Please check your back seats in RC300h

[AKY15]

Hi can lexus rc300h owners please check their back seats for leather corrosion. I have 2016 plate car under warranty. Lexus are saying they have never seen this before. I noticed the hole by the hybrid vent pipe a few days ago. Then noticed more corrosion. Lexus investigations have found acid in my boot which I think has caused the damage to my seats. Lexus are saying its not from the acid Battery. Please please check your seats. If you have the same problem please reply do I can gain evidence to prove its a manufacturing fault or my acid Battery is faulty. Many thanks

Edited August 30, 2018 by AKY15
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[AKY15]

Is should say so not do

[Rabbers]

I just inspected the rear-seats leather in my own 2016 RC and it looks fine.   To judge by the photos, a section of your leather and adjacent cloth appears                                         to have been affected by some kind of corrosive external agent - and if Lexus says it was not acid from the batteries, I don't see how you can contradict. The closest I have seen to your problem was in the boot of an IS250 to the rear of which I kept a box with a few car-cleaning products.  The contents of one of these, a liquid wax/polish, had separated from non-use leaving a thin liquid on top, and this had leaked through the box onto the boot carpet leaving a large hole which had gone unnoticed by me for many months.   Are you absolutely sure you have never carried something potentially corrosive in the back?

[NemesisUK]

Yup, checked mine also. Nothing untoward ...

As Rabbers says can you think of anything carried that may have leaked? Even something you believe quite innocuous? 

[AKY15]

The hybrid vent hole 

[AKY15]

Thanks for suggestion but no acid and it was acid found in the car. I have not put any corrosive chemicals in the boot just my weekly shopping

[NemesisUK]

10 minutes ago, AKY15 said:

The hybrid vent hole 

I didn't know the traction Battery vented there. I thought it was only the Battery cooling fan air inlet?

Also the traction Battery is caustic, not acidic.

[AKY15]

Yes the hybrid vent is near there. It is only just in shot if you you it's the top left of that photo. I didn't know this until last week. 

[NemesisUK]

Sorry, just to be clear in my understanding.

When you say 'vent' do you mean vapours from the traction Battery exit there? My understanding is that the traction Battery is sealed wrt the electrolyte. 

That vent in the picture is where the cooling fan (for the traction battery) draws cooling air from the the cabin, to regulate the traction Battery temps.

According to Lexus tech docs there is no free fluid in the traction Battery. The electrolyte is absorbed into the cell plates. Even in a collision that splits the Battery module, no liquid will leak.

[AKY15]

Yes your right about the vent. What I am suggesting to lexus is that the acid powder that lexus found in the boot area, near the hybrid and lead acid Battery must somehow have exited through thus vent to damage the leather. Unless of course that hole is a completely separate issue to the other holes which have a charring effect. Lexus identified the powder as acid in our meeting and when we asked where has the acid come from. It was suggested that any can buy acid from a major car store. I thought that was a strange comment to make. I don't have any enemies that have access to my car keys. 

[NemesisUK]

I still can't see how acid from the 12v Battery could get all the way over to that side, without causing damage elsewhere? 

[AKY15]

It has caused damage elsewhere there are signs of corrosion in the boot and on the hybrid Battery cover also there is charring on the left hand passenger seat as in the other photos I put on

[NemesisUK]

Sorry, hard to orientate with the closeup photos.

But there wasn't any signs of residue on or around the 12v Battery?

[AKY15]

Yes that what lexus are saying I have to trust them as I cannot examine the Battery due to it position. The have taken one photo of the Battery showing the front of it it does look clean. Sometimes leaks are hard to spot I have suggested the vent pipe to this may not be working. I have been told the vent goes to outside the car. All I know is I haven't done it and I have never used a chemical to clean the seats. I vac it and was the outside with the  foam type stuff. I don't have the car valeted either. 

[Martin F]

Are you the first owner of the car?

[AKY15]

No bought it from lexus 

[Martin F]

That could very well be the explanation.

If the type of acid is not so strong it can take some time to have an affect. 

[Guest]

The 12v would give off hydrogen which is harmless in low concentrations - explosive otherwise. If it was venting sulfer dioxide (?) into the cabin then the Battery is faulty but you would smell it. I find it highly unlikely to be a venting issue, no one in their right mind would vent gasses INTO a cabin by design. Especially hydrogen where people may smoke. Looks like spillage all day long. Maybe it was spilled and wiped away by someone but not neutralised. In that case you may never know and it's it really bad luck. I can understand why it's difficult to prove a warranty claim. Also the dealer doesn't have final say on warranty, the warranty company do. 

[AKY15]

Thanks for the reply. I have to the dealer that I could smell as sulphurous smell and a clear liquid was observed in the bulk head area. The technician also says he saw a very small amount of liquid in this area. I am arranging an independent inspection. Lexus have not acceped liability but they are still letting me drive there car so I am still hoping that a compromise can be reached. 

[AKY15]

Ps their courtesy car I mean not mine

[Guest]

It seems to me you may be a victim of someone's incompetence rather than poor design.

Hope you get a resolution. Seems your dealer is taking it seriously though.

[AKY15]

I cannot fault the dealer at all. They have to follow protocol. The strange thing is nobody else has been near the car other than lexus and myself don't have the car valeted. So I still think it's come from the Battery but can't explain and neither can lexus. It is a mystery.

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, AKY15 said:

I cannot fault the dealer at all. They have to follow protocol. The strange thing is nobody else has been near the car other than lexus and myself don't have the car valeted. So I still think it's come from the battery but can't explain and neither can lexus. It is a mystery.

Except the previous owner..... surely?

[Britprius]

As others have said this looks like an acid leak from some time ago. It may be the first owner had carried a split Battery in the rear of the car or had a Battery fall over spilling acid. This would take considerable time to show up as damage, and could and most likely is continuing to take place. Treatment with an alkali would be advised as soon as possible to stop this spreading further.
Another step to take is to check the date stamp on the existing Battery to see if this has been replaced possibly due to damage or a problem with the old Battery. If the Battery has been changed this may well be on Lexus service records for the car.

John

[AKY15]

The first owner of the car was lexus as I bought it as an ex demonstrator. 

I like the suggestion about the Battery but I don't have access to the car as it is still in lexus. 

A sulphurous smell was observed by me in August this year and my husband observed a clear liquid on the same day. This information has been passed onto lexus.  It transpires the the veo technician who checked the car say he said a droplet of liquid in the bulk head area.  Lexus customer relations have all this information. I am still awaiting a resolve. They have not as yet got back to me with the price of repair or an alternative arrangement. I am still hoping there Goodwin prevails and they fund the repair.