blackisF08

iTrader: (2)

long story short i have been having low coolant ever since i got my car july last year, i keep on putting coolant every couple months because it would go low, at 1st i thought it was just me and how i drive the car hard on a daily basis but other friends here as well drive theirs the same way without loosing coolant. i know the car had all the recalls done before my purchase including the water pump leak one which i made sure to double check again. i took it to lexus in hope they would find a leak but they said they couldn't find anything and to check back with them after 1000 miles. i did some research on this amazing forum and found out about the valley platte leak so i took it back to them this monday and told them the car has a coolant leak on the valley platte, he asked me how do i know so i went on to tell him there is some people who had this done already and proceed to show him a picture i grabbed from here. he calls me a few hours later to tell me that in fact the car had the valley platte leak, tells me good job on doing research on it and they needed some part to fix the issue.

while they were taking care of the valley platte leak i also took it in for a transmission fluid leak which ended up being true. they replaced the transmission pan gasket

car definitely feels better and smooth now

just wanted to share my experience with everyone here.

tas02

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for sharing. At least it was no $$ to fix, though time & anxiety.

j3ff

They covered this through warranty?

MileHIFcar

He has an aftermarket warranty, in this case it paid off big time!

Lexus needs to make this a recall! This is not normal wear and tear, but I don't know if that will ever happen? In some instances Lexus has good willed the bill or at least a majority of the repair cost for those out of the powertrain warranty which should cover this repair from what I remember.

blackisF08

iTrader: (2)

extended warranty covered the repairs just had to paid $88 for everything

blackisF08

iTrader: (2)

my extended warranty did

blackisF08

iTrader: (2)

i agree with you, this is not normal wear and tear this a problem that is too common and it shouldn't be. unfortunately our cars are rare so to get a recall its gonna have to happen to a majority of the Fs

isfdave86

iTrader: (1)

is there a particular mileage that this is happening? I just broke 30k a couple weeks ago on an 08, and just want to be aware

liquidtek

I don't think this is a mileage thing I think this is more aftermath from a badly done recall for the ELF.

isfdave86

iTrader: (1)

Oh fun. that was done on mine in October

ISFTOMMY

do you have links to the valley platte leak forums

I8ABMR

just had my ELF and tranny done as well. I am a happy F'er too. I am letting the car sit for a few days. Will check the level then and also see how thew tranny shifts after sitting. It was flaring a little even after but seemed to get better after a few weeks. I had the level checked again and all was well.

jleonard71

I just came on here to post a comment about this very issue! I know this has been a chronic problem on 08-10 models, and while nearly all of those models are out of the regular warranty by now there are still plenty who have an extended warranty. I'm personally coming up on the end of my 8yr/125K warranty in October so I've started going over the car to see what I can find for them to fix - and lo and behold, today I found the dreaded water pump leak. It's not a bad leak, it's just enough to form what looks like a pink stalactite hanging from the edge of the pump. But it should be enough to get it replaced for free under warranty.

And not only do I get a new water pump for free, but this repair might actually save me a lot of preventative maintenance work that I was planning to do in the near future. I get a free coolant change which I was due for anyways, and I already bought new upper & lower hoses and a thermostat which I'm going to see if they can swap out while the coolant is drained (maybe they'll do it for free, but at the most I wouldn't expect to pay more then 1/2 hour labor), and I also bought a new belt which they can just put on in place of the old one they need to take off to do the job. I'm also thinking about having them swap the tensioner assembly and idler pulley while they're at it (I'm at 78K miles, I usually replace those around 100K), and I can't imagine that would be more than another 1/2 hour labor for those 2 things. So maybe 1 hour labor tops? Sure beats me spending a few hours on a weekend doing everything!

So if you have an extended warranty and you're coming up close to the end of it, check your water pump. I didn't even notice mine until I moved the intake tube out of the way, and there it was plain as day. It's worth taking the time to check it out and saving yourself a several hundred dollar repair if you have to do it out of warranty!

blackisF08

iTrader: (2)

there it go

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...-slightly.html

blackisF08

iTrader: (2)

i checked the next few days after and the coolant level was at full after a night of sitting cool in the garage. i have never seen the level full in my car after cooling lol