What Would You Do?

[LexusRocking]

I love my 2010 Lexus RX350.  Runs perfectly.  No known issues.  Have never seen any leak on my garage floor besides water from the air conditioning.

When getting a routine oil change, the Lexus service center said, "R/R Shock and Transmission Pan starting to leak - Guest advised."  They wrote that on my service report.

I told them I've never seen any leaks on my garage floor.  They said it's starting to leak.

Would you simply ignore this and not worry about it?  Or, are you paranoid like me and figure they damaged my car so it will soon start leaking, and I'll have to pay them to fix it?  Then, they can say, "We told you it was leaking."

This morning, there was no leak of any kind on my garage floor.

[1990LS400]

I wouldn't ignore it and would keep an eye on it.

Fluid can "weep" past gaskets for many years without causing puddles, measureable low fluid levels or noticeable performance changes.  A good example is the 1998 Camry V6 that my wife bought new and passed to a nephew in 2012.  Oil weeped at the rear valve cover gasket for at least five years before we had it fixed and we fixed it mainly because the car was going to the nephew.  There was never a puddle or a smell and there was no measurable drop in engine oil level between 5,000 mile interval changes.

I suppose if you are "mobile" and have the interest in doing it, you could wiggle under your RX and take a look for yourself.  If you do see oil at those two components, maybe wipe it away with a rag or a paper towel and then check again in a year or so to see if the oil has returned.

Toyota has eliminated the transmission dip stick from most automatic transmission vehicles it manufacturers making it impossible to easily check the fluid level.  I think the level can still be checked through the fill hole which was how it was/has been done on manual transmissions.

[buckmeister2]

It is quite a stretch to accuse a dealership of damaging your vehicle, then noting something on the repair order to back themselves up.  It would not be uncommon for a 6-year-old vehicle, even a Lexus, to start to weep at the pan gasket. It may never develop into a leak...pan gaskets in some vehicle weep, but never drip, or only have a single drip when the fluid gets very warm, which would be while on the road.  My bet is that they believe the gasket is partially saturated, and may develop into a leak. 

 

I would check the garage floor occasionally, but would certainly not obsess over it.