Lexus290

My water pump is leaking after just 61,000 miles, and I am 1 month out of warranty. While the mechanic is changing the water pump, I might have him change the timing belt.

Can anyone tell me if the motor on this 1st generation Rx350 is an interference motor?

thanks!
Kevin

tomit

Kevin,

It's chain drive - hopefully life time. I'm interested in how much it will cost to change the water pump - supposed to be a real bear.

Tom

arnieosp

iTrader: (1)

Isn't it covered by the powertrain warranty?

RX330inFL

The water pump is covered under the Lexus Powertrain Warranty. This is right off the Lexus web site:


Powertrain Warranty
The Powertrain Warranty is for 72 months or 70,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Except for the situations listed on the Basic Warranty page, this warranty covers repairs needed to fix defects in materials or workmanship of any component listed below:
Engine: Cylinder block and head and all internal parts, timing belt and cover, flywheel, oil pan, water pump, fuel pump, engine mounts, engine control computer, seals and gaskets
Transmission and Transaxle: Case and all internal parts, torque converter, clutch cover, mounts, engine control computer, seals and gaskets
Front-Wheel-Drive System: Driveshaft, axle, hub, bearings, seals and gaskets

See your Lexus dealer for complete details on the Lexus Powertrain Warranty.

RX330inFL

So, depends on what the in-service date is on the RX350. The dealer can check on this for you if you do not know. If it is only one month past the warranty perhaps you can convince the Service Manager to provide some goodwill.

Rainbird

Welcome to Club Lexus Kevin. The 2007 RX350 is a second generation model. It appears you are going to or will have an independent mechanic do the work. As per the two posting above, this is covered under the Lexus Powertrain Warranty at no charge to you. I hope it's not to late to get this vehicle into the dealership.

Lexus290

Thanks to all for your replies, very helpful!

The date in service was March 2006 (for a model year 2007 - go figure). So technically, the 72 month warranty has expired. I am negotiating with the Lexus dealership to cover it 100%.

Before the RX350, I owned an RX300, GS 400 and LS 400. BTW - the 1998 GS400 was the best car I ever owned! V8, 300 hp - I sold it with 185,000 miles and I regret selling it!

My biggest concern with the RX350 is that the dealership said the service manual quotes 11.7 labor hours to change a $200 water pump. They literally have to lift the motor up to get at the water pump. I would really like to meet those engineers and ask them just WHAT they were thinking.

The dealership started off with a crazy number to replace it - $1,200. I have them down to a 50/50 split costing me $400, but I am still pushing them for 100% because the mileage is under the 70,000 limit. Also - I had it into the dealership in February (before the 72 months was up), and they did not see anything wrong with the water pump.

Thanks for all your help!
Best regards
Kevin

RX330inFL

Kevin, do not hesitate to contact Lexus Customer Service. Phone number is in the Owner's Manual. Let them know about your problem. Let them know you are a long time owner and have had your vehicle serviced at the dealer. Let them know you are not very happy about having to pay anything for such a repair. Let them know who you are talking to at the dealership.

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

Yes, it's an interference engine.

RX330inFL

Kevin,

Any word back from Lexus on this repair?

BTW, I confirmed with someone I know at a Toyota dealership in PA that the information you received on the repair was spot on. It is absolutely true that the labor charge is for 11+ hours and they do have to jack the engine up to get enough room to work in that area. The same problem is true for the RAV4 V6 models of the same time period. They recently had one such RAV4 in their shop for the same repair. However, their situation was different. The Toyota Powertrain Warranty is only 60 months/60,000 miles and this particular RAV4 was well past the warranty. So, the owner was stuck with the repair cost.

Lexus290

I did finally get Lexus to replace the water pump at no cost to me - Lexus paid 50% and the dealership paid the other 50%. However, this was a process that took about a dozen calls back and forth and 2 visits to the dealership all spanning about a week and a half.

I got a lot of conflicting answers from Lexus - with the rep asking me where I got the 11+ hours of labor, basically saying that was way too high (I got that estimate from the dealership).

My sense is that Lexus does not want people to know the labor involved and the fact that they have to lift the motor - which is a MAJOR ENGINEERING DESIGN FLAW if you ask me.

My wife and I like the RX350, but I will plan to sell if before it hits 120,000 miles because the next time I need to replace the water pump, I will need a bank loan....

Thanks for the additional information.

RX330inFL

Glad to see you got it taken care of on their dollar.

Do not think you will have to worry about another water pump in 60K miles. Think this was a fluke and the new one will hopefully last much longer.

As for the amount of labor involved, as I mentioned above the RX350 is not the only Toyota with this problem. The RAV4 V6 as the same issue. These are two very popular vehicle combinations for Toyota/Lexus.

lexie

I'm so glad to find out from you guys about this flaw water pump design. I have been shopping for a 2007 RX350 and from now on I will not touch these vehicles.

Is it true that the 2008 and up Toyota Highlander has the same water pump design?

RockfordRX

Yep, the last generation Hilander has the same 3.5L V6 motor, so does Toyota Venza and Sienna for that matter.

RX330inFL

Just because you have the 3.5L V6 engine does not mean you will have this problem. The engine layout and clearances may be different in different vehicles in the Toyota family. Would check with a Toyota dealer before saying the HIghlander has the same issue with this repair.