Being quoted £90 cost when covered under Lexus Relax?

[clonzana]

Got the service activated Lexus warranty. Got what seems to be a dodgy sounding wheel bearing (quite confident, as I've had them before). Told that it'll cost me £90 for them to investigate this. What's the £90 for, if it's covered under warranty? Thanks

[Linas.P]

Wheel bearing is wear an tear item and wear an tear is not covered under any warranty, Lexus Relax being even more watered down is even less likely to cover it.

That said it is kind of grey zone, because Relax T&Cs mentions both that wear and tear is not covered and that wheel bearings in particular are covered:

https://www.lexus.co.uk/content/dam/lexus/nmsc/united-kingdom/owners/warranty/extended-warranty-with-servicing/150623-LEXUS-WARRANTY.pdf

So in my opinion this boils down to mileage of the car. If say you 2017 CT has only done 4,000 miles a year and it is currently at 24,000 miles, then I think it could be argued this is fault and thus warranty should cover it. However, if it has say 80,000 miles, then I can see how Lexus can easily claim it is "just wear and tear" and thus not covered. 

In summary, if you believe it to be fault, because any reasonable person would agree the bearing should have lasted longer, then insist on it being done under warranty. If however the bearing could have worn out due to mileage, or due to damage caused say by hitting pot-hole (usually near-side/passenger side front) then it is unlikely to be covered.

Finally, just make sure you correctly understand what they are saying. When I claimed the warranty I was told just as standard disclaimer that it will cost like £160 to diagnose the fault and if it turns out not to be warranted fault, then I am liable to pay it. However, if it is covered by warranty, then it will be handed by warranty claim itself. As in my case that was 12-months sale warranty which is equivalent to manufacturers warranty which is much more comprehensive and there was no doubt it will be covered this was just disclaimer, I agreed and never paid anything. But in your case where there is high-likelihood they may reject it as wear and tear... I kind of see the point of it sounding more serious. So you will not need to pay anything upfront, but they likely warned you with standard disclaimer, that you may be liable for diagnostics if you warranty claim is rejected.

[ColinBarber]

I would ask the question that if it turns out to be a wheel bearing, would that be covered under Relax and that your investigation fee will be refunded.

Given that wheel bearings are mentioned as covered I don't believe they can just state wear and tear - they are implying that the bearing should last 100k miles.

 

Where it wouldn't be covered is if the vehicle has been damaged, e.g. a pothole has damaged the suspension that then puts extra load on the bearing to make it wear prematurely etc.

[rayaans]

Wheel bearing is covered under warranty up to 160km

some dealerships make you sign a form for "diagnosis" in the event that its not the bearing causing the issue but dont actually charge it upfront, this is usually charged afterwards if say it was a tyre issue for example

 

[wharfhouse]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

Wheel bearing is covered under warranty up to 160km

some dealerships make you sign a form for "diagnosis" in the event that its not the bearing causing the issue but dont actually charge it upfront, this is usually charged afterwards if say it was a tyre issue for example

 

That's my experience under the old Extended Warranty - a diagnostic fee is quoted and if the repair was not valid under the Extended Warranty the fee (and any repair costs) would be charged but if it was a valid warranty claim the diagnostic fee would be waived. I had both front wheel bearings replaced at 80k miles under the old Extended Warranty and was not charged any other fees. I would have thought Relax would work similarly.