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2007 Lexus ES350 - Suspension Repair Work Estimate
Not able to make sense of the proposed estimate by Toyota showroom service center. Looks like my 2007 Lexus ES350 (135,000 Miles) has issues with front lower ball joints, sway bar links & tie rod ends.
The Toyota Service center rep, quoted nearly $3300 dollars for the fix, Upon asking if there is any overlapping work for which they can reduce labor,
they said there is none, but dropped $300. I looked up the OEM parts costs, it looks like they are not that expensive at all.
toyota dealer inspection toyota dealer repair estimate
How many hours work is needed approximately for the below job ?
1) Replace Front Lower Ball Joints
2) Replace Front Sway bar links
3) Replace Tie rod ends (possibly the one connected to the tires)
4) Wheel alignment after this is done.
The quotes shown on MyMechanic & RepairPal looks way lesser, but still seems high, plus it looks like they are not using OEM parts.
But is the quoted estimate justified ?
Has anyone got similar work done ?
And share any details ?
Any suggestions where I can get this done ?
Toyota service center is charging so high, how much would lexus service center charge for this kind of job ?
I have never done any work by jacking up my car. But it looks like that the way forward going forward.
Last edited by DSES350; 08-14-24 at 03:27 PM.
Reason: added Additional info
That’s a lot of money for that work. I do not know book time but I would guess it’s working out to about $600/hour in real life (I can do all that work in four hours, before the alignment).
This is not an easy thing to start on for a beginning DIY person, but:
a) Has this car been used as a NYC taxi, or something like that? I ask as that’s a lot of work for only 135k miles. I did not replace those items in our 4ES until about 260k miles (albeit used on good Texas and PNW roads, no abuse).
That’s a lot of money for that work. I do not know book time but I would guess it’s working out to about $600/hour in real life (I can do all that work in four hours, before the alignment).
This is not an easy thing to start on for a beginning DIY person, but:
a) Has this car been used as a NYC taxi, or something like that? I ask as that’s a lot of work for only 135k miles. I did not replace those items in our 4ES until about 260k miles (albeit used on good Texas and PNW roads, no abuse).
lol, this is good to know.
No this is a personal vehicle, I bought it at a dealership, the first owner had driven about 90k miles, and vehicle was in good shape, I bought this in 2016.
I have mostly used it on long road trips, and office commute in city. very rarely I have hauled household stuff in the trunk+backseat.
b) Have you had a 2nd opinion?
Thinking of getting one soon, I tried reaching out to lexus showroom, just to see if they can share an estimate, but they completely disappeared on me, and have not heard back from them.
But I did check online in general with MyMechanic, RepairPal etc. The total cost seems to be around 2K and they are not using OEM parts.
c) What is your actual complaint w/the car?
I want the suspension to be safe to drive, I hear a clunky metallic noise on rough roads, also the overall drivability is not sharp around turns.
Last time I was at toyota service station, they said, the lower ball joint is loose/leaking, sway bar links are loose, tie rod ends are leaking.
And to fix these 3 items they said it is going to be $3300
I contacted lexus showroom just to get an estimate, and they entirely disappeared on me.
Below is the inspection and cost estimate provided by local toyota showroom
Also, if you could answer question a) above it would be helpful. Understanding history is not trivial to any diagnostic process.
This is a pretty anodyne front suspension design, though a decent improvement over the prior generations. No one knowledgeable would ever call it “sharp” on turns. It’s a bit on par with a 1990s Volvo station wagon, when new. Are you saying it has degraded badly/wanders badly, or you just don’t find it “sporting” enough in general?
a) Has this car been used as a NYC taxi, or something like that? I ask as that’s a lot of work for only 135k miles. I did not replace those items in our 4ES until about 260k miles (albeit used on good Texas and PNW roads, no abuse).
No this is a personal vehicle, I bought it at a dealership, the first owner had driven about 90k miles, and vehicle was in good shape, I bought this in 2016. I have mostly used it on long road trips, and office commute in city. very rarely I have hauled household stuff in the trunk+backseat.
a) Has this car been used as a NYC taxi, or something like that? I ask as that’s a lot of work for only 135k miles. I did not replace those items in our 4ES until about 260k miles (albeit used on good Texas and PNW roads, no abuse).
No this is a personal vehicle, I bought it at a dealership, the first owner had driven about 90k miles, and vehicle was in good shape, I bought this in 2016. I have mostly used it on long road trips, and office commute in city. very rarely I have hauled household stuff in the trunk+backseat.
That’s helpful as it eliminates a few things. Has it changed much over time or just the noise is new? It’s possible a single ball joint is bad from a pothole or something like that - and really you have one minor thing that needs fixing vs. a whole laundry list. I’ve got to go work on my own front suspension now (really), but I’ll check in later and some other people will have better ideas now.
That’s helpful as it eliminates a few things. Has it changed much over time or just the noise is new? It’s possible a single ball joint is bad from a pothole or something like that - and really you have one minor thing that needs fixing vs. a whole laundry list. I’ve got to go work on my own front suspension now (really), but I’ll check in later and some other people will have better ideas now.
Its gone bit worse in last one year or so, and before that I had no issues. even now I can drive around, but I feel the drivability is not crisp around corners, plus I hear a metallic clunk noise while driving on a rough road.
I have been wanting to jack up the car and take a look myself, but my spouse is too scared that I might get crushed under the car, as I’ve no experience doing this kinda work. (and yes one of my spouse's company colleague in the past died under a car while trying to do an oil change or something)
Last edited by DSES350; 08-14-24 at 03:23 PM.
Reason: typo corrections
Its gone bit worse in last one year or so, and before that I had no issues. even now I can drive around, but I feel the drivability is not crisp around corners, plus I hear a metallic clunk noise while driving on a rough road.
I have been wanting to jack up the car and take a look myself, but my spouse is too scared that I might get crushed under the car, as I’ve no experience doing this kinda work. (and yes one of my spouse's company colleague in the past died under a car while trying to do an oil change or something)
That would be terribly traumatizing and her fear not unreasonable.
But, if she could let you NOT go under the car, but do this: jack it up, stick two stands under it, and then just grab the wheel to shake it on each side, etc. - you could do a lot of diagnosing I/we could walk you through. If you have that ability/agility or desire.
No shame. A) I have back issues, so it’s no fun for me doing this stuff some times. In fact I SHOULD be under the car right now but I’m messing around online instead in order to procrastinate as my back hurts today. . B) I take safety like that very seriously and fear it myself. I jacked up this car two hours ago and there are FOUR jack stands under the front end, there are two more you cannot see under the rear in addition to the ramps, and then I will position the jack w/tension on it as a 3rd layer of safety before I go under. Safety under a car is paramount.
Many thanks for sharing the tips. I am sharing video URL of the multipoint inspection video from toyota service. Not sure if this will entirely help.
If this video footage is not helpful, I will figure out a way to jack up the car, shake the wheels and then get back for advice.
Many thanks for sharing the tips. I am sharing video URL of the multipoint inspection video from toyota service. Not sure if this will entirely help.
If this video footage is not helpful, I will figure out a way to jack up the car, shake the wheels and then get back for advice.
Yeah, that was not helpful at all - and not your fault, their fault.
a) There’s a wee bit of grease leaked out from the bottom of the LBJ pictured. They do that. It’s not indicative of anything.
b) The tie rods and end-links - nothing visibly wrong. If he grabbed them, shook them, and demonstrated some looseness - that would be the normal thing a mechanic would do.
So it doesn’t say much and I would think if you are going to the trouble to make a video to post, you’d show the issue instead of just casually mentioning it.
The one take-away is that the general condition looked quite good for 2007; you live in a mild climate or the car has been well cared for. The overall quick-and-dirty feel is that it would be very weird for all of those parts to seriously need replacement.
Thanks for your feedback. Lemme see if I can jackup the car on the driver side, and see if there is any wriggle going on with the driver side wheel to start with.
Thanks for your feedback. Lemme see if I can jackup the car on the driver side, and see if there is any wriggle going on with the driver side wheel to start with.
Are you doing it now, or tomorrow? I will give you a list of things to look at, but can’t do it this minute.
Jacked up driver side, The tire is rock solid on the driver side and there was not wriggle in either axis. checking passenger side wheel in about half hour.
Some technicians offer to replace any suspension part with what appears to be a leaking grease boot. A leaking boot does not indicate the joint is worn or in Immediate need of replacement.
The area on the MPI report that reads: "Suspension (Damage/Leaks/Worn Components)", this is a prewritten part of the check list, not all apply. There may be a leak but no indication or proof of damage or worn joints.
You will probably find there is nothing loose and the ball joints will be good for another 5 years.
08-14-24, 01:37 PM
2007 Lexus ES350 - Suspension Repair Work Estimate
. B) I take safety like that very seriously and fear it myself. I jacked up this car two hours ago and there are FOUR jack stands under the front end, there are two more you cannot see under the rear in addition to the ramps, and then I will position the jack w/tension on it as a 3rd layer of safety before I go under. Safety under a car is paramount.
