Dead battery, a matter of time....

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by Penguin

My point is that all of these companies make mistakes, and it's silly to say you would not ride in a Lexus due to this recall, e.g., if you total the accidents and deaths, I suspect you have a better chance of being hit by lightening or by a vehicle while crossing the street, than injured due to the Toyota/Lexus throttle problem.

Agree, but this was a one time thing. Not like the Toyota/Lexus deal going on right now. Also, this was a 1998 model so there has been plenty of time to see if this is more than a one time thing, which it does not appear to be. Also, I call BS on the story in general. Guy says he couldn't put the car in neutral because it was over-revving and redlining? So what? let the car over-rev and blow the engine if you don't have control. Also, I think the brakes would have easily over powered the 1.8 litre engine if he pushed them hard enough at the beginning of the situation. Who really knows why the pedal was stuck in the first place? Debris, possibly? He also said he couldn't turn the car off because it would have killed the power steering. Really? Was there not any stretch of road in 60 miles that was straight enough for him to turn the car off and muscle the steering to a safer stop that crashing and flipping over a round-a-bout going over 100 mph? This wreaks of poor decision making on the drivers part from start to finish so I have to call BS on some level. Cant rule out the sticking pedal wasn't his fault in some way. When 20+ 1998 318's have the same issue, I would be more concerned. Not to mention that he walked away uninjured from flipping over and sliding on his roof at 100 mph. Got to give BMW credit on that one.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Agree, but this was a one time thing. Not like the Toyota/Lexus deal going on right now. .

Valid points, and perhaps a bad example on my part.

But, I think my point is still valid that (a) with the low frequency of the problem, compared to other risks we face on a daily basis, riding in a Lexus is not something to be avoided for fear of your Life, and (b) while it appears BMW has been smarter in this throttle area, it's quite possible BMW could have their own problem in some other safety area in the future. BMW certainly did with their Motorcycles recently.

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Valid points, and perhaps a bad example on my part.

But, I think my point is still valid that (a) with the low frequency of the problem, compared to other risks we face on a daily basis, riding in a Lexus is not something to be avoided for fear of your Life, and (b) while it appears BMW has been smarter in this throttle area, it's quite possible BMW could have their own problem in some other safety area in the future. BMW certainly did with their Motorcycles recently.

Agreed. I rode in a Lexus SUV today. I did notice that the seats were much more confortable than my 4.4 with sport package (not that I care about that much).

BMW has and will continue to have it's issues for sure as well. Every car company will unless they keep making the same model over and over with the same old technology and finally perfect it.

I just come from the camp that thinks the Toyota gas pedals are another setback for a company who's quality has been declining for years now. This will hurt seeing as it is one of the main reason people buy them in the first place. They are more of a driving appliance than anything and can be easily substituted with other brands that are not having quality issues at the moment, IMO.

[ChuckG]

Originally Posted by Penguin

But, I think my point is still valid that (a) with the low frequency of the problem, compared to other risks we face on a daily basis, riding in a Lexus is not something to be avoided for fear of your Life,....

I have actually never been in a Lexus and don't intend to now. We all have to make our own choices. You are right the risk is low but the consequences are grave.

I will just ride in my X5 35D even though I might have a dead battery some day. I cannot remember having a car that did not have a dead battery at some time. Even then it was never more than a small inconvenience.

Chuck

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by ChuckG

I have actually never been in a Lexus and don't intend to now. We all have to make our own choices. You are right the risk is low but the consequences are grave.

I will just ride in my X5 35D even though I might have a dead battery some day. I cannot remember having a car that did not have a dead battery at some time. Even then it was never more than a small inconvenience.

Chuck

Hey, as I said, I would never buy a Lexus, but if a friend had one, I'd be happy to ride with them.

But I must say that I haven't had a dead battery in a car for more than 25 years. I typically test my batteries' voltage every 6-12 months and routinely replace them every five years to avoid the inconvenience of a dead battery an an opportune time. I've taken that approach since I once had to replace a battery in the dark at night in Detroit, using a flashlight, in a windy snowstorm with the temperature around zero.

[X-cellent]

Originally Posted by jaaX3

OP: how often do you drive the car? And for how many miles at a time? Frequent, short commutes are hell on batteries.

My 4.8 is my daily driver and my commute is about 18 miles each way during a normal week, with mixed speeds (30-40mph on most sections about 5 miles at 60+), but for the last two weeks I have been running closer to 75 miles each day with a 50/50 mix of local and highway.

I understand the basic issues at hand (I play a mechanic on TV, but in real life I sell yachts) but fall back on the issue that if you look at who's driving the average SAV/SUV and it's real world usage, I am not out of the norm (well, those who know me would probably argue with that) with my usage.

My father-in-law was just in town, and I gave his truck (Diesel GMC 2500 heavy duty) a quick clean up on saturaday as well, and when i popped the hood guess what I saw, two batteries and TWO alternators. Due to electrical loads and the "heavy duty" tag, the truck had two systems. Now, I look at that and say hmm...do you think BMW could have thought about all the loads being put on the electrical system (since even the glove box uses an electric switch for chirstssake) and thought about the fact that maybe a large number of these vehicles will be driven by the likes of me and my wife and NOT see huge amounts of daily travel time, and may have issues with keeping a charge on the battery??

I can only imagine if i lived up north (where my in-laws are from) and was running the rear defroster, heated seats and actually drove in conditions that prompted the intervention of ABS/DSC and other elctronically driven safety nets...perhaps I'd be forced to get a battery tender....

...but to be told I opened the doors too many times in a two hour peroid while i washed the car (so figure half the time they're shut as I don't actually wash the interior) after a week of above average highway commuting is just wrong.

FWIW - although my invoice says nothing about the battery charge, they did flush the brake fluid, yet forgot to reset the service indicator as it popped up again today!!

[Retired Profile]

I had an issue with the battery as well. My battery was replaced by BMW with a newer, different battery. The details are in my thread:

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...same-time.html

No problems since.

Hope this helps.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by rh71

Lexus makes very comfortable cars with good technology, and their service is one of the tops in the industry... but you could've at least gotten a nicer looking SUV.

I agree, I don't really care for the looks of the GX 460, but the RX is a women's car and the LX is too big and doesn't have HID headlights. This
will be my 6th Lexus and I've had good reliability and durability with the Lexus
vehicles I've owned. That's why I'm buying another. I can't say the same
for the X5. I do like the way it drives, but I can't put up with the reliability
and durability issues. Waiting on parts was another concern. I've never
had to wait more than a day or two for parts on any of my Lexus vehicles.
3 months was too long to wait for a part from BMW. The battery issues
are also unacceptable for a modern vehicle.

Craig

[Retired Profile]

Of course, as we all know by now, Toyota (and Lexus) are having some major issues as well.

This from a story on the subject:

First to testify will be Rhonda Smith, of Tennessee, who is expected to describe the day in 2006 when she says her Lexus ES350, a Toyota vehicle, accelerated to 160 km/h unintentionally, did not respond to her attempts at braking and then decelerated suddenly on its own.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/02/23/us-toyota-safety.html#ixzz0gNEZdbss

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by Craig

Waiting on parts was another concern. I've never
had to wait more than a day or two for parts on any of my Lexus vehicles.
3 months was too long to wait for a part from BMW.

What in the world did you have to wait 3 months for? They could built you a whole new car in that time.

I replaced the battery on my e53 last week, but it was at least 3 years old (pre-owned). I have not had any battery issues with mine. The e70's may be different.