annieme25

I am having a very hard time dealing with my car and trying to get lexus to take some sort of liability for the situation. The VVTi oil hose ruptured last week while I was on the road and I took it to my local mechanic to check the car out. I only found out it was a recalled part after towing the car to my local dealership. My dealership proceeded to tell me that there might be damages to the car due to the ruptured hose and must ask corporate for the repair cost. The final decision from corporate was that they will not pay for any of the costs to repairing or even diagnosing the engine. My dealership basically called me to say that because the recall has been so long and letters were sent out. There was nothing to do except for having me pay. Pay for what? I don't even know because they have to tear the engine apart to see if there is even any problems which they will not cover as well. I am still under warranty for another 3 months and any damages done to the engine is a direct result of the ruptured hose. I don't see how they can claim no fault or liability for this. Any advice?

jcat_350

Make a big enough stink about it, and as annoying as it may be, corpo should cover at least part of if not the entire cost of repair.

Paul3637

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You are still under factory powetrain warranty. That means had there never been a recall, your damage would have been be covered.. Call in the district manager.

The recall was not a recall, technically. It was a "limited service campaign" and told you to bring the car in for a replacement oil line to avoid the inconvenience of having a leak. It did NOT warn you would have a massive oil loss that could ruin the engine ... but the Canadian version did !!!!!!!!.The notice said said the service would be perfomed at no change and to bring it in by March, 2013 The recall said the service was good through that date even if the warrnaty was expired. Since your warranty is still in effect, you are covered. Period. The oil line failure and ancillary damage is covered under your powertrain warranty. Toyota has been replacing engines left and right on this for yearsl.

If you need a new engine now, it is covered under factory warranty. This is clearly a no-brainer.

Go here and look at all the engines toyota/Lexus has replaced AFTER the warranty expired. Follow the linnks including many to club lexus discussions:

.https://sites.google.com/site/toyotav6oillinescandal/

I am the person who created that website.

PM me if you need help. I'll even be glad to talk to your dealer for you like I did the poor sole with a Rav4 V6 whose engine failed when the same oil line broke after the factory warranty expired. I got her a brand new engine to the tune of $10,000 plus..

03EStwin

I just picked up my "CPO" 2007 ES350 from the dealer after being in for about a week to have an oil leak repaired. The oil spot would show up on the garage floor after a good solid drive, and amount to about 2-3 tablespoons each time, I hope that is all.

Anyway, hoping the problem was fixed, I checked it when I got home and noticed the leak again about the same size, same place. Luckily, I'm under CPO and Powertrain. Car has about 60K. Their diagnosis and repair was for the Timing Gear Cover above PS Pump.

I suppose I'll suggest the hose fix next? I don't hear any ticking noises as mentioned above, but the leak is most certainly still present, and needs fixed!

junwu2000

If you took your car for dealer service prior to the expiration of the recall, chances are the hose was replaced. You can create an account at lexus.com and check your Lexus service history (done at the dealers). I noticed my entry back in 2010 when I took the ES350 in for oil change.

Dealer Reported 03/17/2010 Pohanka Lexus of Chantilly 27139 0438888 9LH REPLACE OIL COOLER HOSE FOR ES 350

iceblast

Have you had this service performed? If so, what is the new metal pipe part #?

Thanks

lamikela1

I've had the engine pulled out of my '08 3 times now for oil leaks from the timing chain cover. They finally diagnosed it as a cracked timing cover. Problem is I never had a problem unitl they changed the hose in the campaign. I thnk that in the process of replacing the hose (mine is not steel but rubber) they must have put some pressure on the cover and cracked it.

Mine will be out of warranty later this year so I will be bringing it in to have them check to be sure the leak is still under control so that I don't have any issues after the warrany expires.

I still love the car and hope to get many more miles out of it.

lanb

Noticed a small oil leak on the floor after an oil change at the toyota dealer. Took it back and the pan and
filters were fine. The mechanic showed me the spot from where the leak was happening. He said it
was PS fluid and needs a PS pump replacement. I told him, I will get a second opinion and decide
on the repair.

Attached are a couple of pics I took. To me, it looks like the infamous timing cover oil leak.

What do you experts think ?

2007 ES350 at 62K miles and of course 6 months out of PT warranty
and also out of the range of VINs in the timing cover TSB .

oldgrump

I wouldn't panic yet. I would first see if you can locate the source of the fluid leak yourself, if possible. As you stated that this appears to have started right after an oil change (a coincidence?) I'd wipe off the fluid drippage and see if it continues to drip after a few more days. It's possible that they spilled some new oil at the oil fill port and it's running down to the location in your photo. It's hard to tell from a photo but the fluid in your photo looks more like engine oil than power steering fluid which is Dexron ll or Dexron lll automatic transmission fluid, and is more of a pink/red color than most motor oils. Even old/used power steering fluid should still be slightly pink, and it also has a distinctive odor. Check/note and monitor the level of the power steering fluid over the next few days.

lanb

Thanks, my PS fluid is pretty dark but like you said, the leak does not have any PS odor
as far as I can tell. The leak after an oil change seems very suspicious too.

As far the levels, the PS fluid is a little down and so is the oil. I have not had any drippings
for about a week now. I could wait a bit more and see, on the other hand do you think I have
a chance of Lexus covering it under goodwill if it indeed turns out to be the timing oil leak
and if I go to them sooner than later.

oldgrump

If after a few days of monitoring the fluid dripping (if it doesn't stop) then I guess you'll have to have a better look to locate the source of the leak. But......if you can't do it yourself then take it somewhere else to get a "second opinion", as you mentioned. If you can do minor stuff yourself you can easily remove (there are only a few push/pull retainers) the right side engine compartment plastic covers and pop off the "fancy" top cover, and have a good visual look with a bright light source and have a look for yourself. Engine oil leaks and other fluid leaks that drip from the bottom of the engine (as in your photos) can easily fool someone when trying to determine the actual source of the leak. What appears to be a timing chain cover leak could actually be originating from a camshaft cover, for example (or from spilled oil). A power steering pump leak may actually only be a hose connection leak, not the actual pump itself. But it takes someone who is honest, and is willing to spend the time and energy (and has the "smarts") to find the real source of a fluid leak.

lanb

It has been a week and no new drippings on the floor yet.
I wiped off the stains today on the metal and hope to monitor for another week.
Fingers crossed.

BTW, no leaks are/were visible when looking from the top after removing the cover.

sendww

Did you fix it or know where the leak comes from? I do have the same situation from two years ago.

ESh

cl206

I had mine done a few year ago at a dealership and now this whole thread is making me think if they did it right. Ill wait for the weather to get better before checking it out but I wanted to ask about this "washer". The following link is the VVT-i hose replacement instructions. I don't see any mention of a washer. Did you mean the clamps?

https://testing-public.carmd.com/Tsb...-CP-9LH-A520-D

Also how easy is it to just change this washer or clamp? I also just checked that mine was done April 2010!!! If it turns out it is indeed leaking from the VVTi-hose clamps, am I still covered under the warranty?

Thanks!
Charlie