2000 lx470 rear shocks have failed

[Stew Ellis]

I bought a factory certified 2000 lx470 in April, 2003. The rear dampers have been gradually getting worse until they finally became unbearable early this Summer. When I took it to the dealer from which I bought it, they gave me the old story about Jiffy Lube places putting washer fluid in the hydraulic reservoir. They said that the only thing they could do was to bleed the system to see if it would straighten up, which I had to pay for(~$300) . It did not help much, and now it is much worse about 3 months later. The car still has 3 1/2 years and almost 30,000 mi. left on the warranty. The dealer said since it probably was damaged by an oilchange place it is therefor not covered by the warranty. They say that the only way to fix it now is to replace the whole system for $8000. They said that one customer got their insurance company to pay for the repair under the comprehensive coverage. Needless to say I think I am getting the runaround. I am more inclined to believe that they do not want to fix it because they are the dealer who carried out the certification.

The AHC stopped working for a few days recently , so I took out the 50A fuse next to the fender for a few days. Over the next few days the rear suspension pumped down several inches, so I replaced it and the AHC has been working for the most part since then. However, after a few bumps it pumps down so that the next time I stop it has to raise the rear again.

Since I am getting stonewalled by the dealer, I want to know why I cannot just buy new rear dampers or why the warranty will not buy them. By reading all the way through this forum today, I have read that others have experience the failure at about the same mileage. What have they done? I am tempted to buy a normal suspension for it, but am afraid that would void the rest of the warranty on the rest of the truck. I do not really want to raise it higher than the stock N position. Anyone with similar experience? How would you solve the problem.

Stew Ellis - SE MI

 

[Landpimp]

I call BS on the dealer. Can they prove that it was damaged by a Jifilube(or even you)? NO! Push them, make a fuss, call the dealer rep.

you paid for the certified warantee..............they damn well better honor it.

John H(as much as Slee likes the Lexus.......I am glad I got a Cruiser

 

[mobi-arc]

Ahhhh, the joy of air suspension. Everybody loves it...until it's time to replace. I know in Range Rovers, the air suspension is so un-godly expensive that when it goes sideways, they install standard mono-tube shocks....which cost $50 each. Perhaps that's an option for the LX470?

Scott

 

[jjbodean1970]

i agree with john:

if you haven't spoken with the service manager, it's time to. if you have, it's time to ask for an appointment with the district rep. it will be in your favor if you have done your servicing with the lexus dealership, it will all show in the history of your vehicle and makes it easier to rule in your favor if there are any gray areas.

good luck

 

[uzj100]

I would contact the district rep. If that does not work, make sure you inform them that 60 minutes and 48 hours are first on your list of contacts for such a bogus warranty. If that does not work, start looking for wrecked lx470's, to get the shocks off of.

I had a similiar situation happen with the front cv boots on my 100. The vehicle is toyota cetified and that why I bought it. Toyota certified said it was covered, southeast toyota certified subcontractor said no way. I said fine, then I did a google search on all the top dogs at Toyota, especially legal, and sent an email. I also, copied 60 minutes and 48 hrs. Magically 1 month later, I received a call from the subcontract warranty company wanting to pay for my cv boots. I told them I had not had them fixed and I was not about to. They volunteered to work directly with the dealer to pay for the work. I did have to pay my $50 deductible but I had all 4 cv boots replaced. Funny how things happen. The top legal person for Toyota is a graduate from ucla or somewhere and I found their address through the alumni site.

I would not think Lexus would try to pull such crap.

uzj100

 

[hoser]

I am tempted to buy a normal suspension for it, but am afraid that would void the rest of the warranty on the rest of the truck.

I think everyone else said it--push for your dealer to fix it. As for your comment about voiding the warranty. In my experience, changing any one component will not void the warranty on the entire car. Suppose you changed the suspension out to aftermarket and one day your transmission failed. The failure would have to be related to the suspension for the warranty to be void. However, if you put a turbocharger on and your tranny failed, then it wouldn't be covered.

I hope you don't have to end up changing the suspension though. I'm sure it'll make a dramatic decrease on your LX's resale value.