Bodged Job By Car Dealer!

fjcfarrar · June 18, 2011

Theft Deterrent System blown up.

Anyone got one for sale?

Because some time passed after you bought the car before you found these problems, and have carried out electrical mods yourself; the dealer would probably try to wriggle out of full responsibility for the faults. But given your excellent photographic evidence, and that you appear to be more technically competent in the electrical side of the car than you would even expect from a Lexus Main Dealer's technician; I think you ought to at least be able to persuade the Dealer to contribute to the parts cost of this repair to protect his own reputation. This particularly because he stated that repairs to the lighting system had been carried out while the car was in his possession which may well have made matters worse rather than better - but certainly must have ignored some glaringly obvious problems that inspecting the lighting wiring & fuse-boxes etc. for repair should have revealed.

Technically, it can be easily demonstrated that your electrical mods have nothing whatever to do with the problems, because they involve totally separate circuitry.

Nobody wants to get involved in Legal Process, so some sort of agreement should be possible if both parties are reasonable in their approach. I hope you can find a replacement Theft Deterrent pcb, because sourcing individual components for it would be difficult, and the damage may well go beyond the obviously burnt ones.

Fugu · June 18, 2011

I know this thread may be getting old and seeing as this is a common fault im just going to go to town on my beloved car. Tomorrow i am going to rid the thing apart, starting with the dash and tracing every single bloody cable with a multimeter.

I would love to get medievil on their *ss but to be honest it wouldn't be worth the effort.

I have replaced every individual cable within the fusebox (for those who have seen inside) and sealed them in completely with my trusty glue gun. I'm going to trace every cable over the next week and i will document them every step of the way so we can finally have a comprehensive fix.

i cant believe im doing so much for a car that is TEN years old! but i love it so much.

ACLex · June 19, 2011

Theft Deterrent System blown up.

Anyone got one for sale?

Even the fuses look a little melted :o you need to check if this car has had a windscreen replaced as I reckon it is leaking.

That is just nasty :(

Andy

Fugu · June 23, 2011

Lady's and Gentlemen, i would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their reply's and to confirm that this mess has been fully fixed and is now working perfectly.

After replacing the theft det box i was still getting the same issue, however since i was still outside the scrap yard i decided to change the indicator stalk... random i know but that is what the problem was.

ALLLLLLLL FIIXXXXEEEDDD. YAY

sparkystav · June 23, 2011

glad you got it sorted mate!

Purvesh · June 23, 2011

You deserve all the credit, hats off for sticking at it and fixing a problem not even the dealers could be arsed to!!

Another gold star for you sir... B)

Fugu · June 23, 2011

To be honest the thing was driving me to tears, i was rapidly falling out of love with this machine.

to summarize in case anyone has the same issue:

I removed all the bypass cables the Auto electrician fudged up, result - nothing.

HL Relay worked fine, with no blown fuses.

Spliced up the connectors and repaired the blown up O/S fusebox, result - on first flick of the switch the sidelights came on... and then went off. no headlights but high beam worked.

Found and replaced the blown theft deterrent box, result - nothing.

by chance replaced the stalk - still no idea why i did it, result - A FULLY FUNCTIONING CAR with one happy owner.

This was after i removed the dash and checked every single wire attached to the bloody system.

now i can spend some time building this car up.... B) B) B) B) B) B) B)

fil4362 · June 25, 2011

Hello. i just come to this thread very late obviously . Thankfully i read most of the post before i go to this point. I am a mechanic and mot tester from manchester area (wont say where exactly as i not advertising) anyway i know the owner of the place you bought the car from (depending on when you bought it, its changed hands many times recently) anyway chances are i know the garage/electrician who bodged it. THe loacal garage to where you bought it is certanly a person i know and the local auto electrician has been a mate of mine for some 20 years. when did you buy the car exactly and what was the sales mans name who you delt with?? i may be able to send you his mobile number so you can really get on his case. Also what garage name is on the mot certificate as i know most of them,personally, in the Hyde area !! oo i can see this being fun !!.

steve2006 · June 25, 2011

Good result in the end but what a lot of unnecessary work had the job been done properly in the 1st place, not a good sign when a business puts profits before safety!

Mercuryalan · November 4, 2013

As a new member I'm reading these posts as a soon to be owner of a 2003 IS 200 Sport Cross and I'm a worried man !!

I've just retired and wanted a car that was comfortable to sit in, decent to drive but most importantly reliable. Oh dear...oh dear.

The Lexus 'legendary' reliability record seems to be an 'on the surface' one or am I being hypercritical ?

Don't drive it in the rain in case the windscreen has been changed ! Don't drive it at night in case the lights wont turn off !

And recently don't bother with the Sat Nav as its totally useless to use unless maybe your stationary and it understands what your trying to ask it. But worse

of all when the head end doesn't read the dvd any more it will cost more than the cars worth to replace it. And Lexus accept no responsibility that its their problem at all.

Should have spent more time on the forum first before I test drove it I suppose but it does drive well and all the lights work and for now the Sat Nav fires up.

But I have a Tom Tom as backup just in case from a previous company car.

Am I right to be worried ?

petayV8 · November 4, 2013

This is a old thread. you should start a new one with your questions. My car has been faultless and drives like i just bought it from the factory and its 13 years old and has 107k on it. All i do is change the oil and do regular maintenance at the correct intervals. The only problem was my break caliper seized but it was 12 years old and therefore dont class it as a problem - just wear and tear

The lighting issue in this car was due to a previous owner mistreating the car, not the car going wrong on its own accord. The stalk was obviously bashed or leant on at some point. My navigation system works perfectly and hasnt failed me yet on a trip. Used it to get to the trafford centre a few weeks ago for example. Of course its a little fiddly to setup initially not being touch screen but thats just the age of the car.

You should look at the buyers guide of the IS200/300 on here as it pretty much sums up what you need to know in a nutshell, but trust me you wont find a more reliable car in this segment and price range. Maybe a Accord, Avensis or Nissan QX but the IS is much nicer. And if you think this forum has alot of peoples problems, try going to a BMW or Mercedes forum where there are commonly much more serious problems of topic than you'll ever find on here

Mercuryalan · November 4, 2013

I realise this was an old thread and I'm grateful for your measured response to what sounded like a rant against the IS200 in particular and Lexus in general.

As I'm new to the site it is a daunting experience to see so many threads spread out in front of you. The more you read the more you're distracted by the many pathways to follow. I will get used to it and I'm sorry for the knee jerk reaction to what I do believe to be a really good car to drive and own.

I'm looking forward to many happy miles in my Sport Cross and many hours following and responding to threads from you all.

petayV8 · November 4, 2013

Yeah its hard to find a positive outcome on any car forum which is essentially been designed to aid users with problems.

I didnt realise you made the plunge and bought a sportcross. Let us know how you find it in due course :)

Gruntfuggly · November 4, 2013

Don't forget you're much more likely to read about peoples problems in forums like this one - you're never going to get thread after thread of people telling you how they drove to work and back without any problems!

I've had my 2002 Sport for 6 months and it's been faultless - I'm doing 70 miles a day. I have an almost imperceptible wobble under breaking which I'm putting down to a slightly warped disc, but I'll change them at the next service.

I know the feeling of dread when you get a new (old) car and you're expecting things to go wrong, but I think you're probably better off not worrying until something does go wrong, and by all accounts, the IS200 is less likely to go wrong than anything else.

BTW - I was slightly disappointed that the photos are no longer attached to this thread - I would have like to have seen what the bodge job looked like!

Mercuryalan · November 5, 2013

I'm sure I have made a good choice in the IS200 and will of course update these pages when I've had some experience of it. I'm due to collect it on the 11th Nov. After its had an MOT, service and the alloys refurbished.

If there had been just one response from members concerning this thread then I guess I would not have been too worried. But there again with so many members online there's bound to be more than one with a similar problem or at least knowledge in it's cause/solution.

Having been a company car driver for the past 25years and not needing this type of site all is this new to me. But so very welcome.

I nearly bought an Alfa GT prior to me getting the IS but that was my heart ruling my head. I think the IS is a result of both of them (head and heart) discussing what I really needed.

BTW- thought the pictures missing were a problem with my laptop.....but that's another thread for another site I suppose.

Appreciate your responses.