1 Week With A 2004 Rx Sel - Questions

yimpster · November 6, 2009

Hey peeps,

Figured i'd try on here as i'm not having much joy with the dealer.

Our SEL arrived on Tuesday and i've got some queries i raised with our dealer that i'm not happy with the responses of.

1) We had 3 warning lights appear on the dash yesterday (on 2 occasions) one included hand brake the other i forget but they were the same both times. Restarting the vehicle cleared the lights.

2) We live on a relatively steep hill. Our IS used to idle quite nicely on it without rolling back. This cars doesn't seem to like it so when we take our foot of the brake to accelerate we roll back quite quickly. The dealer tells me this is normal.

3) When we purchased the car it had just been valetted. There was an odd smell which the dealer put down to cleaning products. 4 days on and the smell is quite strong and a friend reckons it could be mould. It's a strong smell when you enter the vehicle but fades within seconds. Each time i get in the car it's just as bad.

We bought it from Lexus Croydon and the entire sale was a bit awkward as on the day the car was due to be delivered the guy we did the deal with was away. He hadn't seemed to hand over to anyone so they hadn't planned to deliver it. They also hadn't dealt with the few issues we had requested. That being said the sales guy standing did get the entire thing turned around in the morning and the car was delivered by 2pm.

Just wondering if you guys have any advice. I love the car - it seemed like a good purchase and will be happy if i can get the above sorted.

However, i worry i may have bought a dud.

Being that i purchased from a lexus dealer i'm sure i have the right to return it if i'm unhappy. though i'm not sure of my rights right now and don't want to leave it too long.

It may be i can hand this back to the dealer to rectify. these items. Or am i on my own?

I'm sure the electronics issues will be covered under the warranty. Just don't want this to be the start of a long long headache where i'm forced to purchase further warranties to cover potential problems.

Cheers in advance.

Sorry for the waffle - we have just had a baby and my mind is like soup at the moment.

Yimpy

steve haley · November 6, 2009

1) We had 3 warning lights appear on the dash yesterday (on 2 occasions) one included hand brake the other i forget but they were the same both times. Restarting the vehicle cleared the lights.
2) We live on a relatively steep hill. Our IS used to idle quite nicely on it without rolling back. This cars doesn't seem to like it so when we take our foot of the brake to accelerate we roll back quite quickly. The dealer tells me this is normal.

3) When we purchased the car it had just been valetted. There was an odd smell which the dealer put down to cleaning products. 4 days on and the smell is quite strong and a friend reckons it could be mould. It's a strong smell when you enter the vehicle but fades within seconds. Each time i get in the car it's just as bad.

Not sure I am the best person as I bought mine 9mths old 9mths ago but

1) I would not put up with ANY warning lights on a newly purchased car - You should raise this immediately.

2) Never had an issue with mine that I can think of BUT it depends exactly how steep it is the RX is somewhat heavier and mine idles very slowly. Years of driving autos means that I habitually left foot brake anyway.

3) Mould is quite distinctive - if it is then I would get it traced and sorted - mould=rust in my experience. Look under the front mats for any damp.

Lexus 2nd hand warranty states you have 30 days/1000 miles to part ex against another car if you are not happy but if you can show it does not meet the standards promised in the preperation and valeting section on the following link then I would suspect that you have a strong case for a refund if you claim to have relied on it and can show that they didnt do it.

http://usedcars.lexus.co.uk/approved-preowned-benefits.aspx

You should have been given a grey covered ring binder with all this in it along with all the inspection forms etc - if that is missing then you already have a strong case.

On the plus side the lexus warrenty is second to none and RXs are normally very reliable.

I would be very careful to get all this sorted one way or another before the 30 days/1000 miles are up

rgds

Stephen

Damer · November 9, 2009

Sorry to hear about your problems. Hope you get them sorted something defo not right. Scant help, but I have run my 04 SEL for 3.5 years with no mechanical issues at all.

ihpj · November 13, 2009

Some very good advice there. get things sorted to your satisfaction.

Incidentally, we bought our last RX from Croydon back in 2005. Superb experience. No issues and we couldn't have been happier. Vehicle was prep'd and ready as promised - first faultless buying experience in so many years!

RSCELEG · November 15, 2009

re the smell, that sounds more likely that the air conditioning system needs deodorising, it is a quick fix as the dealer can put some stuff in it to kill the bugs.

Try turning the air con system and the blower off before you switch off the car and then the next time you go to restart see if the smell is still there.

You can buy stuff yourself to do it ( and its not very expensive )but as a lexus approved the dealer should do it.

yimpster · January 5, 2010

A quick update.

The bad smell turned out to be damp from the boot. A small hole was discovered that had let in water. They also disinfected the aircon system which apparently had a bacterial infection. They actually stripped all the interior carpetting out to check and dry

The warnning lights on the dash were a faulty brake switch which was also repaired under warranty.

I had the car back for about 3 weeks then another warning light on the dash telling me the air suspension wasn't working. This was about 2 days before xmas. Apparently one of the valves had gone faulty and required replcement.

After a bit of discussion Lexus sorted me out with an RX 450h loan which covered our new year trip away thankfully.

I am still without my car and it seems to have spent more time being repaired than being driven by me.

To be fair Lexus compensated me for the first two problems. But now i'm feeling i've bought a dodgy car.

I have spoken to head office customer services and the guy in charge of Lexus croydon.

I am wondering what I should do? Ask to find a totally different car? Or get it independantly checked and any issues fixed and ask for another year warranty in compensation?

The customer service has been good so far - i can't complain. My gut feel is that this one was sold without being thoroughy checked and slipped through somehow.

Your thoughts very much appreciated as I truely loved driving the RX for the brief time i had it. In fact i think it was more pleasurable than the 450h that they have loaned me ( please don't flame me).

Cheers

Valkirk · January 5, 2010

My experienced with Croydon have been very good so I would just stick with them they will get things sorted.

There were known issues with the Air suspension so at least it's all happened at the start under warranty and all getting sorted.

yimpster · January 5, 2010

My experienced with Croydon have been very good so I would just stick with them they will get things sorted.
There were known issues with the Air suspension so at least it's all happened at the start under warranty and all getting sorted.

just had another call - apparently the compressor has also failed. they are sending out an engineer to assess.

this just gets better.

part of me would rather have these problems and have them solved now. the other part of me is so scared of having a car that has multiple issues that is just going to cause me headache after headache.