HELP. LS400 Service+New starter motor now engine sick

[cleverdick]

9 hours ago, Chasdad said:

For future reference is the independent you use Westfield  

Yes.  Mind you, they're always busy and have a long waiting list, which I suppose is a good thing if you're not in a hurry to get something done.

[ambermarine]

The reason I suggested an independent engineer and not Lexus is the first line of defence the garage as "Lexus would say that would'nt they.

A motor engineer would not have to take the engine to bits to identify the fundamentals of fault analysis especially if the engine did run, although very rough ,which helps to analyze specific faults.

It sounds like you have some chance of getting the original 700 quid back and hopefully they have not damaged anything apart from the relay.

On the subject of the relay ,it is unlikely a fault on a relay would cause the engine to run rough relays are simply protection gates and after initial surge usually fall dormant.

I hope you get the matter resolved without stressing to much, after all the car is still in one piece and can be put right.

 

[Verbout]

Best wishes with the repair

[Frubbins]

On 04/07/2016 at 7:14 PM, The-Acre said:

Was it like it as soon as you picked it up from the garage? If so you need to get it back there and demand that it's put right, you have the law on your side.

It was, as stated above. I picked it up 6pm last Friday. Immediately told them and returned it today, they not working weekends and the replacement relay not in until today. I need to know the likely cause of the diagnostic readout, given that they carried out a full service, replacing filters, plugs etc, and took the lower engine off to instal the starter motor. With the previous dirty filters & plugs it ran like a dream. The only fault being the death of the starter motor last week.

[Frubbins]

It looks like I am going to need an independent motor engineer. Anyone know of one in the Croydon area ?

With regard to the garage saying "it was a non-starter when it arrived so we don't know it worked" (Obviously it didn't start as it didn't have a working starter motor). Anyway I just realised that the RAC guy who turned up two days before the starter finally died, jump started the car. With the bonnet open and the engine running we spent a good ten minutes talking about LS400's. His father had one and both of them were great fans. So having stood next to the engine turning over silently for 10+ minutes, I have an independent witness to the prior state of the engine. Useful if this goes to Court.

VISA have noted the failure to supply service bit and have posted the £700 into an escrow account pending satisfactory outcome.

[Bluesman]

15 minutes ago, Frubbins said:

It looks like I am going to need an independent motor engineer. Anyone know of one in the Croydon area ?

With regard to the garage saying "it was a non-starter when it arrived so we don't know it worked" (Obviously it didn't start as it didn't have a working starter motor). Anyway I just realised that the RAC guy who turned up two days before the starter finally died, jump started the car. With the bonnet open and the engine running we spent a good ten minutes talking about LS400's. His father had one and both of them were great fans. So having stood next to the engine turning over silently for 10+ minutes, I have an independent witness to the prior state of the engine. Useful if this goes to Court.

VISA have noted the failure to supply service bit and have posted the £700 into an escrow account pending satisfactory outcome.

First piece of good news. That will annoy the garage into hopefully doing something on a positive basis.

[Keith Bowler]

9 hours ago, Frubbins said:

It looks like I am going to need an independent motor engineer. Anyone know of one in the Croydon area ?

With regard to the garage saying "it was a non-starter when it arrived so we don't know it worked" (Obviously it didn't start as it didn't have a working starter motor). Anyway I just realised that the RAC guy who turned up two days before the starter finally died, jump started the car. With the bonnet open and the engine running we spent a good ten minutes talking about LS400's. His father had one and both of them were great fans. So having stood next to the engine turning over silently for 10+ minutes, I have an independent witness to the prior state of the engine. Useful if this goes to Court.

VISA have noted the failure to supply service bit and have posted the £700 into an escrow account pending satisfactory outcome.

Philip - I have used an independant Toyota/Lexus mechanic in Carshalton for a few years now who knows his stuff when it comes to these models. He only works part time now but would most likely help you out. Message me and we can discuss how to get in touch with him.

[Frubbins]

I've been in touch with a motor engineer from Epsom. He suggested I remove car to a Toyota trained garage in South Croydon. If they cannot fix it or work out some sort of forensic work on the history of the engine, I have him as a fall-back. So far I've heard nothing from the original garage. I will give them until the end of tomorrow and then have the car uplifted by the new garage. Hopefully I will be able to report some progress. In the meantime thank you all for your support & advice. It has certainly helped

 

[Frubbins]

At the eleventh hour (5pm today) the garage told me the car was fixed. Apparently they had brought in a mechanic who knows his boot from his bonnet. They tried to charge me another £165 which I refused to pay on the grounds that if they had done the job correctly in the first place they wouldn't have needed to bring in outside help. Also I pointed out that the first "mechanic" had told me he was working for free. So when the garage owner told me he had lost over £200 on this job I got out my violin and drowned out his tears. Anyway, the car is presently sounding like it's old self again. My fingers are crossed that it remains the same. So thanks once again for all your help.

@Keith Bowler I dont know how to PM you, so could you send the details of your Carshalton man to me. Thanks

[The-Acre]

37 minutes ago, Frubbins said:

At the eleventh hour (5pm today) the garage told me the car was fixed. Apparently they had brought in a mechanic who knows his boot from his bonnet. They tried to charge me another £165 which I refused to pay on the grounds that if they had done the job correctly in the first place they wouldn't have needed to bring in outside help. Also I pointed out that the first "mechanic" had told me he was working for free. So when the garage owner told me he had lost over £200 on this job I got out my violin and drowned out his tears. Anyway, the car is presently sounding like it's old self again. My fingers are crossed that it remains the same. So thanks once again for all your help.

@Keith Bowler I dont know how to PM you, so could you send the details of your Carshalton man to me. Thanks

Good news, keep us posted on how it runs.  Did you find out what the problem was?

[Frubbins]

Didn't ask. No point, I wouldn't get the truth. He did say the old company would cease to exist tomorrow and as the new owner he was forming a new company. So maybe things could have been a lot worse.

[Bluesman]

2 hours ago, Frubbins said:

At the eleventh hour (5pm today) the garage told me the car was fixed. Apparently they had brought in a mechanic who knows his boot from his bonnet. They tried to charge me another £165 which I refused to pay on the grounds that if they had done the job correctly in the first place they wouldn't have needed to bring in outside help. Also I pointed out that the first "mechanic" had told me he was working for free. So when the garage owner told me he had lost over £200 on this job I got out my violin and drowned out his tears. Anyway, the car is presently sounding like it's old self again. My fingers are crossed that it remains the same. So thanks once again for all your help.

@Keith Bowler I dont know how to PM you, so could you send the details of your Carshalton man to me. Thanks

Great news. Hopefully that's the end of that nightmare.

[Verbout]

Excellent ending, would have still liked to have known the issues.

[cleverdick]

Hang on a minute....

If they clearly didn't know where the starter motor is located, surely it's unlikely that they changed it!  Sounds to me as if they started dismantling the engine at random, causing collateral damage in the process.  (It might not even have been the starter motor.)

Can you see any evidence that they've done any work on the top of the engine?  (If they had changed it, surely they would have been only too pleased to show you the worn brushes or whatever.)

[Bluesman]

Its a fair point.

 

[Tinonline]

Yep, how do you bump start a car with a dud starter if it's auto? Battery was dead? Still worth getting that money back.