QuestionMy ES300 1994 is leaking power steering fluid. I took it to the local dealership and ask that they find the leak, give me a cost on repair and at that point I will either pay them a check-out fee or have the car repaired. The car has 169K miles on it and worth about $2500, so I did not want to see any additional funds into the car. Last month I had the ECU replaced and the air filter hose for $1497.92( see my issue here).
Anyhow, they called me about 10am that morning and said they had found the leak and it would cost about $866.02 I thought long and hard about spending more money on the car, but thought, maybe I could give it to my teenage daughter once repaired. So, I authorized the repair. They replaced the pressure fluid hose and gasket. The labor was 3.5 hours @$99.50). So, it wasn't cheap, but I certainly did not want to damage the pump ...etc..
I parked the car at home over night and the next morning, again I had a puddle of power steering fluid. I called the Lexus dealership and the Service Consultant that handled my car ... told me how they saw fluid bubblng around the old high pressure hose and this is why they replaced the hose. I asked them, if this was the leak and he said, "there's leaks all over". I asked, if there were leaks all over why would you only repair one leak and send me off under the impression that you had corrected the problem! He had no answer, only that I should bring it back in for them to see what's going on.
I took the car back to the Lexus Dealership and he( SC) took the car to the rear of the shop, then 10-15 minutes later they returned the car to me, opened the hood and asked that I come over to the car. The technician said that there could be only one explanation for the leaks. Once the high pressure hose was replaced it forced fluid out of the weaker areas. He showed me some cracked hoses and explained that this is the worst power steering system he had ever seen. He said, on the ES300(1994) Model that the fluid hoses wrap around the engine and it would be very expensive at this point to trouble-shoot every leak. Still I was puzzled. Why did the Service Consultant NOT tell me this possibility in advance. Did they actually find a leak or just replace the most likely area for it to leak? I feel as , that I explained to them that this explanation was unacceptable and left ... before I lost control. A week has gone by and the vehicle is still leaking and I am still pissed-off. I could get rid of the car, I could try to repair the hoses myself, I could demand that they return my money and take it to an honest MOM and POP establishment. I WILL with the Jacksonville Lexus Dealership, but in the short run, would be difficult to locate the leak and repair the hoses/tank myself? They said I had an oil leak around the value cover gasket, too, however I paid the Avenues Toyota Dealership to repair this in Sept. 2006. Of course, I will have to return it to them ... but that's how my car ended up at the Lexus dealership, because they could not figure out that the ECU had died for some reason.
Anyhow, is it worth the cost to repair the leaks in the power steering system or should I take a stab at it myself? Where can I find the manual that will give me the directions for making the repair?
AnswerHello Mark,
I'm so sorry that you are dealing with a bunch of inexperience Lexus Tech. On the Lexus ES300, Your rear bank would sit about 45 degree. It's very difficult to find the leak. Here are a couple of things you would want to look for. Valve cover gaskets tend to leak, power steering pump tend to leak, high pressure hose tend to leak, cam and crank seals tend to leak and power steering pump hose return tend to leak.
We've seen many many power steering pump goes out on this vehicle. They should have warn you about the leaks since they are the known problem. If you replace the high pressure power steering hose, It would not cause anymore pressure in the system. So that statement is not true! The tech should have test drove the vehicle and inspect for leaks after he replace the hose. I would demmand for a refund and bring it somewhere else. I can't believe They charge that much for a high pressure hose. Then again this is lexus. If they refuse to refund your money, I would contact the BBB in your area. See if can assit you. You request them to fix the leak and it's not fixed. The power steering system is very complicated. I would let a Lexus proffesional handle this job.
JP Importz
DALLAS/PLANO INDEPENDENT LEXUS AND TOYOTA
SERVICE, REPAIR AND PERFORMANCE
WWW.JPIMPORTZ.ORG
214-221-3135
