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"The facility that services your vehicle may perform different, greater, or fewer procedures that can affect the cost you incur."
Steve, Host
I am a new Lexus SUV owner. I recently purchased a 2002 RX300 and was very pleased with the entire process and feel I got a very good deal. However, the one item that's missing is the NAV. What I wanted to know was: 1. Would it be advantageous to purchase the NAV and, 2. What is a "ball park" total cost figure including installation?
Thank you in advance and, I think I will never drive anything less :-)
Pete
I have the door panel mostly apart with the intention to either clean or lube the actuator and components, or just replace the solenoid if needed. However, I have not yet been able to remove the interior panel.
I removed the wood switch panel and the screw behind (with some work!) but the interior panel seems to be hung up at the inside door handle.
I removed the screw behind the interior handle holding the plastic backing trim piece, and knowing prior Toyotas, I am assuming that plastic piece needs to be removed so the door handle can pass through the panel when it is removed from the door. I just haven’t been able to find how to remove it without damaging anything. I tried prying it up with nylon spatulas so I wouldn't damage anything, but it's not budging.
Is there another clip holding the panel at the inside door handle (or trim piece)?
Does the trim piece behind the door handle need to be removed from the panel to allow the handle to pass through? If so, can you say how?
Any and all suggestions and/or details are appreciated!
The guy at the Lexus parts counter admits the driver's door power lock solenoid fails at a higher than usual rate as the RX ages; he said they went through six of these just last week, and the customer waiting behind me in line said his 2001 RX had the same problem, so he's just been locking the car manually. I guess no one ever got stranded because the power door lock didn't go on it's own, but I like everything to work right, so I wanted to fix it.
You have to buy and replace the entire latch (lock assy 6904048020). The solenoid also contains the light switches & a window switch that's operated by the key from the outside, however Lexus does not sell the solenoid (power door lock actuator motor) separately. The list price is over $300! The parts guy was really understanding that I had another dealer already replace this item once and it failed again (however that was 8 years ago), and that I only wanted the solenoid which is not how it's sold, so he offered 15% off to shut me up. Needing the part, I thanked him and took him up on it.
To remove the door panel, start with the window up and disconnect the battery because the lock solenoid will activate the window when the lock rod is moved, and that's when your hands/tools are in there. Besides the obvious screws at the bottom and upholstery pins, you need to remove the inside door handle "bezel" by removing the screw, pushing the tabs in at the top and bottom of the corners nearest the lock button and prying it out and toward the rear (it has a slotted clip behind it). That's what was really holding things up for me. Then remove the wood switch panel by carefully prying upwards at the very top with a cloth covered screwdriver, unplug and remove. Remove the screw from behind the panel. Then remove the courtesy light by pushing the screwdriver between the panel and the light on either side, so you can unplug and remove it. At this point the door panel can be unclipped, tilted up, removed, cleaned, and set aside.
After the panel is out of the way, to replace the lock/solenoid assy, remove the inside handle (it's self-explanatory), and disconnect it from the cables. Warm the mastic slightly, and peel back the plastic barrier. Remove the bolt at the bottom of the window track nearest the lock. The track will move freely, and you can hang it up on the side-impact beam. Now the slightly awkward part: Remove the two rods that go from the lock cylinder and the exterior handle down to the latch (lock assy). You unclip the plastic clips at the top, swing them sideways, and pull the rod out of the hole for each one. Unscrew the lock using a #30 Torx bit, swing it sideways so you can unplug the two connectors, and remove the whole assy, including the two cables that go to the interior lock and handle, and two rods that go up to the lock cylinder and exterior handle. Now you are ready to replace it with a new one!
Yeah! Now everything works like a new Lexus should. Thanks again Pete, and best luck on the new RX350. :shades: I hope it's just as trouble-free, except they improved the lock solenoids.
:confuse:
Pete
It's still archived but our archives are temporarily offline. They will return when some system performance issues are resolved.
tidester, host
Steve, Host
I wonder if someone can guide me. When turn off motor and restart, I will be 35 miles away from where sit. I reset and it is okay. Then it would change and I notice that the compass would change direction, from North to south. and I am 40 miles away again. What can be the problem? Thank you.
Or maybe McD drive throughs...
Pete
Thanks,
Sherry :confuse:
I too, have been working on this little project. I've been hoping the archives would come up by now so I didn't bug you again, but now I need to do something soon.
My '99 RX came with the standard "towing package" but that doesn't include the wiring. Thanks for any help you can offer!
Thanks,
Jimd
I bought my '99 RX (first year) because of the predicted reliability of the RX compared to the V70. The RX has a few common quirks, but if you are careful when buying used, it's a pretty safe bet.
Watch for an RX that has not been used for a lot of urban idling... There are transmission and sludge issues on abused or poorly maintained vehicles. Look for these signs:
Check maintainence records. Check for pink transmission fluid. Even if the vehicle didn't/will not tow: was it equipped with a factory "tow prep-package" including the transmission and heavy-duty radiator cooling (and perhaps not hitch? (if so, great!) You can tell either from the original window sticker if it's available, or for 2 wheel-drive models you can look inside the vent in the front bumper below the passenger side headlight with a flashlight. Behind the white plastic windshield washer tank, you should be able to see a small radiator with small hoses plumbed to the large radiator. That would be the auxiliary transmission cooler. That's what you are looking for. I think all 4WD had a trans cooler, anyway. Also, look at the brake pedal for a lot of previous "city" driving wear as an indicator. Parking lot door dings to tell a story? Did the back seat get a lot of "soccer-mom/dad" use? A vehicle with lots of highway miles in good condition may be preferable to a low mileage city used stop-and-go car.
Make sure all the "All Auto" power windows work. Make sure all power door locks work well... the power actuator for the driver's door lock gets old when the vehicle has sat for a while, and then needs to be replaced. It's not as expensive as a Volvo, but it's not cheap, either.
These are pretty generic to any used car, but in particular common to the RX.
I hope this gives you some helpful hints. Both are nice cars, but now you have some info to go on so hopefully you get a car that will last for years (like we do).
Let us know more about it, OK?
It was first noticed, noticeable, in the early RX300's as a propensity to upshift the transaxle at weird times. For instance just before coming to a full stop. Wherein most transaxles shifted into first the RX300 would upshift initially and then downshift into first only after the vehicle came to a FULL and COMPLETE stop. Owners describe it as the feeling of be "bumped lightly from behind".
The other time was at 30-45 MPH during throttle fully closed coastdowns to a lower speed the transaxle would upshift giving the "slingshot effect" feeling.
Apparently having the transaxle in the wrong gear if/when the driver decided to accelerate rather than coming to a full stop or continuing to coastdown has resulted in premature, 70-80,000 miles, failures of many of these early RX300 transaxles.
By 2004 Toyota/Lexus thought, apparently, that had solved the problem by using a DBW/E-throttle system to delay engine torque development until the transaxle could be downshifted into the more/most appropriate gear ratio for the "new" circumstances.
Problem was that led to many complaints due to owners finding themselves in somewhat hazardous or unsafe situations from the resulting throttle application delay, some said of as much as 2-3 seconds.
The first documented evidence, by Toyota/lexus, of this was in the spring of 2003 involving a TSB for the 2002 Camry. The latest indication is that it is now affecting the NEW RAV4, even the ones with the I4 engine.
It might be advisable to stay away from any FWD or front torque biased AWD from Toyota and Lexus until they have thoroughly "wrung" out these problems with transaxles.
Have a long hard look at the Acura RDX as a perfect example of a well designed, VERY well designed, AWD system.
Well you hit it right on the head. Apparently a stone or something hit the condenser. Lexus does not want to pay anything and it is expensive. I wonder if you could consider its position a design flaw. The dealer suggested calling the national number to voice my concern/complaint. At a minimum I assume my comprehensive component of insurance should cover after the deductable.
Jimd.
The only similar situation I can think of is related to wheel slippage and the traction-control system throttle delay. Easily avoided by replacing the tires with grippier rubber than the factory 225-70 Integrity's (and a little restraint with my right foot when pulling away from a stop).
The throttle-by-wire system seems to be well matched, if not a bit quick on the draw, to shift the transmission when it senses throttle changes. However, when it was new, Lexus had a TSB for replacement of the transmission valve body to be done at Lexus' expense which a very bad dealer did not do, but was supposed to (they said they couldn't find a TSB after all, and on another occasion they said all was OK, which was not true).
Before the warrantee expired, I had another dealer check again. At just under 70,000 miles with only a symptom of a hard 1-2 shift, Lexus (different dealer) stood behind their product and replaced the entire transmission with a brand new unit after trying two rebuilt units also with hard shifting, all at no cost to me. They did not mention any software changes, but there have been many other changes to the RX since the early models, usually making them more reliable, not less.
I have a local friend with a 2000 4WD, 120,000 miles, with a flawless (trans) repair history, and his shifts with the same smoothness and precision mine does, and still has pink fluid.
What you claim is that an awful lot of RX, ES, Camry's, RAV's, maybe even Sienna's, etc. have transmissions with really obvious and nasty, dangerous design flaws which ultimately lead to premature failure that would be so widespread, no one would want these cars creating a really bad reputation. Is yours like that? If so, your position is understandable. Is there a high percentage of other owners who are reporting this? I haven't heard that it is, except what you pointed out.
So far, I guess many are lucky they have not had these problems. Hopefully that might mean they have a long-wearing transmission. I hope your experience gets better.
But with all this, I do change the fluid every year, as I notice it gets beat more in this car than others. Also, I added an extra auxiliary trans cooler in addition to the towing cooler to total two, just to be more safe (don't know if it will do good, but I do that on all my cars anyway).
Another thing I learned. Try a different dealer for service?!
My RX came with the extra ATF cooler as a part of the towing package and I removed the hitch the day I brought it home. At only ~40,000 miles my ATF was smelling and looking burned.
get the Delphi Roady. I believe the latest
model right now is the Roady XT. I have the
Roady-II and I love it! I've had it for two
years now. Before my Maxima got wrecked two
weeks ago, I was playing the XM Roady through
the cassette player. You don't have to worry
about any interruptions(unless you're in a
parking garage, of course!) or tuning into a
station that gets no competition from a local
station, which you can also use the Roady that
way(called the wireless FM modulator).
The sound of the XM comes through great playing
it through the cassette player.
Also, whenever I rent a car to go on vacation,
even though the car may not have a cassette
player, I just use the wireless FM Modulator
and tune into one of the list of stations that
the XM manual recommends and get XM music that
way. The only disadvantage to using the wireless FM is when you're traveling, you'll
get competition from whatever local stations
are present as you progress in your travel.
But doing it through the cassette player is a
great way to go. All you have to have is
(Everything comes in the package) a magnetic
antenna, power adapter, cassette adapter and
you're set to go!
While I'm awaiting the verdict on whether my
Maxima will be a loss or repairable, I'm driving a Nissan Sentra rental car. It doesn't
have the cassette player, so I just set up my
Roady with the Wireless FM Modulator. It's
been no problem at around town. It makes living with an underpowered, boring little
rental car much, much easier!!!
In my accord I tied in through the aux port on the back of the radio and use XM Commander. Using ground loop isolator and the audio is perfect. Only bad thing is it doesn't display on the radio, gotta use that little xm wired display.
antenna on the roof over the right front passenger door close to the windshield, run the
wire along the door channel and let a small
portion hang so I can put the majority of the
clump of wire in my glove compartment and run
the rest of the wire out of the other side of
the glove compartment. At one time I had the
Roady receiver display mounted on one of the
air conditioner vents in the center, and then
the cassette adapter wire runs to the cassette
and the power adapter runs to the power unit
just below. Hardly any wires hanging loose.
The only problem I had was when I wanted to
hide the Roady in the glove compartment whenever I would take the car to the car wash,
it was difficult to get it off of the mount.
I ended up breaking the mount and since then,
just had the Roady sitting in the ashtray on
the bottom of the center console.
When I play it through the cassette player, it
sounds almost as good as the CD player and better and louder than the regular radio.
Sorry, but I still like having the cassette
player along with the CD and the satellite
radio. Hey, I've still got some great cassette
tapes that are in good shape that I still listen to!
By the way, I just got word that my 2002 Maxima
will be totaled out. I'm strongly considering
buying or leasing a 2007 RX350!
Thanks,
Thanks for reading.
Lexus Shell
Pete
WHAT ARE THE BEST VALUE REPLACEMENT TIRES FOR THE RX300?
I've had Bridgestone Duelers and Goodyear Integrity. I haven't cared for either. I want something else this time.
Mine is a 2001 with 101K miles and I plan on keeping it for another 50K miles (hopefully).
Anyone who wants to pick up the Michelins in Redmond WA can have them for free.
Pete
Has anyone experience with the new B'stone Dueler HL Alenza?
(rumored to have new rubber compound that is much quieter and better in snow that prior Dueler AT. Tires Plus guy says their similar to Michelen Cross Terrain but cheaper)