100k Service - Good Independant Garage In North West

japanesebob · August 7, 2015

Just got my 03 RX back from its 100,000 mile service today, felt lovely to get back into it. I knew it needed doing soon but my hand was forced when the water pump sprung a leak on the motorway, fortunately I had some water to put in the radiator and was able to get the car safely home and then to my local garage who carried out the service, replacing the water pump as part of it. We get a lot of people on the forum asking about potential mileage for these cars, well when I was talking to the mechanic he wasn't remotely peturbed by my rx's 102000 miles, he said they are good cars and will last if the fluids are replaced when they should be.

I had been quoted a little over £1000 by a local lexus dealership for the 100k service, and been assured that it was a very good price. My local garage did the job for considerably less than that and I have every confidence in them - I have used them for some time now.

If you are in the Manchester area the garage is DJ Autos in Oldham, check out their website for address, etc.

japanesebob · August 7, 2015

By the way I didn't realise I was posting a picture of an engine in the thread, I thought I was changing my profile picture. However, the photo goes to show that the garage I'm reccomending are happy to service cars with lpg conversions.

ColinBarber · August 7, 2015

The transmission is really the only weak point on the series I RX. You really need to change the fluid frequently.

ChrisKaye · August 8, 2015

Hi,

Nice clean engine bay and a tidy LPG install!

As for water pump, I'm not surprised, but if you had been given the old pump and gasket back you'll probably see something like the pic below! I get most old parts back from when mine is serviced by anyone but me so I can check they have done the work and how bad the old part is to see if there could be any potential problems!

What I've found is that on both my 53 plate RX and 53 plate Celica, the water pump gaskets have given up the ghost waaaay to early in my opinion! Both cars gaskets looked identical and both old water pumps were in great condition showing little sign of wear and now spindle/bearing issues or play. There are lots of reports of minor leaks on Toyota's from approx 2001 to about 2005 manufactured cars, so can only assume the supplier of the gaskets made them out of cheese...!

Not sure why both gaskets would fail in the exact same place (at the bottom half) as until it gets really bad, you only lose a tiny amount of coolant a week and you keep topping up but can't see any signs of a leak as it starts really slowly. Maybe it evaporates most of it due to the position of the pump in the engine bay?

ChrisKaye · August 8, 2015

Oh, the other thing to mention is to always use Toyota/Lexus coolant, my pump above came off a car that's done 105k miles and the insides of the system look nice and clean (as was the old coolant that had been in for quite a while!)

PCM · August 8, 2015

Is that the RED coolant?

There seem to be other colours too...

billgatesisaconman · August 8, 2015

Oh, the other thing to mention is to always use Toyota/Lexus coolant, my pump above came off a car that's done 105k miles and the insides of the system look nice and clean (as was the old coolant that had been in for quite a while!)

Can I ask if it's off an Rx 300 and am I correct in thinking it did 105k before needing it's first pump Chris ?

japanesebob · August 8, 2015

Surely lexus/toyota just put their name on somebody else's collant? Probably save a few pennies if we could find out which brand they piggyback?

i should have mentioned that the lexus chap, when quoting his excellent price for the 100k service, said that the plugs didn't need doing. When I asked dj autos for a quote they said, without prompting, that the plugs are definitely on the schedule for 100k service. Mthermes mechanic said its a pain in the arse to get to them but they do need doing. Porkie-pies from lexus, It would seem, or was there service manager just mistaken?

japanesebob · August 8, 2015

I am aware of my spelling mistakes, blame apple corporation for that. Chris of Dorset, thank you for noticing the engine bag's loveleyness and the conversation was carried out by Leyland LPG for about two grand.

ColinBarber · August 8, 2015

I believe the series I RX plug schedule is every 60k miles therefore they wouldn't need doing until 120k miles. Seems Lexus were correct and the independent wrong.

japanesebob · August 8, 2015

Fair enough then, glad they were done though, I bought my car last year with no service history whatsoever so who knows when they were last changed?

ChrisKaye · August 8, 2015

Bill, yes, that was it's first water pump at 105k miles!

The mechanic said it'd probably do it again before needed replacing, but as I gave them all the parts (I gave him the timing belt, tensioner, water pump w/new gasket, fresh concentrated coolant and spark plugs to do), he did it anyway and it was fortunate it did get changed or that gasket/leak would never have been spotted - prior to seeing this, I hadn't noticed any coolant loss.

Toyota is now using even longer life Pink coolant, but I have lots of toyotas which use Red so have a stash of Red coolant (20L drum!) - I'll dig out the name as it is the same as the Toyota branded stuff but industrial sized as they use this in the service department workshops at Toyota dealers. I got this from Toyota parts for £22 inc vat.

Oil, filters and Coolant are not expensive really from the dealers, the main thing is to change them frequently!

Plus if you use your dealer parts counters, make sure they open an account on their system for you!

I managed to get almost 50% off my Lexus water pump & gasket (£48 all in!) the cheap nasty eBay ones cost more than that (plus delivery!) as I do put business their way and like I said on a different post, they do have the occasional offer on oil (£15 inc vat for 5L) and the buy 3 service items, get the fourth item free promotion. brake pads are also OK prices compared to cheaper rubbish.

One other point to note is that when I saw the spark plugs that were removed, it was obvious that whoever did the 60k service was a blaggard as the hard-to-get-to rear 3 plugs had never been changed, whereas the front 3 had! I was glad I got the plugs done at the same time as the timing belt, as this saves the engine being pulled about again in 12k to get at them, plus with the mileage we do (and assuming we keep the RX long enough) they'll get done again when the Timing Belt is next due.

The garage I used charged £412 inc vat, but I probably won't be using them again as they snapped a few under tray bolts, didn't change the ATM, Power Steering and Transfer & Diff box fluids (which I supplied) as requested and took a week! :/

Hard to find a good Indy this way especially with Lex knowledge. I will be trying Toyoda Tech (or whatever they are called now) in Southampton next.

ColinBarber · August 9, 2015

I've heard of a few occasions where only the front three plugs have been changed. The rear ones are a real pain to get to, no special tools needed just time which people unfamiliar with the vehicle will underestimate.

Lee Riley · August 27, 2015

Just got my 03 RX back from its 100,000 mile service today, felt lovely to get back into it. I knew it needed doing soon but my hand was forced when the water pump sprung a leak on the motorway, fortunately I had some water to put in the radiator and was able to get the car safely home and then to my local garage who carried out the service, replacing the water pump as part of it. We get a lot of people on the forum asking about potential mileage for these cars, well when I was talking to the mechanic he wasn't remotely peturbed by my rx's 102000 miles, he said they are good cars and will last if the fluids are replaced when they should be.

I had been quoted a little over £1000 by a local lexus dealership for the 100k service, and been assured that it was a very good price. My local garage did the job for considerably less than that and I have every confidence in them - I have used them for some time now.

If you are in the Manchester area the garage is DJ Autos in Oldham, check out their website for address, etc.

Hello there,

I'm genuinely really pleased to see your post because I have used D&J in the past. They are fantastic!

18 months ago we emigrated to France (used to live in Alkrington Middleton) but prior to that D&J serviced my RX300 and my current RX400h. Always a great price and service.

6 months ago our RX400h reached its 100k service level. Prices in France for Timing belt, water pump and plugs were stupid money. I went back to the UK to get the car serviced at D&J and stayed with family and friends during the process. Even though I paid fuel (900 mile round trip and EuroTunnel crossing) I still saved money versus the likes of Toyota, Feu Vert and others in France.

Top lads that I can't recommend enough. Almost 10k later its running like a dream....