Where're 2010 RX350s made in?
02-24-11, 07:02 PM
#46
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I purchased a 2011 RX350 in December and it was built in Japan. VIN started with a 'J' and label inside door said built in Japan. Long story but dealer scratched car and gave me a new one which was built in Canada and VIN started with a '2' and label inside said built in Canada by Lexus of Canada.
I've have to report back any differences, but my Japan built one had a door rattle on the passenger side that the dealer was unable to resolve.
I've have to report back any differences, but my Japan built one had a door rattle on the passenger side that the dealer was unable to resolve.
02-24-11, 07:29 PM
#47
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I would attribute that to the fact that your canadian model was built after the japanese one, and therefore any issues would be resolved during the production process.
03-01-11, 10:22 PM
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As far as I know, all Ultra Premium Pkg RX's are built in Japan. As well as all Hybrid models are from Japan as well. Some RX350's are from Canada and some are from Japan just depends on your luck that's all. LOL..... mine's was built in Japan. And honest to say that RX350's is the only Lexus that is built outside of Japan. The rest of the line up are made in Japan unlike most other European SUV's are designed and built in USA.
03-02-11, 02:04 PM
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We just picked up a 2011 RX350 pretty much loaded 2 weeks ago that was built in Canada and so far so good. Great fit and finish. Very happy with it. I worked for Datsun back in the 70's & 80's and when they started building some of the cars & trucks in USA the results were not good compared to the ones built in Japan. That was then and hopefully things are better now.
03-03-11, 07:26 AM
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Its not only the Canadian build RX350 that has rattle problems, the whole Lexus line up have rattle problems. I remember my 1st Lexus 10 years ago, that thing was build like a tank. I bought it used and drove it for another 3 years and no rattles at all. I am not sure what is causing all the rattles in my recent Lexus designs, rather it is cheaper material, cheaper fasteners or simply poor designs, Lexus need to spend some engineering manpower on this problem before it gets out of hand.
03-03-11, 10:51 AM
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One thing good about Lexus is their warranty service. Most German cars will not even fix any rattle after the 1st year. My 08 GS350 had the same cowl rattle you have, I am suprise Lexus havent pay more attention to rattle in the front cowl area. They know the problem exist from pass experience and yet they did not learn from it. This is a sign that the company itself is getting too big, much like GM of yearter-years. The 450H is a nice car and the cowl rattle is a easy fix. Have a talk with Lexus headquarter and explain to them how many times you been to the dealer for the same rattle. You paid extra for great customer service when you bought a Lexus, you should take advantage of it.
I've a good mechanic for post warranty service, he's cheaper than the dealers but still not cheap.
The Lexus tech specifically mentioned the GS's notorious cowl rattle, That's most likely why he made a bee line to the 450's cowl, I couldn't believe how it was so loose, you could see it move and hear it squeak as it was being pressed on, pretty ridiculous if you think about it, it's a Lexus!? Haven't reached perfection quite yet. He also said he's only ever seen 2 RX's that did this and neither was a hybrid model, so hopefully mine is an anomaly. Being lexus's best seller, you'd think QA would be more rigorous. It does drive quite nicely and is very comfortable. Fix the rattle and all will be as it should.
Maybe with all the disasters last year for Toyota and Lexus(recalls) and poor Lexus sales #'s, they will hunker down and regain their past focus and mojo. They got to the top once, they know how to do it, it's just how badly do they want it back.
Service has been nice and helpful so far, this is the 2nd shot they have at fixing the rattle, I'll give them another chance before I complain to corporate.
03-03-11, 01:56 PM
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We had a Audi Q5 that had a pretty bad rattle problem in the head liner, the Audi dealer would not even look at it without a diagnostic fee since the car was more than 1 years old. A friend of mine also had a number of rattles in his BMW 335xi. So its not really a German vs. Japanese thing, since the RX is not really known to have rattle problems, its more like the luck of the draw if your RX rattles or not. I also notice that the Lexus service is about the same price as the Germans as far as schedule maintenance is concerned.
I would ask the dealer to replace the front cowl, Lexus have a lot of problems with clips and fasteners recently, poor QC by their vendors I suppose.
Lexus' main focus is not where it should be. Instead of perfecting their exist models, most of their engineering manpower is going toward new models. They should really look at the company's bread and butter products like the RX and improve upon it continuiously instead of fixing it on a case by case basis.
I would ask the dealer to replace the front cowl, Lexus have a lot of problems with clips and fasteners recently, poor QC by their vendors I suppose.
Lexus' main focus is not where it should be. Instead of perfecting their exist models, most of their engineering manpower is going toward new models. They should really look at the company's bread and butter products like the RX and improve upon it continuiously instead of fixing it on a case by case basis.
I'm partial to BMW's because we've had them since I was a kid, but we always had a japanese car as the quiet and dependable one. I agree with your bread and butter statement as I mentioned the RX is their best seller.
The tech did mention clips being designed poorly. They called me and said they insulated the cowl and want to keep it overnight and test again, I've never seen a cowl on any car that flexes like mine. I'll let them try their way before demanding them change it out completely.
To stay competitive with the rest of the industry, Lexus needs to keep up with new models from other manufacturers, that means bringing out new models. However, they also need to improve upon existing models in between complete makeovers. Since you say there is no known RX rattle issue then they can only fix these problems on a case by case basis. Did Lexus ever issue a TSB for the rattle in your GS, did they ever finally fix the rattles?
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