Obvious oil sludge issue, claim denied - Page 2

bozilla · 08-04-09, 02:19 PM

I received "oil gelling" letter from Lexus in Oct. of 2002. The letter letters states "for 8 years from the date of first sale or lease of your new lexus, with no mileage limitations, we will cover the cost of repairs to the engine in your vehicle against damage caused by oil gelling". Now I'm only guessing, possibly the 2001 lexus mentioned in the post may be over 8 years old. I know that I intend to pull the oil pan and valve covers prior to my lexus getting to the 8 years mark.

sktn77a · 08-04-09, 05:27 PM

Someone else can confirm, but it's like 8 years and 3-4 months. I'd take the pictures to another dealer as this is obviously a sludge problem. If that doesn't work, ask a lawyer to send them to Lexus Corporate in LA with a cover letter to the effect that you are not going away!

frankjames · 08-04-09, 11:13 PM

It's 8yrs+120days and YES my vehicle falls in the time frame it was purchase Aug of 01 and I had first issue July09 it should be covered under this class action settlement. If you read b4. I have been to Lexus dealership 2times pleading my case. Lexus is denying there is sludge in my engine. The 2nd time I went in I brought the pics I posted earlier in this thread that shows obvious sludge(take a look for yourself) along with the rear valve cover with sludge in it directly to the service manager. The service manager stated "that is normal buildup, if you don't like it contact Lexus corporate" I contacted Lexus corporate and they said they can't do anything there is no sludge(according to the dealer). Per the settlement agreement I (or anyone else) can not sue lexus about this issue on my own because it is past the Dec. 2006 deadline to do so. At this point Lexus sent me a letter stating my claim was denied based on the fact there is no "gelling"(same thing as sludge they just don't want to say sludge) present in my engine. So, I have to have another mechanic say there is sludge and thats what caused my engine failure(No mechanic wants to get involved in this situation, it will not benefit them) So you are allowed a third party mediator to review the case, you have to send your proof of why you think it should be covered, what exactly you want to be compensated for, and otherwise plead your case to them. I have talked to the guy who is going to rebuild my engine and have him document the sludge in the engine and state why the engine failed (oil pickup clogged with sludge prevented proper lubrication of engine) All this evidence and my report have to be sent in within 90days of receiving the decline letter from Lexus. This is all a huge pain in my *** but I will not be taken, this is a very costly repair and have done a lot of research to get myself this far. I will pursue til the end. But RX owners beware this is the exact situation you could be facing. How many engines do you think Lexus wants to replace for free??? If you look around online the list of denied claims goes on and on. They can't really afford to take responsibility for their mistake, so they drag it out hoping that most people will give up. So I will keep fighting it and see what happens, it's obvious they admitted they messed up big time on these engines!

bozilla · 08-05-09, 11:17 AM

When I received the letter from Lexus about the oil gelling problem I immediately became suspicious. I did some research and found this was an ongoing problem with the Toyota 3.0 engine. I don't thing any car maker would offer an extended warrants unless there was a problem with design/installation, ect. I think this design defects also extended to the transmission installed in the RX300.

frankjames · 08-05-09, 04:47 PM

I totally agree. I think first gen Rx's have some major issues. I'm praying that I won't go through this engine ordeal and have a major trans issue in the next 50k. Anytime a car company comes out with a new vehicle some issues are to be expected but the last thing I ever thought I would have to worry about is drivetrain problems in a Lexus. At least I opted for the gs400 instead of the gs300 otherwise I may be dealing with the same problem on that.

sktn77a · 08-05-09, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankjames

At least I opted for the gs400 instead of the gs300 otherwise I may be dealing with the same problem on that.

Different engine (in line 6) so the GS300 should be OK. But this still shouldn't happen with their mainstream V6.

But my previous post was suggesting taking the car to a totally different Lexus dealer with the pics and asking them to assess the sludge issue. I don't know if it would come up on their computer that you had taken it to the first dealer, but if they look at the pictures (unknowingly) and say "yeah, it looks like sludge" then you pretty much have them by the short-and-curlies!

frankjames · 08-06-09, 06:45 PM

Good call on the GS. They do have it in the Lexus system under the VIN, I did get a copy of Lexus service record after I was in there. i would have to drive a minimum of 1 hr.15min to get to another dealer. I'm having the largest used car dealer in Madison document it. They see a lot of Lexus's through their dealership.

frankjames · 08-08-09, 08:15 AM

Finally, after a clever story, got the sludge in the engine documented by a Toyota dealership. A step in the right direction!!!

JohnLX300 · 08-09-09, 07:55 AM

When I first took my valve cover off, my engine look like the picture thomas1 posted. I cleaned it out by hand. Just the front. I am going to clean both again. Probably with engine degreaser and a power washer. I go my '99 RX300 in January with 81,725 for $8500. I knew about the sludge and tranny stuff....but I had to have it. Now its at 91,000 and I hope I am lucky with this tranny. Right after I got my car I bought it to Toyota, and had them do a Engine Flush and a transmission flush. I later dropped the tranny pan to clean the filter and mags. I order the screen filter and I am waiting for it to do it again. I also installed the external transmission filter which I hope is helping out a lot.

code58 · 08-10-09, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnLX300

When I first took my valve cover off, my engine look like the picture thomas1 posted. I cleaned it out by hand. Just the front. I am going to clean both again. Probably with engine degreaser and a power washer. I go my '99 RX300 in January with 81,725 for $8500. I knew about the sludge and tranny stuff....but I had to have it. Now its at 91,000 and I hope I am lucky with this tranny. Right after I got my car I bought it to Toyota, and had them do a Engine Flush and a transmission flush. I later dropped the tranny pan to clean the filter and mags. I order the screen filter and I am waiting for it to do it again. I also installed the external transmission filter which I hope is helping out a lot.

John- how are you going to use a power washer (I assume you mean pressure washer) to clean the engine? The inside? If that's what you mean, I wouldn't do that. Sorry about the engine flush- I think that is a total waste of time and money. I would definitely pull the #2 oil pan (the bottom pan) and clean the pan and oil pick-up screen. If that gets plugged, it's all over! And the opening is small, and therefore easily plugged. Use Auto-RX afterward and you'll eventually get it all cleaned out without having to tear it all apart to do it.

lexus114 · 08-10-09, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnLX300

When I first took my valve cover off, my engine look like the picture thomas1 posted. I cleaned it out by hand. Just the front. I am going to clean both again. Probably with engine degreaser and a power washer. I go my '99 RX300 in January with 81,725 for $8500. I knew about the sludge and tranny stuff....but I had to have it. Now its at 91,000 and I hope I am lucky with this tranny. Right after I got my car I bought it to Toyota, and had them do a Engine Flush and a transmission flush. I later dropped the tranny pan to clean the filter and mags. I order the screen filter and I am waiting for it to do it again. I also installed the external transmission filter which I hope is helping out a lot.

Uhh,power washer?? just to degrease the out side of the motor right??

frankjames · 08-12-09, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnLX300

When I first took my valve cover off, my engine look like the picture thomas1 posted. I cleaned it out by hand. Just the front. I am going to clean both again. Probably with engine degreaser and a power washer. I go my '99 RX300 in January with 81,725 for $8500. I knew about the sludge and tranny stuff....but I had to have it. Now its at 91,000 and I hope I am lucky with this tranny. Right after I got my car I bought it to Toyota, and had them do a Engine Flush and a transmission flush. I later dropped the tranny pan to clean the filter and mags. I order the screen filter and I am waiting for it to do it again. I also installed the external transmission filter which I hope is helping out a lot.

Good luck getting to your rear valve cover without pulling the intake out, which is a pain in the @$$!! (brackets that attach the intake and firewall) Since the engine is put in at an angle the rear will more than likely have more sludge built up than front (thanks to gravity) Drop your oil pan and make sure your oil pick up screen isn't plugged and clean the pan, it's more than likely gonna have a ton of build up too.

frankjames · 08-29-09, 08:50 PM

Does anyone know if when you purchase a vehicle from a dealership are they required to provide you with a copy of the oil sludge settlement??

tomstep2 · 08-30-09, 08:16 AM

This is my quick experience with oil sludge. My RX had the dreaded oil sludge issue a few years back. My service advisor at Lexus needed every oil change record since purchased. Any done by any Lexus was in the system, so only when I went somewhere other than Lexus did I need to provide proof. When I provided proof of regular oil changes within what the owners manual recommends, there was no issue. My service advisor made it very clear after the new engine that if I was missing even one receipt from an oil change done somewhere else, Lexus might not have covered my engine.

My question to frankjames is since this was a recent purchase, do you have full records of service/maintenance since the vehicle was new? If so, make sure to make photocopies and take your statement from Toyota back to the dealer. Make the service manager look at your records and oil change intervals. If still no luck, contact Lexus of USA at: 1-800-255-3987. If still no dice, then maybe consult an attorney.

GSteg · 08-30-09, 08:56 AM

But what if someone does their own oil change? They expect you to keep every receipt of the oil you've purchased at your local auto part store?