bbmin7b5

so it seems my lexus is leaking from the front timing chain cover. Dealer says it'll cost 3 grand to fix. Is there anything I can do? I'm not a gearhead in any respect so DIY work is out of the question. Do I have any cheaper options? Has anyone experienced this before?

thanks

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Not sure what they're charging $3000 for. It's always hard for people online to know exactly what they're quoting you to do the job. Parts should be less than $200, and I would think you're probably looking at about 12-14 hours of labour (I haven't checked exactly). Depending on what your dealer is charging per hour that could make a difference, but I still don't see how it would be approaching anywhere near $3000.

Jeff

whitebeast

iTrader: (5)

All they do is resealed the cover and that's all.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

Forget that, I would get the car looked at by an independent shop rather than the dealer.
A $3,000 repair bill is just way too much.

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

Ask them EXACTLY what they're doing and what the hourly rate is? That's so much!

GoGiantsNJ

My son's 2004 Camry had a similar oil leak,and the total bill for the repair was under $ 800.00 at a local Toyota dealer..
Maybe a Toyota dealer can repair it for a lot less money.

My local Toyota dealer does work on lexus cars quite frequently.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Since I was feeling like looking into this further, these are the USA MSRP prices:

$25.38 - 11213-31040 - Gasket, RH Valve Cover
$13.96 - 11214-31020 - Gasket, LH Valve Cover
$7.92 - 11159-0P010 - Gasket, VVT-i Oil Feed (Qty: 4)
$2.82 - 90430-A0001 - Gasket, VVT-i Oil Feed (Qty: 2)
$10.75 - 11328-31030 - Gasket, Timing Cover Inspection Hole
$14.85 - 90311-42045 - Seal, Front Crankshaft
$3.65 - 15147-0P020 - Gasket, Oil Pump (Timing Cover to Block)
$2.99 - 15193-0P010 - Gasket, Oil Pickup (Timing Cover to Pickup)
$5.88 - 90430-16012 - Gasket, External VVT-i Oil Pipe (Qty: 4)
$2.82 - 90430-16016 - Gasket, External VVT-i Oil Pipe (Qty: 2)
$10.96 - 17176-31060 - Gasket, Intake Plenum
$27.99 - 16271-31020 - Gasket, Water Pump
$4.08 - 96761-35025 - Gasket, Front Water Housing to Bypass Pipe
$1.58 - 16325-31010 - Gasket, Front Water Housing to Block
$5.25 - 04152-YZZA3 - Filter, Engine Oil
$1.13 - 90430-12031 - Gasket, Oil Pan Drain Plug
$13.82 - 00295-00103 - FIPG / Sealant

Engine oil and coolant as needed.

$155.83 - SUB-TOTAL (Parts)

Labour (Warranty Time): 12.3 hours
Labour (Standard Time): 24.0 hours

If they're charging the non-warranty labour time, I can actually see it getting close to $3000. I am quite surprised to see the non-warranty labour time as that much more. I mean it's usually more, but an extra 12 hours? Quite significant. I can also see why they would use that time, haha. No tech is going to quote the warranty time, lol.

I would maybe call around and see if anyone will do the job for cheaper. Obviously labour is the big number here, so if you can find someone who will do it for less, you will save big.

Jeff

Evitzee

This has been an issue on some early IS's .... there was a Service Bulletin to take care of this under warranty but obviously your's has run out. It is not a cheap or easy repair and is very labor intensive. Try Corporate and see if they can goodwill a portion of the labor since it is a known problem. In my view this is not the type of repair you give to your corner shop unless you really know that they know how to do this.

mong

iTrader: (4)

This happened to me about a month ago and mines a 2010' 350. It's a common problem on our 2is. Good thing I was under warranty.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...is-normal.html

TimboIS

Why does it take longer on Standard Time, do the techs actually work slower? Sounds like BS.

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

sounds about right for what a STEALERship would charge.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

If this job is done under warranty, Lexus pays 12.3 hours to the technician. This is what Lexus book time would be. 24.0 hours is the standard time that most shops would likely quote you for the job, that's the time listed in AllData (an aftermarket shop application). Unless you have done the job many times, being able to do a time in the amount Lexus allots is usually unlikely, but typically from what I've seen most of the time the non-warranty labour time is usually in about the +30% time range. Almost double is quite unusual.

Jeff

Clay Easto

Jeff Lange - is this a common problem for all 2IS's? Just 350?

Thanks

bbmin7b5

Thanks for the input everyone. I asked the dealer to come down a bit for me and they took off about $750. Still pretty high but I think I'll take it. From what I understand the engine has to be removed and I would rather have the dealer handle that than some independent shop. Lets hope this is a one time issue.

Slammer1

In the automotive service industry, labor hours are reduced when the repair is under warranty. If an alignment pays a tech 1.1 hours, the alignment done under warranty (no charge to the customer) will still pay the tech .6 hours. When work is done under warranty, it is free to the customer but the tech still gets paid even if just a portion of what it would normally pay. If the work is a "come back" (fault of the tech) it is free to the customer and the tech isn't paid for the work. No reason for them to quote you an estimate in labor hours under "warranty labor", so I would assume that the 24 to be correct even though this seems like a ridiculous amount of time to repair a front seal oil leak.