As always code brings wisdom and reminds me to look at the problem from an other angle.

Although Lexus dealership is denying and saying it is not a gel/sludge problem ... what is their diagnosis of the failure and its root cause.

Salim

 

Here is a quote from the "Legal Notice for Toyota and Lexus customers" which I received in the mail and was instructed to put it my glove box:

"The Toyota/Lexus Customer Support Program ("CSP") protects this vehicle beyond the original vehicle warranty for damage from oil gel or sludge."

Looks pretty clear to me that, for the purposes of this settlement, "oil gel" and "sludge" are one in the same.

 

They tried to tell me that engine failed because it had been previously overheated. That was causing my oil consumtion. (The said ring damage or warping of the block) Not to mention they never even pulled the oil pan for their sludge inspection. If you look at the oil pick up it is pretty obvious. I also forgot to mention it was offered for sale at McGrath Lexus in IL on 6-18-07 with 79,690 miles (obviously they inspect any vehicle they offer for sale) then sold to the dealer I purchased from on 9-27-07 with 79,748 miles. So less than 8k since they last saw it in their service department! Other reported engine failures in same manor at http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/lexus_p5.html. Since I've gotten it tore down this far is there a fix for the trans issue I'm gonna have a week after I get this engine back in LOL

 

Art- I think to anyone who has gone past the 3rd grade it is pretty obvious that they are one and the same. Why was it even necessary to put that in there (2 terms for it). Probably paid some Philly lawyer good money to figure how to word that so that they didn't offend people who didn't want to hear their Lexus had "sludge" in their engine. Sorry but sometimes I think we all need to have some skin thickening exercises. Sorry, Cambridge is on my mind.

 

What can be done to prevent this from happening?? I have an 02' with 157,000 miles and have run conventional oil from day one. Oil has been changed between 5-6,000 miles. After reading this forum, I am considering going all synthetic for future oil / trans / differential maintainence.

 

Dont do like me and be lazy,if you want to know for sure whats going on pull your front valve cover.Also make sure your pcv (positive crank case ventilation) valve is in good condition.

 

I received "oil gelling" letter from Lexus in Oct. of 2002. The letter letters states "for 8 years from the date of first sale or lease of your new lexus, with no mileage limitations, we will cover the cost of repairs to the engine in your vehicle against damage caused by oil gelling". Now I'm only guessing, possibly the 2001 lexus mentioned in the post may be over 8 years old. I know that I intend to pull the oil pan and valve covers prior to my lexus getting to the 8 years mark.

 

Someone else can confirm, but it's like 8 years and 3-4 months. I'd take the pictures to another dealer as this is obviously a sludge problem. If that doesn't work, ask a lawyer to send them to Lexus Corporate in LA with a cover letter to the effect that you are not going away!

 

It's 8yrs+120days and YES my vehicle falls in the time frame it was purchase Aug of 01 and I had first issue July09 it should be covered under this class action settlement. If you read b4. I have been to Lexus dealership 2times pleading my case. Lexus is denying there is sludge in my engine. The 2nd time I went in I brought the pics I posted earlier in this thread that shows obvious sludge(take a look for yourself) along with the rear valve cover with sludge in it directly to the service manager. The service manager stated "that is normal buildup, if you don't like it contact Lexus corporate" I contacted Lexus corporate and they said they can't do anything there is no sludge(according to the dealer). Per the settlement agreement I (or anyone else) can not sue lexus about this issue on my own because it is past the Dec. 2006 deadline to do so. At this point Lexus sent me a letter stating my claim was denied based on the fact there is no "gelling"(same thing as sludge they just don't want to say sludge) present in my engine. So, I have to have another mechanic say there is sludge and thats what caused my engine failure(No mechanic wants to get involved in this situation, it will not benefit them) So you are allowed a third party mediator to review the case, you have to send your proof of why you think it should be covered, what exactly you want to be compensated for, and otherwise plead your case to them. I have talked to the guy who is going to rebuild my engine and have him document the sludge in the engine and state why the engine failed (oil pickup clogged with sludge prevented proper lubrication of engine) All this evidence and my report have to be sent in within 90days of receiving the decline letter from Lexus. This is all a huge pain in my *** but I will not be taken, this is a very costly repair and have done a lot of research to get myself this far. I will pursue til the end. But RX owners beware this is the exact situation you could be facing. How many engines do you think Lexus wants to replace for free??? If you look around online the list of denied claims goes on and on. They can't really afford to take responsibility for their mistake, so they drag it out hoping that most people will give up. So I will keep fighting it and see what happens, it's obvious they admitted they messed up big time on these engines!

 

When I received the letter from Lexus about the oil gelling problem I immediately became suspicious. I did some research and found this was an ongoing problem with the Toyota 3.0 engine. I don't thing any car maker would offer an extended warrants unless there was a problem with design/installation, ect. I think this design defects also extended to the transmission installed in the RX300.

 

I totally agree. I think first gen Rx's have some major issues. I'm praying that I won't go through this engine ordeal and have a major trans issue in the next 50k. Anytime a car company comes out with a new vehicle some issues are to be expected but the last thing I ever thought I would have to worry about is drivetrain problems in a Lexus. At least I opted for the gs400 instead of the gs300 otherwise I may be dealing with the same problem on that.

 

Different engine (in line 6) so the GS300 should be OK. But this still shouldn't happen with their mainstream V6.

But my previous post was suggesting taking the car to a totally different Lexus dealer with the pics and asking them to assess the sludge issue. I don't know if it would come up on their computer that you had taken it to the first dealer, but if they look at the pictures (unknowingly) and say "yeah, it looks like sludge" then you pretty much have them by the short-and-curlies!

 

Good call on the GS. They do have it in the Lexus system under the VIN, I did get a copy of Lexus service record after I was in there. i would have to drive a minimum of 1 hr.15min to get to another dealer. I'm having the largest used car dealer in Madison document it. They see a lot of Lexus's through their dealership.

 

Finally, after a clever story, got the sludge in the engine documented by a Toyota dealership. A step in the right direction!!!

 

Outstanding - persistence pays off! You're not home and free yet, though. Lexus is still going to claim it was not gelling, but they have a much weaker position now and will probably buckle one you start mentioning the BBB, local newspaper, local TV station investigative reporter, small claims court, etc,

Keep at 'em!