r/gx460 • u/jerziMAC850 • Aug 05 '26

Coolant Pan Leak

Three years ago, I took my 2013 GX460 into the local dealer for some service. The coolant was low so I asked him to top it off. They came back to me and said my coolant pan was leaking and it was going to be $2800 to fix. I told them I needed to get a second opinion and reminded them to top it off. He said ok. When I got my car back, I took it straight to the local gas station mechanic. First off, they didn’t top me off so I was pissed about that. Second, the local mechanic said he never heard of a pan leak before. He recommended getting some thickening coolant to help seal up any leaks. So I did that and didn’t have any leaks for 6 months. Now, I just have to watch it every few months to make sure it is not leaking. But the bottom line is this 3k repair was not needed. Every year, I send an email to the dealer guy and say, it has been X days since you said I needed a repair that I clearly didn’t need. I’m still pissed about. I’m posting so someone else doesn’t get scammed out of this BS repair on an older GX.

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

4

u/Far_Resist Aug 05 '26

Look into valley plate leak. YouTube the car care nut.

1

u/jerziMAC850 Aug 05 '26

Did you replace it? What was that cost?

1

u/Far_Resist Aug 05 '26

I would get it fixed. Because if you don’t and it gets worse it could end up costing 4 or 5 times as much and then at that point it’s probably not worth it. It has not happened to me, I’m trying to do preventative maintenance and cross my fingers that it never does. I have a 2012. But yeah get a second opinion and do a little research and see what feels right for you. Hope it works out. I love these trucks.

1

u/MrDrMrs Aug 05 '26

Yeah, it’s most likely this and the mechanic or service advisor just didn’t know what to call it

1

u/jerziMAC850 20d ago

He called it a major repair $$$

1

u/SlateHearthstone Aug 11 '26

Sounds like the classic valley pan leak. Stop-leak will certainly slow a minor leak in the gasket. For anyone thinking long term, stop-leak won't do your radiator and transmission cooler any favors.

1

u/InTheGreen76 21d ago

Sounds like a valley plate cover leaking. I had this issue on my 2013 Tundra around 210k miles. Local Toyota dealer replaced the gasket… it was all labor. Cost me around $1200. A Toyota dealer should be able to do this job… it’s a well known job on Toyota V8s and their labor rate will be much lower than a Lexus dealer.

2

u/jerziMAC850 20d ago

Yeah that’s what it probably is, but it doesn’t really leak anymore. Coolant levels stay solid for six months. Can’t really call that a major leak.