2017 Lexus LS 4.6L V8 from North America
Summary:
The grass wasn’t greener on the other side!
Faults:
Front brake rotors and pads started whistling while driving down the freeway without applying the brakes. Lexus Corporate replaced the front brakes and rotors at 9500 miles. 3 trips to fix.
The engine has been stalling and dying from time to time. The dealer and Lexus Corporate are stumped on this one. Unresolved, unable to duplicate.
The mouse cursor thing in the center console came loose; the dealer had to reset it and insulate it. 3 trips to fix.
The infotainment system freezes and resets from time to time; you just have to wait for it to reboot. Unresolved.
Front bumper loose and buzzes in the wind. Unresolved, billed as normal.
Burns oil excessively ‘within normal specs’; smokes when starts sometimes and smells when shut off after long trips. Unresolved, ‘unable to duplicate’.
Lumpy headliner around the sunroof ‘normal’.
General Comments:
I purchased this car for the reliability not the tech; it is very minimal in the way of tech which is great, so I thought. My equation in my head was the approximate $80,000 this car cost new, for lacking all of the tech, everything else would be made of the highest quality components with the simplest, most reliable engineering characteristics.
A true ownership experience is not just rated when everything goes well; you find out how it is to own and live with a vehicle when you have problems. Honestly this car has had a few problems, and they are not fixed, so it appears to be an unfixable new car. I was wrong to buy a Lexus; I have made 8 trips to the dealer for various items with the car and I’ve owned it for 7 months. They usually keep the car 1 day and then give it back having fixed nothing except insulated the controller for the infotainment system. So I’m living with this car that has stalled multiple times on me pulling into traffic, and smokes from time to time in the morning etc etc. I honestly think it would be a great car, even a competitive car, if they could fix it.
In my opinion it’s extremely comfortable for my 6’ 2” height; I’m a little large around the mid section and I’m very comfortable. Very energizing on long trips.
Maybe I just got a not so great car, as most people have good luck with Lexus, but honestly with these problems, I couldn’t buy another one unless Lexus started putting a little more effort into fixing the brand new one I have. I’ve been on a couple road trips in it, and when it runs well, it is the best car I’ve ever had; when it doesn’t it scares me to death to drive.
From the comments I’ve received at the dealership by technicians, these cars do from time to time have problems that leave people scratching their heads; mine must be one of those. This was my first Lexus and it’s unfortunate this was my first interaction with the brand, as I know people who swear by them. I think I could tolerate a problematic car if the support behind the brand was better, but the LS ownership experience is ruined by the problems not being resolved. I know a lot of people have strong opinions, but I don’t feel this is the same Lexus brand that came out with the LS400 in the early 90s and sent people to your house to fix a noisy seat motor; I feel they have let quality slip a little.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 2nd December, 2017
2nd Jun 2018, 07:47
Thank you, yes I’m finding that out that on some of the surveys that Lexus vehicles seem to be slipping a little. Unfortunately I’m stuck with what I’m stuck with for now.
2nd Jun 2018, 21:12
Stalling is something major - certainly one thing I do not expect on a Toyota (or any Japanese car) let alone a Lexus, the standard bearer on total dependability and reliability. But if the technicians do come across the odd cars that have them scratching their heads, then the reality is that while you can follow a discipline in putting together a car, cars have now gotten so complicated that even Lexus technicians are vulnerable to gremlins. If you read The Toyota Way book, the effort they put into designing reliability into a car, down to influencing how their suppliers make parts and make reasonable profit from it to avoid cost-cutting, even the way they select the people for the parts assembly lines, your experience shows that no-one is infallible. Mercedes used to be pretty much what Lexus was from the 1950s-1980s, very well-engineered. Their problem is that besides overcomplicating more recent cars (to compete with lesser brands by loading on technology), they started outsourcing many parts to reduce cost, suppliers of whom they have no real control with regards to processes and selection of workers. That your experience tells me is that cars are really getting too complex. I wouldn't mind cars which didn't have as much tech (no lane-change assist, electrofluorescent gauges, automatic climate control, radar-guided cruise control), but just make the basics dependable over the life of the car.
29th Jan 2018, 19:59
The 2016 Lexus LS and GX460 have some engine problems per Consumer Reports.