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Comments
I also asked my dealer's service manager about using synthetic oil. He said he didn't think it would make much difference for this vehicle. Still, I'd like to learn more.
About the rear windshield wiper problem--it must be the result of a bad blade or inadequate tension/pressure on the last couple of inches of the wiper arm. In any event it surely has to be something the dealer can fix.
In any event, thanks again for all the help.
Thanks again.
First off, I find it very rare that 60 minutes of research on the internet doesn't make me more knowledgeable on an automobile than the salesperson at the dealership. I have purchased 14 automobiles from dealers since 1995 (mostly during the late 90s), which included test drive "adventures" to many different dealerships, and I can recall only 4 instances where I wasn't instructing a sales associate on their car (rather than the other way around).
Here are a couple of my "favorite" memories involving auto sales personnel:
1) When I mentioned that the '99 Audi A6 Quattro seemed a little sluggish, the local Audi salesman recommended that I drive it continuously with the 5-speed auto transmission held in 4th gear. It would make the car more "responsive". (No, unlike earlier BMW auto transmissions, this did not result in putting the shifting program into a "Sport" mode.)
2) A Mazda salesman once told me, with a straight face, Mazda had stopped manufacturing the MX-3 sport coupe with the 6-cylinder engine because it was just "too damn fast"! (Note: It was a relatively tiny 6-cyl engine, rated at about only 145 horsepower!)
3) A Lexus sales associate once took me for a test drive by driving the car off the lot and about 1 mile down the road before pulling over and letting me take the wheel. She had driven it with the emergency brake engaged during the entire time!
4) (Since this is a Lexus forum, let's pick on Lexus sales personnel one more time!) Back in late 2000, a Lexus salesman promised me their '00 RX300 had just as much cargo room as the soon-to-be-introduced Acura MDX. Yes, this was stated with a completely straight face.
The other point I agree with wwest is the looks of the FX. When I first saw the FX45 pictures in Car & Driver and Road & Track, I thought it looked extremely cool. My enthusiasm dropped somewhat when I test drove one at the Infiniti dealership, but I figured I would warm up to the look given some time. Now that I see one every day in our parking lot, I find I am drifting the opposite direction. I see too much PT Cruiser! I think its design lacks any degree of subtlety. I guess that's the point, though, isn't it?
By the way, I tried to buy a set of tire chains for our RX330 (with 18" wheels). Never buy a set of chains if the directions on the box don't specifically list your tire size. Even though our 235/55R18 tire size was not listed on that box (it did list 235/50R18), the store manager was convinced they would fit our tires. He was short by about an eighth of an inch!
You mentioned in #277 regarding to the rear wiper and ticking engine. Do they also happen to your car?
I want to confirm with you in #264 if you hear any whining noise like "OO" sound in your car.
I recommend that you ask your dealer to install TSB TC005-03 (ECM Calibration: Shifting Enhancement) when you make the appointment for your first oil change service. The only way to tell for certain if you have the updated ECM load is to have a technician hook up a Diagnostic Tester kit and read the Calibration ID. If the technician sees that you already have the updated ID, then he will not proceed with the download, and you will know for certain. Otherwise, he will proceed with the download, and you'll soon notice an improvement with your shifting.
Please report back after your service and let us know if you did or did not already have the updated ECM software load.
By the way, I seriously doubt any dealer would go through the trouble of performing this update on their inventory. Those cars that are delivered with an updated ECM (such as gardencar's RX330) are likely configured that way from the factory. How do I know? Lexus is not requiring the dealer to perform this update on their cars. It is only performed when a customer requests it. Also, the dealer is not going to divert an hour of Tech Time, per vehicle, to each of their cars; especially when this update is considered by Lexus to be only an Enhancement (per the TSB), not a problem fix. I seriously doubt the dealer would be reimbursed for his time.
So far, I have experienced none of the dash rattles, engines ticks or whines, or any rear wiper issues (knock on wood). I may not be the best person to ask, since I only have 2400 miles on the odometer. Wish I could be of more use. Good luck.
Took the car in, waited about an hour for the checkup. When it was ready he said that they had adjusted the tension and switched the wiper blade 180 degrees. I told him that I didn't see any way to increase the tension other than replacing the spring with a stronger one and it sounded like a weak "fix" to me. He said that they checked it out and it worked OK. I said that we wouldn't really know until a hard rain.
After a trip to Costco and the Doctors we headed home and ran into a regular Texas downpour. If anything it wipes worse at the top and now the bottom is kind of streaky too. Since the dealer is an hour away we'll wait until the 5,000 mile service but I will call him back about this. Had it not been pushing 5:00 PM and us wanting to get out of town we would have gone back and asked for a loaner, but we didn't really want to fool with it by this time.
Windy
Personally, I preferred the old Toyota/Lexus that wasn't trying so hard to be out front. They once made conservative cars (maybe a little boring) and engineered the heck outta them. I'm a bit afraid the styling and gee-gaw departments have taken over. Granted, the new RX is way cool looking and all the buttons are tons of fun; but I'll trade all the styling and gadgets any day for the bullet-proof Lexus I've learned to love. We shall see. Pick the RX up tomorrow.
JL
Recently, I've been too busy to deal with the tow hitch issue, especially with the Lexus tow hitch fiasco. If only parts department people would bother to learn more about the parts they sell! Will have to find time to call Curt Manufacturing and Hidden Hitch next week, to see if they have addressed the issue of the RX 18" spare tires interfering with installation of their hitches.
Looked at the X5 yesterday but walked as the sales team was sub-par. Interesting point for all us Lexus folks: both Porsche (Cayenne) and BMW (X5) had the most arrogant sales individuals imaginable. We have a C320 (had a Beamer previously) and the Service Depts. were the same. What a contrast with Lexus where the sales folks where attentive without being intrusive. This is actually going to a significant factor in our decision.
Great day in the Rockies today with a surfeit of powder. I have returned an exhausted skier.
Being an owner of a Lexus GS300 and an ML350, I feel that I know a little bit about both products and service departments (at least locally). BTW I love both vehicles.
Firstly, the CR reliability data actually rates the 2003 ML350 as at the industry average, so while it seriously lags behind Lexus, there has been major improvement. My 2003 ML 350 has 15000 miles without any incident. This is not to say that it beats Lexus, but it is a very different vehicle. Understanding the science of the CR reliability data is also important. This is a non-randomized survey with a 10% response rate from subscribers. Only about 2% of the country subscribes to CR. Thus we have data from 0.2% of the population. The point I am trying to make is that CR has useful information, but it is not a purely scientific survey and really only surveys a small % of the country.
Secondly, the Lexus is a car based suv, while the Mercedes is truck based. The suv wannabee isn't the Mercedes, as it has a permanent AWD system and low-range gearing. Having test drove both vehicles I prefer the on-road handling of the Lexus, but the off-road handlin of the Mercedes. Since most people spend 99% of there time on the road, the Lexus is likely superior in this aspect, which is why Mercedes is planning on the new car based GST.
Finally, vehicles offer many pro's and con's, but there usually isn't an all-out 100% winner in all categories. This is why we don't all buy the same vehicle. The same wannabee comments are on some Mercedes boards, calling the RX330 a "Camry-UV", and they aren't too useful IMHO. As far as dealerships, and service, we have been very pleased with both Mercedes and Lexus.
Just food for thought.
Fred
I'm assuming that I'll recieve a follow up to the service this week. Sorry Lexus, there was only one thing to do and as far as I'm concerned you BS'd me about doing anything. Next time I take it in I'll make them run a water hose on it while it runs, that way I won't have to wait for a good rain to find out the pencil whipped it.
Re: the earlier posts about taking the car into the dealer for each scheduled service. This is our first ever new car (alway let someone else take the first year's financial beating for me) and I DO NOT PLAN TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE DEALER, for anything other than any warranty work.
Modern cars are built to very close tolerances, and in the past 25 years the things that caused 99% of maintenance headaches have been taken off cars. These were ignition distributors and points, carburators and mechanical fuel pumps. That takes care of many short-term headaches, taking the LEAD OUT OF GASOLINE, took care of lots of long term maintenance and repair problems.
For the past 20 years we've always stuck to a 5,000 mile oil and filter change, 35,000 mile transmission and (for rear drive cars) differential change. The other things that we consider important are REPLACING SPARK PLUGS AT 30 MONTH/30,000 MILES, REPLACING THE HOSES AND COOLANT AT 3 YEAR/50,000 MILE, and REPLACING THE BRAKE FLUID AT 3 YEAR/50,000 MILES.
My reasoning on the spark plugs is the potential problem of dissimilar metal reaction between aluminum cylinder heads and steel spark plugs. If you wait too long the heat/checmical reaction between the two can cause a plug to seize up and pull thread out of the cylinder head. Then you're paying for the head to be pulled off and repaired. Yes I know that KEENSERTS and HELICOILS can repair heads without pulling them, but statistically you're likely to be pulling the head to do this.
Re the coolant. I know the new coolants are designed for aluminum engines but still it ages and breaks down over time. It's one of those things that's relatively cheap to to replace i the shop, but expensive and annoying to do on the side of the road.
On the brake fluid, agains it's an aging thing. And as the fluid starts to break down it can lead to problems with the seals and other rubber components in the braking system.
In the past we generally kept my wife's cars 8 years,(125K miles) on average, while mine (I was in sales covering Texas, Oklahoma, Lousiana and Arkansas) we generally kept for about 200K miles. The only repairs the past 25 years were replacing and intake manifold on a Mercury V8 (one of the first plastic ones and prone to failure) leaking main oil seal on a Subaru, replacing the ignition ignitors on an Oldsmobile, two water pumps and an alternator on a Jeep Cherokee.
My suggestion is find a GOOD LOCAL REPAIR SHOP, in our case it's a Goodyear tire dealer. He obviously does tire rotations and has a very reasonable rate on oil changes and does some other light repairs/maintenance. If he finds something he can't repair he at least has spotted the problem and I can either fix it myself or take it to a repair shop.
Sorry about the long post.
Windy6
In defence of Consumer Reports, they have a pretty good track record of predicting reliability with little affiliation for any manufacturer. Both the ML and our '01 C320 have been poorly rated by other magazines as well. In the case of our C320, it has been in MB's service department for literally months, despite having only 22,000 miles on the odometer. In the case of our Jeep GC Ltd they also predicted many of the problems we subsequently experienced (4 sets of pinion gears and a full rear differential to name a few).
I am now more faithfully following their recommendations, even if it did entice me to slag the ML with that derogatory moniker! Sorry 'bout that diesel11.
John
Don't know about the original brake fluid but the brakes are still working fine.
When we looked at the BMW X5 and X3, we found a mix of both arrogant and friendly staff. However, they were all enthusiastic about the products they sold. Maybe because of the undeniable fun factor of Beemers?
IMO, Acura and Volvo sales reps are a toss up. I found them to be equally stubborn about budging from MSRP! Personally, I feel these dealerships are performing a disservice to their respective marques, by arrogantly refusing to give reasonable discounts from MSRP. If they were, there would be even more MDX's and XC90's on the road.
Although I wouldn't say they are perfect, we have found the Lexus people to be the most courteous and accommodatingly pleasant of all.
By the way, the guy didn't call me and the email was sent to me around 10:30 in the morning. So he expected me to drop everything and head to the dealer in 90mins.
I do think Mercedes does have major reliability problems, especially compared with the Luxury Japanese makes. But I think they are trying to address this issue, not only because it's bad for the Mercedes name, but also it's apparently costing about $1 Billion per annum to honor the warranties.
Personally, I think the later the vehicle is into the model line, the more bugs that they have worked out. But I would certainly acknowledge that Lexus in general has far fewer bugs to begin with
Sales reps are a whole different issue. My Mercedes rep is a great guy, and I have never met a better salesman or better PR man for a company. My Lexus experience was not bad, but just not as good. Overall from reading the many discussions about the 2 companies, it does sound like Lexus again has the edge in service and sales, but again this is just not my personal experience.
As far as which vehicle I like better, it's my Lexus, but you can't compare apples with oranges.
Fred
http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/08/pf/autos/CR_best_cars/index.htm?c- - nn=yes
Fred
If this works for you, I can give you more info via email. Compared to the ML, the MDX is a little roomier, smoother, faster, and statistically more reliable. However, there is no denying the ML350 provides more off-road utility and tow capability. I would also rate it higher than the MDX in terms of Safety (especially if a pre-2004 MDX is being considered).
Willard, I get the message about FWD and towing. Thanks.
One spec for MDX towing that I neglected to mention is the max tongue weight. Unfortunately, I do not know this value. I would hope it is much more realistic than the XC90. I followed the MDX forums closely, and I never saw any complaints about the rated tongue weight on trailers.
"I recently had my RX 330 at the dealer getting the "INSULATION BUSHING" installed and the trans cooling lines to stop the whining noise."
I saw another (earlier) post where somebody else complained about this issue, mentioning that his whining noise stops if the gear lever is placed into 4th gear (instead of 5th).
Clunking: I have heard a slight clunking sound, a few times when shifting from forward to reverse or vice versa. Will have to make note of this if it happens again.
Reverse Sensing Mirrors: Just today, after almost 2600 miles, the right rearview mirror did not fully tilt back to driving position after shifting from reverse, back to drive. It remained tilted downward. This happened three times. I had to use the jog dial to reposition the mirror.
Driver's Side Door Handle: The interior door handle does not fully release the lock mechanism. I must pull on the handle, release, and then pull it again to unlock the door. However, there is no problem when using the outside door handle or when using the central locking system to open the door.
By a strange coincidence, these last two gremlins appeared within a day of each other. I am not sure if the first two are even gremlins, but the last two are definitely malfunctions and I will notify my service department. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced these last two and had them fixed.
Two questions. Has anyone found a fix for the dash rattle? My dealer says that it has not yet been resolved.
Does the Curt hitch fit 18 inch wheels?
About your questions, there have been fixes for the dash rattle. Apparently, some were being caused by wires tapping against each other and inadequate insulation. If you use the keyword search on this forum you can find the pertinent articles. As far as the Curt hitch, it fits but with adaptors for the 18" wheel. There is a whole thread on this if you go to the Lexus RX330 board.
Yes, I absolutely hear the "clunk" coming from the rear underside of my RX330. I actually took it into the dealer in January for the dash rattle and several other issues, and asked about it. They said they couldn't replicate the sound, but ordered some part that they thought would help (some sort of insulation of cooler lines??). I brought my car back again just last week for the dash rattle again (first fix didn't work) and they were supposed to install this part. Well, I got the car back, heard the clunk again! I looked on my print out from the service dept. and they never even installed the part!! I was so mad, I haven't even called back for another appt. since they had my car for over a week!!
Anyhow, I hear the "clunk" probably 5 out of 10 times that I come to a stop. I hope they come up with a fix for this soon! Does anyone know if there is a TSB issued for this problem? My dealer said there wasn't.....
Thanks for your response. I thought I was the only one hearing the down shifting "clunk". Although, my wife recently heard it for the first time. I think it is easier for me to hear it because I can anticipate it from the feel of the downshift. I'll be taking my car back to the dealer in a week or so to have sticky door mechanism replaced. At that time I'll take out a mechanic to hear and feel the sound. I'll re-post after I get some sort of fix for the problem.
If anyone else has this problem and or fix, I would appreciate your input.
I have to release the handle and pull on it a second time to fully disengage the lock.
Would you mind describing your sticky door issue? Also, let us know what the dealer had to say about it and how he fixed it. For now, it is not annoying me enough to take it to the dealer yet. I'm going to wait until the 5,000 mile check or if other issues arise. Thanks in advance.
369991 (?) INSULATE TRANS COOLER LINES FROM LOWER CORE SUPPORT
466 WL 0.50 (PART)
2 88467-12030 BUSHING (PART)
I hope this help. Good luck.
I noticed my driver side door handle was getting harder and harder to open about after a month or so of buying the car. When I took my car in for the 1000 mile check up I told the service rep that the door took more effort to open in than when I purchased the car. It feels more "sticky" than when I drove it off the lot. My wife also told the service rep that the passengers side was getting harder to open also. When we came back to pick the car up, he stated that they ordered two cylinder mechanism for the door handles and that they would call me when they came in. I got the call last week that the parts are in and I have to schedule a time to drop off the car. If you want me to I can give you the part number for the replacement parts off of the repair order once I have the fix completed.
hbuica,
Thanks for the information on the transmission clunk. I will give this info to the service rep when I take my car back in for the sticky door handles.
Thanks again!
Thank you much for the information on the door handle. However, my problem is a little different. I believe it stems from the lock mechanism. Appreciate your offer to post the part numbers when you get them. Thanks.
hbuica,
Right now, I don't hear the clunking very often. If it ever gets worse, those part numbers you posted will surely come in handy. Thanks!
Thanks for posting your info. on the transmission "clunk" fix. I was planning on waiting until my 10k service, but I don't know if I'll be able to! The clunk can get kind of annoying after a lot of city driving!
Do you happen to know if there is a TSB on this, or was this a "dealer fix"? My dealer said their wasn't a TSB on the "clunk" but I find that hard to believe since a lot of people are experiencing it!
There is no TSB for this. This was the "dealer fix". My Tech advisor told me that he never heard of the tranny clunk and my car was the first one (Hmmm!!). But I told him about all of the posting on Edmunds and wanted them to do the insulation of the transmission cooling line and they did and it work. I had this done about 2 months ago @ 5K service. It only take less than 30 minutes you should have them fix for you. I know it is very annoying specially when you have passengers and they always ask what is that noise.