what size tires are you running? I like the sounds of butter smooth..

 

Rim and tire sizes with pics here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...l#post10789529

 

Interesting. When I changed over from my winter to summer wheels/tires two weeks ago, I noticed my right rear shock looked just like that. The left one was fine.
When researching what shocks folks used as replacements, I ran across another thread where the users right rear shock needed replacing.
Probably just coincidence, but find it kind of funny that I've now seen three cases of the right rear going first. Yes, that's a very small sample, but didn't run across cases where the left went first.
Since I'm not driving much at all for the time being, I'm in no rush to replace them, but I did get some KYB shocks from RockAuto to put in there when I get around to it.

 

So just an update...I picked up my car from the dealership today and sure enough they only replaced the one absorber. I asked why they didn’t replace both and was told because the car has low miles, it wasn’t necessary to switch out the other side too. Haven’t really noticed much of a difference in the ride but I feel much better that I’m not driving around with a defective absorber anymore!

 

hillarious because the stealership would tell you that you have to replace both (when your the one paying) but under warranty they only replace one.... completely crooked and corrupt it’s unfortunate there are no regulations.

 

My right rear looked like that after only 30K miles or so on RSR Half downs. It sounds like it's not an anomoly, and either the right rear shock design is faulty from the manufacturer or maybe there is just more weight over that corner causing the premature failures.

 

Maybe we can hold off on the pitchforks and torches for a sec (lol!) and understand the process.

The warranty on our vehicles are from Toyota/Lexus...the manufacturer in Japan.
Dealers are independently owned, and act as agents of the manufacturer when it comes to warranty claims.
When the dealer makes a warranty repair on your vehicle, they need to submit a claim to the head office representing the manufacturer in their region...for Canada it's simple since there is only one head office in Toronto, Ontario.
The head office still has to approve the claim...or they can deny the claim too.
Once they approve the claim the dealer gets paid...parts and labor are fixed pricing, so the head office is not paying the retail on the part(s), and the labor rate is not the dealers door rate...it is a reduced fixed rate.
The head office then submits a claim to the manufacturer in Japan, and then they get reimbursed...assuming the manufacturer approves the claim as well...they can also deny it.
As this process takes some time, for run of the mill repairs (like a shock) the dealer will fix your vehicle asap and just let the process play out.
Once your vehicle is fixed, if the dealers warranty claim to the head office gets denied, the dealer is eating the cost of the entire repair...parts and labor. They don't call you up and say "Mr. Customer, the head office denied your warranty claim so we need you to bring your vehicle back so we can unfix it and put your broken parts back on".
When it comes to large warranty claims (like a blown engine), the dealer will not repair your vehicle right away, rather they wait for approval from the head office first...this way they know they are going to get paid for the repair. It's one thing to eat a couple hundred dollars versus a few thousand dollars.

So yes, if you had taken the vehicle to get the one shock replaced and it was a customer pay repair, instead of warranty, then they would have recommended to replace both rear...keeping in mind it's up to you as the customer to make the final decision...do you replace one or both.
In the case of warranty there is no option...warranty pays for the defective part, that's it. If the dealer replaced the other side then they would be paying for it.

And in case you're wondering, yes, dealers have claims denied by the head office all the time...so they are continuously eating costs for vehicle repairs that were free to the customer.
Obviously they do their best to minimize this from occurring, but it happens...for whatever the reason.
So when a dealer denies you warranty on something, sure you can throw a hissy fit at the advisor and manager, but really you're barking up the wrong tree.
Speaking to the head office for the region is your best chance to try and resolve it if the dealer can't do anything further for you.

 

Awesome explanation on how warranty claims work. I’ve always wondered what the back end process was like between the dealer and manufacturer so this was helpful. However, I’m just curious...what’s to stop a dealer from making an occasional false claim? Do they have to submit proof/pictures of the defect? Or do they have regular anonymous audits performed?

 

I can't speak to how they do this in the US, but in Canada this would be the answers to your questions:

1. What’s to stop a dealer from making an occasional false claim? Making the claim...nothing...but getting it pushed through to an approval...there are Field Warranty reps that are assigned to dealers to maintain a consistent and accurate warranty process (those are my politically correct words lol)
2. Do they have to submit proof/pictures of the defect? Depending on the vehicle failure...yes. For everyday items like a shock, most likely not. Head office may even recover the parts for examination and further investigation of the failure.
3. Do they have regular anonymous audits performed? Done by the Field Warranty reps as mentioned in #1 above. They're not anonymous cause really you can't hide the fact you made a claim, so they can check any/every time if they want.