LexCrazy

Hi I've done a post to lexus uk on Facebook this evening, may be worth you doing the same. May help us to get them to do something for us both. I have the hybrid health checks done at least 2 times a year. Always come out saying everything is fine and i have an extra years warranty. I went to work, 35 miles away from home. Left work on the Friday evening and drove 2 miles down the road and it came up with a message saying hybrid system fault. I could tell the hybrid system was no longer kicking in. I took the risk to drive back to work rather than joining the motorway and called Lexus. They said I'd have to get the car to them to have checked. I called my breakdown service and they collected me and my car 5hours later and took me home. They also kindly arranged to collect my car on Saturday morning and take it in to Lexus Bolton. On monday i was told the hybrid system cooling pump need to be changed at a cost of £520ish. When i asked questioned about the hybrid warranty, i was told it didn't cover that part. But the hybrid warranty is supposed to cover the hybrid system, and that is a hybrid system component. The component would surely not be in the car if it wasn't a hybrid car. Very confused and unhappy, i made the payment and had my car back on the road. You have to be really careful, i think Lexus give the impression that the cover the hybrid system in order to sell the cars, but when you have a real fault, not much is really being covered. People have even had to fork out for new batteries as you will see on the net and the forums. The active stabilizer actuator, is expensive. I was quoted around £5k without fitting, and apparently it then needs calibrating with your vehicle too. So i wouldnt be surprised if the total bill isn't £6.5k. I spoke to my japanese source and he told me he may be able to get a used one for around £2.2-2.5k, but then there's always a risk with used components and i guess special equipment is needed for the calibration, so can only be done at lexus. To be entirely honest, i don't think i'd be willing to pay anything over £1k for the repair. Even though my car is mint and well looked after. i'm scared something else will just let it down. The car seems to drive fine other than the warning light. Weirdly enough, if i stop the car and switch it off for a few seconds before joining the motorway, i can drive 30miles straight and no warning light, until i come off onto the normal roads with roundabouts etc. So just been using it like this for past 6-7 months or so and i do approx 350-400 miles a week commuting to work and back.

Hi I have the same fault on my Lexus GS450h Sport 2008. Not happy, with the warning light on the dash either. It came up on mine approx 7 months ago. Lexus Bolton said it may be the front stabilizer ECU, and said that it would cost £2500 for the part. They said they would order one in from Japan and try it to confirm. Been waiting since May, managed to get hold of one through a friend with japanese sources since, and had that fitted. Made no difference so, isn't the ECU. Most likely its the actuator at faulty, like with your car. I can't believe that Lexus aren't doing something about replacing this part out of courtesy. They are using such an expensive un-serviceable parts and then leaving it to owners to fork out so that they can make a huge profit. I'm sure this is a fairly common problem, i think we need to make this publish on facebook etc and then get a few of us together and go back to Lexus Headquarters, to request that they do something about it. I've been driving the GS models since 1997, on my 4th one now. But to be honest this fault has really made me rethink ever buying a Lexus again, especially one in their hybrid range. We pay out for nice car that's supposed to have reliable tech in it. To be honest i've had a hybrid fault, which they didn't cover under the so called hybrid warranty, even though i get the hybrid checks done 2 times a year. And then on top of that i've got this actuator problem. Was thinking of going for a new used GS300h model. But don't want to be forking out £20k+, only to find 1 yr down the line i'm being quotes £6.5k or 4.5k for parts which have failed. Its a total put off for me. Which is a shame, especially since i've had: 1x Lexus GS300 MkI 2x Lexus GS300 MKII Sports 1x Lexus Gs450h MKIII Sport Spending around £100k on Lexus. Got to say the older vehicles were solid in terms of build quality and reliability. Not so sure about the GS MKIII onwards though.

Hi Any chance you could forward the pictures onto me too - asadamin_uk@hotmail.com A replaced the rear shoes some time ago, but think i may have put the adjusters on wrong way round. Any help or advise would be appreciated. Thanks

I think it is something you can do yourself. You'll find a load of 10mm screws holding the bumper under the car, once you remove the plastic covers covering the bottom of the engine. The you'll find 2 more, one at each edge where the bumper meets the wing inside the wheel arch. With the bonnet open you will see sum plastic pegs pushed into to hold the bumper. The only thing i am a little unsure about is the headlight washers, which you can pull out by hand, but i've never tried to remove. You can see like a metal clip holding the cover i guess removing that should allow the bumper cover to be removed. but if you are unsure you are best going to a body shop.

Hi All I am considering buying a warranty package for my lexus gs300 sport 1999. Can anyone advise me where i can get the best deal, as each dealership tends to have its own price. Is there a limit on the max mileage they will cover the car till, is the warranty exactly like the manufacturers warranty, etc Also can anyone tell me what is covered and what is not covered. I had a warranty for a different make car once before and evertime something went wrong, they said, "sorry not covered, its wear and tear", which kinda means buy our warranty but dont drive your car, cause all problems are coz of wear and tear i guess. Also can anyone tell me what would not be covered because i have had an lpg conversion on my vehicle. Kind Regards

I am having problems with me rear calipers, i can hear very light scraping noise, as the pads seem to touching the discs when i'm not even pressing the brake pedal. I have checked the brake shoes, which were the original reason i was getting a louder noise and i have slackened off the brakeshoes a touch. I'm not sure if the slight scraping noise i am hearing from the rear brakes when moving the car forward slowly is normal or whether it is the calipers which need replacing or some work doing on them. I have tried to clean the pistons, and push them in and out a few times. I did notice a couple of very tiny holes in the seal of the outer piston, but nothing appeared to leak out of this until had the piston quite far out. The inner piston seemed to be the one that was sticking more on the way in, any ideas what i can do about this. The noise seems to be because the pistons aren't going back in enough. Does anyone know what is supposed to cause the pistons to pull back in, as pushing the pedal forces them out? Could air in the brake line, cause the pistons to not retract fully? Is anyone else suffering from this? Can anyone help. Thanks

I had a similar problem when i bought my gs mki years ago and i was told to try super unleaded which has more octane rather than standard unleaded fuel. I was told the the performance engine was running low on power from the fuel which was causing the noise. May be worth a try super unleaded next time you are low on fuel.

Hi, I've had my car checked for a knocking sound similar to the one that you are experiencing. Mine started about 6weeks ago too and has slowly gone worse. I had it checked twice at one Lexus Dealer and then again at another Lexus Dealer. Both of them told me that they could hear the noise whilst driving the vehicle. But all seemed to be fine, with the suspension, bushes etc. I then had it checked at an AA Centre who didn't find anything either. I then visited 2 mechanics who are friends of mine. One checked it over, to find that it was the anti-roll bar drop link on the nearside, but advised to replace both. He also told me that whilst checking the car, you can only hear the noise the first time he moving something after it was stationary for sometime, making it difficult to find. He told me that he had come across this before. His friend mechanic who owns his own seperate garage said he had come across this too. And it is usually difficult to find this problem. I will be having my anti-roll bar drop links changed in the next few days so i'll let you know what happens.