bmccall

Hello! We found what we thought was a great used 2011 LX570 (one owner, just under 100k miles at a "fair price"). After looking at the history on the Lexus website (by adding it to my owner portal), the previous owner reported an error when putting the car into park in 4WD. The dealer comments were: "~SUSPENSION PUMP AND LINES BLOWN ~|~WOULD NEED SUSPENSION PUMP AND LINES REPLACED ESTIMATE FOR REPAIRS $3800+ CUSTOMER DECLINED AND IS TRADING VEHICLE IN."

The only thing I found in the forums were a few mentions of the pump needing to be replaced in response to certain problems, and one person who had the pump replaced, then the computer, and then discovered it was a sensor problem (luckily that person has the extended warranty and didn't need to pay for all that).

My worry is that the seller (a non-dealer used car lot) will say "we'll fix that for you" -- I've read on the forums that really only a Lexus dealer should work on this suspension system. I would certainly be very concerned about some random used car dealer working on that system. Is that an accurate concern? Should we keep looking if they aren't willing to deduct the cost from the sales price (for an extra $4k, I can get a 2013, or lower mileage -- though the LX's aren't super plentiful near us so not a lot of choices)? Do we need to worry that this system has failed at such "low" miles?

Thanks SO much!!

samosuv

Welcome to CL.

Just my opinion but I’d go for an LX that doesn’t need repair. I’d go for one with less miles if it doesn’t cost too much more. That or the newer 2013 even if it’s $4k more.

z32

why would both the suspension pump AND suspension lines blown at the same time?? very very rare those lines will leak... most likely would be the pump itself that fails. mileage isn't that bad consider it's a Toyota / Lexus rig (even the LS flagship / GX) I will not worry much (of course I would prefer low mileage vehicles - but $ is $$$$. everyone has a budget. I will rather have a Lexus dealer do the fix..it's not as simple as changing brakes / tires / window regulators etc.... but the LX has a very robust hydraulic suspension system... would rather have a master tech at Lexus work on the repair...

DarKnight

iTrader: (3)

If you're seeing 2013's for $4k more then that 2011 is overpriced.

grabber2

(for an extra $4k, I can get a 2013, or lower mileage)......Go for the 2013, it have better upgrade

bmccall

Thanks for the replies. Frankly, I was completely unimpressed with the Lexus "pre-purchase inspection" process, and don't have full confidence in what they are telling me (though I have a hard time believing the repair was made and not documented, but maybe the original Lexus dealer wasn't correct about what was wrong either). Even though I told them I'd be towing, they didn't catch that the wiring harness needs to be replaced (pins have broken off), or that the spring in the gas door is missing.

The seller is telling me they can't find any leaking, and that the car is moving up and down when asked to. I don't understand how that system works (hubby has started reading up on it -- lots of info over at the ih8mud forum) -- if the car moves up and down, does that mean the suspension pump is working, or is it more subtle than that?

Car is listed at $28k -- needs new tires, brake fluid flush, rotors machined, and *maybe* a $3,800 repair on the suspension system (so, +$5k ish). I had talked hubby up to this price point [before knowing about any issues] because the car itself is in great condition (paint, interior, etc) and was 1-owner with solid maintenance history. Hubby is not at all excited to move up in price again. Inventory is just so low around us there isn't a lot of choice.

Suppose I could get the seller to drop the price to cover the big repair (if needed), do I need to worry that this failure is indicative of other expensive problems occurring? I love my Toyota and Lexus (LS) for their reliability and longevity, but I know that if you get a Lexus prone to break (I had one), ownership gets expensive very quickly.

Thanks again for all the helpful replies!

hankinid

Master grade service tech's join or startup an independent shop. My local shops in both California and now Idaho are, imo, more knowledgeable about Land Cruisers and LX than the two local dealers, one Toyota and the other Toyota & Lexus. It's not a matter of price to us, it's who does the best work.

Take it to an indy shop (see reply above) and pay $100-ish for a pre-purchase inspection. An indy shop will use Toyota software, same as the local Lexus dealer. They'll either see an repair avalanche headed your way, give it clean bill of health, or find a few things needing fixing. You and SO benefit by no surprises if you buy the truck.

coolsaber

If your PPI has some defects that the seller doesnt want to fix before the sale or reduce pricing to reflect the condition, and your not a DIYer then move on to the next possible vehicle.

It just doesnt pay to sit there and maybe think about it whether theres another angle to this.

I`d suggest if you really have fallen in love, and this is a one off bar none super speciale LX, then ask the seller for a secondary PPI at a reputable indy who specializes in LXes and pay them the extra for piece of mind in either direction. Either way imho figure out the amount of risk thats worth it here and decide.

Reggie1

I am one of those (expletive deleted) folks who experienced suspension problems with my LX, and chose to trade in the vehicle without dropping the $4K to proceed with the repairs. I did briefly consider having the LX suspension replaced with the Land Cruiser one for lower cost at an independent shop, but I was seduced by a brand new LX.

The dealer happily took the broken LX in trade, and had it posted on line by their used car lot almost before I drove away in my new LX. Unless a prospective buyer actually tested the height control the broken LX was perfectly driveable on the street. It just took much longer than typical to lift up to the high setting, and reaching the top, it wouldn’t hold there, and then would drift down unsmoothly to the stops when shut off, regardless of whether automatic lowering was selected or not.

I know that my trade was sold within a day, so I doubt it was repaired first. A new owner might conceivably never realize the height adjustment was faulty unless using the high setting, but how many drivers will ever be doing that? Probably a few more than will ever try out 4 wheel drive low or the rock crawler function, but not a bunch.

But, sInce the OP knows the LX she is considering is broken, she should give it a pass and keep looking. I suppose if part of the deal was for the system to be fixed by Lexus before purchase, buying it would be OK.

bmccall

Reggie1 -- I think the "(expletive deleted) folks" should be "(expletive deleted) dealers" -- it's not the fault of the owner for trading in a car with a pending expensive repair ... it *IS* the fault of the dealer for selling the car with that problem to an unsuspecting buyer.

Aside from the slow lift and rough lowering from high position, was there any other obvious indication of a problem? Any error lights? i.e. ifwe move on to another car, what should we do to test that the suspension is working as it should?

We will be towing, and will probably use 4WD low, but probably not rock crawling mode, but who knows.

Thanks again to everybody for the responses so far!!!

bmccall

So, new twist in the story. Apparently the shop *already* replaced the suspension pump back in February (they ordered a part from "Arabia" -- which took 12 weeks to arrive -- and paid $1,200 for it, and installed it). So, now the worry is that it's (almost certainly) a non-OEM part, and I have no idea how qualified their mechanics are to do the repair. And, of course, the Lexus dealer apparently didn't actually check the suspension system and just fibbed that it still needed to be replaced, which makes me pretty cranky. The seller has all the receipts and is willing to show them to us and also put the car up on a lift and show us the part installed.

As far as I can tell, I have 2 options:
1) RUN
or
2) Tell them to throw in an after-market warranty which would (hopefully) cover a subsequent repair -- though none of the brochures mention a hydraulic suspension (only air and the associated parts). Anybody have any experience with PWI (the brand they are selling).

Thanks again for all the help and advice! This forum is wonderful.

Reggie1

I tow (or did before the pandemic) almost weekly. The LX is a capable tower of my 2 horse bumper pull trailer. Towing was how I found the problem, and then investigated further.

To hook up you need to lower the LX to the “low” setting, then turn off the height control. Next hook up the trailer. Then, either turn the height control switch back on and watch the LX raise itself up to level out the trailer, or, simply drive off and the height control will reset itself back on and will level out as you drive. To unhitch, turn height control off, undo the trailer coupler from the ball, get back in the LX, switch height control back on, and activate “low.” The LX will drop itself down from the trailer. It’s a bit more complicated than towing with most vehicles, but you will learn. Having a door unlatched or the tailgate open will prevent this from happening, and it is a pain to have to close up the vehicle just to do all these steps. Forget to turn off the height control and the LX will raise or lower itself in a quest to hold itself under the trailer coupler, resulting in some interesting configurations with its butt high in the air along with the trailer front, making the truck-trailer combo into an inverted Vee.

My initial indication of AHC system problems was the LX taking waaaay too long to raise back up once the trailer was hitched. Before someone asks about tongue weight, I use a Weigh Safe hitch with a built in tongue weight scale, so I know that even with one of the towed horses being my portly Clydesdale gelding there was not too much weight on the tongue.

BTW, there never was any warning light or fault code. My test following noting the long raising time was to raise to the high setting. When the H light came on the front end started slowly bouncing up and down, as I assume the pressure leaked down and the computer tried to keep the front end up. It reminded my of a low rider car bouncing up and down, though nowhere near as violent.

Having thought more about your planned towing use, I’d definitely recommend the RUN AWAY option. You don’t need to add an iffy suspension to the towing equation. I don’t know what you will tow, but I was not going to put my horses at increased risk with a tow vehicle I didn’t trust.

bmccall

Oh my gosh, you have a Clydesdale, that is SO awesome .. I always wanted one. Those do qualify as a bit portly, for sure. Thanks so much for the detailed explanation of how you found the problem and the behavior, and also for your suggestion to run. We will only be towing a travel trailer, so nothing alive, but since it's a custom build, we would prefer not to wreck it for sure. I did find out it IS supposedly an OEM part (direct from mfg, not Lexus, to save money??), but even if that's true, I still have the installation worries. It's back at the Lexus dealer (after a conversation with the service manager expressing my unhappiness with the original non-evaluation) for them to check it for real this time. If Lexus signs off on it as an OEM part that is properly installed and working within specified parameters, does that change the calculus any?

Thanks again! I'm sorry about all the messages. We have limited inventory around here, and our next most likely option is 2+ hours away.

Reggie1

I suppose if Lexus verifies that the height control is now functioning normally, and this is the vehicle you really want, you will likely be OK.

But here’s the worrying part. Why did the system fail initially? There are a bunch of other parts that connect to the pump. If, for instance, failure was due to contaminated or improper fluid (Toyota uses a special suspension fluid), other remote parts may have been contaminated and may fail later.This fluid used to come in a sealed metal can that set it apart visually from other shop fluids, but Toyota now packages it in the same shape plastic bottles as engine oil, so someone inadvertently picking up the wrong container might happen.

On the positive side, failure should not leave you stranded on the roadside. I would try to get a written commitment that failure of other AHC parts will be covered by the seller. Good luck.

bmccall

What an absolutely beautiful horse!!! Now that's real horse-power. Thank you for sharing the photo. Thanks also for the good ideas and suggestions!