tmanykidz

We finally got the problem resolved! The leak was from the seal on the liftgate--some of you were right on with that diagnostic! The water ran down into the battery compartment--shorting out the hybrid computer and traction control and ruining all the batteries. The repair bill was estimated by the dealer at between $10-12 thousand! With the prior problems, they traded my vehicle for another RX 400h--straight trade. I am thrilled! I still have a hybrid and I am again happy with the Lexus dealer! I should mention that this could be a significant problem with the car. If you have bodywork done on the liftgate--make sure they check for water leakage. This is a problem if you are carrying liquids in the hatch area, also--if they spill--the sensors are only about 1/8 of an inch off the floorboards, low enough to be impacted by a small amount of liquid. The danger is with things dripping/running down into the battery compartment--the lowest point in the car, where the computers are located and the batteries. You do not want to be facing this kind of bill without it being a dealer's fault! Thanks for everyone's comments and helpful suggestions.

That's a lot of problems for any car, but especially a Lexus. Do I smell cititus? Are these computers on the outside of the vehicle? Because they shouldn't be. Perhaps the work on the gate or the tank left something unsealed and allowed water to intrude where it should not have been? I've had the car since September. It doesn't meet the lemon law--different things keep going wrong--but I am ready to be done with these problems![ quote name=Rx330driver' date='Mar 23 2006, 08:17 PM' post='186099] believe it or not, the gauge problem is pretty common, the gas tank reading that is, it happened to my 2000 rx300, but now this rx330. If you parked it in the garage, i dont see how water got in. i guess the lesson here is "dont drive your car in the rain". lol. If i were you, even though this is probably gonna be replaced by Lexus under warranty, i would expect a new car if another problem arises. How long have u had the car? We had about 4 inches of rain from Sat. night to Sunday evening total. Not a light rain, but not a flooding rain, either. Parts of Dallas had 9 inches in the same time frame. We haven't had rain in months--very different from your area--but this was horrible. The fact that I couldn't see water on the floor of the vehicle--though we did see a wet spot near the front passenger door--means that even a small amount of moisture could wick through the carpets and damage these back seat computers. I'd be very careful in a wet climate!

We had a heavy rainstorm in the area and my hybrid sat outside the garage during it. I drove less than a mile down the road on Sunday and got malfunction lights for my VCS (traction) and Hybrid system. I parked the car and left it until Lexus roadside assist could get there late that day. The car sat with a towing company on Sunday and was delivered to the dealer on Mon. at 3pm. The computers for both VCS and the hybrid/batteries are ruined due to water damage. Has anyone else had this problem? I never drove through standing water, just a heavy rain. This vehicle has had the rear lift gate replaced and they have pulled the fuel tank when the gauge was reading empty. (That problem was actually located on the dash assembly and it has been replaced. They have also replaced all four tires and the power steering computer. Do I have a lemon, or is anyone else seeing these problems?