I had no heat coming from the car so I brought it to the dealer. They told me that the coolant was leaking and that I needed a new water pump at a cost of $2100. The car has 70,241 miles and the water pump warranty is for 70,000. I complained to the service manager who took some time and came back and told me that Lexus would pay for the labor if I would pay for the parts, about $250. I don't have a lot of experience in this regard, so maybe someone here could provide guidance. Should I just pay the $250 and count my lucky stars that it's not $2,100, or do I have any recourse to get them to cover the full repair since the part is just a tad out of warranty?

I love this car and any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

I think they really should have covered the part as well but would still be happy to pay the $250 for this repair and would accept the offer. I would also check with them or other members of this board regarding anything else that should be done while they have your car pretty well disasembled - like hoses etc. if you plan to keep the car a lot longer.

And Welcome to Club Lexus.

Dave Mac

 

It is 5yrs / 70k, I would pay the parts cost and then write a letter to Lexus about you not happy about a) having to replace water pump this early and b) just falling outside 70k and you are having to pay the parts cost.

 

I agree with the others it's best to pay the $250 and move on. It would have been nice if it was all covered under the warranty, but they have to end sometime and unfortunately yours was at 70k.

 

I'm curious to know when it should be replaced. A water pump is a wear and tear item as far as I can tell.

For cars that have timing belts, the pump is usually changed when the belt is changed since it's right there when the engine is pulled apart for the belt. My LS400, for instance, needed this done every 90k miles. Our older Highlander (3.0L V6) had a 60k interval I'm pretty sure.

I'm pretty sure this car has a timing chain and not a belt so doesn't get replaced at intervals...

Part of me would want them to take a close look at the timing chain and other components if all that labor is being done (for free!).

Since you're out of warranty I think the deal they proposed is VERY reasonable. Now days a bill as small as $250 is far and few between for any sort of engine work. Heck - I bet a spark plug replacement job costs more since the upper intake plenum has to be removed to access the back 3 plugs.

 

Had a 2004 Lincoln LS that when the coils went, you had to take off the intake to replace them. Best when one goes, replace them all as the labor factor was crazy.

 

Your warranty has expired--sad but true. Your mileage really shouldn't be a consideration, so kudos to your dealer for offering to pay the labor--$250 is a smokin' deal.

Toyota water pumps seem to be one of those problem areas for the V6 engines. Both my previous Camrys and my previous ES300 needed new water pumps between 80-100K miles. Always expensive too. Might be a good time to consider a new timing belt too.

 

The coolant pump is externally mounted and is driven by the serpentine accessory belt. The camshafts timing chain is not involved. I think it's pretty cheap of Lexus not to pay the full shot in the case of the OP's case. This Toyota coolant pump uses a face/seal plate type seal which appears to leak prematurally in my mind. I have not had to replace a coolant pump on any of my cars (five of them, if my memory serves me correctly) since about the mid-eighties with my VW Rabbit which had well over 100,000 miles on it at that time. With four of the other five cars since that time I drove each of them over 100,000miles with no pump issues. I believe all these cars used a standard "garlock type" pump shaft seal. I have had lots of experience with face type seals in the aviation industry, and they can be a pain in the butt. There is a TB on the coolant pump leakage due to the face type seal that states the need to monitor the coolant level regularly (also expained in the Owner's Manual) and I urge everyone to heed that information. This is important because unlike most other cars there is no low coolant level sensor.

 

This service bulletin re water pumps may be of interest to some.

 

Pay the $250 and move on, you are very lucky.

 

I think that's more than fair........ if I recall the book labor on the repair is about 12 hours. That's alot of time in anybody's book !
Considering that meant the job broke down to about $1850 labor / $250 part.

Only other thing I would ask them is if there is any other potential "future problems" in that area.
If that's the case, you can save some money in the long run.

 

Thanks!

 

I read on another thread that the water pump was covered in the power train warranty...The power train warranty is good to 120k ....I suggest that you check in the owners manual and with Lexus......Well worth investigating.......Should be no cost to you..Hope this helps

 

Pay the money and be happy Lexus powertrain is 70months and 70k miles it's a contract just like many other you sign in your life once the contract is up their resposibility is over. How would you like if your mortage company called up and said "hey your mortage is for 360 months but we want you to pay one more month". The fact that they are picking up labor shows how good Lexus is to it's customers. No other auto company would do that, my Charger's warranty went up at 36k and my power steering pump went bad at 37.5k they told me to pound sand when I called there customer service.

 

Hi: My car was making some noise when the heat was on. its not a loud noise, sounds more like a humidifier. i took it to my mechanic (non-Lexus) and after an hour of investigation, he thinks its the water pump. my car is 2007, has 91,400 KMs on it. i just bought it last june from a used car dealer (again, non-Lexus).

the pump itself is not expensive as you probably know already. what kills it, is the labor charge. my mechanic is under the impression that it will be a 20+ hours job to replace the pump, and will cost somewhere around $2000-$2800.
I live in Toronto, Canada and would like to hear from individuals who went through the same (pain!) and can provide some much needed advice.

Thanks in Advance.