I own a 2006 Lexus GS300 AWD. My car had a check engine light come on (Check VSC). The code showed a misfire on cylinders 4 & 5 (same code each time just different cylinder). The dealership was not sure why, cleared the code and sent me on my way.
The light came back on again (with the exact same code) but this time threw an additional code that said my catalytic converter is bad (related to first code that was cleared and ignored). So they had me replace the catalytic converter.
Then the light came back on again (yes, same code again). I was told "not sure why it came back on", so they cleared the code.
The light came back on again, and amazingly enough the same code and again it also threw the additional code now saying my other converter was bad. They had me replace the second catalytic converter.
Well, the light came back on again with the same "Misfire code on some random cylinder, I think cylinder 6 this time". They said they don't know why, so they cleared the code.
The light came back on again. This time they recommended that I do a "top engine clean" and replace the spark plugs and filters. At this point my total repairs are now at $3,920. They made these repairs to fix the issue again but guess what, you guessed it... The light came back on again (same code - "Misfire cylinder 6").
So once again I took the car back to them, this time they tell me they don't really know what the issue is so they want to replace my engine (and stated that they have another car like mine is in the shop they are replacing the motor for the same issues).
Throughout this entire process not once did I complain about performance, gas mileage or any other issues (or symptoms of catalytic converter failures). My exact statement to them each time was "the car runs perfect but the light keeps coming on with a misfire code on some random cylinder".
Here is a quick rundown: we went from "not sure, clear the code" to "catalytic converter is bad" to "not sure, clear the code" to "2nd catalytic converter is bad" to "not sure, clear the code" to "top engine clean and replace plugs and filters" to "not sure, clear the code" to "Replace your engine and it's going to cost an additional $8,500". What???
How about you just say "you can fix the problem if you buy a new car".
Bottom line is they have $3,920 of my money and I still have the same issue as the first day I brought the car in. I've explained to the dealership that with the current repair costs in addition to the cost of paying for a new engine would bring my repair total to $12,420.
This is more than the car is worth, who in their right mind would spend that kind of money on a vehicle that is 6 years old and to recommend such a repair is ridiculous.
I simply want to be refunded the $3,920 for repairs that never fixed the issue and this was the dealerships response to my issue:
I have printed a timeline of the repairs we performed on your vehicle.
All of them are very precise as to what was repaired each time the check engine light came on. I can assure you there was no guessing on repairs at your expense.
Your cat convertors were indeed bad as diagnosed by the codes that are left in the diagnostic system. The unfortunate part is that we still do not know what is causing your misfire codes in the motor. That is where the tear down comes into play.
The problem is that once the teardown is complete, we are pretty sure we will find that the vehicle will need a new short block (Lower part of motor where pistons are. We reuse the upper half and have the valves replaced) as we have seen in the past. From what I can gather, Lexus is willing to cover 15%-20% of the total repair. (I will need to verify that and get an email from National Customer Satisfaction
To install a new short block it will cost about $8500.00. I have also started looking for a used low mileage motor as a possible replacement (Lexus will not participate in that repair) and should have an answer if there are any available by today or tomorrow.
Excluding the dealership, I believe anyone can see how completely absurd this is. Replace my engine because they can't make the check engine light go off? There is nothing wrong with the engine and their own technicians have stated this in their reports.
I want a refund! Any help you could provide is appreciated.
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