Hasman69

Went to my local Lexus dealer yesterday to get my 60 k mile service done and they tell me that 1 of my head gasket is blown and they quoted me $7000 to replace both. I am stunned. I only have 59500 miles on it. I know its a 2009 but I bought it in 2015 as a CPO with 32 k miles and have always taken care of it with regular maintenance performed on or before it was due. Always put Premium gas from Top Tier gas stations. And never really driven the car that hard. Not sure where I went wrong. I have been trying to google up the causes and it states its mostly from overheating. I keep an eye on the temp gauge and haven't noticed a spike and its been freaking cold up here in Chicago so its not like it was Summer and I had cranked the a/c up. So was just wondering if anyone else has had the same issue and if so, how much did it cost? I plan to get a 2nd opinion from an independent mechanic but I mean how much cheaper can it be. Is it worth spending that much money to repair or should I trade it in? And if I do get it fixed, what are the chances of once they open it up, seeing anything else that needs fixing.

tghw

I would definitely get a second opinion. I doubt that you have a blown head gasket. It sounds like someone is trying to make some profit off of you. Check your oil. See if the oil is milky like chocolate milk. Look for white smoke from the exhaust. If you don't see either of those conditions I'm willing to bet that you do not have a blown head gasket, especially if it only has 59K mi. and has never overheated.

Hasman69

Thanks tghw for the reply. I went and checked the oil and looks the same golden/brown to me. Will check again tomorrow in the daylight but I drove about 100 miles today and have been keeping an eye on the coolant resevoir and it hasnt dropped so far. Fingers crossed.
Funny thing is, I saw a 2015 ES300h on sale 2 weeks ago for a very attractive price and almost decided to trade my GS in for that but wife rolled her eyes at me when I asked her if I should and decided against it. But now that she is ok with me trading the GS vs getting it fixed, I don’t want to.

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Water pumps do go out on these cars at around 90k miles. Pop your hood open and reach behind the water pump pulley, if you find a lot of pink slime then maybe your pump went bad on you. A little slime is ok, but a lot is not good.

Did you complain to them the car starts funny or is down in power? What test did they do to determine a bad head gasket, did they do a compression test? Is the car losing coolant, if so where? If your oil looks good and you're not losing coolant or down in power then I dont think you have a bad head gasket.

Hasman69

@ibidu1. No, I did not complain about anything. I just went in for a regular 60k service. I must admit I was a little shaken when the service rep told me he had some bad news and showed me the quote of $7000 to fix. I don't know much about the engine and so really didn't have any follow up questions to ask but all he told me was that they saw streaks of pinkish liquid (color of the coolant) on the engine and that the coolant reservoir was empty and that tells them that the head gasket is blown. I just asked him how come I didn't see any liquid where I park and to that he said since the coolant falls on the engine, it just evaporates. But no, I don't believe they did any kind of compression test or anything. They did this within 45min to an hour but not really sure how long the test takes.
This was what I was given as suggested service write up " IMMEDIATE ATTENTION: Headgasket on bank 1 is leaking coolant and running down the side of the engine. Recommend to replace headgaskets on both banks"

MX73

Wow. Find a new tech. This doesn't mean a BHG. It could be a bad water pump. I don't blame the advisor; they are the messenger. The tech is trying to make a quick buck off of you. They should have done a compression test before they recommended replacing the head gasket.

tghw

I totally agree. On top of that, they recommended that he replace both HGs when only the right side was indicated. If I were you, I would follow MX73's suggestion regarding getting a compression test. I would also replace the water pump and thermostat and housing as they are know to fail at 100K miles or less on Gen3 GSs. Be sure to have the mechanic clean the dried pink coolant off of the engine and then monitor the coolant level in the overflow tank and the side of the engine for any evidence of future leaking coolant.

Do Not spend $7000 replacing both HGs with that dealership.

Hasman69

Thank you guys for all the info and suggestions. I will take it to an independent shop and try and have them run a diagnostic.
I did however notice a slight decrease in the coolant in the reservoir but lets see. Hopefully its something minor like a water pump and not too costly.

tghw

Like I said earlier, if your oil is clear and it's not blowing white smoke out of the exhaust (there are only two places for the water to go) it is most likely a leaky water pump.

gs350fan

Oh man, get a second opinion on this. I did read some of these engines have external coolant seepage.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

I would have told the tech to show me the evidence.

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

I agree I would have told the tech to show me where the leak is coming from. I wonder if our engines have freeze plugs, or could be a pinched coolant line spraying on the head.

A blown head gasket would be obvious if it was spraying out the side. You should atleast see smoke coming from the coolant. But grab a flash light and look for yourself, and see if you can find it.

Hasman69

So its been a week now and I have driven about 250+ miles so far and no issues. I have been keeping an eye on the coolant reservoir and haven't seen any noticeable decrease. No white smoke or even any rise in temperature gauge or any loss of power for that matter. The car drives normal.
I have an appt tomorrow at my local repair shop and am thinking if I should cancel. I mean what do I even tell them? I don't want to tell them that I went to the dealership and they diagnosed my car with a blown head gasket. Want symptoms am I experiencing? NONE

MX73

If you want a piece of mind, have the local shop perform a compression test. Or just tell them you see a pink liquid on the engine block.

tghw

Take it to the independent shop anyway and ask them to see if they find evidence of coolant leaks on the block and to check for leaks around the water pump/thermostat assemblies.