Rx300 Camshaft Snapped.

[trouthead]

My 04 RX300 with 142k on the clock and regular servicing (mostly with Lexus) is now off the road and at Lexus Poole with a snapped camshaft. Initially, the RAC diagnosed an OBDII code of PO345 said it was a failed camshaft sensor which I changed with an OEM part. The problem was still there and so 2 days later, the RAC recovered me from my home to the Poole dealership. They found a broken camshaft on bank 2 (nearest the radiator) and £700 to fix it. What will follow the successful running of the engine will be a replacement timing belt.

My question is: Why would a camshaft snap? Metal Fatigue, or what? Has there been a history of camshaft failures or recalls for this part?

[Duncan Roberts]

My 04 RX300 with 142k on the clock and regular servicing (mostly with Lexus) is now off the road and at Lexus Poole with a snapped camshaft. Initially, the RAC diagnosed an OBDII code of PO345 said it was a failed camshaft sensor which I changed with an OEM part. The problem was still there and so 2 days later, the RAC recovered me from my home to the Poole dealership. They found a broken camshaft on bank 2 (nearest the radiator) and £700 to fix it. What will follow the successful running of the engine will be a replacement timing belt.

My question is: Why would a camshaft snap? Metal Fatigue, or what? Has there been a history of camshaft failures or recalls for this part?

I don't recall this being raised here before, have you checked the 'search' facility?

[trouthead]

My 04 RX300 with 142k on the clock and regular servicing (mostly with Lexus) is now off the road and at Lexus Poole with a snapped camshaft. Initially, the RAC diagnosed an OBDII code of PO345 said it was a failed camshaft sensor which I changed with an OEM part. The problem was still there and so 2 days later, the RAC recovered me from my home to the Poole dealership. They found a broken camshaft on bank 2 (nearest the radiator) and £700 to fix it. What will follow the successful running of the engine will be a replacement timing belt.

My question is: Why would a camshaft snap? Metal Fatigue, or what? Has there been a history of camshaft failures or recalls for this part?

I don't recall this being raised here before, have you checked the 'search' facility?

Had a search through through the other forums without finding anything significant and Google shows some people have also suffered failures but no real trends.