Lexus RX 300

jeffmust2

eom

wwest

Several automotive manufacturers are experimenting with electronic ANTI-NOISE systems. The idea being for the equipment to "listen" for unwanted noise, such as that from the tires, and generate ANTI-NOISE, an equal signal 180 degrees out-of-phase effectively canceling the unwanted noise.

I guess in the meantime if we want to truly hear the high fidelity of our expensive ML audio systems we'll just have to continue to invest in tires with noise canceling tread designs.

javadoc

Can they filter out the noise my children make? Or the wife? Or Dr. Laura? Oh, wait, I can just change that station.

The anti-noise idea is great, but what about when the system fails? Will people go off the road b/c of the instant assault on their ears? <tic>

I do appreciate the comments y'all have given re: the RX.

jeffmust2

...could apply here.

Darn, just can't get that song out of my head...where was that again?

There it is - Post #7353.

wwest

Jeff you remind me of...

You know, the one who kept trying to use white-out on her word processor screen.

jeffmust2

...second, I know it's hard for Forgetful Seniors to keep up to date, but try to use humor from at least the LAST decade.

Third - guess all you Blond/Blondes out there are Happy Now, right?

What next, Willard - Polish jokes?

wwest

Jokes about North Dakotans that I learned in MT back in the sixties.

When referring to women of a certain hair color that adjective should never be spelled "correctly".

It just confuses them.

enjeti

I am planning on buying a fully loaded 2000 RX300 w/ very low miles and I would like to know if there are any gotchas w/ this particular model year RX3000s.

mrrogers

When the Lexus/Toyota oil gel (sludge) problem first came to light, it appears that one issue was owners doing a lot of stop and go city type driving, and using the normal service interval rather than the severe service interval. If you want a 2000 RX with very low miles, you may want to examine the service records closely. Also, it may be appropriate to remove the front valve cover to inspect for oil gel. The upside is that Lexus has offered to fix the engines if at least one oil change was done per year.

jimbonut

I have had my 99 RX300 for 4 trouble free years with only one minor complaint. On occasion my dome light has stayed on after the doors are closed. It is easily corrected by switching the control to the center position. Naturally the problem never occurs while at the dealer.

Has anyone else had this problem? What was the cure?

Also have never had to add oil between oil changes. Has anyone had to add oil? Makes me wonder why I bother to check my oil between changes.

Is the 330 worth the change? I have only 45k on my 300.

gteach26

My wife's 2002 RX battery drained one night because her door did not completely close and the dome light stayed on. It "looked" closed but it had not completely shut. I've had this problem on all of the RX doors. I usually have to try twice to get the doors to shut completely.

avery1

I have a '99 with 77,000 miles and until about a year ago I never had to add oil between oil changes. I got pretty lax and didn't check much. Then once 4,000 miles or so after an oil change I noticed that it was down almost a quart. I called assuming there was a problem and was told that it could use up to a quart every 1,000 miles and still be considered "normal". It still uses about 1/2 quart every 3,000 miles or so.

finch3

I've had my 2000 for 45,000 miles now with absolutely no problems. I replaced the cheap Integrity tires for Michelin LTX and they appear to be excellent. Would long for truly quiet tires, though.

bh3685

I'm getting about 260-270 total miles on my 1999 RX 300. Just bought it used - but new tires [inflated], new air filter... is this what others are getting, or can you think of something that might be effecting my total miles. The LCD reading is showing about 19 mpg... i know its a small tank, but i didn't think it would be this bad. Thanks for the help.

folomypath02

Can someone tell me how to disable the automatic door locks when you move the gear shift out of the "P" (Park) position? I took at the manaul and it said to hold the driver door lock down in the locking position when the key is in the "ON" position. I held it for at least 10 seconds and the doors were still automatically locking when I switched the gears out of Park and into Reverse.

Can anyone help me out on this one?

jiamin

That's the feature I'd like to have on my 00 RX300, a safety feature.

Know nothing about 03 RX300, but could it be a programmable thing in CBEST? If yes then only dealer can do it.

ctk1

Car has 22000 miles bought it new. Engine catch fire on 4/25/03 while driving. Car now is total loss. I call the dealer reagarding the 4 yr/50000 miles warranty. Say they will send out the regional lexus rep to find out what wrong with the car.
Does anyone run into this problem before? How to get the warranty from Lexus ? Insurance will pay, but I will spend more $ to get a new car + tax. Any advice is appreciate.
Thanks

jeffmust2

...on April 25th, was there a particular reason you posted on another TH Lexus RX board three days later, 4/28, to ask if the RX uses a timing chain or a timing belt?

And made no mention of the fire that took place 3 days before - resulting in a total loss?

Just curious.

ctk1

I asked for the new RX330 NOT my burned 2001 RX300
I already now the answer the rx300 using the timing belt, but not sure about the new RX330.
It's time to buy a car, therefore I posted the question for new RX330.
Please go back & read my message and READ SLOWLY.

ctk1

therefore I did not posted the rx300. Plus today insurance call and say it's total lost, for that I want get answer about lexus warranty from the board.

jeffmust2

...of the words you used...but, you're right - darn those speed reading classes!

Actually, my question was, why didn't you make mention on 4/28 that your RX had totally burned three days before...instead of waiting until today?

I mean, regulars on the RX boards never hear of such fire-for-unknown-reason cases and I know, speaking for myself here, I would be greatly interested in the cause, whether it's a dropped ciggie or some electrical problem in the wiring.

Hey - could it be that defective design in the windshield defroster? That's my bet.

No matter - sure hope that insurance money will cover most of the RX330. Good shopping.

fantom

Well, your insurance company is going to pay the fair value of your car. What do you want Lexus to do? Getting more than the depreciated value of you car is a loooong shot, at best.

Proving it's a warranty defect will probably be a painful and expensive route, if indeed it is. It will be interesting to see what the regional rep comes up with.

BTW, you weren't running those crappy French tires, were you <G>?

pschiffe

I also have a 99 and it now has nearly 60K miles, have never had to add oil. Haven't even bothered checking it much either but will keep an eye on it now as a result of avery1's post of 4/24. I change the oil and filter every 5,000 miles using 5W30 and genuine Toyota filter.

Pete

ctk1

Absolutley No French tires, No French fries, No French wine and no French wife period.

stever

Did you miss your Doonesbury fix last Sunday?

If everyone quits buying Michelins, what's going to happen to the union guys making tires in Tuscaloosa?

Not to mention, Opelika, Woodburn, Kitchener (for our Canadian friends), etc.

How about we stick to the Lexus and leave the politics to other forums? Merci, and Happy Cinco de Mayo (hehe - get it?). :-)

Steve, Host

bricksnblocks

Just bought my leased '99. Need new "summer" tires. My winter snows need to come off now. Traction rating is more important than wear rating to me, a C temp rating is fine too. Don't want to buy any Firestone or related products, previous bad experience. I drive min. of 55 miles/day, 100-150 miles/day twice a week, mostly all highway @ 60-65 mph. Suggestions please?
Have 73,000 mph on engine, did NOT get the 60/65K belt etc maint on the car--Dealer wants to charge $1,400 for this service i know my belts need replacing too. Do other mechanics generally know there way aroung Lexus' or should i bite the bullet and let the Dealer do the service ? Also, since its past the 65k and approaching 75k what else should i service now ? Thanks.

wwest

I think if you look/read your owners manual more carefully you will find timing belt schedule is at 90k

bricksnblocks

I checked out The Tire Rack. com 1 out 2 reviews stated overall poor performance for the Goodyear Integrity, especially in the rain and DITTO for the Michelin Symmetry, reviews for Bridgestone Dueller weren't any better. Have winter tires, need summer tires so Michelin cross terrains don't seem to fit the bill. Help pls.

stever

Tires, tires, tires is another good place to ask.

Steve, Host

pschiffe

Hummer rated last in new J.D. Powers and Associates survey with 225 complaints per 100 vehicles. Lexus ranked first with 76 complaints per 100 vehicles. Here is a link to the article from Reuters Ltd.:

Hummer Guzzles Gas

Pete

wwest

jeffmust2

...and these are a few of my favorite things...

bh3685

Has anyone bought anything from lexuspartsmall.com? Wondering about the prices, quality, and service in general. More specifically, has anyone bought [or know the best place to buy] a roof rack/crossbars and carpet floor mats with Lexus insignia? Thanks...

rlui1

Those you who have had your dealer fix your door rattles - what did they do and was it successful?

Also, which part needs to be replaced for the squeaking steering wheel? I've had the boot lubed twice already and the squeak has come back again.

javadoc

Howdy ho... still searching for an RX300. From what I've been reading, the 2001 came available w/ a vehicle stability option. What can y'al tell me about it?

mooretorque

applies brakes to individual wheels based on yaw sensors (and, I think, ABS sensors) to counter under- and oversteer situations.

astonen

anyone have experience with placing three child seats into a RX300? it is physically possible, but not sure it's the safest thing to do.

wwest

Text taken from MY2002 Toyota Sequoia owner's manual, page 230, 2nd sentence of 2nd paragraph, left column. Yellow CAUTION high-lighted text.

"Be careful when accelerating, up-shifting, downshifting, or braking on a slippery surface. Sudden acceleration or engine braking, could cause the vehicle to skid or spin."

NOTE: "ENGINE BRAKING"

(DO NOT LIFT YOUR FOOT FROM THE THROTTLE QUICKLY!)

Or else quickly shift into neutral.

The Sequoia is predominantly a RWD biased vehicle, what did you suppose will happen with a FWD or AWD with front torque biasing?

Same manual, Page 143, center column yellow high-lighted CAUTION note.

"Under certain slippery road conditions, full traction of the vehicle and power against 4 wheels (4WD mode) or rear wheels (2WD mode) cannot be maintained, even though the active traction control system is in operation"

I read this statement as verification of a firmware time-out to prevent the ABS pump/motor from being over-taxed and over-heating due to continuous pump activity requirement.

This statement would likely also apply to ANY Toyota or Lexus vehicle with ACTIVE Trac and/or AWD using braking to apportion torque, HL, 4runner, GX470, RX300, RX330, Sienna, and obviously the Sequoia.

You likely have only about 45 seconds of continuous Trac or AWD "duty", then you're left with a vehicle that has 3 open diff'ls.

And obviously the ABS and VSC would now also be non-functional until the time-out expires (unless you need to do a restart cycle??) and the pump can again be activated.

jeffmust2

I always wanted to know that.

Now, how does that "gravity" thing work again?

javadoc

I would think that 45secs is plenty of time for on-road use, but certainly not off-road use, of which the RX is not designed for, really.

Not lifting the throttle is a no-brainer if you live in a snowbound state. Newton's Laws become all to real when you have 0.10g of grip, or less.

lol, Jeff.

jrdowney

How important do people think these are to have? I know they were optional but often were included. Been looking at used vehicles, some have the HID headlights, some do not.

Thanks

jiamin

My 00 RX300 does not have HID headlights, but its regular headlights are brighter than all my previous cars'. I feel it's bright enough so HID is only for better looking. My 02 QX4 has HID and it's bright and looks very good.

wwest

Wider spectrum of light, helps color vision enormously at night.

essweb

Just start to notice something unusual on my 02 RX which has 28K miles this two days. I can hear mumbling sounds when I drive above 15 MPH. The sound doesn't increase as the speed does and the sound level is like a old pickup truck driving on the next lane with your window is closed. And It is more noticeable when I am reducing speed from say 50MPH to 0. At idle, the sound is gone. The car overall feel slightly lack of power. And to increase speed from 65MPH to 75 require the engine to work extra hard, the sound from the engine sounds just like you are press the gas pedal to the bottom. Also, at idle, if I press the gas pedal, I can't hear the sound.

I am going to bring this vehicle in to a dealership nearby Monday. Does any of you have the experience? I got this car used about 3 months ago, and this is the first time I notice this problem.

mrrogers

A few RX300's have reported experienced an oil gel (sludge) problem. If you wish, you can ask your dealer to remove the front valve cover on Monday to inspect for sludge. If the oil was changed at least once a year, Lexus is repairing the engines. Good luck!

essweb

mrrogers,

Thanks for the advise. I heard about this sludge problem also a while ago. what will one feel when a engine has Sludge problem? I am sure the car was oil changed regularly.

essweb

Went to the dealer at lunch time. They check the car and told me it is the tire problem.

I was driving Sunday and noticed the noise become louder if I turn left, and gone if I turn right. It is quiet sensitive, so even I turn 2 degree on the steering wheel, I can notice the difference.

The stock tires are Bridge Stone. which I can not imagine can wear out in the inside of the tire and create such problem. I had Bridge stone tires before and they are great, but they are for my accords. Maybe I should get M/L C/T tire for my RX. they are like $150 each, kind of expensive.

Dealer also suggest maybe the car need alignment. To which Lexus charge $129 for the service. I can get it done outside for maybe $40. but I really don't want to do it if I don't have to. Is there a way to find out if my car needs alignment? I let the steering wheel go while driving stright line, I don't feel any pulling to the side, does that means I don't need alignment?

Thx

finch3

I was shocked when I bought by 2000 RX how cheap the Integrity tires were. I changed them to the Michelin LTX and they have been great. They will last at least 50,000 miles. I would like a quieter tire on my new RX330

finch3

With 50,000 miles on my 2000 RX, I'm quite interested in the 330. I saw one in Fredericksburg, VA a couple of days ago, even though the nearest dealer is in Richmond. I like the styling a lot. The front is about the same, but the rear is different and quite interesting. I'm hopeful we'll get more reports on this new model.

adb3

Check the posts on the 330 thread. Should give you a good indication of what this vehicle is all about. BTW, it performs as good as it looks.