Lexus RX 330

aveghte

We live in Florida and it gets very warm in the summer. My wife likes the dark wood color that comes with the gray leather more than the light wood color that comes with the beige leather. However the gray leather is matched with a black plastic dashboard - does this get hotter in warm climates than the brown plastic dashboard that comes with the beige leather package?

scottphillip

I bought a Flint Mica/Gray RX330 with the Nav/Lev package last weekend. I also got the DVD player and heated seats. I am FL, and may place a sunscreen in the front, when I park in the sun. The a/c works great. I am hoping to have the same great experience that I did with my 2002 LS430. I will keep you posted.

tnguy1

Received my Bamboo/Ivory RX 330 with NAV/ML, DVD, 18" wheels in perfect condition after ordering online from a FL dealer. I LOVE this SUV. I have only one very minor complaint: no tray for coins. Someone in previous posts commented on engine "drone" that is uncharacteristic of a Lexus. I also noted this during my test drive. However, after purchasing this SUV, I think that the engine "drone" makes this SUV feel sportier. The BMW X5 also has this same engine "drone".

smg1062

I called Lexus and of course they don't recommend going bigger on tire/wheel sizes than what they put on the GX or RX, BUT does anyone know how much larger you can go? Im looking at an RX or GX and I definitely want larger wheels, maybe tires as well. Lexus was no help...........

Thanks

ctk1

what is website of online dealers do you order from? what's process of purchase ? Price offer for your Rx330 bamboo/Ivory ?

alanek

Has anyone used MSD (multiple security deposits)with their lease on an RX 330. Can you tell me the numbers and how much you saved?

samang

Ditto on the coin tray comment.
I thought that was a little silly. 5 cup holders no coin tray. Maybe Lexus figured we would all have toll tags. I have had to use the door handle hole for coin tray, and my cell phone.

Notice there isn;t a little cubby hole for a cell either? Oh well, otherwise, no complaints.

blackrx330

I am jealous...... I wish I had been able to get the ML with the performance package. I bet the ML sounds great.
On the engine drone - I have never owned a Lexus so I do not have a point of comparison but it does seem loud - particularly on accelerating from a stop. I also test drove the X5 and agree that you do hear the engine in that car. It seems though at speed the drone goes away in the RX.

scottphillip

I also miss the coin tray, like I had in my LS430. I put my cell phone in the center console. I can stand it up in the slot provided there.

clburton

I am picking up my RX330 with ML/Nav today.
Does anyone know what happened to the Laser Cruise control? My dealer said they stopped making them for the time being because nobody wanted them. I can't believe that they would remove $600 of options just because nobody wanted it. I figure they must have had problems.

adb3

Wasn't part of my NAV/VP package, but certainly is a curious statement. Everything I'm reading tells me that the technology works pretty well in other vehicles that have it (LS 430/MB E/S). In fact, my research tells me that the technology has advanced enough that it's a must have in my next vehicle.

clburton

It was something that I specifically wanted and the documentation showed that it came with the ML/NAV package, but it wasn't available and the MSRP price was lowered by the $600.

Since they are advertising it and I was interested, I couldn't believe that there was no interest (as the dealer said).

s852

Since the RX330 has only been out for such a short time, I doubt they can gauge how many people will want it yet or could change the production so quickly.
I doubt they would even stop production of the least popular paint color until the next year.
Sounds bogus.

tnguy1

I ordered from Lexus of Palm Beach (lexusauto.com). In compliance with the rules of this forum, I won't post the salesman's name but if you email me at thanh129@yahoo.com, I will be glad to give you the details. The process was very simple. I ordered the car ($1000 deposit required), and sent a check for the remaining balance when the car arrived at the dealer. The car was shipped to me on an 18 wheeler truck in perfect condition. The car was detailed as if I drove it off the dealer's lot. I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first but my experience was excellent.

On the ML system, it sounds phenomenal especially when watching DVD's.

avery1

How far are you from Palm Beach Lexus?

JBaumgart

Thought I read that they were having a technical problem of some sort which is kind of strange, because as adb3 says it works just fine in the LS430. I find it strange that Lexus keeps advertising all of the options (that they show as making the Germans wince at how advanced the car is) and then they don't let you buy them all, either due to packaging or production decisions. Oh well, sounds like they're selling all they can make, at least for the time being.

On a different note, has anyone received the little USB advertising gift in the mail? This was (and perhaps still is) available through the Lexus web site, and I had ordered one a couple of months ago. It just came in the mail and I tried it the other night - pretty slick little gadget that like the TV ads showcases all of the gadgets on the car. When you're done you can also delete the material and use it to transfer files between computers, which I plan to do after my wife sees the pre-loaded Lexus material. It has 16 MB of memory which isn't a lot but you can't complain when it's free.

tnguy1

I am 850 miles from palm beach, FL.

blackrx330

My RX has the laser cruise control but it was an individual option on the sticker. I would not have looked for it especially but it happened to the be on the only car available with Black/Black, NAV, and the Performance Package.
I have not used the cruise yet, but just above the odometer, there is a second LCD line that when the cruise is activated shows the speed and sound/laser wave signals coming from a car symbol. Under the right spoke of the steering wheel there is a small switch that pulls toward you that reduces and increases the number of waves on the display. I assume this adjusts the allowed distance from your car to the one in front of you. On the regular cruise control lever - I believe - if you push it away from you - you toggle to regular (non-laser) cruise control. On the outside, under the passenger's side fog lamp is the laser sensor - there appear to be two lenses. The dealer told me to make sure when using the cruise control that they remain clean. I will be taking a 500 mile road trip to Orlando next weekend and will surely have the opportunity to try the cruise out. If anyone is interested I'll let you know how it works or if you have any questions I'll let you know what the owner's manual says.

scottphillip

I bought my RX in Orlando--a large dealership. All of the 330s with the Performance Package had the laser cruise control. I didn't see it with any other package, even though it is a stand alone option. I never had a problem with the cruise on the LS430. I wanted the Performance Package, but was too impatient to wait.

clburton

When I first started looking, the Lexus website showed that it was included with the Performance bundling and the ML/Navigation bundling. Now I don't see any sign of it on the Lexus website and it was not in my ML/Navigation bundle.

wwest

Just drove a 92 LS400 from Tucson to Fresno. Ivory interior and the windows, sides and rear, have had a dark film added.

Very bright day yesterday and you could FEEL (I mean REALLY feel!) the heat emanating from the not-dark (dark would have undoubtedly been horrid) brown top of the dash. Climate control was VERY confused, solar radiation sensor was exposed to the full effects of the BRIGHT sunlight so it wanted to "turn up" the cooling dramatically. Obviously wasn't designed for "darkened" windows,

Wife finally covered the sensor with a single sheet of writing paper which seemed to bring the system into control.

wwest

RX wider tires/wheels.

The RX series has such tight suspension clearance at the rear you can't even use snowchains safely.

Owners manual says snowchains on front ONLY, but carefully read also indicates this situation can become extremely hazardous due to MUCH higher liklihood of loss of control.

My 01 AWD has 1.2" spacers all around so I could fit 17X8 wheels and wider tires. I expect to trade up to the RX330 later this year and will get the one with air suspension which clearly has more clearance but will still need spacers to fit the 17x8 BBS RXII.

sequoiasaurus

I have an 04 Sienna XLE Limited and it comes standard with the laser cruise control. First time I've ever used it on a vehicle. I won't buy another (long distance) travel vehicle without it. It's great and worth the $600 option. Local Lexus dealer here says it's now a separate option.

JBaumgart

If you buy the air suspension which means the performance package, it will come with 18 inch wheels and tires. If you switch them to your BBS RX11 wheels (which admittedly are very nice) this means you will be downsizing the wheel diameter by an inch, compared to stock, but gaining an inch in width vs. stock. Is this the way you want to go? To maintain the same rolling circumference you will have to use a tire with a higher sidewall, which might improve the ride some but could hurt handling a bit.

wwest

Seems about right for my C4, but on an SUV seems a bit much. IMMHO the FX looks horrid with those "wagon wheels". And I like the extra stability of 3" wider overall and more contact patch.

Hoping to find a dealer willing to swap for 17" and at least get to keep the tires.

Picture of my 01 RX with 17x8 at clublexus in the RX gallery under wwest.

JBaumgart

"IMMHO the FX looks horrid with those 'wagon wheels'."

Hey, that's my vehicle you're talking about there! <g> As they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder - I happen to like the larger wheels on the FX. I also like the traditional look of the BBS wheels, but I've always shied away because they are so intricate and hard to keep clean.

For both my FX and the wife's RX 18 inch wheels, I will be looking for additional sets to use this winter. I'm looking for 18 inch for the FX and 17 inch for the RX. So far the wheel/winter tire choices seem very limited or non-existent, but I am hoping that by late fall some manufacturers will make several choices available.

P.S. I am sure you've seen the pictures of the guy's 22 inch wheels on his RX300 over on clublexus - now that may be a little too much. Some guys would run 30 inchers if they would fit!

wwest

I sincerely wish the RX had the FX's mechanical "beauty", RWD biased and a rather good AWD system overall.

wwest

Hard to keep clean, DITTO!

http://www.hobbystage.net/porsche/wwest

But obviously worth the work IMMHO!

drive2

I test drove a RX330 today. The car had 18 inch wheels and that's the only way they come right now they said. I did not like the ride because of the excessive bouncing on the imperfect road. Also when I was parking it back at the dealer lot it seemed to have some uncertainty whether it wanted to shift into 2nd gear or stay in first. I drove away in my 2000 Avalon, happier than ever, because it just floats over the bumps.

dmccart7

Has any RX 330 owners noticed a clunking sound coming from the transmission when driving slow or driving under 30 mph? Almost seems like when the transmission shifts from a high gear to a lower one I get a clunk sound. This started after 1000 miles and seems to be getting worse after 5000 miles. I experienced a similar problem with my new 1997 Toyota Avalon. They could not find the problem after 20,000 miles so I sold the car.

drive2

I noticed a little clunk when I test drove off the dealer lot. It's like the transmission is going into "coast mode" when it should be staying in "engaged mode". I think they haven't perfected the 5 speed shift programming yet.

wwest

I have noticed, myself, that my 01 AWD RX300 does have something of a weird shift pattern. It seems to "shift" into "neutral" at rather peculiar times, just before coming to a full stop for instance. I have also had it do something of that nature at higher speeds while coasting.

I have also seen postings here and there about this issue, one poster decribed it as if someone struck his rear bumper and pushed him forward just as he stopped.

I have begun to suspect this may be Toyota/Lexus' method of simulating an over-running clutch for vehicles that are predominantly FWD. Cadillac added an over-running clutch to their FWDs with the high torque northstar engine to help prevent loss of control due to engine braking, say on slippery downhill runs.

Up-shifting the transmission when the ECU detects a coasting circumstance would have the very same effect.

stansc32

I have recently purchased a 2wd RX330 and like it very much except there may be a quirk(flaw) in the new transmission coupled with the new throttle by wire. This is in all RX 330s. Has anyone noticed that when you are breaking or slowing for a stop that as the car's transmission automatically downshifts through the gears, it feels like it goes into neutral for a second..like you put the clutch in(if it had one. Also, there is hardly any engine breaking when you take your foot off the accelerator while in drive. If you are approaching a stopped car at a light you need to watch out for this because you will suddenly need more braking pressure. Further, if you floor the accelerator at certain speeds( around the shift points) the car hesitates as it tries to find the right gear. My Lexus dealer agrees that the car does this but is not sure if Lexus will fix the problem with some type of change to the computer. If you notice this quirk, please report it to your dealer and to Lexus....Thank you

wwest

Lack thereof:

FWD, or front torque biased AWD (as is the RX300/330 series, 90/10 initially, 75/25 {maybe} after many seconds of slippage {RX300}) can potentially be VERY hazardous in certain circumstances.

Driving a FWD, or front torque biased AWD, downhill on an icy roadbed engine braking can cause loss of control almost instantly on throttle lift when entering a turn.

For many years now I have advised my FWD owning friends to remember to shift the car into neutral in this circumstance. A friend with a FWD Cadillac (northstar engine) told me I may have saved his life with my advice.

Looks as if Toyota/Lexus may have automated my good advice.

wwest

It takes a few hundred milliseconds to "retune" the engine settings from economy mode to "burn rubber" mode. VVTi, intake volume, etc, mechanical devices, you know.

Methinks that is what you are feeling when flooring the accelerator.

E-throttles give the manufacturers that ability.

The 2 Saleen SR-7's we entered at the 24 hours of Daytona in 2002 could have their WOT "position" set by telemetry from the pits.

albdoc

I have completed 1000 miles and have n't had any major problems with my RX( Black on Black with ML & Nav) except for the problem # 649(stansc32) described .
- On a few occasions upon sudden accleration specially when you are at 20 mph or so, I have felt that the acclerator becomes hard and the car hesitates to acclerate and finally does afer few seconds. I am taking the car for tune up and will discuss with the Lexus dealer .
- Occasional ratling noise from the roof rails . Someone else has described this previously.

Here are some good points

All the electronic gadget in the car functions as stated in the advertisements and manuals

-ML simply rocks
-Navigation system is excellent specially the touch screen system and vice activation .
-I have driven the car in rain and the wipers do sense the rain and adjust accordingly.
-Rear entertainment DVD works great.
I would like to play DVD 's on the navigation screen while driving , however this feature is disabled due to safety concerns by Lexus . I have a lot of music DVD which I would like to use.
Has any one figured out any trick yet ??. I know there are other navigation systems where you can do this.
Overall I am happy with my RX so far .

stansc32

are you saying you have a voice activated navigation system in your RX 330. I have one with Navigation and it is not voice activated

albdoc

Sorry about the mistake and thanks for pointing it out.
I meant voice guided.....
However the LS 430, LX and GX do have voice activated NAV .

adb3

Yep, the quirky transmission must be endemic to all 330s. I've experienced the same thing. It's also been reported in publicized road tests. Not a major problem for me, but Toyota/Lexus should fix prior to next MY.

Since the 330 is so rattle-free, the tapping sound from the roof rails was quite noticeable. Had the dealer remove the crossmembers and now no tapping or rattles.

j4ydubs

Willard,
> I expect to trade up to the RX330 later this
> year and will get the one with air suspension
> which clearly has more clearance but will still > need spacers to fit the 17x8 BBS RXII.

Make sure that the air suspension does in fact have more clearance. It actually has less ground clearance (7.09" compared to 7.48") than the standard suspension when driven in the normal setting. You can raise it to 8.3", however your speed is limited to under 31 MPH.

John

s852

Even if they are not defective, but were designed to work like that, Lexus needs to refine them anyway.
People expect everything to work smoothly and elegantly on a Lexus.

2fast2furious

Hi Everyone. Just wondering what all you RX330 owners paid for your car. The cheapest quote I've seen in the Bay Area for an RX330 AWD with Nav/ML option is slightly above $50K out the door (8.25% sales tax). I was told that the rear dvd has to be a part of this package (something the Lexus website failed to mention).

bodble2

With regard to the quirky transmission and any other defects not yet apparent, it would seem wise to wait for the next MY before buying. However, by next MY production will shift to North America in a brand new facility with brand new workers. So what's the lesser of 2 evils? First-year issues but with Japanese workmanship still a better bet than North American workmanship?

adb3

Even considering the quirky transmission (which is only a slight nuisance for me), the 330 so far is solid in every other way. Overall fit and luxurious appointments are outstanding and once you are behind the wheel you just know reliability will be top-notch. It has to be a personal choice, but I'd put this production model up against all other competitors new production models any day and IMO Lexus will come out on top.

Wait only by choice, not by necessity.

wco81

Where will the hybrid model be built?

my330

Does anyone own these rx330 colors, and what do you think so far? I like the bamboo but it is hard to get, the gold is nice but too light for me, and I am afraid of getting tired of the white. What do you think?

blackrx330

Get black with black interior...... it looks REAL sharp. With all the black tinted windows, black moulding and black under body trim - the black paint really sets the car off. Of course I am biased!

But, if I did not get black - from your choices below, I'd probably get white with the ivory interior.

Good luck.

adb3

I'm also partial to Black-on Black. But I saw a CW 330 pass by in NYC and it stopped me in my tracks--very striking. So I vote CW.

adb3

RX 330 8525---23% increase over last May

Competitors:

MDX 5089
XC90 3792
X5 2845
Aviator 2793
M-Class 2591
FX 2339
Cayenne 1388

Oh well, looks like we'll be seeing a lot more 330s on the road. That's a lot of cha-ching! Lexus is making a killing on this thing.

albdoc

I personally think the black color in RX 330 is probably the best . I may be biased as I have one and I love it .
Here are the reasons.
-The silver logo in the back and white light and the wheels share the same color and the combination of silver /white with black is awesome .
-Black is probably the best color which helps in easil;y distinguising RX 300 from Rx 330. I have yet to see a black RX 300 ( very uncommon ) and unlike the RX 300 there are no red tail lights or golden logo, which to me is not that appealing .
-It is very striking and the interior with wood trim and silver dashboard becomes lively with a black interior .

Problem with heat and sunlight . Lexus has an excellent AC and is not a great deal .
Again color is very individual . Some may not agree with me .