Exhaust Tips

[Tango]

Sometime, somewhere whilst on a drive today the lower offside exhaust tip decided to part company with the rest of the car. I've been driving a Lexus of one type or another for the last eleven years and this is the first time ever that anything has dropped off a car . It'll be an interesting discussion I'll be having with the Service Manager tomorrow...what do you reckon are the chances of getting it replaced under warranty?

I'm tempted to replace the bloody things with the Tanabe stainless system for the IS-F, similar to the system I had on my IS250 SE-L. The Joe Z complete system is another option, but a lot of users Stateside have been selling them on due to excessive noise and I'd also have to weld in a couple of cats as Joe Z only sells the system for 'off-road'..

[Valkirk]

If it's still under warranty then they should repair for free, can't see how anything on a Lexus should fall off unless it was a manufacturing fault!

[Tango]

If it's still under warranty then they should repair for free, can't see how anything on a Lexus should fall off unless it was a manufacturing fault!

Contacted Lexus today and a replacement is on order under warranty. Still miffed it fell off though as it showed no signs of being loose when washing the car, and it wasn't a case of being pulled off either as I know it was intact when I left home, but missing when I parked up 12 miles later.

[Valkirk]

Wouldn't have happened if they had actually connected them to the Exhaust System glad all going to be sorted under warranty though!

[fjcfarrar]

Wouldn't have happened if they had actually connected them to the Exhaust System glad all going to be sorted under warranty though!

Possibly not - but the rear bumper catching fire if connected may be a worse problem. The separation is a sensible move that allows the final silencers to move freely, insulating the bumper both from from heat & movement/vibration. It keeps the rear-end neat, also eliminating alignment issues in manufacture & accident repair.

Tango, backing up over snowdrifts or over kerbs if doing a slightly careless three point turn on narrow roads with a large camber will lift the rear silencers enough to close the gap and can damage/loosen the mounting of the tips by force from the "real" tailpipes. You can't feel or hear it happening - have a look and see if the bottom of the rear silencers look a bit scraped or the black perforated tip surrounds look slightly buckled. Whatever the cause, glad Lexus are dealing with it under Warranty.

My own experience of stainless steel systems is that they seldom fit properly and are invariably louder in an unpleasant metallic way. However they may be an option to replace a rusted out system - but the "Austenitic" steel used in decent OEM silencers nowadays usually lasts for more than 15 years.

[Tango]

Tango, backing up over snowdrifts or over kerbs if doing a slightly careless three point turn on narrow roads with a large camber will lift the rear silencers enough to close the gap and can damage/loosen the mounting of the tips by force from the "real" tailpipes. You can't feel or hear it happening - have a look and see if the bottom of the rear silencers look a bit scraped or the black perforated tip surrounds look slightly buckled. Whatever the cause, glad Lexus are dealing with it under Warranty.

No sign of any damage at all so all a bit of a mystery. Will know more when the unit is taken off and replaced with a new pair of stubs and backing plate.

My own experience of stainless steel systems is that they seldom fit properly and are invariably louder in an unpleasant metallic way. However they may be an option to replace a rusted out system - but the "Austenitic" steel used in decent OEM silencers nowadays usually lasts for more than 15 years.

Cannot agree with you there as from my experience the Tanabe 316 stainless system I had on my IS250 SE-L was a superb fit, very well made, and I'm told the sound out the rear was a pleasant growl without being overly loud (it was rated at less than 93 dB). If I change the system it will be for the Tanabe IS-F cat-back that has two single pipes exiting through the rear bumper where the original stubs and plates are currently mounted.

[TigerFish]

Must admit, out of all the sound clips I've heard, the tanabe exhausts always sound good, regardless of Lexus model. I'd love one for my GS430 Sport, just too pricey over here.