Water Ingress Rx400H 2006

[NEV72]

Well I know it wasn't the receptionist, as I couldn't hear the squelching of chewing gum as she was telling me, could've been their service manager/ess though.

[Boxbrownie]

Aha, so thats where she went when Lexus Southend closed..........

[spurty]

Well i think i'm going to move to a dry country,

Cars been fine the week or so since we sealed the seams and every other bloody plug hole in the rear end, but tonight i noticed the front screen has condensation inside, mainly due to the thing not being used today and the weather chucking it down off and on, took a look inside the rear after removing the tray and there is a small amount of water getting in somewhere on the offside rear still, I despair

[vrodman]

Simon

can you tell me what the dismantling sequence is to check inside the rear cavity? Where do I start? I managed to find a link to clearer exploded parts diagrams http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/productSearch.aspx?&ukey_make=1082&modelYear=&ukey_model=15677&ukey_trimLevel=19114&ukey_driveline=0&ukey_Category=21743&numResults=50&sortOrder=Relevance&isOnSale=0&isAccessory=0&isPerformance=0&searchTerm= but I'm not sure how it all comes apart

cheers

Dan

[spurty]

Simon

can you tell me what the dismantling sequence is to check inside the rear cavity? Where do I start? I managed to find a link to clearer exploded parts diagrams http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/productSearch.aspx?&ukey_make=1082&modelYear=&ukey_model=15677&ukey_trimLevel=19114&ukey_driveline=0&ukey_Category=21743&numResults=50&sortOrder=Relevance&isOnSale=0&isAccessory=0&isPerformance=0&searchTerm= but I'm not sure how it all comes apart

cheers

Dan

Remove the centre rear storage box, which is held in by two black clips either side (these just pop out) You can then remove the two side stoarge boxes again held in with clips, it is under/behind these the water was coming in from. Thats pretty much all you need to do unless you have water coming in, in that case its a rear bumper off and go from there.

It looks like ill be removing trims again, so this time i will take some pictures and put them up so its all clearer and hopefully helps

[vrodman]

OK thanks, pictures would be great.

I don't know what it is about plastic snap-together parts but I always struggle. Hell, I even have to fight to get the back off my Nokia phone !!

Having said that I can handle the spanners when I need to - my passion is classic motorbikes and my restorations have been exhibited many times and have even took best in show.... but plastic parts.... I always end up breaking something !

Dan

[stevet]

I know what you mean Dan.

Especially those ones under the bonnet with the centre push stud. I must of broke at least 10 of them over time!

[NEV72]

OK thanks, pictures would be great.

I don't know what it is about plastic snap-together parts but I always struggle. Hell, I even have to fight to get the back off my Nokia phone !!

Having said that I can handle the spanners when I need to - my passion is classic motorbikes and my restorations have been exhibited many times and have even took best in show.... but plastic parts.... I always end up breaking something !

Dan

Any particular type of bikes Dan? I also keep myself busy in the man den, with mainly old XT's and DTR's,

Working on a 92 DTR that I've managed to shoehorn a Belgarda 4dl TZR engine into at the minute, all started up just a bit of snagging work to finish.

[vrodman]

OK thanks, pictures would be great.

I don't know what it is about plastic snap-together parts but I always struggle. Hell, I even have to fight to get the back off my Nokia phone !!

Having said that I can handle the spanners when I need to - my passion is classic motorbikes and my restorations have been exhibited many times and have even took best in show.... but plastic parts.... I always end up breaking something !

Dan

Any particular type of bikes Dan? I also keep myself busy in the man den, with mainly old XT's and DTR's,

Working on a 92 DTR that I've managed to shoehorn a Belgarda 4dl TZR engine into at the minute, all started up just a bit of snagging work to finish.

A real mixture Nev - my show winning bike is a '54 jampot Matchless 500 competition replica which I bought as a rusting, crashed and stripped basket case for just £70. Amongst others, I've also restored and exhibited a '77 Suzuki GT750 kettle and a '79 Honda CR250 Elsinore Red Rocket.

Currently on my bench and undergoing surgery is a 1980 Harley Ironhead Sportster that had been stored unused for ten years in the corner of a customers garage - he practically begged me to take it away for £500 ;)

My current road bike is a Yamaha TDM 900 and I also do a bit of trail riding and the occasional off road competition on my Honda XR250

Unfortunately nothing of any real value, no Broughs or Vincents but great fun to tinker with.

I also have in my garage a 1981 Triumph TR7 convertible which I have owned for over thirty years since it was ten months old (can't sell it - too many memories, if you know what I mean ;) ).... and on my drive, my newest acquisition, a mint 2008 RX400h with just 37k on the clock which has every conceivable extra you could want except, I hope, for the rear cargo swimming pool option, like Simon's !!

Dan

[NEV72]

Very impressive Dan, the chap I take my bikes to, Brian Loram, has a mint gt750, as does his brother, infact his brother has two,but is selling one, certainly a good investment, better than the banks these days, I see that the H2's are fetching daft money even as project bikes, I often wish I still had my 750/4

from back in the day, I had a 77 TR7 with the Sprint engine fitted, but had to sell when a conspicuous lump appeared on the front of my missus, tried to get a baby seat fitted but no joy, so flogged on and bought an RS2000.

Nice car the 400h eh? do you have the hot tub option for the back? I reckon mines sprung a leak and could be the cause of my faulty inverter

[spurty]

Some pictures as requested, thanks to Paul for some TSB's regarding water ingress, which i put to good use

Remove the centre under floor plastic compartment, this is held in place by two black plastic clips either side of the compartment, you can grab this and pull up which will loosen the clips then you can remove them (press the buttons to flip up the floor to get the box up)

Close up of clip & location

These clips are reusable

With centre box removed, looking towards offside of vehicle. Its these side compartments that need to come out as this is where the water was coming in.

Remove the front bolts and rear nuts holding the flappy panels, i also removed the tool box just to do a bit of cleaning up. You can now remove the side compartments.

Looking towards the rear panel from inside, you can see where the water has stained the sealant flowing in (the black smudges above the clip)

Close up of under the side compartment, the water was pooling to the left just by the plastic clip

After reading the TSB's, it was stated that RX's suffer from the seam cracking above the upper back door strut mounting

Close up of the offending seam, you can see it is discolouring and cracked too. It only takes a pin hole for water to enter

I cleaned and resealed these seams, water tested and bingo! no more swimming pools :)

I just hope this helps someone else from major problems as have been revealed,

[paul marsden]

Great work Simon.

Just as a matter of interest how did you reseal the seams and how long would you expect them (the replacements and the originals) to last?

Paul

[spurty]

Great work Simon.

Just as a matter of interest how did you reseal the seams and how long would you expect them (the replacements and the originals) to last?

Paul

A bodyshop gave me this, which is what they use when doing panelwork. To be honest the original sealant should last the lifetime of the vehicle, it doesnt say in the TSB why the seam cracks there? Hopefully the new sealant will see it through now.

[Duncan Roberts]

Given that the original sealant should be good enough for life and this is a comparatively young car, has it been in a fight at some stage and been badly repaired I wonder?+

[spurty]

Given that the original sealant should be good enough for life and this is a comparatively young car, has it been in a fight at some stage and been badly repaired I wonder?+

My original thoughts, but having had the bumper off, lamps off etc there is no signs of accident damage, the fact there is an TSB on the very problem says volumes!

[Boxbrownie]

The seam sealants are all applied on the line by robot, it only needs a slight miss-application during a batch build and "bingo" you have several hundred or even thousand with a leak, at this age and with the TSB alert it appears there was a problem with the application.

Polyurethane sealant is the original type usually and if correctly applied is there for life (and more! damn stuff never moves) and takes normal paint when cured. If you find a leak and do not have access to this sealant try some "black-tac" it stays pliable but sticks like STAB although overpainting is not recomended, so best for internal seam leaks.

[Vicmeldrew]

I have followed this topic with interest, never once thinking I had a problem. Looking back I now realise I had more condensation on screen than was reasonable. Took the plastic boot well apart as per the brilliant photos and low and behold pools of water each side, brown stains just as photos show. Have checked the seams above strut mountings and they look as though they may have 'pin hole' cracks in them, inconclusive.

I don't have any suitable sealant to hand so have cleaned and dried the join and put duck tape over as a temporary measure. Will see what happens when it rains again. Might put hose over if we are now into a dry spell! Removed one light cluster to see if that was leaking but its not looking as though thats a problem, although it was wet on outside edge of gasket.

Thanks for all the info on this subject, will post an update later.

[Boxbrownie]

I have followed this topic with interest, never once thinking I had a problem. Looking back I now realise I had more condensation on screen than was reasonable. Took the plastic boot well apart as per the brilliant photos and low and behold pools of water each side, brown stains just as photos show. Have checked the seams above strut mountings and they look as though they may have 'pin hole' cracks in them, inconclusive.

I don't have any suitable sealant to hand so have cleaned and dried the join and put duck tape over as a temporary measure. Will see what happens when it rains again. Might put hose over if we are now into a dry spell! Removed one light cluster to see if that was leaking but its not looking as though thats a problem, although it was wet on outside edge of gasket.

Thanks for all the info on this subject, will post an update later.

If your stuck for a sealant (and duct tape is pretty poor) try using a smear of bathroom silicon sealant over the "pinholes" .

[spurty]

I have followed this topic with interest, never once thinking I had a problem. Looking back I now realise I had more condensation on screen than was reasonable. Took the plastic boot well apart as per the brilliant photos and low and behold pools of water each side, brown stains just as photos show. Have checked the seams above strut mountings and they look as though they may have 'pin hole' cracks in them, inconclusive.

I don't have any suitable sealant to hand so have cleaned and dried the join and put duck tape over as a temporary measure. Will see what happens when it rains again. Might put hose over if we are now into a dry spell! Removed one light cluster to see if that was leaking but its not looking as though thats a problem, although it was wet on outside edge of gasket.

Thanks for all the info on this subject, will post an update later.

Glad it has helped and possibly stopped a major disaster (as some members have experienced)

Eurocar parts list body sealant and there is even some on amazon!

[Vicmeldrew]

I agree duct tape is not up to much for this but thought bit might just stop or reduce any ingress temporarily.

Wrong!

I gently sprayed water from hose over rear of car and water appeared in boot well almost immediately. It is possible that the water is leaking in elsewhere as the tape is well stuck and i don't think its letting much through, if anything.

Will try again tomorrow, starting from low level near light cluster and working up to roof and try and see when water appears. Presume it could be roof seam or roof rail drains?

[stevet]

I've been following this thread as well. It's the first time I've had chance to remove the boot wells and was shocked that both sides were full of water!

I have now cleaned up both sides and done a temporary fix on the strut seal to see if I can find out the water route.

Mines is a 2008 face lift model and only 40k miles

[Vicmeldrew]

Gently spraying water on light cluster and just above, water is appearing in boot from 1 of the 3 stained marks in boot well. Removed light cluster and plastic trim alongside, cleaned plastic, bodywork and clips, put silicone around all these, reassembled, gently sprayed water over same area and still water coming in. Cluster gasket appears to be dry and not the cause of leak.

I'm wondering if leak is lower down around the bumper, will have to get my head around its removal and see what if anything is visible there.

[spurty]

Sorry chaps sounds like the problems I experienced and it's still not 100% I have had the bumper off and sealed the seams, grommets and bumper retainers and im still getting a small amount of water in the offside. Problem is because of the double skin of the rear panel/rear quarter you can't actually see or follow where the water comes in! It's so frustrating. Looks like I'll be pulling the rear bumper off again depending on weather over the weekend. I will share what I find (again!)

[paul marsden]

Hi all.

Just a quick note to say sorry that so many appear to be experiencing this problem.

I'm not able to provide any clues as to the cause yet as my car is currently with Lexus being investigated and they can't undertake a water test until they can move it outside.

When i have more info I'll gladly share.

Best wishes

Paul

[Vicmeldrew]

Gently spraying water on light cluster and just above, water is appearing in boot from 1 of the 3 stained marks in boot well. Removed light cluster and plastic trim alongside, cleaned plastic, bodywork and clips, put silicone around all these, reassembled, gently sprayed water over same area and still water coming in. Cluster gasket appears to be dry and not the cause of leak.

I'm wondering if leak is lower down around the bumper, will have to get my head around its removal and see what if anything is visible there.

I think I was a bit hasty in stating water was still coming in, I think it was perhaps just the last residue of earlier test. I tried water over clusters again this pm and nothing appears in car!

I have siliconed the seams just above strut brackets as shown in pics from Spurty.

Have had a few gallons over each side just above these seams and the inside of the car is still dry........................at the moment.

When time permits I'll try water on roof and see what happens when this runs down as it would when raining. There are some grommets along the top which look Ok but can't see the roof side of them to be sure.

I have not found anything I would say was the problem definitely , but for peace of mind when I had the plastic trim off alongside the light cluster, I removed 3 of the plastic clips, cleaned and dried with airline and put silicone on and around when I put them back. The rectangular plastic clip didn't want to come out easily so I teased it away from body and cleaned/dried in situ and managed to get silicone under edges.

I think they are suspect for leaking.

This is my first Lexus and this problem has knocked my confidence in its build quality considering the price of them. If I'm honest as a result of this I don't think I'd buy another one. Seems that a lot of these are suffering water ingress and Lexus only want to know about solving it if I book it in and pay their hourly rate while they look for a leak and fix it.