Bonijaa

purchased a certified USED 2010 RX 350 Lexus 2+ years ago. All was well with the vehicle until last week when I got a light on dashboard saying check all wheel drive. I was already almost at work so I continued and the light went off. After work I was driving and the warning came on again so I headed to the nearest Lexus dealer but the car began to slow down. I got to the side of the road and it went off. I had to get a tow to the nearest dealership. They gave me a loaner car and told me they would take a look. I got a call later saying the engine had been overheating and that I would need a new engine. How could this happen? I have been getting regular oil changes having filters changed and brakes changed by a dealer. They checked the car out. There has never been any sign of engine overheat, no smells; nothing. My question is there a recall for this model for the engine? I have checked the internet and found that this is a reoccurring issue with this model and year. How do I proceed to get Lexus to take care of this engine? I am appalled that the car has the potential to overheat and have engine failure without warning.

Clutchless

Welcome to CL, but I doubt you will like what I have to say.
There is a temperature gauge you are supposed to pay attention to as it shows when the engine overheats. It is on the left side of the dash. It sounds like never noticed it and you only saw the idiot lights and failed to notice the temperature gauge. If you did notice it and it was normal, then I apologize. You also failed to stop and find out what the light meant, and compounded the error by continuing to drive after the light came on. If you had stopped right away, or maybe if you left it parked at work and called a tow truck, you may not have melted your engine. I doubt Lexus will take care of this due to your contributory negligence, but you never know.

MikeInOr

If Lexus won't cover swapping the engine under warranty I would not pay to replace it until you at least get a second opinion.

jshow816

The dealer should be able to tell you why the engine was overheating. I'd start there.

The problem with the all wheel drive you described, the brake work, and filter changes the dealer have done on the car are irrelevant to your current issue.

I can't believe that NO messages referring to engine temperatures popped up on the gauge cluster EVEN if you didn't notice the analog temperature gauge climbing (I just checked, and page 555 of my owner's manual says the information display in the gauge cluster will display "ENGINE OVERHEAT" as well as a yellow triangle with an exclamation point, and a buzzer will sound if an overheat condition emerges)..

If the motor was getting hot and you continued to drive the vehicle, shame on you. If something failed during the final trip and you stopped immediately I have a hard time believing it would cause enough damage to warrant a new motor. Although catastrophic engine failure IS possible if it got hot enough. Heads could warp or the block crack, etc..

You definitely deserve more information on what happened before having a new motor installed.

If the dealer can not satisfactorily explain what LED to the overheating and subsequent engine failure, I'd bite the bullet and tow the vehicle somewhere else for a second opinion as suggested above. The tow would be chump change compared to the cost of a motor.

With no leaks, or white smoke out of the tailpipe, my guess would be water pump failure or a similar lack of coolant flow from heads/block to radiator.

NateJG

Really?!?

Please expound.

Clutchless

Time for a new car or a used engine. No way I would install a new engine from a dealer into an 8 year old car as they usually want about $20,000. One can find used engines for about $3,000 plus installation.
However, I doubt we will hear back from the thread originator.