ron36330

Gentleman;
The 03 car issue of Consumer Reports rates the SC 430 as "average" in reliability. Aside from the "run-flat" issue, I would appreciate your comments on the reliability of your SC 430 and any problems you may have had.
I personnaly own an 03 SC 430 and have had zero problems. It would seem to me that the SC should be rated higher than "average". I realize this will not be a scientific survey, but I am curious as to what your experiences have been. I ask this only out of curiosity and because there is probably the largest population of SC owners anywhere reading this site.
Thanks to any that care to comment.
Ron

Larry

Ron,

Here's a brief story on my experience with Consumers Guide.

Back in 1998 I read the review on the Mitsu VR4 3000GT in their annual "CAR GUIDE". One section said it was a fine car and highly recommended. Another section rated it poorly in the reliability column and yet a third section referred to it as "not" a true sports enthusiasts car, but very fast and almost problem free with great handling (AWD, twin turbo, all wheel steering, six speed trannny, etc.)

I was quite confused since I was planning on buying one so I called the editor. I got some PR rep on the phone and asked him why the conflicting views appeared on the same book. His response was "well......the articles are written by different people and they don't always agree or compare notes".

With that I said "Huh ??".......and haven't read a single issue since.

I never trust professional reveiws. Instead, I read forums like this one and hear the truth from everyday owners.

Captain Bone

Wow. Remind me never to pick up that magazine ever again then. Good job on finding out that information. Why wouldn't they compare notes? Very half ***

-Anthony

dseag2

Ron,

In answer to your original question... '03 SC430, 9500 miles, 6 mos. old... absolutely no problems.

DSeag2

Gojirra99

Haven't driven mine(2003) much, only 3300 km/2000 miles, but no problems so far.

This CR rating is based on the '02 (first year) model, which have some suspension problems, etc,that are already fixed.

The IS300 model was also rated average in a past issue but is given the top rating in reliability in the current issue of CR.

js45

FYI "Consumer Reports" are "Consumers Guide" are two different magazines and organizations. "Consumer Reports" is an independent, non-profit consumer group that bases their reliability ratings on the feedback of tens of thousands of subscriber surveys. "Consumers Guide", on the other hand, is an advertiser-supported, for-profit business that conducts its own "research". Make sure you know which one you are referring to as they clearly have different missions.

ron36330

Gents;
The magazine I am questioning is "Consumer REPORTS" Annual Auto Issue dated April 2003.
Specifically, pages 62, 86 and 97.
I do believe the answer may lie in the response given by itamaukau that stated the survey was based on 02 models that had the suspension bushing problems.
I do believe the people that use this site are probably the most informed, intelligent and polite surfers I have met on any site. It is truly a pleasure dealing with all of you.
Ron

dchesanek

Lets say Consumer Reports was accurate. Average is not bad for a complete re-design in its first year of production, maybe not typical Lexus quality but not bad considering there are cars that have been in production for years that are still rated below average and actually some pretty expensve cars at that.
Second I would question the data. If Consumer Reports rely on owner feedback the people that have problems will complain, the people that don't will not. Probably the only way to get accuate data is from random sampling, at least you will get the good and the bad. My SC430 is now almost 2 years old, 20,000 miles and the only problem was the bushing replacement,which is kind of an improvement rather than a defect.

iamcdn

Just to add to this link, I have had my used SC430 for four months and now
have 16000 miles. The car is amazing and the quality / reliability has been
excellent. The only issue is the ecru leather seats. The driver seat leather
surface was replaced under warranty, costing Lexus $3000 CDN. I was
fortunate that this Lexus Certified Used car came with extended warranty, so
my dealer went ahead with this expence...no questions asked.

But to respond to the Consumer Report info, check out Auto Spies recent report
stating that the 2003 JD Powers put our SC430's as tops in initial relabilty.
Auto Spies has great info on Lexus, BMW and Mercedes!
http://www.imakenews.com/autospies

imcdn
2002 SC430 blue, ecru

helper

I am totally confused by their rating. Each individual section, from hardware to suspension is at least a 1/2 red circle-better than average, then they list it as average. I find this very confusing, almost a contradiction. Am I reading something wrong?

SCamp

I've had my 2002 sc430 since Nov & have only driven ~1200 of the 3700 miles on the car. This is not meant as a whine or a rant, just a review of my experiences in the past 4 months.

The rear bushings had not been fixed on my car, bought used from the dealer, even though the problem was well-documented. I noticed it (to be polite) at the first speed bump, before I even found this website (thanks to CL for having the info!). 2 days in the shop, which also included clear nose bra, door edges, and interior protection.

The runflats don't count as a reliability issue, despite my views - if anything, I've gone for less reliability. Still, lousy tire choice, and another day in the shop.

My amplifier died & had to be replaced. Now, I normally wouldn't rate an amplifier very high, but Lexus made the sound system of this car a major selling point and charged accordingly, and fixing it required two visits of a day each, with a week-long wait for the special order on the amp to be filled. Also, driving 200 miles home with no sound system made me realize this car, though quieter than most, is by no means peaceful (top up) at highway speeds.

I also got a "5k service notice" about 10 days after the amplifier was fixed, making me aware that although Lexus keeps a database on every service call, somebody wasn't paying attention. Think a minute before you reply that this could have been "x months OR 5k miles", which it almost certainly was -- why wouldn't they just do it while the car was in - twice? They want me to bring it back?

I have a couple of intermittent squeaks from the rear pillar and the doors, which I described to the dealer, but they have not been fixed.

Absolutely no problems of any kind with the saddle interior, even after some raindrops, but I did treat the leather.

The Nav system is incredible. Only problem is that I live & mostly drive in terra incognita ("there be dragons"), and need rural Oregon & Washington to be mapped in detail.

Engine, transmission and drivetrain are impeccable. I get ~25mpg cruising at <60mph, dropping to ~22mpg at 70mph. Driving around town gets rather painful, dropping below 13mpg with typical stop-n-go. That last fact keeps me from using this for errands, because it feels like every third trip ends up at a gas station (well, not quite true - I know better than to putter about in a V8 without expecting that I'll have to pay more in maintenance costs down the road). Overall, I get about 20mpg, mostly on weekend cruising backroads & highways.

Several trips to the dealer have provided opportunities to drive ES, RX and IS models, none of which have really impressed me. I suppose part of my problem is elevated expectations: I have a Subaru Forester that whistles and rattles like a child's toy, but new it was <1/3 the cost of the Lexus, came with the pleasant surprise of a huge sunroof, and has had no problems as a daily commuter for 2 years; I have a 4-banger Honda Accord that I can almost outrun, it has no CD player and only a mediocre radio, but it has also had no problems, requiring only standard maintenance and replacing windsheld wipers over 40k miles. Neither is nearly as nice as the sc430, but the two combined have provided fewer disappointments - that is, they do exactly what I expected of them. I chose the sc430 over its competitors because I don't want to have the car in the shop: so, on some measure, however unfairly, I would call the sc430 "less reliable" than either the Forester or the Accord (on sample sizes of 1 each, of course). I still like the sc430, and the dealership is polite and professional, but, sorry to say, I'm not convinced I would buy another Lexus.

Larry

No Helper, you're not reading it wrong. Take a look at my earlier post.