2021 LS 500 problems - could it be a 'Covid Car'?

[LukWyns]

Bought a 2021 LS 500 last year and have 3 warranty items already at less than 6,000 miles. This is my 3rd LS - previous 2 were faultless, our LX was too.

1. Wrong tires - the Dunlop RFTs on my car are like boards - dealer says that Michelin RFTs work, Dunlops don't, so am I expected to pay $2k now to replace OEM tires with alternative OEM tires after less than <6k wear?

2. Central armrest loose - had to get new center console replacement parts to fix problem - only 90% fixed.

3. Secondary rattle from center console - after 4 days at the dealer they conclude "noise improved but still heard. No further repairs available"

So, I'm rapidly concluding that my car is a 'Covid build' where the factory shipped it with poor assembly (assembly Covid interrupted during build) and the only available tires.

So much not what I expect from Lexus - wonder if there will more and more Covid build issues with other models and marques...

 

[RX400h]

Of all the Lexus models and years, only one model has had more than its share of issues - the LS500. Consumer Reports shows that the 2018 year is rated as "Much worse than average". There was not enough data from owner surveys for 2019-2021 but my opinion, based upon your experience and CR magazine is that this model from 2018 and on is not a good choice. There is a Lemon Law in California. You should look into it, as well as consider subscribing to Consumer Reports.

 

[LukWyns]

Thanks RX400h, I was unaware of those things. I'll look into Lemon Law & Consumer Reports membership. Cheers!

[russell mckinney]

On 2/25/2022 at 6:44 PM, LukWyns said:

Bought a 2021 LS 500 last year and have 3 warranty items already at less than 6,000 miles. This is my 3rd LS - previous 2 were faultless, our LX was too.

1. Wrong tires - the Dunlop RFTs on my car are like boards - dealer says that Michelin RFTs work, Dunlops don't, so am I expected to pay $2k now to replace OEM tires with alternative OEM tires after less than <6k wear?

2. Central armrest loose - had to get new center console replacement parts to fix problem - only 90% fixed.

3. Secondary rattle from center console - after 4 days at the dealer they conclude "noise improved but still heard. No further repairs available"

So, I'm rapidly concluding that my car is a 'Covid build' where the factory shipped it with poor assembly (assembly Covid interrupted during build) and the only available tires.

So much not what I expect from Lexus - wonder if there will more and more Covid build issues with other models and marques...

 

What about the air conditioner? 

[russell mckinney]

IS there a problem with the air conditioning system .  Sometime the passenger side does not work  We have also had he whole system not work  The other day two motors wee replaced and it worked.  Now with in a few days the passenger side is not working again.

[RX400h]

There is not enough data for the 2019 and 2020 models but the 2018 model's "Climate system" is rated as average. All model years before that were either better than average or much better than average in that category.

Who replaced the motors?

[Sajack]

Don’t blame the runflats on Lexus. Your beef is with the tire mfr.  
The market is moving toward runflats. They save weight, trunk space, and eliminate the danger and inconvenience of changing a tire on the side of the road. I have Bridgestone Turanza runflats on my LS500 and am happy with them. I suppose you could switch to  conventional tires, buy a spare wheel and tire, jack, torque wrench, etc. It’s going to eat up a lot of trunk space. Or maybe go with an inflatable spare if you wish. The loose armrest and rattle in the console should be fixable.

 

[LS 500 Brake Problems]

I have had my LS 500 2021 in several times due to squealing. At first they dusted them off then came  back. Next they replaced and then came back. Now squeaking agin. It’s the rear breaks. Do you have this problem. And what did you do?

[LukWyns]

On 8/8/2022 at 7:46 AM, russell mckinney said:

What about the air conditioner? 

Works very well even on >100 degree days. The car is great in many aspects - very torquey for quick 60-90 overtakes, handles well, comfortable, great ac, heated wheel, great seats, cooled seats, big trunk, looks great - just wish it didn't have assembly issues, and that Lexus had better customer service. And that Roseville Lexus weren't crooks. So, a few things...

[LukWyns]

7 hours ago, LS 500 Brake Problems said:

I have had my LS 500 2021 in several times due to squealing. At first they dusted them off then came  back. Next they replaced and then came back. Now squeaking agin. It’s the rear breaks. Do you have this problem. And what did you do?

I don't have this problem with my LS500 but had similar with previous car - LS460 F-Sport. They kept trying solutions but in the end they never found a silent set of pads despite replacing 3 sets in 30k for free. For the LS460 F-Sport it was a known design fault. Pity about the modern Lexus LS as it used be more competitive - my 2004 LS430 was my first choice against the Merc S430 and the BMW 735i at the time; I bought my 2021 LS500 because it was incredible value but its no longer the best large luxury car.

[LukWyns]

On 10/29/2022 at 10:48 AM, Sajack said:

Don’t blame the runflats on Lexus. Your beef is with the tire mfr.  
The market is moving toward runflats. They save weight, trunk space, and eliminate the danger and inconvenience of changing a tire on the side of the road. I have Bridgestone Turanza runflats on my LS500 and am happy with them. I suppose you could switch to  conventional tires, buy a spare wheel and tire, jack, torque wrench, etc. It’s going to eat up a lot of trunk space. Or maybe go with an inflatable spare if you wish. The loose armrest and rattle in the console should be fixable.

 

Maybe Bridgestones would be an improvement but would they give me non-runflat levels of bump absorption? Maybe Arkansas roads are better than my local ones. As runflats aren't going to get me a long distance with a significant puncture I'd probably go non-flat if I wasn't already looking at alternatives vehicles....

And I agree, you'd think armrest and rattles would be fixable, but not so far. The armrest was replaced, some improvement but still rattled. Then they replaced the whole console between the front seats. That was great but 2k later the armrest is moving about again and getting worse. They says its just a bad design in the LS and comparing to that in an ES, it is. The whole dash has been out and refitted. The glovebox door has been refitted, and felt added. The area below it now makes a sound occasionally. Sacramento Lexus have been great but think its Lemon Law time...

 

 

[RX400h]

Sometimes the brake pad selections offer two outcomes:

1. Longer lasting pads that tend to squeak

2. Softer pads that need to be replaced often, especially when used with heavy vehicles

If a dealership keeps replacing pads with the same type, expect the same results. As a short term brake rotor designer, I learned that there is quite a bit of science when it comes to pad design. Pad manufacturers use specifically placed microphones to determine the source of irregular sounds. Vibration-induced harmonic peaks are recorded, graphed, and analyzed. Ideally a pad/rotor/caliper designer would look at a particular sound problem with a customer's car and determine the root cause. It coud be the calipers/caliper components, or rotors. The parallelism of the pad surface to the rotor contact surfaces is a critical factor.

Sometimes slotted rotors help, as they tend to keep pad contact surfaces parallel to the rotor.