Noticed the Front Right strut was a little wet. Is this normal "seeping" or did the strut just fail? Had something similar to this happen to both shocks in the rear and the dealer claimed it was "normal seepage" and left it alone.
'14 Base w/ 28k- Stock

 

Looks like a blown strut to me, there should be no leakage at all any more than zero is not normal. But to a dealer everything is normal if it costs them money to repair.

 

Toyota Motor Corp says it's "normal" for the strut to leak to the half way level of the lower shock absorber cylinder case.
However, because your front strut seems to have leaked down the entire lower cylinder case, you have to then determine if the shock absorbers are functioning properly and not excessively floating and bottoming out, and that there are no strange suspension clunking noises.
If all is good, then keep the strut despite the oil leak past the bottom half of the lower strut case.
On the other hand, if the suspension is floating and bottoming out, or making strange clunking noises, then it is best to replace.
If both front struts are old/aged, you may want to replace the front pair simultaneously.

Go to 00:11'50".

 

Appreciate the video. That's the same logic the dealer used when I brought it in under warranty for the leaking rears.
As far as I can tell, there's no change in how the car car drives (e.g. squat, dive, braking etc) so I guess I'll just monitor the situation.

Any idea how much this job would go for at a dealer? I'm assuming the labor alone for the front shocks would be tremendous.

 

Unfortunate, there was a time Toyota would never accept such a thing.

 

Try multiple dealers if possible. Once you are out of warranty, you will have to pay a substantial amount to get this job done at a Lexus dealership.

 

They will eventually leak. But doesn’t look urgent so you can drive on it for a while.

 

Struts contain fluid. Struts have Seals to contain the fluid. There is No such thing as a normal leaking Strut IMO. They don't sell them new that way.

 

Like you, I've got a front right leaking AVS strut - however, this is in my 2010 3GS; it has leaked for the past 3 years or more, but because the function is normal, Lexus have just left it as is.
My 4GS, at about 50,000 miles, the rear right AVS shock absorber would both bounce and bottom-out, plus a clunking noise - so I asked Lexus to replace all four, including the coil springs with OEM parts; cost about $2k.

 

Interesting! What year 4GS? What convinced you and/or Lexus to replace all four shocks and the springs? Cost of about $2k to whom - you or Lexus?

 

Yikes.. .that's expensive. Disappointed that my list of issues continues to grow with this car.

 

When I replaced all 4 of mine I knew that a little fluid was not going to go back in, nor all of a sudden stop leaking or leaking less.

 

Sorry, I worded very poorly, so I have edited the wording.
Back in the 1980's, Formula 1 racing cars raced with turbos at 2.5 bar pressure, so the engine would last only 2 races.
However, the F1 turbos qualified and could do short spurts at 4.5 bars, but now, the turbo engines would only last 5 minutes.
So in the same way, I suspect that firm shock absorbers have much smaller valving resulting in higher internal pressures, hence can't be expected to last as long as softer shock absorbers.

The 2016-18 RWD soft compliant springs are no longer manufactured, but replaced by the slightly stiffer 2019-20 coils.
So I deliberately chose to retrofit my 2015 RWD Luxury with 2019-20 coil springs "matched" to 2016-20 shock absorbers on all four corners.
The refreshed 2016-20 4.5GS shock absorbers are certainly softer than my original 2015's, however I still feel that a 2015 RWD retrofitted with 2016-20 shock absorbers still doesn't ride as softly as genuine 2016-18 4.5GS RWD - probably because the refreshed 2016-18 has "softer software mapping".
On top of that, the refreshed 2016-20's have more chassis laser weld points for greater torsional rigidity and bending stiffness, and a stiffer chassis will cause the coil springs to deform and compress more for a flatter and more compliant ride.
I suspect that 2015 RWD retrofitted with 2016-18 shock absorbers have "firmer" damping from 0 to 50 mph, but from 50 mph and up, the retrofitted damping feels about the same.

Your 2014 base model doesn't have AVS with variable valve shock absorbers which automatically and progressively firm up at acceleration, braking, cornering and at speeds, so despite the oil leak, your shock absorbers may still function for quite some time?

If you do replace your shock absorbers, like me, you might want to replace all four with the 2016-20 shock absorbers which are the softest, and softer generally lasts longer.
However, to match the springing with the damping, you will have to also replace all four coils with the 2018-20 softer coils.
Your ride will benefit, but your handling will go backwards.
All depends whether you want ride or handling.
If you want handling, then you need firmer shock absorbers, and firmer shock absorbers work under higher gas and oil pressures, hence can't be expected to last as long as softer shock absorbers.
A base or Luxury trim Lexus 4GS like yours rides much more firmly than a non-AMG E Class or a non-M Sport 5 Series, because the base/Luxury 4GS uses the exact same coil springs and roll bars as the F Sport; on the other hand, AMG and M Sport use heavy duty suspension compared to their base/Luxury trims.
The 2015 RWD's used slightly firmer springing and damping than your 2014 RWD, and are by far the sportiest in the 4GS's 8-year model cycle.

 

Why not just use the KYB ones from Rockauto? They're less than $100 each

 

Had no idea there were so many changes made on the suspension. Appreciate the info and explanations

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