Hello,
We bought a brand new 2023 rx350 and the a/c stopped working recently. Took it to the dealership and they stated that the ac condensor is damaged from an outside influence and is NOT covered under warranty, repairs will be over $3k. There is no damage to the front bumper, front grille, dealer says it was caused by a rock?!?
This grille with big holes is poorly designed and a clear flaw if what they are saying is true.... did not expect this.
Has anyone encountered this problem?

 

Most cars have large enough holes in front of the AC condenser that the golden rock can put a hole in it. Insurance comp can cover it.

 

Ya, that's an insurance claim.

 

Sorry to hear! Last summer as I was washing the front grill and I noticed a bunch of debris (mainly leaves) on the radiator and AC condenser and I had thought, what if a rock gets in there and creates damage to the components? And how do i remove those leaves too?! And to my nightmare your situation happened! Instead of the dealership sell ppf for the front of the car how about they sell some fine mesh to prevent this issue? But i have a feeling that would not look great on the front end?!

 

Hmm, have to look at how exposed this is. Products from this company might be in order, but they don't make a pre-cut kit for the RX, but you can buy the material and cut it. Attaches with tie wraps. Maybe a piece in front of the condenser is needed. But can it be installed from behind without removing the bumper cover?

https://www.customcargrills.com/

 

Those grills reminds me of late 1990s to early 2000 and we call them chicken wire back then haha!

 

Looks like a tough install for a mesh insert like that - I see the radiator of course but not the condenser, is it in front of the radiator?

The way to clean leaves and stuff from that area is this, I just picked a few out myself:

 

Condensers are normally located in front of radiators in cars. Getting the coolest air helps its efficiency. Holing a condenser doesn't stop the car, holing a radiator can. I know a few people in the Golf R world put mesh in behind their grills. They removed the front bumper to do it properly.

 

Well given the placement and the grill opening, I am surprised there haven't been more incidents about this posted here.

Depending on how flexible that grill material is, there might be a way to bend it and insert it from below. I wonder however if extra "tighter" mesh there would lower the cooling efficiency of the condenser and/or the radiator.

 

Of course, one way to minimize the chance of damage (to the nose of the car, windshield too, as well as the radiators) is to observe the TWO - MISSISSIPPI rule of following.

Note a reference in the road, and make sure you don't reach that reference within TWO SECONDS.


Of course you will reach your destination 90 seconds longer than before, as (at least here in NJ) other drivers will try to cut into your lane because you left them that room!

 

pretty weird that it took decades for car companies to reduce grill size to something modest and now the trend is to make them look as yawning as possible. Not my cup of tea, but they didn't ask my opinion when they designed it. I much prefer the grill on my 2013 RX. (I remember getting a Lexus survey a few years later on how I felt specifically about the 4th Generation grill, they must have asked 12 questions about it.)

 

I bought a 2023 rx350 luxury. Shortly after buying it in August 2023 the AC stopped working. Dealership said they couldn’t find a leak and filled with Freon. May of this year the AC stopped working again. Dealership now says it’s likely stone damage to condenser.

I looked at the condenser. There was clearly damage from something striking it. Dealer said it wasn’t warranted. I examined the car front and was shocked at how open the grill was to the condenser. It cost me $1,600 to fix.

now I’m afraid to drive anywhere there might be stones on the road (i.e. everywhere)

this is clearly a defective design. Have you taken this any further? Have you found other victims?

lexus should offer a fix.

 

You could file a comp claim with your insurance.

Nothing is defective. EVERY vehicle has this vulnerability. The condenser has to be in front of the radiator in the air flow to work effectively. You could put mesh behind the grill but then you hurt the cooling effectiveness.

Car Care Nut did a video replacing a condenser on a 2022 Highlander from a rock hit, it's mostly labor:

 

Sorry for your expensive repair, but I agree with what Urlik posted. Definitely not a defect, just something that happens once in awhile. Where I live (Alaska), there is gravel on all of the roads during the winter months (if lucky), plus countless miles of gravel only roads. Rock chips and cracked windshields from rocks are a commonplace. My windshield got its first chip that developed into a long crack happened before 3,000 miles. While I am not at all happy about it, I am not going to replace it yet because it will just happen again; plus the crack is on the very lower part of the windshield. My point is that these things happen. Does it stop me from driving the car where I want to when I want to? Absolutely not.

 

The defect is in how open the grill is to stones etc. it may allow for efficient cooling, but it also allows expensive repairs. There should be a better way to airate the condenser.

employee at dealership showed me a grill fix an employee there installed that had smaller openings for stones.

unfortunately that company has gone out of business. They did not make a grill for 2023 and later Lexus.

company was E&G. You can find grills for 2022 and earlier Lexus models.

so it can be done.