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Rx400h Rusting Brake Callipers


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Hi to all those interested in this subject.

I purchased an ex demonstrator RX400h when it was six months old from Lexus Birmingham with just over 5,000 miles on the clock. The vehicle is now coming up for a year old at the end of the month and has 5,600 miles on the clock so not used much.

Has anybody experience the same problem as me which is rusting brake callipers on the RX400h. For those of you who own one will know that the callipers are very visable on these cars and the rusting really looks bad on such a vehicle.

If you have, what has Lexus done about it? At the moment I can get no satisfaction from the Lexus dealer on this matter.!!!!!!

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Common problem on all Lexus, and all cars generally. I originally had them all replaced by Lexus under warranty, and then when the new ones corroded after the warranty expired I just painted them myself with Hammerite (as many others on here have also done)

As the car's only a year old, I'd get them replaced first though :)

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Common problem on all Lexus, and all cars generally. I originally had them all replaced by Lexus under warranty, and then when the new ones corroded after the warranty expired I just painted them myself with Hammerite (as many others on here have also done)

As the car's only a year old, I'd get them replaced first though :)

Thanks for your comments. How old was your vehicle when you had them replaced under warranty?

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On the point of rust, I think it is only surface rust - so nothing to worry about. Can't recall if our 6+ years old RX suffered from this problem. A little 'rust' here and there shouldn't be a worry TBH. But seeing as you're in the 3 year warranty - get it done if you like :)

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Thanks for your comments. How old was your vehicle when you had them replaced under warranty?

Just over 2 years old I think, the age shouldn't really matter though - some dealers aren't as helpful as others though, so perhaps try another one if yours is kicking up a fuss.

When you get the new ones, get some clear lacquer and give them a few coats - makes them last a while longer before they corrode again :)

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Thanks for your comments. How old was your vehicle when you had them replaced under warranty?

Just over 2 years old I think, the age shouldn't really matter though - some dealers aren't as helpful as others though, so perhaps try another one if yours is kicking up a fuss.

When you get the new ones, get some clear lacquer and give them a few coats - makes them last a while longer before they corrode again :)

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Thanks for your comments. How old was your vehicle when you had them replaced under warranty?

Just over 2 years old I think, the age shouldn't really matter though - some dealers aren't as helpful as others though, so perhaps try another one if yours is kicking up a fuss.

When you get the new ones, get some clear lacquer and give them a few coats - makes them last a while longer before they corrode again :)

Thanks again for your helpful comments. I will follow this up with the dealer.

Cheers

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On the point of rust, I think it is only surface rust - so nothing to worry about. Can't recall if our 6+ years old RX suffered from this problem. A little 'rust' here and there shouldn't be a worry TBH. But seeing as you're in the 3 year warranty - get it done if you like :)

The rust does nothing for the appearance of the vehicle but thanks for your comments.

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On the point of rust, I think it is only surface rust - so nothing to worry about. Can't recall if our 6+ years old RX suffered from this problem. A little 'rust' here and there shouldn't be a worry TBH. But seeing as you're in the 3 year warranty - get it done if you like :)

The rust does nothing for the appearance of the vehicle but thanks for your comments.

As far as I am aware, the 'as new' finish on brake calipers is a result of passivate plating. Unfortunately, this comes off in time - but the worst thing is alloy wheel cleaners! They absolutely strip the plating off leaving them looking like untreated metal, which essentially they then are. Although I don't like the 'rusty' look, I would find it hard to hold Lexus responsible for this in say the same way as alloy wheels corroding. I think I would feel a little sheepish going into a dealer and asking them to put my car on the ramp, strip off the wheels, the brakes, replace calipers (and hence also the pads) with new ones, bleed the brake hydraulic system - when within 2 years, it will have gone like that again.

If you were to go through all that trouble, I would ask to collect the new calipers from the dealer and have them professionally enamelled up somwhere before being fitted. In that way, their durability of appearance will be greatly enhanced and much more resistant to acidic alloy wheel cleaners that they use when they valet a car at service time.

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On the point of rust, I think it is only surface rust - so nothing to worry about. Can't recall if our 6+ years old RX suffered from this problem. A little 'rust' here and there shouldn't be a worry TBH. But seeing as you're in the 3 year warranty - get it done if you like :)

The rust does nothing for the appearance of the vehicle but thanks for your comments.

As far as I am aware, the 'as new' finish on brake calipers is a result of passivate plating. Unfortunately, this comes off in time - but the worst thing is alloy wheel cleaners! They absolutely strip the plating off leaving them looking like untreated metal, which essentially they then are. Although I don't like the 'rusty' look, I would find it hard to hold Lexus responsible for this in say the same way as alloy wheels corroding. I think I would feel a little sheepish going into a dealer and asking them to put my car on the ramp, strip off the wheels, the brakes, replace calipers (and hence also the pads) with new ones, bleed the brake hydraulic system - when within 2 years, it will have gone like that again.

If you were to go through all that trouble, I would ask to collect the new calipers from the dealer and have them professionally enamelled up somwhere before being fitted. In that way, their durability of appearance will be greatly enhanced and much more resistant to acidic alloy wheel cleaners that they use when they valet a car at service time.

Thanks very much for your comments.

You clearly have the technical knowhow on the subject and I understand the points you make. However my point is that this vehicle was not cheap and is supposed to maintain its looks well beyond the first 12 months given that the owner takes care of it. I personally have not used alloy wheel cleaning substances on this vehicle at all.

Your comments identify a way in which the problem can be overcome and given that this works satisfactorily then I, as the customer, would expect Lexus to stanby its product and have such work carried out to ensure that their products look good and attract the would be next Lexus purchaser.

Thanks again.

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I agree with you, a car "should" keep its looks for more than 12 months. Unfortunately, the way the brakes are prepared on these cars by Lexus/Toyota falls short of that expectation. Brakes work in a harsh operating environment: brake dust, grime, water, salt, cycles of hot and cold. The calipers on an RX just aren't able to keep their cosmetic looks, and the dealers themselves destroy the plating through using aggressive alloy wheel cleaners. Other premium brands like Audi make a much better job of painting the calipers so they are alot more durable. It niggles me too and I have thought about re-plating the calipers, without taking them off the car, using a paint on electroplating kit from Frost Automotive, the classic car care supplies people.

I got a nasty surprise on my RX 300 when looking inside the passenger seat. At 2 years, the internal frame was oxidised and rusty all over. My 2007 RX 350 has rust on the frame under the back seats. I noticed this when vacuuming the car interior out as my 2 year old can make some mess. I had to retrieve some sweet papers and crisps from under the seat, and had a shock when I looked under the back seat using a torch to see all of the oxidation. Now I don't expect THAT to happen on a premium car, always garaged, and not 2 years old. Very disappointing, and I will probably take that up with a dealer before the warranty expires. The problem in my experience is that many Lexus technicians are still not sympathetic when working on someone else's car and that they can cause more damage, marks, scratches etc in the process of 'fixing' something. In the case of the back seat frame, I do not know whether that means a complete back seat or not, but I can imagine that the paintwork in the door shuts would get scraped if they had to exchange the seat. It sucks.

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