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Carbon Build Up - Lexus Response and the non-Lexus Fix
So few weeks ago I called up Lexus regarding the 9 yr warranty for our cars. They instructed me to goto the dealer, pay the $200 and then call us back. So that was done, the dealership wanted $1500 for a top engine clean was I think was ridiculous. So I notified Lexus Care, and they called me back and long story short, they said my cars vin isn't under the 9yr warranty since it isn't listed as having that issue. I just about laughed, BECAUSE, about 5 years ago Lexus dropped my engine and replaced all nec parts. Pretty much a rebuild and they performed a top engine clean as well several years later. Anyway whatever, a waste of $200 but after complaining they agreed to reimburse me the $200. Happy about that at least.... I found a local shop in Los Angeles (Import MotorWorx) that does Wallnut Shelling (Carbon Blasting) and let me tell you, they did a ridiculous job in taking care of the car. They took it apart and resolved the issue. They threw in new spark plugs, PCV valve I brought in, which I purchased from Bell Lexus on eBay..... The car now runs smooth again just like it was new. No rough idle, and no car shaking at stop lights or whenever I'm at a stop. Price, Not even close to what the dealership wanted, paid like 50% less. Super happy and I know the car is purring like a kitten again. If you guys have issues, and interesting in Wallnut shelling and are in LA, def check them out for sure. Here are some before and after pictures.
PS: Lexus ? I thought you said my car wasn't affected...... yeah ok. If I had bought an Infinity G37 instead, would not have had this issue or money out of my pocket, that's for sure. Right now having a love/hate relationship with them, hahaha, bleh.
I wonder what tier fuel and engine oil OP mainly used on his car.
Back East I used 93 Octane, and now in the West, 91 Octane every time. Chevron or Mobile. Mobile One 5w-20 at every change. Lexus scrooged the pooch with this design.
thats so clean. Too bad no one does Lexus in my area. Only BMW's.
yeah this shop only did Euro cars mainly, but since they had the one tech that worked on Jap cars he was able to do it to mine. You should try calling your shops and see if they can do yours. Worth a shot.
Back East I used 93 Octane, and now in the West, 91 Octane every time. Chevron or Mobile. Mobile One 5w-20 at every change. Lexus scrooged the pooch with this design.
You didn't read the question. No mention of octane, he asked about tier.
You didn't read the question. No mention of octane, he asked about tier.
Lou
No I read it hence why I entered, Mobile and Chevron. Those are all Top Tier. I mean a few times I threw in Costco which claim to use Top Tier but 95% of the times its always either Mobile or Chevron. Both those stations are literally a few blocks from me and next to each other. I threw in the Octane info as well just in case someone else was wondering. Would never use 87 or 89.
is the area lower car friendly ???? coming from OC
Yeah it is, I don't see why it wouldn't be. I had taken the 405, got off the exit and they were about another 5 min drive away., Roads were good. How low is your ride,
(Unless I totally missed your point)
This post is purely opinion with a little experience added in so please take it as such. Given the well-documented cleanup of the carbon build up of your engine it may be worthwhile to contact Lexus again. Perhaps you will not be given a reimbursement, but you could have a wider inclusion in their 'affected vehicles' VIN range going forward for others with this problem. They may very well be under the mistaken impression that your particular VIN is not subject to this malady based on inputs from their dealerships, who have an incentive to make money on the repairs. It is a pain in the **** and time consuming to contact Lexus all over again, I get that, but it is one of the ways that the manufacturers obtain knowledge of complaints; the dogged determination of informed owners. As a case in point, years ago Lexus provided me with a complete new dash assembly for my girlfriend-at-the-time IS300 with sticky dash. There was no recall, there was no goodwill program, it was just me working my way up the chain until I was talking to the head of Lexus N. America. I was civil at every step of the way, and told him that I worked as an engineer at a large corporation and that I would send in the dashboard so that they could do a material analysis to determine failure as I was sure that the testing didn't comprehend time/humidity/temperature fully. I also explained that I didn't expect a car clearly out of warranty in both mileage and years to be given a complete dash job for free, but if they sent me the parts I would invest the labor. They agreed and sent me brand new parts, including new airbag for the passenger side. Incidentally, they didn't request the failed dash as they were already aware of the problem.
My experience has shown both in my job and as a vehicle owner that poor designs are not intentional, but rather extended time intervals and other factors can uncover problems not foreseen or caught in the testing phases no matter how thorough. No one plans for obsolescence, that would be a silly way to do business as customers don't return for faulty product lines.
Again, just a thought given your detailed information.
Interesting, I was stonewalled when I called them about my LS460 dash and door panels. "Case manager" rejected the claim said she was the final arbiter and would not put me in touch with her supervisor or anyone else further up the food chain! I've owned 5 Lexus vehicles since 1992. I won't be getting any more.
As an aside, mind telling how much they charged you for the complete walnut blasting?
08-10-18, 06:33 PM
Carbon Build Up - Lexus Response and the non-Lexus Fix
