Hi Scotty,
Thanks for all the great informative videos you have been producing over the years. I have definitely learned a thing or two thanks to you. On of the things I picked up on is car selection for example. I drive a Lexus RX350 2007 that now almost has 130,000 miles on it.
I want to share something about Lexus USA on the one hand recognizing their shortcomings and Lexus Dealers on the other hand not honouring Lexus USA written commitments, but also neither warning me about potential dangers and ultimately leaving me stranded on the thruway with my daughter and dog.
Last Sunday 3 October I drove up 87 North between New York and Albany, and damn it, oil fumes behind the car and my engine light coming on. I pulled over on the thruway shoulder. Lots of oil on the floor and all over.. It didn't look good. Called my insurance company and also called the towers, who arrived 30 minutes later and dropped my car, my daughter and dog off at Jan's Med-A-Car, the nearest mechanic shop.
On Monday eve 4 October Jan called me back; the engine oil cooler pipe broke. Now, this was the second time in 2 weeks that pipe, or more specific, the hose part of that pipe, broke. Just two weeks ago it broke too while driving in my own neighborhood, and luckily I managed to get it to MS Auto Repair, my local mechanic in Jackson Heights, Queens NY.
Now, only after talking to Jan's I realized MS had only replaced the hose part of the pipe... with another hose. Today I know Lexus put out a bulletin (nhtsa.gov) in which they state to replace that pipe, including the hose, with a full metal pipe. I came across that defect reference on US News.
I also was quick to realize that Lisa Jonhson of Lexus of Queens at my 120k dealer inspection didn't offer to replace that engine oil cooler pipe free of charge even though I asked her to check if all the recalls and updates to my car had been completed. She did share in her booklet that she was willing the have that pipe replaced for 382.94+tax, also after I emailed her a second time about that specific repair (happy to share this by email).
Jan has in the meantime offered to repair my car by replacing the pipe for that new recommended full metal part, done correctly this time around, for $750. Jan also mentioned he had completed a compression test on the engine saying it wasn't seriously damaged. Not sure what that means, but I would have to dig much deeper to get to the bottom of that.
While my car is at Jan's shop I also called Lexus USA on 4 October as well hoping to share my experience with them. Their customer engagement employee promised Scott Murphy, one of their case managers, would call me back within 1 business day. I wanted to hear of course what Scott had to say since this episode on 87 North could have ended way worse for my daughter, my dog and me. Sadly, Scott didn't call me back and although I followed up 3 times today myself with Lexus, I couldn't get hold of him nor would they assign it to another case manager.
The Lexus Customer engagement managers, I spoke to several including Assen and Victoria, did say Scott will call me back at some point, but after this broken promise I do wonder about their commitment to make anything happen. So, here I am, writing this forum post, telling the world what they should know Lexus USA on the one hand and Lexus dealerships on the other hand, and about the dangers of the engine oil pipe of the Lexus RX350, just like you would do!
Best regards,
Mark
Sorry to hear the Lexus vehicle and the dealership have not lived up to the Lexus “relentless pursuit of perfection” standards - although they don’t use that phrase anymore. In any event, 2007 RX350 was also one of the worst model years for the RX350, it turns out. You may want to go through the TSB list below to get ahead of other potential issues.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Lexus/RX_350/2007/
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Lexus/RX_350/2007/tsbs/
https://repairpal.com/2007-lexus-rx350/problems
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-worst-lexus-rx-350-model-year-you-should-never-buy/
Never ceases to amaze me that a company is willing to lose a customer over a few dollars (their cost). Especially when they admit the problem was in the design or production process.
It's time for chapter 2 in Mark's car diary.
Thanks @Daywalker for your response. That list comes in handy.
So my friend Scott Murphy at Lexus USA would get back to me in 24 hours. Of course he did not. It took 48 hours and several of my phone calls to get him on the line again. Don't even ask for a direct number, forget it.
Long story short, Scott Murphy didn't believe a word I said. Recommends me to bring it to the Lexus dealership to authenticate the story and diagnose the car. So I did. Prestige Lexus of Ramsey repaired it correctly for about $600. Below price of the Jan's Med-A-Car, who would have replaced that cheap piece of crap hose with another cheap hose for $850. I put another 500 miles on the car and it seems to hold.
Now, it's not a total loss, that's a good thing, but the sad thing is, after having it towed from Hillburn NY to the nearest Lexus dealer in Ramsey, NJ, and having it repaired, Lexus USA says by phone the oil cooler hose campaign wasn't performed by end of Dec 2017 (so it's not our problem that it broke). And that their hands are clean.
Just to get Lexus USA to say that the campaign wasn't completed within the desired window was nearly impossible. And Scott Murphy could have said this too weeks ago. Why didn't he say that? He could have said something like 'No campaigns are valid on your car related to that oil cooler hose, no matter what Lexus dealers have communicated to you before, no matter what work has been done by Lexus dealers on your car'.
So, I took the conversation a step back. I mentioned that back in 2020, at the 120k inspection, I had asked Lexus of Queens to also check all the recalls and campaigns (I have this ask and 'everything clear' response in writing). Lexus USA responds up until 3 times that all the campaigns and recalls have been performed.
According to their logic, all campaign & recall work that should be done had to be done within the official window, and Lexus of Queens was not incorrect when they said my Lexus at the 120k inspection passed all the campaigns and recalls.
I asked Lexus USA if they would communicate this in writing and if the case manager would sign it, and that was not easy either to get them to agree. In the end they wrote "The Warranty Enhancement Program ZLC, Extension of Engine oil Cooler Hose Seep/Leak, Primary coverage expired on 1/31/2016, and the secondary coverage expired on 1/17/2017." That's it. No word about Lexus of Queens.
To make the case even worse, I managed to pull a record from Lexus of Monmouth, they serviced this car a decade ago. It got towed into the dealership.... because that same oil pipe cooler hose broke. And they replaced it with another hose. That hose that breaks and breaks and breaks again.
The Monmouth service manager wrote that the record of my car had been purge (exact wording) while around the same time my driver.lexus.com profile has been stuck in something that looks like a server timeout (and still is). Monmouth did also share what looks like a screenshot of their legacy MS DOS application file. That screenshot showcases that the hose was replaced by a hose.
Now that hose replaces hose work by Lexus of Monmouth was done in September 2012 while Lexus put out a bulletin (nhtsa.gov) in December 2011... Lexus of Queens says all recalls and campaigns have been checked.
Lexus USA hasn't offered nor said yes to accepting any documentation by email regarding this case.
Have a lovely day!