Aging

Aside from oil changes, brakes, and tires, nothing has been replaced in my 2010 RX350 except the rear shocks. Part of me feels like not even getting it serviced aside from an oil change, I could jinx it!

I got a quote from a local dealership for $2800 for the 120K service plus a coolant flush, since my old mechanic never did that. A trustworthy shop nearby quoted $1800 for the same service (with genuine Lexus parts) but said they would check out the plugs first and if they looked good I could consider leaving them alone. Meanwhile, I watched a video of someone replacing the spark plugs and it is so involved that I am terrified of having an independent shop do it. Whichever way I end up going, I'm wondering about the advice I've seen in the forum to change the rear ignition coils as well, since the parts would cost much less than disassembling everything over again in the event of a failure (and I just had an ignition coil in my Mercedes go bad three days after the intake manifold was replaced, although it was easy to get to).

Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Will the vehicle "suffer" if I do not change the plugs at all? I feel like I should definitely do everything else required, plus the coolant flush. I'm also considering getting the Lexus software for my Launch Creader and seeing if any stored fault codes come up before bringing it in.

salimshah

Reply in reverse order;

If there are active codes, CEL would have been lit. If there are pending, they will most likely clear out or change to active. My view is, I will wait till the code changes to active. In fact I will record active [and even pending] and clear code and act on the next onset.

Spark plugs ... personally I would follow the recommended replacement schedule 120K miles. For coil packs I would wait till I see one fails. If I had only one vehicle and it was a must for me to have 24/7 working vehicle, I would replace the coil packs near the firewall along with the spark plug change. The plugs can last more than 200K. If you chose to punt be prepared that spark plug fail can happen at an inopportune time and worst at a bad spot. You can chug couple of miles but should not be driving it.

Coolant flush is an overkill. Just drain and fill should be good enough. You can save on labor.

I would call back the dealer and get a break down on service time, labor & parts. Then get the same info from independent and then you can compare the two estimates. You will get couple of convenience servicing at dealership. Indi can get OEM parts at discount. I would not supply parts to any mechanic.

Extra: at 120K you may like to look into transmission drain and fill. This issue has been discussed a whole lot. Please use search.

Salim