Local shops to your area

[Malleus]

Got a 200 series that is reaching the 200k mi mark and I'd like to tackle a valley plate leak. Anybody here recommend any shops around Raleigh or south of it that have experience with working on newer cruisers? if not, i'll probably do it myself but I'd prefer not to since i've got a lot on my plate at work for the rest of the year. I'll probably give Creech a call since they seem to be the most Toyota centric shop.

I hate to say this, but I had Hendrick Lexus fix mine, just because I didn't want to deal with it. I hate those engines.

 

[Malleus]

aaaand @Malleus just liked my post and I forgot Dave mentioned you're around now, too. So you're in Charlotte? That's still about 2 hours away but better than 6!

I am sorry I missed your post.

Yes, I'm in Charlotte permanently, working in the Charlotte, NC annex of the US Patent and Trade Office (my library, in other words).

LMK if there's anything I can do to help you.

 

[mcmarshing]

@Malleus yep i ended up calling Creech and dropping the 200 off to them this weekend. Flipped through the manual and decided i'm good. I've had super hit/miss experiences with Toyota dealerships, but if Lexus's do maintenance on Toyota's I may have to ask them to do critical repairs.

 

[xychromosome]

Got a 200 series that is reaching the 200k mi mark and I'd like to tackle a valley plate leak. Anybody here recommend any shops around Raleigh or south of it that have experience with working on newer cruisers? if not, i'll probably do it myself but I'd prefer not to since i've got a lot on my plate at work for the rest of the year. I'll probably give Creech a call since they seem to be the most Toyota centric shop.

My GX460 is at Renaissance right now and they just confirmed the same issue. I've been periodically topping of the coolant over the past several months and they were able to confirm the valley plate leak via boroscope. He quoted me $1200 for the job and I'll have him change out the PCV valve and the spark plugs while they are in there.

 

[mcmarshing]

Outside of getting the valley plate sealed, I asked Creech to also troubleshoot an intermittent P2420 code. I guess they spent all day on it and couldn’t figure it out, and recommended I take it to a dealership for a more robust diagnostic. They were also unfamiliar with a full fluid flush on transmissions for the 200’s, and only offered to do a drain and fill… but at least they sounded familiar with the valley plate leak and they quoted me $900 for it. I may end up just having to take it to the local rick hendrick toyota dealership for future in-depth repairs.

I’m going to call tomorrow AM and see if they can fit in a sparkplug change out and full coolant flush now that you guys remind me.

 

[xychromosome]

Wow, $900 is a great deal. Check out the car care nut. He only recommends a drain and fill on the transmission once u are over 100k

 

[Pick]

I even had trouble with a drain and fill on our 2011 GX. It started giving codes and i did a drain and fill then catastrophic failure
It was during *covid so there were NO parts available and ended up replacing the whole trans. Almost 200k miles so ymmv

 

[xychromosome]

I even had trouble with a drain and fill on our 2011 GX. It started giving codes and i did a drain and fill then catastrophic failure
It was during *covid so there were NO parts available and ended up replacing the whole trans. Almost 200k miles so ymmv

From what I've read on the forums and seen on The Car Care Nut, drain/fill every 30k miles or so is the best course of action, so long as you start before you reach 100k miles.

 

[xychromosome]

Wow, $900 is a great deal. Check out the car care nut. He only recommends a drain and fill on the transmission once u are over 100k

Found my leak!

 

[mcmarshing]

Wow, $900 is a great deal. Check out the car care nut. He only recommends a drain and fill on the transmission once u are over 100k

Yeah, $900 is tough for me to complain that they weren't able to complete the transmission fluid replacement and figure out EVAP problems. I asked them to do plugs, coolant flush though, which I believe totals me up to $1200 or so @Creech which was what I was expecting to pay. Additionally, they didn't charge me anything for the EVAP troubleshooting at all which was nice.

I'm purely basing my reasoning for a full fluid replacement from anecdotes from the mud 200 page, 200's that tow, and from the Aussies. I think the color of the oil that comes out of the sump pan will determine for me how much of it should be replaced, but generally speaking (for the 200's) there's a consensus to do more than just a drain and fill considering that the pan will only drain 2.2 quarts while the total volume is about 12 quarts.

So anyways, I recommend Creech if you want a valley plate resealed and you're in Raleigh.