dagangdou

Hi folks,

Recently there are some issues happened to the head-up display (HUD) module of my 2017 RX350, and I would like to conclude this sad story.

As shown in the pictures, the HUD module has some display issues and cannot work properly, it happened during my trip from California to Texas when I was on the road, the setup speed of the cruise & the speed limit could not be shown by this screen disorder.

The worse thing is that it was the independent weekend (07/03) and I could not find any open dealership around me, I knew the warranty will expire at 50k miles, so I took the picture to prove that the issue happened within the warranty and continue to drive to Austin.

The first thing I did when I arrived in Austin is to go to the Lexus of Austin on 07/06 and let them know the problem; they helped me to file the warranty claim even the mileage is out of the 50k miles because of my special situation, and later sadly told me the case was rejected by Lexus USA.

So I called Lexus USA and they just simply said "it was the final decision from Lexus USA because this is their rule", I felt kinda disappointed because I used to trust(and the main reason to buy this car) Lexus's reputation of reliability, warranty, customer service, etc.

If this problem happens after 50k miles I will simply accept the bad luck and repair it by myself, but in this special case, I feel that I have to speak it out to let people know it. According to my previous experience, even the insurance company will help their customers to solve the claim if the insurance has expired but the issue happened during the insurance valid period.

I think potentially Lexus USA feels this is not a big issue and won't affect their customer relationship at all and yes probably they are right. I used to think about buying an LS but now I give up and will go for some other brands instead.

Thanks a lot for the long reading of this story, BTW the problem is still there, which I think is potentially due to some internal air conditioning water and sealing problem(I tried to erase the top of module tons of time already..), sometimes the disordered area is big and sometimes it is small.

RXWes

What was your special situation?

Also can you name another car brand. That would even have tried to get corporate to pay for a repair after the factory warranty expired?

Also it’s this exact reason I always purchase the Platinum warranty. And have it on the vehicle as long as I own it.

I sleep better at night. For the 1200 dollars for two years of car repair insurance. Whatever happens you drop the keys on the dealership desk. And drive away with a loaner till they call you to come get it.

You have Lexus fan boys on this web page. Who declare every Lexus product is bulletproof. And you don’t need to spend the money for the extended warranty. But that has not been the case with any Lexus I’ve owned.

jglipman

I have noticed that Lexus seems to look for ways to not cover a problem. I have a 2019 RX-350L that has a problem with the bllnd spot monitoring system. The dealer and Lexus have decided that my system is "normal" at does not warrant any further looks. Lexus knows there is a problem and has a printout to tell you why it does not work. This is last Lexus. This car is my 4th Rx.

redhot47fl

His "special situation" is that his car malfunctioned within the warranty period, but he had no way to get it to a dealership for repair until shortly after he hit the mileage limit. Moreover, he wisely documented with photographic proof that the malfunction occurred within the warranty period.

Given these circumstances, Lexus absolutely should cover this repair. I would escalate this deeper into Lexus USA.

RXWes

Got it.

Another reason to have the extended warranty. Two years of Platinum is about 1200 dollars. Or 1.64 a day.

PhxBill

Indeed, I would escalate this further. A written letter (via good old snail mail) may help, sometimes that carries more weight than a phone call or email, though I don’t know where or who to address it to…

dagangdou

Thanks for the reading, yes I always buy the extended warranty after the original one expires, the special situation is that it happened when the mileage is 48,900mi(the warranty does not expire yet by that time), and it was on the Independent weekend that no dealership is open and physically close to me.

Basically I think with the picture proof they could consider it as "covered by warranty", I also used to trust it as a blueprint but the issue right before the warranty expiration and their attitude actually changed my mind.

dagangdou

Agreed, kinda sad that this brand is trying to ruin the great reputation of their warranty and reliability. The blind-spot monitoring system is kinda a safety-related feature that should never have any problem with. I do think they should collect those malfunctioned modules, test them and learn from those failures.

dagangdou

Thanks for the reading, yes I agree a mail could be better.. I will try to find out the address to send the mail, their phone representative is so rude and just told me this is the final decision

dagangdou

Thanks for the explanation, yes I think it is worth the repair even it is fine for me to drive without this module.. I will do my best to escalate to see if they have any chance to cover it and will update later! For now I will just turn it off to avoid the annoying picture on the window for now

websurfer

Sorry to hear this issue.

Probably go back to the local dealer and see if you can negotiate the price down to get it fixed.

dagangdou

Thanks for the advice! I think it takes around $1,500 to get it fixed, will try my best to see if I could negotiate it down a little bit

websurfer

Also, I had other vehicles in the past, once I noticed the bill was big, I would negotiate to see if they can lower the parts cost or shop the job around with other dealers. I would say other garages but I'm not sure if they have all the tools to fix it though.

Dhaka

Corporate Lexus' stellar reputation is long gone. I had a couple of dealings with Lexus Customer Service in the recent past, not what it used to be 15 years ago.

jrobe

You are a dream come true for a car salesman and for Lexus. There is nothing they love better than customers who buy the extended warranties, especially the longest ones. Of course, there are some people who will come out ahead but Lexus knows full well that the odds are far in their favor on that bet.