IS-F gearbox problem

Sully-K · November 3, 2017

Warning: long post

So travelling on motorway this morning and I come off onto an A road. Stuck in slow moving traffic. Car in front moves forward and when I take my foot off the brake and touch the gas the car does not move and just revs up. I look down to make sure it's not in neutral. It was in drive so used the display button to see what gear I am in and it's stuck in 6th!

I put it manual however it would not change gear. I then turned the car off and on again. It now reset and went into first using the paddles. Travelled about a mile and stopped at next set of lights. When I tried to set off again it it would not come out of first gear. Then the CEL, traction light came on with a warning to check VSC.

I then pulled over as the car had clearly gone into limp mode. I called lexus recovery and waited for them to arrive. When the guy arrived he jumped in and tried to put it in gear but it just rolled back. As the car rolled back I noticed a big puddle of oil on the road. Turns out the gearbox had just dumped it's oil, hence the reason for the car going into limp mode.

The car has been recovered to Lexus dealers. Luckily the car is under warranty. I was told they can't look at it today but hopefully they can first thing Monday morning.

I was not offered a courtesy car as they had none available, however I was not even offered a lift home and they just said to you want us to call you a taxi or can somebody pick you up. A bit of a let down in regards to customer service.

Anyway, spoke to one of the mechanics and he said it could simply be a hose that has leaked and replacement with a top up of oil or could be due a new gearbox if it has been badly damaged!

Will keep you guys updated. However please keep an eye out for any leaks on your car's just in case.

Sully

Flytvr · November 3, 2017

Sorry to hear that!!

Poor service from the Lexus dealer :(

Warranty (for me) a must have when running such a complex car - bullet proof or not!!

emjay82 · November 3, 2017

What a nightmare, I hope it's a relatively easy fix, not a new gearbox! Poor show by Lexus.

I would not run a rare, high performance car like the ISF without warranty.

Finzky · November 3, 2017

Sad to hear this, you are very lucky to have it under warranty. There is no doubt this is very frustrating for you, but I think you are just very unlucky with this as this is rare occasion when cars under warranty broke down especially lexus.

Wish your car speedy recovery and plenty of more hassle free miles, keep us posted.

Cheers

Kritter · November 3, 2017

Double ouch. Hope the car is ok.

Shameful from the Lexus team I would have insisted on a courtesy car, hopefully the go out of there way to get it sorted asap!

stevet · November 3, 2017

Very lucky it’s under warranty. Wouldn’t like to think how much a new gearbox is. But if it is just a hose it could be a simple fix and top up the oil. Sounds like it protected itself anyway.

Sent from my Iphone using Tapatalk

Sully-K · November 3, 2017

I am hoping it does not need a new gearbox, as that will have to be ordered from Japan. I very much doubt they would put that on a plane given the costs so therefore will be shipped. Looking at 6 weeks turnaround at minimum I presume.

steve2006 · November 3, 2017

What would concern me is that if it does turn out to be a faulty hose or union and that part is replaced and the gearbox refilled would there be a chance of other damage such as bearings running dry as a result of the lubrication loss which may not be immediately apparent.

Sully-K · November 3, 2017

That has crossed my mind, however, i believe there was plenty of oil within the box as it left a large puddle on the flat bed truck.

One thing I did question is why does it not have a sensor in the box to warn you if the oil level decreases? However because it went into limp mode and I stopped straight away the recovery guy said it may have protected itself by going into limp mode as soon as it detected oil level decreasing. Guess all I can do now is sit and wait for Monday to see what Lexus say

Arqum · November 3, 2017

Hi mate, under the terms and conditions of the Lexus warranty you are entitled to a car if the warranty AA recover you. Don't let the dealership fob you off. Speak to the warranty line and say you need a car.

Sully-K · November 3, 2017

I will speak to them on Monday, to be fair I don't really need one as I am abroad from Tuesday for the rest of the month. I will be more than happy if they arrange airport transfers as I was going to park the ISF at the airport, so I will request this instead of a car. In fact that reminds me I need to cancel the the parking.

Big Rat · November 4, 2017

20 hours ago, Sully-K said:

Warning: long post

So travelling on motorway this morning and I come off onto an A road. Stuck in slow moving traffic. Car in front moves forward and when I take my foot off the brake and touch the gas the car does not move and just revs up. I look down to make sure it's not in neutral. It was in drive so used the display button to see what gear I am in and it's stuck in 6th!

I put it manual however it would not change gear. I then turned the car off and on again. It now reset and went into first using the paddles. Travelled about a mile and stopped at next set of lights. When I tried to set off again it it would not come out of first gear. Then the CEL, traction light came on with a warning to check VSC.

I then pulled over as the car had clearly gone into limp mode. I called lexus recovery and waited for them to arrive. When the guy arrived he jumped in and tried to put it in gear but it just rolled back. As the car rolled back I noticed a big puddle of oil on the road. Turns out the gearbox had just dumped it's oil, hence the reason for the car going into limp mode.

The car has been recovered to Lexus dealers. Luckily the car is under warranty. I was told they can't look at it today but hopefully they can first thing Monday morning.

I was not offered a courtesy car as they had none available, however I was not even offered a lift home and they just said to you want us to call you a taxi or can somebody pick you up. A bit of a let down in regards to customer service.

Anyway, spoke to one of the mechanics and he said it could simply be a hose that has leaked and replacement with a top up of oil or could be due a new gearbox if it has been badly damaged!

Will keep you guys updated. However please keep an eye out for any leaks on your car's just in case.

Sully

@Sully-KNot good news fingers crossed for some good news next week, wise man that you are with the warranty, we've had this topic a number of times and it's precisely for eventualities like this I wouldn't run a car like this without one.

🐀

Sully-K · November 6, 2017

Right guys,

Lexus UK have rejected the claim on the warranty. they are saying as my last service was not done at 10k but at 12k, they refuse to cover any warranty work. I stated to the dealer that they have been servicing my car since 2014 and it was only slightly late on this occasion. However Lexus Bradford refuse to budge and have just redirected me to the Warranty department. I tried to call them but they are closed.

I stated to the dealers that there was nothing wrong with the car when I had it last serviced by them a few weeks ago so therefore I do not feel it is fair that Lexus are trying to get out of paying for the repair.

I have been told at this stage it is the oil cooler and some other part (to be honest I was not listening properly by this stage as I was fuming to say the least) The cost of repair is £900.

Lexus Bradford should have warned me at the time I got my car serviced that it may affect the warranty as I have gone over 2k in miles and I could have then purchased the warranty elsewhere!

I have not had a good experience with Lexus over the last few days and this has just really wound me up!!!

is200 Newbie · November 6, 2017

That's ridiculous - its not even two months overdue if you factor in that 12k is an annual mileage

There's no service undertaken on the gearbox at service intervals so what's the basis of them thinking that the fault (or any fault) could be spotted at a service?

As far as the box oil goes Lexus themselves state that is a sealed box - no need to change the oil - some will, some wont. I would consider another dealer to see what they say regarding the warranty work!

SHAME ON LEXUS - especially as you have the warranty

Sully-K · November 6, 2017

By the way the last service was just an oil and filter change

is200 Newbie · November 6, 2017

Sounds like they are shirking the cost of the repair ....

Martin F · November 6, 2017

8 minutes ago, Sully-K said:

By the way the last service was just an oil and filter change

This is a key point. If no work was due on the gearbox, and your service sheet doesn't highlight that the gearbox oil levels or other were checked then I don't think Lexus have a leg to stand on.

The second piece of information you need is whether the failure is a type that is typically covered under warranty and not due to some external event. This may be tricky if you now ask the garage which knows your claim has been rejected.

You may need to recover your car to another garage and have an independent engineers report done and then mention small claims court to Lexus warranty dept.

Sully-K · November 6, 2017

The thing is I am due to fly out tomorrow afternoon and will be out of the country until the end of the month. Trust it to happen now! just my luck!

I will be raising a complaint first thing in the morning with Customer Relations.

I do believe they are just looking for an excuse not to pay.

Flytvr · November 6, 2017

That's rotten news. Does sound rather mean!

I have to say that I found Lexus customer relations useless :(

I wish you best of luck!

Mattmech · November 6, 2017

I can’t see how 2k miles makes any odds to a non serviceable item.

keep pushing regardless, poor show on Lexus’s part.

Ace8800 · November 6, 2017

Shame on them.. email Lexus complaints.. watch the dealers look at it from a different view after that.

emjay82 · November 6, 2017

1 hour ago, is200 Newbie said:

That's ridiculous - its not even two months overdue if you factor in that 12k is an annual mileage

There's no service undertaken on the gearbox at service intervals so what's the basis of them thinking that the fault (or any fault) could be spotted at a service?

As far as the box oil goes Lexus themselves state that is a sealed box - no need to change the oil - some will, some wont. I would consider another dealer to see what they say regarding the warranty work!

SHAME ON LEXUS - especially as you have the warranty

Good point there. They place warranty on cars with considerable missing service history, that's a fact. Poor show Lexus, this kind of story is becoming more common.

stevet · November 6, 2017

£900 is a very cheap repair for Lexus. Bet you would save a fortune doing else ware as a big percent of that will be labour. Not that you can invalidate your worthless warranty anyway.