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Hybrid TechnologyUnique topics related to the 2010 - 2015 RX450H model hybrid drivetrain and other features/options found only on the RX450H. Please use the main forum for discussion about shared components with other third generation RX models.
Car has 101K miles and 9 years (2013 model placed into service 2012)
Here are the pictures of the plugs. They are in good shape. The Owner's Manual says 120K or 2025 (12 years). 120K would have easily been possible and in fact I think in retrospect I'd leave them alone for the 12 years or 150K.
Just about EVERY modern 1990's+ V6 has a plenum. Some call it a surge tank. In this car it's the black piece you see in the done photo with all the intake parts going straight down. I guess it's technically not the intake manifold, which I believe is the metal part you see in the middle with the 6 holes in it. In any case in every v6 I've seen the plenum connects to a throttle body and then the intake. In every one of these cars, the plenum covers up half the plugs.
From a parts/labor standpoint it was $100 something dollars for the 6 plugs plus the gasket for the surge tank, the old ones would have been fine but the repair manual says to change them. Then it was all of 5 minutes to do the first 3 plugs. Really it's 100% a function of removing all the plastic covers for that. The rest of the time for me was 6-8 hours. That's why you are paying what you are paying for someone to do it. Obviously a pro that's done it more than once is way faster than I am. I also cleaned everything else along the way including PCV, throttle body, MAF, MAP, and the plenum itself too. There's a good DIY on here that was a link to youtube video which was 100% accurate. The time sink was almost exclusively due to some very hard to reach bolts for the plenum bracket and EGR. If you take those bolts out of the equation it's a lot to disassemble and clean but it's probably a 4 hour-ish job with a lot of that being cleaning. When I put the bolts back, which was just as painful, I barely hand tightened some of the difficult ones.
Assuming the dealer: replaces plugs, cleans TB, cleans EGR, replaces/cleans both PCV, cleans the surge tank, replaces air filter, cleans intake, and replaces all the egr gaskets as well as the surge tank gaskets then it's easily 6-8 hours of retail time. Shop rates vary, so figure what $120USD at a dealer that would take you to $720 to $960 + parts say another $200.
Plugs: 2013 RX 450h @101K miles TB: 2013 RX 450h @101K miles Disassembled for spark change 2013 RX 450h Reassembled after spark change 2013 RX 450h
1) They are great and would easily go the 120K or 12 year interval. It's a good question and it's why I posted the photos -- yes it looks old right but it's fine, that's just what plugs will look like with use. This is obviously not a perfect way to check since something could be wrong in another cylinder BUT pull one of the front ones out that requires no special access and inspect it. Assuming there's no other weird issues, you can pretty much assume the rest look the same. I posted those photos so people could see what the OEM ones actually looked like at x interval.
2) Yes the PCV valves can be cleaned, many you tube videos on this. PCV valves get a lot of "attention" by novices because when they go bad it causes such a noticeable set of problems. I have not seen a bad PCV valve in my life time of dealing with vehicles which is early 90's+ cars.
IMO, besides those few bolts I mentioned, this is a good DIY to learn more about cars if you are middling novice that can do oil changes and have a garage. You will want the garage as you are likely to want to take a break and not have parts strewn around outdoors for instance. All the work is done from the top down (vs. from the bottom of the car up) and it's a lengthy job due to all the various pieces AND it's probably the first time you've seen all those pieces. It's a good way to get comfortable with mechanics and learn some techniques like using cheater bars or an electric ratchet and that getting the various size sockets/ratchets that can fit in tough places is worth it. Watch the youtube DIY that's on here, those are all the steps you'll take too.
Since it's pretty lengthy process I think it's worth checking one of the easy to access plugs and comparing to the photos I posted. If it looks similar, leave it be until the interval that's recommended. All the other cleaning on the way you may as well do too. That's the stuff the dealer likely won't do or would want to upcharge for. Just use the right type of cleaner (MAF for MAF, TB for TB, PCV, surge tank).
Take your time and have the new plugs and plenum gaskets (3x, each has 2 rings so to speak) ready ready. The old gaskets IMO were fine but since you aren't going to be back there for another 12 years or 120K miles, the extra $20 or whatever it is for the gaskets makes sense to spend. If you want extra credit use 303 protectant on the plastic trim pieces and various cladding to make it "look" like it's a new car when you are are done.
Why does the hybrid have the same spark plug replacement interval as the ICE cars? That doesn't seem to make sense as hybrid engine fire up perhaps about 80 to 85% of the time the car is moving. (although in my case, it's more like 90% due to my aggressive pressure on the accelerator pedal)
For one On / Off is way more torturous for ICE than constantly running for the same period of time considering it's "electro mechanical" in nature right? There's electronics running electronic components in a mechanical engine whose purpose it so make tiny little timely explosions. It's simpler to understand that to practically engineer.
Also just like with anything involving wear and oxidation concepts, there's a time factor beyond strictly the amount of usage. This is totally different but for instance high end sports cars have limits on tires based on time, mileage, and wear. Since we are on that topic that was a factor in the Paul Walker car crash (https://www.thedrive.com/article/518...rs-fatal-crash)
From a pure practical side would you really rewrite the manual that has whatever safety margin in it based on a bunch of testing if the difference is like 5-15%? Probably not. Maybe it lasts 15% longer maybe 15% shorter, regardless it's probably within whatever margin that the 12 year 120K provides.
08-16-21, 01:38 PM
