Oil Seal Leak

[dharsihm]

I have an 2003 RX 330 that I bought brand new here in Dubai, UAE. It now has 127,000Kms on it and their is oil leak. Lexus replaced the ATM pump oil seal, and rear crankshaft oil seal at a cost of US$500.00. I am interested to know if this is the same problem with manufacturer defect or the manufacturer defect is not relevant to the 2003 models?. Just observed today, that the oil leak is still there. Taking the car back to the lexus service centre...

[92Lex]

Hey phil ca, I'd replace your rear main seal for 600 plus a case of heinekin.

[tower210]

I have a certified 2001 RX 300 that has about 77000 miles on it. It appears that I have begun to have this problem with our car. Will this be covered under the certified warranty (It has only been 2 years since we bought the car)?

Any info would be appreciated.

KK

[tower210]

Just an update & FYI for anyone whom was curious.

My '01 did have the rear main seal leak and it was replaced by my local lexus dealer Superior Lexus of Kansas City under the certified warranty (as I believed it should be after re-reading the warranty documentation).

The interesting thing to me was what was charged for the service and then charged off to warranty. The replacement of the rear main seal was charged at just under $900 including taxes and shop fees. I was impressed by how little the repair would have been compared to what some others here have been quoted by their dealers (I would have figured this was a flat flag rate repair).

I continue to be happy with my CPO experience (almost deters me from buying a new one).

KK

[dahboys]

Hey phil ca, I'd replace your rear main seal for 600 plus a case of heinekin.

My wife's 2001 RX300 just started to leak too. It has 93,000 miles on it. I live around San Jose too.

Looking for someone who can do the repair. I doubt if Lexus would give any kind of discount seeing the

car has 93k on it already. Are you a mechanic 92Lex? 600 and a case of Heinekin sounds like a deal,

especially if I can help you drink it.

[92Lex]

Hey phil ca, I'd replace your rear main seal for 600 plus a case of heinekin.

My wife's 2001 RX300 just started to leak too. It has 93,000 miles on it. I live around San Jose too.

Looking for someone who can do the repair. I doubt if Lexus would give any kind of discount seeing the

car has 93k on it already. Are you a mechanic 92Lex? 600 and a case of Heinekin sounds like a deal,

especially if I can help you drink it.

I was a mech/smog tech for a few years. I'm in the process of being a tattoo artist right now.

If you're going to help me drink it, then you gotta help me grab the correct sockets while I'm under the car. I'm a lazy !Removed! when I drink. I hate sliding out from under the car just to grab a diff. size socket. Haha

[dahboys]

I was a mech/smog tech for a few years. I'm in the process of being a tattoo artist right now.

If you're going to help me drink it, then you gotta help me grab the correct sockets while I'm under the car. I'm a lazy !Removed! when I drink. I hate sliding out from under the car just to grab a diff. size socket. Haha

I guess I could handle that. Kind of like a nurse assisting in an operation.

Are you working in any local tattoo places? I recently had one at Marks of Art in San

Jose. Great place.

[92Lex]

I'm at Icon Tattoo in Davis, CA right now. We'll be moving to downtown Sac next month (under the name Monster Ink). Cheap plug but check out Icontat2.com. Pictured is the main artist....I'll be up next to him in a few months. House of Pain in SJ is one of the best of that area...just amazing talent there. Where exactly r u in SJ? I lived off of McLaughin/Capital Exp. a few months ago.

[dahboys]

I don't actually live in San Jose. I live outside of San Jose in Hollister. I work up in San Jose area for HP.

I'll have to check out House of Pain, I've been thinking about getting another tattoo. Of course I'll have to

convince my wife first.

[jgr7]

OK I'm going to bring this up to the top again as my 2000 RX just started leaking at the rear main seal, 50450 miles and guess what I just put semi synthetic oil in at the 50K oil change. I have had this car since 17500 miles and always used Castrol GTX 5W-30 and a Mobil 1 filter never a drop leaked. This time with all the talk about sludge I decided to go with the syn blend from Castrol in 5W-30 and the same Mobil 1 filter. Now I have a leak about the size of a half dollar the last 3 times I stopped on the driveway.

My question is will Lexus cover this under the 7 year 70K mile power train warranty.

Jeff

[RX in NC]

As you know, a number of us have had success requiring Lexus to cover our rear main seal leaks either under the regular warranty period or (as in our case) under their "goodwill" warranty scenario (which can obviously vary from dealer to dealer). Contact your dealership, use your knowledge obtained here, be professional but firm, and get your new main oil seal. Your advantage is that you suffered the problem at a relatively low mileage reading, well within the 70,000 mile barrier that some dealerships throw up.

I'm sorry about your issue in this situation. That is exactly why I opted to stay with conventional Valvoline 5W-30 oil after researching the rear main seal problems back in 2004. I thought about switching to synthetic oil after having the new rear main seal put in, but given our vehicle's mileage at that time (about 75,000 if I remember correctly) I decided that the risk was just too great and that I would probably be dealing with multiple oil leaks down the road if I switched from conventional to synthetic. The vehicle is now pushing 128,000 miles with no oil leaks, no sludge, and I'm glad I stayed with regular ol' Valvoline 5W-30. I don't believe that synthetic oil CAUSES leaks in situations like this, but I do believe that synthetic oil will FIND weak spots and leak as a result.

Good luck and keep us posted on your outcome with the dealership....

[Grogman]

I wanted to thank RX in NC for your posts on this topic. The outcome of the rear main seal problem with my '00 RX worked out very well. Lexus is willing to pick up 100% of the cost to have mine replaced with the new seal. For what it's worth, I decided not to even talk with the local dealer about this and just went straight to corporate Lexus. I followed the steps RX in NC posted earlier, and then just waited 3 weeks for a reply back. Based on the most recent exchange that i had on the phone, I can tell you that the criteria that they seem to use in evaluating the level of "assistance" is 1) are you current with all of your "major services" with the dealer. (ie, have we made enough money off you yet?) Second, how many cars have you bought, do you intend to buy another with us?

For those that are in the same boat with this problem - just keep your cool and stick to the facts. I hope this helps.

As you know, a number of us have had success requiring Lexus to cover our rear main seal leaks either under the regular warranty period or (as in our case) under their "goodwill" warranty scenario (which can obviously vary from dealer to dealer). Contact your dealership, use your knowledge obtained here, be professional but firm, and get your new main oil seal. Your advantage is that you suffered the problem at a relatively low mileage reading, well within the 70,000 mile barrier that some dealerships throw up.

I'm sorry about your issue in this situation. That is exactly why I opted to stay with conventional Valvoline 5W-30 oil after researching the rear main seal problems back in 2004. I thought about switching to synthetic oil after having the new rear main seal put in, but given our vehicle's mileage at that time (about 75,000 if I remember correctly) I decided that the risk was just too great and that I would probably be dealing with multiple oil leaks down the road if I switched from conventional to synthetic. The vehicle is now pushing 128,000 miles with no oil leaks, no sludge, and I'm glad I stayed with regular ol' Valvoline 5W-30. I don't believe that synthetic oil CAUSES leaks in situations like this, but I do believe that synthetic oil will FIND weak spots and leak as a result.

Good luck and keep us posted on your outcome with the dealership....

[howdy]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this board and been doing a little catch up with this topic.

I'm sorry if this may be a dumb question but relative to the engine bay, where is this leak occuring. The reason I ask is because I too have recently noticed small spots of oil on my garage floor. The spots look like there coming from around the middle of the engine bay area. Is the leak in my RX coming from the rear main seal like the others on this topic?

I have really enjoyed reading all the topics about the RX on this board. Thanks!

[RX in NC]

Depending upon how you park (level garage floor, slanted driveway, etc.), a rear main oil seal leak could show up in a small variety of locations. In our case, it was approximately the middle of the engine bay but more to the drivers side of the vehicle. A dime-sized spot of oil would collect there over the course of a few days. If your vehicle is over 70,000 miles, chances are very high that your leak is in fact coming from your failing rear main oil seal. Now that you've found this thread, you know what to do from here....

[howdy]

Depending upon how you park (level garage floor, slanted driveway, etc.), a rear main oil seal leak could show up in a small variety of locations. In our case, it was approximately the middle of the engine bay but more to the drivers side of the vehicle. A dime-sized spot of oil would collect there over the course of a few days. If your vehicle is over 70,000 miles, chances are very high that your leak is in fact coming from your failing rear main oil seal. Now that you've found this thread, you know what to do from here....

Yes, I was afraid of that. I'm planning on checking the alternative repair shop here in town and get an estimate.

[RX in NC]

Before you decide to pay an independent repair shop, at least call your Lexus dealership and ask for a "goodwill" warranty job on your rear main oil seal leak, especially if your vehicle has no more than about 75,000 miles on it. Make them aware that your research has taught you that this is a common problem due to a defective design in the original rear main oil seal, and you would appreciate Lexus covering this known problem for you under their "goodwill" warranty program.

It's well worth a phone call and perhaps ten minutes of your time. Good luck and keep us posted on your situation....

[Michelec]

I live in Annapolis MD and have 85,000 miles on my car and the same thing happened regarding the rear main seal leaking. I am now dealing with Corporate Lexus to take care of it.