I was driving this, my wife’s car, when she smelled something like oil burning. I looked around for a truck or something, then within twenty seconds the oil light on the dash flashed quickly. I slowed, found a place to pull over and had it towed to the closest Toyota dealer. The nearest Lexus dealer was fifty miles away so we weren't going there.

I watched as the mechanic pulled the shrouding off and found the leak. There was just about no oil in the engine. It had puked its whole oil load out on the highway in under twenty seconds. The mechanic put some oil in it, ran it for about five seconds and got a good oil shower.

It seems that this engine requires some oil cooling and in their infinite wisdom, Toyota ran oil lines outside the block and up to the oil cooler which is some kind of interface with the cooling system. Unbelievably, these high pressure oil lines are rubber. In this case one of the rubber lines had a small leak which was torn open by the pressure.

Here's a picture of the part.



On the engine, this two hose manifold part is close to the front of the engine, low on the left side (radiator side). In the diagram below, I've colored it red.




A Toyota dealer can't order a Lexus part all that easily, and it took several days for the part to arrive and get installed. At this time the Toyota dealer is unsure of the extent of the engine damage. All the mechanics that looked at this part, and there have been many, shake their heads. Running 80psi (or more) oil in a rubber hose is a time bomb, a guaranteed failure ahead. It was interesting to see that the replacement part is now hard metal pipes, but I believe that the change was not made until the 2012 models. So, at least 2007 to 2011 engines have this fault, and perhaps earlier.

Folks, Mr. Toyoda was called before the United States Congress in February 2010 to explain to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform how Toyota had lost its way in safety, quality and reliability. My engine might be ruined, and I fully believe that the 2007 to 2009 Toyotas are the worst that Toyota has ever manufactured. Junk.

This faulty part is much more dangerous to your vehicle that the VVT oil hose in my opinion. It is the subject of a technical service bulletin. Maybe get yours swapped to the new part. It's maybe $400 to do it, but it might save you some real financial pain.

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https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...paign-9lh.html

did you register from lexus.com and see if you need to do the recall???

 

In my experience, (racing, mechanical, etc.) if your engine runs low on oil pressure but is stopped very soon, there is a far less likely chance of interior engine damage as opposed to runnign it without oil.

I'd bet that if you immediately stopped the car once the light came on, your interior rings, valves, etc. are not damaged as it usually takes a few minutes of time running without oil to generate enough friciton and heat to do significant damage. The mechanic starting it again without oil (from what I can tell) may have done more damage than the line failure itself.

I would bet against engine damage if you stopped the vehicle from running within 3 - 5 minutes of the light going on.

 

That recall is for the VVT hose, and this is something completely different. I have yet to take this junker to Lexus to see about the VVTi hose.


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HTown, the mechanic filled the crankcase before he started it, that's why he was wearing that oil within a few seconds. The mechanic did the right thing and didn't contribute to the damage.

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Thats good news. If it cranked up long enough to spray him with oil, thats actually a great sign. I'd bet there is very minimal damage to the interior components. Sorry to hear about the issue friend. Hope it all works out in the end.

 

Some of the late 2011 model RX350s have the new part. Mine is one of them.
There is a TSB for this oil cooler. TSB 0154-11 dated December 21, 2011.
The TSB applies for 2007-2011 RX350 and 2010-2011 RX450h.

 

So is this a recall type TSB or do they only fix it if you complain while still under warranty.

 

Looks like a TSB under warranty only. Says only good under warranty if there is seepage from the hoses.
If mine craps out I will definitely be fighting them for some coverage as this is ridiculous and somewhat related to the oil line recall being made of inferior rubber.

 

Here is the part that needs replaced. It is about $78 dollars here and at Sewell with the Club Lexus discount.
Maybe get an independent shop to install to save some $$$.

http://www.toyotapartszone.com/oem/t...767-31020.html

 

Not a recall. Only still under warranty.

 

Is the replacement of this oil line straight forward and can be done at home?

 

I had the oil cooling line go out on my 2007 RX 350 Monday and it is going to cost approximately $400 unless there is other damage. I have the deluxe extended warranty which apparently does not cover this. I would have thought if it covers the engine and power train it would cover this, I am not a happy camper.

 

Who is your warranty through? Lexus or aftermarket?

 

I have a 2008 RX350 and have purchased the all metal replacement pipes and gaskets from SewellParts.com. Because I'm right at about 98,700 miles I plan to change this Oil cooler pipes at my next oil change (100k). Once you remove the plastic under cladding the access to the pipes is quite good for the diy'ers like me. I do have a couple of questions before I do the work.
1. I'd like to know if anyone knows which way the gaskets go on? Each gasket as 3 bolt hole and 2 pipe holes. the 2 pipe holes are counter sunk (or dimpled) which makes me think the raised side of the gasket should go towards the pipe flanges (not the engine block or oil cooler) because the pipes are set back from the flange surface a little.
2. Should the gaskets get a small bead of high temp RTV on both sides to act as a gasket sealer? (I like Permatex Red Silicone gasket maker.... good for 650 degrees F)
3. What is the torque for the 2 nuts and 1 bolt for each flange? (total 4 nuts and 2 bolts)
I was hoping someone may have a shop manual or experience replacing this set of pipes. Thanks in advance for any replies.