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It seems like I can’t win with my new 430! I bought an immaculate 2005 430 with 65k miles on it a couple months ago and have slowly been changing all fluids and doing general maintenance on her since she’s 13 years old now (all fluids have looked fine, but I just did it for my peace of mind).
I just bought some pink Yota coolant so I could flush the cooling system. When I took off that plastic air shroud, there was no coolant in the overflow tank.. and then I took off the radiator cap and there was none to be seen. Between filling the tank and topping up the radiator it only took about a quart total, but it’s still alarming. I’ve been working on cars since before I had a license and have never owned one that ever used a tangible amount of coolant..
I’ve only owned the car for about 5,000 miles but have never experienced any overheating or problems indicative of an issue with the cooling system. I mean, I drove this car non-stop from Florida to CT. There are NO visible leaks (or remnants of dried coolant) anywhere on the car except a TINY bit on top of that air shroud that sits on top of the radiator above the overflow tank cap.
All I can do now is monitor the level and see if it drops again, but I just took the car out for about an hour and didn’t see a level change. I have been reading on the forums that this is somehow “normal”, since a lot of people have reported this but I don’t really buy it. Any insight? Pic after I finally put some tint on her:
Last edited by Peacebay; May 18, 2018 at 04:07 PM.
I picked up a 2005 UL with 60k on the clock a ferw months ago. The timing belt needed to be done, and completed at a dealership before I made the trek back to Texas. A week or so later and 1,000 miles, nothing in the expansion tank.
Topped off with about a quart between the radiator and the expansion tank. Been fine ever since.
If yours had the timing belt changed just before or after you purchased it, you may be having a similar experience.
That would be awesome if it was done but I don’t think it was! This car hasn’t missed a single service at the Lexus dealer but the last service that was listed on the car’s history was the 60k mile service at Lexus of Palm Beach. Realistically it’s totally possible that the coolant has never been flushed or even checked in the 13 years this car has existed
I know you don't buy it, I wouldn't either. Only time I've had a car that had low coolant was due to a blown head gasket. Even a leaking radiator would not be that bad.
But my car was identical to your situation. I got the car on a Sat. afternoon, checked the coolant sunday night, and there was none in the reservoir nor was there any to be seen in the radiator. I had already put 250 miles on the vehicle including highway, temp was normal. Flash forward 19 mos, the original top off, one drain and fill, and another drain and fill with timing belt/water pump. Coolant was never low again. Nothing wrong with my engine 19 mos. and 24k miles later....
Yup, that’s what I was thinking unfortunately. I guess we’ll see how this coolant level holds until i start really worrying. Highly, highly doubt a head gasket leak just based on how it runs but anything is possible I suppose. Thanks everyone as always I appreciate the insight
9 years or 90 k, whichever comes first is the rule for timing belts. When I had mine done, I had them do the water pump, pulleys and tensioners. My water pump was leaking, nothing visable in the engine compartment, or on the ground. Since you are due, you may want to tackle this maintenance item next, should the coolant “disappear”again.
imho it's never a bad idea to check everything, but there is a very good chance that you will not be seeing the level go down again....my hunch is that just the added difficulty of removing 2 plastic screws and the air intake, to gain access to the reservoir cap, plus the super long life coolant 2, means that a car can be serviced regularly at a dealer, with that never being checked nor topped off. I did have residue around the reservoir cap which is likely because it merely snaps in place. When I saw that 24 hours after having bought my car, I really thought I was a goner and got ripped off (I did have a 1 mo/1k miles warranty per NYS law), but it turned out to not be the case....
Quite common/normal to lose coolant through the expansion tank. I have added small amounts of coolant since purchase almost a decade ago every 6 months or so to keep it topped up. Residue is usually found around our expansion tanks. Totally normal.
LS430 coolant loss
