2006 GS450H CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM

[Britprius]

2 hours ago, Farqui said:

Crumbs, you've been unlucky there and pretty much got every possible issue with the car.

 

Dealer charges are excessive tho, many of your issues can most likely be fixed cheaper e.g. calipers, shocks.

 

Even the Hybrid battery could be repaired much cheaper by a specialist.

 

Good to hear that the dealer has taken responsibility.

 

Try looking for a car with a Hybrid warranty in place, less than 10yrs old. Lexus charger £60 for a Hybrid healthcheck.

 

Keep looking cos they're a great car. Good luck.

I agree totally with what Lee says. You have been unlucky except for the dealer that sold the car taking responsibility.

If you have not already done so swap back the old 12 volt Battery.

The price of replacing a front shockabsorber at the dealers is exorbitant. New genuine front shocks can be bought for £260 "a price the dealer must pay less than". I am disabled, but I can change a front shock on the floor with hand tools in half an hour. At the price quoted minus the available retail "£260" gives a labour cost of £1070 an hour for fitting. I have also worked out it is perfectly possible to refurbish the shocks for £70 each. 

The rear calliper seizure is common across the Lexus/Toyota range, and is usually just seized slide pins. However even a new genuin calliper is only £260, and can be obtained for £80. Again any mechanic could fit in half an hour after all it's held in place by two bolts and one hose. After fitting it requires bleeding. No different to any other car. Labour cost on this are a little cheaper at only about £800 an hour.

The Battery could have been refurbished for a lot less, but at the price quoted was probably the best price of the one's quoted. In real terms the Battery is the heart of the transmission and as such is cheap compared with the cost of replacing a transmission in any large prestigious car where the cost would be well more than double the Battery figure for replacement.

Lexus charges are out of control much the same as many other prestigious makes though. I suppose someone has to pay for the showrooms "free" coffee, and smart suited service writers.

It would be a pitty to let this put you off buying another GS450H as they are great cars.

John

 

[aviator888]

 

10 hours ago, Britprius said:

I agree totally with what Lee says. You have been unlucky except for the dealer that sold the car taking responsibility.

If you have not already done so swap back the old 12 volt battery.

The price of replacing a front shockabsorber at the dealers is exorbitant. New genuine front shocks can be bought for £260 "a price the dealer must pay less than". I am disabled, but I can change a front shock on the floor with hand tools in half an hour. At the price quoted minus the available retail "£260" gives a labour cost of £1070 an hour for fitting. I have also worked out it is perfectly possible to refurbish the shocks for £70 each. 

The rear calliper seizure is common across the Lexus/Toyota range, and is usually just seized slide pins. However even a new genuin calliper is only £260, and can be obtained for £80. Again any mechanic could fit in half an hour after all it's held in place by two bolts and one hose. After fitting it requires bleeding. No different to any other car. Labour cost on this are a little cheaper at only about £800 an hour.

The battery could have been refurbished for a lot less, but at the price quoted was probably the best price of the one's quoted. In real terms the battery is the heart of the transmission and as such is cheap compared with the cost of replacing a transmission in any large prestigious car where the cost would be well more than double the battery figure for replacement.

Lexus charges are out of control much the same as many other prestigious makes though. I suppose someone has to pay for the showrooms "free" coffee, and smart suited service writers.

It would be a pitty to let this put you off buying another GS450H as they are great cars.

John

 

Spot on. This is not only problem with Lexus.. they all the same. Ridiculous prices for parts and labor (some dealers now charging £200 an hour). I found £2500+ bills in my LS430 service history- for air conditioning repair etc. 

[Britprius]

The quoted rate per hour for labor is only part of the problem, and I can understand why they are or seem to be high but.

If they are set up to work on Lexus cars they should be able to replace parts in reasonable time frames.

Front or rear shocks on the GS450H should only take 1/2 an hour. From the quotes given above at £150 an hour they are charging for 3-1/2 hours for work that takes 30 minutes or at £200 an hour they are charging for over 2-1/2 hours. 

John

 

[mrdoofa]

I'm still not sure what to do!!!

I really like the GS450H but this experience has made me wary, it's not the fact that they can go wrong that particularly bothers me as any car can go wrong, it's the fact they seem to do it with no warning or other symptoms and there seems to be no way of checking these things before you buy. My budget of £5,000 seems to be at the lower end of GS450H prices so that could be something to do with the problems.

I'm considering another mk4 LS400 and even an LS430 although the previous one I had suffered gearbox failure again with no warning so I'm wary of them too!!! I've even seen a 2005 Mercedes S500 LWB for sale locally which I may take a look at, although I've heard the W220 S-classes can have problems too!!! You see my predicament.

The funny thing is that throughout all the problems I've had with cars the one car that keeps getting me out of the s**t is my mums humble 2005 Daihatsu Charade!!! That just keeps on going no matter what you throw at it.

I don't know what to do for the best, at the end of the day I don't ask for much out of life but one thing I do like is a nice car but it seems even that is too much to ask!!!

[KayCee]

Martin dont be downhearted Save another grand and you will find one for sure even if you have to get a banger till you can save up

But i do feel for you

Best of luck

Robert

 

[tonyricha]

Have you thought about a GS 300 ? If you buy no newer than a 55 plate road tax is still reasonable, way less to go wrong but the same car as a 450h, just does not go as fast. There is a 300 SE L on auto trader now within your budget with just 85K on the clock.The only issue with that should be usual rear brakes.

Good luck

[Spacewagon52]

Really sorry for you Martin, after reading this thread. You were so excited and pleased when you bought the car. The fact that you got a full refund from the dealer is the only bonus, as you are not too much out of pocket. 

Lexus cars are complicated and if you are (VERY) unlucky then the costs spiral to the extent it can write-off the car. Thank goodness this happened so soon, as had the warranty expired you would be stuffed! 

My gut feeling would be to get a LS430, but has you had a bad experience with one, I understand your reluctance. 

There are basically two options, as I see it, if you want another GS450H. You will need to buy one with a Lexus warranty - that way you will have peace of mind. But that will cost a lot more. Or go again for the "cheap" end of the market but be prepared to risk the money you have paid. It is a balancing act, but at the luxury end of the market you are much better off buying an old Lexus than a Merc, IMHO. 

My friends Peugeot has just cost £1,400 AND it is still not working - goes back today! 

If you have the time, knowledge (from this wonderful forum!) and patience, they can be run at a reasonable cost. Your problem is that it is your daily car and having it off the road is real pain.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts after some reflection. 

Going as cheap as possible, expecting the worst and hoping for the best is one option.

The other is spending a lot more for one with a warranty. 

 

Good luck with your search Martin.

[oldjoe]

looking to buy a 450h so did some searching and from what i have seen this problem is to do with the inverter fitted to the 2006 vehicles as a different type was fitted from 2007 and the problem became less of a problem :).   have others  found this to be true?

[Hangie]

In general it is never a good idea to buy early models of any car. Best option is to buy from the last years of production as by then most of the problems are gone and new model with new problems shows up :)

[oldjoe]

you are right but 2009-2011 is all the budget will stretch to unfortunately ;(

[cruisermark]

Joseph there is no definitive answer but i read somewhere on the forums is that the problems relates to the heat generated within the Battery cells - the cells in the middle of the Battery are unable to be adequatley cooled therefore shortening their life - the result is the charge they hold drop causing the check hybrid error