hacker_720

Let me start by saying I am a certified Toyota and Lexus fanboy, my very first car was a 1984 Toyota Supra, then a Celica GT4. I’ve owned 8 Toyota and Lexus vehicles over the last 15 or so years and I’m only 34. About a year ago I was finally able to afford my dream car, a Lexus LS. My previous daily driver was a 2013 Lexus GS350, and somehow I got one with a bad transmission, within the first 6 months Lexus has to replace the transmission, which took 8 weeks, afterwards there was an ongoing vibration issue that took more than 12 months to fix, it was at the dealership many, many times. During those issues Lexus corporate wouldn’t do anything to compensate me and would not take the car back. After the initial 1.5 years the car was reliable and wonderful for the next 3.5 years. During that time I also had a 2017 Tundra 1794 which was absolutely bulletproof, if not very old tech.

Fast forward to about a year ago and I traded in the GS350 and Tundra for a 2018 LS500 demo model, which I took deliver on Jan 2019. In the last year I have had the below issues with the car:

JAN 19 2019 - Begin Lease
FEB 7 2019 - Wiper blade replacement
FEB 26 2019 - Transmission problems (TSB)
FEB 26 2019 - Throttle input delay (Unsolved)
MAR 18 2019 - Low engine oil warning (TSB)
APR 15 2019 - Driver seat massage failure
MAY 6 2019 - Runflat tire recall
AUG 23 2019 - Brake rotor replacement due to vibration
AUG 23 2019 – Passenger door rattle repair
SEP 11 2019 - Fuel door stuck closed – repaired/replaced
OCT 2 2019 – Parking assist failure warning while on the highway
OCT 19 2019 - Passenger seat massage failure
OCT 19 2019 - Brake issues - air in the lines
OCT 28 2019 - Brake repair unsuccessful waiting on parts…
OCT 29 2019 – Contact Lexus and expressed I am not happy with the car.
JAN 3 2020 – Brakes and seat repaired
JAN 4 2020 - RCD / PKSB is ‘unavailable’ – cleaning the lens did not fix it. Went away after several days.
JAN 5 2020 – Outstanding issues – throttle input delay, shift bump, several electrical glitches
MAR 10 2020 – Offer from Lexus dealership for a $6000 discount off a new lease

Lexus corporate is not willing to do anything to help, not even a discount or extended warranty. They said the car is ‘fixed’ and the throttle input delay and shift bump are ‘normal.

Of course the timing is less than ideal with the current state of the world, and I almost forget about my car troubles most days, but if there is anywhere to vent my frustrations its here.

shinonclub

Sorry to hear that your leased LS had all these issues. Well, all I can say is that my new 2018 LS 500 purchased in May of 2018 has had NO issues, except for replacing the runflats because of the recall. This is my 4th LS in the last 18 years; same high quality in this latest generation of LS, but much more interesting to drive and more plush and stylish interior.

Wandl

Hacker sorry to hear that - what are your options for recourse at this point? Is the selling dealer (who would want to keep you on as a customer) able to escalate with Lexus corporate?
I personally have a rule never to get a first-year-model but Lexus/Toyota has usually bucked that trend....

Tundra reliability - my wife and I were super-close on pulling the trigger for a 19 Sequoia but just couldn't stand the tech; agree none of the fancy bells & whistles would prove more reliable but paying >$60k to "settle" proved hard to overcome.

Benoit

Sorry to hear that too.

I came to Lexus for the excellent quality of the car. Wasn't disappointed until now and how it will stay so.

It's extremely frustrating when a car doesn't work properly. More when the car is an expensive one.

LexusFanUS

That sucks. I just traded my Tesla after 5 years on a 2018 LS500. So far it's got a few small issues and I'm staying away from the dealer due to COVID. The impossibility of getting good timely service from Tesla was enough to finally drive me away (among other reasons).

When you say seat massage failure, did it stop working? Or did you just hear some faint air hissing sound?

Personally I'd take the lease discount and get a new LS500 but that's just me. I've owned many different brands of vehicles from Jeep, Ford, Toyota, Lexus, Tesla and others. It's really going to depend on which brand you switch to as to whether you'll have reliability or not. Genesis yes, Chevy, no, for example.

I bet those are all related. Tires replaced, lug nuts not torqued correctly & evenly can warp brake rotors. Then during that job maybe they got air in the lines? Doesn't really matter now but properly torquing lug nuts is important.
What are the "several electrical glitches" exactly?​

​​​​​​The throttle input delay is pretty normal for many new cars, especially with turbos. My dad has a Ford Escape EcoBoost and his throttle lag (turbo lag) is way worse than my LS500. If you don't want throttle input delay buy an older car LOL, I drove my old AMC Eagle around the other day (project car) and the throttle response was instant thanks to the cable that goes directly to the engine LOL.

The shift bump... I have limited knowledge here but I suspect you drive the car in a fairly spirited manner? There's a lot of gears in the trans so it needs time to shift down.

faifai83

What was the issue with the wiper blade?

If your car is a lease, it's no big deal as you can always return it at the end of 3 years yes?

Nospinzone

Fortunately you leased it instead of buying it. Certainly a problem could be that it was a demo model. Presumably the dealer let potential customers take it for a day or a weekend and who knows how they drove it.

hacker_720

It actually makes me feel better that you've had no issues, maybe mine are solved now.

hacker_720

They've been chasing Lexus corporate for several months with no support, they just don't care. I think I'll avoid first year cars in the future.

hacker_720

I was deciding between a Model S and the LS, a close friend has the Model S and has had lots of problems with it so I went with the Lexus.
Faint hissing sounds from driver, then passenger
The dealer is only offering a $6000 discount off a new lease, which would make my new lease considerably more because of the ~$20K of negative equity.
I've been doing some searching and it looks like other brands care even less about their customers
I agree the brake issues are probably all related, still very annoying
There's been lots of problems with all the safety features, parking warnings on the highway, false positives all the time for pedestrian detection, systems just not working sometimes for no apparent reason.
I HATE the input delay, it's not turbo lag, it's the transmission, if I drive in manual mode there is no problem, but it auto there is sometimes a 2-3 second delay from pushing on the accelerator to actually accelerating, there have been a few close calls in roundabout or left hand turns on busy streets.
I do drive it aggressively, but the 'shift bump' is from drive to reverse, which I just live with, it's not a big deal to wait a second while parking, sometimes it also 'clunks' into first if I'm decelerating very slowly.

hacker_720

They were leaving steaks all over the windshield, I think they were damaged from the ice from sitting outside as a demo car. Its strange, but it's one of the things that bugs me the most about this car, the wipers suck, the GS350 had amazing wipers, perfectly clean every time, great spray pattern. The LS has the nozzles in the arm and for some reason they are just really bad and it drives me crazy.

Yes it's a lease, 45 months remaining....

hacker_720

I agree, I assumed the target clientele would be respectful of the car while driving it, but perhaps it was mistreated. I may try a lease takeover, I got a good deal on it and my lease is below market, but I'll have to wait for the world to start spinning again.

P.S. Nice car collection.

LexusFanUS

I still own another Model S (2018 P100D with Ludicrous). Do not buy one! Tesla is very focused on sales & impressing would-be and new customers. Customer service and communication are not their strong points, it will grate on you when you get service (you will need service/repairs). If you really want a Tesla I would only recommend the Model 3 because it seems to be the most trouble-free model they have (overall). Avoid the Model X unless you live next door to a service centre (although they have worked out a lot of bugs on them you will absolutely need repairs a few times per year). The windshield is very expensive and hard to replace if it gets cracked too. The S is quite outdated, this is coming from someone who owned 2 and sold one. They are talking about refreshing it later this year (Plaid version) but I would still stay away, much of the car is old tech. The 3 is a big downgrade from a Lexus LS though! If you really want a Tesla I don't recommend you take on the long term ownership problems (i.e. lease, don't buy). I went one year out of warranty on my S and couldn't take it anymore. Leasing is not available where I live or I would have considered that.
When I test drove my LS it had a clunk when shifting between R & D but it hasn't done it since. FWIW.

dsc07

There is a TSB for that shift bump. I had it too, and the TSB fixed it. Tell your service rep to look again.

hacker_720

Thanks, makes me feel a little better that maybe I still made the right call.