New member. LC500 Sport

[AJ500]

Having followed this site for some time I decided to join and hopefully interact with other owners.

I purchased my white 500 V8 towards the end of last year after spending some while checking out the cars available at Lexus main dealers.Some have been on sale for quite a while and there were a couple I just missed as they sold as soon as they became available.

I particularly wanted either a Sport or Sport + as I actually like the wheels and wanted the carbon roof and sports seats. My car had covered about 4K miles and was just under a year old.

prior to buying I also borrowed a hybrid version and whilst I enjoyed it,the V8 was always going to be the one.I traded my BMW M2 Competition to get this car which is a very different style of performance .The outright effortless power of the Lexus is preferable to me at this stage.

I suspect that as my car was registered after September 2018,it must have the dreaded exhaust emissions filter fitted as whilst it sounds great,I don’t think it is as loud as some of the videos on YouTube portray.Any other people experienced this?

One issue I have experienced is the sticking fuel flap.I thought this was only the initial batch of cars in 2017,but I do have this sometimes.It may be that the hinge is affected by the colder weather as it was OK when I first got it.

I would be interested to hear if many of the owners who got their cars when released are still owners.The forum appears to have been pretty quiet in recent weeks.

Best regards,

A J.

 

[malcolmw]

Welcome and I think the forum for LC owners is quiet because there are not very many of us!

I also test drove the hybrid before I ordered the V8 and I think the Battery version is more suited to town driving (I live in a rural area). The V8 is very easy to live with in all traffic conditions, however, and is like both a luxury saloon and a sports car rolled into one switchable by using your right foot.

Interestingly, I have also experienced the sticking fuel cover in the last few weeks after 2 years of untroubled ownership (yes, I still have my Feb 2018 car). I have meticulously cleaned the fuel filler area and the mechanism and the electrically operated plunger is fully withdrawing OK when the button id pressed but the cover does not seem to be springing open. I have also tried adding a small piece of foam rubber to increase the opening force on the cover but this seem to have made little difference. Providing two of us go to the garage then I think we should be able to open the cover but it's not exactly convenient. I wonder if the inner moulding on the flap is fouling the body moulding somewhere? I should report it to Lexus for a look at.

All very strange. It is even more strange that you have encountered this at exactly the same time as me. 

[AJ500]

Thank you malcolmw.

yes it’s spooky our fuel flaps are acting up at the same time. A guy on Pistonheads forum said he had the same issue and it is the hinge. I have just sprayed silicone oil  into this area using the flexible tube nozzle and the flap does seem a bit smoother as it was quite stiff.Usually mine opens a tiny bit and can be pulled open .I will see if it is now better.As I said,maybe the cooler weather affects the plastic hinge.

As you say,the car can be a luxury cruiser or outright sports GT.I prefer this to the in your face performance of the M cars I have recently had.The design and quality of the interior is exceptional.

I fail to understand why these cars do not sell in greater numbers.Even at the cost of a brand new car they compare favourably with what might be construed as the competition. Used,there are now cars down in the £45k area which is crazy as wherever these cars go they are admired.

[malcolmw]

Quick Update: After I typed the above, I went out and checked and the mouldings are firmly touching just below the plunger area. I applied a little Vaseline to the area and... the flap opens OK. I will probably clean off the Vaseline and apply dry film lube later on (to avoid collecting grit) but I think this may be the problem.

I tried the silicone on the spring/hinge before but this did nothing to help.

I live near Beaulieu and was co-incidentally in the area when they had their SuperCar Weekend. I had people gazing at the LC thinking I had been an exhibitor. 😄

[AJ500]

Thanks for the update.

May well be the moulding but that implies the flap has dropped slightly to cause it to rub,when it didn’t before.Wonder if a light sanding would free it permanently.Need to be brave though,to start fettling a newish car!

Assuming your car is red.That was my first choice,followed by the white. I tried to deal on a red one but the dealer would not agree what I considered a reasonable deal.After looking for a car for so long,I ended up knowing which dealer had what car and for how long!

[malcolmw]

Yes, I have the Sonic Red (the first red car that I have ever owned) but you are aligned with me that the white with dark rose interior is very nice. In fact, so nice that my other half's NX is in this combination! I really wanted a cream leather interior with the red but this is not an option so I defaulted to black.

Picture:

 

[AJ500]

Very nice.

My interior is actually black but I also like the dark rose.

Have you covered much mileage?

We have seen very few LC out in the wild,but a yellow one passed through our nearest town the other day and did look very good.

[malcolmw]

In two years I have clocked up about 9,500 miles and averaged a real 24mpg (indicated 25.2 on the computer).

I have only seen another 2 LCs on the road in the 2 years of my ownership. If you look back at my posts on the LC500 forum you will find notes of these.

I will check out the filler cover issue tomorrow and let you know if it is still OK.

[RgrWynne]

17 hours ago, AJ500 said:

Thank you malcolmw.

yes it’s spooky our fuel flaps are acting up at the same time. A guy on Pistonheads forum said he had the same issue and it is the hinge. I have just sprayed silicone oil  into this area using the flexible tube nozzle and the flap does seem a bit smoother as it was quite stiff.Usually mine opens a tiny bit and can be pulled open .I will see if it is now better.As I said,maybe the cooler weather affects the plastic hinge.

As you say,the car can be a luxury cruiser or outright sports GT.I prefer this to the in your face performance of the M cars I have recently had.The design and quality of the interior is exceptional.

I fail to understand why these cars do not sell in greater numbers.Even at the cost of a brand new car they compare favourably with what might be construed as the competition. Used,there are now cars down in the £45k area which is crazy as wherever these cars go they are admired.

I think the LC is a wonderful, stylish, brilliantly built car. However there is a limited market and to put its value into context, my friend has. Merc SL AMG, all extras, 2 years old, cost him £90k , new. He has 6k miles on the clock and he was just offered £45k part ex against a new one.

[malcolmw]

Reference the fuel filler flap, mine would not open again this morning. I can release it using a wide screwdriver and a soft cloth to gently apply additional opening force at the bottom outer edge of the flap while pressing the release button.

I dropped in to Lexus Hedge End this morning and they think a new assembly is required but are going to investigate and let me know. It is definitely the mouldings closing tightly against one another thus preventing the flap from springing out. I mentioned that this is a "known issue" (and under warranty).

I will keep you informed of progress.

[AJ500]

Thanks for the update.

Mine usually springs just enough to pull it open with my finger and then again,sometimes it opens properly.Really odd.

As I said before,an owner on another forum stated his dealer was going to replace the whole assembly but he was waiting until his next service.I think the entire unit unbolts,including the hinge and solenoid plunger in one unit.Really strange that yours should last 2 years before causing trouble.When mine got stuck completely ,I wedged a credit card in the gap around the flap and then went around to operate the switch.Be interesting to hear what your dealer says before I approach either my nearest dealer or the supplying one.

 

 

[graham8370]

Same thing with my LS500 (2018). Can hear the switch operating but the flap does not flip open. OK when the wife's with me (I press the switch, she uses her fingernail to prise it open) When on my own, open the boot, pull the cable from inside, (right hand) prise the flap with the left. Not convenient. 

 

[AJ500]

Not sure you can do that on the LC.

Seems like a problem Lexus should have issued an update for.

[malcolmw]

My car is booked in next Tuesday to have a new fuel filler flap mechanism fitted. Apparently, the design of this part has been changed twice since the introduction of the LC model so this indicates a probable issue. However, there seems to be no TSB to cover the problem.

I will let you know how I get on.

[AJ500]

Thanks Malcolm. Please let us know if it cures the issue and how big a job it is.

presumably you are getting whatever the latest version is.

AJ

[wendle]

I had my filler cap assembly replaced last week, it is a known problem, it is a big job,( all day ) they have to remove a lot of trim to get to it, works fine now, springs out with a lot more force.

 

[AJ500]

I was hoping the job didn’t entail stripping interior trim. Looking at the assembly through the open flap,there are some bolts evident which look like they secure a single assembly including the hinge. The only part not visible is the actual hinge which is angled behind the rear wing but it looks like the unit can be removed from the opening.Clearly not if they have to come in from the interior.

Hope it doesn’t create rattles etc when they refit the leather panels.

[wendle]

well mine is fine , no rattles, i have had a few teasing problems with my car from new, it was one of the first 19 into the UK, i have had the same  technician work on my car, i think he spechelises in the "F" models and LC.  

[AJ500]

That is ideal,having a guy who specialises.I assume your dealer is in Kent.

I am new to Lexus so don’t have much rapport other than when the supplying dealer,who is not my nearest,sold the car to me.I will have to decide whether to approach the supplying dealer or another one to have this work done now I know of two others where the issue has been accepted.

[wendle]

5 hours ago, AJ500 said:

I was hoping the job didn’t entail stripping interior trim. Looking at the assembly through the open flap,there are some bolts evident which look like they secure a single assembly including the hinge. The only part not visible is the actual hinge which is angled behind the rear wing but it looks like the unit can be removed from the opening.Clearly not if they have to come in from the interior.

Hope it doesn’t create rattles etc when they refit the leather panels.

I understand your concern about stripping the car apart and putting it back together, i had a alarm issue and because the car was a new model for Lexus technicians to work on it was even more worrying, they had the car for a total of 3 months trying to sort it out, stripping most of the car apart so much so i wrote a email to Lexus head office making them aware of my concerns. as i said i was lucky i had a good technician who is mofodical and very consciences  about his work, also having a car that is very well put together in the first place helps.

[malcolmw]

Yes, I have a very slight intermittent rattle from the area of the driver's side outer A/C vent. I have reported it (for warranty purposes just in case it gets worse) but haven't had anything done as tearing the dash apart will probably cause more issues than it solves.

[malcolmw]

Well, Wendle is correct that it is a much bigger job than anyone imagined. I dropped the car off at about 09:30 today and it is still at the dealers while I went home in a loaned UX after about 3 hours.

Fortunately, this is no problem for me and they expect to be able to complete the work tomorrow. I would rather they took their time and did a good job than rush it.

I will let you know the outcome.  

[AJ500]

Thanks for the update Malcolm. I am waiting on your report before discussing with my dealer as I want to be in a position to explain that I know of at least two cars which have had the work done. It would be very helpful if you were able to confirm which trim is stripped out.As I said before,looking at the flap assembly through the open door,it looks as though it is held in by 4 bolts and could be removed through the opening.Shows what I know!

[wendle]

3 minutes ago, AJ500 said:

Thanks for the update Malcolm. I am waiting on your report before discussing with my dealer as I want to be in a position to explain that I know of at least two cars which have had the work done. It would be very helpful if you were able to confirm which trim is stripped out.As I said before,looking at the flap assembly through the open door,it looks as though it is held in by 4 bolts and could be removed through the opening.Shows what I know!

I know they have to take the wheel of and the inner wing panel, plus panelling in the boot.

[wendle]

it will be interesting to see  if we get a fuel pump re call, apparently they are in the US, got a fuel pump re call on my RC-F.