AHC Fluid Problem (5 Viewers)

[GremlinMobile]

Guys I got myself into another predicament. I had 3 bottles of sealed Toyota AHC fluid left over from ~2 years ago when I bought it for another LX I had. Doing a fluid change last night, I pumped out the old fluid from the reservoir and poured in 2 bottles of the new fluid. When pouring the first bottle, I noticed a whitish colored slimeball slide out of the bottle... bloop.. right into the reservoir.... Didn't really think much of it - figured maybe it was a blob of foam or something, but I did put the reservoir screen back in before pouring the rest of the new fluid in. I went to go drain the accumulator, but found the bleeder screw to be very rusty. I decided not to get myself into any more issues and decided to leave the bleeding of the accumulator and globes to another day. When I started the car, it went from LOW to N normally. Drove normally all day. When I put her in LOW for the heck of it later today, she went down but couldn't get back up to N. I hear the pump struggling (sounds like a bit of a whine) but it's not going up. Eventually the OFF button started flashing and she's remained in LOW ever since.

Did I suck up too much of the old fluid and introduced air into the system? Is that why it doesn't want to go back up anymore?

Did the slimeball get sucked into the intake and stop up the components? If so, what do I do?

What recourse could I possibly have with the seller? I bought it on ebay from what appeared to be a reputable toyota dealer. Should I have known that these fluids expire??

 

[jLB]

Plastic bottles I assume?

There are multiple reports of issues with contaminated AHC fluid in plastic bottles.

Suspension fluid best brand

Hi all I’m wanting to flush my suspension fluid and wonder what brand people go for please? RAVENOL AHC Active Height Control Fluid? This is why came up on google Thanks

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[TexLexican]

Take out all the fluid you can from the reservoir to fish out the blob.

 

[Jack90210]

Aw man. Sorry, OP, it's a known problem with the liter bottles of AHC fluid.

 

[GremlinMobile]

Plastic bottles I assume?

There are multiple reports of issues with contaminated AHC fluid in plastic bottles.

Suspension fluid best brand

Hi all I’m wanting to flush my suspension fluid and wonder what brand people go for please? RAVENOL AHC Active Height Control Fluid? This is why came up on google Thanks

forum.ih8mud.com

Yes, plastic bottles. I've read through the numerous reports. I haven't read anything that says where people got lexus/toyota to admit fault and pay for a whole fluid flush + whatever else is necessary to get the system to working order again. That's kinda what I'm checking in about. Since it's been going on for a while now, perhaps toyota has come forth and agreed to deal with the ramifications of the defective fluid, so that I can skip to the part where they make it right?

From reading those threads, the consensus seems to be that once you take the pump apart, you can't ever get it to work again.. My bigger concern now is that my bleeder screws are all so rusty I'm afraid if I touch them, I'll have even bigger problems..

 

[GremlinMobile]

Take out all the fluid you can from the reservoir to fish out the blob.

I'm afraid the blob made its way into the pump - hence why the pump whines and doesn't lift the car up anymore.

 

[TexLexican]

I'm afraid the blob made its way into the pump - hence why the pump whines and doesn't lift the car up anymore.

Bummer. I wonder if there’s a way to push the fluid back into the reservoir? Maybe lift the car with floor jack under the front skid plate and give it a good drop.

 

[jLB]

Yes, plastic bottles. I've read through the numerous reports. I haven't read anything that says where people got lexus/toyota to admit fault and pay for a whole fluid flush + whatever else is necessary to get the system to working order again. That's kinda what I'm checking in about. Since it's been going on for a while now, perhaps toyota has come forth and agreed to deal with the ramifications of the defective fluid, so that I can skip to the part where they make it right?

From reading those threads, the consensus seems to be that once you take the pump apart, you can't ever get it to work again.. My bigger concern now is that my bleeder screws are all so rusty I'm afraid if I touch them, I'll have even bigger problems..

Yes, I donated the (unused) AHC pump/reservoir out of my 99 LX, to someone that had tried to disassemble/reassemble his pump, to resolve the same issue. Maybe you can find someone local, that has done a blasphemous AHC delete (like me), and has an unused pump, or use some of the tricks that @Jcreme suggests here:

AHC Help: Can't clear code

My truck is also now throwing the code 1762 abnormal pump pressure. I too used Toyota AHC fluid (bought from a Toyota dealer) from plastic bottles to flush my AHC system. Code won't clear (or at least won't stay cleared). The truck will go from high to low but the process takes a long time. I...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[GremlinMobile]

Aw man. Sorry, OP, it's a known problem with the liter bottles of AHC fluid.

So what's everyone doing about their AHC fluid, who still has an LX470 with AHC? I imagine this problem affects 200 series too.. Are we all supposed to keep double straining Lexus AHC fluid with cheese cloth? This is ridiculous.

 

[jLB]

So what's everyone doing about their AHC fluid, who still has an LX470 with AHC? I imagine this problem affects 200 series too.. Are we all supposed to keep double straining Lexus AHC fluid with cheese cloth? This is ridiculous.

It is my understanding that Toyota/Lexus recalled the liter plastic bottles (with the contamination issue) quite some time (2.5 to 3 years) ago. I hate to sound like an A-hole, but maybe eBay isn’t the best place to buy AHC fluid. It is my understanding that the metal cans of AHC fluid do not have this issue.

 

[GremlinMobile]

It is my understanding that Toyota/Lexus recalled the liter plastic bottles (with the contamination issue) quite some time (2.5 to 3 years) ago. I hate to sound like an A-hole, but maybe eBay isn’t the best place to buy AHC fluid. It is my understanding that the metal cans of AHC fluid do not have this issue.

lol I agree, I try not to buy stuff from ebay unless I have to. However, the seller I bought it from is Bell Lexus of North Scottsdale, AZ. If eBay is good enough for them to sell their products through, then it's good enough for me to buy from them. The bottles came with labels attached to them marking that dealership as the distributor of this Toyota/Lexus brand fluid.

Do you have any proof of the recall you're referring to? If there was something in writing, some precedent that I could point to - I think it would make Lexus paying to fix this problem a lot easier.

This issue has quite the far-reaching ramifications for me now. The pump will need to be taken out, cleaned and re-installed at least, if not replaced at all. But after that, obviously air will have entered the system and will need to be bled. The bleeder screws are all seized, so now someone is going to have to deal with drilling pressurized globes and accumulator, or replacing them all. Doesn't seem like this should all fall on me for using defective fluid.

 

[jLB]

Do you have any proof of the recall you're referring to? If there was something in writing, some precedent that I could point to - I think it would make Lexus paying to fix this problem a lot easier.

Lots of chatter about this ~2021 on the forums here, but no I don’t have anything in writing.

 

[Hokie LX]

I just had this same issue when I was replacing my globes last year. Filled up the system with plastic bottle fluid (forgot about the contaminated fluid issue) and clogged up the system. I ended up taking the AHC pump out and disassembling and cleaning it. All the little filters, everything. Reassemble, bleed, and I was good to go.

I'd start just by taking the pump out and cleaning the reservoir and disassembling the pump and cleaning it. It doesn't take much time and it's a very simple pump that doesn't have many moving parts. Also, buy your fluid in the metal cans from now on. Every dealer sells them or can get them in a day or so.

You can try to fight with Toyota/Lexus about it but they aren't going to cover this. Several folks on this forum have tried and failed. The fact you bought old stock fluid from ebay (not an authorized source from Toyota/Lexus) is grounds enough to deny it. If a dealer sold you the plastic bottle fluid very recently, then maybe you'd have a case.

 

[GremlinMobile]

I just had this same issue when I was replacing my globes last year. Filled up the system with plastic bottle fluid (forgot about the contaminated fluid issue) and clogged up the system. I ended up taking the AHC pump out and disassembling and cleaning it. All the little filters, everything. Reassemble, bleed, and I was good to go.

I'd start just by taking the pump out and cleaning the reservoir and disassembling the pump and cleaning it. It doesn't take much time and it's a very simple pump that doesn't have many moving parts. Also, buy your fluid in the metal cans from now on. Every dealer sells them or can get them in a day or so.

You can try to fight with Toyota/Lexus about it but they aren't going to cover this. Several folks on this forum have tried and failed. The fact you bought old stock fluid from ebay (not an authorized source from Toyota/Lexus) is grounds enough to deny it. If a dealer sold you the plastic bottle fluid very recently, then maybe you'd have a case.

I saw someone mention here something like "anyone who has tried to take these pumps apart was never able to get it working again". Besides that, bleeding the globes and accumulator is going to be an issue since the bleeders are super rusty - I think that's the biggest issue I'll have if I end up having to deal with this on my own.

Right now, at least the car rights in L but isn't on the bump stops. It's still usable. Once I start messing with the bleeders and everything, it'll be all or nothing.

 

[GremlinMobile]

Well I called Lexus corporate regarding their contaminated fluid breaking my pump and they told me to take the car to the dealer so they can inspect the problem to confirm that it was indeed the fluid that did it.

Upon arrival, the service manager laughed at me saying that Lexus corporate ain't gonna pay for fixing this. He seemed to be aware that there would be more to the fix than just swapping out the pump. He said the repair would cost 15-20k because everything is rusted and to properly flush out the contaminated fluid out of the components they'd likely have to replace a lot of components that are too corroded to take apart to clean. Well, just because the contaminated fluid caused 15-20k of damage to my car, that doesn't mean they shouldn't be responsible for bringing it back to the working condition that it was in before I used their defective AHC fluid.

I will keep you guys posted but it's not a good sign that the service manager laughed at my expectation that Lexus would take responsibility for the damage to my car. He also said he's never heard of contaminated AHC fluid. When asked if they stock it, he said no, they might have one bottle maybe but it's like $100/bottle so they don't keep it in stock..... makes me wonder. Don't people service their Lexus vehicles with AHC at this place? If so, aren't fluid flushes supposed to be done regularly? He admitted to having an 01 LX himself, but said that he had it converted to springs..

 

[TexLexican]

It’s been my experience that shops just don’t want to mess with AHC. It’s not that complicated, but there’s too much that can go wrong so I don’t really blame them. For them it’s a lot easier just swapping shocks/struts.

 

[TexLexican]

You mentioned the bleeder valves are rusted, how rusted are the AHC lines?

 

[GremlinMobile]

It’s been my experience that shops just don’t want to mess with AHC. It’s not that complicated, but there’s too much that can go wrong so I don’t really blame them. For them it’s a lot easier just swapping shocks/struts.

100%. Unless you are lucky enough to find a shop that understands and appreciates AHC, they'll all want to talk you into bolting on some shocks and springs - even the service manager at Lexus did that to his LX!

AHC lines appear OK, except for the one under the AC condensate drain. The biggest issue I see is the bleeder on the accumulator is very rusty, and without the capability to unscrew it to bleed the system, it seems like there needs to be a total overhaul.

 

[DMCTX]

I just had this same issue when I was replacing my globes last year. Filled up the system with plastic bottle fluid (forgot about the contaminated fluid issue) and clogged up the system. I ended up taking the AHC pump out and disassembling and cleaning it. All the little filters, everything. Reassemble, bleed, and I was good to go.

I'd start just by taking the pump out and cleaning the reservoir and disassembling the pump and cleaning it. It doesn't take much time and it's a very simple pump that doesn't have many moving parts. Also, buy your fluid in the metal cans from now on. Every dealer sells them or can get them in a day or so.

You can try to fight with Toyota/Lexus about it but they aren't going to cover this. Several folks on this forum have tried and failed. The fact you bought old stock fluid from ebay (not an authorized source from Toyota/Lexus) is grounds enough to deny it. If a dealer sold you the plastic bottle fluid very recently, then maybe you'd have a case.

I did the same thing about two years ago. I was also able to disassemble the pump, clean it out, and bleed the system. Everything worked great after that.

 

[TexLexican]

Just start soaking the bleeders with pb blaster.