Is250 "quality

[leeman]

Well,

I dont mean to sound like a meanie, but today i received a pro-rata refund for my December 06, Lexus IS250 Prestiage with EMV Pack.

For those who dont know, i had been receiving a never ending list of problems with my car the list is as follows:

First Service (approximatley 1200kms)

- Seat "crackling" noise, solution - "retightening" of seat

- Sunroof "squeeking", solution - "lubricant" in the seals

- 1 day in service

Second Service (approximatley 3000kms)

- A pillar knock/rattle, solution - check and reinstall of a pillar

- Dash scratching sounds, solution - removal of dash and completiong of TSB

- squeek/rattle from roof lining, solution - replacement of "warped" roof lining x2!! (two roof linings on the service report!)

- 8 days in service!

Third Service (approximatley 3005kms - thats right, when i picked up the car!)

- Passenger Door lock jambed

- 1 day in service

Fourth Service (approximatley 3005kms - Again, when i picked up the car after the 3rd service!)

- Passenger door trim (the one where the lock was "fixed") hanging loose, from broken clips!

- 30 mins wait for them to fix it again

Recent Issues (approximatley 3500kms)

- Lubricant seeping from gaps in the dash!!!, especially when the weather warms up

- Sun visor screw caps physically damaged coming loose when using sun visors

- Audio system comepltely out of alignment, LHS, you can see the chassis of the dash!

- More squeeks from the roof lining behind the sunroof

These issues seem to stem from the first and 2nd services i had!

All these issues in under 4000kms, and less then 3 months ownership. Suffice to say i will never buy a Lexus again. Do yourself a favor pay the extra dosh, and get the BMW.

For those unfortunate enough to have already purchased one, please make sure you check all the work done on the car for any service or issues you find. Chances are, they would have stuffed up more then what was there at the begining.

I have been provided a "refund" for the vehicle, which was a reasonable amount of $60,000, so i have lost about 10k (because of early exit fees on finance) for less then 4 months ownership.

Trust me, the car was so disappointing, that a 10k loss was worth it!

I have pictures of the issues (but clearly i dont know how to upload them!) if anyone is interested.

Leeman

Lexus? Never again!

[ldc]

Sorry to hear your dissappointment.

Here is my email, please email me the pics (tell me in the email what dealer you went thru with the services)

juxtintt@hotmail.com

I am giving in my car tommorow for the dash rattle which is the only issue i have right now. I hope they fix it. I didn't go thru finance so i wouldnt think i could get a refund...

What is your next car?

[ToddW]

After leaving the Lexus/Toyota mark and going to BMW (E90 323i) I have just gone back to a Lexus again. The BMW in my opinion was extremly complicated which I had numerous issues with including oil leaks, window motors siezed, and a water leaKs from the radiator overflow tank. I am glad to see the back of it and back into some reliability again. I know that I will have no problems in this department with a Lexus. In saying this there is a slight rattle below the passenger air bag but I can live with that. No more BMW for me only Japanese reliability and I am glad!!!

[ldc]

I too was at a BMW the day i bought my lexus. Test drove the 320i and i was deadset dissappointed in the performance, interior design (very plasticness), quality of the leather seats and level of inclusions. Basically a corolla would have been better to sit in than the BMW. The 325 has the 6 cyclinder but you're sitting in the same 320i. I would have chosen the e46 coupe but the car is at it's end so that wasn't an option.

Getting back to the lexus, i got my car back this arvo and the rattles are still there (but you only hear it when you're your not listenning to music and i always listen to music so it's liveable) BUT i'm sure they have not done the fix fully. I will attempt the fix myself.

For what it's worth i recon the lexus is the best bang for your bucks, spend 60K on a lexus or 80K on a 325, i think i'll save the 20K towards my next car.

[leeman]

Sorry to hear your dissappointment.

Here is my email, please email me the pics (tell me in the email what dealer you went thru with the services)

juxtintt@hotmail.com

I am giving in my car tommorow for the dash rattle which is the only issue i have right now. I hope they fix it. I didn't go thru finance so i wouldnt think i could get a refund...

What is your next car?

Its ok mate, i'll post the pictures to you asap!!

Make sure they dont over do it with lubricant! :)

Next car? not sure been "burnt" by luxury, so going Mazda 6 MPS, or Liberty GT... we'll see!

Cheers

[leeman]

I too was at a BMW the day i bought my lexus. Test drove the 320i and i was deadset dissappointed in the performance, interior design (very plasticness), quality of the leather seats and level of inclusions. Basically a corolla would have been better to sit in than the BMW. The 325 has the 6 cyclinder but you're sitting in the same 320i. I would have chosen the e46 coupe but the car is at it's end so that wasn't an option.

Getting back to the lexus, i got my car back this arvo and the rattles are still there (but you only hear it when you're your not listenning to music and i always listen to music so it's liveable) BUT i'm sure they have not done the fix fully. I will attempt the fix myself.

For what it's worth i recon the lexus is the best bang for your bucks, spend 60K on a lexus or 80K on a 325, i think i'll save the 20K towards my next car.

You are very correct, The Lexus really is a fabulous car to drive, no doubt about it. I guess its just very disaapointing for me to take the "leap of faith" and go for what i call, a RWD Toyota Aurion, or a "glorified toyota" and then experience the issues i have.

Its funny that you quote how disappointing the BMW was in build quality, but are willing to pay 60 odd thousand dollars for your lexus, and fix your dash rattles yourself, or just live with it!.

I just hope none of you fine lads, or laddies, ever have to go through what i did!.

Cheers

Leeman

[ldc]

I dont understand why they need to lubricate anything, it's insulation issue.

Did they say they removed the whole dashboard?

Btw, thanks for the photos, did you buy your car new? and is the refund offered by them as they could not fix your car or did u want to "sell" it back to them?

[leeman]

I dont understand why they need to lubricate anything, it's insulation issue.

Did they say they removed the whole dashboard?

Btw, thanks for the photos, did you buy your car new? and is the refund offered by them as they could not fix your car or did u want to "sell" it back to them?

Yes, apparently they needed to lube up the dash to resolve the squeeks and rattles. Yes they removed the entire dash to complete the "dash rattle" bulletin released by Lexus.

Yes i bought the car brand new, they offered the refund as i gave them two options.

1) Refund

2) Replacement Vehicle.

They obviously took the 1st option, as they still made a buckload of money off me!!!

Leeman

[ldc]

I'm quite paranoid when it comes to people handling my car when i'm not there. I made a decision that i would only give the car in once, and if they cannot fix it for whatever reasons then it's up to me to try.

The ratttles i don't feel are a major disspointment in the car. I bought the Lexus for the luxury, inclusion and good brand. I honestly cannot think of any car dollar for dollar that could rival the IS250. That said, so long as i have what i bought the car for (and not what it's not for) then i'm ok with it.

You went to buy the Lexus with the same mindset as me (and others here) i'm sure. That mindset would have been among other things, the fact that Lexus is in the same class as BMW and Mercs and you end up choosing Lexus because somewhere in the back of your mind you feel that it's from Japan make and you would know that generally what's from Japan represents value for money, realiability and high quality, if not from day one, in years to come.

I don't know what owning a BMW or Merc would have been but i'm sure they have their own issues as with most cars. There has not been one person i know who owns a Merc says it's brilliant, it's simply is not from quality built to mechanical (very underpowered). As for Mazda, Subaru and Honda, i'm sure they are not in the same class as Lexus in many areas.

Keep us posted as to what you have decided to get, i'm keen to hear your thoughts about it.

[Art_76]

I'm quite paranoid when it comes to people handling my car when i'm not there. I made a decision that i would only give the car in once, and if they cannot fix it for whatever reasons then it's up to me to try.

The ratttles i don't feel are a major disspointment in the car. I bought the Lexus for the luxury, inclusion and good brand. I honestly cannot think of any car dollar for dollar that could rival the IS250. That said, so long as i have what i bought the car for (and not what it's not for) then i'm ok with it.

You went to buy the Lexus with the same mindset as me (and others here) i'm sure. That mindset would have been among other things, the fact that Lexus is in the same class as BMW and Mercs and you end up choosing Lexus because somewhere in the back of your mind you feel that it's from Japan make and you would know that generally what's from Japan represents value for money, realiability and high quality, if not from day one, in years to come.

I don't know what owning a BMW or Merc would have been but i'm sure they have their own issues as with most cars. There has not been one person i know who owns a Merc says it's brilliant, it's simply is not from quality built to mechanical (very underpowered). As for Mazda, Subaru and Honda, i'm sure they are not in the same class as Lexus in many areas.

Keep us posted as to what you have decided to get, i'm keen to hear your thoughts about it.

I agree with you for the most part but when you buy a luxury car you expect luxury and I don't think rattles are part of luxury. I also think for the amount of money you paid for your car you shouldn't have to make compromises like having to turn you stereo up to drown out your rattles or have to fix them yourself.

I had rattles in my car which I took back to the dealer to get fixed several times, luckily for me as opposed to Leeman they were fixed but I was not a happy at all having this noise in the car.

I previously had the IS200 which was 5 years old by the time I sold it and that had no rattles at all five years later so rattles in the first few months of owning a brand new one really pi**ed me off.

As sad as it is that Leeman "sold" his car back to the dealer there are plenty of options out there apart from Lexus which are just as good if not better than the IS250. Having said that Leeman, please keep us informed as to what you end up getting next... and I hope it ends up being a happier experience for you..

[Twinny]

I am note that some people are swaping their IS250 for BMW's. I hope they have better luck. I must say that the German built cars appeared to be better than the South African sourced 3 series.

I have recently gone the other way, after 10 BMW's of various models. My last was an E90 325i. It was rubbish and spent more than 7 weeks in the dealer over 2 years. It had a new steering column, diff and ignition lock. The sunroof and seats had to come out and it was full of rattles. After 14000 kms I had had enough. The dealer was very helpfull and fixed everything eventually but I just got tired of taking it back!.

I am very happy with the Lexus (we had 2 IS200's and they were excellent) although I have only done 4000km.

I also have an MB SLK280 and it is no better. The service from MB is terrible and very expensive.

[Tmw]

Well,

I dont mean to sound like a meanie, but today i received a pro-rata refund for my December 06, Lexus IS250 Prestiage with EMV Pack.

For those who dont know, i had been receiving a never ending list of problems with my car the list is as follows:

First Service (approximatley 1200kms)

- Seat "crackling" noise, solution - "retightening" of seat

- Sunroof "squeeking", solution - "lubricant" in the seals

- 1 day in service

Second Service (approximatley 3000kms)

- A pillar knock/rattle, solution - check and reinstall of a pillar

- Dash scratching sounds, solution - removal of dash and completiong of TSB

- squeek/rattle from roof lining, solution - replacement of "warped" roof lining x2!! (two roof linings on the service report!)

- 8 days in service!

Third Service (approximatley 3005kms - thats right, when i picked up the car!)

- Passenger Door lock jambed

- 1 day in service

Fourth Service (approximatley 3005kms - Again, when i picked up the car after the 3rd service!)

- Passenger door trim (the one where the lock was "fixed") hanging loose, from broken clips!

- 30 mins wait for them to fix it again

Recent Issues (approximatley 3500kms)

- Lubricant seeping from gaps in the dash!!!, especially when the weather warms up

- Sun visor screw caps physically damaged coming loose when using sun visors

- Audio system comepltely out of alignment, LHS, you can see the chassis of the dash!

- More squeeks from the roof lining behind the sunroof

These issues seem to stem from the first and 2nd services i had!

All these issues in under 4000kms, and less then 3 months ownership. Suffice to say i will never buy a Lexus again. Do yourself a favor pay the extra dosh, and get the BMW.

For those unfortunate enough to have already purchased one, please make sure you check all the work done on the car for any service or issues you find. Chances are, they would have stuffed up more then what was there at the begining.

I have been provided a "refund" for the vehicle, which was a reasonable amount of $60,000, so i have lost about 10k (because of early exit fees on finance) for less then 4 months ownership.

Trust me, the car was so disappointing, that a 10k loss was worth it!

I have pictures of the issues (but clearly i dont know how to upload them!) if anyone is interested.

Leeman

Lexus? Never again!

Hi Leeman

I have an 07 is250 sport luxuary, done nearly 10000km, pretty much the same as u mentioned, never ending problem, they fixed some rattles and sqeaks, but i am still having sqeaks from the sunroof rubber seals,

lexus tried to fixed it 3 times by applying silicon sprays, doesn't work, now i request to have the whole sunroof replaced, they said u can't just replace the rubber seal, has to replace the glass and rubber seal, both comes together, took Lexus Australia nearly 2 months to get approval for the dealer to order the parts for replacement,

now i am still waiting for the glass of sunroof to be arrive, likes to find out if that will fix the sqeaks after they replace the glass and rubber seals. I am sick and tired of nearly 10 trips to the dealership and problem still not fix, and every time there seems to be new problem came up after i got the car back from the service.

i am thinking of doing what u done, on getting pro-rata refund from my 07 is 250, please tell me how did u do it ?, who did u talk to? did u talk to the service manager or the car salesman? did u have trouble neogotiating the deal and was it a difficult process? thank you for ur help.

so i totally agree with u, paying big money and getting poor quality, i always thought lexus has good quality and reliability, that's why i bought a lexus after driven 2 BMWs, 3 series and 5 series, but the car was disappointing !!

[ldc]

As far s i know lexus have addressed the rattles issues in the 07/08 models.

I just got my seat rails tightened and that got rid of the seat rattles so far.

I concur that if you pay that much for a car you'd want it to be near perfect (no such thing as perfect). I bought the Presitge so it wasn't as much as the SL, i guess my pain isnt as bad as yours.

Btw, my love for driving the lexus has increased since the seat rattles have gone. If nothing else goes wrong i'll keep my car till altleast till the warranty runs out.

[Sapphire Cam]

A few rattle problems as well (Prestige 2006, 30,000kms) - all minor, but niggling none the same. I'm one of these people that hate rattles whether it be a Commodore or a...Lexus! But I have a keen ear - mine have included sunroof, rear parcel shelf, buzzing door (when stereo up loud) and squeaky seat, as well as a weird metallic clunk behind rear passengers seat. All fixed by dealer.

I've gotten results from my dealer by being patient and trying to identify where exactly the rattle is coming from and possibly what might be causing it (temperature, driving conditions, areas where tightening is required etc.). Put this down on paper and submit it to your dealer (I typed it up and emailed it to them prior to my scheduled service). That helps the technicians, and the dealership seem to care a bit more if you've taken to the time to help out as well.

Lexus have made a rod for their own back in a sense by making such a quiet cabin. My friend's Mazda 6 has a squeaky seat after just 1,500kms and a colleagues BMW 320i after a month has a rattling dash that the dealer cant fix.

Still the best car in its class and a joy to drive. My gut feel is that they may've rushed the car out by 6-12 months as the 3-series was 'getting away from them' and the Alfa 159 was around the corner, and not done the usual level of testing and trialling that they normally do

[Brent]

Well,

I dont mean to sound like a meanie, but today i received a pro-rata refund for my December 06, Lexus IS250 Prestiage with EMV Pack.

For those who dont know, i had been receiving a never ending list of problems with my car the list is as follows:

First Service (approximatley 1200kms)

- Seat "crackling" noise, solution - "retightening" of seat

- Sunroof "squeeking", solution - "lubricant" in the seals

- 1 day in service

Second Service (approximatley 3000kms)

- A pillar knock/rattle, solution - check and reinstall of a pillar

- Dash scratching sounds, solution - removal of dash and completiong of TSB

- squeek/rattle from roof lining, solution - replacement of "warped" roof lining x2!! (two roof linings on the service report!)

- 8 days in service!

Third Service (approximatley 3005kms - thats right, when i picked up the car!)

- Passenger Door lock jambed

- 1 day in service

Fourth Service (approximatley 3005kms - Again, when i picked up the car after the 3rd service!)

- Passenger door trim (the one where the lock was "fixed") hanging loose, from broken clips!

- 30 mins wait for them to fix it again

Recent Issues (approximatley 3500kms)

- Lubricant seeping from gaps in the dash!!!, especially when the weather warms up

- Sun visor screw caps physically damaged coming loose when using sun visors

- Audio system comepltely out of alignment, LHS, you can see the chassis of the dash!

- More squeeks from the roof lining behind the sunroof

These issues seem to stem from the first and 2nd services i had!

All these issues in under 4000kms, and less then 3 months ownership. Suffice to say i will never buy a Lexus again. Do yourself a favor pay the extra dosh, and get the BMW.

For those unfortunate enough to have already purchased one, please make sure you check all the work done on the car for any service or issues you find. Chances are, they would have stuffed up more then what was there at the begining.

I have been provided a "refund" for the vehicle, which was a reasonable amount of $60,000, so i have lost about 10k (because of early exit fees on finance) for less then 4 months ownership.

Trust me, the car was so disappointing, that a 10k loss was worth it!

I have pictures of the issues (but clearly i dont know how to upload them!) if anyone is interested.

Leeman

Lexus? Never again!

I have had very similar issues, my DEC '07 IS250 prestige with EMV pack has had the following issues;

Handling

- The vehicle veers from side to side upon application of brakes.

Audio System

- The audio system cuts out, CD continues to play but no sound. Car needs to be restarted.

Key Detection

- Both original and spare are frequently 'undetected', multiple attempts necessary.

Sunroof

- Jams, though no physical problems. Jammed on highway between towns, it began to rain. i spent 3 hours under a tree in a town i can only call 'hick-ville'.

Steering

- Steering wheel out of line. Must be held on an angle to drive straight (not wheel alignment related).

Reversing Camera

- Cuts out, just displays a black screen (doesnt display parking type icons, so it isnt the image. its the screen/software itself).

Dash / Console

- Panels beginning to separate and gaps are forming - slowly but surely increasing in size.

EMV screen

- Messages and prompts appear for milliseconds only. Voice has changed accents, prompts only partially read aloud.

Vehicle has been inspected 12 times, not one of these issues has been fixed. the car is returned to me with the report saying "could not find" though the dealership staff have experienced these issues. my last resort was contacting corporate. Their answer "take it back to the dealership". Its a circle. I've asked for a refund though i was refused. I asked for a replacement car though i was refused.

The steering and handling issue caused an accident 2 months ago. (see pic). I veered tot he side, then hit a car upon correcting it. My insurance company launched a full investigation, including the forensic police investigators.

What do i do next?

[ldc]

*BLEEP* that does not sound like a Lexus mate.

The steering issue sounds non mechanical, have you gone to a tyre shop and have it checked out?

[Losiho]

I had a IS250 loaner while the LS was in service yesterday.

IS250 owners will be pleased to know that there wasn't a single rattle or squeak anywhere in the car - looks like things might be on the improve.

On another note, this is the first time I've driven a Prestige (always had Sport Luxuries) and the 16" Bridgestone tyre setup had way too much road noise, something that is nowhere near as bad on 17" and 18" IS250s.

[ldc]

I think when Lexus build the car, they were too scared of over tighening the seat rails, this is what solved my driver seat rattles (by re-tighenning the rails). Late 2007 models should be rattles free.

I bought the car for it's mechanical reliability, and i think the 2.5L V6 is the best going round ... smooth and effortless....

For the cost of a Prestigue, you can't get a better car, guarantee.

[ryan_locho]

i have a 19 yr old celsior (japanese ls400) my mum has an is 250 and rx330 prior to the is250 was an audi tt which was so dissapointing she went back to lexus (before the tt was one of the first is200's in australia). To expect a car to not have anything to ever go wrong with it is just crazy, and to tell me that for $60000 it should be perfect is insane as well. 60k is no longer a stupidly large amount of money to spend on a car remember that the IS range in ENTRY level.

Sure its frustrating that things go wrong (mums had the key finding issue which lexus replaced the whole computer which controls it), but i work on cars every day and can tell you that from a build perspective lexus is by far superior than either BMW or MB. My car is the first run celsior and it is still going unbelieveably well.

The only issues come from the extensive modifications that i myself have done (over 80k worth more than an is250 is new) but compare it to a 20 yr old Merc or BMW and the Lexus is by far the better car.

So for the people out there who can put up with a few rattles and take it back to the dealer once it is sorted you will have many years of enjoyable motoring because i would put money on it your lexus will be driving long after the beemers and mercs.

theres my little rant but i cant believe a few rattles causes so much grief. try putting 20k of stereo in and see where the rattles come from hehehe