Coolant leak

Dells · August 17, 2023

I have had my car for about 3weeks and had been loosing coolant so it went to Lexus Cheltenham today to check for a leak, it turned out to be the water pump, they said the seal had probably dried up from not to much use being such low mileage not convinced but they said that they could do it while I waited and the recall that was booked for September 6th as well as they had the part, I can’t fault the service because I wasn’t expecting it to be done straight away and I certainly wasn’t expecting the recall to be done, they even gave my wife and I a lift into town and back again, washed and vacuumed the car also touched in a couple of small chips, they also gave me 1/2 L of coolant just in case it’s needed.

They have also offered to collect and deliver my car when it’s due for its service next June and I live 30 miles away.

It makes a nice change to find a company like that.

Dell

wharfhouse · August 17, 2023

19 minutes ago, Dells said:

I have had my car for about 3weeks and had been loosing coolant so it went to Lexus Cheltenham today to check for a leak, it turned out to be the water pump, they said the seal had probably dried up from not to much use being such low mileage not convinced but they said that they could do it while I waited and the recall that was booked for September 6th as well as they had the part, I can’t fault the service because I wasn’t expecting it to be done straight away and I certainly wasn’t expecting the recall to be done, they even gave my wife and I a lift into town and back again, washed and vacuumed the car also touched in a couple of small chips, they also gave me 1/2 L of coolant just in case it’s needed.

They have also offered to collect and deliver my car when it’s due for its service next June and I live 30 miles away.

It makes a nice change to find a company like that.

Dell

Nice to hear a positive dealer story as there have been a few howlers on here of late! Maybe some are starting to take note that one of the advantages they used to have of above the norm customer service does have its rewards when it then comes to ongoing customer loyalty.

matt8 · August 17, 2023

How much did they charge you for the water pump / fitting @Dells?

IS300FSPORT · August 17, 2023

Out of interest what kind of mileage has your car done?

Pompeyscouser · August 17, 2023

I have, up until this year, had excellent service from Lexus Hedge End. Now, my MOT is due at the beginning of September and my service is due at the same time. They can’t provide a loan car when my MOT is due because they have stopped pick up and return and this meant a heavy requirement for loan vehicles so none are available when I need it. Also, the earliest they can provide a loan car on the day of the service is 7th September, a week after the MOT is due! So, now I have to find somewhere else for the MOT. Okay, I should have booked all of this at least a month before but, if they still had the pick up and return service none of this would be a problem. I live 20+ miles from Hedge End and there is no suitable public transport I could use, hence, my problem. I notice from earlier posts that pick up and return still applies with some Lexus dealers. Is it only Hedge End that has removed this facility? Considering the cost of service and the previous exemplary service from Hedge End, I am disappointed. The key reasons I bought a Lexus were reliability and customer service. I hope one of these criteria still exists. However, I am now, seriously, thinking about alternative manufacturers for my replacement vehicle.

Dells · August 18, 2023

1 hour ago, matt8 said:

How much did they charge you for the water pump / fitting @Dells?

Didn’t charge me as i have only had it 3 weeks and it’s an approved select car so under warranty for 12 months.

Dell

Dells · August 18, 2023

12 hours ago, IS300FSPORT said:

Out of interest what kind of mileage has your car done?

My car has only done 23000 miles , nothing for 6 years old.

Dell

IS300FSPORT · August 18, 2023

4 hours ago, Dells said:

My car has only done 23000 miles , nothing for 6 years old.

Dell

Thats v interesting at 23k its clear that its not wear & tear i.e play on the propelors etc.

More likely to be the coolant turning acidic with age eating the seals.

This could well explain why the carcarenut recommends changing out the coolant every 5 years.

Dells · August 18, 2023

2 hours ago, IS300FSPORT said:

Thats v interesting at 23k its clear that its not wear & tear i.e play on the propelors etc.

More likely to be the coolant turning acidic with age eating the seals.

This could well explain why the carcarenut recommends changing out the coolant every 5 years.

So hopefully I should have 5 years now then.

Dell

IS300FSPORT · August 18, 2023

21 minutes ago, Dells said:

So hopefully I should have 5 years now then.

Dell

You probably have a mix of new coolant they topped up after changing the water pump, along with the coolant that was in the system already i.e stored in the Reservoir. Regardless when they take the waterpump off you would think at least 70% of the coolant will drain out from the engine block. In theory you should be ok for another few years. I doubt they would have done a flush & replace. New water pump seals should be ok for a couple of years so nothing to worry about.

I believe the Inverter coolant & the radiator and independent anyway but its wise to change out around the 10 year age or 100k which ever comes first regardless of the mileage its done. Assuming you will still have the car :thumbup:

wharfhouse · August 18, 2023

21 minutes ago, Dells said:

So hopefully I should have 5 years now then.

Dell

The Lexus service schedule says to first change coolant at 10 years or 100k miles (which ever comes first) - my car is nearly 9 years old and with 135K miles. I did ask Lexus to change the coolant at 100K miles (and was happy to pay for it - at that time it was a charged for extra) but they tested it (I assume the pH level) and said no need to change it yet.

Once the coolant has been changed it should then be changed on a 5 year (and I think 50K miles if that comes sooner) interval - I assume as not all the old coolant will have been drained out at the 10 year/100k mile change.

My plan is to have the coolant changed at 150K miles (the car will be 10 years old based on current annual mileage at that time) along with the inverter coolant (which the service schedule says to be done then too) and then keep to the service schedule of every 5 years going forward from there.

I have no leaks from the cooling system to date (keeping fingers crossed)...

tanimbar · August 19, 2023

Pompeyscouser asked, "pick up and return [for servicing] still applies with some Lexus dealers. Is it only Hedge End that has removed this facility?"

Lexus Hedge End is part of Snow's Group which has withdrawn the pick up and return service across the Group. This includes Lexus Exeter and Plymouth.

My car is serviced at Exeter which, prior to this year and the removal of the pick-return service, occupied a driver for 6 hours. Now I drive myself but they give me a courtesy car for 24 hours. The car is serviced on day one and I return on day two.

The removal of pick-return is a detrimental and I got the impression that the staff know it. It will cost them custom in the future and shrink the sale of Lexus vehicles across the Southwest (Cornwall, Devon, North Somerset and Hampshire).

Notamech · August 19, 2023

On 8/17/2023 at 7:28 PM, matt8 said:

How much did they charge you for the water pump / fitting @Dells?

I had mine done a few months ago at lexus hayes in London it cost me £320 for a new waterpump + new belt + coolant + labour. Lexus Twickenham wanted £428 so if you plan to get yours done i recommend getting quotes from different Lexus service centres.

matt8 · August 19, 2023

47 minutes ago, Notamech said:

I had mine done a few months ago at lexus hayes in London it cost me £320 for a new waterpump + new belt + coolant + labour. Lexus Twickenham wanted £428 so if you plan to get yours done i recommend getting quotes from different Lexus service centres.

Interesting to hear, thanks. I had in fact had the exact same job (genuine parts) done for £270 from Lex-Tek Autos in Sheffield. Was curious to know how it compared to dealers so thank you. I knew it’d be cheaper but no idea how much Lexus would have wanted.

Notamech · August 19, 2023

2 hours ago, matt8 said:

Interesting to hear, thanks. I had in fact had the exact same job (genuine parts) done for £270 from Lex-Tek Autos in Sheffield. Was curious to know how it compared to dealers so thank you. I knew it’d be cheaper but no idea how much Lexus would have wanted.

I did look at getting it done at an indie but got a quote of £380 (they probably gave me a general quote given their experience with other cars) when in reality its much easier to do on the is300h. Also there was no toyota / lexus specialist within commuting distance from me so the quote from Lexus Hayes seemed like my best bet. But £270 sounds good the £50 premium i paid at lexus isn't too bad either considering everything in London has a mark up.

Just out of curiosity what went wrong with yours? And how old was it? Mine was at ~90k and had a small leak at the bearing. No major coolant loss or anything but the pump had a pink crust around it. So got it done for peace of mind.

matt8 · August 19, 2023

6 minutes ago, Notamech said:

I did look at getting it done at an indie but got a quote of £380 (they probably gave me a general quote given their experience with other cars) when in reality its much easier to do on the is300h. Also there was no toyota / lexus specialist within commuting distance from me so the quote from Lexus Hayes seemed like my best bet. But £270 sounds good the £50 premium i paid at lexus isn't too bad either considering everything in London has a mark up.

Just out of curiosity what went wrong with yours? And how old was it? Mine was at ~90k and had a small leak at the bearing. No major coolant loss or anything but the pump had a pink crust around it. So got it done for peace of mind.

It was leaking coolant and there was some play in the bearing / where it spins (I’m not that well versed on the part names). He showed me the play in the motor he removed. I had white powdery stuff which is the coolant, dried up, on the bonnet insulation.

It was not a major leak but was only going to get worse. Over how long that would be is anybody’s guess. It’s a 2013 on 81K miles. Coolant level wasn’t low as such, so it was slow. As you said, I too did it for peace of mind.

I’ve seen other posts here suggesting 80K is when they start to leak a little. Not an outright failure but just starting to deteriorate. Should be good for another ten years hopefully, maybe longer if the design is updated.

Notamech · August 19, 2023

6 minutes ago, matt8 said:

It was leaking coolant and there was some play in the bearing / where it spins (I’m not that well versed on the part names). He showed me the play in the motor he removed. I had white powdery stuff which is the coolant, dried up, on the bonnet insulation.

It was not a major leak but was only going to get worse. Over how long that would be is anybody’s guess. It’s a 2013 on 81K miles. Coolant level wasn’t low as such, so it was slow. As you said, I too did it for peace of mind.

I’ve seen other posts here suggesting 80K is when they start to leak a little. Not an outright failure but just starting to deteriorate. Should be good for another ten years hopefully, maybe longer if the design is updated.

Sounds like we had the same problem. I've read of numerous others having it too. I think the 2013 - 14 models (mine is 2014) probably had a design flaw with the belt that caused the bearings to go bad eventually. I know they updated the belt (it now has a new part no) but i think the pump remains the same (at least the part no) .