Lexus CT200H crankshaft/engine dead
Discussion
My brother has 11reg CT200H and do roughly 10k miles a year. The car was purchased used from Lexus main dealer when it was about 2years old and had 20k miles on the clock.
The car was always serviced at the right interval from the main Lexus dealership and only ran out of its warranty last December as it was bought with 3years warranty.
On the 20th of June engine management light came on with a knocking sound from the engine bay intermittently, so the next day he took the car to the local dealership for a check up and mentioned the issue.
Service advisor took the car out for a test drive and came back saying that he couldn't hear anything but my brother insisted to have it booked in for a through investigation, at this point the service advisor mentioned that its only for my brothers satisfaction that they're booking the car in on the 25th of june otherwise to them there is nothing wrong with it and at that point brother asked them is it safe to take the car on a longer journey as he was travelling to Lancaster from Manchester on the 24th and they said yes it is safe.
On the way home from Lancaster the car broke down on the motorway and recovered to home and then to the dealership next day.
On the 27th of June he had a call from the dealership saying that due to an oil leak the crankshaft has damaged and they're looking into the causes.
After couple of days he contacted them for an update and spoke to service manager and he told my brother that they're working out the cost of repair and will be in touch.
On the 2nd of July out of frustration my brother went to the dealership looking for answer and met with the service advisor who took the car for a test drive, service manager and another advisor. The service advisor did admit that he took the car for a test drive but didn't notice any issue and he was informed by my brother that the car will be driven on a long journey before the inspection and he okayed that.
Now they say that the only course of action is for my brother to get a second hand engine and they will consider a discount towards the labour cost they even provided few contact details to my brother about where to get the engine from.
My brother has clearly said to them that he will be contacting another dealership who did the last service in December and Lexus UK to find out who should be responsible for this.
He contacted Lexus UK on the 5th of July and informed them the whole situation and they have replied back saying what they have been told by the dealership which is,
That the dealership didn't test drive the car and only did a visual inspection and they were not made aware of any noise from the engine and they asked my brother to leave the car with them and they will do an inspection.
Now I would like to know what course of action should we be looking at. We have informed Lexus UK that the dealership are telling the porkies now to save their back side.
Has anyone had any such incident and what was the out come ?
Any advice would be highly appreciated
The car was always serviced at the right interval from the main Lexus dealership and only ran out of its warranty last December as it was bought with 3years warranty.
On the 20th of June engine management light came on with a knocking sound from the engine bay intermittently, so the next day he took the car to the local dealership for a check up and mentioned the issue.
Service advisor took the car out for a test drive and came back saying that he couldn't hear anything but my brother insisted to have it booked in for a through investigation, at this point the service advisor mentioned that its only for my brothers satisfaction that they're booking the car in on the 25th of june otherwise to them there is nothing wrong with it and at that point brother asked them is it safe to take the car on a longer journey as he was travelling to Lancaster from Manchester on the 24th and they said yes it is safe.
On the way home from Lancaster the car broke down on the motorway and recovered to home and then to the dealership next day.
On the 27th of June he had a call from the dealership saying that due to an oil leak the crankshaft has damaged and they're looking into the causes.
After couple of days he contacted them for an update and spoke to service manager and he told my brother that they're working out the cost of repair and will be in touch.
On the 2nd of July out of frustration my brother went to the dealership looking for answer and met with the service advisor who took the car for a test drive, service manager and another advisor. The service advisor did admit that he took the car for a test drive but didn't notice any issue and he was informed by my brother that the car will be driven on a long journey before the inspection and he okayed that.
Now they say that the only course of action is for my brother to get a second hand engine and they will consider a discount towards the labour cost they even provided few contact details to my brother about where to get the engine from.
My brother has clearly said to them that he will be contacting another dealership who did the last service in December and Lexus UK to find out who should be responsible for this.
He contacted Lexus UK on the 5th of July and informed them the whole situation and they have replied back saying what they have been told by the dealership which is,
That the dealership didn't test drive the car and only did a visual inspection and they were not made aware of any noise from the engine and they asked my brother to leave the car with them and they will do an inspection.
Now I would like to know what course of action should we be looking at. We have informed Lexus UK that the dealership are telling the porkies now to save their back side.
Has anyone had any such incident and what was the out come ?
Any advice would be highly appreciated
Edited by webwysard on Sunday 8th July 09:50
You haven't said what the actual problem was but I guess it is a major mechanical problem which has effectively scrapped the engine.
You seem upset that the engine failed after the dealer said they thought the car was OK to drive. I have no idea what the symptoms were or how obvious they were. On the basis that the advice was verbal and apparently not paid for I don't think the garage has any liability even if their advice was wrong - and it is not at all clear that it was wrong based on the evidence available to them at the time.
The dealer didn't cause the engine damage. They are not responsible for fixing it under warranty. They have offered a sensible approach to fix it at your expense. The only questionable part of their proposal is the suggestion that you supply the engine for them to fix. Do not do that under any circumstances. It would mean that they are no longer solely responsible for the work, and in the event of any problem they can simply claim that the engine you supplied was faulty and avoid liability. Meanwhile, even if you buy a good engine with a warranty, the supplier can claim the engine was installed incorrectly, leaving you in the middle unable to prove a claim in either direction. It is crucial that the people fixing the problem take responsibility for the whole job. If they're any good that should be no problem since they will expect to supply a good engine and install it correctly.
You seem upset that the engine failed after the dealer said they thought the car was OK to drive. I have no idea what the symptoms were or how obvious they were. On the basis that the advice was verbal and apparently not paid for I don't think the garage has any liability even if their advice was wrong - and it is not at all clear that it was wrong based on the evidence available to them at the time.
The dealer didn't cause the engine damage. They are not responsible for fixing it under warranty. They have offered a sensible approach to fix it at your expense. The only questionable part of their proposal is the suggestion that you supply the engine for them to fix. Do not do that under any circumstances. It would mean that they are no longer solely responsible for the work, and in the event of any problem they can simply claim that the engine you supplied was faulty and avoid liability. Meanwhile, even if you buy a good engine with a warranty, the supplier can claim the engine was installed incorrectly, leaving you in the middle unable to prove a claim in either direction. It is crucial that the people fixing the problem take responsibility for the whole job. If they're any good that should be no problem since they will expect to supply a good engine and install it correctly.
None of that makes any sense.
You said it was knocking, but everyone else says it isnt ? How is that possible. ?
Then they say there is maybe a small oil leak ? Not the end of the world.....
Then suddenly it needs a new engine, even though the dealer idiots drove it and said there is no problem ?
Random eh ?
You said it was knocking, but everyone else says it isnt ? How is that possible. ?
Then they say there is maybe a small oil leak ? Not the end of the world.....
Then suddenly it needs a new engine, even though the dealer idiots drove it and said there is no problem ?
Random eh ?
webwysard said:
My brother has 11reg CT200H and do roughly 10k miles a year. The car was purchased used from Lexus main dealer when it was about 2years old and had 20k miles on the clock.
A 7yo, 70k mile car which had a 3yr/60k new warranty.webwysard said:
The car was always serviced at the right interval from the main Lexus dealership and only ran out of its warranty last December as it was bought with 3years warranty.
But he bought it in ~2013 with 3yr warranty?webwysard said:
On the 27th of June he had a call from the dealership saying that due to an oil leak the crankshaft has damaged and they're looking into the causes.
When did he last check the oil level? Was it losing oil?webwysard said:
Now they say that the only course of action is for my brother to get a second hand engine and they will consider a discount towards the labour cost they even provided few contact details to my brother about where to get the engine from.
Seems fair.webwysard said:
My brother has clearly said to them that he will be contacting another dealership who did the last service in December and Lexus UK to find out who should be responsible for this.
So there isn't even a consistent track record of servicing at the same dealership?I'd think he's looking at their offer being about the best he's likely to get, maybe nudging up the discount.
Lexus UK have zero responsibility for a car that far out of warranty. The used-car warranty supplier have zero responsibility. The dealer who have it now aren't the last people who worked on it.
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