genebelor

So, is that a DIY job? does anybody have a writeup?

Hiruko

Well, my story ended much more happliy, thank goodness. Thanks to the urging of folks on this board, especially the tragically wheel-les Lexus driver above , I took my car in and had these replaced.

$408.72 and a half day later, not only do I have peace of mind, but my car rides tighter, smoother, and that horrible squeaking noise is completely gone.

Thanks so much for the info guys. This kind of information sharing is hugely valuable!

-H

johnbowes

Our nearest Lexus Dealer is 90 miles away in Kansas City, and they were polite, but absolutely wouldn't consider working with me on repairs. They invited me to tow the car over (at my expense)...and although I realize they are separate franchises, I asked, "Why would you suggest I pay to have my car towed 90 miles when we have a great Toyota dealership here in Topeka, just a few miles away?" And she responded, "So that it can be repaired with original Lexus parts by a trained Lexus mechanic!" ..shessh...it's the original "Lexus parts" I'm concerned about here!

UDel

Did you contact Lexus corporate about your problem? You would need to do that for an out of warranty repair and corporate needs to know about this ongoing problem with our cars. I believe the number is 1-800-25-LEXUS. I would also write them and tell them this is a much bigger problem then just your experience and it is unacceptable that this is happening especially from a company like Lexus. They have more then enough money to properly address this problem and the excuse that it is an older model or out of warranty so it is not their responsibility is not a valid in this situation. They probrably are not going to try to address this problem until people get killed or seriously hurt and it starts making national headlines. If enough people complain then maybe they will feel they are better off just addressing it instead of ignoring it.

johnbowes

Yes, we contacted both the local dealership and Lexus Corp....had I received any satisfaction, other than, "...sorry you had that experience, but we have no open campaigns on your model, etc."... we would not be in the process of contacting Lexus Corporate/Toyota of North America currently via two different avenues; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - Office of Investigations; and the Kansas Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection.

John B.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

You would expect buying a car that was marketed for $50k that it wouldn't fall apart on you. Even a Toyota Corolla with 300k miles has a better chance of running around the world without balljoint problems

Kbueno

Sounds like a canned response. I think if you pressed enough and kept elevating to higher people, you may (and I say may) be able to get some compensation. But there's no way they will pay for the whole thing.

As far as service at Toyota...I went there for service because they are 40 miles closer. Cheaper and just as good, one of the service technicians used to work at a lexus dealership

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

LOL at lexus parts considering it'll say Genuine Toyota parts on the label!


I guess thats where Toyota/Lexus makes their profit.

dqb3000

i've noticed from reading the entire thread, that this only happens to gs400's. i have a 99 gs3 and i think i might have this problem too. when i'm driving slow or driving in traffic, i notice the driver's side chirps when i tilt the steering wheel to the left...does this mean that my ball joints is going out too? sometimes i hear it when going straight...what i don't understand is how does the ball joint make noises when the wheel is spinning? but while its chirping i just tap the brakes and the sound it gone? it makes that sound like the brakes are out but i checked it out and its fine! someone please explain all this to me, thank you!!!

BLAZE

iTrader: (2)

First of all I'm not bashing anyone, but unless u have really low miles on your car, what is the problem? A ball joint in any car is a wearable item and it is up to the owner to service their car routinely. Ford,Chevy, Honda.....etc. You are alway's responsible for your car's maintenance. How long can a manufacturer guarantee a wearable part? Especially if u live in "pot-hole" city? I went through this same problem, but at the same time I also knew at higher mileage I need to do repairs ( preventative maintenance) even though the car felt o.k. I'm glad nobody was hurt, but we need to be more educated about our cars. Just because it's a "lexus" and such doesn't cut it. Let this thread be a lesson, if u got 100k u need to change some parts ...period.

johnbowes

Would agree with your premise that owning a Lexus does not exclude someone from doing maintenace...but I also think you are missing a major point being made here...this isn't about worn out parts, this is about mechnical failure on ball joints that perhaps just weren't made very well. I mean Toyota didn't recall Lower Ball joints in 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, etc., because they were concerned that customers wouldn't do their maintenance to their vehicles my friend. These parts were sub-standard losing their sealed lubricant and failing. I have a 50 year old Jeepster (1949) still running well with the original lower ball joints...sure do love those old time grease zirks!

BLAZE

iTrader: (2)

I agree with u somewhat, but the fact of the matter still remains, We are driving a 98 car and the year is 2007. Thing's are bound to fail. As far as the 93-97 gen gs and their re-call, I was unaware. I also owned a 95 gs3 and put 129,000 hard N.Y.C. miles on it without fail. I am just saying, we the new owner's, should know if a car is out of warranty, we are responsible for item's that are wearable. My car felt smooth as silk too, but I knew it was old and had some miles on it, therefore I changed wearable item's that would possible leave me stranded or might cause injury. Not saying the fault is 100% consumer, but we can't also blame the manufacturer either.

BLAZE

iTrader: (2)

Also, I am sorry for your accident. Glad everyone was o.k.

Kbueno

You've seen the pics in this thread, right? Catastrophic failure of the balljoint is dangerous. In general, when balljoints begin to wear out there are signs: bad alignment, noises, clicks, etc., but some in this forum have had none of these symptoms prior to failure. This is definitely not the norm....never heard of a balljoint completely breaking off like this....scary. In the end, it is up to the owner to properly maintain their vehicle, but you think Lexus would put a bulletin up about it.

UDel

The problem is that this is not just an issue of routine maintenance because ball joints in cars are not supposed to be failing like this in cars with over 90K miles. Also when a ball joint failure on this car because of poor design occurs it causes catastraphic damage to the suspension and loss of control of car which can lead to a very serious accident. Every car that my family or I have owned has never once had any kind of ball joint issue and our cars had well over 100K miles and even over 200K miles. These were pretty inexpensive cars too. I have never really heard of anyone I have talked to having a ball joint failure or needing to replace them. Needing to replace your ball joints on the Lexus GS at around 100K to avoid a failure that will lead to thousands of dollars worth of damage and a possible life threatening accident is totally unacceptable from any car company especially Lexus. Replacing ball joints is not just routine maintenance. Routine maintenance is oil changes, trans fluid changes, radiator flush, replacing burned out lightbulbs, belt changes, tune-ups, brakes, tires, etc. The suspension peices in a car should be built to last well over 200K miles. The reason this ball joint is failing is because of a faulty poor design that needs to be addressed by Lexus not just because it is just some routine thing you change them out every 90-100K miles. I have talked to several mechanics and they say that ball joints replacement/failure is something they hardly ever see in cars with under 250K miles and they should really outlast the life of the car and should not need changing unless the car is heavily abused.