2008-2018 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement (4 Viewers)

[bloc]

Don't forget that the new Toyota Radiator you install will most likely have the same failure after X number of miles. I'm sure it will take a few years however some people are losing their radiators at pretty low mileage. Just know that you haven't fixed the problem, only delayed it further.

I didn't state it well but that was my point.. I'm fine with ~80-100k miles out of a $300 part, especially when the health of that part is so easy to check on.

If the rest of the truck were an unreliable/ugly/inefficient/slow pile of junk my opinion on this topic would be very different, but if this one radiator problem is the biggest of my worries about this model? I'll take it.

 

[linuxgod]

Just hit 75k today on my 2013. It finally warmed up so I spent about 15 minutes under the truck and in the engine bay checking out the suspension, cooling system, etc. About 3,000 miles ago there was no hairline crack in the radiator. Today I noticed one.

I have the Toyota Platinum VSA but I'm sure they won't replace this under warranty until it goes. I'm going to run it for now and keep a close eye on it, since most of our driving is within a few miles of the house. If it doesn't blow in a couple months I may just do it myself before Telluride. No better way to ruin a vacation than have a radiator blow out while I'm pulling a trailer through the middle of nowhere in Nebraska

 

[gaijin]

Just hit 75k today on my 2013. It finally warmed up so I spent about 15 minutes under the truck and in the engine bay checking out the suspension, cooling system, etc. About 3,000 miles ago there was no hairline crack in the radiator. Today I noticed one.

I have the Toyota Platinum VSA but I'm sure they won't replace this under warranty until it goes. I'm going to run it for now and keep a close eye on it, since most of our driving is within a few miles of the house. If it doesn't blow in a couple months I may just do it myself before Telluride. No better way to ruin a vacation than have a radiator blow out while I'm pulling a trailer through the middle of nowhere in Nebraska

View attachment 1681926

My 2013 looks very similar

 

[linuxgod]

My 2013 looks very similar

Maybe put a block of wood on top and smack it with a big hammer a few times to finish off that crack

Apparently yours still looks the same after 3 weeks. Not sure where you're at @gaijin but if you only have 36k miles I'm guessing you do a lot of short trips. I really have to believe this is related to the number of heating/cooling cycles.

I honestly wonder given that Toyota must see the high failure rate if this failure is intentional. i.e. much like the plastic gear in a Kitchenaid mixer that's designed to shred itself if the arm jams, I wonder if Toyota actually prefers for this spot to fail rather than somewhere else in the system that might be more catastrophic?

I wish this had started months ago. I've put less than 3000 miles on the truck in the last 6 months, mainly around town, but I'll put 7000-8000 miles on the truck over the next 4 months, most of which will be on long trips pulling the camper.

 

[Softride62]

They did this out of warranty???

Sorry Markuson, , I don't get on here enough and just noticed this question, and this answer still will help many: yes, no warranty at all, I called concerned, they said to send them the receipt once work was done and they would reimburse. I did this work at Autonation Toyota of Austin , about 2 weeks later I got the check .

 

[Markuson]

Sorry Markuson, , I don't get on here enough and just noticed this question, and this answer still will help many: yes, no warranty at all, I called concerned, they said to send them the receipt once work was done and they would reimburse. I did this work at Autonation Toyota of Austin , about 2 weeks later I got the check .

Wow! They paid the full bill?
They sent me a $300 voucher.
On the other hand...my truck was 8 years old at the time.

 

[Fisher112]

Wow! They paid the full bill?
They sent me a $300 voucher.
On the other hand...my truck was 8 years old at the time.

Here isn

Not sure why that is the case but I can confirm, it is NOT a fitment issue since I did order the 16400-50384 for my MY2008 and installed it yesterday.

Here's some clarification for you 2008 and 2009 owners with regard to part number 16400-50380 vs 50384 (which is much cheaper). As 1HaytchZed indicated there should be no fit issue. I confirmed with a source of mine who has access to technical info on these components that the only difference is a piece of foam that comes on the 50380 unit on the passenger side (likely removed for cost reduction), and a different print style on the radiator cap due to a revision in '10 but the performance specs and dimensions all match between the 50380 and 50384.

 

[bloc]

2013 with ~108k miles.

Slight crack out right side has been the same for approx 2k miles I've owned it.. not sure how long it was like that before. I have a new radiator in the garage waiting to get my spare car back before I tear into this.. also sortof curious how far it'll go like this.

 

[SWUtah]

My 2013 looks very similar

Is this a solid plastic block? If so what's its purpose?

 

[gaijin]

Is this a solid plastic block? If so what's its purpose?

Yes ... and nobody knows - it's a mystery

 

[UCrazyKid]

Is this a solid plastic block? If so what's its purpose?

No, it is not a solid block. There is thread around here by someone that took their failed radiator and cut it apart to look inside. It is a square indent (from the inside). There seems to be no other purpose for it than to have a flat surface to print the part number information. But it has created a weak point as well as a place where coolant or air might get trapped creating a temperature differential that could affect expansion/contractions rate differences in that localized position causing the problem.
Just my $0.02

 

[4gotalot]

When submitting a claim...

Formation of the platform exceeded the "bend allowance" of materials type and thickness.

Or just say its broke.

 

[gaijin]

No, it is not a solid block. There is thread around here by someone that took their failed radiator and cut it apart to look inside. It is a square indent (from the inside). There seems to be no other purpose for it than to have a flat surface to print the part number information. But it has created a weak point as well as a place where coolant or air might get trapped creating a temperature differential that could affect expansion/contractions rate differences in that localized position causing the problem.
Just my $0.02

I understood "solid block" to mean not added on - i.e. formed with the top of the radiator and not attached separately.

But you are correct, and that is an interesting hypothesis about trapped gasses.

HTH

 

[SWUtah]

Anyone ever have a cracked radiator who has never taken their LX or LC off road? Could impact and vibration be a factor ?

 

[SWUtah]

Also I had a new OEM radiator installed on my 2015 LX 570 at approximately 25,000 miles because of an accident is there any difference in the OEM 2018 radiators ? I now have 4000 miles on the new OEM radiator I’m just hoping they fix something or changed it

 

[Chocolate]

Looks like 3 revised parts?

 

[Chocolate]

I honestly wonder given that Toyota must see the high failure rate if this failure is intentional. i.e. much like the plastic gear in a Kitchenaid mixer that's designed to shred itself if the arm jams, I wonder if Toyota actually prefers for this spot to fail rather than somewhere else in the system that might be more catastrophic?

Occam's Razor.

A plastic and metal radiator is cheaper than an all metal radiator. But for the price there should be an all metal one.

 

[KAScruiser]

Just got a killer deal on a 2009 LX, already has leaks and the hairline crack but I used it as more negotiating ammo....dealer was clueless. No Lexus dealer in my city, but the Toyota dealer is trying to charge me $458 for the radiator and est. $700 ($140/hr) in labor. Debating on ordering a OEM for $300 or a DENSO ($250ish) one and having it installed by a trusted indy for $470 (94/hr) ish. Pretty much read through this entire post...any final verdict on the OEM (16400-50384) vs an aftermarket like a DENSO?

 

[1HaytchZed]

Looks like 3 revised parts?

View attachment 1683454

View attachment 1683457

If those revisions mean that this particular failure mechanism has been mitigated via corrective action, then the Toyota dealer/system should recommend you replace your radiator with the superseded 16400-50384 PN.
So I just called the local Toyota Parts dept and asked what radiator they recommend for my MY2008 URJ200, after using my VIN, they said "$710, oh no, wait a second, there is a superseding PN, 16400-50384, $497".

Without actually taking this new revision radiator apart one can't tell what the design change is (but that's not quite right because the engineered change could be something that is overlooked/oblivious to the human eye like pressure compensation, etc), but it LOOKS like that Toyota is directing older MY URJ200s be replaced by the newer PN radiators. And another way of proving that the mitigation was a fail, is if someone reports that the 16400-50384 has failed in the same manner, with the same failure mechanism.

 

[bloc]

Occam's Razor.

A plastic and metal radiator is cheaper than an all metal radiator. But for the price there should be an all metal one.

I'd bet it has less to do with cost and more to do with cooling capacity and keeping the metals that coolant is in contact with similar

Besides, beyond nostalgia all-metal isn't necessarily better. Even OTR and heavy duty truck chassis have been using aluminum/plastic for many years. Cost does matter in those applications, but if it won't work well for a long time, it won't get used.