RX 330 Rotors Warped

At about 15k miles, my wife's rotors were warped, and the dealer replaced them w/o charge, and w/o complaint. They made some vague reference to 'problems' with rotors. Now at 40k they're warped again. The car is under warranty still, but I can imagine them blaming the problem on us this time. No heavy duty use of the brakes and when I'm in the mountains I'm particularly careful about downshifting.

I've not yet shown them the car... should I expect reasonably that they replace them again for free?

Reply to
Stephen Jacobs
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If you live in a mountainous area and the dealer is seeing other RX's with warped rotors, then I think it is reasonable to expect them to be replaced if the warranty is still in effect.

Reply to
Ray O

Reply to
Stephen Jacobs

We also have a 2004 RX330 (AWD).

There is a TSB to fix the issue you are experiencing. The dealer replaced mine under warranty (per the TSB) at 26K (new rotors per TSB, but they put the old pads on).

However, even after the TSB, I have had the rotors warp at 52K (turned rotors), 62K (new OEM pads/rotors) and again at 74K.

When I have the tires rotated, I always have them hand-torque the lug nuts and we very seldom drive in the mountains.

Trust me, the dealer wasn't willing to help beyond the warranty. I hope you don't have the same long-term problem I have had, because I will tell you, I am quite frustrated.

Reply to
Anonymous

My wife's ES had brakes jerking so hard it was unbelievable. I complained long and hard and they blamed her for driving through water with hot brakes. They finaly agreed to replace the brakes and rotors for half price. My LS 430 has jerked and had rough brakes since new last fall. Lexus says that is normal. Glad you started this thread cause now I will go see a brake guy and see if the rotors are warped. Every time I go to the dealer for something on the car, I mention the brakes and ask them to be checked. But the dealer doesn't even list it all the time - probably afraid of lemon law suits.

Reply to
mcbrue

Normal? No way. If that particular dealer (independently operated) continues to give you problems talk to Toyota's customer service line directly. Actually rotor problems started popping up a lot more since

2002. There were even TSBs telling the techs to replace them free. Must be a new low cost supplier.

Reply to
johngdole

TSB's never tell the techs to replace any part for free. In the case of an unusual or a widespread problem, TSB's merely describe the condition, the cause, and the remedy. Whether a part will be replaced for free or not depends on any applicable warranties or service campaigns.

Reply to
Ray O

Many TSBs come with modified warranty information. For these they do say to replace for free. And warranty is often modified depending on the nature of the problem. These are not completely independent. Yet on other TSBs they'll say to use goodwill warranty before the work began if the original warranty already expired.

BTW, owners should be able to ask for and be allowed to read TSBs at the dealer. I just don't know if Toyota/Lexus/ will charge an arm and a leg to pull it from the shelf.

Reply to
johngdole

During the fifteen years I worked for Toyota, I never once saw a TSB include modified warranty information.

Changes or clarifications in warranty coverage are issued in warranty bulletins or as a SSC.

And warranty is often modified depending on

TSB's are available from the NHTSA, AllData, and at techinfo.toyota.com.

Reply to
Ray O

I was talking about TSBs in general. And looks like Toyota was less inclined to bend over backwards for their customers.

In fact, even if vehicles have defects covered by the TSBs, as long as the customer doesn't realize it and make a complaint, those won't get fixed even under warranty. So it's not like it's going to help the dealer tech in "routine preventative inspections."

So owners should always read the relevant TSBs affecting their vehicles!!!!! And I don't think we should have to pay AllData for TSBs when dealers should provide that for free, don't you? That was my point. :)

Reply to
johngdole

A lot of people think that there is a correlation between the existence of a TSB and warranty coverage, and there really isn't any. A TSB is issued to assist the dealership in diagnosing a condition that a customer's vehicle may or may not exhibit. Whether or not a condition is covered by warranty is determined by whether the vehicle is still within the warranty coverage period.

Personally, I would like to have free access to TSB's because I use them to help people in these ng's and don't care to pay for something that I am not personally using. When I was a district service manager, I would occasionally make copies of a TSB for a customer, but I found that 99% of the customers did not understand the content of the TSB or mis-interpreted the TSB, especially customers who had some automotive technical knowledge but who were not current on their vehicle. Dealerships pay thousands of dollars per year for access to technical information so I can understand why they are reluctant to give it away for free to a customer who probably wouldn't understand its content.

Reply to
Ray O

Ray,

Oh, so true of life, not just the automotive industry!

Reply to
charles

One of the hardest to deal with was my dad, who has an engineering degree and who worked on Hudsons, Nash's, and Ramblers. Those cars were a little easier to work on than a modern Toyota or Lexus ;-)

Reply to
Ray O

There is nothing preventing a manufacturer from including warranty modifications with TSB is what I've been saying. Toyota doesn't want the extra cost but that's fine.

An example is Honda TSB 99-085 issued 10/2001 regarding a small number of PCV valves clogging. Honda just extended the warranty of the part to 8yr/80K miles for those affected. It's a customer service move.

As far as reading them, I'm not talking about owners who don't understand TSBs. There are plenty in this NG who do.

Reply to
johngdole

Reply to
johngdole

Our Dads; bless them. Of course, I resolved to be totally different from mine; but I have failed. And I can only be certain that our children and grandchildren will say the same in 2107!

Reply to
charles

Toyota/Lexus sends every customer a notice if there is any modification made to the warranty and issues an SSC or SPA instead of a TSB. It is not a hit or miss where only customers who think to ask get the benefit of an extended warranty because TMS sends mail to the customers first.

How would a service department know whether or not a customer actually understands a particular TSB? Do they make a judgment call when a customer comes in talking like an expert when it is clear to the service department that the customer is a big talker with no actual expertise to back up the big talk? I ran into a lot of those kinds of customers. Should they have the customer pass a test first or should they ask to see the customer's ASE certifications in the area related to the TSB? How about a customer who has let his ASE Master Tech and Toyota Master Tech certifications lapse and did not renew his Society of Automotive Engineers membership? Do you think that customer would understand the content of the TSB?

I don't know of an equitable answer, but in my experience dealing with over a hundred new car dealerships, I've seen that many service department will try to honor the reasonable requests of their regular customers who give them steady business, while they will not try as hard for a customer who only comes in for free work or work that the customer's regular shop is not capable of doing.

Ray O (correct punctuation to reply)

Reply to
Ray O

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