Damien7579

Thanks for the input. Yeah, dealer have said it would require engine to be removed to then spend time diagnosing to find the why - which is a big spend. No issues with oil as far as I am aware - it was served only a few months ago, and oil was at right level when it started having issues. I am of the same mind - there is some history to this car possibly - the rear steering issue hasn't occurred in 4 dealers I spoke to and even lexus uk where very surprised. It now feels like sunken cost fallacy - I could keep throwing money at it and basically replace 2 of the three major components of the car - but if the hybrid/electrical system fail next it is pretty much game over. Lexus galway haven't mentioned anything about warranty tho it has been serviced there last - I'll ask them on Monday tho surely for a failure of this size they would have checked? Last glimmer of hope 😛

Hey all, So the saga of my car continues - I previously posted about the failure of my rear steering rack which I eventually solved at great cost - ordering the part direct from Japan and had Lexus fit and all seemed good with the car and she was running lovely... Until last week however, when I got some strange vibrations when driving on motorway and then when I got a local garage to have it checked, the engine was also now randomly knocking - mechanic said to not drive it as this wasn't a good sign. Long story short, the car went to Lexus galway and they've said she needs a new engine after inspecting the oil sump and rockers. The oil contained lots of metal pieces (see pics). (For fun a engine block is 4k and a full replacement engine from lexus is 20k including the VAT - from japan it's around 10k) Given replacement cost, I have had to source my own 2nd hand full engine which they have agreed to fit for approx 3.5k euros worse case. I have found a low mileage (45k miles) engine in the UK for 2,400 sterling which I will then have to import into Ireland with probably another 23-26% added to this in euros. There is the risk that even with replacement engine etc it wont work, there are other issues, or the car isn't right mechanically or fails again shortly. I have received an offer of 8k Euros to take the car off me as it stands right now from a car enthusiast who is a friend of the service manager there (he's a big car nut and has helped me out tonnes). If the car is back on the road working perfectly I can expect to prob. sell it privately for 25k Euros and maybe 20-22k to a dealer. So as I see it my options are: 1 ) Write it off, get the 8k on offer and be done with it - move on and leave the stress of dealing with above to someone else. Even if they then get it on road for 6-8k then sell it on for 4-8k profit. 2) Get the car repaired at my risk and spend > 6k in process then sell the car immediately hoping to get 22k ish 3) Repair as 2) but then keep car till next issue... Any thoughts / suggestions would be super appreciated - My feeling is to do 2 but I've had a few friends say just go for 1 and remove the stress! I have to say it's been a sad and very frustrating situ / process so far and disappointing as the car has 140,000 km on the clock and has been serviced every year and driven well and looked after as best I could - but it has soured my feeling on lexus reliability tho ofc this is my first big mechanical issue on any car.

Yeah, I didn't actually know until I got my F-sport that it had rear steering so didn't do any research before purchase but anecdotally its hard to know if it's a likely issue - here in Ireland there can't be more than a handful so you would think from 2 failures there is a big issue but from other responses on here and my own searching on various forums here in UK and US there was hardly anyone else posting about this issue. I spoke two 2 dealers and a Lexus specialist in the UK on the phone who claimed they'd never seen this issue themselves if that helps at all. Maybe speak to some Scottish dealers and see if they've seen any incidents. It would be a shame to put you off as the f-sport 450h is awesome.

Yes, that's correct - another GS450h owner had exact same issue as me 18m ago - they managed to get a refurbed part from a scrapyard in Ireland and he ordered the ECU but never needed it - thankfully for me. Maybe GS450h's don't like the horrible roads here??

Quick update: The rear rack was fixed at a total cost of about 4.1k Euro - 1K euro for fitting + ECU and other stuff I had done + 3.1k Euro for the unit itself which included Delivery + VAT + duty. I ordered the required rear steering part from Amayama Japan and it arrived after a few weeks - I must say their service is incredible! Lexus Galway fitted it no problems and will warranty the work/unit for 12m. The ECU controlling the steering unit had also fried which was another ~2.5K euros (!) but luckily they had one from another customer and sold it to me for 10% of the price. So, in the end an expensive fix, but the original price was well north of 12k so I think I did well enough to get costs down thanks to this great forum. Cheers to everyone who replied. Damien

Quick update: I spoke to Lexus Ireland who agreed to subsidize the OEM part by 50% bringing the price down to around 6,000 Euros + fitting on top 🤑. The part will take 6+ weeks to arrive from.. Japan of course. So I told them politely, thanks, but no thanks and ordered it directly from Amayama for 2,700Euro including shipping and I will have to pay 23% VAT and 3% duty when it arrives but this is still 50% less than Lexus price. Unbelievable markup and utterly disappointing - they refused to reduce this further saying they where "doing their best and this was as low as they could and they where doing me a huge favor blah blah" e.g. they still where looking for a 50% markup. I told them I was ordering it myself from Japan and they questioned that the part couldn't possibly be genuine lexus etc etc It's things like this that make it hard to be loyal to a brand going forward. I guess they're taking advantage of the global supply issue as is everyone else. Will update thread once part arrives and is fitted. Thanks again for the tip on Amayama - I wish they where better indexed by google as their site is amazing and they responded to my queries super quick and all in English.

Thank you so much for the info - I wasn't aware of amayama and I had googled and googled the above part number but only found US listings & other part sites selling it for 6-8K USD. This actually might end up being my best option. Taxes will be 23% VAT in import costs but even after that, this will come in over 70% cheaper than the lexus quoted price! I will see what Lexus say next week and update this post.

There are no spares for the any part of the rear steering rack - you have to buy the entire unit if it fails anywhere according to lexus. I checked their spares and this appears to be legit. I've tried breakers/salvage etc but nothing so far. It seems beyond crazy that this is what they've done. Yeah, the lexus dealer I use has done this repair once before and new exactly what to do and I saw it up on the lift twice and the calibration took the 2nd time but on their test drive it failed after only a few miles and back to error state (so very likely electronic issue or loose something). I'm awaiting to hear back from Lexus Ireland on any options from them tho I'm not hopeful.

At this point just disconnecting it and ensuring the dashboard stops showing the warning signs would do for me but finding someone here/UK to do that is the ask. I just want to keep the car on the road, and pass my MOT equiv. at this stage without spending 50% of the cars value... I have reached out to lexus breakers before and they thought they had the piece but when I called them to confirm/pay they realised they'd got it wrong and had never seen one in their yard before. I've reached out again as that was a month or so ago. I will also try Lexus Ireland direct and see how helpful they are. thanks for the feedback/suggestions so far everyone.

There are no spares for the any part of the rear steering rack - you have to buy the entire unit if it fails anywhere according to lexus. I checked their spares and this appears to be legit. I've tried breakers/salvage etc but nothing so far. It seems beyond crazy that this is what they've done.

This is what I am looking into - I asked Lexus and they said they wouldn't be able to but wondering if anyone else can suggest who might?

That's not a typo, the actual number is nearly 11k with VAT for just the rear steering assembly. This is why I'm looking for options. Ideally I am hoping it's possible to have the system disabled and not show a fault so I can pass my MOT equivalent here, but Lexus said they can't do that understandably.

Yeah car has FSH. FYI I'm based in Ireland but I bought the car in UK and often visit so on my last trip took it to a UK dealer so might try that avenue as my Irish dealer made no mention of support from Lexus.

Yeah I am getting that a lot that it is a rare issue 😞 Around 80k miles and no warranty etc. How do I reach out to Lexus UK - sounds like a good avenue to pursue. Thanks!

Hey all, Recently my dash lit up with DRS and other warnings and after a visit to the dealer they dropped the bad news that my rear steering rack is faulty wont take a recalibration and will need to be replaced at a cost of over 10,000GBP (just the part then there's labor) ...... So naturally, I thought I could get a second hand one from a breaker or such but this is also proving very hard - seems only the F-sport has the rear steering as an option so it's hard to come by. I spoke to a lexus specialist who said they've not touched this unit so wouldn't be able to help but maybe there is someone out there who can rebuild it or offer an alternative suggestion. So am appealing to the GS community - has anyone else had a failed rear steering unit and had it repaired/rebuilt or replaced at reasonable cost? Thanks, Damien GS 450h F-sport 2014

I've just picked up a '14 GS 450h F-sport and imported her into Ireland - lovely car and a worthy successor to the IS-F I used to own (sold to a club member a few years ago)! Anyways, I've been messing about a good bit today on a weird cabin smell issue: the cabin a smells a bit like melted crayons or kinda metally to others! When I got the car is did have a musty smell as it had been sat for a bit. But now after running her a few weeks the smell is still there - I've just done a cabin filter change, sprayed isopropyl alcohol into intake fans etc and I found that now, the A/C smells fine and clean/fresh in all but re-circulation mode. When I set it to that mode I can smell the crayon smell coming directly out of the front vents for sure and that does seem to be the source... In reciruc mode, is there another filter I can change and where is the intake vent located for this mode - maybe something has fallen in there (like a crayon haha)? It's not the worst smell it's just annoying as the small gets worse if the car isn't used for a few days - the cabin stinks of melted crayon. Any suggestions on how I can find source?

Thanks for the replies everyone - very useful and much appreciated. Seems the consensus is 17k is good, put on at 18k and see how it goes :) @Cargav true but with the road tax and running costs here I was always only planning on running her for a few years. I am about to put an ad in carzone and see how it goes. Lots of hassle re-reg the car in the UK! And no, still haven't decided what to replace the ISF with :( What is the cost of getting a Lexus warranty on the car? I haven't looked into it but always thought you had to have had it covered and couldn't just add it later?

Thanks for all the useful feedback.. it has had 60k major done with sparks etc at 54k (at 6 years). MrW: that car is in NI - wonder if that has an impact - less market / more hassle?

What would be a fair price for a April 2008 grey IS-F with 61k on the clock? Private sale not dealer. Usual FSH with a couple of minor services at a toyota dealer, body work in good condition, interior well cared for, usual wear on bolster driver side, 2 prev owners. 18k sound ok? To be clear this isn't an ad before I get told off :) I am not selling mine just yet but considering options for near term.

@RossISF: pinged you a PM a while ago about Irish road tax.... would be interested on what ye know :)

BTW does anyone know of any UK insurer that would fully cover a UK car in Europe (i.e. ireland) for say 6 months of a year?

Just back from a few weeks hol. Thanks for all the input/feedback and suggestions all. As an update, I decided to defer the decision for another 6 months! The cost of change to something else will be high and all the hassle so procrastinating it out for a while... more V8 fun for a while yet. @RossISF I think I test drove your Lexus back in 2012 at Cameron Cars in Dublin :) It's a small world in Ireland. I've actually seen the other 2 IS-Fs in Ireland too. White one is owned by a lexus technician at Galway lexus. PM sent btw -- any tips appreciated! The GTR R35 was an awesome weapon but I just couldn't justify the E20k import duty and E2500+ road tax per year. In the scheme of performance cars the R35 wasn't that bad to run actually. It was a bit of a step down to the IS-F performance wise... 690bhp AWD to 420ish but the lexus v8 rocks and so does the reliability (tho I had no issues what so ever with the GTR either). Do miss being able to just floor it and not worry about the wheel spin or the rear waggling :)

Hmm interesting thread.. so what's a sensible asking price for a 2008 Cadaxton slate grey ISF with 56k and FSH in good condition and all the right things done e.g. 60k major service/plugs/oils etc? Just spoke to Lexus Exeter and it was like pulling teeth to get anything from them price expectation wise.

Phil: Looks cracking in Silver!

toffie_pie: no fear of that! Diesel is not on the table. AFAIK there are four IS-F's in Ireland including mine. Damo N on here had a silver one, I test drove a black one in Dublin and there's a white one now owned by a technician at Lexus Galway. Stu: yup step backwards I think :( What are you replacing the IS-F with?