Not to make excuses but supply chain issues are a huge mess right now. I took my mower in for service in late January of 2021 and it needed a part. For months the service folks kept saying the part was back ordered a week, two weeks, a month, another week, two more weeks, etc.... I just kept changing. I finally got the mower back 5 months later....got it home and the wheels fell off 3/4 of the way through the back yard. This was a service center that I've used for 10-12 years.

Video cards have been non-existant for months, I've been waiting 4+ months for docks for laptops all of a sudden one from one vendor showed up - no idea when the others will be in. Any decent monitor has been out of stock for a couple months and aren't projected to be back in stock until late October/early November. Lenovo laptop orders will tell you they'll ship in 10-12 days, two days later it showed end of November/early December then it moved to mid October, then early mid-September, then late September and then all of a sudden the thing shows up the day after Labor Day.

Our Subaru went in (somehow the transmission cooling lines got damaged) those parts took a week to come in (and there was no loaner). If we wanted a loaner it was going to be an additional 2 weeks before they could get us in.

Any sort of appointment to get a car in for any sort of service (except maybe an oil chagne) in our area is often a minimum of three weeks out - sometimes closer to 5 weeks even at local mechanics.

I completely agree its unfortunate and frustrating and not up to normal Lexus standards but they've given you a loaner. The crapping out after 3 hours sucks but to troubleshoot it's tricky to know if you just happened to get another bad amp or if something else is causing issues with the amp. When I had my Infiniti I ended up getting a brand new M35x as a loaner because the dealer had had to buy it back because of an issue with the stereo they had chased for over a month/month and a half. Shortly after they bought it back they finally found that one wires to the Bose sub-woofer had been nicked as the car was being built or being prepped for delivery. That tiny nick in the wire was making things buzz regularly but not constantly.

To me it sounds like the dealer is trying - they may not be giving you all the details (as in excuses) about why it's running late due to part delays, or maybe only limited techs, etc... but they are trying. Non-lux car dealers may have told you to keep your car until they could get the part in - but you have a loaner so you can enjoy music/etc... while they're trying to figure it out. Defective parts do make it though now and then - although I suspect from your description (with the pop) that something else is the root cause of the issue.

Personally I wouldn't want to buy any major appliance or any other major purchase that's been built in the last year/year and a half because of how crazy everything has been. With everything going on I keep trying to just have a bit of extra understanding.

 

I can relate to your subject heading ie that u are questioning Lexus service & not the product/car. Don’t lose faith in Lexus. After having owned BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes n Volvo, my go-to most reliable car is Lexus. But I share your view that their workshop service can be a shocker. Lexus service centers in different countries are owned n operated differently. When I had aircon issue with my LS400 in London, when I was working there in the mid90s , the service agent there was very good. When I returned to Singapore & drove the newer model LS430 in early 2000, there wasn’t a single issue with the car that I could detect or report. The Lexus Singapore service then was responsive n good but since the car was problem free, I couldn’t report on their service quality. However, when I bought last year a 19 year old SC430, with the knowledge that certain wear n tear parts needed replacing, I was shocked with Lexus Singapore service quality. During the first full service, the consultant forgot to warn me of worn out disc pad that needed replacement. Their mechanic identified the need n recorded in his report but the consultant overlooked n returned the car to me with all green ticks. This resulted in subsequent scratched disc brake requiring full replacement. Lexus acknowledged negligence n compensated part of the replacement. During 2nd 10,000km service check, the same consultant overlooked to alert me that there was slight oil leak relating to shock absorbers. Lexus service center here is operated by a local chain partner so Lexus’ service standards most likely not applied uniformly across. I am now using a workshop operated by an ex mechanic of Lexus. Car is running n performing just fine now. I echo the other respondents’ advice : Don’t lose faith in Lexus ; their service centers need re evaluation, though.

 

Well, if you are are upgrading from Hyundai to Lexus and then complaining that Lexus's service level is not up to par, I am lost for words. I am guessing Hyundai takes better care of you then Lexus (from everyone I know who own both, there is night and day difference between the two brands). You are getting a courtesy newer Lexus loaner car while your car waits for the replacement part to arrive so this should be a plus and not an issue. The other alternative is for you to drive your own Lexus and wait until the part to show up and then head back in for repairs (but then Lexus is not really taking care of you here). Please see if Hyundai will offer you a loaner car for 10 days. Oh, if you think your Lexus experience is bad, you haven't seen the German counterpart with cars in the shop for months for minor issues.

The ideal situation is to have the issue fixed in one visit. But obviously we live in a different world now with COVID-19, chip and part shortage, shipping delays, etc. How is the service department be able to control that when the "just in time" method hasn't been working correctly since the pandemic started last year.

Just my thoughts about your 'rant'.

 

Try to keep in mind that Lexus does not produce the audio components. Also, they have to ship in any replacement parts. This is not a common failure. Kind of a first world problem to have to "rant" over a complicated repair on your preowned vehicle while driving around a brand new loaner car while they repair your vehicle.

 

My question was directed to PAPI007.

 

Update: car was picked up and the sound system is working properly.

 

But has it been 3 hours yet Fingers crossed that everything works out!

 

No offense to the OP but it sounded more like an entitlement issue. Lexus service departments by all means surpass most of other manufacturers by a long shot. I had a fuel pump issue before where I had to bring the vehicle back to have Lexus 'recorrect' again. Not too happy I had to bring it back but things happen and the 2nd time around the service tech ensures everything is 100% before handling the car back. Issues happen even with Lexus once in a blue moon but for the most part has been pretty issue free. I had an experience with another manufacturer that refuses to fix the same issue under warranty (part should have been recalled). That was a real headache.

 

So far it’s all good. But right after I got home I got an email from the dealership with a charge of $350 for the service loaner! They said I kept it 10 days longer than the 2 days they originally agreed upon. It’s a mistake; my loaner contract has no such limit on it. I contacted the service advisor and he said he’d take care of it.

 

I have a 2019 ES350 fsport that was in the group that had defective amps. And I dont drive it that often didnt really notice that some of the speakers had low volume. Anyway after research and help from club lexus
I find out that they new which cars had the issues but didnt do a recall because it wasnt a safety issue. But its working now and all is good . Did they give you an estimate on what this is gonna cost or is it under warranty????

 

Quick recap:

I purchased the car used from a Jeep dealership in the same ownership family as the repairing Lexus dealership. The system wasn’t working when I purchased it but the selling dealership agreed to pay for the repair.

The first estimate was $3,300 to replace 4 speakers, no mention of the amplifier at all. When I pushed back with questions about how they arrived at that diagnosis, the service advisor went back to speak with the technicians and they decided to keep the car longer and do more tests. Yes, they gave me a service loaner.

Several days later they called with a revised estimate: $1,700 to replace the amp, no mention of the speakers. That number was slightly reduced when I reminded them that their sister dealership was paying the bill.

Then that amp failed just 3 hours after picking up the car. Now I’ve got the new new amp and so far it’s holding up.

None of this was done under warranty.

 

I am still amazed on how expensive these are

 

That's just impolite. I thought this forum was to help Lexus owners with their car problems not to blow them off. Come on man, surely you can do better than that! Peace.

 

Honestly, that really was uncalled for. Let’s all be respectful and kind.