Ls460 Rust On Sunroof

[black400]

Thats a lesson for all sun roof Lexus cars , check mine tomorrow.Hope you get it sorted

[Malc]

Just takes me back many years to the worst of the 1970's / 80's rust bucket Vauxhalls and the Fiats and Lancias and especially how well Vauxhall has come in that time with it's bodywork protection and how Lexus seems to be going down the pan ..... especially with their inability to even acknowledge that there is something very, very wrong with your particular car.

Even if the car had a long life down by the sea ( or even in it ) one shouldn't have seen such devastation in a premier model such as yours.

Malc

[graham8370]

Checked mine this morning and definitely signs of rust appearing. Not as bad as Jeremys' but will definitely have to treat it.

[ambermarine]

Checked mine this morning and definitely signs of rust appearing. Not as bad as Jeremys' but will definitely have to treat it.

As I said in my previous post there will be flaws in the product but on seeing this evidence there is a serious flaw and the report that Graham 8370 as submitted confirms it.

The nature of the rot is typical of the metal sitting in water .this could have occured as the vehicle stood in a parking place for long periods of time that was angled forward on a slope with the one or more of the forward roof drains blocked.The other possibility is that the water as collected in the frame through the failed seal.

Because the metal on the rooflight is not designed for extreme exposure to water it will not have been manufactured from rust resistant metal nor painted for such conditions.That being said it does not excuse Lexus of responsibility as they should have forseen this scenario during the design process.

The problem for you is convincing Lexus that it is their fault bearing in mind the implications for them in terms of sorting the problem if it becomes a precedent.

I would try to talk to some one at a head office level in Lexus Japan who would see farther ahead from a reputation point of view than would a local dealership who after all is surviving on car sales today not of six years ago.

[glynrb]

Last year, while searching for a GS430 I came across one in perfect condition. I was ready to buy it when my wife noticed corrosion just like yours in the front right hand corner of the sun roof. It's the only Lexus I've seen this problem on, but it does look as though it's not unique to your car.

Incidentally I ended up buying an LS430 with 100,000 miles on the clock from a dealer for £4,000. So far it's proved to be perfect apart from requiring a new steering column adjustment mechanism.

I've always had fantastic service from Lexus Guildford, and I would be amazed if they acted as badly as your dealer seems to have done. It helps, of course, that my first Lexus, a new GS300 was serviced there for 11 years (200,000 miles) and that my replacement is also serviced there. Whenever I've done a price comparison I have concluded that Lexus Guildford are actually cheaper than anyone else. I wonder, did your LS460 have a full Lexus service history when you bought it, and do you have it serviced at a Lexus dealer. If so, you could use the small claims court (I think it costs about £75) to make a claim against Lexus. Alternatively you might like to talk to your local Trading Standards people.

[JellyBean]

Thanks, fellow Locites, for your replies.

Yes, my car has a full LEXUS service history, which may help a teeny bit. Or not. I am also on the local Lexus dealer's service plan - however, they said "We will get back to you" and after four weeks of hearing nothing I emailed again with the appalling evidence in pictures. Still no response, although that was only two days ago to be fair.

I copied this from the Warranty & Service booklet (it seems to have come out huge - but you can read all of it if you click on it). Since it is obviously NOT "surface rust", the 12 year offer must apply. Hmm. IMHO, the bigger the company the more they behave like slippery eels - although to say I am disappointed with Lexus UK would be an understatement.

When I said I would put a wee video on YouTube if I received no joy, my trouble & strife said "I will put it on Twitter - and that'll waked them up!".

Ooh-er.

[ambermarine]

Thanks, fellow Locites, for your replies.

Yes, my car has a full LEXUS service history, which may hep a teeny bit. Or not. I am also on the local Lexus dealer's service plan - however, they said "We will get back to you" and after four weeks of hearing nothing I emailed again with the appalling evidence in pictures. Still no response, although that was only two days ago to be fair.

I copied this from the Warranty & Service booklet (it seems to have come out huge - but you can read all of it if you click on it). Since it is obviously NOT "surface rust", the 12 year offer must apply. Hmm. IMHO, the bigger the company the more they behave like slippery eels - although to say I am disappointed with Lexus UK would be an understatement.

When I said I would put a wee video on YouTube if I received no joy, my trouble & strife said "I will put it on Twitter - and that'll waked them up!".

Ooh-er.

I can understand your frustration and all the Angst that goes with it but I would advise against public media slagging off of Lexus it could have serious implications ,you have to prove they are the cause of the problem and have evidence to support the proof otherwise you could become a victim of their legal eagles.

The people you are dealing with at the moment are not in a position to help finacially (replace parts or repair) as they have no obligation and would not be supported by Lexus if they did do, unless Lexus agreed the cost .from a dealership point of view they are not gaining anything by doing anything for you as you did not buy from them and there would be no profit even if they were given the go ahead by Lexus to Replace or Repair.

As an example I recently aqquired a factory condition private sale 98 Lexus Ls400 with 18k on the clock The timing belt had never been done so I booked it into Lexus Glasgow for replacement .Unfortunatley the tech who did the job (now left) did some careless cosmetic damage to the engine air cowl and fuse box cover £600 of replacements.No quibble no arguements they replaced with new and brought the parts to my home and fitted them there to save me the trouble of a 120m round trip.

The reason I relate this story is that Lexus dealerships have a vested intrest in nurturing goodwill as customers like to talk as much about there good experiences as bad ones.The staff at Lexus Glasgow know they are not going to get loads of work from me as my mileage is less than 3k a year and I do my own annual oil and filter and general servicing as I did on my previous Mark 1.In this case they stood by thier word and accepted the responsibility of an employee messing up .In your case that scenario does not exist as far as the dealerships go so your claim is against the manufacturer and as I have already advised that is your best path but in a professional manner.

[Bluesman]

.No quibble no arguements they replaced with new and brought the parts to my home and fitted them there to save me the trouble of a 120m round trip.

What service.

I have to agree with Ambermarine, no public slagging off, once you start that you don't have a leg to stand on and when it comes to litigation you would be surprised just how deep their pockets are. Its much like swearing down the phone at your friendly call center they just hang up.

You need to be very cleaver when dealing with corporate entities. There is nothing to stop you from approaching programs in the Watchdog genre but the only way you are going to get anywhere is to pressure them with letters keeping it polite all the time. You may need to get yourself an expert survey done of the car and its problem, you see how this thing is going to snowball and the snowball size is only restricted by the size of your back account.

We know to you its a very personal thing but to them its quite the opposite.

Good luck with your fight.

Mike

[JellyBean]

I guess Bluesman and Ambermarine are right - I must not come over all petulant and do something silly.

But [a] I did buy the car from the local Lexus dealer and it has rotted through which to my mind puts it into their 12-year perforation scenario,.about seven years early.

Cannot decide whether to pursue Lexus UK under the perforation warranty, or the Lexus dealer for selling me a car that was rusty.

[brendangeorge]

honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/ will give you some good info about your consumer rights and the purchase of the car - you have 6 months to reject the car and get your money back but after that it is more complex. The other thing is you have to prove the fault was present when you bought the car etc. The dealer cannot sell you a duff car but you have to report it in a reasonable time etc.

With Lexus customer service you may make make better progress if you look for a win win solution rather than to try and beat them up. What is in it for them? It is clear what is in it for you. You may want to (nicely) talk to them about their brand image and product reputation - also try and talk to as senior a person as possible. Don’t misconstrue the following comments (I am sure you are smart and level headed) it is important to keep cool and be nice to them - that will always get you further than Mr Angry. Most psychos or people in the right are cool and calm – show me an angry person and I’ll show you somebody who messed up. Also customer service people are used to dealing with people are ****** off so when they meet somebody who is being reasonable they tend to be more helpful - obvious but often forgotten.

Good luck – you may need to settle for a contribution from Lexus rather than getting the whole thing fixed for free.

Bren

[Malc]

I really cannot agree with all the above !

You are aggrieved, Lexus UK are being supremely difficult in not responding in the manner you expect.

Try the soft approach again by all means.

You have nothing to lose, you might be successful too !

BUT neither do you have anything to lose by referring to Trading Standards over the warranty on the paintwork.

At least get their advice and tell Lexus that's what you will be doing.

Then if there's no joy for you then I would just explain ( on Twitter ? ) what's been happening, truthfully and honestly, and see what transpires.

By all means tell Lexus beforehand that's what you will be doing and doing it truthfully and honestly .............. Lexus might decide to actually sort the issue for you before it becomes a worldwide issue for them !

That's what I would do in any event.

I would be amazingly surprised if Lexus anywhere wanted such a public revelation about your poor quality car experience and they will ( fingers xd ) just bite the bullet and be pragmatic and do the " right " thing by you.

Malc

[Bluesman]

I guess Bluesman and Ambermarine are right - I must not come over all petulant and do something silly.

But [a] I did buy the car from the local Lexus dealer and it has rotted through which to my mind puts it into their 12-year perforation scenario,.about seven years early.

Cannot decide whether to pursue Lexus UK under the perforation warranty, or the Lexus dealer for selling me a car that was rusty.

[Bluesman]

I guess Bluesman and Ambermarine are right - I must not come over all petulant and do something silly.

But [a] I did buy the car from the local Lexus dealer and

it has rotted through which to my mind puts it into their 12-year perforation scenario,.about seven years early.

Cannot decide whether to pursue Lexus UK under the perforation warranty, or the Lexus dealer for selling me a car that was rusty.

Pursue both of them. Find out who the MD or CEO of the Lexus dealer you are with and then write direct to him keeping it polite but to the point. There are plenty of formatted draft letters on line for free that you can use.

The warranty you have will probably backed by an insurance company which all warranties normally are. Find out who it is and write to them. Writing is much better than phoning as there is a record of a letter not so with a phone call.

Don't threaten them that you are going to trading standards or any other type of government agency or solicitors as it wont worry them but what will shake them into something is to go ahead and do it so when it lands on their desk its a kick up the backside to them that your not going to go quietly.

Good luck Mike

[Bluesman]

I guess Bluesman and Ambermarine are right - I must not come over all petulant and do something silly.

But [a] I did buy the car from the local Lexus dealer and it has rotted through which to my mind puts it into their 12-year perforation scenario,.about seven years early.

Cannot decide whether to pursue Lexus UK under the perforation warranty, or the Lexus dealer for selling me a car that was rusty.

Sorry cockup on my part. Mike

[G_man]

Having just done some searches on this issue I came across this thread, My 2001 LS430 has the same issue having noticed it today - I didn't know their are 4 drain holes for the sunroof, how does one check to see if these are blocked? what is the exact method to follow?

Regarding the rust, I wanted to take the glass out and do a proper job on sanding the metal back and treat and then paint and then possibly add another rubber seal to this area.

Can the glass be easily be removed without taking the roof lining out and all that or is this the only option?, If it is then I'm going to have to use a small dremel and sand it in the car which isn't ideal because of all the crap metal flying off. ( will need a hoover on standby lol )

if anyone has any suggestions on the glass and the drain holes it would be appreciated.

[ambermarine]

Hi Gavin

Your issue is well documented on the Forum and the drain hole subject covered in some depth in the archives, put a search in under LS400 sunroof drains,don't worry the ls430 is the same

With regards taking out the sunroof this entails a lot of work and potential damage being caused to the roof lining and garnishes unless you know the sequence of dismantling the whole rooflining. If you are set on doing this you need to get hold of a workshop manual which depicts how to do this .