jbalian

That sucks, very poor design :S

Do you guys check the coolant level in the extra tank or remove the radiator cap? This makes me want to get rid of my 2007 (80k miles) asap..

nvstella

Unbelievable this is a REAL and a dangerous problem. I'm speaking to Lexus for some kind of compensation and they're useless. They're actually offering me a $500 credit at my dealership for service or some of their tacky accessories to advertise their brand. It's useless to me. I have a 3 year lease and drive about 6,000 miles a year plus my 5,000 & 10,000 mile service is free. For a brand that prides itself in good customer service they stink!

nvstella

[QUOTE=jbalian;9241873]That sucks, very poor design :S

Do you guys check the coolant level in the extra tank or remove the radiator cap? This makes me want to get rid of my 2007 (80k miles) asap..[/QUOTE
GET RID OF IT...it could break down on an interstate. If the engine goes Lexus will do nothing for you!!

nvstella

Agreed they're just for show like everything Lexus makes!

nvstella

Did you have any recourse with Lexus?

mrh1965

Just go by the level in the extra tank, the reservoir. You can't really see anything by undoing the radiator cap, for one thing the cap is offset by a couple of inches from the radiator proper. As noted previously, I just kept topping off the reservoir, over the course of several days, until it stopped sucking it dry. Fill reservoir, drive, let car cool, check reservoir level. Repeat as necessary. After several days I think I'm finally topped up.

If you want to get rid of your car, so be it, but surely there are better reasons than low coolant. Pick up some Toyota long life coolant at the Toyota dealer, top it up and drive happy.

Lexi66

What can I say ... What has happened to me over the years (not on a Lexus) is that the Radiator
rusts and develops a leak. Are the low levels of antifreeze from the defective water pump?

jagtoes

Out of the hundreds of thousands of Lexus' and Toyota (V6) sold how many have had to replace a water pump . Out of these failures how many were cause by lack of maintenance (failure to check water on a regular bases per the OM). How many failed water pumps resulted in a blown engine. My bet is this is an insignificant issue and it falls way outside the warranty window.

msim

As I said before, they were very nice in the beginning. They paid to have my car towed to the Lexus dealership, and they told me to wait an answer after they will review the dealership's report. Next day, they called me and they decline any responsibility, any compensation. I went to the dealership to see the report, and they were very surprised, because they didn't send anything to Lexus!!! They were still working on the car.
I called again Lexus Customer Satisfaction and they said to send a letter to NCDSUSA.ORG website, if I want to continue with my complaint against them.
Those guys said also that they can't do anything because my car was out of warranty.

Lexi66

Bump
Feedback please

ESh

The coolant level may be low because of the faulty pump, but there are many other places that can cause coolant leak.

12jimmyjam

Was this problem exclusive to certain model years? I was thinking of having my water pump changed since I'm at 93k on my 09.

mrh1965

In my case, it was. I took the car in for a replacement dashboard today and they called me later to discuss my water pump. Given how low the coolant was when I got the car and the very loud noise coming from under the hood, especially at cold start, I can't say I'm surprised. I had hoped it was just the belt. Oh, well. It is being replaced, hopefully the design is better now.

Meanwhile, I am driving an absolutely gorgeous 2016 ES 350 loaner. What a ride.

mlacomb

Cold running on 07 and 08 will all typically have the cam/lifter noise until the engine warms up to normal temp.; from what I've read here nothing to worry about but there's a thread with a TSB in it here somewhere...

If you have lifter noise (not injector noise) when the engine is fully warmed up (needle right between c and h) might be indicative of more damage though.

ESh

That's not the cam/lifter noise. It's the piston slap noise and that's normal.