Rear diff leaking oil

[BIGGY2]

Hi guys

I took my is300h in for a routine minor service to Lexus and one of the issues discovered according to them was that the the rear differential pinion seal is leaking and requires a change at a cost of £540.

I wanted to ask if anyone on here has heard of the diff leaking oil. It has been 2 months now since my service and the car is in daily use with 80 mile daily commutes and parked up over the weekends and have not noticed any oil on my drive. 

What I find wierd is that in the video that was supplied to me from Lexus, it looks like the oil has sprayed upwards. Last year I had the major service which includes the rear diff oil change so I am wondering if it could just be as simpe as being overfilled and spraying out of the filler cap? Like I said I have kept an eye out for leaks but nothing at all on my drive so wondering if it really is a leak or are Lexus just after some £££

[Spock66]

I'd suggest crawling under the car and giving everything a good wipe and then check again after a week or so.

[ColinBarber]

I'm not aware of anyone else reporting this issue here - whilst oil seals don't last forever it seems like you are unlucky here.

It's common for oil to be sprayed around as it comes out of a diff onto the rotating shafts and get flung out. The oil is quite thick when cold so it's unlikely to just seep out when the vehicle is stationary.

I doubt it was overfilled - you fill it at the side and it starts to overflow when you reach the level required so you would almost purposely want to overfill it actually achieve it. Even if it is, the oil is essentially sealed within the diff - it cannot get out through the filler which has an airtight seal. Symptom of an overfilled diff is wear of the gears because if excessive aeration of the oil, not oil leaking out.

It might be worth giving the diff area a degrease and see how quickly the oil comes back - if it's only very minor then you possibly could live with it but you would have to keep an eye on the oil level and it will likely get worse over time.

The seal itself would be inexpensive - your quoted cost will therefore be mainly labour and at £200ish per hour it would be expensive to get it done at Lexus - any mechanic could do this job.

[Djwbiker]

You could try Summertown Garage, Kidlington, they specialist in EV and Hybrids for a 2nd opinion.

 

[BIGGY2]

Thanks for your suggestions. I think I will get another mechanic to have a look before getting anything done. 

[BIGGY2]

30 minutes ago, Djwbiker said:

You could try Summertown Garage, Kidlington, they specialist in EV and Hybrids for a 2nd opinion.

 

Thanks. I will give them a call

[Notamech]

1 hour ago, Djwbiker said:

You could try Summertown Garage, Kidlington, they specialist in EV and Hybrids for a 2nd opinion.

 

I second this recommendation. I used to use them back when I used to live in the area and have had good experiences. 

Also as others have recommended i think get a 2nd opinion and also a quote to fix it with original parts. Its definitely not a common problem we've heard of on the forum. 

[ColinBarber]

Good to get recommendations as above, but there is no specific need for a EV or hybrid specialist - the back end prop shaft/diff/drive shafts/wheel hubs are no different in design than an IS250 or IS200t - all the hybrid elements are at the transmission up front.

[BIGGY2]

I asked a mechanic I know up who works exclusively on hybrid cars and he said hes done afew of these and told me to get the diff pinion seal from Lexus as the copy parts tend to leak again so ill give Lexus a call tomorrow and see what the seal cost. He told me it should cost under £50 so we will see. I will keep this thread updated for anyone else that runs into the same problem

[BIGGY2]

The cost of pinion seal is £36. Total price with 2 litres diff oil and washers is just under £80 so dealers labour charges are ridiculous

[BIGGY2]

This is a wierd end result. The mechanic put my car on the ramp to check the leak and was left confused 😕 . He said there isnt any leak on the rear diff!

I couldn't believe that so he called me under and I seen it for myself. He wiped all around the pinion seal and it is dry as a bone. I asked about the oil all over the top of the under chassis and he told me that looks like someone has sprayed grease up there and that it didnt smell like diff oil. 

Another thing I found odd is that I received a reminder email from Lexus telling me I have outstanding repairs on my car, funny thing is there was no mention on the "urgent repair needed" which was the diff oil leak and instead told me to bring it in as the tpms sensor was missing 🤣 even though I had a aftermarket sensor installed a year ago and there is no warning light lit up. I have now lost all trust in the Lexus garage I have been using for 3 years and wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced imaginary work from Lexus.

[Malc1]

remembering in times past owners sometimes oil sprayed their cars undersides for “ protection “  ……. against rust whatever,  ALSO …… 

I’m reading before on here of Lexus Main Dealers imaginary overly cautious and ostensibly touting for work ……. preying on owners fears of the unknown …….. but that possibly applies to non Lexus garages too of course …… build up a good rapport with your trusted Indy mechanic to comfort you going forward …… fingers xd 🤞

Malc 

[HPS13]

Sadly a lot of these experiences are true where dealerships will attempt to convince customers that new parts are required after a service. 

It's usually brakes and tyres of as a scare tactic. Garages have weekly / monthly targets to meet so the staff feel under pressure to push so called 'advisories' onto the customer in the hope they will agree to additional work even when it may not be required. 

If Lexus are charging around £200 per hour labour, this feels extortionate. All this while the technician gets paid around £15 per hour. 

For comparison, I worked at a Lexus dealership in the mid 2000's and the labour charge per hour to the customer was £50. 

[BIGGY2]

Going forward I will be servicing at Lexus to keep up with my full dealers history but I will always get the advisories checked by my local garage and never do the work from them. 

[Malc1]

At 10 years young I’m not sure any prospective private purchaser of your car would worry too much about continuity on Main Dealer servicing …… unless you’re continuing on their Warranty Scheme 

Malc