dkeagle Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I have a 2002 ES300 with just under 75,000 miles. Have recently noticed a puff of blue smoke when starting at somewhat cold temperatures. That would be around 40 degrees here in Phoenix, AZ. Took it to the Lexus shop here in Phoenix at Arrowhead Lexus. It has always been serviced at this Dealership and it's sister Dealership, Bell Lexus from day one. Oil changed every 5000 miles faithfully and all of the recommended services performed, even the 30,000 mile and the 50,000 big expensive ones have been done. The Dealership is saying the valve retainers are hardening and causing oil seep and burning oil which causes the blue smoke problem. They are saying the engine will have to be removed to fix the problem and this involves about 22 hours labor and a grand total of $3200 worth of repairs. Furthermore, they said had this been reported at 70,000 miles or less, it would have been covered by warranty. Now, while I have always been satisfied at the service by Lexus, and have no reason to doubt their diagnosis, It is a lot of money to spend on a car that has been faithfully and regularly serviced. I am surprised and a little shocked at this point that a vehicle of this quality can develope such a problem with relatively few miles on it. I have searched this forum to see if this is a common problem but can only find the oil sludge issue as anything close to the valve retainer problem and cannot necessarily connect them together. Does anyone have any information on this topic that can be of help to me. Thanks in advance for your consideration. Don Keagle Phoenix, Arizona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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