starcube

2022 Lexus RX350 with 2800 miles. Went in for the infamous 2GR-FKS front cover oil leak under warranty. Dealer dropped the engine, re-sealed it, put in all new gaskets, oil filter, everything. Leak's fixed. Job looks super-clean, not a single bolt or plastic clip missing, everything's plugged back in, they even cleaned the engine bay and under the car.

I am noticing some engine vibration in the steering wheel and seat around 750RPM, then at 1100RPM, and again at 1950RPM... It feels like a subwoofer is playing at low volume and vibrating the whole car at those RPMs. It's not shaking, but it is noticeable. Can feel this if I put my hand on the center console, too. Car otherwise drives smooth as butter, no shaking or other vibrations of any kind. No vibrations at other RPMs... just around those 3 spots. I know they had to disconnect the battery when they dropped the engine so I drove the car over 100 miles just in case it forgot its air/fuel mixture settings, but nothing's changed. The vibration almost disappears when in Park or Neutral.

Is this normal on the RX350? I went back to the dealer and the shop foreman drove it with me in the car and said he can't feel anything wrong with it, that it feels just like the other 10 cars he drove that day. I know I could just be hypersensitive and looking for problems that aren't problems because I just had the engine dropped, so I'm trying to decide if this vibration is new or it was just always there and I never paid attention to it before.

ravenuer

You've got plenty of time left on your warranty, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just drive it.

15RX98422

take it to a different dealer

starcube

The next closest dealer is an hour's drive away. I'm trying to gauge whether I'm on a wild goose chase here before I commit more time to this.

Quantum501

I have never noticed any vibration, but at least you have it on record by going back to the dealership and making them aware of it. As ravenuer says, you have plenty of warranty remaining, so keep track if it goes away or worsens.

Oil leak at 2800 miles. I thought that they had ironed out most of these issues with oil leaks and water pump leaks. Good luck.

starcube

The oil leak is caused by sloppiness during assembly at the factory. There's one specific spot where the timing cover, block, and head cover meet, and if you put too little or too much sealant there, oil will push its way through it and start leaking. Once it's fixed, the engine's golden until it dies of old age.

The leak is slow and you can easily check for it - the underside of the engine will be covered in oil film in the oil pan area.

The Car Care Nut has a very good video on this issue:

lexus13dan

Once you replace an engine ,The car will never be the same, Or remove an engine

starcube

Well that's really reassuring. Can you explain why exactly? If everything is put back together correctly it shouldn't be any different than before the repair.

lexus13dan

Thats the problem, If it is put back together PERFECTLY like the factory, I have had engines replaced before, Never the same, I guess you can get real lucky But thats all! Anyone want to chime in?

starcube

I think if the tech knows what they're doing then it shouldn't be any different than how it was initially installed. Especially on these cars, where the engine drops out from the bottom on a sub-frame, it's literally designed to be serviced easily.

I think only a professional tech who's worked on these engines hundreds of times would be able to provide some actually useful information here. "Never the same" is really meaningless to me. What exactly is "never the same"? What goes wrong?

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

Techs are paid flat rate. They want to get the job done as soon as possible. Meaning, they will use impact guns and not torquing everything to specs.

Perhaps, they have jeopardized the engine mounts during the installment?

hfahmy

Take it back and if they don't fix the issue after third visit, file lemon law.

designo

iTrader: (6)

You would think that Lexus would look into this matter and take care of you if it was an uncommon issue. What on earth are the dealers good for in your neck of the woods????
Sickening.

Basil55

They’re soft for mobile phones that can record vibrations. You can try to put phone on dashboard and record while driving. Compare to the record from similar car.

703

Not normal. I wouldn’t accept it.