Has anyone had their fuel tank straps shear and the fuel tank hit the road with a bang?
I was luckily only doing 30mph and managed to find a lay-by in 50 yards. I had the car towed back to the Lexus dealership where I bought the car new in 2005 and who look after it for me. It has a full service history. Had I been on a Motorway doing 70 the tank would have scraped along for some distance before I could have reached the hard shoulder. There is a possibility the tank could have ruptured amidst a shower of sparks and a disaster could have occurred.
It happens I was lucky. I was told by the Lexus dealership that the straps were £370. I said surely this was a Lexus UK thing as no fuel tank should hit the road no matter the age of the car. Lexus UK did not agree and I paid the bill. But the money is not really the issue. The reality is that Lexus is not willing to acknowledge that this could have been a really big problem for them had I been unlucky enough to have been in a fireball on the motorway.
Surely the corroded straps should have been spotted at my last service in December 2015 but the vehicle health check form does not list the fuel tank straps. Surely a good idea for something so critical?
Anyway those of you with older Lexus Rx400s please look at the tank straps.
Sorry, the 3 close ups of the tank have loaded upside down!
