Hello all,

Just wanted to see if any high mileage 4RX owners have undertaken their own water pump change? My RX is a 2016 and will probably be in the 100k range in the next year. Just wanted to see if anyone went through a water pump change out here. My water pump has been working fine since day 1 and has had no leaks thus far.

 

Have you changed the coolant regularly? If the coolant is in good shape, and the pump isn't leaking, I would simply make sure to keep the coolant maintained. The pump may not leak for 10s of K miles.

 

ya I change it at 100k or 10 years, per the Toyota long life specs. So I’ll probably do that first but there’s a video on YouTube of a 125k mile 2016 that needed a water pump. I do about 30-40k miles a year, so won’t be too much longer.

 

Just because one RX had a bad pump doesn't mean they all will. Yours may last the life of the car.

 

The water pumps on the 2GR engines are known to leak -- it's not terribly uncommon, according to a thread or two on this forum. However I don't know that replacing it now will preclude a leak in 10K or 20K or 30K miles, either. They don't seem to fail catastrophically, either, they just start oozing coolant, so it's not likely to leave you on the berm.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...tires-too.html

 

The water pump on my last Rx was fine till I sold it at 150k miles but the radiator started leaking at about that time. Fortunately, my local Toyota dealer voluntarily found an inexpensive aftermarket radiator for replacement at a pretty reasonable price.

 

So… anyone replace it themselves? Lol. Hoping for some tips. According to the video, it’s a 10.5 hour job at Lexus. He has some good tips but always nice to hear from someone else.

 

Want to keep it healthy? Change coolant every 5 yrs and forget the 100K miles or 10 yrs slogan.

 

While that may be true, the pump is a mechanical device that will fail. It’s not a matter of if, it’s when. Toyota LL fluid is actually really good comparatively speaking.

I am looking for someone who’s actually done this change out.

 

I live in Florida too, I’d rather change my water pump November-April than May-October. I’d buy a factory pump, super long life coolant, thermostat and belt. I’m planning on doing the same on my Es350, it’s a 2014 with 55000 miles. I’m gonna do mine at 10 years or 90K miles, whichever comes 1st. I am guessing you have a 2wd Rx350 since you’re in Fl. I haven’t changed a 3.5 pump yet, I’ve done a lot of 3.3 and 3.0 pumps when I did the timing belt, most videos and people who have done the job say jacking up the engine, carefully with a block of wood under the oil pan, after removing the right side engine mount lower nuts, works adequately. If you’re typically a DIY’er, I think you can handle it. There is a good DIY writeup for this in Club Lexus. Frank

 

My neighbor had to replace the WP on her 2015 RX. The cost was $2200 at the dealer several years ago, so that amount of labor time sounds about right.

 

My ‘16 450h had a water pump leak at 57k. There is a specific test that Lexus requires failure to assume the warranty replacement. The “paper towel” test is used to determine the severity of the leak; if the towel is wet, it can be replaced. If the towel is dry or they find crystallized or dried fluid, it is not. This is a big job and requires removal of several belts and parts to access the pump. My dealer replaced all of the belts they removed at the time of replacement as an added maintenance precaution. I would highly recommend seeing if a Toyota dealership would be willing to bid your job. They did mine and saved about $800 in labor. Parts are certified Lexus. Good luck!

 

I just got a new to me 2017 RX 350 and logged into the Lexus Owner site to download the maintenance history. Apparently the water pump was leaking and replaced under warranty at the local Lexus dealer by the seller (a non-Lexus dealer) along with replacing the fuel pump. Has anyone else had a water pump fail at such low mileage? I've never had a vehicle where that has occurred. Most prior cars went 100K before I changed if I had to do a timing belt at the same time.

Thanks.

 

I have a similar situation as well. 2017 RX 350 and the maintainance history indicated that the Water Pump was replaced under warranty before I bought it. Is there any way to know if the Drive belt has been replaced along with?

 

It would have to be on the maintenance history, otherwise no way to know. You could always check or have a mechanic check the condition of the belt.