Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| EG002 | 05/29/1998 | 601429 | Charcoal canister assembly supply parts have been changed to simplify parts production and permit interchangeability with current model vehicles. *yc | 08/04/1998 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 010102 | 01/01/2002 | 628655 | Special policy adjustment for customers who have experienced specific mechanical engine problems attributable to the condition known as oil gelling or sludge. *tt | 03/19/2002 | |
| EL00198 | 01/23/1998 | 600198 | Subject on engine immobilizer system precautions. *yc | 04/29/1998 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | ||||||
| DP02004 | TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 04/30/2002 | 06/20/2002 | ENGINE SEIZURE | ||
| Alleged that the engine seizure due to oil sludge | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 08/15/2002 | 70000 | ||
| Engine light stays on. decreased performance. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 10/05/2006 | 133507 | 2 | 01/17/2000 |
| I have a 1998 lexus es300. in november 2003, my car was serviced under lexus' spa program due to engine oil gelling/sludge. now, 3 years later, the engine seized. this is a direct and consequential result of driving the car for 76k miles with a gelling issue. the damage had been done and this was a latent defect. we took the car to the lexus dealer and had it serviced three weeks ago, spent $700 on it, drove it off the lot and 20 minutes later the engine seized. they now want $5k to put a used engine in it with 130k miles on it. lexus corporation was useless and they basically said no matter if the seize was caused by the gelling or not, because the car had so many miles on it they were not willing to assist. beware of lexus of seattle - they are crooks! *nm | |||
| 01/19/2005 | 2 | 09/28/2004 | |
| Consumer 1998 lexus 300 es check engine light illuminated knocked and died while pulling to the side of the road. *ts ***nar*** the consumer was informed the engine had completely seized. the repair facility recommended a new engine. after the replacement engine was installed in dec 2004, the vehicle was inspected on february 11, 2005 and the mechanic noticed oil leaks around the valve cover and oil pan areas. the brakes and calipers had to be replaced. *jb | |||
| The consumer was told that the engine may experience engine problems. the consumer would like to participate in the national call back. *mr *scc *nlm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL | |||
| 05/24/2008 | 115254 | 1 | |
| I have a 1998 lexus es300 with approximately 115,000 on the car. the check engine light recently came on stating that it was emissions code p0466, which is a common charcoal cannister problem for lexus es300 1996 and up. there was an extended warranty issued for 1996-1998 lexus es300 for the emission problem which includes the p0466 problem. i went to the lexus dealer to get that emissions problem fix, but they said that not all of the 1998 lexus es300 was included in this warranty and my car was one of the cars that was in that category. since the extended warranty stated that 96-98 lexus es300 are covered, is there any way that my car would be covered since it's a 1998 lexus es300? *tr | |||