I was chasing a "rattling" noise in the drive belt/firewall side of the engine and found this leak (pictures below) what looks to be around the water pump and a plug. Can't make a decisive conclusion on what is leaking and where exactly it is leaking from. The fluid looks brown.

Checked the dipstick, oil looks fine and brown. Checked the coolant level, a bit low and bright pink.

Please help.

 

I’m a little disoriented but either rear main seal or timing cover gasket! Notorious on the RX!

 

I was really hoping that it wasn't the timing cover gasket! That is a very expansive job. Are there ways around it besides living with the leak and eventually adding oil when it starts leaking heavily.

 

If you don't have a noticeable amount of the fluid on the floor/ground under the car, then you are not losing enough to justify a repair. Lexus calls this type of fluid on the engine a "seep", not a leak. Whatever it is, it will probably get worse and eventually require repair, but that may be years in the future.

 

Brake cleaner spray works really well in these situations. Get in there and clean it up the best you can. Go back in 3 months and check it. Take pictures. Make sure you take it to the dealer and get some document from them saying they looked at it and etc...... in case it gets worst down the road.

 

Hi jcg0324, thank you for the note. I am not following on the dealer situation, the car is out of warranty how would dealer be able to help? Thank you!

 

My mistake. I thought it might be a warranty thing. Dibl is probably correct. Go to a local mechanic and get an opinion there. Otherwise, don't worry about a few drops of fluid. There was a recent post of somebody with a problem leak/seep of the timing chain cover. They used a silocone sealant around the cover. It would be worth researching.

 

Thank you all for the comments. One more question for the group, in the first picture towards the left side of the picture there is a hexagon plug and it looks like the area around that plug is wet as well as the bottom of the plug is showing signs of rust. What is that plug for? I assume there is an O-ring on that plug there somewhere that should prevent the leaking.

Thank you!

 

Is this leak common with such a low mile car?
Did they fix this flaw with the 2018 model?

 

Saw this leak on a 2018 Highlander w/ 2GR-FKS so I assume they did not fix it yet