bad.

Initial_K

iTrader: (2)

Stock HID usually last about 3/4 years of normal use before they need to be replace. And you can replace both bulbs for about 100 bucks.

chikoo

My friend 2000 ES300 has stock HID and he still has the car with 187k on it. Always keeps the lights on "Auto". Never replaced a bulb till now.

Bigrahizzl

iTrader: (8)

for the light to go out is typical for that many years. Just get it replaced. Ive had many warranty work done but im still enjoying the car. Since ive had an awesome service department i havent had any chance to be upset over anything