Great news about plastic undercarriage!

5765 Views 17 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Van Gogh, Feb 16, 2001

ijmis300

Discussion Starter · Feb 16, 2001

I called my Lexus dealer yesterday to schedule my 5000 mile service. Since so many people have had the plastic undercarriage fall off, I decided to speak with a service consultant about the potential for this happening. He said that he has never heard of the problem, and if it has happened to anyone, it's because they have lowered their car. Since I HAVEN'T lowered my car, I guess there's absolutely no chance of this happening. Boy! What a relief!!!

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Black_IS300

· #2 · Feb 16, 2001

Thats BS. My car had it fall if when it wasnt lowered. Your service manger doesnt know what he is talking about. It is a common problem.

ijmis300

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 16, 2001

Liar! You MUST have lowered your car!!! How could my Lexus dealer be wrong????

Originally posted by Black_IS300:
Thats BS. My car had it fall if when it wasnt lowered. Your service manger doesnt know what he is talking about. It is a common problem.

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Altezza

· #4 · Feb 16, 2001

You guys are talking about the fairings right? The plastic part thats sticking out in front of the front tire housing.

Lowering may not be the direct cause, though I think it will increase the possibility.

Well, if its falling off, thats because it was hit so hard and some of the nut or bolt or whatever came loose, resulting in falling of the whole part. Cars that are lowered have higher chance of hitting the bottom of the car, so the fairing may come loose often. AND cars that are not lowered still have chances of hitting the underbelly, there's also a chance of the fairing coming off.

With the road condition of some of the cities in the US, I say you all have the risk of the fairing coming off.

And you're willing to trust a car salesman/mechanic? GMAFB.

webguyIS

· #5 · Feb 16, 2001

Originally posted by ijmis300:
He said that he has never heard of the problem, and if it has happened to anyone, it's because they have lowered their car. Since I HAVEN'T lowered my car, I guess there's absolutely no chance of this happening. Boy! What a relief!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! LOL

Oh man, seriously, haven't you ever seen the number of minivans running around with that plastic thing hanging down? Gimme a break! Sure lowering will increase your chances, but there are things that you hit (i.e. parking slot bumpers) that can easily drag that off a stock IS! Man, please don't tell me Gullible is your middle name, cuz I'll have to have a field day. ;-)

------------------
2k EBP Civic SI
Working on an IS300 lease...
http://webguy.dcaff.com

ijmis300

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 16, 2001

Trust me....I ain't the one who's gullible...

Originally posted by webguyIS:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! LOL

Oh man, seriously, haven't you ever seen the number of minivans running around with that plastic thing hanging down? Gimme a break! Sure lowering will increase your chances, but there are things that you hit (i.e. parking slot bumpers) that can easily drag that off a stock IS! Man, please don't tell me Gullible is your middle name, cuz I'll have to have a field day. ;-)

DonCorleone

· #7 · Feb 16, 2001

thats the biggest piece of bullsh|t i've ever heard, and i was born in the country.
mine broke, it was cracked right where its bolted in, so at any angle, and seeing how its not in direct path of anything kicked up by the wheels, there is no way anything coulda been projected to the spot where it broke.... it breaks due to being too weak and a manufacturing defect. plain and simple. it will weaken at higher speeds and eventually will break off, even sooner if you encounter bad wind... dont believe me? wait till yours breaks and look at where it broke, tell me if you can see any proof of impact anywhere.

ijmis300

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 16, 2001

As Kramer would say, "Giddy Up." I swear Lexus service consultants are trained to address every problem with "I've never heard of that happening before..."

Originally posted by DonCorleone:
thats the biggest piece of bullsh|t i've ever heard.

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DonCorleone

· #9 · Feb 16, 2001

its all about money. someone said before that the techs can't claim more labor times for something under warranty... oh well. im having them replace it along with my 10,000 mile oil change/ checkup as soon as i get my car back from the shop...

blue_j

· #10 · Feb 16, 2001

Originally posted by ijmis300:
As Kramer would say, "Giddy Up." I swear Lexus service consultants are trained to address every problem with "I've never heard of that happening before..."

That's funny. My service consultant gave the same reply when I asked him about the plastic undercarriage issue.

Just a quick point, I think there are two different things being discussed in this thread. One is the plastic wheel fairings as Altezza pointed out (these are the two black mouldings (look like "mud flaps") in front of the two front wheels--similar to air slats on MR2 Spyder.

Then, there is the plastic undercarriage, this is the plastic "shield" that goes from the front bumper back and is like a "skid" plate protecting the bottom of the car from rocks and other road debris.

Just fyi.

crontab

· #11 · Feb 16, 2001

Originally posted by blue_j:
That's funny. My service consultant gave the same reply when I asked him about the plastic undercarriage issue.

Just a quick point, I think there are two different things being discussed in this thread. One is the plastic wheel fairings as Altezza pointed out (these are the two black mouldings (look like "mud flaps") in front of the two front wheels--similar to air slats on MR2 Spyder.

Then, there is the plastic undercarriage, this is the plastic "shield" that goes from the front bumper back and is like a "skid" plate protecting the bottom of the car from rocks and other road debris.

Just fyi.

Thanks for clearing things up.

-crontab -l

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An Ecstatic Owner of a Fully-Loaded Graphite Gray 2001 Lexus IS 300

Lexus Luthor

· #12 · Feb 16, 2001

yeah mine fell off on the WAY to dealer at approx. 80mph and my car is not lowered either. Perry Rhoeder service manager at Longo Lexus said that it is a common problem.
You service guy is retarded.

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2001 Graphite/Black, LSD, Heated Seats, TTE rear spoiler, SRT Intake.
Eibach springs and 19" wheels comming soon.

blue_j

· #13 · Feb 16, 2001

Originally posted by crontab:
Thanks for clearing things up.

-crontab -l

No prob. I can see why the fairings might be prone to breaking off. I've accidentally scraped mine backing out of some driveways.

Has anyone on the west coast had the plastic undercarriage come off? So far, my fuzzy memory recalls mostly midwest or east coast members.

blue_j

· #14 · Feb 16, 2001

Originally posted by Lexus Luthor:
yeah mine fell off on the WAY to dealer at approx. 80mph and my car is not lowered either. Perry Rhoeder service manager at Longo Lexus said that it is a common problem.
You service guy is retarded.

derr...I should read.
OK, three from cali with this problem. My mind's stuck in the past. Swore I saw lots of posts from east coast.

[This message has been edited by blue_j (edited February 16, 2001).]

blue_j

· #15 · Feb 16, 2001

...but I'm also seeing lots of snow in the east bay.

That must be it.

Van Gogh

· #16 · Feb 16, 2001

Had mine come off a couple of weeks ago. I was going about 80mph and heard this awful noise from the passenger side. Found out when I got home. Just like everyone's saying, the plastic cracked right around the bolt holding it on. And no, my IS is not lowered. Made a temporary fix using a cable tie.

The dealer said it's a common problem and they'll replace it under warranty. So common in fact, that the part is on backorder and won't be in for another two weeks. Guess I'll have my 5k mile service done at the same time.

Anyone heard any more about the ECU upgrade that's supposed to take care of the transmission glitch? I asked my service advisor about it and he said he had not heard anything about it (surprise, surprise).

------------------
'01 Diamond White IS300
Black Leather, Moonroof, Spoiler, 17s
'00 Golden Pearl RX300, Ivory Leather

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Kompressor

· #17 · Feb 16, 2001

See this thread regarding the ECU: http://www.is300.net/forum_new/Forum1/HTML/005950.html

Originally posted by Van Gogh:
Anyone heard any more about the ECU upgrade that's supposed to take care of the transmission glitch? I asked my service advisor about it and he said he had not heard anything about it (surprise, surprise).

Van Gogh

· #18 · Feb 16, 2001

Just saw it, Komp. Thanks.

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'01 Diamond White IS300
Black Leather, Moonroof, Spoiler, 17s
'00 Golden Pearl RX300, Ivory Leather

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