Hi everyone,

Three years ago, I bought the RX 350 2017 brand new from my local dealer. All 3 years the car was serviced at the same Lexus service center.
Yesterday I had my 30,000 service done, but I asked them to not rotate tires, since I wanted to do it with my kids - some learning experience for them.
Today I rotated tires and when I took them off I found out that all 4 axles are extremely rusty. See the attached pictures.
This is my first Lexus and non of my previous cars has this kind of problem.



Thus, I have few questions.
1) Is this normal for Lexus to rust this much?
2) Since before all rotations have been done by the dealership, is this normal for the dealership to keep it this way?
3) What would your advice be? The car is still under its 4th year of warranty. Should I ask the dealership to clean this up and lubricate it?
I expect them to say it is a normal wear and tear thus - should I clean and lubricate it my self, is this some thing that has to be done?

Thanks in advance for the information.

 

From where I'm from, with salt put on icy roads in the winter, this is normal to us and it will not do anything to the wheel. I kept all my cars over 10 years and have not done anything to it. It is designed to withstand rust.

Your RX may come from up north...

 

Thank you for your response.
Yeah, I would expect that in Canada, but I am from Bay Area (California) with low humidity, no snow and 1-2 months of rain per year (some time even less). Besides that I am the first owner of the car and I drove it all three years locally. That's why I am surprised to see it rusts so quickly and so badly.
I am concerned about the axle. I have owned other cars for approximately 7 to 9 years each, and none of them had this much rust even after a longer period of time.

 

I love the area! Been there a few times!

But looking at the rust amount, it's not that much to me. In my case I have a little crust of rust peeling after a few years, and I am not bothered at all...
If it bothers your, protect them by spraying white lithium grease on them.

 

Depending on how close to the Bay you are (I grew up in Redwood City), could it be the salty air from the Bay?

 

I agree salt air might be involved.
If it is bothersome, when tires get rotated you could have dealer brush on a coating of anti-seize grease in those areas. It has a very wide temp range of effectiveness and would help prevent issues like that.

Here's the product

Here's the stuff
description:

• A highly refined blend of aluminum, copper, and graphite lubricants that is salt, corrosion, and moisture resistant
• Use for easy assembly and disassembly of metal parts; enables easier disassembly of parts exposed to high temperatures
• Use during assembly to prevent galling, corrosion, and seizing due to weathering or chemicals
• Temperature Range: -80°F to 1600°F (-51°C to 871°C)
• Suggested Applications: For easy removal of spark plugs, cylinder head and exhaust head bolts; apply to anchor pins on brake assemblies, u-bolts and spring bolts, hinges, gears, chain, sprockets, and rollers