New member, new LXB, new issues (or are they?)

[Laurence Black]

Hi,

I've previously owned a (very) used RX and a (very) used IS.  I loved them both enormously.  The best cars I had ever owned.  When the LBX came out I was excited as I could finally afford a new Lexus.  I bought the Takumi version as the Mark Levinson system in my old RX sounded spectacular.  I liked the look of the other upgrades, but the ML clinched the deal.

I was very happy initially, but there are most definitely issues.  The dealer says they are not issues, but they definitely seem like issues to me.  I wonder if anyone can offer some advice.  Issues or not?  Here we go:

1.  Full tank range.  From full I am getting a shockingly low range.  Much less than half my old gas guzzler.  Currently 308 miles.  I'm getting around 53mpg and there's a 36 litre tank.  The dealer (Lexus Canterbury) says there is a 10 litre reserve that it doesn't report on.  More than a quarter of the tank?  So I could do more than 100 miles when the tanks says it is empty?  Is that right?  Do I really need to make the choice between filling up much more frequently or playing Russian roulette and driving with an empty fuel light?

2.  Lexus navigation has dropped out 3 times in the 2 weeks I've had it.   I was being navigated then I wasn't.  Twice it has not recognised any addresses at all.  The dealer said it can drop out sometimes if there is bad reception.  Hmm?

3.  The view status in the app is way behind the actual status.  Currently only an hour, sometimes 24 hours.  I only noticed because the app said the car was unlocked when it wasn't.

4.  The Lexus site says, 'The Lexus Link+ app sends destinations directly to your Lexus navigation system'.  This is not working on my app.  Should it?

5.  Android auto has dropped out a number of times.  I'm driving along listening to music and navigating via google maps, then suddenly I'm not.  Android Auto has not dropped out in another car.  My phone is good, the 3 cables I've tried are good and new.  The dealer is suggesting might be the car USB socket.  They are looking at it tomorrow, but I wondered if anyone else has had this on a Lexus?

6.   The ML system doesn't sound very good.  Really not very good at all.  Just very average.  The one in my very old RX sounded immense.  And I had really wanted it to be great.  This is just ordinary.  At best.  The dealers assure me that is is working correctly and does sound right.  Is it just me being picky?  If you move the sound with the cursor, if you move it to the back it sounds tinny, if you move it to the side the door speakers are just muffled bass.  Is this how they should sound nowadays?  Shame if it is.  The dealer said it sounds better if you listen to drum and bass, but that's not quite what I had in mind... 

Sorry to be a moaner on my very first post, but is this how the Takumi should be?  Or do you think they are actual faults which can be rectified?  I would really love it to be fixed, if they can't it might have to go back and I'd hate that.  Plus getting the dealer to accept this might be hard.  

Many many thanks,

Laurence Black

                                   

[J Henderson]

Re: Max Range.

Could it be low simply because the car is brand-new? I believe the range is calculated on recent historical average MPG, so the range will probably increase over time.

If 53mpg becomes the norm, the range should be in excess of 400mls.

 

[Laurence Black]

Thanks John.  One of the people at dealership suggested that.  I hope that is the case.  It's just that it varies so massively from what I'm expecting.  

[Notamech]

On the ML not sounding great. This could be because the new lbx is more compact. I have heard that the more space in the car the better it sounds which is why previously also it sounded much better in the Rx and NX vs the IS for example. One more thing you could try is to tune it to your liking e.g increase the base / trebel etc. I managed to tune my poverty spec 6 speaker system in my old IS to an acceptable level. Had to turn the bass all the way up but now it sounds acceptable over Bluetooth. 

Also android auto dropping out etc could be software issues. Sometimes unpairing and re-pairing your phone can fix it else the dealer may be able to update your infotainment with the latest firmware in a future service.

I could be wrong but generally speaking from various threads on the forum it sounds like newer cars arent built to the same standards that lexus had about 10 years or so ago.

[John Adams]

With regards the ML system, all my previous cars sounded great with it. With the RZ it is definitely not up to the  standard/quality of previous cars. Don't know why, perhaps they have downgraded it so save money.