Have a lexus es350 (2007). While driving to work, engine light came on. after reaching work tighted the gas cap and while driving back , light was not on for sometime and then came on. Didnt drive to work car after that. Next day evening drove to dealership and they diagnosed as waterpump replacement requird. Overheating indicator never went high while we were driving. After water pump replacement, dealer said engine wont start and compression test failed. Need new heads and gasket at a cost of $7184 additional. Dealer and I spoke to customer service case manager and they refused to help with such a high expense. Tried to tell them that we have owned 4 Toyota/Lexus cars , have been loytal Toyota customers (last one bought in 2012) etc. , but, nothing seems to make a difference to them. The decision was already made before they talked to me. Car has only 60K miles. Last maintenance was done at 56K (oil change, fluid levels etc). Any thoughts? Who I can escalate to get some help. I owned 3 Toyotas for 100K before I sold and 2 Hondas. None had such a high expense at 60K.

 

Isnt the 2007 Lexus power train warranty 6 years or 70k miles? Depending on when it was purchased (in service date) the years may be expired even tho the mileage would still be ok. Did you buy this car new?

If the Lexus dealer wont budge, I would have it towed to another shop and get a second opinion on the problem. If it was running as well as you say on the way to the dealer, the heads didnt suddenly fail overnight.

 

I would be surprised if the in service date on an 07 would still be under warranty at this time regardless of miles
but hey who knows someone might have got a great deal on a 07 sometime in late 08 that was still sitting around.

if the car is out of warranty than they have no obligation to fix it. yes it's awesome that Lexus does go in and help us out sometime with some things when it's out of warranty. they sometime will cover parts we pay labor or they cover labor we pay parts i hear of this all the time. From what my dealer told me it's usually dependent on weather you bought your vehicle new or second hand at a Lexus Dealer or Not a Lexus dealer depends on that also. and how often you have things like simple Maintenance done that's why i have 90% of my Maintenance done at the Lexus Dealer

 

You might also check with a Toyota dealership and check the price of repairs, or go to a mechanic who works on Toyota engines.

This 3.5 V6 is used in about 6 Toyota models as well as Lexus so there a a number of places you can go for repairs that would run less than the Lexus dealer.

 

It is over 6 years since purchase . We are the first owners

 

How would a mecahnic determine that it requires a head replacement? and not just a head gasket replacement or something like that. Do they need to take the engine apart? How many hours of labor is such a diagnosis?

 

Also, anyone know of a way to appeal to executive level for the issue. Lexus case manager said she is the ultimate authority and there are no further escalations. But, usually, corporations have a "presidential appeal" process. Does any one know? if so, can you post it here or privately?

 

Yes, they would need to pull the heads off and inspect them to determine if they need to be replaced. I would guess about 2-3 hours of labor for doing that. I expect the $7k was worst case cost if both heads need replacement. You might get lucky and only need head gaskets which would be much less costly, especially if it is done by anyone other then a Lexus dealer.

Did the dealer provide any more details on the "failed compression test"? Did they find coolant in the cylinders or was it just low compression on a single cylinder? Failed compression test could mean you have something like the carbon build up problem which Lexus has been covering under good will warranty especially if it was using some oil. Search the Club Lexus forums for more info on that.