czunit

Bound to happen. The 2013 Lexus RX350 started making rattling noises a few weeks back and for awhile I thought it was one of the belt tensioners. Nope. put the car on jackstands this weekend, had one of the kids take the tension off the belt, and found that the water pump pulley can literally be rocked from side to side. Never seen anything quite like that.

It's going to blow any minute now, but the weird part is that the car has *no* leaking from the pump. This is impossible if the shaft has that much play, how can it possibly maintain any sort of a seal?

I took a look at the repair procedure and it looks to be a pain in the rear. Is this a 1k job, 2k job, or "junk the Lexus for $1.00" sort of job?

Thanks! We've had this thing for awhile and I've had good luck with Toyota engines in the past (220k on a Sienna, 250k on a 1st Gen Prius). To have a major part like this fair at 80k miles points to a pretty crummy engine IMO. So if I fix this, will something else equally difficult to get to blow up next?

Thanks!
Chris

carguy75

The water pump is one of the Toyota/Lexus 3.5V6 weak points. The water pump leaks and/or the bearing goes bad that causes a wobbly pulley with noise. It is a random issue that affect many 3.5V6 engines at random mileage ranging from 80k miles to well over 300k miles.

It is a $700-$1000 repair at a repair shop or about $200 DIY with an OEM water pump; cheaper with an aftermarket water pump.

I would not get rid of the RX350 for an bad water pump. Older cars will need repairs regardless of the brand; even Toyota/Lexus models.

RX in NC

Agreed. With the vehicle at just 80,000 miles, I would replace the water pump and keep on driving.

What else could happen? Plenty of information here on the forum concerning the infamous timing cover oil leak in these 3.5-liter engines (really just more of a seepage). While that area never really leaks enough oil to consider pulling the engine in order to do the repair, you definitely want to know if your vehicle has the issue. Best way to look for it is to pull the right front wheel, grab a flashlight, and have a look at the area. Use the search bar here on the forum with "RX350 timing cover oil leak" as your search phrase. You will have plenty of reading to do and plenty of photos to study. The issue has been known to show up at just 50,000 to 55,000 miles.

Clutchless

In 2023 I had to replace the water pump on my 2016 Toyota Sienna at 35000 miles. It rattled a lot, but did not leak.
It has the same engine, but it is even harder to work on due to the van body design. In my old age, I did not want to deal with it as the engine mounts have to be loosened and the engine raised up a bit to get at all the bolts.
I had a local shop do it for $1,100.00. They used a NAPA water pump which they claimed was better as it had a lifetime warranty, and put in a new serpentine belt.

salimshah

Car care nut has a video on it. He did struggle at few steps.

Salim

carguy75

I have an weeping front timing cover on my 2015 RX350 and my oil level barely moves between oil changes. At first I was freaked out that had the timing cover leak, but after a few oil changes I noticed that leak is very minor.

Now I just monitor the timing cover(engine oil level) and the water pump(noise and coolant level); as they are the only two common issues on the 2013 and newer 3.5 V6 engines to worry about. Toyota 3.5 V6 is very good reliable engine compared to the other automakers(GM,Ford,BMW,etc) V6 engines that will need a new timing chain by 100k miles. I believe Honda and Volvo still use timing belts on their V6 engines that need to be changed every 90k miles or so for about $1k or more.

Toyota 3.5 V6 is the way to go for a reliable cheap to maintain engine pass the factory warranty period.

laserwiz

This is exactly what this video talks about, except that it's on a 2007 RX350. Orig. water pump bearing shot but no leaks. He shows the repair as well
Youtube, The Car Care Nut channel (toy/Lexus Master Diag. Tech. and shopowner

Droid13

Back in the day my RX water pump went with 1000km left on the warranty, good timing. It started making a huge racket but never leaked a drop. There was an updated water pump part released at some point and I never had another issue with the cooling system. I traded in after 14 yrs and 265,000km still running great. That was the only issue I never had with the engine. I never actually had (noticeable) issues with the timing cover leak which was also a weakness of this engine design. The oil level never dropped a single mm on the dipstick between changes.

czunit

Thanks everyone. I'm used to pumps lasting 120-150k miles, so this did catch me a bit by surprise. And after thinking about I really didn't feel up to jacking the engine up and down in 100 degree summer heat.

So I took it to the Toyota dealership near me and let them check it over. Oddly enough they didn't find much else wrong. Replace brake pads (I can do that in my sleep), CV boot loose (same), and "fuel injection service time" (um.... yeah). But everything else was solid. So after chatting with the rep and discussing the fact that they shouldn't blow up that easily I got it done with a lifetime parts and labor warranty and the belt replaced for $1500.

Eh, about right considering it was an all day job. But now the motor runs super quiet, barely know its running, happier car.

I also got the pump back. HOLY SMOKES! The pump bearing is beyond shot, it growls at me, and it has enough slde shake/play that the impeller almost hits the housing. I can assume that another 100 miles and it would have chewed itself apart in an orgy of destruction, so if you hear "the noise" then yeah bit the bullet and have the repair done or junk the car.

Now to remove the rear bumper cover to knock the huge dent from when my wife backed into a tree. Twice. Never dull.

Thanks everyone for your comments and thoughts!