Bouncing Rx

[Baz444]

I recently bought a 2006 RX300 for my wife. It was great until we drove it. Any slight lumps in the road or dips or potholes and the car bounces. This is probably because it is a high, short wheelbase car. I have now stopped traveling in it as it is uncomfortable. I would like to know if subsequent RX models have had any change in suspension. Alternatively can the suspension be altered in any way to smooth out the ride? This is a real nuisance as most other aspects of the car are good.

[The Editor]

I recently bought a 2006 RX300 for my wife. It was great until we drove it.

You bought a car without driving it first !!??? - Did you just see it on the internet and clicked 'add to basket' ???

[Duncan Roberts]

I recently bought a 2006 RX300 for my wife. It was great until we drove it. I have now stopped traveling in it as it is uncomfortable. I would like to know if subsequent RX models have had any change in suspension.

You bought a second hand car of a type you do not know simply by looking at it? Amazing if rather more than stupid.

Equally I do not recognise this as an RX. I have owned an RX300 (air) and now an RX400 (coil) as well as driven demos and courtesy examples. I simply do not recognise what you describe and wonder if you are trolling or have some other agenda.

[Baz444]

Actually there is a fault. However the Lexus garage that did a 40,000 full service on the car with specific instructions to check it over thoroughly did not do a diagnostic check and told me the car was fine. I got so fed up with it bouncing I took it back in to have it tested. They took it for a drive, agreed with me and then put their diagnostic computer on it. This showed 12 faults! 12 faults! now it is out of warranty as it is 4 months since they carried out the thorough service. I bought it four months ago.

So the conclusion can only be that Lexus servicing has a long, long way to go to match my Mercedes servicing garage where I am used to tip top service where every time my real car goes in for any reason they always do a diagnostic just to make sure all is OK. What is even worse is that the Lexus garage charges £110 per hour whereas the my official Mercedes garage is only £69 per hour. I am seriously unimpressed with Lexus service

[moneys]

HAHA, i take it your Barry from Mercedes uk then or something?

[Baz444]

No absolutely not but I have had Mercedes since 1973 and my wife previously has had 5 E class estates and thought she would try something different with the Lexus. Fortunately I didn't change and I have a Mercedes. The difference usin the service department between the two companies is quite surprising. As I spend a lot with maintenance each year (we both do high mileage) then we are good judges as to how we are looked after regarding servicing. If Lexus had checked this RX as I requested when I took it to them for the service then I could have claimed this work about to be undertaken within the guarantee period.

[Duncan Roberts]

I am staggered that anyone in their right mind would buy a car without first trying to establish if they like the handling, ride etc.

Having had both an RX300 SEL (with air suspension) and now an RX400H, both bought new but kept for a reasonable mielage, I do not recognise the problems you describe. Nor have I any complaints about either servicing or those who do the work.

You have clearly decided that you do not like Lexus and therefore you would do well to sell the car and buy your preferred Mercedes.

[TigerFish]

Why did you not take it back sooner?

[Baz444]

I am staggered that anyone in their right mind would buy a car without first trying to establish if they like the handling, ride etc.

Having had both an RX300 SEL (with air suspension) and now an RX400H, both bought new but kept for a reasonable mielage, I do not recognise the problems you describe. Nor have I any complaints about either servicing or those who do the work.

You have clearly decided that you do not like Lexus and therefore you would do well to sell the car and buy your preferred Mercedes.

[Baz444]

RX 300 is my wife's choice and she loves it. I will keep it and having now tried another RX where the suspension is satisfactory which confirms that the problem lies with this car. Therefore when she changes it we will get a new RX for her. It is going in Monday for Lexus to establish what the fault is. As I have hardly been in the car I sort of tolerated the ride but eventually I needed to establish if it were the model or just this car. It has taken 4 months to get round to this. Still doesn't answer why it is that I instructed Lexus to carry out a full service and as I had just bought it to thoroughly check it. I would assume that when the ignition is switched on the warning lights come on even for an instance? Well none of the warning lights are working as they have been disconnected which means that they need to take out the dashboard to reconnect them. This is very lax service on the part of Lexus there is no excuse for it. I know your all avid Lexus fans but there is no comparison to the service I am used to with Mercedes.

[sprinter2012]

As above, buying a car without even driving it is pretty silly.

If there is actually something wrong with the suspension, I don't think a fault code would show up unless it was electronic.

What you should have done was asked them to check the suspension if you know there's something wrong with it.

And again as above, if you thought there was a problem surely taking it back to get it checked before the warranty period ran out would have been top priority?

[sprinter2012]

Well none of the warning lights are working as they have been disconnected...

Have you actually taken the dashboard out to check this or are you just guessing?

[Baz444]

No I haven't taken out the dashboard. Lexus having had the car for four hours determined that the warning lights were not connected and that they couldn't do any work on the suspension without connecting these warning lights. To take out the dashboard they tell me will take 4 hours and once they have plugged everything back in then they can establish what is up with the suspension. If that doesn't make sense to you then your with me. During the past 4 months I have hardly been in the car, I just assumed as it was a short wheelbase it was bouncy but the more distance I traveled in it the more I was convinced that it should not behave like that. What finally convinced me was we had two adults in the back one said "This is like being in a tumble drier" it was then I thought that it was not just me. Proved to be correct on a test drive by the Lexus mechanic. Believe me, I want to like this archaic car with its idiotic Sat Nav and cruise control fixed to the steering wheel, its quirky but when stationary, very comfortable.

[Duncan Roberts]

It would be unusual for there to be a light on the dashboard connected with the suspension - unless it has air suspension.

[moneys]

How do you know any of these faults were actually present when you bought the car? My wife has an RX and the boot and bonnet could be missing and she wouldnt notice, she'd just blame me for not telling her, you may be surprised what she of missed herself and not noticed especially with the ride. You cant throw all of the blame at Lexus garages as the dealings ive had with the two ive used has been fantastic.

[Baz444]

lexus say that the warning lights are disconnected behind the dashboard. This will not have occurred since we have had the car. There is a toggle switch on the dash to adjust the ride height (so says the handbook) I thought it was odd that nothing altered or no changes are apparent when this switch is put to different settings. Also there should be (according to the Lexus mechanic) a light in the speedo when this button is used. Once again, I can only reiterate that when in for a full service and inspection dont you think that no warning lights coming on when the ignition is switched on is suspicious and should have lead to further investigation?

[RayKhan]

It does appear odd that they never picked up on any of these issues when you had it serviced. How did they answer that question? Maybe you should contact Lexus GB and notify them of your unhappiness.

[Baz444]

So today the RX went in to have the suspension done. When I spoke to the general manager to ask why they didn't find this problem when I took it in for a major service and thorough check over he said "you didn't ask for a diagnostic check" I said I would have thought a major service and thorough check would have automatically instigated a diagnostic check. Why didn't the person booking this in ask if I wanted to have a diagnostic check if I wanted a thorough check. Either way, the garage failed me. Now it transpires that to resolve the suspension will be circa £1,700 and they charged me nearly £400 today to look at it to tell me what it would cost to repair. Result of today. No repair. My wife took the car in and was not called to collect it until 7 hours later. No work done on the car. On driving home when she switched on the the heater it did not work (it was on when she drove it into Lexus this morning) and the outside temp gauge is not working. When I phoned at 5:15 they said to turn round and bring it back, by which time she was on the motorway and was not prepared to go back having found a rug to throw over her legs. When I said that a mechanic needed to come and fix it they said they were busy for 2 weeks. So my earlier comments that Lexus were not so good at looking after their cars and more especially their customers were correct. I really do not think that I can continue with Lexus and will have to sell the car. I am just not used to being treated this way.

[Valkirk]

Have to say I am shocked; I own an Rx and an Slk and would far rather deal with Lexus than MB. I actually wish I could get my MB serviced at Lexus :)

[sprinter2012]

So today the RX went in to have the suspension done. When I spoke to the general manager to ask why they didn't find this problem when I took it in for a major service and thorough check over he said "you didn't ask for a diagnostic check" I said I would have thought a major service and thorough check would have automatically instigated a diagnostic check. Why didn't the person booking this in ask if I wanted to have a diagnostic check if I wanted a thorough check. Either way, the garage failed me. Now it transpires that to resolve the suspension will be circa £1,700 and they charged me nearly £400 today to look at it to tell me what it would cost to repair. Result of today. No repair. My wife took the car in and was not called to collect it until 7 hours later. No work done on the car. On driving home when she switched on the the heater it did not work (it was on when she drove it into Lexus this morning) and the outside temp gauge is not working. When I phoned at 5:15 they said to turn round and bring it back, by which time she was on the motorway and was not prepared to go back having found a rug to throw over her legs. When I said that a mechanic needed to come and fix it they said they were busy for 2 weeks. So my earlier comments that Lexus were not so good at looking after their cars and more especially their customers were correct. I really do not think that I can continue with Lexus and will have to sell the car. I am just not used to being treated this way.

I've never had a service that includes a diagnostic check unless you specifically request it.

The mistake you made was 'assuming' Lexus would do it inclusive, when all you asked for was a thorough check.

They are mechanics not mind readers.

[Duncan Roberts]

So today the RX went in to have the suspension done. When I spoke to the general manager to ask why they didn't find this problem when I took it in for a major service and thorough check over he said "you didn't ask for a diagnostic check" I said I would have thought a major service and thorough check would have automatically instigated a diagnostic check. Why didn't the person booking this in ask if I wanted to have a diagnostic check if I wanted a thorough check. Either way, the garage failed me. Now it transpires that to resolve the suspension will be circa £1,700 and they charged me nearly £400 today to look at it to tell me what it would cost to repair. Result of today. No repair. My wife took the car in and was not called to collect it until 7 hours later. No work done on the car. On driving home when she switched on the the heater it did not work (it was on when she drove it into Lexus this morning) and the outside temp gauge is not working. When I phoned at 5:15 they said to turn round and bring it back, by which time she was on the motorway and was not prepared to go back having found a rug to throw over her legs. When I said that a mechanic needed to come and fix it they said they were busy for 2 weeks. So my earlier comments that Lexus were not so good at looking after their cars and more especially their customers were correct. I really do not think that I can continue with Lexus and will have to sell the car. I am just not used to being treated this way.

I've never had a service that includes a diagnostic check unless you specifically request it.

The mistake you made was 'assuming' Lexus would do it inclusive, when all you asked for was a thorough check.

They are mechanics not mind readers.

I agree: I rather fear that the OP is determined to find fault with Lexus service to justify getting rid of a car that he did not even trouble to test drive.

I too have never had but satisfactory service from Lexus and I find all these tales questionable in the extreme and do wonder where reality lies.

[stringbender]

I recently bought a 2006 RX300 for my wife. It was great until we drove it. Any slight lumps in the road or dips or potholes and the car bounces. This is probably because it is a high, short wheelbase car. I have now stopped traveling in it as it is uncomfortable. I would like to know if subsequent RX models have had any change in suspension. Alternatively can the suspension be altered in any way to smooth out the ride? This is a real nuisance as most other aspects of the car are good.

It's a shame that you're having such trouble with the ride quality of the RX 300. When you use the word "bounce" are you describing an undamped ride (like on a trampoline) or a "jittery" unpleasant ride. I'm assuming that the car is not an air suspension SEL model. The reason I ask is that I had trouble with the RX until I changed to an SEL. The best ever ride - even in the SEL - is when the thing is heavily loaded. By that I mean with at least 10 x 25Kilos of salt ( for the softener) or concrete or sand. When it's loaded like this it feels like it's more like it should have been in the first place. Of course you can't drag all that weight around all the time but it would be worth a try in case it showed any benefit.

Alan

[m1pui]

I've never had a service that includes a diagnostic check unless you specifically request it.

The mistake you made was 'assuming' Lexus would do it inclusive, when all you asked for was a thorough check.

They are mechanics not mind readers.

But it's not the mechanics who he's dealt with. It'd be the service desk/department and if someone was to ask for a thorough check it's, in my opinion, up to the service desk to question or iterate what that should entail. Given that the average age of Lexus drivers is probably hovering around 50, I'd guess that a lot of owners wouldn't use the term "diagnostic check" when they were booking a service in.

Perhaps it's just dealer dependent, but when I had my 3 series, it was put through a diagnostic check whenever it was taken into the BMW dealers and even the BMW specialist my sister gets her's serviced at now plugs it in at every service.

EDIT: And as for the "not driving before buying." It's foolish, but I'm certainly not going to lambast you for it. A friend of mine (who had previously bought an IS220D from this particular Lexus garage) was discussing changing to a Range Rover. The salesmen told him that they had a couple at other dealers so if he was interested in one let him know "but he'd definitely have to know he wanted it as we can't just pull stock from other garages to have a look at."

[wendle]

Sorry to here about the problem with your Lexus, unfortunately with all the technology in cars these days things are always going to go wrong and with the cost of labour its going to be expensive, however it sounds to me that you have been unusually unlucky with the service you have received from your dealership.

I don’t know much about warrantees or the legal side of things but I am pretty sure that if you report a problem with your car within the warranty period and it is logged on there computer, witch it should have been, then it is there obligation to put the problem right however long it takes and once this problem has been fixed the parts used are now under a new warranty.

I would contact Lexus customer care and see what they say.

[bogeyBogeybogey]

I had a MB ML fr new with air suspension. On one occasion when I adjusted the suspension height it kept going right up to the max and wouldn't go back down. It bounced along in aanner you describe and was undrivabke unroll sorted. Really loved the ML for looks, comfort etc. Howver was troublesome really for a car Owned fro new. Passenger side front wheel bearing had to be replaced after two weeks. Turbo initially repaired under warranty., back twice with oil leaks on it then replaced. Either a problem with the quality of the components or the work of the mechanivs. Series of other minor issues had to be sorted as well. Dealing with MB service was OK but very expensive. Just changed it at 110000 miles for an RX450h and so far Im pretty pleased with it. When checking out before buying had nothing but very good reports about Lexus reliability and service.