I reciently purchased my 01 Onyx Blue ls430 w/ 123k now from Lexus of Austin in. It was owned by a local celebrity and maintained to by the book at the Lexus dealer, always garaged and has a LONG list of warranty repairs (seems as the original owner was obsessed llike me in keeping it perfect took FULL advantage of the available warranty and later certefied warranty he purchased). I keep it garaged and will take over where the meticulous original owner left off and keep the maintainance up as scheduled by the book. My thought is that I may have made a misteke. I read here of expensive nightmares like door lock actuators going bad , telescoping wheel issues, nav dvd machines breaking, crazy park assist sensors, Mark Levinson amps blowing, air suspension leaks, ac compressor seizures, touch screens dying and on and on. I have already successfully dealt with a folding mirror issue and replaced the sub woofer and this weekend will replace a slightly ill drivers door speaker, then it will be perfect at least for a moment.

My question is this. Does ANYONE garage their cars, treat them well and get to 200k without being plagued by "these" creature feature issues or are all of these cars doomed to die a slow death and drain their owners pockets with issue after issue?

I am begining to sumize that the drivetrain is like built a sherman tank but the "features" wear out long before the bodies and drivetrains.

Anyone out there have a positive experience to share?

I have never enjoyed a car so much since my 1989 Buick Riviera which I purchased in 1990 (I have has MANY vehicles since)..

It has occured to me to trade this car in soon on a certefied Buick Lacross w/ warranty right now before any problem starts even though I have only had this beautiful vehicle for 3 months.

I knew I was taking a chance when I bought a car with so many years and miles behind her but I thought the deck was stacked in my favor especially since I am very handy and resourceful in finding parts on ebay or people to rebuild the broken ones (and I do have a back up car) In hindsight I should have probably avoided the ultra luxury I bought and opted for the base edition.

I can talk myself out abandoning her at the Buick dealer soon (which I really "DO NOT" want to do) but i wish someone could tell me something good. All I read here is bad bad bad problems.

Unfortunately for my car I live in Texas where it is often 105 degrees and I know extreme heat plays a part in frying the electronics and dries out the suspension airbags (she is garaged at night),

Can anyone share a positive experience? PLEASE.....

I am hopeful to learn that these stories and posted problems are the exception to the rule and there are many members who enjoy their cars without one problem after another. I just have not read that yet.

Thanks

 

just enjoy your car.its just a car(all though a very nice and enjoyable car).you have the most dependable car ever produced.buick can not even scratch the surface of the 430.

 

I have 235k kms on my 2001 President (euro UL), airsus is original, most part original, all functions work (minus slightly bad sub).
Compare problems ppl have with LS'es (mostly cosmetic and accessory options failures) with some Merc or BM forum. Blown engines, trannys, suspension work every 20k miles etcetcetc.
I have money for LS460, but i consider it superior ONLY externally (beautiful body). Internally it's much weaker, while containing almost 100% simillar function package (fairly compared to restyle LS430).

 

I had a 2001 and sold it at 137k and it's still running great! I now have an 02 with 70+k and its great! I'm on my 7th Lexus and although a car is a car......have no fear because you've chosen wisely!!

 

Not every LS will encounter these issues either. These are small irritants and thankfully the collective knowledge here is helpful in getting them taken care of. Playing the "what-if" scenario is hard. In general, Toyota builds a top shelf car that has proven itself durable.

The previous generation 1&2-LS, we're having discussions about 300K+ miles. This is a very good indicator of the potential the 3-LS has ahead.

 

I just bought an UL with 150k on it and I too have had those freak out moments. Aside from a blown ML amp, my car is perfect. These cars are built well! I worry sometimes about the toys, but a lot of them are not essential to the car and can be repaired in time. I am waiting on fixing the amp just because of the cost and I really don't need the radio. Nice to drive in a peaceful quiet car!

 

Yes no

To many to list

Bro i have an 04 with 173k biggest unscheduled problem was a flat tire 2 months ago.

This forum is really pristine for complaints most a self help forum. Check out BMW or Audi forums if you want long series of problems.

Try scotch, xanax or zoloft they will help, just kidding. Aside from it being over 10 years old you can expect few problems.

 

02 ul with 167,000 miles in the 4 yrs I've owned it I spend about 1200.00 on repairs that were needed 2 fuel injectors, drivers side front cat, rear wheel bearings, tune up(plugs only and one coil), rear sub . She running great suspension bushings are next. I really love this car becuase I never kept a car this long. Time to wipe her down then the wife rx. Its gonna be hard to find a car to match the 430.

 

Um, this a car forum where people come to complain and solve problems. Most owners without a problem never post here, if they even know we exist. Enjoy your car and forget Buicks. I've forgotten Cadillacs (and all other GM vehicles) and will NEVER go back.

 

Yes, you made a grave mistake if you think a nearly 12 year model year old car is going to be trouble free. Having driven Lexus LS cars as daily drivers for 22+ years, I can tell you that fairly "deep pockets" are required to keep them past their warranties if, like me, you want to keep everything working perfectly.

It's certainly not as bad as with the Mercedes cars I drove for the previous 20 years but maintaining a Lexus LS and especially a UL or any LS with air suspension isn't cheap. Put this in perspective. Even if you spend a couple of thousand $$$ per year on maintenance and repairs, what else are you going to buy that comes close to the total cost of ownership of an LS?

 

My opinion is that if you maintain the elite brand Japanese cars (Acura, infinity and Lexus) and you drive them gently in non-snowbelt part of the country, they will literally last longer than you will.

I have driven various Lexus and/or Acura products for 23 years and I think I have had 4 repairs in all that time..in fact I can remember each because true repairs are so rare. Had a rear main seal fail, a radiator with pinhole leak, an AT line springing a leak, and an ABS master cylinder failing - - radiator leak and AT line repairs were trivial $, rear main seal was $800 repair, but the ABS master was a shocking $2500 repair so I traded that car (1989 Acura Legend) rather than repair it as it was 10 years old with high miles, that's it for repairs (obviously not counting brakes, batteries, belts, TB/water pump, etc) for multiple cars over apprx 320k miles.

 

You bought a car with 120k and expect it to go to 200k without minor issues?

This is supposed to be one of the most reliable cars and should give you less issues than most other cars with similar miles, but one must expect things to act up with high mileage cars....comes with the territory IMO

 

You'll be alright, all the "problems" you described will happen to any car 10+ years old, most of the time sooner. My telescope went out and I have yet to mess with it but I hear that's an easy fix and I can do it myself. I have an 04 UL and it's just smooth and when I clean her up everyone gets the OOO's and Ah's about it, lol. You made a good choice.

 

Cars will have there problem, its how you take care of your car to try and prevent problems from happening. Best of luck with your new LS.