LEXUS LS OVERHEATING AND RADIATOR REPLACEMENT

[ALVIN1993]

I just bought a used 2007 Lexus LS460 with 205,000 miles. At first, i had to jump start it at anytime before i can start it. I thought it was the alternator so i decided to take it to the Toyota dealership on August 30 since the nearest Lexus dealership is about 60 miles from me. It drove fine the first day i drove it. But i parked it for about 9 days. On August 30, I jumpstarted the battery and I was able to start it. suddenly, the engine light came on. I did not know what was wrong so i decided to drive it to the dealership. On my way, the car overheated and steam started coming out of it. So i parked it and had it towed to the dealership. They called me about 5 hours later and told me my radiator was bad and the battery was weak but it could go for a while after it is charged. A quote of $1500  which included some tire repair, brake light switch lamp, and oil change in addition to the radiator was slapped to my face. I called a local mechanic that i usually patronize but he gave me a quote of 300$ which I found it hard to believe since the dealership quoted $964 for the radiator. I was just scared to take it to my local mechanic. Anyways, i gave them the go ahead to work on it but my conscience is beating me to that decision. I feel like i should have had it towed to a different mechanic which could be less. Has anyone replace a radiator on a 2007 Lexus and paid that much ? Did i make the right decision by letting them do it instead of a roadside mechanic?

[marc780]

It's a shame nobody's replied so I'll put in my 2 cents, and that is, next time I'd let your local mechanic do the radiator replacement.  But since it's a done deal and the radiator's already fixed, there's nothing wrong with letting real Lexus techs do the job but unfortunately you did pay too much!  It doesn't take a certified tech to change a radiator nor any of the other repairs they did.  The only wrinkle in cooling system work I can think of, is that Lexus says that "burping" the cooling system is a must (at least it does for my 2017 LS).  And there is supposed to be a screw on the upper radiator hose connector that you loosen during the process while the engine is running just to let any air out of the cooling system.  

I realize there was not much you could do about the past owner's neglect, because for the radiator to rust out might mean the owner never changed it.  Also you obviously didn't expect everything to be completely trouble free on a 200,000 mile car!  But for next time, I'd do a drain and fill with distilled water plus Lexus OEM coolant (which they do actually sell as 100% type coolant instead of using that 50/50 "universal coolant" dreck that's just a rip off).  The distilled water will be effective in the cooling system for a lot longer than the tap water that most of them use for coolant changes.

My jiffy lube I go to for oil changes, offered me their cooling system service for $100 or something.  I said I'll do it, but I have the coolant I want you to use plus the distilled water because I don't want your cheap universal coolant from a dirty 50 gallon drum.  They said nothing doing!  So now I'm still looking for another mech that will do it my way.