Brett Knickerbocker

The whole repair bill was $8k flat for a new short block, idle air assy, rebuilding the heads, new valve covers, all new belts, coolant, fluids, 4 new Rotors and Pads (needed anyway), misc other items, minor exhaust repairs, and a transmission service. The transmission shows no signs of problems and has been maintained rigorously. In essence, the short block was discounted to about $2800 and labor for all of this was about 24 hours or $2400. The engine is under a 12/12 warranty now and runs and drives like new. I have no doubt that the car will run for years to come (body and interior in pemium shape). Except for potential of transmission issues, the car likely has another 150k left on it now.

:cries: I just had my worst Lexus ownership experience with my 99RX300 AWD. I had engine failure (low compression on 2 cylinders) at 148k miles. This car was serviced regularly and rigorously by dealers, oil changed within recommended intervals. Saw oil usage at around 135k miles and asked dealer to check compression during the last visit. They tried to talk me out of it since they'd never seen a problem that warranted it, especially with my car. 2 cylinders were low (~90lbs). Hoped it was valve stems/seats....something more typical of wear and tear. But, ...had 2 cylinders that had mirrored over and reduced compression. Apparently the rings fused to the pistons and cross hatch on cylinder walls was gone. Used premium oils, including Mobile 1 for the last 50k. Engine seemed to have plenty of power but was idling rough and appeared to be using oil...which was unusual. During the diagnosis we found the Idle Air pump was going bad and it was probably reason for rough idle. Ended up replacing short block (cheaper than fixing) and rebuilding head assys since it was going to cost almost $3k just to put it back together as-is. Not being ready to drop $50k without notice for a new car and needing to have reliable/safe transportation for work, I felt as if I were hostage to the situation and had to make the repairs (over $10k list for the short block, idle air pump, valve covers, belts, rebuild heads, replace all 4 rotors...which were planned, and labor for all). This was a HUGE disappointment since I only had 148k miles...mostly highway....and had pampered this thing since day 1 and have been the only driver. Lexus was not interested in investigating since no signs of sludge. They said it just wore out...which was also shocking. A very poor explanation for an engine so rigorously maintained......especially a Toyota engine. Good news was that Ann Arbor Lexus really worked with me to heavily discount the parts and labor (I think they were embarrased over this failure quite honestly) and I did the engine, tranny fluid service, and new rotors/pads all around. Car is now under warranty again for 12mo/12k miles. A huge disappointment for me that this happened. Now I wonder if Lexus is really "all that" since I've never had any other car with this issue no matter how many miles it had...even an old K-Car with a gazillion miles on it. The biggest disappointment in this whole thing was Lexus had no interest in any kind of detailed follow-up to understand what caused this problem. Toyota and Honda are considered to have core competencies in engine design and longevity. Dying of old age at 148k miles on a Toyota engine of that calibre is ridiculous.....although Lexus wouldn't agree, they just said "sorry, but we warranted it for the first 60k". My mechanic at the dealer was the one that compelled me to follow-up with Lexus since the engine was so clean and was clearly maintained very well. He was miffed as to why it failed. I know every company has to manage its costs for warranty/customer claims and am not shocked that they didn't want to put any effort into it......but then again, they're supposed to be different, No? Just another car company in this case. However, Ann Arbor Lexus gets a gold medal for the way they helped, gave me a huge discount, and a loaner the whole time. If you have experienced this problem or know of someone who has, please reply. Lexus claims that they have systems to track this and if it were a common problem, they might be inclined to assist in some way. Frankly, I think that since this appears to be a very unusual thing they should be more interested in understanding. My logic with Lexus is that it's unreasonable for this engine to fail like this with it's maintenance history. When they asked me how many miles should they stop at, I asked why they replaced so many short blocks on ES300s that had 50k+ miles on them? What life expectency goal were they trying to reach....the cars probably would have made it past the "warranty" limit. Unfortunately, it appears that Lexus is so "uninterested" that this doesn't even qualify to have the district/zone rep look at the short block and/or talk with the service tech that diagnosed this issue but is confused as to why it happened. My likelihood of buying another new Lexus is practically zero. The total cost of ownership with this last huge repair is now way off base.

I literally just experienced the same problem with my 99RX300 AWD. Serviced by dealers rigorously, oil changed within recommended intervals. Saw oil usage and asked dealer to check compression. 2 cylinders were low (~90lbs). Hoped it was valve stems/seats. But, ...had 2 cylinders that had mirrored over and reduced compression. Apparently the rings fused to the pistons and cross hatch on cyl walls was gone. Used premium oils, including Mobile 1 for the last 50k. Engine seemed to have plenty of power but was idling rough and appeared to be using oil...which was unusual. During the diagnosis we found the Idle Air pump was going bad and it was probably reason for rough idle. Ended up replacing short block (cheaper than fixing) and rebuilding head assys. All new seals/gaskets, valve covers, etc. I was shocked since I had 148k miles...mostly highway....and had pampered this thing since day 1 and have been the only driver. Lexus was not interested in investigating since no signs of sludge. They said it just wore out. A very poor explanation for an engine so rigorously maintained......especially a Toyota engine. Good news was that the dealership cut me a huge deal on doing the work (I think they were embarrased quite honestly) and I did the engine, tranny fluid service, and new rotors/pads all around for $8k flat. Car is now under warranty again for 12mo/12k miles. A huge disappointment for me that this happened. Now wonder if Lexus is really all that since I've never had any other car with this issue no matter how many miles it had...even an old K-Car with a gazillion miles on it. I would suggest having the basics checked and serviced as normal and get use to it burning a little oil. I would have been better off leaving mine alone and waiting for it to fail completely. Once we had it opened up that far to diagnose it, it wasn't a lot more to replace the short block as opposed to putting it back together as-is. If you want to know, a compression test may be very revealing. Even if you're low on one or more cyls but have power, etc. you still may want to ride it out, watch your oil closely, and see if you fall out of love with the car before it fails. It may be a lot cheaper. Fortunately, I don't have the strut issues and my car still drives like it's new with almost 150k miles. Even after having a new RX350 for a month at no cost while they did the work.....I still like my '99 better. Doesn't feel like a cream puff. The biggest disappointment in this whole thing was Lexus had no interest in any kind of detailed follow-up to understand what caused this problem. Dying of old age at 148k miles on a Toyota engine of that size is ridiculous.....although Lexus wouldn't agree. My mechanic was the one that compelled me to follow-up with them since the engine was so clean and was clearly maintained well. He was miffed as to why it failed. I know every company has to manage its costs and warranty claims and am not shocked that they didn't want to put any effort into it......but then again, they're supposed to be different. Just another car company in this case. However, the dealer gets a gold medal for the way they helped, gave me a huge discount, and a loaner the whole time. Good Luck!

I literally just experienced the same problem with my 99RX300 AWD. Serviced by dealers rigorously, oil changed within recommended intervals. Saw oil usage and asked dealer to check compression. 2 cylinders were low (~90lbs). Hoped it was valve stems/seats. But, ...had 2 cylinders that had mirrored over and reduced compression. Apparently the rings fused to the pistons and cross hatch on cyl walls was gone. Used premium oils, including Mobile 1 for the last 50k. Engine seemed to have plenty of power but was idling rough and appeared to be using oil...which was unusual. During the diagnosis we found the Idle Air pump was going bad and it was probably reason for rough idle. Ended up replacing short block (cheaper than fixing) and rebuilding head assys. All new seals/gaskets, valve covers, etc. I was shocked since I had 148k miles...mostly highway....and had pampered this thing since day 1 and have been the only driver. Lexus was not interested in investigating since no signs of sludge. They said it just wore out. A very poor explanation for an engine so rigorously maintained......especially a Toyota engine. Good news was that the dealership cut me a huge deal on doing the work (I think they were embarrased quite honestly) and I did the engine, tranny fluid service, and new rotors/pads all around for $8k flat. Car is now under warranty again for 12mo/12k miles. A huge disappointment for me that this happened. Now wonder if Lexus is really all that since I've never had any other car with this issue no matter how many miles it had...even an old K-Car with a gazillion miles on it. I would suggest having the basics checked and serviced as normal and get use to it burning a little oil. I would have been better off leaving mine alone and waiting for it to fail completely. Once we had it opened up that far to diagnose it, it wasn't a lot more to replace the short block as opposed to putting it back together as-is. If you want to know, a compression test may be very revealing. Even if you're low on one or more cyls but have power, etc. you still may want to ride it out, watch your oil closely, and see if you fall out of love with the car before it fails. It may be a lot cheaper. Fortunately, I don't have the strut issues and my car still drives like it's new with almost 150k miles. Even after having a new RX350 for a month at no cost while they did the work.....I still like my '99 better. Doesn't feel like a cream puff. The biggest disappointment in this whole thing was Lexus had no interest in any kind of detailed follow-up to understand what caused this problem. Dying of old age at 148k miles on a Toyota engine of that size is ridiculous.....although Lexus wouldn't agree. My mechanic was the one that compelled me to follow-up with them since the engine was so clean and was clearly maintained well. He was miffed as to why it failed. I know every company has to manage its costs and warranty claims and am not shocked that they didn't want to put any effort into it......but then again, they're supposed to be different. Just another car company in this case. However, the dealer gets a gold medal for the way they helped, gave me a huge discount, and a loaner the whole time. Good Luck!

I literally just experienced the same problem with my 99RX300 AWD. Serviced by dealers rigorously, oil changed within recommended intervals. Saw oil usage and asked dealer to check compression. 2 cylinders were low (~90lbs). Hoped it was valve stems/seats. But, ...had 2 cylinders that had mirrored over and reduced compression. Apparently the rings fused to the pistons and cross hatch on cyl walls was gone. Used premium oils, including Mobile 1 for the last 50k. Engine seemed to have plenty of power but was idling rough and appeared to be using oil...which was unusual. During the diagnosis we found the Idle Air pump was going bad and it was probably reason for rough idle. Ended up replacing short block (cheaper than fixing) and rebuilding head assys. All new seals/gaskets, valve covers, etc. I was shocked since I had 148k miles...mostly highway....and had pampered this thing since day 1 and have been the only driver. Lexus was not interested in investigating since no signs of sludge. They said it just wore out. A very poor explanation for an engine so rigorously maintained......especially a Toyota engine. Good news was that the dealership cut me a huge deal on doing the work (I think they were embarrased quite honestly) and I did the engine, tranny fluid service, and new rotors/pads all around for $8k flat. Car is now under warranty again for 12mo/12k miles. A huge disappointment for me that this happened. Now wonder if Lexus is really all that since I've never had any other car with this issue no matter how many miles it had...even an old K-Car with a gazillion miles on it. I would suggest having the basics checked and serviced as normal and get use to it burning a little oil. I would have been better off leaving mine alone and waiting for it to fail completely. Once we had it opened up that far to diagnose it, it wasn't a lot more to replace the short block as opposed to putting it back together as-is. If you want to know, a compression test may be very revealing. Even if you're low on one or more cyls but have power, etc. you still may want to ride it out, watch your oil closely, and see if you fall out of love with the car before it fails. It may be a lot cheaper. Fortunately, I don't have the strut issues and my car still drives like it's new with almost 150k miles. Even after having a new RX350 for a month at no cost while they did the work.....I still like my '99 better. Doesn't feel like a cream puff. The biggest disappointment in this whole thing was Lexus had no interest in any kind of detailed follow-up to understand what caused this problem. Dying of old age at 148k miles on a Toyota engine of that size is ridiculous.....although Lexus wouldn't agree. My mechanic was the one that compelled me to follow-up with them since the engine was so clean and was clearly maintained well. He was miffed as to why it failed. I know every company has to manage its costs and warranty claims and am not shocked that they didn't want to put any effort into it......but then again, they're supposed to be different. Just another car company in this case. However, the dealer gets a gold medal for the way they helped, gave me a huge discount, and a loaner the whole time. Good Luck!

I literally just experienced the same problem with my 99RX300 AWD. Serviced by dealers rigorously, oil changed within recommended intervals. Saw oil usage and asked dealer to check compression. 2 cylinders were low (~90lbs). Hoped it was valve stems/seats. But, ...had 2 cylinders that had mirrored over and reduced compression. Apparently the rings fused to the pistons and cross hatch on cyl walls was gone. Used premium oils, including Mobile 1 for the last 50k. Engine seemed to have plenty of power but was idling rough and appeared to be using oil...which was unusual. During the diagnosis we found the Idle Air pump was going bad and it was probably reason for rough idle. Ended up replacing short block (cheaper than fixing) and rebuilding head assys. All new seals/gaskets, valve covers, etc. I was shocked since I had 148k miles...mostly highway....and had pampered this thing since day 1 and have been the only driver. Lexus was not interested in investigating since no signs of sludge. They said it just wore out. A very poor explanation for an engine so rigorously maintained......especially a Toyota engine. Good news was that the dealership cut me a huge deal on doing the work (I think they were embarrased quite honestly) and I did the engine, tranny fluid service, and new rotors/pads all around for $8k flat. Car is now under warranty again for 12mo/12k miles. A huge disappointment for me that this happened. Now wonder if Lexus is really all that since I've never had any other car with this issue no matter how many miles it had...even an old K-Car with a gazillion miles on it. I would suggest having the basics checked and serviced as normal and get use to it burning a little oil. I would have been better off leaving mine alone and waiting for it to fail completely. Once we had it opened up that far to diagnose it, it wasn't a lot more to replace the short block as opposed to putting it back together as-is. If you want to know, a compression test may be very revealing. Even if you're low on one or more cyls but have power, etc. you still may want to ride it out, watch your oil closely, and see if you fall out of love with the car before it fails. It may be a lot cheaper. Fortunately, I don't have the strut issues and my car still drives like it's new with almost 150k miles. Even after having a new RX350 for a month at no cost while they did the work.....I still like my '99 better. Doesn't feel like a cream puff. The biggest disappointment in this whole thing was Lexus had no interest in any kind of detailed follow-up to understand what caused this problem. Dying of old age at 148k miles on a Toyota engine of that size is ridiculous.....although Lexus wouldn't agree. My mechanic was the one that compelled me to follow-up with them since the engine was so clean and was clearly maintained well. He was miffed as to why it failed. I know every company has to manage its costs and warranty claims and am not shocked that they didn't want to put any effort into it......but then again, they're supposed to be different. Just another car company in this case. However, the dealer gets a gold medal for the way they helped, gave me a huge discount, and a loaner the whole time. Good Luck!

I literally just experienced the same problem with my 99RX300 AWD. Serviced by dealers rigorously, oil changed within recommended intervals. Saw oil usage and asked dealer to check compression. 2 cylinders were low (~90lbs). Hoped it was valve stems/seats. But, ...had 2 cylinders that had mirrored over and reduced compression. Apparently the rings fused to the pistons and cross hatch on cyl walls was gone. Used premium oils, including Mobile 1 for the last 50k. Engine seemed to have plenty of power but was idling rough and appeared to be using oil...which was unusual. During the diagnosis we found the Idle Air pump was going bad and it was probably reason for rough idle. Ended up replacing short block (cheaper than fixing) and rebuilding head assys. All new seals/gaskets, valve covers, etc. I was shocked since I had 148k miles...mostly highway....and had pampered this thing since day 1 and have been the only driver. Lexus was not interested in investigating since no signs of sludge. They said it just wore out. A very poor explanation for an engine so rigorously maintained......especially a Toyota engine. Good news was that the dealership cut me a huge deal on doing the work (I think they were embarrased quite honestly) and I did the engine, tranny fluid service, and new rotors/pads all around for $8k flat. Car is now under warranty again for 12mo/12k miles. A huge disappointment for me that this happened. Now wonder if Lexus is really all that since I've never had any other car with this issue no matter how many miles it had...even an old K-Car with a gazillion miles on it. I would suggest having the basics checked and serviced as normal and get use to it burning a little oil. I would have been better off leaving mine alone and waiting for it to fail completely. Once we had it opened up that far to diagnose it, it wasn't a lot more to replace the short block as opposed to putting it back together as-is. If you want to know, a compression test may be very revealing. Even if you're low on one or more cyls but have power, etc. you still may want to ride it out, watch your oil closely, and see if you fall out of love with the car before it fails. It may be a lot cheaper. Fortunately, I don't have the strut issues and my car still drives like it's new with almost 150k miles. Even after having a new RX350 for a month at no cost while they did the work.....I still like my '99 better. Doesn't feel like a cream puff. The biggest disappointment in this whole thing was Lexus had no interest in any kind of detailed follow-up to understand what caused this problem. Dying of old age at 148k miles on a Toyota engine of that size is ridiculous.....although Lexus wouldn't agree. My mechanic was the one that compelled me to follow-up with them since the engine was so clean and was clearly maintained well. He was miffed as to why it failed. I know every company has to manage its costs and warranty claims and am not shocked that they didn't want to put any effort into it......but then again, they're supposed to be different. Just another car company in this case. However, the dealer gets a gold medal for the way they helped, gave me a huge discount, and a loaner the whole time. Good Luck!

I literally just experienced the same problem with my 99RX300 AWD. Serviced by dealers rigorously, oil changed within recommended intervals. Saw oil usage and asked dealer to check compression. 2 cylinders were low (~90lbs). Hoped it was valve stems/seats. But, ...had 2 cylinders that had mirrored over and reduced compression. Apparently the rings fused to the pistons and cross hatch on cyl walls was gone. Used premium oils, including Mobile 1 for the last 50k. Engine seemed to have plenty of power but was idling rough and appeared to be using oil...which was unusual. During the diagnosis we found the Idle Air pump was going bad and it was probably reason for rough idle. Ended up replacing short block (cheaper than fixing) and rebuilding head assys. All new seals/gaskets, valve covers, etc. I was shocked since I had 148k miles...mostly highway....and had pampered this thing since day 1 and have been the only driver. Lexus was not interested in investigating since no signs of sludge. They said it just wore out. A very poor explanation for an engine so rigorously maintained......especially a Toyota engine. Good news was that the dealership cut me a huge deal on doing the work (I think they were embarrased quite honestly) and I did the engine, tranny fluid service, and new rotors/pads all around for $8k flat. Car is now under warranty again for 12mo/12k miles. A huge disappointment for me that this happened. Now wonder if Lexus is really all that since I've never had any other car with this issue no matter how many miles it had...even an old K-Car with a gazillion miles on it. I would suggest having the basics checked and serviced as normal and get use to it burning a little oil. I would have been better off leaving mine alone and waiting for it to fail completely. Once we had it opened up that far to diagnose it, it wasn't a lot more to replace the short block as opposed to putting it back together as-is. If you want to know, a compression test may be very revealing. Even if you're low on one or more cyls but have power, etc. you still may want to ride it out, watch your oil closely, and see if you fall out of love with the car before it fails. It may be a lot cheaper. Fortunately, I don't have the strut issues and my car still drives like it's new with almost 150k miles. Even after having a new RX350 for a month at no cost while they did the work.....I still like my '99 better. Doesn't feel like a cream puff. The biggest disappointment in this whole thing was Lexus had no interest in any kind of detailed follow-up to understand what caused this problem. Dying of old age at 148k miles on a Toyota engine of that size is ridiculous.....although Lexus wouldn't agree. My mechanic was the one that compelled me to follow-up with them since the engine was so clean and was clearly maintained well. He was miffed as to why it failed. I know every company has to manage its costs and warranty claims and am not shocked that they didn't want to put any effort into it......but then again, they're supposed to be different. Just another car company in this case. However, the dealer gets a gold medal for the way they helped, gave me a huge discount, and a loaner the whole time. Good Luck!