Dealer fixes one problem, creates another....
04-27-11, 04:08 PM
#1
Dealer fixes one problem, creates another....
So just recently got a 2007 IS250 RWD and been driving the crap out of it. Gas mileage is decent, not what I thought it would be (I drive only highway to work about 65/70 mpg and its saying 25/26 mpg...)
But anyways been taking it in to the dealership by my house for things covered by service bulletins.
Tried to get them to fix the dash popping noise, they couldn't reproduce it and they said they've never heard of this problem. Ok cool ill take it in some other time.
Had them fix some panels that were off.
Then the last repair I just took it in for was for a creaking noise on the back windshield and the aux port whine.
Here's where the fun begins....
Dropped the car off and was told that the back windshield was going to get some clips trimmed but that the technician wasn't able to duplicate the whine on the aux port. The check in service lady took my to the work area and to the tech who was working on my car. Lady introduced me to the guy but he never once looked up from his book or made any notice of me (i.e. no handshake, no hello nothing) but let it slide, since I am new to this whole process and figured no biggie as long as the work is getting done. He says theres nothign wrong with my sound, couldn't replicate the noise. So I tell him well I can show you because its audible any time I'm charging my iPod and trying to listen to my music. So we get in the car, close all the windows, turn on the car and I show him how when the radio is on I get a low static noise and when I accelerate it whines in tune with the engine.
Now I've worked on car stereos and I know that that noise tends to be feedback from the engine, particularly a bad ground, sometimes from the alternator. But hey he's a tech and certified, I'll play dumb customer for now.
He says he can't hear it, granted volume is at 30, might be too high. Ok cool he's older than me prolly late 30's, I'll give him benefit of the doubt.
So I raise the volume to 42 ish. Its really audible now....
Hmmm yeah I hear something. Its your usb charger, its a bad one.
Well how can it be bad if it only gives me the noise when its plugged in to my ipod to charge while the aux port only is supposed to give me sound. I unpluged it to show him how the whine instantly stops.
Silence from the tech....
So I tell him trying to edge him on a bit, maybe it just needs an audio sound isolator or maybe its a bad ground? Cuz it goes intune perfectly with the engine
Well I dont know I'll have to see what it might be.
I ask him about the rear windshield, says he had to drop the headliner to cut some tabs back there that were rubbing. Hmmm dropping the headliner......
He gets out of the car and goes back to his tech book. Lady looks at him and then me and asks 'so where you guys able to replicate it?'
No answer from the tech, so I chime in, yeah we were able to hear it again.
She asks him if he's ever heard of this or if theres a solution for it.
He says no.
More silence, 'maybe there's something in the system he can find' and starts to walk me away.
So at this point I straight up tell her, it has to do with a sound isolation problem the noise is coming from the engine maybe the alt.
She tells me well hopefully the tech can diagnose it and find a code for this in the system
So i just tell her well there's a tsib for it and if you want I can give you the code.
Oh that would be great, it would help to find out the problem and fix it.
So I give her the tsib and call it a day.
Get a call back later that day saying that they need to order parts and it will take a couple of days, until then I have the rental.
Fine by me.
Fast forward to today, car is ready to get picked up.
I get in the car start driving home and notice in the rear view mirror that the headliner is not perfectly straight.
So i get home and I go to the back seat to look at it, sure enough its a minimal alignment difference but its there. So i reach back there and where its drooping, its also soft and crunchy like cardboard bent to far. Checked the mirror image side and its not like that.
SO....all in all there is new damage to the back headliner, quickly called up the dealership (total time passed since I left not even 10 minutes), explaine that I think there was some damage done to my headliner.
Lady tells me that I would have to speak to a manager, would tomorrow work?
Now I have to go in before work and hopefully get this resolved.
So what are my options here? Or whats the course of action? Granted it is up to the manager I suppose, but the base fact is that the car is under warranty, took it in for a tsib and now the headliner is damaged and slightly misaligned and dirty.
Headliners, once damamged, thats it its done, last thing I want is for them to tell me oh well put some tabs up there. I want to get it back to how it was before, which is new and perfect. Think he also left the headliner dirty (and I know my back windshield is dirty from the tech, has smudges).
Any suggestions or things I should bring up or do in order to deal with them?
I'm 23 and I really don't want to be dicked around with simply because of my age. This is my car outright, not some dad's toy or gift, and not sure at this point whats normal for customer service whats not. I know that Lexus is supposed to have amazing customer service, so far its been above normal in my eyes but again first time doing this.
This is Lexus of Naperville, if it means anything to anyone.
Thanks for all the input and help, I'll try and post pictures up to show.
But anyways been taking it in to the dealership by my house for things covered by service bulletins.
Tried to get them to fix the dash popping noise, they couldn't reproduce it and they said they've never heard of this problem. Ok cool ill take it in some other time.
Had them fix some panels that were off.
Then the last repair I just took it in for was for a creaking noise on the back windshield and the aux port whine.
Here's where the fun begins....
Dropped the car off and was told that the back windshield was going to get some clips trimmed but that the technician wasn't able to duplicate the whine on the aux port. The check in service lady took my to the work area and to the tech who was working on my car. Lady introduced me to the guy but he never once looked up from his book or made any notice of me (i.e. no handshake, no hello nothing) but let it slide, since I am new to this whole process and figured no biggie as long as the work is getting done. He says theres nothign wrong with my sound, couldn't replicate the noise. So I tell him well I can show you because its audible any time I'm charging my iPod and trying to listen to my music. So we get in the car, close all the windows, turn on the car and I show him how when the radio is on I get a low static noise and when I accelerate it whines in tune with the engine.
Now I've worked on car stereos and I know that that noise tends to be feedback from the engine, particularly a bad ground, sometimes from the alternator. But hey he's a tech and certified, I'll play dumb customer for now.
He says he can't hear it, granted volume is at 30, might be too high. Ok cool he's older than me prolly late 30's, I'll give him benefit of the doubt.
So I raise the volume to 42 ish. Its really audible now....
Hmmm yeah I hear something. Its your usb charger, its a bad one.
Well how can it be bad if it only gives me the noise when its plugged in to my ipod to charge while the aux port only is supposed to give me sound. I unpluged it to show him how the whine instantly stops.
Silence from the tech....
So I tell him trying to edge him on a bit, maybe it just needs an audio sound isolator or maybe its a bad ground? Cuz it goes intune perfectly with the engine
Well I dont know I'll have to see what it might be.
I ask him about the rear windshield, says he had to drop the headliner to cut some tabs back there that were rubbing. Hmmm dropping the headliner......
He gets out of the car and goes back to his tech book. Lady looks at him and then me and asks 'so where you guys able to replicate it?'
No answer from the tech, so I chime in, yeah we were able to hear it again.
She asks him if he's ever heard of this or if theres a solution for it.
He says no.
More silence, 'maybe there's something in the system he can find' and starts to walk me away.
So at this point I straight up tell her, it has to do with a sound isolation problem the noise is coming from the engine maybe the alt.
She tells me well hopefully the tech can diagnose it and find a code for this in the system
So i just tell her well there's a tsib for it and if you want I can give you the code.
Oh that would be great, it would help to find out the problem and fix it.
So I give her the tsib and call it a day.
Get a call back later that day saying that they need to order parts and it will take a couple of days, until then I have the rental.
Fine by me.
Fast forward to today, car is ready to get picked up.
I get in the car start driving home and notice in the rear view mirror that the headliner is not perfectly straight.
So i get home and I go to the back seat to look at it, sure enough its a minimal alignment difference but its there. So i reach back there and where its drooping, its also soft and crunchy like cardboard bent to far. Checked the mirror image side and its not like that.
SO....all in all there is new damage to the back headliner, quickly called up the dealership (total time passed since I left not even 10 minutes), explaine that I think there was some damage done to my headliner.
Lady tells me that I would have to speak to a manager, would tomorrow work?
Now I have to go in before work and hopefully get this resolved.
So what are my options here? Or whats the course of action? Granted it is up to the manager I suppose, but the base fact is that the car is under warranty, took it in for a tsib and now the headliner is damaged and slightly misaligned and dirty.
Headliners, once damamged, thats it its done, last thing I want is for them to tell me oh well put some tabs up there. I want to get it back to how it was before, which is new and perfect. Think he also left the headliner dirty (and I know my back windshield is dirty from the tech, has smudges).
Any suggestions or things I should bring up or do in order to deal with them?
I'm 23 and I really don't want to be dicked around with simply because of my age. This is my car outright, not some dad's toy or gift, and not sure at this point whats normal for customer service whats not. I know that Lexus is supposed to have amazing customer service, so far its been above normal in my eyes but again first time doing this.
This is Lexus of Naperville, if it means anything to anyone.
Thanks for all the input and help, I'll try and post pictures up to show.
04-27-11, 04:21 PM
#2
Elite of Lexus
Hi Marine,
If the Marine is for USMC...then Semper Fi! Anyway I have a few questions for you about the dealership.
1. How did they treat you when you were looking and after you purchased your vehicle. Did they walk you through the car and how to use everything and offer to introduce you to the service manager and specifically say, "Welcome to the family."?
2. Do they have any Elite of Lexus awards?
If the answer is no to both of those questions then I would say you are dealing with a crap dealership disguised as Lexus. I would just visit another dealership if you can because it sounds like these guys really have no idea of what's going on.
Good Luck!
If the Marine is for USMC...then Semper Fi! Anyway I have a few questions for you about the dealership.
1. How did they treat you when you were looking and after you purchased your vehicle. Did they walk you through the car and how to use everything and offer to introduce you to the service manager and specifically say, "Welcome to the family."?
2. Do they have any Elite of Lexus awards?
If the answer is no to both of those questions then I would say you are dealing with a crap dealership disguised as Lexus. I would just visit another dealership if you can because it sounds like these guys really have no idea of what's going on.
Good Luck!
04-27-11, 08:59 PM
#3
Semper Fi' Bro.
Well low-down on the vehicle, I didn't buy it from Lexus I bought it from Toyota in Chicago, still under factory warranty so that shouldn't really matter too much since the fac. warranty is good at any lexus dealership.
Lexus of Naperville was one of the few chosen dealerships for the first launch of Lexus in the US back in 1989. Original Charter group they call it.
They alsso say that this is the 13th year that their dealership has been awarded "elite of Lexus" status. President is Dan A. Wolf
Customer service should be the pride of any company especially Lexus, but besides that point, maybe it was a rough day who knows at this point, but what I do expect is that they fix the problem that is there with ZERO hassle and in a timely manner.
Not sure what any other users experience or the process went to get a problem they caused fixed back to normal?
I checked the headliner again, and noticed that they had left greasy looking prints on the back windshield inside, the roofliner was creased, loose and crunchy, and in the spot where the headliner was loose it was dirty with brown-ness. Almost a greasy look.
I mean, I'm assuming this should go without a hich given the caliber of the name and car, but then again when you assume things.....
Well low-down on the vehicle, I didn't buy it from Lexus I bought it from Toyota in Chicago, still under factory warranty so that shouldn't really matter too much since the fac. warranty is good at any lexus dealership.
Lexus of Naperville was one of the few chosen dealerships for the first launch of Lexus in the US back in 1989. Original Charter group they call it.
They alsso say that this is the 13th year that their dealership has been awarded "elite of Lexus" status. President is Dan A. Wolf
Customer service should be the pride of any company especially Lexus, but besides that point, maybe it was a rough day who knows at this point, but what I do expect is that they fix the problem that is there with ZERO hassle and in a timely manner.
Not sure what any other users experience or the process went to get a problem they caused fixed back to normal?
I checked the headliner again, and noticed that they had left greasy looking prints on the back windshield inside, the roofliner was creased, loose and crunchy, and in the spot where the headliner was loose it was dirty with brown-ness. Almost a greasy look.
I mean, I'm assuming this should go without a hich given the caliber of the name and car, but then again when you assume things.....
04-28-11, 06:13 AM
#5
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This comes back to the techs not being any more intelligent or rewarded at Lexus than any other brand. Sorry you've had this experience. If it helps any, my 2008 250 has the exact same AUX/iPod/Charger symptoms as yours. I just unplug it when it's fully charged and plug it in again when necessary.
04-28-11, 06:33 AM
#6
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I've taken my car to the dealership numerous times and I've had great service thus far, but when I took it in for the same aux issue my tech said it is what it is and that I would need to by a filter for it.
So I called him the next day and tell him there's a TSIB for it and he goes oh... he checked it out and ordered the part a few days later I go in there and they give me the option of a loaner car for a day or to wait an hour to fix it. I didn't have anything to do so I opted to take a nap and wait
I just wish he would have taken the time to check and get the issue resolved the first time. They normally take care of everything right away. It sucks that I only have one Lexus dealer in the area.
So I called him the next day and tell him there's a TSIB for it and he goes oh... he checked it out and ordered the part a few days later I go in there and they give me the option of a loaner car for a day or to wait an hour to fix it. I didn't have anything to do so I opted to take a nap and wait
I just wish he would have taken the time to check and get the issue resolved the first time. They normally take care of everything right away. It sucks that I only have one Lexus dealer in the area.
04-28-11, 06:37 AM
#7
Well its not a problem as much as it is annoying. I had this problem on a BMW I had and I dealt with it, but when you listen to quieter songs or inbetween songs the whine is there. So I figure well why not fix, its under factory warranty....
So far I've had a loaner since Friday....
So far I've had a loaner since Friday....
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04-28-11, 06:41 AM
#8
Meangene, thats exactly how this interaction went. Its like well actually customer, its your fault. Deal with it.
I've worked in retail before and first thing you do is assume positive intent, not just pass the blame back to the person that came in clearly because there is something wrong.
Maybe I just have to bring in tsb/tsib and say I have this problem, heres the solution. I need a loaner, call me when its done.
I just joke on this, just annoyed, but oh well it is what it is, well see how it goes.
I've worked in retail before and first thing you do is assume positive intent, not just pass the blame back to the person that came in clearly because there is something wrong.
Maybe I just have to bring in tsb/tsib and say I have this problem, heres the solution. I need a loaner, call me when its done.
I just joke on this, just annoyed, but oh well it is what it is, well see how it goes.
04-28-11, 06:50 AM
#9
Even though you reeeally shouldn't have to... this is exactly why I go with TSIB's printed out. I give a copy to my SA and leave a copy on the front seat for the tech. Not only does it save time, but it helps prevent a silly misdiagnosis. The tech actually blamed your USB charger?? I mean c'mon!!
04-28-11, 06:53 AM
#10
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Even though you reeeally shouldn't have to... this is exactly why I go with TSIB's printed out. I give a copy to my SA and leave a copy on the front seat for the tech. Not only does it save time, but it helps prevent a silly misdiagnosis. The tech actually blamed your USB charger?? I mean c'mon!!
04-28-11, 07:18 AM
#11
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Meangene, thats exactly how this interaction went. Its like well actually customer, its your fault. Deal with it.
I've worked in retail before and first thing you do is assume positive intent, not just pass the blame back to the person that came in clearly because there is something wrong.
Maybe I just have to bring in tsb/tsib and say I have this problem, heres the solution. I need a loaner, call me when its done.
I just joke on this, just annoyed, but oh well it is what it is, well see how it goes.
I've worked in retail before and first thing you do is assume positive intent, not just pass the blame back to the person that came in clearly because there is something wrong.
Maybe I just have to bring in tsb/tsib and say I have this problem, heres the solution. I need a loaner, call me when its done.
I just joke on this, just annoyed, but oh well it is what it is, well see how it goes.
Even though you reeeally shouldn't have to... this is exactly why I go with TSIB's printed out. I give a copy to my SA and leave a copy on the front seat for the tech. Not only does it save time, but it helps prevent a silly misdiagnosis. The tech actually blamed your USB charger?? I mean c'mon!!
04-28-11, 01:54 PM
#12
What you're hearing is called a ground loop, it happens in more than just cars.
It's pretty pathetic that we as customers know more about the cars they work on then they do. ESPECIALLY when it's a common problem.
I'm out of warranty so I bought a 7 dollar adapter that got rid of the noise.
It's pretty pathetic that we as customers know more about the cars they work on then they do. ESPECIALLY when it's a common problem.
I'm out of warranty so I bought a 7 dollar adapter that got rid of the noise.
05-05-11, 07:37 AM
#13
Scratch on the tint
Headliner crunched, dirty and sagging
Grease prints on rear window, inside
More of headliner dirty and sagging (no flash)
Crease on headliner, running down middle of photo
Headliner again, no flash
Last edited by marine1342; 05-05-11 at 08:21 AM. Reason: Deleted photo, added comments
05-08-11, 07:54 PM
#15
Well quick update, took them a while to get the headliner in, put it in by friday night and on monday they'll be taking it to get the rear window tinted to match the other passenger windows. Hopefully they get the tint darkness and silver reflection correct....
Anybody have any tips on dealing with getting a tint done on just one window to match the others?
I'll prolly end up talking to the 3rd party tint place and see what they will be doing.
So far, I've had the hs250 as a loaner.
Interesting at first, then got annoyed with it, and now i'm seeing that its value for what it is and gotten used to it. A luxury vehicle with a very comfortable interior and pretty good gas mileage considering it all. Not outstanding gas mileage, but if you want that there's other options less luxurious. Can't have it all....yet....
But can't wait to have mine back.
Anybody have any tips on dealing with getting a tint done on just one window to match the others?
I'll prolly end up talking to the 3rd party tint place and see what they will be doing.
So far, I've had the hs250 as a loaner.
Interesting at first, then got annoyed with it, and now i'm seeing that its value for what it is and gotten used to it. A luxury vehicle with a very comfortable interior and pretty good gas mileage considering it all. Not outstanding gas mileage, but if you want that there's other options less luxurious. Can't have it all....yet....
But can't wait to have mine back.
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