Vanessa624

Today my engine overheated and is done. I had no warning - engine light came on and within 20 minutes the car went off and began to smoke.

Lexus said $20,000 to replace engine - mechanic said he found a used with 97,000 miles for $5800. However; replacing engine is only half the problem - they would then have to find out what happened.

I bought the car used with approx 70,000 miles - 20, 000 miles later I need to replace engine. Don't understand how a vehicle that tells you it needs air in the tires did not have a warning.

Help!

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

But it did give you a warning? The light came on then 20 minutes later the car failed. That being said, call Lexus corporate and see what they say, may help you out given the car is relatively new, theres no excuse for having to replace a 5 year old engine that has been properly maintained. The only thing I can assume that caused it was a water pump failure, but this is the first time I've heard of a failure on a car newer than 2009.

If Lexus doesn't help you out, 5800 isn't terrible assuming thats installed. These engines are very common so I doubt sourcing one is that big of an issue (I'd even aim for lower mileage if I were you. Hope you figure it out

12jimmyjam

Sorry to hear about this! I'm guessing either a fluke breakdown of the water pump or maybe coolant resovoir left open?

$5800 seems high for just the engine. They use this engine in a lot of vehicles (it's the 2gr-fe) so you should be able to find one cheaper. And I'd look elsewhere from the dealer to install. They'll charge you an arm and a leg.

ThumperPup

after just doing a quick search on Car-parts.com which is a locator for most of all used auto parts stores and auto yards I found 15 pages of engines and several in the southern area of the country northern Florida and GA area for prices between 1100 and 1700 used

I would contact Lexus they might be willing to help with this issue
depending on how many Lexus vehicles you have owned and where you go for your services

I have a 2007 ES350 with 171k on the car, and the rare suspension arms sized up, so I can't get the alignment done, and that's a 700 dollar job and a car that's 10 years old and out of warranty with almost 200k and since I have all my services completed at Lexus and or Toyota dealership when Lexus cant get me in for some reasons.
Lexus has agreed to pay the for the work to be completed because of the good chance that they seized up from being parked all winter in outdoor climate wet weather.
But I have no doubt that if I didn't get all my service done at the dealership even with being able to blame it on the car having to sit because of the airbags and all that they would not have agreed to pay for the rear control suspension arms to be replaced as they are.

if your engine light comes on stop and check stuff out
unless you alreayd know there is a problem then assume there is one. if you drove 20 minutes well thats neglect on you still it sucks that happened but damm i would never admit that you drove 20 minutes dont tell anyone that because then they will say you should have stopped

jkeller

Sorry to hear about your motor.

I don't know why cars still have a generic red engine light anymore. Why not tell me exactly what the problem is? The car's computer knows what the problem is, why doesn't it just tell me...engine cooling fan not working, transmission fluid overheating etc. It can just show it either on the nav screen or the on the screen in the dash. Why is it still just flashing a catch all mystery light?

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

^Because while technology advances, peoples' mentalities haven't. Most people ignore lights, think of all the cars that have "service soon" or "maint req" lights, yet people still fail to change their oil and keep on driving. The average consumer, not auto enthusiast, treats their car like crap which blows my mind.

chuyrobles

Car has a coolant temperature gauge; did it show overheating when light came on? I suspect it was peaked in the red. If not, temp gauge could be faulty, giving you a legitimate basis to file a warranty claim since you had no warning engine was overheating.

PoorES

These 2GR-FE engines are quite common. There is no reason to buy one with 97,000 miles on it. Look for a post 2013 3.5L engine in a Highlander, Sienna, Venza, Camry or Avalon, RX350, or ES350. There are tons on ebay with less than 10K miles. It'll cost you around the same price as a 97,000 mile one.

12jimmyjam

I think I've read on here before discussing water pumps failing that the gauge actually goes all the way to the left to cold because their isn't any coolant at the sensor.

But yes-they should have made some sort of bell or whistle for this sort of thing. A number of people with water pumps that have failed in the earlier 5th gens have lost their motors because of this. Blumoose engineering window fixer dude should get in on this.

jagtoes

Sorry but fake news. When an engine overheats the coolant turns to super heat steam. When something bursts like a hose you let it out. The insides of the engine doesn't have any cold spots so unless the sensor or gauge fail the gauge will climb and so a hot reading. People who burn up their engine are negligent . So you have 3 forms of the failure. The temp gauge is primary and if you don't glance at it periodically while driving then the dash temp warning light should stop you and the final is steam coming out of the engine. It seems a big problem with todays drivers is "they don't know that RED means STOP".

12jimmyjam

Maybe search before you call something fake news...

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-5th-gen-2007-2012/834619-2008-es-350-water-pump-failure.html

nevernu

Where exactly is this dash temp warning light you refer to??

jagtoes

Sorry but this post doesn't disprove any of my points. Unless you have an electrical failure the gauge will work and it will also work as steam comes out of a blown water pump or hose or failed thermostat. The gauge should have either been near the red zone or in it before the engine failure light comes on. This is just a case of negligence by the operator. Water pumps and hoses fail and you should be able to detect this during your normal bi-monthly fluids check. If your coolant is low you should be able to see that in your visual inspection and if it is then you need to have it investigated. Read the OM as it will give you an idea of what to check and when to do it. I've had blown WP and hoses but never fried an engine in 55 years of driving . Interesting enough I have my $111,000 play car and it doesn't have a water temp gauge. So I have an OBDII reader using a Torque Pro App on my phone to monitor my water temp , battery voltage , oil temp and SC boast.

12jimmyjam

I mean you said that the gauge would read hot, right? Just pointing out that others have said that it doesn't in that case. I'm gonna go with them-the people who have actually seen it-on this one.

jagtoes

OK , not a problem . Thanks