The sound you hear has been reported and discussed on this forum since the 2010's came out over two years ago and they started using the 0x20 oil. Concerns about it have been brought to the attention of Lexus dealers numerous times over those years. The sum of the posts has been to live with the 30 seconds or so of the sound in the cooler weather, or use the oil of your choice.

I don't even notice the sound any longer. I figure if it were a problem causing damage I'd have heard about it by now from those having high mileage on their Lexus 2010's using the 0x20 oil. I have enough gray hair to worry about something I classify now as trivial after being researched over a two year period by Lexus owners and Lexus itself.

Good luck NEWRXOWNR on putting your own worries at ease with your own research so that you can enjoy your RX to the fullest.

 

I had a 1984 motorhome with a 454 GM engine. It had piston slap the entire time I had it. I gave it to my daughter and they sold it with 90,000 miles on it. Never had a problem with the engine. The noise went away as soon as the oil warmed up. I now have a Chevrolet Corvette and at 25,000 miles I am getting that familiar noise. It makes me mad but it also goes away when the oil gets warm.

 

What is piston slap.

 

I get it on my 1987 BMW with 284k miles. It goes away when warm. It's a known issue with the old BMW's too. I used Marvel mystery oil last oil change and it helped some. I don't recommend it for your new car though. My old car has so many miles that it doesn't make a difference if I try something different. I wouldn't worry too much about it. My car has it and it's still going.

 

I got my first oil analysis done, it seems like they never changed the oil

I changed it at 10,000.

Oil analysis result was that everything was "ok" for the engine and mileage.

The analysis did indicate high levels of tin and some other metals, but the conclusion was that they were typical of engine break in.

I'll have a few more done on the next few oil changes to see if anything changes.

Bottom line, it is looking more like the Piston Slap is little more than an unpleasant engine sound.

Thinking about selling the car now. You can probably get a pretty sweet deal on an RX with Luxury package if you are ok with the engine noise ;P

 

A sorry conclusion to this difficult journey. Despite numerous calls to Corporate and lots of discussions with many different people, Lexus towed the line that the piston slap was "normal" and they won't fix it.

I traded away my Lexus RX 350 for another vehicle. It truly is a shame that Toyota / Lexus would take the position they did on the Piston Slap issue, but I guess even for Toyota, the bottom line is more important than the customer.

The experience has soured my opinion of the Toyota / Lexus brand, I'll never buy again.

Good luck to anyone else who has the issue, unless you catch some kind of break, you are on your own.

>

 

They really don't need to replace the whole engine, just the short block, and yep it's expensive. The Dealer Foreman quoted me $6000 off the top of his head, but that would be MY price (consumer), obviously the price would be a little different if they ate the cost.

Anyway, I tried real hard to live with the issue for several months, but couldn't get past it. I guess some people can move on, and I know some engines are louder than others.

 

Does it sound really bad? Hmmm. I have a Toyota, an IS300 and this RX350. I heard some slapping (not really noticeable) with my the IS last 10 years (2001), a Toyota (2006) run beautifully.

 

Yep, that bad. At the end of the day, you don't want to be driving a $40k car that annoys you every time you drive it. Peace of mind and happiness mean alot.

 

Wound up with a new Nissan Murano LE. Has everything except the Nav (I hated the captive Nav, never again).

Very comparable cars, almost all of the same options; the Mo is sportier, the Lexus is more refined. The RX is a better all around car, but 0 miles and no noise in the Mo makes the trade a no brainer for me.

I will say this, the control interface on the Mo beats the RX easily. The iPod interface in particular is a TON better. I'm shocked Lexus doesn't put a little more effort into their User Interface, I had no idea how bad the RX was until I plugged my iPod into the Mo.

 

Glad you got rid of that clunker. I wouldn't be able to stand it either and have a peace of mind. Glad that you liked the Murano, it was one of wifey's choice back then. What color did you get?