I took my wife's 2011 ES 350 for an oil change at one of the Toyota dealers, which I have done. After the oil change, I was given a diagnosis of front axle assembly and engine oil leak. They gave me an estimate of $585 for the axle work with parts. They do not know where the leak is but said they would clean the engine to see where it is. However, I do not see any drops under the vehicle. Can someone tell me if they had similar problems and what were your remedies? I would appreciate your help.

 

If you have more than 75K miles on the odometer, switch to "high mileage" motor oil. It conditions your seals and gaskets to prevent leaks. Or, you can use a stop-leak additive, or do both. There are a couple of common sources of leaks on the 5gen ES. One is the tube that sends oil to the variable valve timing mechanicals. The other is a timing chain cover leak. I've not dealt with these in my 2011 with 80K miles, but have read about them in this forum.

Get your axle leaks repaired ASAP, as they will only get more expensive to fix, the longer you let them go.





v

 

What is exactly leaking, CV joint boot?

 

Sounds like the OP is having multiple leaks, and the engine leaks still need to be pinpointed. But if the dealer is saying the axles need to be done too, it likely means an axle boot is cracked and leaking as well. If dirt and water gets in, and it isn't resolved quickly, they can't just be cleaned, repacked, and have new boots installed, the axle would need to be rebuilt or replaced.

 

You need an independent shop to confirm the engine and axle leaks as dealers are prone to exaggerate the situation to make a sale when you could possible wait years before needing to do the repair.

The axles need to be addressed before the engine.

Most of the engine leaks are minor. The infamous timing cover leak is never worth repairing from an economic standpoint as they have to remove the engine. It never leaks enough to even require you to add more oil between changes! It just makes a small mess on the lower part of the engine near the rear edge of the timing cover where it meets the block. The only way to view it is through the passenger side front wheel well. Turn your tire all the way to one side so you can look through to the engine. Get a flashlight. You can then see the front of the engine where the belt is and the timing cover. On the rear part 2/3 down is where it usually leaks, or more accurately, seeps. 98% of the time that is all it ever does. You can clean it by spraying with brake cleaner then monitor the area to see how fast it gets dirty again. Usually not even enough to reach the ground.

 

Thank you all for your advice and recommendations. Appreciate them.

 

Ah, the famous "Self Lubricating Chassis" feature :-)

 

Good one spaceballs!

My 1972 Honda 450 was actually designed to allow a metered amount of engine oil to leak out of the final drive gear shaft to oil the chain. What a mess! I got wise and turned this feature off, once I discovered it. It is so much better to oil the chain with a quality chain oil as needed. I have never seen this feature on any other motorcycle, other than my 450 (which I still own).

 

Went by my local Lexus for a new battery yesterday.

After I left they sent me a short video and an estimate of $790 to; REBOOT RF DRIVE AXLE. Took it to a local shop I trust this morning getting the job done for $410.

 

did you ask if local shop will reboot it or put a new after market axel? Local shops typically do not reboot

 

they wanted $175 more to replace the axle.

 

keep OEM axel

 

Replaced driver-side CV axle this past week. It was past due as car has been vibrating a bit on acceleration. Discovered the inboard joint was shot. I was lucky in that the shaft popped out quite easily using a small pry bar. I couldn't find the output seal I bought back in 2018, so had to go get another one. Bought the axles on amazon in 2018 for about $65 each; they now list in the mid $70. Haven't had any issues with the passenger shaft which is going on 60K. That shaft also slipped out easily for me; it help the car was always garaged and has never seen snow on the roads.

66-5265/Cardone - passenger side; installed at 211K in 4/18; Oreillys transmission seal # 710732
66-5279/Cardone - driver side; installed at 269K in 5/22; Napa transmission seal # 20067

 

I see Cardone also has a re-manufactured, which costs more. wonder why? (BTW - I've been impressed with their reman brake calipers with other cars)