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Yeah definitely take the dealerships report with a grain of salt. Honestly speaking I don't see anything especially glittery about that oil, some small amount of shimmeryness is completely normal. I don't see any "shavings" in the picture you posted. I don't know exactly how the balancer is configured on this engine but if it has a sealing surface for the front main seal I could see a loose pulley leading to an oil leak and a knocking sound. And if the crank sensor pickup is located on the pulley I could also see it throwing the engine into the reduced power mode you mentioned if the pulley were to come loose.
All speculation but I just want to throw it out there that dealerships are working in a fast paced environment where they can easily misdiagnose something without spending any real time on it. The pulley theory sounds plausible but I don't know why they would need to tear the engine down to confirm that. I don't see how you'd have a knock accompanied by leaking oil if it were internal engine damage unless you had catastrophic failure AKA rod through block, which it doesn't sound like you do.
From all the advice posted by everyone, I'd recommend paying to tow this to an independent shop for a 2nd look, might be worth the $100 tow.
Also, I would recommend you get as much attention as you can on this all over the internet, to make it a point that Toyota/Lexus is mishandling this:
- Get this attention all over YouTube, reach out to heavy hitters and see if they will bring your story on.
- I would post all the correspondence from Lexus here and everywhere else, with your private information removed.
- Post on twitter, reddit, other forums and get this attention.
Not necessarily. They're bonded rubber devices and have been known to separate with age. That said, the IS F uses a similar piece, and none of the owners have posted about this issue. 2JZ engines are notorious for thrashing the harmonic damper in it's stock form. I just ordered a Titan ATI V2 damper for my Supra - and this is age, not mileage, causing me to replace the unit.
If this were my engine, I'd pull an oil sample and send it to a lab for analysis. If the damper failed, it's possible this is just rod bearing material from vibration. Analyzing the oil will give you a better picture of what metal is actually in the oil. Regardless, if the damper failed and caused this, you'd need to examine the rotating assembly down to the rod and main bearings, so a full tear down is needed. There are many possible failure modes resulting in what you've described, and it really sounds like Lexus doesn't want to repair the engine at all.
So the crank pulley is actually a maintenance item? Any ways to check its condition, or do we just replace it based on its age?
You can inspect for cracking. The inner and outer parts have a visible rubber component that typically starts cracking when it is near death. I don't know that I'd call it a maintenance item with a typical shelf life, but it definitely warrants regular inspection.
Unfortunate to hear, also the Lexus response is horrendous $2500 for an F ? how far they have fallen. Also $8K for just an engine teardown is a joke, I bet they will ask more for again putting it back together and all.
As many suggested, Independent reputable mechanic is better way going forth if the swap / corporate pushback does not work. And also skill is needed to handle that 2UR-GSE nowadays. Stealerships just want to rip off consumers no matter which company it is esp the pricing will be all over the place and inflated beyond oblivion let alone their skill on handling such an engine. I recall that TVD in USA is over $27K while in JP its $10K.
TCCN, The Car Care Nut on YouTube is a knowledgeable and an independent mechanic but the issue is his shop TCCN Automotive is too far away... it's in Illinois. You can try to contact him over the phone and arrange something, if nothing works out near your state. But since its CA so I'm sure there would be a few honest good mechanic.
TVD in Japan is $6k and $800 shipping. Crazy how we get raped here in the states.
Sorry to hear, I would try to push this further with Toyota corporate and post it everywhere you can.
Did you have any oil leaks previously?
I agree with this. The power of social media can be invaluable.
That said, this is a really ****ty situation. Sorry you're going through this OP and that your dealer/Lexus is so unhelpful. This would definitely not make me want to drive another Lexus/Toyota product again.
The car/company known for longevity and reliability was anything but and then said car company does not care and is unwilling to help with an unusual catastrophic failure especially just outside of warranty... not a good look.
The dealer will want to use OEM parts. Honestly I would find a good Indy shop and have them install a new balancer. Don’t run the car until you do this. Have it towed.
I’m sending my GS to a local shop for a 2nd opinion. If the engine is savable would it be best to replace it with the rr-racing crank pulley damper or with a new oem one? They both to be around the same price.
I'm in quite a pickle and unsure what to do anymore. My 2016 GS F engine seemingly just failed overnight. The car was driving fine up until Sunday last week when I started it up in the morning and I heard slight knocking noises coming from the engine. The noises went away pretty quickly after startup so I didn't think about it too much and went on with my day. It wasn't until later that evening on the way home that the noises abruptly came back mid-drive but this time a lot louder and noticeably more vibration throughout the car. The car then went into reduced power mode and luckily I was only a couple of blocks away so I managed to limp it back home. I had the GS towed to a dealer on Monday and the next day they found oil leaking and that I would be needing an engine replacement as they had found metal shavings in the oil. This came as a shock to me as I have owned this car for the past 5 years with no issues and I am on top of all regular maintenance. This is my daily so the car is driven everyday and it was operating normally until that Sunday. Now, the dealer informed me that the replacement cost would be $33k and advised me to reach out to Lexus corporate for any sort of assistance. I reached out and waited a week for them to tell me I'm SOL since my GS is out of warranty but they are offering a laughable $2500 out of good-will. I understand their stance on that but my GS's warranty just ended 2 years ago and my mileage is fairly low for its age. The one thing that frustrates me is neither the dealer nor corporate was able to tell me what caused the engine to fail. The dealer just visually inspected the engine and oil and never proceeded with a tear down. I brought up to corporate if any tear down was done and they quickly peddled back saying it is up to the dealer and me to have the engine tear down and it would be out of my pocket. Neither the dealer nor corporate has been helpful and it feels like I'm at a loss here. My GS F is fully stock and has never been tracked. I'm located in SoCal so any advice or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry if you already mentioned this and I missed it…you’re in SoCal? Which dealership did you go to?
05-29-24 | 08:20 PM
