Club lexus with help of members saved me over $1200!!
08-25-16, 08:39 AM
#1
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Club lexus with help of members saved me over $1200!!
I started following the dreaded Valley Plate leak threads over the past few months which prompted me to really pay closer attention to my coolant. I notice drop in coolant refilled 7 months later the coolant level dropped. I top off and notice once again drop in coolant though very small still drop. So off to dealership with 69752 miles on it calling close is understatement lol, spoke to service advisor told home about possible Valley Plate leak that several other F owner were experiencing. His first response was well you can always believe everything on Internet. I agreed with him, but in this case there are tons of real cases that have been documented. I spoke to service mgr and and master tech he had heard about issue with LS and new what cause was, he had only seen one F with this issue. Well low and behold guess what I had Valley Plate leak after careful inspection.Had my car for two weeks waiting for Master tech to complete his other projects once he started it Took him three days the master tech Walter worked on my F, I received text from service mgr tell me every thing went well, the master tech through tested and checked. I'm in Aruba right now on vac I'll pick my F when I get home next week.
Last edited by Weapon F; 08-25-16 at 08:56 AM.
08-25-16, 09:30 AM
#4
Any chance you can get the master tech to give you a detailed report on exactly what caused the leak? And what did he do to ensure this problem doesn't reoccur? Ive come to the conclusion Lexus really shafted us on this one.
One of the factors that's led to this is not all of us F owners bring the cars to the dealership. I've had this conversation on several occasions with different techs from different dealerships. They all said the same, we rarely work on ISF's.
Which explains why sometimes they put the wrong type of oil in our cars and quantity. There's not enough reports complaining the contrary. I doubt with the 5k cars we have roaming the globe, even if we all started reporting this, it won't be enough. It's more cost effective for them for our warranties to run out and let it slip by. Or assist the respected owner on a one on one basis.
I'm on my second F. Both of them have had the fluid levels sitting below the full line. On my current one they conducted a pressure check and the tech found an air pocket. He got rid of it. He refilled the coolant after putting everything back together. I get called that's it's ready and the first thing I do before I drive away, is pop open the hood.
Long behold, the level is sitting in the low line. Again, I asked the tech what happened? He replied, he topped it off for sure. He took the car back topped it up again, I rechecked it was full. Now, in cold starts it sits on low and when warmed up its full. Very frustrating if you ask me.
Either way, I hope they took care of your F and hopefully it stays fixed. I also didn't mean to offend any of the F owners out there. I know many of us won't just let anybody touch our rides. Plus with all the DIY's and this great forum. I don't fault the owners that don't take them in.
One of the factors that's led to this is not all of us F owners bring the cars to the dealership. I've had this conversation on several occasions with different techs from different dealerships. They all said the same, we rarely work on ISF's.
Which explains why sometimes they put the wrong type of oil in our cars and quantity. There's not enough reports complaining the contrary. I doubt with the 5k cars we have roaming the globe, even if we all started reporting this, it won't be enough. It's more cost effective for them for our warranties to run out and let it slip by. Or assist the respected owner on a one on one basis.
I'm on my second F. Both of them have had the fluid levels sitting below the full line. On my current one they conducted a pressure check and the tech found an air pocket. He got rid of it. He refilled the coolant after putting everything back together. I get called that's it's ready and the first thing I do before I drive away, is pop open the hood.
Long behold, the level is sitting in the low line. Again, I asked the tech what happened? He replied, he topped it off for sure. He took the car back topped it up again, I rechecked it was full. Now, in cold starts it sits on low and when warmed up its full. Very frustrating if you ask me.
Either way, I hope they took care of your F and hopefully it stays fixed. I also didn't mean to offend any of the F owners out there. I know many of us won't just let anybody touch our rides. Plus with all the DIY's and this great forum. I don't fault the owners that don't take them in.
Last edited by SoulFreak; 08-25-16 at 09:35 AM.
08-25-16, 06:09 PM
#5
Any chance you can get the master tech to give you a detailed report on exactly what caused the leak? And what did he do to ensure this problem doesn't reoccur? Ive come to the conclusion Lexus really shafted us on this one.
One of the factors that's led to this is not all of us F owners bring the cars to the dealership. I've had this conversation on several occasions with different techs from different dealerships. They all said the same, we rarely work on ISF's.
Which explains why sometimes they put the wrong type of oil in our cars and quantity. There's not enough reports complaining the contrary. I doubt with the 5k cars we have roaming the globe, even if we all started reporting this, it won't be enough. It's more cost effective for them for our warranties to run out and let it slip by. Or assist the respected owner on a one on one basis.
I'm on my second F. Both of them have had the fluid levels sitting below the full line. On my current one they conducted a pressure check and the tech found an air pocket. He got rid of it. He refilled the coolant after putting everything back together. I get called that's it's ready and the first thing I do before I drive away, is pop open the hood.
Long behold, the level is sitting in the low line. Again, I asked the tech what happened? He replied, he topped it off for sure. He took the car back topped it up again, I rechecked it was full. Now, in cold starts it sits on low and when warmed up its full. Very frustrating if you ask me.
Either way, I hope they took care of your F and hopefully it stays fixed. I also didn't mean to offend any of the F owners out there. I know many of us won't just let anybody touch our rides. Plus with all the DIY's and this great forum. I don't fault the owners that don't take them in.
One of the factors that's led to this is not all of us F owners bring the cars to the dealership. I've had this conversation on several occasions with different techs from different dealerships. They all said the same, we rarely work on ISF's.
Which explains why sometimes they put the wrong type of oil in our cars and quantity. There's not enough reports complaining the contrary. I doubt with the 5k cars we have roaming the globe, even if we all started reporting this, it won't be enough. It's more cost effective for them for our warranties to run out and let it slip by. Or assist the respected owner on a one on one basis.
I'm on my second F. Both of them have had the fluid levels sitting below the full line. On my current one they conducted a pressure check and the tech found an air pocket. He got rid of it. He refilled the coolant after putting everything back together. I get called that's it's ready and the first thing I do before I drive away, is pop open the hood.
Long behold, the level is sitting in the low line. Again, I asked the tech what happened? He replied, he topped it off for sure. He took the car back topped it up again, I rechecked it was full. Now, in cold starts it sits on low and when warmed up its full. Very frustrating if you ask me.
Either way, I hope they took care of your F and hopefully it stays fixed. I also didn't mean to offend any of the F owners out there. I know many of us won't just let anybody touch our rides. Plus with all the DIY's and this great forum. I don't fault the owners that don't take them in.
08-25-16, 08:15 PM
#7
Water pump is very close to the tank and will show pink coolant if it is leaking in the same area if I'm not mistaken... should be visible in the same little gap where you can see down to the engines under cover right?
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08-25-16, 08:47 PM
#8
Behind the engine down the headers would be one spot. Another is down the transmission and is even visible from beneath the car. I made visual contact in both places.
I would not call low coolant a quirk of the F. There's a leak somewhere if that's the case. Dealers telling our members it's normal are just being lazy or waiting for warranty to run out.
I would not call low coolant a quirk of the F. There's a leak somewhere if that's the case. Dealers telling our members it's normal are just being lazy or waiting for warranty to run out.
08-25-16, 09:09 PM
#9
Can the spots to check for leaks by the headers and the transmission be seen from under the car or will it need to be on a lift with the under cover off? Thank you for the answers, likely the tech forgot to or just plain didn't fill the coolant like it said in his report, even with no leaks around the pump and the car running normal temps/slow to get up to operating temp it still concerns me given that I'm 2 hrs from the nearest lexus dealer and cannot do work at my aptmnt.
08-25-16, 11:03 PM
#10
You'll be able to see the leak by the headers if you really lean over the motor. You'll want to look between the firewall and engine; more visible from the passenger side. If the leak has progressed like in my car, you'll see it from under without jacking it up or removing anything. Sneak your head just behind the driver wheel and look towards the centre front of the car. I have a thread floating around somewhere with some photos if it helps.
08-26-16, 05:49 AM
#12
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Thread Starter
All the location that everyonehas mentioned are great, ad if you don't see any signs in these locations then have them us small camera that are used for all sorts of inspection this this what master tech did at my dealership. It really depends on dealership techs, how through they are, likely for me Service Mgr is great, the master tech is extremely ****, has been withaving lexus for over 20 yrs. He so **** when ever I go to dealership he will point out every imperfection my car has he criticized me for find one of my door jams a little dusty lol hes big time gear head.
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