My 2006 250 sport has now had 2 clutches and 2 flywheels replaced in less than 6 months and 13,000 miles on the clock! Firstly I complained about clutch judder to RRG Bolton who then proceeded to replace the clutch and flywheel. Less than 50 miles later the cars transmission shattered in the middle lane of the M6 motorway and I was told that this was simply coincidence! mmm. The car was away for 2 weeks and was returned to me with a cracked alloy and split tyre and a constant judder on the clutch! The tyre split had been tyre silked over to try and disguise the damage although the RAC report specifically showed no damage as i'm always very carefull.
The car went back for a review and to have the wheel replaced, I was then telephoned by a very embarrased service manager explaining that they had caught the wheel again and would have to order a 3rd wheel. 20 miles later the car went back for its old split tyre as the steering was misaligned due to replacing only 1 tyre and was pulling over to one side.
I was also told like some of you to let the clutch bed in! WHAT? So 3 weeks ago I contacted customer service who agreed to send the vehicle to Lexus Carlisle, however the clutch completely failed on the way there and it took 2 weeks for Lexus to authorise replacement as initially they were trying to charge me £ 1700 to have it fixed. Just got the car back and you could smell the clutch from 20 feet away! Even the driver agreed the clutch was burning. I telephoned Lexus Carlisle who informed me that this was a residual smell and their technician smelt this every time he walked past the box on the bench.
Funnily enough, you cant smell it when the engine has been switched off for 5 minutes or more. In 13 months of ownership the car has spent 3 months at the dealership, its had new door seals and the rear window wasnt bonded in properly and had to be replaced. I had an IS200 Sport for 3 years from 99 and it was a great car and the service was always first class. The pursuit of perfection seems a lot longer road than Lexus think!
I have contacted Lexus GB today and told them the script and their technical department cant phone me because they are none customer facing. Lexus finance wont get involved even though the car is paid for through them and I have had to drive a Passat for 2 weeks as Lexus didnt have any cars available even though I'm paying for a 30K car. I'm now being told that if the clutch fails again I will have to pay to have it fixed and Lexus deem the fault to be driver error - incredibly insulting and hard to stomach!
Any ideas from anyone other than office of fair trading or a serious legal case and bad publicity for Lexus