Notamech

Was just wondering how people's experience has been with servicing at Lexus. After reading and hearing so much about them going above and beyond and that you feel satisfied when you leave the dealership. I had my hopes up and unfortunately I found the service experience quite underwhelming and I've had much better experiences at independents / my local independent mercedes specialist (I previously had a merc) was the best ive had. Perhaps its the Christmas period or i dont know what... But my experience wasn't that great with Currie motors Lexus Twickenham. Positives: - Friendly staff all very courteous - Overall came across as somewhat professional Negatives: - I wanted to get the hybrid transaxle oil changed but they came across as very resistant. I would much rather their attitude be "we don't recommend it but if you want to do it it will cost you xx" rather than its a sealed box we just don't touch it. I didn't want to argue with the service manager so I just let it be, thought id get it done at lexus Hayes that quoted 150 to get it done. - I was told that they would do a health report and send me a video and I will receive a call from the mechanic to talk through / get approval on any work needed. I received the video at 4:45 in the evening. In all my service experiences before I have always got a call from the person working on my car latest by mid-day to seek approval and get jobs that are possible done the same day. - I drove nearly an hour to get to them and was called at 5pm in the evening telling me my car is ready (only servicing done) 15 mins after they sent me the video and report with several things that potentially needed doing. So if i approved any of the jobs it just meant id have to pick the car at a later date. Also 5:30 is their last collection time. It takes me an hour to get there calling me at 4:45 / 5 in the evening to tell me to come pick up my car when there are potential things i might still need to do and the fact that i now cant get there on time didn't make sense to me. But fine maybe its just a different way of working to what ive experienced so far. - So I approve some jobs thinking they will do it first thing next day only to call next day and find out that the car is out of the workshop and either they have to order parts or that they will need the whole day to do something simple like brake shims and they cant guarantee they will give me the car by afternoon. We will do it the next time you come is the answer I get. So im like fine il just come and collect it with only the service done. - So i arrive and were going over jobs done and i had asked for an 80k major service to be done. I clearly spot that they've not replaced the differential oil. So i ask them why when thats what it said online and its what i paid for. Because we will do it at the next major service im told. Im like no i asked for an 80k major service and thats what i want. So they call the mechanic and come back to me saying yeah sorry actually we ran out of fluid (sounds like BS) so we will do it the next time you come free of cost. I mean wtf, if you ran out of fluid you should have told me you didn't do it and it will be done next time. Why was i told this only after I called it out? Also I think of myself as a bit car savvy and was able to spot this many others wouldn't. Customers shouldnt have to double check that the professionals have done what they were supposed to. This last point really wound me up as its almost cheating. Had i not said anything I would have ended up paying for stuff that was supposed to be done but wasn't. Overall quite a disappointing experience and frankly other than the hybrid check I don't think I'll be servicing my car at lexus once the warranty runs out. Forget legendary this experience was a bit worse than what ive experienced at local independent garages.

Thats good to know. While i understand that some of the checks in the service schedule may be generic. The manual at the start does say that it is specific to IS300h variants i dont think they make an IS300h with a regular torque converter transmission, do they? Also the car does infact have a drivebelt for the waterpump which im sure needs checking. But I agree its a strange mystery as to why they dont recommend changing the cvt oil. My understanding is that all oil eventually breaks down and degrades / oxidises/ turns acidic not to mention im sure there must be metal debris from the friction between the gear teeth, its inevitable. Theres only so much that the magnet can catch. Like someone else mentioned when they say lifetime they probably have a 7-10 year timeframe in mind. Even then i reckon it should have figured somewhere in the service schedule. Maybe I'll mail lexus to see if they have an answer and what their official stand on the issue is.

Yeah makes sense. I thought about it a little more and I realised one of the reasons i typically change the transmission oil on all used cars I buy is primarily because I don't know how lovingly the car was treated. Especially when its new / has warranty people are more likely to drive it rough because if anything breaks its covered. So i feel like there might be metal shavings floating around in the oil. Granted its all just imaginary but its always at the back of my mind. Also mine is an executive trim level but has the F-sport alloys and red painted calipers which tells me that at least one of the previous owners was "sporty". Might just bite the bullet and get it done and if it still fails (unlikely) then hope the warranty will cover it. Also was watching this video on this car care nut channel the guy is a Toyota specialist and he thinks the cvt oil should be changed at around 70-90k miles. So im sure the risks are minor.

Thanks so much. This is really useful. The car currently has the last two services done independently but as mentioned I will be getting a full service next week from Lexus so that the relax warranty kicks back in and I plan to continue servicing it at lexus for as long as I own it. Having looked at the prices £290 for an interim and £550 full it sounds not massively different to an independent especially if you look at the stuff that goes into it. I really don't get why people service it at independent garages when the savings arent massive plus you lose the warranty on the car and the hybrid battery - it just doesn't make sense to me. If you're doing your own services thats understandable as the savings then are significant although you will lose value when selling your car but if you plan keeping it long term this may still make sense.

Great advice. That does sound like a good plan. Do you know where I can find more info on the extended warranty? I don't see anything about it on the lexus website. Is that dealer specific?

Yeah.. I'll admit. I certainly dont know more than Toyota engineers and my 'need' to want to change the cvt oil stems primarily from tradition. Everytime ive bought a used car the first thing I do is change the engine oil and transmission oil that provides me with a "perceived" peace of mind. But maybe technology has gotten to where we dont need to do it anymore. In the end I guess a hybrid drivetrain is definitely different from a regular gas/diesel car and hence requirements differ.

Ok this is very strange. So i was going through the service book today and it says automatic transmission fluid needs to be inspected every 40000 miles / 4 years. Which i think means the workshop is meant to check it and top up if necessary. Surely that means that the same factory fluid is available at dealers to top up. So i dont see why any harm should come from changing the fluid.

Wow... Great info. Sounds like at least a couple of you have gone very long with the original oil. Given that i plan to do another 50-60k might not be worth risking getting it done. Maybe like the dealership guy told me maybe it comes from the factory with a very balanced formula of additives or whatever that we shouldn't disturb. Would be interesting to know if anyone changed it and ran into any problems later.

Hi All. New to the forum and to Lexus in general. I just bought a used 2014 IS300h with 90k on the clock (independently serviced last couple of times) . So first thing i did is book it in with lexus for a major service in order to make sure my Relax warranty kicks back in. I mentioned wanting to change the cvt fluid then someone from the service dept calls me to ask me why i want it done and goes on to explain that its sealed for life and comes with a balance of chemicals from the factory that they dont recommend tampering with as it could cause problems in future. Coming from a merc i am very skeptical about sealed for life claims.. I plan to keep the car long term i.e another 5-6 years or another 50-60k.. So wanted advise on is it worth doing? Or should I just leave it alone? Also this dealership mentioned it would cost £250-300if i wanted it done while another dealership i called said £150 and didn't ask any questions or give any advice on not changing it. What have others here done? Has anyone faced problems after changing the oil. Or has anyone made it past 150/160k on the factory oil?