Keep an eye out on those 08-15s - I have 88k miles and spotted some ground leakage - popped the hood and found the radiator hair line crack was there, exactly where everyone else's was. Seems to happen around 90-110k miles.

 

I have a 2013 lx 570 as well. I had the hairline crack starting at the same spot as yours. I replaced mine before the leakage as a maintenance/precautionary item. I also replaced water pump, idler pulley, serpentine belt, tensioner, upper hose,lower hose, and thermostat.

Eventually will need to replace starter.

 

I did hoses and thermostat as well. With my 90k tune up coming up, I’m going to have them check on the starter, water pump and belt then. Great vehicle, but sucks to have to spend this cash on what is almost expected failures.

 

Ugh, mine just went on my 2010 with 130K miles. Opened the hood to try to find the source of an odd smell and saw dried coolant everywhere - took it in and they confirmed it's busted. Will likely have to do hoses as well. Wonder if I should have them do water pump at same time..?

 

With 130K, and as long as you're removing the radiator, it definitely makes much sense to do the water pump while "you're in there". I'd also replace the heater hose "T's" as well as any other hoses that feel like they're starting to harden...and there are more than just a few.

130K is also time for new spark plugs.

 

My old Odyssey (no longer w/ us) w/ 238k miles since new still had its original radiator... But I still see radiator replacement as a normal wear and tear item just like radiator hoses / drive belts etc. Just need to keep an eye on them especially a few weeks prior to a road trip. I always wonder if you a re in middle of a road trip hundreds of miles from major cities / dealership, where are they gonna tow your car to get fixed? I wouldn't want anyone who has zero experience working on the LX replace parts... but it's not really an option I believe.

 

Replacing the radiator is not rocket science by any means. It goes in the same as any other radiator...Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tundra come to mind immediately...and not too different from other vehicles.

The trick will be finding a radiator a hundred miles from nowhere.

 

At 100k mi I saw this character forming there, no leak yet. So I used a radiator patch kit, epoxy and fiberglass, and placed it over the area as a reinforcement. I’m now at 125k mi and not so much as a hint of a leak and it has been exposed to temps from -35°F to typical under the hood temps. I highly recommend this as an option.

 

My Toyota Service Advisor just sent me this pic. Unfortunately they don't give a break on labor to replace the water pump while doing the radiator, so it was going to cost me $1,000 either way to do the water pump so I had him hold off. We'll see when that goes bad. I'm waiting to see what they recommend on the hoses. I'm glad this didn't happen during a road trip - did a 1,200 mile round trip over the holidays and my wife just did about 200 miles by herself really early in the morning just 2 weeks ago.

 

How much does this repair cost?

Shouldn't Lexus corporate do something about it? They did something in common part the GX had that failed, I can't remember what.

Radiators shouldn't be failing like clockwork on a friggin' Land Cruiser/LX.

 

The radiator itself runs anywhere from ~$250 to $400 on line...no idea at a dealer. Add a couple of radiator hoses and go from there. It's not a job that requires specific 200 series skills.

I'm not seeing anywhere that radiators are failing like "clockwork". I'd also agree the radiator is a wear and tear item, like brakes, tires, fluids, belts, plugs, etc.

What do you expect Toyota corporate to do (radiators are identical for the LX and Land Cruiser)??

 

I have a 17 year old GMC Yukon with original "deathcool" coolant, not one thing has been touched on the cooling system.....literally ever. Never overheats, ice-cold A/C.

..........and here are at least a half a dozen LX owners with bad radiators at 100k? That's some sort of design flaw. Lexus should extend the warranty. They did something with a similar part that failed on the GX.

Having to replace a radiator at 100k in an LX/LC is ridiculous.

 

Since Toyota has not done a recall on the affected radiators, including the LX and Cruiser, Sequoia and Tundra, you'll start out by opening a case with Lexus as to your problem. They'll assign an engineer to your issue, and go from there.

I'll also ad that although many post problematic issues on the internet, few post that they have no issues. In my own case, my Cruiser is a '13 with just over 100K. I'm the second owner and put half the mileage on it starting in late summer 2005. No coolant leaks whatsoever, and no little signs of coolant anywhere.

 

The failure is common on the LX570/LC200 platform and all over the forums at www.ih8mud.com. Many owners have complained to corporate and received relief in the form of discounts on the repair at a dealer. Good luck.

 

I also had this same radiator issue on my 2010 LX at about 90k miles. Mine was under warranty when it failed so it was covered by Lexus but it was still inconvenient. I also had a valley plate leak at around 85k miles.