Yurka

So i had my car for full inspection, regular maintenance two weeks ago at the Lexus dealership, on saturday i went to the car shop nearby to get the state inspection sticker because my was about to expire. when the mechanic lifted my RX he said that my rear shocks were leaking and he said it was a common problem with RX family. I passed the inspection but he said shocks need to be replaced, he said i might drive for a month or for a year,he cant tell. I was wondering if anyone encountered such problem, my 2010 is at 48,000 miles, at the dealership they didnt tell me anything, nor my rear end is wavy, car feels perfectly fine, ive had my rear shocks replaced on my ES back in the day, but i felt that they were messed up, my rearend was dragging. He showed it to me and It looks like rear shocks are wet/leaky, but i dont see anything on the ground after i pull away for example. i dont know if dude was bull****ting me or its a legit problem, how do you tell if its gone bad or if its fine, maybe its something else, any input will be helpful

Droid13

Yup, it's a common issue that has been widely discussed. There are other threads in this forum where people have gone through multiple sets of rear shocks in a very short period.

hypervish

The ES has struts which carry the entire weight of the vehicle. The 3rd Gen RX has shocks which do not carry the weight of the vehicle, which is why you don't see the car sagging.

As mentioned above, leaking shocks on this car are a common problem. Luckily, shocks are cheap compared to replacing a strut.

jdiron29

It is common for RX shocks to be slightly wet around the tube of the shock. As long as the fluid doesn't leak to the bottom of the shock mount, according to Lexus standards, they will not be recommended unless it affect performance/ride. If the rear end is not bouncing around or making noise when going over bumps, dips etc. I wouldn't worry about it.

felix168

Welcome to car-based CUV/SUV. It's a common problem with Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Ford, etc, etc.

Nimimi

I had our '13 RX350 in to the local Toyota dealer for 24 month service and he noted a leaking FRONT shock. He contacted Lexus who shipped him the part and let him replace the shock (closest Lexus dealer is 150 miles away).

Perhaps it's better to have Toyota do the maintenance if they'll do this warranty work and Lexus just lets them leak for awhile before they will fix them?

SteveCraig

Weight is carried by the coil springs in both applications.
RX has a more conventional set-up with separate coil & shock, mounted independently of each other.
ES has strut suspension which is essentially a shock mounted inside the coil spring & the two share a common mounting configuration.
A vehicle with an end or a corner down has a coil spring problem. Wrong unit installed, broken coil or mounting hardware. Easy fix for a shop with a spring compressor, easier yet to replace the entire unit as an assembly. Have to remove the assembly from the car to change the spring. 4-5 nuts/bolts & that's it.

Yurka

So past few days ive been trying to see if theres anything weird about my RX, i drove over many speed bumps and pot holes on purpose, shaky road and the car feels fine, nothing unusual, no weird sounds whatsoever, yesterday it was pouring rain, was speeding down the highway, swirly road, car holds the ground well in and out of turns, i supposed i shouldnt be concerned at the moment about them?

SteveCraig

The hydraulic oil in the shocks will show just as a drop of oil in water. Seemingly everywhere but very little real volume. I doubt you will see any handling change in the car unless you start seeing puddles under the car where it's parked. No worries, get them changed when convenient for you.

Yurka

Well thats the thing, the mechanic got pretty surprised when he saw them, he was like oh they bad basically, youll need them fixed cuz idk how much longer youll be able to drive, they leak. i left my car sit on one spot and after a while i looked and i didnt see anything on the concrete. Is it expensive to get them replaced, should i contact lexus dealership or it would be better to order parts on my own and just stop by some car shop and get them installed for me?

Clutchless

They are just shock absorbers and can easily be installed by your local gas station repair shop. I bet their labor charge would only be an hour and it would actually only take them 30 minutes to replace them.
You can order replacements from http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/parts-l...-absorber.html As you can see in the link, the factory shocks are only about $33 each. Note that you need to check your VIN to determine if you have a Japanese or Canadian built vehicle. Japanese has a J at the start of the VIN. The link is for the Canadian built. Backtrack through the site to select your vehicle.

swfla

iTrader: (1)

The take away I got from the above posts was: if you replace the shocks, you may see the same thing happen again in short order, it's not broken, just showing some symptoms, wait until you are having some actual problem. Good luck with your choice.

SteveCraig

One of the easiest jobs for a DIY. I'm in Canada & paid a premium from Sewell last Fall due to the $$ exchange & duty. Still, out of pocket was under $75.00. Time was about an hour at home in my own garage.

Yurka

That sounds good guys, thanks will get my hands on it once it starts bothering me as I ride

pasica

How can the rear shocks on a 2011 RX350, with 38K be leaking? Is this Lexus quality?

Should I buy OEM shocks, since they are so bad, or go for an after market brand? any suggestions?

Thank you