tonyricha

Oh, here I sit tonite with no Lexus cars in the yard, first time for 10 years! strange feeling and I gotta say I felt really sad walking away from the GS after 6 years, it still looked really good. Now in a horrid Mercedes E Class diesel and thinking how much kit it lacks but full warranty till it goes back in 3 years and 59MPG on the drive home with a new tight engine from Lincoln helps. Good luck to you all. Cheers Tony

Cheers Allan, when I defended hybrid technology I had not heard of this pump failing, I was talking about the battery pack which even today I would not hesitate to replace if that was the only issue, I really thought the rest of it would be OK if serviced to the standard, or reasonable cost to repair. I often wondered if anybody at Lexus view this forum? They claim to be customer conscious

Thanks to all you guys for your help and suggestions, I knew the car wouldn't go on forever but what niggles me is I have paid Lexus a lot of money for 19 proper (not Essential) services, the idea being to lessen the chance of these issues. If it wasn't serviced I could accept flat refusal to meet me on the costs. Also the warranty I bought until they wouldn't cover it any more ( but didn't bother to notify me ) I am not even sure what is wrong as when I unloaded it from the transporter it started with no warnings on the dash, ran sweet and gearbox worked in both directions. The after sales manager has again started and moved it and he says the same. Only the workshop said it needs a new gearbox. I wonder if the inverter overheated and shut down until it cooled off, it was a very hot day. I really need a car to work in and find it difficult to mess about with it for too long. By the way the trade in offer from Lexus MK since this is £900 against a new IS300 but after 10 years as a loyal customer (MUG ?) I don't think I want another Lexus.

Anybody want this car? I have had a very low bid on it ?

Thanks John, I had a look about and oh dear, some poor chap in Norway has had 3 hybrid pumps fail at low mileage, complete nightmare ! Made me realise how lucky I am to have got this far before it all went wrong. I think mine ran low on inverter coolant, it was a hot day and when we unloaded it from the transporter (cooled down) the warning had gone. It now starts and runs fine but its difficult to trust. Apparently this problem is quite common in Prius and becoming more so on GS450h. I will not own another high tech car, just going to lease a new car for 3 years so it is always under a warranty.

Thanks John but I cant see any mention of hybrid pump, have you heard anything about this? 2 failures on here within 2 weeks seems to be a worry.

Thanks for that, does make sense, I believe the electric pump is situated inside the gearbox and we all know Lexus only change complete units hence the outrageous quote. What do you think guys, should I let it go for dismantling or bring it home and see if anybody fancies taking it on?

They are on the phone right now trying to sell me a new one! May need to think about that for a wee while

Naw, they are not interested, just a little embarrassed by how much service money I have spent there!

Not a lot now apparently! no not using it as I don't know the consequences ie will it stop somewhere? At the moment it is at Lexus M.Keynes as I don't really know what to do.

Not just the agg and cost but the way it does not alert you when it is destroying itself, seems like a serious design flaw to me.

They quote £3600 for a gearbox then about 5 hours labour all plus VAT! seems out of the question for a car Lexus offered me £2,500 trade in against a new IS300. I think Lexus have earned enough out of me so don't want another one.

Don't worry about the batteries, its the hybrid pump in the gearbox that kills these cars.

I guess I knew it couldn't last for ever but am disappointed by the failure of my hybrid pump, sounds exactly the same a Hayne's GS450 did. 2 things have irrated me: 1 No warning, I thought not quite normal some time before the "Check hybrid" message came up (anybody know how you check a hybrid system in lane 2 of the M25?) The car was still running so I called Lexus MK only to be told "don't drive the car" so got it recovered. It seems the problem is made worse by driving it but I suspect the damage was already done by the time a warning came up, seems crazy it doesn't tell you to stop. 2 The car has had 19 Lexus full ( not essential ) services, is still under a service plan, out of warranty only because they would no longer cover it at 7 years of age but Lexus refuse to help with the cost of repair, still trying to make their profit rather than help a loyal customer of 10 years. So it seems this lovely car is headed for scrap as they want more than their trade in offer just before this problem occurred. Any thoughts ? oh and it passed the hybrid healthcheck very recently Will not own another expensive car, just lease now so always under a warranty.

Mine passed the Hybrid Healthcheck at 197,000 meaning I got another 12 months warranty on the batteries. No car holds it value now.

Hi Ganesh, I think you are right the clue appears to be if the side repeater indicator lamps are housed in the door mirror bodies the sun roof and ACC became options, don't know the difference between SE and SE L after this, I remember when every Lexus had a sunroof ( I consider essential in a car ) but now like Honda did previously the spec has been cut right back I guess aimed at the fleet market. After 9 years of Lexus owenership I am considering a Infinity hybrid which comes with FAR more kit as standard, when the dreaded time comes to part company with my 450h SE L with ACC and sunroof.

Strangely my GS450h did this only once about 3 weeks ago, first time I have seen it in 200K and not again since, did have its 1st air con service after this in case but no difference, always has been and still is ice cold. Given up trying to explain it but often wondered why it doesn't leave a puddle. Quality motor!

Hi, I had exactly this issue with my GS450, gradually got worse on both sides but while the car was still under Lexus warranty, I wrongly thought clearing the memory would solve the problem but dealer changed both complete mirrors which came colour coded (hate to think of the price! ) I was sure because the motors worked manually they could be fixed bought no! My Mercedes has photochromic mirrors of which one has gone dark, they want over £300 just for the mirror,not motor or housing! Good luck.

450h will only use petrol when started from cold yet mine reverses just fine with the petrol engine running at startup.

It wont run on just petrol, the hybrid system has to energise to start the petrol engine, no starter motor here! Do you really think a progressive manufacturer like Lexus would stake its reputation on a weak product that only lasts 8 years? My GS hybrid is on 200,000 with no faults or drop off from the battery pack, that already is way more than the average car manages in its lifetime.

Prices do vary between dealers, Lexus Milton Keynes best for you, they collect and return beautifully cleaned at a good price, done mine 15 times and never a problem. Full Lexus history always helps.

Look good, looks like its got a sunroof and adapative cruise making it a SE L, sweet! Dont you worry about hybrids, they go on forever, trust Lexus they don't mess around.

welcome to LOC Steve, new motor looks a treat, good choice. Know what you mean about the second car, we own a gorgeous Alfa spider but there always seem a reason not to use it but with values starting to rise I still justify keeping it and taxed. Regards Tony

don't forget the Lexus one will work with your system and will come colour coded to match your bumper, don't seem too bad to me. Have you asked for LOC discount?

Just a thought, have you noticed GS250s, pre registered ones are really cheap, one in Lexus Canterbury with just 10 miles on the clock for 22K. Now that's a great deal if you don't want hybrid.