# America-made Lexus, Japan sticker price



## MyJessicaLS430 (May 29, 2018)

My 2004 LS is currently in the shop for preventive maintenance to fix the leak of transmission fluid and a new set of tyres. In exchange, the dealer gave me a loaner, which is a brand new 2021 ES350 with only about 4000 miles under its wheels.

Exterior-rise, nothing is wrong with the car as it looks identical to my sister's 2019 except for the colour. A few minutes after leaving the shop, there are numerous things that go wrong. When the car accelerates or makes a turn, I notice there is some 'clong' noise in the front. Having experience with suspension from my 2004, I know there should be something wrong with the control arms. Wait, how is this possible on a brand new car? As for the engine, it is quite surprising that the car's V6 picks up speed really smooth and quick like my LS but it sounds like an underpowered 1.0L corolla or civic. The windshield wipers do not sense any rain but have to be activated manually. Aesthetically, the colour of aluminium trim does not look uniform and the doors seem not aligned to the car frame, because there appears to be a large gap between the doors and the main frame. Out of curiosity, I checked out the glove box and found a MSRP flyer of the car. To my surprise, the first character of the VIN does not with 'J'. This car is assembled in a plant in KY!! Sticker price $41k, if I remember correctly.

Absolute nonsense. One could have bought 2 Camry with that money. If the car is assembled in America and there is no quality control, in my opinion, such car does not deserve the Lexus badge. Learn something new everyday.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

MyJessicaLS430 said:


> My 2004 LS is currently in the shop for preventive maintenance to fix the leak of transmission fluid and a new set of tyres. In exchange, the dealer gave me a loaner, which is a brand new 2021 ES350 with only about 4000 miles under its wheels.
> 
> Exterior-rise, nothing is wrong with the car as it looks identical to my sister's 2019 except for the colour. A few minutes after leaving the shop, there are numerous things that go wrong. When the car accelerates or makes a turn, I notice there is some 'clong' noise in the front. Having experience with suspension from my 2004, I know there should be something wrong with the control arms. Wait, how is this possible on a brand new car? As for the engine, it is quite surprising that the car's V6 picks up speed really smooth and quick like my LS but it sounds like an underpowered 1.0L corolla or civic. The windshield wipers do not sense any rain but have to be activated manually. Aesthetically, the colour of aluminium trim does not look uniform and the doors seem not aligned to the car frame, because there appears to be a large gap between the doors and the main frame. Out of curiosity, I checked out the glove box and found a MSRP flyer of the car. To my surprise, the first character of the VIN does not with 'J'. This car is assembled in a plant in KY!! Sticker price $41k, if I remember correctly.
> 
> Absolute nonsense. One could have bought 2 Camry with that money. If the car is assembled in America and there is no quality control, in my opinion, such car does not deserve the Lexus badge. Learn something new everyday.


Never been a lexus fan, I always thought the Avalon was a much better value for the money but it's sad to hear. 41k isn't much these days scarily enough. 2 Corolla maybe but not 2 camrys.


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

MyJessicaLS430 said:


> My 2004 LS is currently in the shop for preventive maintenance to fix the leak of transmission fluid


Transmission fluid leaks have nothing to do with “preventative maintenance.” A transmission fluid leak requires a repair.
Sorry, couldn’t help myself


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## UbaBrah (Oct 25, 2019)

A lot of cars (even from "trusted" brands) have gone downhill in recent years. As more and more technology gets added, there's more that can go wrong. Plus they often have smaller engines which can sound a bit growly, a far cry from the smooth, big-block cruisers of old. 

But yeah, even just from a purely mechanical standpoint I'd be surprised if a brand new Lexus (or Toyota for that matter) lasts as long as a 430 or Camry from the mid-2000's.


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## Gone_in_60_seconds (Jan 21, 2018)

MyJessicaLS430 said:


> My 2004 LS is currently in the shop for preventive maintenance to fix the leak of transmission fluid and a new set of tyres. In exchange, the dealer gave me a loaner, which is a brand new 2021 ES350 with only about 4000 miles under its wheels.
> 
> Exterior-rise, nothing is wrong with the car as it looks identical to my sister's 2019 except for the colour. A few minutes after leaving the shop, there are numerous things that go wrong. When the car accelerates or makes a turn, I notice there is some 'clong' noise in the front. Having experience with suspension from my 2004, I know there should be something wrong with the control arms. Wait, how is this possible on a brand new car? As for the engine, it is quite surprising that the car's V6 picks up speed really smooth and quick like my LS but it sounds like an underpowered 1.0L corolla or civic. The windshield wipers do not sense any rain but have to be activated manually. Aesthetically, the colour of aluminium trim does not look uniform and the doors seem not aligned to the car frame, because there appears to be a large gap between the doors and the main frame. Out of curiosity, I checked out the glove box and found a MSRP flyer of the car. To my surprise, the first character of the VIN does not with 'J'. This car is assembled in a plant in KY!! Sticker price $41k, if I remember correctly.
> 
> Absolute nonsense. One could have bought 2 Camry with that money. If the car is assembled in America and there is no quality control, in my opinion, such car does not deserve the Lexus badge. Learn something new everyday.


For sure the Japan made cars are more reliable. But, Toyota's Kaizen of continuous improvement still works in their foreign plants. And, Toyota quality and reliability will easily surpass american made Cadillac and Lincoln easily.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Made in America costs more because labor costs, liability insurance, regulatory costs here are through the roof, but you do save on shipping things from Japan so it might be a wash.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

I remember shopping for a new 1989 Honda Accord and, following advice I had read in a car magazine, made sure that I got one that had been assembled in Japan. My LS430 is a 2002, but I don’t remember that the point of origin was an issue back then, as I think Lexus was a Japan-only product. I obviously haven’t kept up with the subject, as I didn’t know until today that they were assembling any Lexus models here.🤷🏼🤦🏼‍♂️


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## Flawlessbox (Oct 6, 2019)

Older Chauffeur said:


> I remember shopping for a new 1989 Honda Accord and, following advice I had read in a car magazine, made sure that I got one that had been assembled in Japan. My LS430 is a 2002, but I don’t remember that the point of origin was an issue back then, as I think Lexus was a Japan-only product. I obviously haven’t kept up with the subject, as I didn’t know until today that they were assembling any Lexus models here.🤷🏼🤦🏼‍♂️


My brother bought new Canadian made RX around 2006, it now have under 100k. His wife refused to drive it due to many electrical issue that it came with. He wanted a lemon law but never got one. He is now looking at Tesla, even after all the electrical horror he went through. He said he will never ever buy another Lexus.

And here I am thinking about taking it over and get rid of my 2010 Kia Soul with almost trouble free 130k miles and stop driving X for good. Why? Everyone say Lexus/Toyota is most reliable brand in the world. If I decide to take it over, maybe I can visit Scotty and listen to him on how it still blows cold air and leather is in good conditions, after he do his magic with that thousands of dollar diagnostics scanner and fix it.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

Flawlessbox said:


> Everyone say Lexus/Toyota is most reliable brand in the world.


Not currently. Consumer Reports has Lexus as #6 and Toyota as #7 as the most reliable brands.
Consumer Reports Says These Are the Most Reliable 2021 Brands | MotorBiscuit


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## losiglow (Dec 4, 2018)

That chart lost all my confidence when I saw Dodge as #14 

Also, keep in mind that those charts usually reflect all complaints and don't factor in what kind of complaints they are.

For example, with Acura, there are a ton of complaints for the new RDX's and TLX's but they're overwhelmingly due to their infotainment system, which I guess aren't very intuitive and has a lot of bugs (I haven't used one, just heard about them). However, there are very few serious problems like transmission or engine failures, safety issues or anything that would leave you stranded on the road. But since they have all those infotainment complaints, they end up with a low rating.

Meanwhile, you might have less overall complaints for BMW but the ones they _do_ have are things like failing turbochargers and defective water pumps.

So 1 complaint for Acura that requires you go in and have your infotainment system updated, costing you $0 counts the same as a failed turbocharger for your BMW 335 which costs $2500 and results in a week in the shop. Apples and oranges.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

Uber's Guber said:


> Transmission fluid leaks have nothing to do with “preventative maintenance.” A transmission fluid leak requires a repair.
> Sorry, couldn’t help myself


She didn't learn the other times she took it into the dealer
I very highly doubt you are going to teach her now
Apparently the car is at the dealer getting tires.....


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

I apologize in advance for going slightly off topic again with Honda. In the late eighties, Honda’s Acura division teamed up with the British firm Rover to produce the Sterling for home and US markets. It was pretty much a flop, and lasted only about four years. Rover got the basic body and drive train, but then put in their own suspension, interior, and electrical system. If you have ever heard stories about the Brits and the electrical bugs in some of the cars they produced over the years, that may be all you need to hear about the Sterling. (Apologies again to @MyJessicaLS430 .)
My sister and her husband, both devoted Anglophiles, (he was an English Lit Professor at the time) bought one of those Sterlings. Their next car was a Lexus.🙄


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

The longest lasting car I had was a 89 Accord. 508,000 miles. Lost fifth gear so I gave it up. Later on I found out from a pax that it could have been a relatively easy fix as the fifth gear assembly comes off as a separte unit ? .

I wanted to buy a 2 or 3 yrs old Civic and just pay the extra cost of a Honda. But I found out that the Corolla's are rated higher. Which we already have. I think for her, should get another Corolla. I'll have to look into this further.

Anyone know if both Corolla's and Civic's are made in both Japan and the US ?


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## Gone_in_60_seconds (Jan 21, 2018)

Amsoil Uber Connect said:


> The longest lasting car I had was a 89 Accord. 508,000 miles. Lost fifth gear so I gave it up. Later on I found out from a pax that it could have been a relatively easy fix as the fifth gear assembly comes off as a separte unit ? .
> 
> I wanted to buy a 2 or 3 yrs old Civic and just pay the extra cost of a Honda. But I found out that the Corolla's are rated higher. Which we already have. I think for her, should get another Corolla. I'll have to look into this further.
> 
> Anyone know if both Corolla's and Civic's are made in both Japan and the US ?


The Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic are made in Ontario, Canada. However, the hatchback Corolla is made in Japan. Toyota will eventually move production of the Corolla to Mexico to save labour costs, this will be a terrible mistake. Case in point the Nissan Sentra is assembled in Mexico and is just riddled with quality issues.


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

Thanks.


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## Amos69 (May 17, 2019)

losiglow said:


> That chart lost all my confidence when I saw Dodge as #14
> 
> Also, keep in mind that those charts usually reflect all complaints and don't factor in what kind of complaints they are.
> 
> ...


Instead of 44? 



No Doubt.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

I must strongly object to the OP and any other impugning the veracity of the American auto worker. There is no worker anywhere that can match the average American auto worker!


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## MyJessicaLS430 (May 29, 2018)

Update: I finally get my beloved darling back ! It took so long because the tyres were not in stock due to age. Only an old car like mine would have a wheel size of 16, perhaps? I just worry to one point that Lexus is not going to make any parts for my car / Michelin phased out the production of 16' tyres.

I have to admit I am getting older. The sticker price turns out to be about $44, not $41k. As you can see, the first digit of the VIN is not a "J" and my loaner car is assembled in Kentucky. Not sure when Lexus has started making cars on US soil but fortunately my sister's ES is made in Japan (Her VIN starts with a "J"). Got to always check the VIN before buying a car!










Among some fancy toys in the car, you can choose between analog and digital speedometer display. Personally, I prefer the former. I believe digital speedometer display is first introduced in the legendary super car LFA but this design has been abandoned for some time until the roll out of LS 500 in 2018 (I can be wrong). Another toy that may not be too useful is "sign-reading". For instance, the dashboard would display stop sign and speed limit if the car detects a corresponding sign on the road. 












Uber's Guber said:


> Transmission fluid leaks have nothing to do with “preventative maintenance.” A transmission fluid leak requires a repair.
> Sorry, couldn’t help myself


You are right. It is fortunate that I was informed at an early stage about the leak before too late. May be I should have written "preventive repair". The parts do not cost much but it is the cost of labour that is astronomical. Anyway, at least it is not talking about a new transmission! I wish I had the knowledge and skills to do it myself!













losiglow said:


> That chart lost all my confidence when I saw Dodge as #14


I agree. The chart is far from convincing when BMW is considered one of the most reliable cars. Those who disagree can watch the videos of Scotty on youtube....



_Tron_ said:


> I must strongly object to the OP and any other impugning the veracity of the American auto worker. There is no worker anywhere that can match the average American auto worker!


I apologize if you feel that way, of which it is never my intention. Toyota has built up its reputation of reliability and Lexus should be no different, given the premium that we need to pay. It doesn't matter where a car is assembled but all of them should be subject to the same standard of quality control.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Jessica dear, assume there was a /sarc tag in my comment (watch the video), as there so often is one implied in my posts. ;>

Hey, you said "tyres". Are you from England?

That bill is high! Too much for a pan gasket replacement. The transmission never leaves the car. It must have been those shifty Shift Shaft Selector Seals. Those damned Shift Shaft Selector Seals. They'll get ya every time. But I'll tell ya, if you can say Shift Shaft Selector Seals 10 times fast without flubbing it I'll start a GoFund me campaign on your behalf. :> :>

/s


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