You really think all Lexus will have these problems ?
If the guy says he is getting 40 mpg he is bad at math. I drove 100 miles a day and would average 24 mpg. Prior to 1980 they were just converted gas engines with lots of problems. After that they had beefed it up some. Compression was just too high still for head configuration. This was never resolved but the truck 6.1 engines were supposedly pretty good. Yeah some converted to gas but the thing was a diesel cost an extra $1000. So paying another thou to go to gas was not popular.
Now add in $600 injector pumps,$300 starters, etc. you get the picture.
When I sold mine for $200 to the guy that had put an engine in it some time before, I had a call one night and he said he did head gaskets but he still had an over heating problem. So why was he asking me? At any rate I told him that one mechanic told me you had to swap radiators too. Didn’t make sense but there is no one around that really resolved the problems. Keep dropping engines in is all you could do. Yeah and I did the head gasket deal too with machining, testing etc. head bolts were $10. And I did the good wrench reman crate engine for $2500. So if the guy has a bunch of diesels around and grandma started him off, grandma should have round the clock security. I have much more to tell.
Interesting. I think he might have one of the later V6 models that he claims to get that mileage on. I don’t know what he all has but I think they have a smaller car these went in, not just the big boats of that era.
It was obviously a marketing debacle for sure. They tried to copy Mercedes and did a terrible job. I never owned one but was under the impression that later generations of these were designed and built to be a diesels, not just a slightly retooled gas engine line.
Based on what I have heard about these, I don’t think many would be trying to steal these things. $2500 doesn’t seem bad for a factory reman engine at all but you probably have this quite a few years ago.
Yeah I don’t remember what year it was but would have been before 85. The original engine made it to 200k. The goodwrench reman another 150k. I don’t remember which engine I did the head gaskets on but that was $1000. Then I did a used engine for about $500 from the guy that finally bout it for $200 with 480k on. I’d usually have a spare injector pump on the shelf and would swap them out myself. Otherwise $500 a pop. I paid $10,000 for it in 81, and two years later they offered $2500 in trade. So I got mad and kept throwing good money after bad. Hurts my head to think about it.
Those control arm bushings tear on most 2007-2011 Ls460s, the bushings are poorly designed. There are 8 control arms in the front suspension, OEM replacements are $250 each. I have performed many suspension repairs on these cars during the warranty period. 5 years ago there were no aftermarket bushings available, today there are many cheap copies of replacement control arms on Rock Auto.
I only see electric tilt steering failures once each year, that is less common of a failure.
No, I do not think that all Lexus’s have these problems, but once again, the OP posted just some photos and he estimated the repairs to run at least $10,000 on this 12-year old car with only 68K on the odometer and that gives me pause to reflect on this make’s and model’s dependability…
Any more than I expect that all 37-year old Toyota Corollas to be as dependable and relatively maintenance free and my '85… (posting #24…)
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Re @jtsanders comment the Lexus was being driven in a Dukes of Hazard style
Hard to explain why it was driven only a little over 3K miles per year. Thrash a high-end Lexus otherwise mostly unused for one or two days a month? Something is not adding up.
I can believe that it only had 63K miles on it after so many years. As a matter of fact, I took my 2019 Toyota Corolla SE in for its 48-month service and a state inspection this morning. The Oil Change and State Inspection are free for life , but as it turns out, I hit 15,000 miles on the way to the dealer this morning and that is all the miles I’ve driven in the 48-months that I have had it and that averages out to about 3,700 a year. I always keep my paperwork and when it went in last year for its 36-month service, it had just over 13,200 miles it and that less than 2.000 miles last year…
Granted, this is just one of 5-vehicles my wife and I have… Perhaps the original owner also had multiple vehicles to use…
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That’s a good deal you have going for you on the oil changes and inspections! Before Covid, probably 4-5 K miles per year on my own Corolla. But my point about the low mileage Lexus seeming to be thrashed, I didn’t thrash my Corolla when I did drive it. I expect you don’t either. Seems unusual for someone to drive their car very little, but when they do drive it, thrash it.
My current theory, Lexus wasn’t thrashed, just normally expected repairs for the design.
I am having problems coming to grips with the damage and needed repairs on that Lexus also… but it reminds me of my Great Uncle who remarried after his wife (my Great Aunt) passed away. His new wife was a lovely lady and a welcomed member to the family, but her son, from her first marriage was a "piece of work… " This was in the late 1960s and she had a '58 or '59 Chevy with a 6-cylinder. Her son would drive that car like he intended to destroy it and actually he did. To spin the tires, he would rev the engine in neutral and throw it into gear, sometimes to leave a patch of rubber in forward, other times in reverse and then slam it into drove to make a “button hook…” The tranny was replaced at least once and once the rear-end. It did not take long before it was pouring out blue smoke at the rate of probably a quart of oil a hundred miles…
I guess it only takes one person who does not give a grunt to ruin a good vehicle. A couple of years back; we had a large SUV screaming around corners in our neighborhood, leaving tire marks as they fishtailed it. Some folks heard the tires screeching and some went outside to try to identify it and get a plate number but all to no avail, until one night, they were doing it again and the outside rear tire blew or it rolled off its bead and the metal wheel dug in and the thing rolled over onto its side… It was teenagers out hot-rodding in Dad’s SUV and from what I heard from the neighbors, the kids tried to convince the police that a dog ran out in front of them and it rolled as they tried to avoid the animal… No one fell for that…
Good point. I had a high school friend who was quite brilliant in science and math but for unexplained reason would do that sort of thing w/his parent’s new car when they weren’t home. In the summer after high school graduation I heard he had purchased a motorcycle. “Oh no” I’m thinking, not a good choice for his personality. He hit a tree later that summer and was killed. No helmet.
True story:
Many years ago, jd published its list of “most dependable” vehicles. What immediately struck me was that geo prism was No. 1 while Toyota Corolla was No. 19. Little fact that both were built at the same factory in Fremont, CA by Toyota/gm joint venture called Camo Automotive raised doubts so I sent them an email asking for clarification. They - unexpectedly - responded that “we collect actual owners’ reviews”. That, of course, did not constitute anything meaningful. Their assessment clearly showed that Toyota owners have A LOT higher standards and expectations than gm ones who would eat almost anything with pure delight. I pressed further and asked if it would be more legitimate if they unequivocally stated that their list represents OPINIONS rather than objective quality evaluations. To that, they - as expected - did not respond.
Truedelta, on the other hand, lists actual problems vehicle owners experience, and that makes all the difference in the world.
CR is - to say the least - not really technical, and concentrate on OPINIONS about seat design so if the vehicle doesn’t make it off of delivery truck and spends most of its life at a repair shop is not taken into consideration.
To make it short, 100,000 meaningful reports is way more valuable than 300,000 with no value.
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I see nothing weird about it. It may not be typical but not necessarily suspicious.
I work from home and have three vehicles - 2004 GMC Sierra diesel that I use for heavy duty jobs - firewood, boards, gravel. I bought it over a year ago and drove it less than 1,000 miles. The other one is a 2018 4Runner that I drive to our land with no roads and long trips in the winter and during snow storms. It has 32,000 miles on the odometer, and most of it has been accumulated during first 2-3 years when it was the main vehicle. The last one is 2021 Rav4 Hybrid that is used mostly. Since I don’t drive to work, it’s used to take the dogs for a walk, shopping, etc. It has 13,000 miles. In other words, it depends on circumstances.
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Are you saying some ford or chrysler during their best years have the same reliability as Toyota during its worst?
Sorry but I disagree.
I reviewed the CR detailed reliability ratings for the Prism and Corolla, they matched almost 100%, slightly lower for the Prism. I chalk it up to statistical variation and slightly different owner pool.
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No, I’m saying the CarComplaints web site is good for finding ‘problem years’ for a given model, not comparing model to model.
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