Thank you for the photos, aw001. Well, that is disappointing to hear about the drips still occurring, although it is a mystery why some 2014s have the rubber molding and some do not. Comotiger may have a point about time of build.

I picked up the part today. Below is the part number. It is pliable and appears to adhere with just adhesive. I had to take my 460 in for a coolant leak and wont have the car back for a few days.

 

^Thank you!

 

 

Will do, comoriger. That was my exact plan today but things went out of order -- Lexus initially said the part had not arrived yet, then I confirmed the coolant leak (finally!), then got the call the part came in after I had dropped off the 460 to my mechanic. Valley plate leak looks like a bloody mess. Doesn't happen on LS 430 for anyone wondering.

 

Hello Fto1, this is off-topic, but sorry to hear about your coolant leak. How did you find it? Did you have a drip or puddle on the floor?

 

Oddly enough, no puddles...ever! And I think the car may have had this problem when I bought it at 70K miles but evaded discovery during the PPI. I don't fault my mechanic though because it is difficult to spot.

When I bought it, we would add a small amount of coolant every 5-10K miles. It seemed odd to me but not alarming. From time to time I also noticed the AC running super cold and I thought the auto-climate system was just trying to cool the cabin quickly during 100+ degrees outside (and much hotter inside).

At the last oil change, at 96,874 miles, I requested a tranny fluid drain-and-fill. That is when my mechanic noticed some dried coolant around the transmission bell housing. He suspected a leaky valley plate at the center of the vee. I trust my mechanic but didnt want to part with $500 just yet until I could confirm some things on my own -- in case it was just residue from a water pump change or something.

I detailed the series of investigation in the following thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...96k-miles.html

In short, my mechanic was correct and will make things right soon. There was never a puddle nor any indications of problems the past 27K miles of ownership. We went on a 500-mile roadtrip on Labor Day, including up hills while carrying four bicycles and the engine temperature never wandered away from middle. Even my first pass at scoping around the engine, with a wireless endoscope, didnt reveal anything. Now, a full coolant reservoir will deplete below the low line in four days, yet still no puddles. I suspect some of the underbody coverings are catching the drips and preventing puddles. Once I confirmed that then I brought the car in.

 

Thanks, Fto1 for the info and the other thread. Hope the fix works well. That's an expensive repair.

 

The estimate is $570. Not insignificant, but all-and-all not too bad considering it is a 5-hour job. I was afraid it was going to be a lot worse. I am still annoyed though as @Doublebase says it is common on the Lexus IS but not so much the LS. Lucky me. It is not like I drive the car hard. I have had many Hondas and Toyotas over the years with 130K miles or more and this is the first time I've encountered this type of leak. Then again, the only other V8s I've had are the Tundra and Sequoia, but neither leaked coolant like this.

 

Pre-delivery inspection was done on 4/28/14 before being shipped to USA...

 

Mmmm, I thought pre-delivery inspection was performed by the original selling dealer in the US. Here are the build details for my car provided by Lexus.
Order date: 11/1/2013
Build date: 11/15/2013
DOFU (???): 1/16/2014
Selling dealer: Lexus of Manhattan
Pre-delivery inspection by dealer: 2/4/2014 (taken from service records downloaded from Lexus site)

If your build date is really 4/28/14, that would be over 5 months after mine, and could explain the added trim piece.

 

First I've ever heard of this happening to the LS460 also.

Sometimes fluke things just happen...

 

I also have the dreaded dripping trunk lid on my 2013. Which was quite annoying during the monsoon season that only recently ended. Taking mine in tomorrow. Have we determined the part I shouild look for and order? Or should I wait until my fellow CLers have worked out all the details? You guys are great!

 

Below is the part number (for 2015-2017 LSes). I just got the LS back today after the coolant fix and haven't had time to apply the trunk molding yet. I will post a before-and-after video tomorrow with some water tests.

 

@aw001 , are you the original owner of your 2014? If not, I wonder if the previous owner did what we plan to do here and added that molding in the past on your car (or had the dealership add it in response to the exact same complaint).