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I suppose they expected that when people were confronted with a "check engine" light, they would check the engine.
Low coolant won't make the check engine light come on, that's his point! It was a serious mistake for Toyota to not put a low coolant sensor in this expensive car. Really, really dumb!!! For that reason alone they should have to replace any cooked engine.
Plus the check engine light is so overused that it's impossible to know if the reason it's on is for something really serious in the category of "stop now!!!" or if it's some dumb sensor that will have to be replaced before the next inspection is due.
Low coolant is a "stop now!!!" condition that should have a sensor with it's own dummy light on the dash.
Low coolant won't make the check engine light come on, that's his point! It was a serious mistake for Toyota to not put a low coolant sensor in this expensive car. Really, really dumb!!! For that reason alone they should have to replace any cooked engine.
Plus the check engine light is so overused that it's impossible to know if the reason it's on is for something really serious in the category of "stop now!!!" or if it's some dumb sensor that will have to be replaced before the next inspection is due.
Low coolant is a "stop now!!!" condition that should have a sensor with it's own dummy light on the dash.
I don't know about you but out of all the OBDII cars/trucks I have owned I have never had a MIL light up. I can't be that lucky.
Perhaps I should have clarified my original post. I was not searching for maintenance tips about what "should have been done." I agree; had I been checking the coolant level at each fuel fill up, I'd have probably noticed my coolant was low. To clarify my earlier statement regarding maintenance, I was looking for a car that I would not need to maintain, that doesn't mean I did not expect to take the car to a shop for its regularly scheduled maintenance. As I explained in my original post, I did do that. In fact, it had been less than 2000 miles since its last oil change, inspection, etc.
I joined this forum in an effort to discover if this has been a problem for other Lexus owners; perhaps Lexus has used inferior materials in some of their radiators, causing failure much earlier than would normally be expected. If so, possibly they are offering a solution to the issue. Much like the inferior dashboard cover material they used in several mid-2000s models. The material split and cracked for many Lexus owners; so last year Lexus issued a recall and replaced the dash at no cost to the owners, even for those well outside of their warranty. Some on here would likely argue that the owners should have been applying proper dash conditioner each week, as well as a requirement to always use a sun shade when parking the vehicle, and that would not have happened.
I would add that if you read my original post, you'll note that the dealer told me that the check engine light would be blinking if there was an immediate issue, thus the reason I did not immediately pull over on a barren stretch of road to inspect the car.
While I appreciate everyone's maintenance tips, they are really not much help for this issue. What I could have done and should have done are really irrelevant (although I no longer trust my 2010 4Runner like I used to); I will use your tips for that vehicle.
I just wanted to see if this was a recurring issue for Lexus. If not, fine. The combination of a lemon radiator and my inadequate service schedule led to engine failure. My belief that Toyota/Lexus vehicles are practically bulletproof has been drastically shaken.
Sorry...but if the check engine light comes on my car, and I have had check engine lights come on cars before, I would immediately stop the vehicle and check all the vital fluids before deciding whether or not to proceed. I would not just keep driving the vehicle at 80MPH...
Sorry...but if the check engine light comes on my car, and I have had check engine lights come on cars before, I would immediately stop the vehicle and check all the vital fluids before deciding whether or not to proceed. I would not just keep driving the vehicle at 80MPH...
Looking back everyone can have 20/20 vision but stopping the car to check all the fluids because the check engine light came on? Don't think so. It's easy to say that now. Plus he had just been told by the stealership that a serious problem would cause a flashing check engine light. Almost all check engine light activations are nothing serious at all. Most of them are from a stupid O2 sensor or something like that.
When I see a check engine light I look at my gauges and see if any other dummy lights come on. If the gauges are fine and no other lights come on I check the code at my earliest convince. Gauges SHOULD tell me if the engine is overheating but Toyota's really STUPID design won't tell me that if the coolant is low. There's a dummy light for low oil why isn't there one for low coolant? Coolant is just as critical as oil.
I have a Sprinter that constantly throws the check engine light. Almost always it's because of a glow plug. It's like the boy who cries wolf. I do have a scan gauge and check the code most of the time but I rely on my gauges to tell me if there's something serious.
Given what he was told by the stealership and Toyota's flawed design I don't think his actions were unreasonable. With all of the water pump problems that there have been Toyota should at least be helping with the repairs.
This just seems like an unfortunate incident all around. A 10 year old car with over 100k on it. Should it have failed? Probably not. But there comes a point, Lexus/Toyota or not, that things are going to fail. It is a known issue but that probably won't help the OP get any assistance at this point.
Perhaps I should have clarified my original post. I was not searching for maintenance tips about what "should have been done." I agree; had I been checking the coolant level at each fuel fill up, I'd have probably noticed my coolant was low. To clarify my earlier statement regarding maintenance, I was looking for a car that I would not need to maintain, that doesn't mean I did not expect to take the car to a shop for its regularly scheduled maintenance. As I explained in my original post, I did do that. In fact, it had been less than 2000 miles since its last oil change, inspection, etc.
I joined this forum in an effort to discover if this has been a problem for other Lexus owners; perhaps Lexus has used inferior materials in some of their radiators, causing failure much earlier than would normally be expected. If so, possibly they are offering a solution to the issue. Much like the inferior dashboard cover material they used in several mid-2000s models. The material split and cracked for many Lexus owners; so last year Lexus issued a recall and replaced the dash at no cost to the owners, even for those well outside of their warranty. Some on here would likely argue that the owners should have been applying proper dash conditioner each week, as well as a requirement to always use a sun shade when parking the vehicle, and that would not have happened.
I would add that if you read my original post, you'll note that the dealer told me that the check engine light would be blinking if there was an immediate issue, thus the reason I did not immediately pull over on a barren stretch of road to inspect the car.
While I appreciate everyone's maintenance tips, they are really not much help for this issue. What I could have done and should have done are really irrelevant (although I no longer trust my 2010 4Runner like I used to); I will use your tips for that vehicle.
I just wanted to see if this was a recurring issue for Lexus. If not, fine. The combination of a lemon radiator and my inadequate service schedule led to engine failure. My belief that Toyota/Lexus vehicles are practically bulletproof has been drastically shaken.
Looks like your last sentence sums it up. So everything is now resolved.
I think the issue is the expectation that "bulletproof reliability" means that "no maintenance is required". Even the most reliable machine requires maintenance. If you maintain them these cars will last well past 250k miles without major failures. If you don't maintain them...they won't. No car will.
I don't know about you but out of all the OBDII cars/trucks I have owned I have never had a MIL light up. I can't be that lucky.
I have had many cars over the years that have occasionally had the check engine light come on. I probably have this occur to one of our cars at least once a year. In fact just this morning the CEL came on in my Dodge Ram on the way in to work. If it's not flashing, I don't stop unless one of the gauges is reading bad/weird.
100% of the reasons for the CEL coming on all these years (with the one exception below) have all fallen into one of these groups:
Fault with the gas cap
Bad O2 sensor
Slipping belt causing generator to produce too low voltage
Many years ago, my wife overheated a Taurus that resulted in a pretty big engine repair. I wasn't with her but the light was blinking and she should have stopped but didn't. Even so, the temp gauge reading all the way cold would have been a good indicator that something was severely wrong.
I have had many cars over the years that have occasionally had the check engine light come on. I probably have this occur to one of our cars at least once a year. In fact just this morning the CEL came on in my Dodge Ram on the way in to work. If it's not flashing, I don't stop unless one of the gauges is reading bad/weird.
This is an important thing. In this situation, at 80MPH the coolant temp went from registering mid gauge as it should, to all the way cold. That would qualify as bad/weird to me. Why would the temp gauge go from normal to all the way cold when the engine is at operating temp on the highway at 80?
This is an important thing. In this situation, at 80MPH the coolant temp went from registering mid gauge as it should, to all the way cold. That would qualify as bad/weird to me. Why would the temp gauge go from normal to all the way cold when the engine is at operating temp on the highway at 80?
True
However, it's far easier to see with clarity looking back on a situation. It's also easy to spot if you're aware of the problems of this car. Having a background in repairing and maintaining a car also helps greatly to spot things that would be missed by someone who doesn't have the background.
The far majority of people drive a car, get the oil changed, and bring it to the mechanic if the car starts running strangely or some light comes on.
Running out of coolant is a rarity and for it to happen with no warning will take most people by surprise. The temp gauge showing cool isn't going to mean a thing to almost anyone. Most every car, at least in the past, would start running hotter is it was low on coolant and the temp gauge or dummy light would indicate that.
This is a screwup by Toyota. I love Toyotas and the majority of the cars that we will ever own will be Toyotas. They just last with minimal upkeep. However, they aren't without flaws and this is a flaw.
My wife doesn't like that she has to pay special attention to the coolant level but she loves her Lexus.
05-29-16, 02:08 PM
Very easily could have pulled over and checked for any obvious problems.
