07 Lexus RX 350 Over Heating Or Not?

[Lele1]

Good Afternoon,

I like to say first off, I'm a lady and don't anything about cars. I'd like some suggestions though.

I have 135,000 miles on my car.

2 months ago I replaced the water pump, because the check engine like came on as soon as I got on the freeway I didn't notice if my car overheated (I'm assuming it did) when I exited the freeway it cut off and I had to have it towed.

Last week I noticed heat would not blow, when it did it lasted for a couple of minutes then it was just cool air,

This week the check engine light came on when I started the car and I immediately kept an eye on the temperature gage, it did get close to hot I tried turning the heat on it didn't help, then I had coolant put in. Which has kept it at half way the temperature gauge.

I took it to a mechanic who did the diagnostic thing and I seen it said I needed a coil (either 4, 5 or 6) I forgot which one. But he told me that I needed the coil and a tune up for $650, I ask him did that have anything to do with the overheating, he said no.

Took my car yesterday to a 2nd mechanic who 2 different people referred me to and he said, that the coolant and water was coming out of my tail pipe which means I have an internal leak and he said I need a new engine...I haven't seen any leaking on the ground.

Also notice the care a little bit of shaking, I was told that was because I needed the coil.

 

My questions are:

1) Although the temperature gauge goes up pretty fast to the half way mark it seems to stay there even after I drove on freeway for like 15 minutes. Is that the normal temperature?

2) Could the replacement of the water pump have anything to do with it?

3) It was suggested to me that it was little extreme for the 2nd mechanic to suggest a new engine, what do you think?

 

I hope this makes since.

 

[Taffy13]

The first thing I would do is check to see if you have an Air Lock in the cooling system try and purge the system..

Forget the second mechanic advice if the coolant was coming out of the exhaust system you would smell a sweet smell also  lots of White smoke..

Good luck 

[Lele1]

1 hour ago, Taffy13 said:

The first thing I would do is check to see if you have an Air Lock in the cooling system try and purge the system..

Forget the second mechanic advice if the coolant was coming out of the exhaust system you would smell a sweet smell also  lots of White smoke..

Good luck 

Thank you!!

[RX400h]

There appears to be a gap in your chronology of events. When you had the vehicle towed, to where was it taken?
What was the code that caused the check engine light to illuminate? Did the code indicate a problem with the water pump? A bad water pump would probably not cause the engine to die. Water pumps are often replaced when the timing belt is replaced. Do you have maintenance receipts that would indicate if these services were done?
 Coolant leakage into the engine is often due to a cylinder head gasket leak. As long as the engine hadn't overheated long enough to damage the cylinder head, the gasket(s) can be replaced at far less cost than an engine rebuild/replacement.
 Sometimes the size of the coolant leak would determine how prevalent the coolant smell is. A coolant test can be performed to see if combustion gasses are present.
First, determine for certain whether you have a head gasket leak. If you don't, what is causing the drop in coolant level.
Second, if one or more coils are bad, have them all replaced. If you delay this too long, your catalytic converter may be damaged from unburned fuel.

 

 
 

[als47]

Please note that the 2007 RX350 does not have a timing belt, but rather a timing chain, which is not often replaced. The rest, I fully agree. A bad water pump would also start leaking, giving some indication of going bad.

[zieke]

From what U have said the head gasket thing sounds pretty likely, but not a new engine unless the old one has lots of damage. A good mechanic will be able to determine that problem and solve it for U. I had the coils in mine start to fail at 75k which was very premature, so I had them all replaced.

[RX400h]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 2:01 PM, als47 said:

Please note that the 2007 RX350 does not have a timing belt, but rather a timing chain, which is not often replaced. The rest, I fully agree. A bad water pump would also start leaking, giving some indication of going bad.

...sorry, there are so many vehicles in our household that I sometimes forget which ones have belts and which have chains.