Learn the Limits of Your Auto before You Drive to Alaska

I was so excited when I purchased my new to me Lexus earlier this year in Austin. I bought it from the original owner who took excellent care of the vehicle. It was not the vehicle I was originally looking for when I was ready to get rid of my truck and convert to a consulting type professional instead of a laborious professional. Additionally, with the long drive to Alaska in mind, I had been looking at mini-vans with space so Ken and I could carry as many personal items as possible. We spent hours researching cars, vans, and SUVs. I test drove numerous new and used vehicles. When I decided on the Lexus RX300, I felt I had made the best decision possible with all the information I had. It is a comfortable and reliable vehicle. 

However, today, my head was thrown into serious doubt. Ken and I were driving out of the Target parking lot after purchasing some groceries when the engine started making a ticking sound. We turned the radio down, put the car in park, revved the engine, put it in drive accelerated, stopped, turned, and listened. Thankfully, right across the street was a Toyota dealer. We took the car straight over there.

Here is something we were not expecting or prepared for: when the Tony Scott Toyota dealer mechanic checked the fluid levels, he found the oil was completely gone. No indication on the dipstick! I had continued with the regular maintenance schedule the previous owner adhered to, and I had the 90K complete inspection done before leaving Austin. With all the drives back and forth to Wichita, to Madison and Chicago, I had the oil changed before the final departure from Wichita. It was only about 1,500 miles to Boise, so how could we be out of oil? 

Ken started doing research on the internet while in the waiting room of the dealership. He found a known issue we had not come across before, oil gelling. Ken presented this information to the service manager and she was understanding. But, she told us, we would have to take the vehicle to the Lexus dealer for that inspection since it could be considered a legal case. Thankfully there is one Lexus dealer in Idaho, and we are in that city. 

After refilling the oil we made an appointment at the Lexus dealer for the next morning. The service managers where very accommodating and reinforced my experience of excellent customer service which I had already been through with the Austin dealer. Without expanding on my many hours of agony about this vehicle selection, I will jump to the end of the story with this lovely photo of the inside of our RX300’s crank case, beautiful! I was so relieved as was Ken. Being the man and mechanic in the family, the poor guy had so much weighing on him that he was allowed to let go of when we snapped this photo. 

We were so appreciative of Traci, the Service Manager at Lexus, http://www.petersonmotors.com/index.htm , and the technician for calling us into the shop to see the engine. The technician explained to us that although our vehicle is rated for towing, and we are within the weight limits, the extra strain is probably what contributed to the loss of oil. Yet where did it go? There were no visible leaks around the engine compartment, no blue smoke out the tail pipe? We were advised to check the oil more often due to the long trip. YEA!