Here’s an update to the issue with my Lexus. Toyota of Fayetteville called and said my car is ready!! Apparently the service tech told me by “mistake” that they were ordering new shocks. The only thing replaced was the rear air bag. Also, about the rear boots that were leaking on the bearing.... there’s only one side leaking and the manager is willing to work out a deal on the price. I left messages with the general manager last week and the service manager, neither of them called me back. I am SCARED TO DEATH to drive my car home after this.
Rear Shocks Update
- Thread starter Lady Lexus
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
What was the issue with your Lexus?
Don’t be afraid to drive it. It’s a mistake some mechanics make with rear air bags on gx470.
Just don’t get ripped off on the “other” issue they found with the leaking boot.
Ask for receipts and post up images of receipts to see what work they did. Folks on here will verify if work was good or fair or warranted.
Just don’t get ripped off on the “other” issue they found with the leaking boot.
Ask for receipts and post up images of receipts to see what work they did. Folks on here will verify if work was good or fair or warranted.
- Thread starter
- #4
- Thread starter
- #5
I am Terrified of my car because of what happened to me!! Scared to death!! The service center said it was my hydraulic system. Then they said it was my shocks needed to be replaced and that the shocks were being ordered from Lexus. Now they are saying it was just an air bag. Fayetteville of Toyota and Glenn Gibbs, the General manager has failed a loyal 4 time Lexus owner. He didn’t have the decency to return my phone call and left the dirty work to the front line service advisor. The customer service manager Matt would not call me either. Something is very rotten here!!
I would not have them work on any further issues. It sounds like a leaking cv boot, maybe it's torn, I am not sure without further details though. If it is a CV boot that is torn and leaking a reboot should be far less than the quoted price, also not a huge deal depending on the circumstances. Probably more in the $300 range if I had to guess. There has to be a good independent Toyota shop in your area, I would track one down and have them take a look at it. You could also try a Lexus dealer, but their prices will be similar to Toyota I would imagine.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #7
You sound like the service advisor!! Ha!! If this is anyone from FAYETTEVILLE OF TOYOTA, drive my car to my house and come get the loaner. I don’t trust you or your service mechanics. Be advised that I shared my story with a table full of high level executives over cocktails this weekend. Glenn Gibbs, we all know who you are and what kind of “service center” you run. Glenn Gibbs, Toyota of Fayetteville in NWA it’s on
- Thread starter
- #8
You sound like the service advisor!! Ha!! If this is anyone from FAYETTEVILLE OF TOYOTA, drive my car to my house and come get the loaner. I don’t trust you or your service mechanics. Be advised that I shared my story with a table full of high level executives over cocktails this weekend. Glenn Gibbs, we all know who you are and what kind of “service center” you run. Glenn Gibbs, Toyota of Fayetteville in NWA it’s on
Thanks!! I will post every detail of the matter on every social media outlet available.
I took my 2008 Lexus GX470 to Toyota to have the oil pan replaced. While leaving the service center I could hear popping and snapping noises; so I immediately returned to service department. As soon as I stopped the car, there was a loud explosion and a puff of smoke emitting from the rear tires. Then my truck dropped to the ground on its own. Apparently, the tech forgot to lower the shocks after replacing the oil pan. This caused my air bag to deploy. The dealership is paying for the rear shocks but is now telling my my front ball barring are leaking oil and need to be replaced. This is new to me!! The cost is $800 for parts plus labor. I am wondering if the front leaky ball barring is related to the shock explosion?
My bad, I thought @Lady Lexus was asking for advice on her mechanical issue here on the off-roading enthusiast board. It’s clear she’s just trying to disparage the dealer which we always advice to avoid because of high prices and extra repairs they always seem to find.
Maybe move this to chit chat? Im in California and don’t really care about the dealer in Arkansas or wherever the hell Fayetteville is in.
Maybe move this to chit chat? Im in California and don’t really care about the dealer in Arkansas or wherever the hell Fayetteville is in.
im so confused on whats going on and have been confused since the previous thread...
The tech cant lower the shock after replacing the oil pan? Oil pan is located up front on the engine and the only thing that can be adjusted is the rear air suspension? Also what air bags deployed when the GX dropped?
Front and Rear Ball bearings dont have oil to leak as they are packed in grease. but why would a problem in the rear cause any problems up front?
but i hope you get your GX fixed.
The tech cant lower the shock after replacing the oil pan? Oil pan is located up front on the engine and the only thing that can be adjusted is the rear air suspension? Also what air bags deployed when the GX dropped?
Front and Rear Ball bearings dont have oil to leak as they are packed in grease. but why would a problem in the rear cause any problems up front?
but i hope you get your GX fixed.
It’s totalled she should sell it.
- Thread starter
- #12
Exactly!
It doesn’t make sense to me either. Just a bunch of mechanical mumble jumble. I’m on this site because i want to educate myself on the issue on how to move forward. My experience at the NWA Toyota shop was terrifying and left me shaken after the rear air bag deployed.
Oh, the internet.
Lady, if you really want to learn and get advice on how to move forward, please post the documentation the dealer gave you on the work they did and are recommending. There is a lot of terminology a mechanic might use (correctly) that is confusing to folks who aren't as familiar. "Air bag" is one. We're happy to explain them, but it will only make sense to us with that information directly from the mechanic. You should have received a print-out outlining what they did. Invoice, receipt, whatever.
Lady, if you really want to learn and get advice on how to move forward, please post the documentation the dealer gave you on the work they did and are recommending. There is a lot of terminology a mechanic might use (correctly) that is confusing to folks who aren't as familiar. "Air bag" is one. We're happy to explain them, but it will only make sense to us with that information directly from the mechanic. You should have received a print-out outlining what they did. Invoice, receipt, whatever.
Sounds to me like the "airbag" was an exploding rear suspension airbag. They likely didn't put it into the service mode to lift it and do the other work. It came down, confused and cracked bags...and started pumping air into the rear bags and popped. The rest just sounds like noise to me.
Yes, that’s what it sounds like. This is not the first time someone has reported an issue with the rear air suspension right after some type of service.
Both dealers and Indy mechanics have issues with lifting the truck and confusing the air suspension which in a few rare cases results in ruptured air springs/bags.
If I were @Lady Lexus i would make the dealer pay for their mistake which is the rear air spring repair.
I would Tell the service manger or Gm that you want the “other” issue documented only since I don’t trust you to fix it. I want an independent evaluation.
Go to an independent mechanic and have them check for leaks. In fact, if you have AAA or auto club, they have an offer for a free 40-point inspection. I’ve taken my AAA offer to a Lexus dealer and gotten $3500 worth of repair recommendations that I declined.
I ended up using that list of $3500 repairs as a list to figure out what I needed to repair. I ended up repairing about half the items at my on pace at less than half what those repairs would have cost at the dealer.
Both dealers and Indy mechanics have issues with lifting the truck and confusing the air suspension which in a few rare cases results in ruptured air springs/bags.
If I were @Lady Lexus i would make the dealer pay for their mistake which is the rear air spring repair.
I would Tell the service manger or Gm that you want the “other” issue documented only since I don’t trust you to fix it. I want an independent evaluation.
Go to an independent mechanic and have them check for leaks. In fact, if you have AAA or auto club, they have an offer for a free 40-point inspection. I’ve taken my AAA offer to a Lexus dealer and gotten $3500 worth of repair recommendations that I declined.
I ended up using that list of $3500 repairs as a list to figure out what I needed to repair. I ended up repairing about half the items at my on pace at less than half what those repairs would have cost at the dealer.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #16
Wow! Thank you. I pride myself on maintaining my cars very well; as I am a 4 time Lexus owner. The terms “rear airbag deployed, rear shock damage, hydraulic system busted, and front leaky ball bearing and front boot tear “ are terms from the Toyota of Fayetteville service center. I have no earthly idea about these terms and this is why I am putting the issue on the internet. I am concerned as to why I have more problems now than I did before I had the oil pan replaced. I have NEVER EVER experienced anything like this with any of my cars. Something happened to my truck while it was being serviced and they used the above terms to MAN-plane it to me.
@Lady Lexus yeah they made a mistake and instead of living up to it and taking care of the issue with the rear air bag (uses air bags as rear springs instead of actual metal rear springs, so we call them rear air springs or rear air bags)...the dealer tried to trick you.
I’ve seen dealers and Indy mechanics do the same trick. Even home plumbers use the same trick. They make a mistake and break something. Instead of fixing it and making it right, they try to cover up the mistake by finding something else that needs emergency work.
This way they fix the mistake and recover their losses by fixing something else at an additional cost. It’s happened to me at least a handful of times. Half the time I fell for it or had no choice and the other half the business made it right on their own dime.
By the way, Toyota dealers in So Cal are not the same as Lexus dealers. Lexus dealers are much nicer, give you lattes and cappuccinos, give you bagels and donuts, and feels like higher end service.
They still recommend more things to repair than necessary and their labor rates are too high for my taste.
This is why everyone on this forum recommends to buy a used Lexus that was maintained regularly at a Lexus dealer. They are well maintained rigs...babied essentially. We even pay extra for a used one like yours.
I’ve seen dealers and Indy mechanics do the same trick. Even home plumbers use the same trick. They make a mistake and break something. Instead of fixing it and making it right, they try to cover up the mistake by finding something else that needs emergency work.
This way they fix the mistake and recover their losses by fixing something else at an additional cost. It’s happened to me at least a handful of times. Half the time I fell for it or had no choice and the other half the business made it right on their own dime.
By the way, Toyota dealers in So Cal are not the same as Lexus dealers. Lexus dealers are much nicer, give you lattes and cappuccinos, give you bagels and donuts, and feels like higher end service.
They still recommend more things to repair than necessary and their labor rates are too high for my taste.
This is why everyone on this forum recommends to buy a used Lexus that was maintained regularly at a Lexus dealer. They are well maintained rigs...babied essentially. We even pay extra for a used one like yours.
Last edited:
By the way, one final long comment. Based on what you have said, there’s nothing seriously wrong with your gx470 after the dealer fixes the ruptured rear air spring.
The rookie or incompetent mechanic at the dealer essentially put your gx470 on a hydraulic lift so he could work on your oil pan. Apparently there’s a maintenance mode that you are supposed to invoke on the gx470 to prevent the rear air springs from getting damaged. If your mechanic forgot to do this step, in some cases the rear air suspension gets confused when the mechanic lowers the car from the hydronic lift. When you drive away, the confused air suspension overinflates the rear air spring and it ruptures like a balloon.
Other than that, your gx470 is still in good shape. Maybe there’s a leak on the boot, but get that inspected somewhere else.
The rookie or incompetent mechanic at the dealer essentially put your gx470 on a hydraulic lift so he could work on your oil pan. Apparently there’s a maintenance mode that you are supposed to invoke on the gx470 to prevent the rear air springs from getting damaged. If your mechanic forgot to do this step, in some cases the rear air suspension gets confused when the mechanic lowers the car from the hydronic lift. When you drive away, the confused air suspension overinflates the rear air spring and it ruptures like a balloon.
Other than that, your gx470 is still in good shape. Maybe there’s a leak on the boot, but get that inspected somewhere else.
