Cjrosell

Hello Lexus community. I have a 2006 Lexus GS300 AWD with 196,000 miles on it. Besides normal wear and tear and a few minor mechanical issues over the past 5 years, it's been pretty bulletproof.

Yesterday I noticed the temperature meter raising to about 3/4 and fluctuating around there. When I got home the coolant tube leading into the coolant reserve tank was steaming quite a bit and the engine was hot.

I took it into the Toyota dealership today and they gave me the following report: ENGINE HAS COMPUSTION GASES GETTING INTO THE COOLING SYSTEM. THIS COULD BE FROM A BLOWN HEAD GASKET, CRACKED HEAD OR BLOCK. CANNOT TELL WHAT CAUSED THE FAILURE. POSSIBLE THERMOSTAT FAULT, COOLANT LEAK, ETC. RADIATOR CAP FELL APART SO VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN UNTIL A NEW ONE'S INSTALLED, AND EVEN THEN SINCE THE COOLING SYSTEM IS BEING PUT UNDER PRESSURE FROM THE COMBUSTION GAS LEAK VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN UNTIL FULLY REPAIRED.

They then gave me an estimate of $5,300 to repair fully. Is this outrageous? I'm likely going to sell it regardless so I'm curious to see what people think I could sell it for 3rd party.

Thanks!
Connor

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

If I were you, I'd just trade it in. The headache of dealing with the type of people who would buy this on craigslist or whatever, would not be worth it for the thousand or so more that you would get selling private party, at least for me

AlexDev

Sounds like a blown head gasket to me.. happened to my previous 04 IS; usually occurs due to overheating. White smoke started coming from the base of the shifter, and piping from the exhaust due to water being evaporated like crazy. Could be due to water leak or some failure in the cooling system.

Oh and I used to work in sales at a Lexus dealer down here in South FL; they’re beautiful facilities with excellent staff and quality employees, but dealerships gain 90% of their profit from the service department. So my advice would be get a reputable local mechanic by asking around or doing some finding; you’ll probably cut that $5300 down to $1500-2000.

ServerTech

2006 with 196,000 miles? You got your moneys worth out of that car long ago. Part it out and move on...
BUT, all that being said, its a $50,000 car so yes the dealer would want $5,000 to fix it. Never bring a car like that to the dealer, its a mechanics special. When I was in High School it would have been a nice project car!
Good luck with your next car.

energie8

lol, $5,300 is not worth it. Get rid of it asap.

Propulsion

Have a independent mechanic look at it. I’m sure the remedy will cost thousands less than the stealership.

Cjrosell

Thank you very much! I appreciate the response sir