oldgrump

Can't find anything? The coolant has leaked (and probably very slowly if you never noticed anything) from somewhere. Did they accomplish a pressure test (which may not indicate a very slow leak, but they should have done one) or even bothered to check the coolant pump seal leakage "weep hole" for evidence of wet coolant or traces of dried coolant? The coolant pump is covered by the basic powertrain warranty, so hopefully the dealer is not giving you the runaround. The information and procedures for the dealer techs to follow to check for coolant pump leaks is covered in Technical Service Information Bulletin L-SB-0091-11. I would go back to the dealer and ask if they did reference the TSB related to the coolant pump.

jbalian

I haven't done the recalls yet, I have an appointment on the 16th to get those settled, I told them to put a note on my file so they check the waterpump again for leakage :S In the meanwhile I'm curious if there's anything I can check since it seems pretty clear by looking at the pictures in the service information bulletin that just looking at it would be a good start, do you know where I can start by looking? Where the water pump is exactly?

oldgrump

You pretty much have to get under the car and even then the coolant pump drive pulley, when installed, obstructs the area around the weep hole. The coolant pump drive pulley is the pulley that's directly above the crankshaft pulley. The pump pulley is the one that is retained (to the pump shaft) with four hex headed bolts and is quite close to the RH body rail. The pump pulley is not installed in most of the photos in the TSIB. If you can get under the car (you'll have to jack and block it up about 5 or 6 inches to give you enough clearance) you may be able to get a view of the area behind and under the pulley. As in the TSIB you could push a paper towel up in that area to check for wet coolant, or it may actually be visible. If you are not familiar with jacking and supporting the car, for your safety I would not recommend getting under the car.

pumpkin54

I have gotten some very good information from this to think that there is no coolant low light warning is shocking i will make sure i keep that checked i have a ES350 2010....I begininng to wonder if i should have just bought a damn ford...

msim

Hello,
I had the same issue, while driving on the highway at 70mph. It happened in 2-3 minutes after VSC check light came on. I didn't have time to find an exit from the highway. I've barely been able to take it out on the shoulder, with no brakes, and no steering... We were so lucky... Lexus dealership said that I need a new engine, about $7,700, because of a $200 water pump! Lexus Customer Dis-satisfaction reviewed the case, and declined any repair, replacement, or compensation. I insisted on the safety issue of this matter. We could have been hit by one of the tracks that were avoiding me! Thank you!

Lexi66

Curious... Model year and mileage on your ES?

msim

MY 2007, 83000 miles.

msim

On Friday, Lexus Customer Satisfaction called me to tell me that they decline any help. I said: "You should help me with something, because I still have a loan for 4-5 more years on this car, plus the danger I've been put in!" They gave me NCDSUSA.ORG website, if I want to continue with my complaint against them.

Update: Then I drove to my Lexus dealership to see what else I can do. I told them that LCS has declined any contribution. They were very surprised, because they didn't send any information back to LCS, they were still trying to find the spare parts, or an engine. So, Lexus Customer Satisfaction didn't even looked at my complaint! It was just a "check" on a list with complains: "SOLVED". Your KPI should look great, Lexus!

msim

I just have my car towed to a friend of mine, good engineer. He told me that the water pump has lost all the coolant in a very short period of time, so sometimes checking is not working...

msim

For those who are interested, I’ll keep you updated with our findings on this engine. So far, it seems that the engine was running on gas, oil and coolant (here is a picture of the Intake manifold.). Everything was very clean inside, no signs of scuffing from high temperature. We’ll keep going to find the source of the leaks. He’s suspecting a heat gasket failure.
Anyway, I told you about the estimates I had from Toyota and Lexus dealerships. They didn’t remove anything to check what exactly was inside the engine. They did the estimate based on what I told them that happened, and on what can be the most expensive repair, or engine replacement.

mlacomb

Yeah; if you tried to compress water - you blew a head gasket. Further things to think about - any bearings in the engine that have come in sustained contact to the water can be a potential down-the-road problem.

msim

Pulled the cylinder head off the back cylinder. Motor is not possible to rebuild. The engine block is broken at the cylinder wall. She's dead.
In the mean time we found a 7k engine and transmission. Looks good so far. Is coming from a 2012 Sienna.
Any thoughts on using this U660E Sienna transmission on the Lexus? What changes I should expect?

msim

Engine was replaced, the car is back on the road. I start thinking, that the VSC check light and Engine check light was just a huge coincidence, with the water pump sudden failure. Anyway, the Lexus doesn't have a sensor for coolant low level, which I think that is completely wrong. I'm wandering what their DFMEA is saying for this failure, what poka-yoke they have!...

oldgrump

The Check Engine light and VSC lights being illuminated was not a coincidence. When the ECM detects certain engine performance faults the ECM may disable the VSC system, and very often the Traction Control system as well, thus illuminating the associated system warning lights. This is in addition to solidly illuminating (or flashing) the Check Engine light. You appeared to have suffered the "classic" slow loss of most of the coolant in the cooling system because of a leaking coolant pump shaft seal. The engine finally overheated to the point of essentially seizing up which was detected by the ECM, probably as misfiring as the engine was destroying itself.

jagtoes

Sorry but I can't buy this statement. If the water pump had a catastrophic failure you would have a lot of smoke and smell before you had a total engine failure. I suspect you had a leak whether it was the WP or a hose that finally ended up with loss of coolant and cooked the engine. There is a device to tell you about your coolant and that is the temperature gauge. The safest way to stem this problem off is a weekly check of the fluids. If the tank is low then you need to see what has caused it. As automotive technology has evolved it has had a tendency to make people less likely to check for normal maintenance items. When you buy a car the 1st thing to do is sit down and read the maintenance checklist . The last thing to do is read how to pair your cell phone. The owners manual is your friend. Maybe there should be a poll taken here with the question of "when was the last time you checked your automotive fluids" , last week , last month , 6 months , 12 months , never.