Baz444

The RX was bought from an independent car dealer in Manchester neither a Toyota or Lexus dealer. This is why part of agreement to purchase was that it was booked into my local Lexus workshop to have a full service and thorough check over. Any faults found were to be paid by the car dealer in Manchester.

P.S. The Lexus dealership was NOT the Woodford branch

Dear Lexus fans. Sorry but you were all wrong and I have been proved right. My wife took my Lexus to an independent Toyota Lexus workshop. Leaving the car she said "the suspension doesn't seem right" They phoned two hours later and reported:- "On taking the car from reception to workshop we knew the suspension was wrong as it didn’t drive properly.The car, when stationary is two inches lower than what it should be. None of the 4 suspension green warning lights situated in the Rev counter dial light up when the ignition is switched on. Nor are any suspension lights on with the engine running" That was before the car was put on a ramp. "Once inspected the ECU unit that runs the suspension was missing altogether". They ordered a new ECU unit and the next day fitted it. All 12 of the faults shown before were then absent from the previous diagnostic check. The suspension then performed perfectly. When the ignition is switched on 4 green lights come on in the Rev Counter dial. When driving the normal height and ride level lights are constantly on. The car is great and we will keep it. This garage charged me £761 whereas the official Lexus garage that had already charged me £430.00 to inspect and tell me the ECU was missing then quoted a further £1,750 plus VAT to rectify. Please bear in mind that the Lexus dealer had worked on the car twice before, their mechanics (sorry, technicians) had driven the car from their customer car park to their workshop on another part of the industrial area on four occasions and yet had not noticed that no suspension lights came on with the ignition or during driving, the car was lower than it should have been and it didn't drive right.

This level of service is, you must all agree is totally unacceptable and I am claiming my losses back from them. Had this been detected when I first asked for a full service and thorough check then the dealer I bought the car from would have paid for this.

In conclusion. This car is terrific and we when we replace it, it will be for a newer RX. I will not under any circumstances have any works carried out by an official Lexus dealership again.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.