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There's also a famous Mercedes story I read in the newspaper about a woman who was about to be attacked by two men and turned on MB's version of this - teleaid - without saying anything. The operator on the other end heard the trouble, called local police and minutes later the two men were apprehended. Her exact location was known by the transponder. At a minimum it saved her from something bad and at a maximum it may have saved her life.
The other thing I found interesting is that Lexus seems to "repackage" the OnStar system (of GM fame), even using the same phone reps. Unfortunately, Lexus doesn't offer all the services of OnStar...like the use of the system as a cell phone. I assume most LS owners already have cell phones, but a voice-activated hands-free phone wouldn't hurt.
Thanks ljflx for your help!
Any other comments would be much appreciated...
Don't get into the hands-free phone. It has been the single largest area of disatisfaction for the owners. The phone that came with the first 01's had to be recalled and refunds issued. They still haven't come up with a replacement, and most folks have gone to secondary market devices or devised their own solutions.
Any thoughts on this and any experience with any policies? I understand that Lexus repair dealers will accept payment from these companies without any problem. Is this true?
NOT !!!
I am personally aware of a number of LSes, 91 to 98, maybe as many as a dozen, at least half approaching 100K or over, that have never been back to the shop except for scheduled maintenance.
That's the primary reason the Lexus dealer service shops are so into gouging customers at scheduled maintenance time, the product line is so damn reliable that absent the gouging their only source of income would be "non-rough service" maintenance work.
Go to a Toyota shop's financial manager, directly and dicker for an extended warranty, $900, if you really want one.
I'm supposed to take delivery of my LS with laser and sonar in a couple of weeks. I've never had those options on a car before.
Laser-- does turning on the cruise control scare drivers in front of you with radar detectors into slowing down? Does this system jam police laser-radar's?
Sonar-- I hear there are over 1.5 million bats that live in Austin TX.... Does putting the car into reverse either repel or attract bats to your trunk?
I'm starting to laugh again! Thanks.
What does the Lexus Link say to you each time it starts up? Can you turn it off?
Did anyone ever post a link to the complete C Best list of dealer settings and options?
I hear there are about 150 words the car can understand after pushing a button. Is there a list of these words/phrases online?
Thanks.
My dealer has not been able to turn it off, even though I have not renewed the Lexus Link service when it expired after the first year. So now I have to listen to it lying to me -- for me the Lexus Link is not active and yet it says "The Lexus Link is active". Wonder if I could sue them . . .
When it comes to customer satisfaction, are you listening, Lexus?
CD's - I remember some talk about copied cd's not working in the ML. I've never had a problem with the ones I have but wondered if anyone can post which ones didn't play well. I'm almost out of stock and need to buy new ones. I've made a nice group of my own compilations using the playlist feature in XP and am enjoying my own greatest hits collections. The ML has never sounded better.
I'd also recommend avoiding any stick-on labels. The tolerances in the changer are so tight that the extra thickness of the label can jam the mechanism. It happened to me twice, and they didn't figure out the problem until the second time after they had already replaced the player once. This is especially true if there are any wrinkles left when the label is put on.
I suspect that the power/voltage level fluctuated more than it should during that startup and the complicated stereo electronics failed to boot properly--maybe the anti-theft turned on as default? All this is pure guessing.
I would just watch and see if it happens again and report it if it does. Or if you are near the warrantee expiry, report it just to get it logged.
Sounds like it's coming from the left side of the instrument panel whenever you start the car in motion. Is the steering column noise I've read about or something else ?? Into the dealer it goes tomorrow......the person making the appointment said I wouldn't need a loaner as the fix would take less than 2 hours....either he's
clairvoyent or this is a VERY common problem. Any info out there ?
Thanks in advance.
I was off the net for a bit and just came across Sorry 1's note from last month, as well as C5 Gold's more recent posting.
The creaking sound C5 Gold is having may be one involving the back end, which required service on my vehicle shortly after I purchased it. The noise in fact could also be a bad wheelbearing. I also had a problem with a front wheel bearing, which required three trips to the dealer to fix.
Sorry 1, I have had my steering wheel groan in for service on three occasions. The third visit seemed to resolve the steering wheel groan. However, after the third time in (i.e. after the fix), the steering wheel then began to "move" in the direction of 2:00. I would hold onto the wheel as I drove. As I turned the wheel, it would move up and over in the direction of the 2:00 position. That was fixed during my latest trip to the dealer. (NOTE: The problem with this vehicle is the vehicle, not the dealer.)
For prospective buyers, I note that I have had my vehicle in for service on nine occasions. I have had two bad tail lights in less than a year; the bearing noise problem; the crunching back end; and the groaning / moving steering wheel. I also developed a noise with my driver's side window, when the window was being taken up or down. I had it adjusted twice. The dealer then took the initiative, phoned me, and had me bring it in a third time. Whatever he did on that visit seems to have fixed the window noise.
I have made a point of "clumping" problems, as of late. In other words, I take the vehicle in only after a few problems require fixing. The last really bothersome matter was when I pushed the ECT button; the button literally went through the dashboard. A portion of the bracket apparently had broken. This posed no safety hazard and was no big deal, but it certainly was irksome, particularly with a $60K vehicle.
Sorry1, your point regarding your expectations with an expensive vehicle is well-taken, at least by me. (When I first noted some of the problems I was having with my vehicle on this board, about a year ago, ljflx went so far as to question whether my submission was a phony.)
Two other things bother me about this vehicle. The thermometer is consistently three to four degrees higher than it should be. Two service departments advise that plus or minus five degrees is acceptable. This is a little thing; I know how to subtract three or four degrees from the displayed value on the vehicle's thermometer. But I would expect more from a $3 thermometer from Walgreen's.
What really irritates me is Lexus's attitude. I have a lemon. Lexus's attitude is that the purchaser of a $60K vehicle which is a stinker is entitled to more than that to which the purchaser of a $15K vehicle is entitled, i.e. the bare legal minimum. For $60K, the purchaser of a vehicle which is a lemon should receive better treatment.
I have no doubt that by and large Lexus makes a reliable vehicle. My 1998 Toyota Avalon, which my sons now have the pleasure of driving, required exactly one service visit, that for a bad thermostat. That was at about the 25,000 mile mark.
This vehicle, which I purchased in March, 2001, has been nothing but a headache. Compounding the headache is Lexus's blase' attitude in making the customer pay for its mistakes. I expect that most people in business who purchased the LS 430 provide far more responsiveness to their customers/patients/clients.
Radiant heating from the radiator will affect the sensor reading, moreso if the vehicle is stopped or moving slowly. On my 92 LS I moved mine into the right front fender well to solve the problem.
wwest, you never cease to amaze me. Can you come stay with us for a week? There are a dozen aggrevating things around my house that need your touch.
Sorry to hear about dzhango's bad experience. Sounds like you've got a lemon. I guess it could happen to any of us...luck of the draw. But for others who are reading this post, my car (knock wood) has been a dream.
To: Stlouisslim -- thanks for the update. Very interesting reading. I was reading a review about Caddy's night vision technology. Seems that it only works well in the best of conditions. If it's rainy out (when you might need it most) the system doesn't work well. Hopefully Lexus will take the technology to the next level.
Nightvision - I'd love it. Where I live deer are constantly on the side of the road ready to dart across and it's quite dark as the town has an ordinance against street lighting. You don't need to drive into the woods to enconter the deer. I haven't gone a winter yet without seeing a car ruined by a deer hit. As for lux trucks in bad terrain areas I can never forget a guy with a TLC traversing the lot next to me when the house was being built. He jumped a curb, went over construction waste and fairly big and quite uneven hills of dirt with incredible ease several times as he circled the house.
Jeff
After I have been traveling at high speeds, and when I exit a highway my power steering seems to lock up. I can turn the wheel with two hands, however there is no power and instead it feels like maunual steering. Very often once I come to a complete stop the steering seems to break free and I once again have power steering.
I have brought it McGrath Lexus in the Chicago area, and they say they can't find or duplicate the problem. Needless to say I am concerned because I only have a short time before the warranty runs out.
Anybody have any similar problems or possible solutions? All assistance is appreciated.
1 click of unlock button on key unlocks drivers door (default) or all doors.
Putting car in park unlocks drivers door (default) or all doors
All doors lock when car is put in gear(default) or at 12 mph
Door relock setting 30 sec (default) or 1 min.
I've had all these but the 12mph changed in my car.
Thanks for the input.
The dealer's service manager (who is quite competent) had not mentioned the possibility of sensor location as being the reason for the temperature variation. However, since my car is consistently three to four degrees higher than that given over the radio (I live about six miles from the airport, which is how I am figuring actual temp), I wonder whether location of the sensor is the problem with my vehicle. If that were the case with my vehicle, I would have expected more variation in the spread between temp displayed vs. actual temp, with higher temps being displayed with decreased movement. My displayed temp is wrong, but at least it is consistently wrong. Again, it's no big deal.
Last year, after several problems arose, I wrote a letter to Lexus national. I received a phone call from someone at the district level. The offer was to have my car looked at, top to bottom, for further problems. Given the extent to which I have had problems with this vehicle, I was underwhelmed by the offer. My leaning at this point is to see a lemon lawyer, just because I am ticked off. I would much rather just have Lexus do the right thing (as was done by the Volvo dealer for Nealm1).
QUESTION: Is all of this true? Also, I didn't ask about the durability or longevity of the replacement glass as compared with the Lexus Lexus, OR how the replacement glass would affect the acoustical qualities of the stereo (I believe it's a factory Pioneer; I know this last point seems esoteric, but my wife's the musician of the family). I plan, when I take the car in to the shop, to ask the shop what the effect would be of not replacing the window. I doubt I can get my insurance company, which is Farmers, to spring for Lexus Lexus, and I'd hate to pay the difference myself.
(Any opinions on this would be appreciated, as well.) I thank all of you in advance for your opinions, whatever they are; I plan to take the car in to be repaired on Monday, July 22, 2002.
mobe: it is inconceivable that the reflective qualities of the two kinds of galss would make a difference in the sound from the Pioneer stereo.