Mine went a few months ago at 160k .. took a indie shop almost a week to fix it .. they had a hard time getting to it and they told me alot of the bolts that they had to get loose we're almost impossible to break free .. the OEM starter cost 800 ... The labor was free for me .. part of the deal we agreed on when I purchased the vehicle

 

 

Given what it takes to swap out, better to spend the coin on new OEM parts.

 

I see a Denso starter on rock Auto for $200. Lexus of South Atlanta has it for $548. This is a part that you want to buy once though.

 

Just got the call about my car. He said he quoted me like it was a Tundra. Said it's packed in there tighter and more stuff has to be removed (shocker). Bumped me up to $1150 and wanted to know if I still wanted to do it. I'm ok with that. I had this shop put a rear main seal and a transmission front pump seal in my LS400 a few years back. I didn't have a trans jack or torches to get the rusted exhaust apart for that one. Now it's going to be started on tomorrow which doesn't matter to me. I have other cars.

 

Mine failed at 200,000 miles. Replaced it with a new one . They tend to sound different when it starts to fail.

 

I got my car back and it all went good. It was $1150 and has a 3 year parts and labor warranty. They said it's just as big a job as doing a starter under the intake manifold in one of the older LS's.