Is250 Squeaks/rattles

[chandru]

still no reply from lex gb. On another note am going to test drive the new jag xf tomorrow.

[chandru]

still not a very good response from Coventry or GB. here are all emails...tell me what you think.

sent on 19th of march by Lexus coventry dealer principal, tim huxley (1st reply):

Good Morning Mr Krishnamoorthy

Thank you for your e-mail and the subsequent attachment which I have read.

As we have already made attempts to rectify your issues, and have so far not met your expectations, I feel that it may be useful to recommend that you take your vehicle to another Lexus Centre for another opinion on your vehicle.

I therefore provide you with the full details of your two next nearest Lexus Centres as follows.

Lexus Birmingham

4 Wingfoot Way

Fort Dunlop

Erdington

Birmingham B24 9HF

Tel 0121 377 4200

Lexus Leicester

Blackbird Mills

Abbey Lane

Leicester LE4 ODZ

Tel 0116 268 8500

I will subsequently cancel the appointment you have at Coventry for the 21st of March, and I apologise that we have not been able to meet your expectations on this occasion.

Yours sincerely

Tim Huxley

Centre Principal

Lexus Coventry

sent on 19th of march by Lexus coventry dealer principal, tim huxley (2nd reply):

Mr Moorthy

I have looked into this matter, and we have so far carried out any modifications that have been recommended by the manufacturer with regard to your vehicle.

We cannot replace parts without authorisation to do so from the manufacturer, and we cannot simply order parts and fit them to your vehicle if they are not deemed to be a known superseded item ( for instance, a modified part). If we were to fit a replacement item, there is no guarantee that the same manufactured item would satisfy your requirements to what may be a characteristic of your vehicle, not a known required modification.

It is at our descretion whether we carry out further investigation or not, and following your letter, I cannot guarantee that we can address all of the issues you point out having attempted to do so previously, therefore we do not wish to proceed with your appointment.

As suggested, I recommend that you take the vehicle to one of the Lexus Centre's mentioned, or perhaps your supplying dealer, as your original contract of purchase is with them.

I have logged a case reference with Lexus (GB) Customer Relations (Ref. 496569), and I have copied them in on our correspondence.

Kind Regards

Tim Huxley

Centre Principal

Lexus Coventry

sent on 19th of march by Lexus coventry dealer principal, tim huxley (3rd reply):

Hello again,

Whilst I appreciate the short notice may be inconvenient, today is the first time I have been made aware of any issues, and as the items you wish for us to look at are not safety related, your vehicle can still be used.

The vehicle was booked in for two items which you feel we had not addressed, and you have added further items to the list which we cannot accomodate the time on Friday to look at, and following the letter, as is our right, we do not wish to carry out any further investigations on your vehicle.

To make our position clear, we will not be looking at your vehicle on Friday, and we will not be providing a courtesy vehicle for your use on that day, and recommend once again that you make contact with another Lexus Centre to inspect your vehicle.

I apologise for the formal response, however we feel that we have exhausted our attempts, and maybe a fresh approach would assist you at another Centre.

Kind Regards

Tim Huxley

sent by lexus GB on 4th april to the email I sent on 19th march (1st reply):

Dear Mr Krishnamoorthy

Thank you for your recent emails addressed to Steve Settle, Alex Kirkby and Gill Want. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you.

I have spoken with Tim Huxley, Centre Principal for Lexus Coventry regarding your concerns. Tim has advised that in their opinion your vehicle is performing correctly and in line with manufacturer’s specifications, as such they are not able to replace any further parts.

We have every confidence in their opinion and ability, if you would like to seek a second opinion from another Lexus Centre I have listed below the next closest Lexus Centres that you may wish to contact:

Lexus Birmingham

4 Wingfoot Way

Fort Dunlop

Erdington

Birmingham

B24 9HF

Telephone – 0121 377 4200

Lexus Leicester

Blackbird Mills

Abbey Lane

Leicester

LE4 0DZ

Telephone – 0116 268 8500

Although I recognise that you might hope for, and indeed expect a more detailed response directly from Lexus, I trust this explains our position. I am very sorry if we have been unable to meet your expectations, but rest assured we are keen to work with your chosen Lexus Centre should they seek our advice regarding your concerns.

Yours sincerely

Claire Newman

Lexus (GB) Ltd

look alot like tim's?? called her after that. and this is reply I have now:

Dear Mr Krishnamoorthy

I am writing further to our conversation on Friday last week.

Following our discussion, I spoke with our Regional Manager for Aftersales Development who in turn spoke with Lexus Coventry. Pete Saunders at Lexus Coventry has advised that during 250 miles of testing they were unable to replicate the problems you had described and as such they were unable to suggest a suitable course of action other than to suggest you seek a second opinion from another Lexus Centre. Pete has driven the vehicle himself and despite the very lengthy tests he still has not experienced the problem you have reported.

With this in mind, our Regional Manager recommends taking the vehicle to Lexus Birmingham. I have taken the liberty of speaking with the Service Manager at Lexus Birmingham, David Barnhurst, who would be happy to have the vehicle in to inspect it. He did advise that he would need you to come in with the vehicle and to demonstrate the issues you have described before he could give you a loan car and in order for him to be able move forwards with the repair. If you would like to accept this offer, David can be contacted on 0121 377 4200.

As we discussed on Friday, should Lexus Birmingham find a fault with the vehicle I will be more than happy to send you a voucher for £50 which should cover the cost of the extra fuel.

Whilst I realise that you may remain disappointed with this response I trust I have clarified our position for you.

Yours sincerely

Claire Newman

Lexus (GB) Ltd

so...?? any ideas?

i have sent a email back again..and maybe should speak to this regional manager myself? i think this is a pure joke.

[Steve ( West Mids )]

So what again are the problems you still have with the car?

[chandru]

So what again are the problems you still have with the car?

still the same ones:

1 - air vent rattle front left

2 - speaker sounds like its popped

3 - seat belt tensioner drivers side rattle

4 - drivers seat squeaks alot- where drivers back touches seat (not base of seat)

new ones:

1 - gear box seems to vibrate alot now to the extent it makes noise (mainly in 6th gear)

2 - the sat nav seems to wonder off its current position (just for the initial 2 minutes tho?)

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Certainly 1, 3 and 4 are known problems. Do you mean the speaker has blown? Is it manual or auto? Not heard of gearbox rattle and sat nav shouldn't wonder if it's set on a satellite or two, is it from just one place or wherever you start from? Have you had wheels off as there is a reset in the hidden menu for when you remove a wheel.

Can you demonstrate these ar will? Have you to Lexus Coventry? If so I can't see why there is a problem.

If you can demonstrate them it seems like you may need to bite the bullet and take it to Brum. then post the results. This may make Coventry look a bit silly.

[chandru]

Certainly 1, 3 and 4 are known problems. Do you mean the speaker has blown? Is it manual or auto? Not heard of gearbox rattle and sat nav shouldn't wonder if it's set on a satellite or two, is it from just one place or wherever you start from? Have you had wheels off as there is a reset in the hidden menu for when you remove a wheel.

Can you demonstrate these ar will? Have you to Lexus Coventry? If so I can't see why there is a problem.

If you can demonstrate them it seems like you may need to bite the bullet and take it to Brum. then post the results. This may make Coventry look a bit silly.

it sounds like its blown. but its been like that for ages and its not continuosly there. was there alot of the time, nearly 95%, then they changed the door guard/handle and its reduced now. but still pops up now and again. so sounds like something is vibrating in there or something. coz thats what they said when they looked at it, and said the door guard was vibrating causing it. (which brings me to my other point, in them saying there is nothing wrong with it, if there wasnt why did they change the guard. it obviously has partly solved the issue, but not fully). and its not my cds or anything, coz it comes up with the radio too.

its manual. the gearbox thing just started few days ago.

the satnav..wherever i start the car off from. so not just one place. i have had my wheels changed from 17" oem to the 18" hoshi wheels. i've done the tyre alignment thing in the "menu" part of the display and also have corrected the position of the car several times on the orther option there for alignment, but it still is wrong whever i initially start the car. and this wasnt always the case. just recently. didnt know there was something else in the hidden menu?

have demonstrated the seats and speakers to lexus coventry. havent had a chance to demonstrate the others because they wont take the car in now. and about demonstrating the speakers to lexus birmingham, it will be a problem because its not always there?!?

thats what i'm planning on doing too regarding birmingham. and also maybe autoexpress/trading standards/LFS/FSA.

[chandru]

recorded the sound my seat makes. have a listen..just in plain .wav format. let me know what you guys think. normal or not?

Sound_clip_03.wav

Sound_clip_04.wav

[Steve ( West Mids )]

That's not the normal noise. Sounds like you are forcing it.

[chandru]

forcing what? if i move back or away from the seat thats what it makes

[Steve ( West Mids )]

The "normal" noise just happens when you are driving, you are just sat there driving and it squeaks. Sounds like you will be able to demonstrate your noise fairly easily to Lexus Birmingham.

[chandru]

thought u meant i was doing something wrong. i think i know the noise you are on about..that happened when i was like turning round corners etc n lexus coventry removed the 2 bolts under the seats which stopped it. this just happens whenever i move in my seat i.e. get in car, get out of car, accelerate, brake, go over speed bumps etc etc. have demo'd it to cov so dont know why they cant sort it.

[chandru]

recorded the sound my seat makes. have a listen..just in plain .wav format. let me know what you guys think. normal or not?

anymore comments? 21 have downloaded but only steve has replied :)

[BosniaLexus]

I have listened to the noise - does the seat make that very noise when you are driving? I cannot hear the other car sounds, like engine. I am sure I could get my IS250 seat to do the same, but as its creaks are not noticeable when I am driving, I have not bothered with having it looked at.

You have showed us the letters from Lex to you, can you show us the letters from you to them? I am not a fan of any dealers, but their letters seem very professional and reasonable, especially those from lex-gb. What I mean is that the dealer who says not to call in sounds like he does not believe there is an addressable complaint. Also if you asked them to look at two items, and then added another two to the list, maybe they think they are dealing with someone who id simply not happy and will not be satisfied whetever they do with the car.

The law on all of this is very clear however. As good as lexus cars are, there is no legal obligation for lexus to supply a car that is "perfect" in all respects. If your car had a fault that rendered it unuseable, or a defect that materially rendered it of less than "merchantable quality", then fair enough. What makes Lexus dealers good is that most of them try and solve the kinds of problems that Mercedes and BMW suffer more of, but fail to address at all. This board is full of stories about owners who have had all kinds of things replaced and repaired, often as no more than a goodwill gesture. If i were you I would take up the offer to have the car looked at again by another dealer, but be prepared, if they find nothing, to accept that wear and tear has set in. I am sorry if I sound unsympathetic, but this is only because I think I have read one side of the story only.

[bevrock]

[

still the same ones:

1 - air vent rattle front left

2 - speaker sounds like its popped

3 - seat belt tensioner drivers side rattle

4 - drivers seat squeaks alot- where drivers back touches seat (not base of seat)

new ones:

1 - gear box seems to vibrate alot now to the extent it makes noise (mainly in 6th gear)

2 - the sat nav seems to wonder off its current position (just for the initial 2 minutes tho?)

hi mate i have the same car as yours even the same colour lol. i have some of the same problem. had the speakers replace for the second time. had the driver seat sorted the squeaks stop then the seat start to have a bum inprint in it so had it replace. had the seat belt problem and its was sorted. i think u should try another dealer who dont have a problem with you. good luck

[chandru]

I have listened to the noise - does the seat make that very noise when you are driving? I cannot hear the other car sounds, like engine. I am sure I could get my IS250 seat to do the same, but as its creaks are not noticeable when I am driving, I have not bothered with having it looked at.

You have showed us the letters from Lex to you, can you show us the letters from you to them? I am not a fan of any dealers, but their letters seem very professional and reasonable, especially those from lex-gb. What I mean is that the dealer who says not to call in sounds like he does not believe there is an addressable complaint. Also if you asked them to look at two items, and then added another two to the list, maybe they think they are dealing with someone who id simply not happy and will not be satisfied whetever they do with the car.

The law on all of this is very clear however. As good as lexus cars are, there is no legal obligation for lexus to supply a car that is "perfect" in all respects. If your car had a fault that rendered it unuseable, or a defect that materially rendered it of less than "merchantable quality", then fair enough. What makes Lexus dealers good is that most of them try and solve the kinds of problems that Mercedes and BMW suffer more of, but fail to address at all. This board is full of stories about owners who have had all kinds of things replaced and repaired, often as no more than a goodwill gesture. If i were you I would take up the offer to have the car looked at again by another dealer, but be prepared, if they find nothing, to accept that wear and tear has set in. I am sorry if I sound unsympathetic, but this is only because I think I have read one side of the story only.

that noise is not made via me forcing anything. as soon as i get in the car and sit that noise is made, when accelerating its made, when braking its made and when i move its made. so i dont think if you had it, you would accept it as "normal" and you would surely claim "it shouldnt be that way". if it is. everyother IS250 SE-l manual should do the same. and surely that isnt wear n tear on a car 1yr old, with 6k miles.

and for a principal to cancel a call-in 2 days before its due i think is totally un-professional. which is why i think he has taken this personally. If he believed there was nothing they could do, surely the service manager who had already seen the car on a previous visit, should have explained the same when i re-booked it, and not agreed to look at the problems that were demonstrated to him.

re. my letters to them, i will post it once lexus birmingham has dealt with the situation fully.

still the same ones:

1 - air vent rattle front left

2 - speaker sounds like its popped

3 - seat belt tensioner drivers side rattle

4 - drivers seat squeaks alot- where drivers back touches seat (not base of seat)

new ones:

1 - gear box seems to vibrate alot now to the extent it makes noise (mainly in 6th gear)

2 - the sat nav seems to wonder off its current position (just for the initial 2 minutes tho?)

hi mate i have the same car as yours even the same colour lol. i have some of the same problem. had the speakers replace for the second time. had the driver seat sorted the squeaks stop then the seat start to have a bum inprint in it so had it replace. had the seat belt problem and its was sorted. i think u should try another dealer who dont have a problem with you. good luck

i have..lexus birmingham have agreed to the problems and are dealing with it. so theres a result on their side. the guy there, david the service manager is brilliant. he himself took the car for a drive withme on motorway, a n b roads, city roads for nearly half an hour or more. he is even replacing the driver seat cover and acknowledged the squeak problem and satnav system. he wants me to keep a few notes in terms of the air vent i.e. outside temp, ac settings, gears, speed, roads..so its good so far.

[BosniaLexus]

This seems like a goof result - well done!!!! Its a pity that the service manager did not afford yiu tha servive in the last ce in the last garage

It seems wge u visit lxm yiu can have a giid day or a bad day].

[BosniaLexus]

I am glad to see that the work is done, Poor marks for the dealership wht wanted you to g on a tour of UK

[chandru]

This seems like a goof result - well done!!!! Its a pity that the service manager did not afford yiu tha servive in the last ce in the last garage

It seems wge u visit lxm yiu can have a giid day or a bad day].

I am glad to see that the work is done, Poor marks for the dealership wht wanted you to g on a tour of UK

could u just rewrite what u meant in the 1st quote? :)

[chandru]

well..been a while since Lex Birmingham have taken my car in to look at various rattles/squakes.

Sat-Nav-they couldnt find a problem, but when they take it in again, will put 17" OEMs on it to see if I experience the same problems, if I do, then they say sat-nav is fauilty. (I have upgraded to the 18" hoshis). problem is when i start the car for initial minute or two, it mis-displays itself and also when i park up using the reverse gear and then 1st gear, it does same again.

seat - service manager has "ordered" a new drivers seat

R.V mirror rattle - new one put in, this one vibrates though, so will get them to look at it.

Gear box rattle/vibration - added padding to stop it

seat belt tensioner passenger n driver- fixed

When I went to collect my car a month ago, the service girl said the new seat cover had been fixed including the seat squeak, but when I got into the car, the seat looked exactly the same with all the creases and squeaks still there. She was adamant it had been replaced. I then spoke to someone her senior who was also adamant it had been replaced and even said "I can show you your old cover", at which point the service manager came to see me and explained that he had ordered a whole new seat to sort out the various problems I had with it, which was awaiting authorisation and once that had been done he would fiit it. Was quite unhappy that I was told by two service staff something completely different, I should have taken up that lady's offer of seeing my old seat cover. lol. Glad though that I know now atleast what the situation is. I also noticed my front right alloy wheel had been damaged, looked like a chunk of the metal had been taken off. It didnt look like a kerb though, looked like some tool had caught it or something. The service manager again has agreed replace it at same time as the seat.

So unlike Coventry, they have acknowledged a few problems and tried to fix it, and will raise these issues with Birmingham again on the next visit. I have also rang Lex GB regarding this, and the £50 they promised me if another dealer acknowledged the problems I pointed out that LExus Coventry said didnt exist, and have since recieved it. Obviously it doesnt cover the inconvenience etc etc, but was just a point I wanted to make to Lex GB as they were so adamant there was nothing wrong.

The only other thing is the front speaker on passenger door, which is proving very hard to demonstrate. anyone know how much they cost?

Hopefully on the next visit, Lexus Birmingham can sort out the remaining issues.

[GaryC]

seat belt tensioner passenger n driver- fixed

Mine has just been in for this - just on the passenger side though.

Rattle has not been fixed - just a grubby mark on the panel left by a careless mechanic. Great result - NOT.

[chandru]

is one thing that annoys me. dont they have a checking system? someone that cheks the work is done and also the quality of it?

[GaryC]

is one thing that annoys me. dont they have a checking system? someone that cheks the work is done and also the quality of it?

Yep. The rattle is very noticeable as well. I'm waiting til it's service now - I just can't be mythered taking it in again.

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

I love the latest Lexus Mag. It goes on about how they make sure no car is built with a known problem!! It's hilarious!

I'd heard in Jan 06, before I ordered mine that the early cars had rattles. I asked my dealer to make sure that mine was built with any bfixes applied on the production line...an assurance was given by the dealership, but guess what?...even now, after 2.5 years and 8 remedial visits it still rattles, quite badly in the heat!! It won't be a problem later this week after it's gone, but boy it's been a rattly old car!

All that stuff about 2 visits and then "Lex Tech get involved" never happened...

It'll need someone with much more patience than me to get it sorted out properly. I've decided to chuck in the provrbial towel.

[Robertb]

Mine is an early car- Oct 06... 30k miles and no rattles.

The only troublesome thing is the Adaptive Cruise, which is a bit nervous. They have promised me a new radar which will hopefully fix it.

[chandru]

even now, after 2.5 years and 8 remedial visits it still rattles, quite badly in the heat!! It won't be a problem later this week after it's gone, but boy it's been a rattly old car!

ya it is worse in the heat..much worse. heard a very loud rattle yesterday around the gearbox..not the leather gaitor but the black plastic/rubber panel that surrounds it (where the gear numbers are stuck on in silver)..