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Also I have seen quite a few other RX300s driving around with this cricket noise.
The question is whether there are any potential service or warranty items that should be mentioned before the vehicle goes out of warranty? I'd rather pre-emptively mention a problem then have it crop up in 2 months and be out-of-pocket.
Thanks,
Rob
Thanks,
Rob
levyrob, there is a TSB on the strut tower mounts (actually, both front and rear); though not a danger (suspension won't fall off), causes clunking sounds in front and/or rear suspension. If it goes on long enough, it can also lead to strut failure. Both front mounts and rear mounts were replaced on our 99, and both front struts additionally. But no noise is good noise (news), so if your RX is proceeding down the road in the usual state of Lexus meditation-level silence, they are likely fine. Plus, this problem would have cropped up well before now.
I do own the shop manuals for the 2000 rx300 and they are the poorest shop manuals I have ever seen. Many diagrams of parts do not look like the parts found in the car.
Thanks for the help,
Ke2Fe
I am at 45k and will ask them to do a thorogh checkup of the car at about 48k. Look at msn for possible problems related to your model year and you could be more specific when you ask them to check your RX
Last question- they are asking 28,000 for this one, certifid. Does that seem reasonable, or should I offer lower?
Thanks
Peggy
Personally, I get itchy for a new set of wheels every few years so a 7 (!!) year payment plan on a used suv would be out of the question for me.. BUT if you are used to keeping cars for the long haul and take good care of them then Lexus seems to be the right brand to do it with... just keep in mind that once your certified coverage runs out all of your vehicle maintenance/repairs will more than likely be quite expensive on this suv.
If it were me (and its not, I know) I'd lease a brand new RX330 (they seem like an AWESOME vehicle) for 48 months... payments for this type of lease in my area (S. Fla) hover around $400+ per month with 1-2K to start off the lease. Not only would you have the latest and greatest, you'd be fully covered warranty-wise 'till you dump the vehicle, and you're driving one of the most cutting edge suv's out there.
Bottom line though, 28K for your '02 seems like a decent deal. The 44k miles and the 7 year payment plan is the only thing that makes it a "questionable" buy in my mind -- that RX was driven quite a bit in its two years of life.
One more thing, check out the CapitalOne finance payment calculator (there's a link to it here on edmunds on the left margin) to see how your finance numbers compare... notice that for auto loans they only go up to 6 years.. that should tell you somethin'
Good luck!!
I am concerned about the 44,000 mi on it, lost a lot of sleep trying to decide what to do. It turns out that hte car was a dealer service loaner, so it was worked hard, but at least they had all the service records and I knew it had been properly maintained. But I was going to pay more for a new Honda Odyssey that I liked a lot less than this, and Lexus is supposed to be super reliable right? And I don't intend to take full 7 yrs to pay it off, just want the low payment flexibility for if times get rough for a couple of months. Intend to pay more than reg payment each month and accelerate payoff.
My dealer was amazingly accomodating about a lot of stuff. Are all Lexus dealers like that? I was told that I can bring my car in anytime for a wash, clean inside windows, and vacuum carpets as long as I own it. They said, just don't abuse it by bringing it in when it clearly isn't dirty, but every other week is certainly ok, and every week if it does get that dirty that fast. Then they went on about how I should stop in for coffee and bagels in the am on my way to work (I work 1/2 mi away), and about then my jaw was dragging on the floor. No wonder they charge so much for hte car!
Here's hoping for a long and happy car life.
It's a nice SUV and I think you'll love it -- enjoy!
To my eye it really added a lot to the look of the car from the rear and sides. To my wife's eye, there wasn't much of a difference. Go figure!
The tires are just a little bit noisier than the Goodyear's, but not by much. The improved ride and handling more than outweigh the slightly increased noise.
We just took a road trip from San Diego to Palm Springs, on the back roads, and it was like driving a different car compared to the same trip 6 weeks ago. Sure, it's not a sports car, but the new tires make the car much more pleasant to drive.
I'd recommend the Integrity tires only if you are about to sell your car privately and need new, inexpensive tires to complete the sale. Otherwise, the Cross Terrains, although expensive, are worth it.
Rob
I am just sick, am getting out of a Ford and bought this over Honda because 1- I loved it and 2- I thought it was supposed to be virtually bullet-proof as far as reliability is concerned.
Any and all input is appreciated, thanks in advance
Peggy
If it is doing it on a consistent basis then believe it or not that is GREAT news for you service-wise. If they can duplicate the problem they WILL fix it. Let them keep your RX overnight so they can drive it cold and feel these "normal" hesitations first hand. Take advantage of those free loaners and have them fix it sooner rather than later.
As to why this is happening I haven't a clue, but I'm sure some of the more mechanically inclined posters will chime in to help you.
Sorry for the short honeymoon and good luck peggylou!!
Cold engine uses richer mixture creating more emission. They try to get engine warm up faster by engine rev up by not letting the transmission to upshift.
High reving cold engine also is not good for transmission clutch when you shift from park to reverse, or from reverse to drive.
Just let the engine warm up before driving off if you can help it.
BTW, have named new car "Bronc Lady" because she bucks like a bronc, but when shes done, she acts as sweet as any lady could.
Those of you who don't have hard shift problems, do you warm your car up for several minutes in the am? I am used to just getting in, turning the key and going. When I have to get kids to school on time, I just don't have 5 min to spare most of the time. When I do warm it up, it is usually fine.
Thanks again
Peggy
(p.s. Don't have the '99 anymore - traded for other reasons)
If I can only have one of those, I'd probablly pick RX300.
Curious if RX OWNERS WITH HIGH MILEAGE value the extra cost of the Lexus dealer service, or if you use Toyota dealer service or some other ??
I just took my '99 to an independent for the 90,000 mile service. He specializes in Japanese cars and uses Toyota parts. With his special I paid $318. Dealer wanted $1299 which included the timing belt which Lexus does not show as a recommended job at 90,000. Dealer was going to charge $599 for the Lexus recommended items. So far, so good. That was a couple of months ago. No car wash, loaner or coffee though he did offer a shuttle.
Pete
link
Steve, Host
I thought the timing belt was a 90k item. I paid the $1,200 for the Lexus job. I got to drive a RX 330 for a week, after they cracked a pulley and had to order the part and replace it, on them
I do not like the new 330 as much as the old 300. Weird looking, and the ergonomic design is not as good. Of course I love the 300, so I am prejudiced.
I'm not suggesting that it means that the transmission is faulty, only that Lexus corrected this annoying performance issue by the later RX300
models.
Steve, Host
I didn't notice it on "loaner" '01's and '02's and as I said before, it hasn't ever happened on my FWD '01 which was manufactured later in 2001.
I've discussed this with the Lexus service guy who says that something was changed for the later model RXs to allow "cold-shifting" into overdrive.