Lexus had to buy back my ISF
03-18-09, 11:32 AM
#1
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Lexus had to buy back my ISF
Hi new to the forum.
My ISF was a great smooth-riding car but it had problems. Here's my story:
This was my first LEXUS - a white, fully loaded 2009 ISF. At 800 miles the engine started making a wierd noise. After another 200 or so miles, the car started vibrating mostly at slower city-driving speeds, and when I shift it into and out of Parking Gear, the car would shake with a thud noise just getting into gear. The Lexus dealer said nothing wrong and that it was normal. Then at like 2,800 miles the vibrations became more noticable and you can feel it in the steering wheel. They then told me I needed a fix in the transmission and it was covered under warranty. My free loaner was an IS350 (but that's ok, at least it wasn't some lame car like a toyota corolla, or a chevy malibu - lol)
But the problem came back at around 4,500 miles or so. So I asked them to check other parts of the powertrain and the other parts were fine. Then they told me I needed a new transmission and it was covered under warranty and once again my loaner was an IS350.
The problem came back after the transmission replacement! So obviously the problem was not the transmission.
So I went for the lemon law claim to have Lexus replace the ISF. In arbitration Lexus tried to claim that there was abuse on the vehicle, but they couldn't prove it (they don't even know what's wrong with it!!!). After all I usually drive the speed limit and never got a traffic ticket in my life! And I explained that I certainly won't do rough driving on an expensive car like this. But anyway, there was no evidence that I drove the car abusively - they didn't find anything wrong or any excessive wear-and-tear when I took it to the dealer.
Even though I don't drive cars like a race car or make hard turns or brake hard, or spin the tires, isn't the ISF designed and built to be a sports car? Or does Lexus expect their customers to pay $60k to drive their sport-tuned machine like an old person? LOL!
When Lexus tried this tactic they lost me as a customer for good. So instead of a replacement I wanted my money back! They tried to convince me otherwise, but I made it clear that I was not going to put up with that. I was really willing to get a replacement but oh well too bad they went down that road and tried to get me stuck with their lemon. Today, the board ruled in my favor and told Lexus to buy back the car minus $795.30 for the 4,576 miles I put on it.
My ISF was a great smooth-riding car but it had problems. Here's my story:
This was my first LEXUS - a white, fully loaded 2009 ISF. At 800 miles the engine started making a wierd noise. After another 200 or so miles, the car started vibrating mostly at slower city-driving speeds, and when I shift it into and out of Parking Gear, the car would shake with a thud noise just getting into gear. The Lexus dealer said nothing wrong and that it was normal. Then at like 2,800 miles the vibrations became more noticable and you can feel it in the steering wheel. They then told me I needed a fix in the transmission and it was covered under warranty. My free loaner was an IS350 (but that's ok, at least it wasn't some lame car like a toyota corolla, or a chevy malibu - lol)
But the problem came back at around 4,500 miles or so. So I asked them to check other parts of the powertrain and the other parts were fine. Then they told me I needed a new transmission and it was covered under warranty and once again my loaner was an IS350.
The problem came back after the transmission replacement! So obviously the problem was not the transmission.
So I went for the lemon law claim to have Lexus replace the ISF. In arbitration Lexus tried to claim that there was abuse on the vehicle, but they couldn't prove it (they don't even know what's wrong with it!!!). After all I usually drive the speed limit and never got a traffic ticket in my life! And I explained that I certainly won't do rough driving on an expensive car like this. But anyway, there was no evidence that I drove the car abusively - they didn't find anything wrong or any excessive wear-and-tear when I took it to the dealer.
Even though I don't drive cars like a race car or make hard turns or brake hard, or spin the tires, isn't the ISF designed and built to be a sports car? Or does Lexus expect their customers to pay $60k to drive their sport-tuned machine like an old person? LOL!
When Lexus tried this tactic they lost me as a customer for good. So instead of a replacement I wanted my money back! They tried to convince me otherwise, but I made it clear that I was not going to put up with that. I was really willing to get a replacement but oh well too bad they went down that road and tried to get me stuck with their lemon. Today, the board ruled in my favor and told Lexus to buy back the car minus $795.30 for the 4,576 miles I put on it.
03-18-09, 11:34 AM
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Oh and was also wondering if any other ISF owners had this problem with their 2008 or 2009 model. Does anyone have a clue what may have been the problem?
Does anyone know what happens to the car after Lexus buys it back? I sure hope they don't put it on the market again to cheat another owner.
Does anyone know what happens to the car after Lexus buys it back? I sure hope they don't put it on the market again to cheat another owner.
03-18-09, 11:49 AM
#3
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sorry to hear you had to go through all this trouble and i am surprised at lexus they trried to be slick and tried to prove you drove rough? i know i push my car 50% of the time i am driving i didnt buy this car to drive it like a Avalon. i dont think anyone over here had any problem like this?
03-18-09, 11:59 AM
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Ouch.. now that’s a story....
The car will probably end up at a Lexus tech training center for breakdown of engine or etc, to hopefully pin point the exact problem..
Maybe an engineer or two will get involved.
Or at least that's where I am hoping it ends up..
The car will probably end up at a Lexus tech training center for breakdown of engine or etc, to hopefully pin point the exact problem..
Maybe an engineer or two will get involved.
Or at least that's where I am hoping it ends up..
03-18-09, 12:18 PM
#6
Hi new to the forum.
My ISF was a great smooth-riding car but it had problems. Here's my story:
This was my first LEXUS - a white, fully loaded 2009 ISF. At 800 miles the engine started making a wierd noise. After another 200 or so miles, the car started vibrating mostly at slower city-driving speeds, and when I shift it into and out of Parking Gear, the car would shake with a thud noise just getting into gear. The Lexus dealer said nothing wrong and that it was normal. Then at like 2,800 miles the vibrations became more noticable and you can feel it in the steering wheel. They then told me I needed a fix in the transmission and it was covered under warranty. My free loaner was an IS350 (but that's ok, at least it wasn't some lame car like a toyota corolla, or a chevy malibu - lol)
But the problem came back at around 4,500 miles or so. So I asked them to check other parts of the powertrain and the other parts were fine. Then they told me I needed a new transmission and it was covered under warranty and once again my loaner was an IS350.
The problem came back after the transmission replacement! So obviously the problem was not the transmission.
So I went for the lemon law claim to have Lexus replace the ISF. In arbitration Lexus tried to claim that there was abuse on the vehicle, but they couldn't prove it (they don't even know what's wrong with it!!!). After all I usually drive the speed limit and never got a traffic ticket in my life! And I explained that I certainly won't do rough driving on an expensive car like this. But anyway, there was no evidence that I drove the car abusively - they didn't find anything wrong or any excessive wear-and-tear when I took it to the dealer.
Even though I don't drive cars like a race car or make hard turns or brake hard, or spin the tires, isn't the ISF designed and built to be a sports car? Or does Lexus expect their customers to pay $60k to drive their sport-tuned machine like an old person? LOL!
When Lexus tried this tactic they lost me as a customer for good. So instead of a replacement I wanted my money back! They tried to convince me otherwise, but I made it clear that I was not going to put up with that. I was really willing to get a replacement but oh well too bad they went down that road and tried to get me stuck with their lemon. Today, the board ruled in my favor and told Lexus to buy back the car minus $795.30 for the 4,576 miles I put on it.
My ISF was a great smooth-riding car but it had problems. Here's my story:
This was my first LEXUS - a white, fully loaded 2009 ISF. At 800 miles the engine started making a wierd noise. After another 200 or so miles, the car started vibrating mostly at slower city-driving speeds, and when I shift it into and out of Parking Gear, the car would shake with a thud noise just getting into gear. The Lexus dealer said nothing wrong and that it was normal. Then at like 2,800 miles the vibrations became more noticable and you can feel it in the steering wheel. They then told me I needed a fix in the transmission and it was covered under warranty. My free loaner was an IS350 (but that's ok, at least it wasn't some lame car like a toyota corolla, or a chevy malibu - lol)
But the problem came back at around 4,500 miles or so. So I asked them to check other parts of the powertrain and the other parts were fine. Then they told me I needed a new transmission and it was covered under warranty and once again my loaner was an IS350.
The problem came back after the transmission replacement! So obviously the problem was not the transmission.
So I went for the lemon law claim to have Lexus replace the ISF. In arbitration Lexus tried to claim that there was abuse on the vehicle, but they couldn't prove it (they don't even know what's wrong with it!!!). After all I usually drive the speed limit and never got a traffic ticket in my life! And I explained that I certainly won't do rough driving on an expensive car like this. But anyway, there was no evidence that I drove the car abusively - they didn't find anything wrong or any excessive wear-and-tear when I took it to the dealer.
Even though I don't drive cars like a race car or make hard turns or brake hard, or spin the tires, isn't the ISF designed and built to be a sports car? Or does Lexus expect their customers to pay $60k to drive their sport-tuned machine like an old person? LOL!
When Lexus tried this tactic they lost me as a customer for good. So instead of a replacement I wanted my money back! They tried to convince me otherwise, but I made it clear that I was not going to put up with that. I was really willing to get a replacement but oh well too bad they went down that road and tried to get me stuck with their lemon. Today, the board ruled in my favor and told Lexus to buy back the car minus $795.30 for the 4,576 miles I put on it.
Wow, I am sorry to hear that you had so many problems with your F. I just bought my F and I checked the forum thoroughly before making my purchase and I did not see any major complaints about the F. I think someone complained about a loose rearview mirror.
I hate to say it but sometimes the dealerships produce a couple of lemons. 
I can't believe they had the audacity to blame you for the vibration in the powertrain. Shake my head. I don't blame you for passing on a replacement. May I ask which Lexus dealership gave you such problems? So...since you got your refund. What car are you going to purchase next?
Rachael
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03-18-09, 01:57 PM
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Thanks for sharing... it definitely sounds like a lemon. Hope everything works out for you. If you do a search for F problems, you won't find much, let alone a huge problem like yours. That's one of the reasons I chose a Lexus in the first place. You were very unlucky.
