Is Brake Calipers

[Matthew_McNally]

There have been several threads recently, regarding the state of peoples brake calipers.

To summarise, there are several of us with very nasty looking brake calipers.

Guitareth kindly posted pictures of his.

mine are very similar - my car being 12 months / 26k miles old.

We are also hearing stories of Lexus passing this off as "routine wear and tear" and refusing to remedy the situation under warranty.

So this is where we bring the collective power of the members off the Lexus Owners Club to bear. We have a lot of members, and most of them drive IS's.

So I would like to address several questions to the LOC Collective - and would really appreciate as many IS owners as possible responding in this thread.

1 - Do your IS brake calipers look like this?

If the answer to this is "No" - can let us know how old your car is, and the approximate mileage.

If the answer is "Yes" - the similarly the age and mileage of the car, but also how age / mileage you noticed this (if possible)

2 - Have you taken this up with your dealer?

If so - when did you take it up with them?

3 - If you have what was the response.

We have heard in the forums of people who have had these situation remedied, and others who have been refused.

If this is the case, and people have previously had replacements under warranty, but others are now being refused, then I will want to know when Lexus degraded their warranty support for these items.

If you have had them replaced, then I may ask your for your name, address, dealer name etc - but we'll handle all that later if need me by pm. Please don't publish your name and address on these public forums.

If you own an IS - please take the time to answer these questions, we need as much experience of the problem as possible.

We can then use this as ammunition if needed to resolve this situation.

I took my car into the dealership last week, they took photos and are going to pass them to Lexus.

As long as you guys will support me with the answers to these questions as evidence, then I will take the matter up with Lexus to try and get it resolved.

How does that sound erverybody?

[wildrnes]

yes

47k

ages ago

not said anything to lex

out of warenty

[JOHNNY-BOY]

Car is 14 months old, covered 11k miles.

Calipers started to "go off" around December time.

Went to the dealer (Leicester) week before last, told them the score. Reply was ok will talk to Lexus and get you a set of replacements. Few days later got a call to tell me Lexus GB won't replace as this is normal wear & tear. Am going to write to Lexus GB reference this I am very unhappy at the way my calipers are looking, they let the whole appearance of the car down IMO.

[Claire G]

Yes.

Only just twigged that this isn't meant to be - only checked because of the thread.

I've done 29,500 miles.

I'm going to the dealership soon about my alloys, I take it now is a good time to talk about the calipers too....

:(

[andyhart21]

Mine look like that, I have done 18.5K, not taken it up with dealer yet.

[UKPulse]

- Yes, calipers on my 2002 IS200SE started showing signs of deterioration last October, the car was just 9 months old at that point and had covered about 15K miles. By March, they were as bad as the picture above (and the alloys were actually a lot worse)!

- Mentioned this to my local dealer in Feb. They advised that the alloys would be replaced under warranty, and that they'd approach Lexus about the calipers on my behalf.

- Haven't pursued this as I've just p/x'ed the car for a '300 (yesterday!)

However, I shall watch the calipers on the new car very closely, and report any signs of deterioration.

[Brettster]

Yes they look like that on mine too

cars over 3 years old and done 56k

never really given it much thought until now

[Mitch]

i checked mine the other week when i read a similar thread and the rear calipers are very slightly showing white spots.

car is 6months and 9days old( ) done 4600 miles exactly

fronts are ok i think but will check properly when it comes out my garage on saturday

[AlienneilA]

Nope, mine is 16 monthes old and has about 13,000 miles, mine look like new still, don't know what to tell you, im in a place where it never snows and is regularly about 75 degrees...

[asinn]

maybe u guys should try paint it black or something with those heat resistance paint

i painted mine ages ago......... and there wasn't any white spot on the paint

[greeneyes]

Nope, mine look fine after 38000km and its a '99. In Auckland it rains a lot, but no snow so no salt on the roads.

[javadude]

car registered jan 2000

no prob by aug 2002 when I painted them. Now they look really good. B)

[kev dood]

1. I have an IS200SE Jan '01 and have the same problem, thought it was normal until saw threads saying it is not!! Car has now done about 15k, bought at 6k.

Noticed it pretty much from when I bought it (April 2002)!

2. Service due April so will mention it then - and the wheels!

3. Am hoping they will be ok, if not then would be very interested in how this current thread progresses.

Good luck everyone!

[RYX]

Mines an April 2002.

I noticed the spots around December (thought it was salt deposits etc). Mileage then was approx 9k

Am going to mention it at next service (along with the wheels!).

[Zee007]

Yes

55k

Dome time ago

Not mentioned it to Lexus

Out of warrenty

[rob200]

1 - Do your IS brake calipers look like this?

Yes - car is now 2 years old and has nearly done 20,000 miles. First noticed after 1 year / 10,000 miles

2 - Have you taken this up with your dealer?

Yes - after just over a year when I had my alloys and rear discs replaced I mentioned the state of the calipers (they were only slightly gone at this point).

3 - If you have what was the response.

"Normal wear and tear sir - I'll check on the computer" (tap, tap, tap on the keys) - "we can do the alloys and rear discs but not the calipers sir." I didn't push it 'cos I was glad of getting the wheels and discs without much hassle :)

[torrent]

Is this IS's only?

I have a GS, 52K miles, 2 years 2months old, and the calipers look awful. It was one of things I have noticed recently.

Frankly, I am not looking for them to be replaced if they would offer to paint and sticker them for free.

[guitareth]

Well Matthew you know my situation on this (!), but for completeness here's my answers:

1 - Do your IS brake calipers look like this? Yes (That's mine in the photos!!) Car is 1 year old, done 9,300 miles. Just noticed in last few weeks and wondered if it was normal. More I looked at it (and failed to clean off) more I was annoyed that this did not seem right for a car of this quality and age.

2 - Have you taken this up with your dealer? Yes, took it up with them 27 Feb 03.

3 - If you have what was the response. They said they'd contacted Lexus UK who had told them they would not be replaced under warranty as it was considered normal wear and tear. I have since e-mailed Lexus UK Customer Relations along with copies of my photos. I await their response.

[kernow]

Not yet - However the way the wheels are going I don't hold out much hope.

4 months old with 4.5K miles.

[Gus Woodcock]

1. Yes

2. About three weeks ago

3. 17000 miles

4. Taken up with dealer

5. Response: That is how the alloy goes( didn't know they were alloy), but we will replace all the wheels for you.

[guitareth]

An update. Lexus UK Cust Service phoned me back last week. Stephen Hinshelwood confirmed they have looked at my photos, and discussed it with warranty department. The outcome is that they have stated that my calipers will definitely NOT be repaired under warranty. Lexus see this as a "cosmetic" issue and are indeed treating this as "normal wear and tear". I told him I was very disappointed in their attitude, but it was clear they will not back down.

However, he did say that they were willing to pay for half the cost of my replacing all 4 calipers. I asked how much they were and he said £240 each! As I pointed out, if they do not see this as a defect that needs to be fixed, then I could get them all replaced, spending £480 myself (probably plus labour - that wasn't mentioned!) and in a few months time I'll no doubt find I've got similarly corroded calipers! Said I'd think about his offer, but very doubtful for that reason.

Having thought about it a bit longer, I'm convinced I would indeed be wasting my money paying £500+ to replace them as without any change to the product design I'll just be back at this point within the next few months. I therefore decided to ask whether, as a compromise, they would be willing to have my dealership PAINT the calipers for me. I dont have the time to paint them myself, but perhaps a paint job with hammerite or similar might be more resilient, and if I can get my dealership to paint them when the car's in to get my alloys replaced, then that may be a better solution.

Phoned back Lexus UK Cust Service yesterday, suggesting they get my local dealer to paint my calipers instead. They said this could be done, but it would cost £240 to paint the 4 calipers, for which he again said they'be only be willing to pay half. I said I thought they should pay it all, especially as this would now cost them less than the £480 they were prepared to pay towards replacement of my calipers, but they wouldn't budge!

I was so stunned that I just said I'd think about it and get back to him, but having had time to take it in, I'm really annoyed at their attitude. Maybe £120 isn't too bad for me to get my calipers painted, but its the principle of having to pay at all, for something I believe to be an unacceptable defect, that is ****** me off!

What's the views of the other members on this issue and how Lexus Customer service are responding? Is there any other course of action open to me on this matter?

(By the way, up to now, I've avoided posting the details of my discussions with Lexus Customer Support on this forum, as I felt such discussions should remain private. However, as I feel I am not getting a satisfactory offer to resolve this matter I now feel I have to bring this to the attention of the members for your views.)

[Matthew_McNally]

As someone in the same position Gareth, I would have been happy to accept having the calipers "made good" by being painted.

The brakes themselves are not faulty in any way - its just cosmetic, this corrosion ruins the look of the car.

However, I would not expect to pay for this at all, I think that is atrocious.

I am becoming more and more disillusioned with Lexus, selling a car with calipers that look like crap in incredibly short order, shirking their duties in making them good, and my own experiences lately with my tracking / tyres make me feel very jaded.

I can certainly state, that at the moment, I would not buy another IS - defintely.

Whether I would buy another Lexus at all is debatable.

This is bad news for Lexus indeed, as this is coming from a man who has already been seriously thinking about whether to upgrade to an IS300 or GS300 when this one is up.

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Have you looked at the Warranty details to see if it excludes cosmetic ...... ??

I would like to think that LOC would be willing to talk to Lexus on your behalf and others, also it can't be good advertising for their cars ...... so failing all else BBC Watchdog, AA, RAC etc.....

If mine were like that I would certainly not be happy with their response/ offers and would want to persue it. If you bear in mind that 90% of joe public would have already given up on trying to get anything done ....... get an independent engineer to inspect and report and if favourable then small claims for parts, labour and costs ....

p.s. excluding the Lexus ( which I have had for less than 2 weeks ..... ) I have had successfully rejected 3 of the last 4 new cars I have purchased, and on one replacement had in excess of £6000 warranty work carried out.

[Matthew_McNally]

p.s. excluding the Lexus ( which I have had for less than 2 weeks ..... ) I have had successfully rejected 3 of the last 4 new cars I have purchased, and on one replacement had in excess of £6000 warranty work carried out.

I have often thought of trying this - but mine is twelve months old.

The car I test drove had a smooth as silk gear change, and looked the business.

The car I bought has had two or three different oils in it to try and correct the gear box - its the best its been at the moment, but still not as good as the one I test drove.

This gear change was one of the primary reasons I chose the car.

The salesperson who I bought it off never mentioned that within twelve months my car would look like **** because my brake calipers were corroding.

I have been lucky in not suffering from stone chips, but that is all - luck, don't think I have "super" paint.

[rob200]

Lexus see this as a "cosmetic" issue and are indeed treating this as "normal wear and tear".

Have Lexus not set a precedent by replacing their dodgy alloy wheels?

The wheels still functioned correctly (i.e. rotated :) ) - it was purely a "cosmetic" issue - and a very annoying one at that.