400H Water Pump Failure @77.000

[katzjamr]

Went to the Lexus dealer for lube oil filter, as many know my service manager allows me to bring my oil, and they do the service for $50.00, no tire rotation and no wash which is fine with me. They asked if i wanted the latest recall for the mats done, and i said yes. BTW any time lexus does a recall service, they fill your tank with premium, mine was empty. So far so good.

The service tech called while i was still at the dealership and reported water leaking out of the weep hole at the base of the water pump. I had no overheating and did not notice but the fluid was lower than normal. This costs $805 and was covered under the extended warranty i purchased.

The service manager mentioned that since the extended warranty was paying the labor it was a good time to do the timing belt, radiator hoses, thermostat, idler bearings, belts and the major stuff for the 90,000 mile service for the cost of the parts which was $350 more. I agreed to that.

In addition i had an issue with the rear right marker light in the bumper not working and the tech did some diagnosis on that, he had to trace the wiring behind the bulb and socket, and wiring harness behind the fender. The service mgr said they could fix the light issue for $400 and i said no, i had a friend who would do that for me, and at that they called me into the service bay to look at the car. Its a small dealership that is friendly and more accessable, with just ten service bays that are open with huge doors at each end so you can see in and even watch the whole operation if you want.

I was a little embarrassed because the tech of course had to empty my rear hatch area to get to the wiring and i had alot of tools, goodwill clothes, and tile samples for work that i would not normally make him move, and it was all piled behind the 400h, with panels and covers removed so he had access.

In addition he found an empty rats nest and a half eaten snickers bar which he had also cleaned out for me. A rat had chewed one wire going to the light. I told him i appreciated the diagnosis and was sorry for all the junk he had to move but $400 was too much. They said its already open and diagnosed, what will you pay to have us fix it, i said $50 and they said done. i got in my loner rx350 and drove to work.

[katzjamr]

Picked up the 400h today and i am happy with the work, btw i asked the customer service manager if the battery had been disconnected during the water pump, timing belt replacement. He said, no. I walked back to the tech who worked on my car and asked him and he said yes the starter battery had to come out for access during the work. I asked if he did an ISC reset and he honestly didnt know what that was. So i went back to the service manager, and he came out with the laptop and did the reset, and another software update that he said covered problems in some 400h 2006 that was causing some jerking in the drive train a constant 70 mph on some vehicles.

[lenore]

You my friend got great service...and for cheap....

[katzjamr]

this is a smaller lexus dealership south of seattle, the same owner owns a large one in an eastside seattle suburb however they are impersonal and have a fake smarmyness that makes me drive 45 minutes each way to my more real dealership. also it is my understanding if you are not having service done at the dealership that sold you the car, they dont have to give you a loaner. thier salesmen will tell you that it is their service department that keeps people coming back to buy a second and third vehicle. for the most part they do everything right the first time, and where there is a problem they always fix it. dont get me wrong its still a dealership that at first wanted $400 to splice an electrical wire after an hour of diagnosis, but they came back down to earth when i said no. now that i think about it, once the young tech had moved all my crap out of the back and pulled the panels he probably went ahead and spliced the wire so by the time i walked back there they had nothing to lose by coming down on the price.

The first time i drove to that dealership to drive a 400h i pulled in their long driveway and there were live chickens running around, which i thought was different for a lexus dealer. When i asked the salesman he said the little old lady in this shanty of a house that bordered the dealership kept chickens that were always getting loose. After years of trying the dealer was able to buy the property and move those chickens to a dinner table. i wish i had taken some pictures.

[RX400h]

I'm a bit surprised your water pump failed at 77,000 miles. Then again, many people have their water pump replaced at 60,000 or 90,000 miles when their timing belts are being replaced. My CD player is back in the "ERROR" mode so I guess it will have to be replaced one of these days.

[katzjamr]

i have had a water pump failure on every ford, gm van and now lexus i have owned, all before 80,000 miles. Must be me ;)

[Grooby]

where is this? maybe I can bring my used 400H there if I need to bring it into a dealership.

[katzjamr]

i dont know if we are allowed to mention specific dealers here by name, however it is the only one in the tacoma-fife area of washington state. there is a volvo, jaguar and range rover dealer ship in this auto row all owned by the same people. its never cheap going to the dealer however i have benefitted from a good relationship with them, get to know one service manager and they will try to help. It also goes without saying, the support of this group from the first day i started lurking in early 2005, to the day i signed up and all the years since has been a source of information and comfort in dealing with my 400h. It continues to be one of the best purchases i have ever made, and certainly the best vehicle. Also i am not married to a dealership, i service the 400h there because i want it maintained well and they have found and fixed some problems before i was aware of them, and i want a record of service at hand if toyota ever had to replace anything major, (knock on wood) For our other business vans and trucks we have a trusted local mechanic who is honest and much more reasonable than a dealer, i will probably take the lexus there more when it is out of warranty, and that is coming all too soon.

[RX400h]

I,too have a local shop but I would not take a sophisticated vehicle like the RX or the Corvette in for "involved" repairs. I feel for those tasks, the dealership is most qualified (in many cases).

[katzjamr]

i agree, and in this case i went in for a LOF and the guy found a leak before it was showing up on the garage floor, or showing any symptoms of overheating. In my experience water pumps can limp along for a while before they fail completely, or it may have happened on a trip i was taking this weekend, away from home. It mades sense to do the belt replacements too and save the labor i would have had to pay at 90K. I do check my oil level frequently and i have to say when the reserviours are covered up by plastic covers to make it "pretty"? under there it makes it hard to see small changes in fluid, (or i have to look harder)

Also no mechanic is going to give you a free tank of gas because you came in for a recall service. This dealers charges for brakes and alignment are about what most other shops charge and i would rather have them do it. At the other end of the spectrum their labor charges hourly and for diagnostic are high and you can always say no to that crazyness. I am fortunate that i was able verify

some of the work talking to the person who actually worked on my car, and have the isc reset done before i left the dealer and had to make another trip down there. so its like the old guy said, 'trust, but verify'

[maseace]

I happen to live closest to this Tacoma/Fife dealer also, but have never been there (car was purchased from another dealer by 1st owner). Do you think they will give me a loaner vehicle when I eventually have to take in my 400h for the inverter recall? (intelligent power module replacement)

[katzjamr]

I called the dealer in tacoma and spoke to my service manager, and he said he had heard of some dealers denying loaners, however it is their policy that if you bring your lexus to them regardless of where it was purchased, for a scheduled repair like the inverter deal whatever they end up replacing on that, and even the dealers dont know right now how much lexus is replacing, if it is over two hours repair time they will provide you a loaner. his guess right now is that the jan recall u mention will take enough time that loaners will be provided.

the short answer is yes they will give you a loaner for whatever you do there over two hours time.

[SW03ES]

Please feel free to mention dealers by name, service writers, etc. As long as you're not being paid by the dealer to do so then its only to the benefit of the club...

This was the ICE water pump I assume because of them being able to do the timing belt and all at the same time?

I know they have some problems with the Inverter coolant pump going on the Prius, its the water pump for the inverter. Ours was replaced about 65k miles. Eventually it became a recall and our cost was refunded.

[katzjamr]

ICE ICE baby

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

Please feel free to mention dealers by name, service writers, etc. As long as you're not being paid by the dealer to do so then its only to the benefit of the club...

This was the ICE water pump I assume because of them being able to do the timing belt and all at the same time?

I know they have some problems with the Inverter coolant pump going on the Prius, its the water pump for the inverter. Ours was replaced about 65k miles. Eventually it became a recall and our cost was refunded.

You didn't get the Inverter TSB for the RX? Bottom line, it ain't just the Prius inverter coolant pump. It's the 400h too. If anyone wants to download the TSB (dealer didn't send it to you) it's on the other Lexus forum:

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/hybrid-technology/218313d1312380599-safety-recall-bld-intelligent-power-module-ipm-replacement-400h_ipm_recall2.pdf

I knew it'd be just a matter of time, because they released one on the hyhi some time ago. Our notice from Lexus says they don't yet have parts, but when they (finally ... it's been almost 2 months now) do have the parts, they'll give us notice. ie; don't call us, we'll call you. Supposedly parts were to be arriving in a couple months ... now they're talking SIX months. Part of me wished the inverter would blow up. A few of THOSE might hurry things along.

Maybe the TSB can be posted with all the others that got pinned?

EDIT

here's the one we got, in case your dealer says their's no such animal:

[SW03ES]

You didn't get the Inverter TSB for the RX?

I don't have an RX ;)

Absolutely, we'll sticky it...

[rmccath]

Currently in the process of getting my inverter replaced. Any suggestions for people that have had it done already? I will give out my feedback when process is complete.

[katzjamr]

can you provide more information, its under warranty i hope, did you have a complete failure, or was leaking discovered during maintenance?

[rmccath]

can you provide more information, its under warranty i hope, did you have a complete failure, or was leaking discovered during maintenance?

This is a recall, My RX400h is in stall mode, happened while driving on the freeway went into fail drive state. Had to have it towed to a dealership.