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Comments
Lexus went to DBW on the RX330 specifically so they could give the transaxle clutches time ("extraordinary" time??)to fully and firmly SEAT before allowing the engine torque to begin rising due to foot pressure on the gas pedal.
My suspecion is that Lexus overcame the problem of premature transaxle failures of the '99 RX series, up to the RX330, by increasing the ATF gear pump displacement. That resulted in an unexpected, unprepared for(***), level of extra heating of the ATF during prolonged cruising at higher engine RPMs.
*** The ATF drain/refill recommended schedule for my '01 RX300 was infinity until the symptom of burned ATF started turning up and was only then revised to every 15,000 miles.
Did you ever get a repky, or found any items to clean interior and side panels of the RX330? Thanks:)
Deneen
A. 896091 REAR SPEED SENSOR (ONE)
115IELEX
1 89545-48020 SENSOR, SPEED, RR RH
B. CU STS TRACTION LIGHT
989 SEE LINE A.
115 ISP
Fortunately, it was covered under my CPO 3-yr warranty. Somehow, at first they thought I didn't have the warranty (why I have no idea?) and were going to charge me "half-price" which came out to $640.00 with tax and all. I asked why it wasn't covered and at first they asked if I had an extended warranty. I said no I have a 3-yr CPO warranty. Then he said that all the work is considered "maintenance." I disagreed and said I do not have the money for these repairs. He said he would call me back. He never did and I just went there and got the invoice with all work complete at no charge. I guess it was my lucky day hahaha !!
Moreover, if they did not fix it I was going to bring it to my mechanic and he said he would charge me half of the $640.00 for all the work. He is very good with Lexus vehicles and orders parts directly from the dealer i go to. I know this because I went with him to pick up my "Lexus" brakes and other stuff when I needed them done! My mechanic charged me $400.00 for the brakes work instead of the $750.00 the dealer wanted. What a rip-off the dealers are.
Hopefully this helps others and I will definately be back to the board for updates and information. Thanks all and Happy Halloween!
Was this all 4 wheels brakes replaced? Then it sounds good.
If it was only the front brakes, I did get my nephews Lexus brakes done for about $200. Purchased the parts from PartsAmerica.com, took them to my mechanic who charged an hour of labor, when in reality he worked for less than half an hour. But I was willing to let that slide. That's it.
Assuming there is such a thing...
Pete
Pete
as if Toyota makes the bulb themselves. Sylvania or GE will work just fine.
I am sure others must be using some boutique brand of bulbs that is causing a problem. GE/Sylvania/Osram set the standard in lighting across the world. I cannot believe that Lexus needs a special bulb. In fact, the owners manual also simply states the standard model # of the light bulb and no mention of using a "Lexus" only bulb.
I don't think the previous poster was trying to insinuate there is a big bulb factory with the Lexus/Toyota sign on top. But if you buy the bulb at a Lexus/Toyota online discounter or parts counter you most likely will not encounter the problem.
Now this I understand. Thanks!!!!
I did not use the "LL" bulbs. I just picked the regular one.
Has replaced the Sears/Roebuck catalog for product browsing.
But not in the outhouse.
I'm still looking for a source for larger/stronger sway bars to improve the sloppy body lean and handling. The stock ones allow way too much roll/sway, and my major peeve about this car, well above anything else. The handling could have been much better, with little sacrifice in ride or weight.
I've found lowering kits, but that's not what I'm looking for. Wider/better tires helped a lot (sacrificing some of the soft ride), but clearly the wimpy sway bars could have been stronger, but I haven't found a manufacturer that offers them for the RX.
Anyone know of a source?
Where can I find this information? I've just called Lexus and I want this information if.. and when... they call me back.
Thanks for any help you can give me! Happy Holidays!
http://www.oilgelsettlement.com/
http://www.oilgelsettlement.com/detailed_notice.pdf
Affected models:
MAKE MODEL MODEL YEAR
Toyota Camry 4cyl. 1997-2001
Toyota Camry 6 cyl 1997-2002
Toyota Solara 4 cyl. 1999-2001
Toyota Solara 6 cyl. 1999-2002
Toyota Sienna 6 cyl. 1998-2002
Toyota Avalon 6 cyl. 1997-2002
Toyota Celica 4 cyl. 1997-1999
Toyota Highlander 6 cyl. 2001-2002
Lexus ES300 1997-2002
Lexus RX300 1999-2002
Thanks
Good luck to your daughter,
Ken
Happy Holidays
Ken
My continuing suspicion is that in the process of making the Camry/ES transaxle more robust for fitting to the HEAVIER RX series the engineers overlooked or underestimated the need for increasing the ATF pumping capacity.
Or yet another possibily is that they saw the need but felt, correctly, that increased pump capacity would mean more, too much more, heat to somehow despose of easily. So they overcame the problem, or so they thought, by eliminating a few shift pattern/schedules that required an inordinant level of pressure even with the engine idling, at idle.
But they forgot to "retrain" the owner/drivers to not "ask" for quick acceleration downshifts subsequent to brief full lift-throttle events.
So then the '99 RX300 transaxles started failing prematurely.
Oops, really do need more ATF pumping capacity, lets' bore out the gear type ATF pump. Take care of the extra heat buildup by including the "optional" towing package with every RX shipped.
Oops, again.
The extra heat load is localized to the larger, higher capacity ATF pump and so the ATF still overheats in the '01 to '03 Rx models.
The '04 and later RXes use DBW, e-throttle, to ENFORCE 1-2 second acceleration delay/hesitation requiring a quick downshift subsequent to brief full lift-throttle event.
That's what I was trying to say in my earlier post. LOL.
Ken
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If you never had clock reset problems before and as soon as they changed the battery clock reset problems began, the problem is most likely the new battery or battery connections. There are some other long shot possibilities like starter drawing too much current, electronic problem, etc., but I would first focus on the most likely. You said they already cleaned the battery connections. No one likes to believe that a new battery could be the problem but I would look here first. Do you have another car that you could swap batteries with for a test? Even if it's not a good fit, just start the car a few times to see if the clock resets. Or even just hook up jumper cables and start the RX a few times. I bet the clock reset problems are gone. If they are get a new battery. I don't know who put in the battery and how much hassle it is to deal with them but you may want to pick up a new battery at Costco for less than $50 and be done with it. Wal-Mart is another good source
.
I have been back to Sams..where I got the new battery...but I will go back with your email to try again. They said they tested the battery and cleaned everything.
The weird clicking occurred after the car had been turned off for a couple of hours and should have had time to cool off. The battery was dead then. It jumped off fine. The clock reset occurred after the new battery was installed.
From the beginning I have heard the clicking on cool down....but this was different. I'll pursue as you advised!
JMDND
Just where I was guiding the discussion to.
with a new battery there appears to be 2 possibilities why the clock resets
1. Bad connections
2. Not enough cold crank volts.
Thanks for your responses!
The reset doesn’t occur at each cranking, but does more often than not. Sometimes the clock does not reset after the car has been sitting overnight, but then again it might when only sitting for only a few minutes during the day.
I did try turning the key to Alt before cranking and the clock was not reset then when completing the start it did reset.
I may take the car to Sears or Wal-Mart and ask them to check the battery (We have no Costco). What you said about battery load and voltage dropping (new terminology for me) will help me talk to the guys at Sam’s again (That's where I bought the questionable battery) .especially if a competitive store finds a problem.
I did forget to mention that the engine light is on most but not all the time that has happened occasionally over the years this time they couldn’t find a “code” to explain it. One independent but very good car guy said that it might relate to the fuses, but wasn’t Lexus trained and wouldn’t go there. Could a faulty fuse be the problem .and which fuse where??????
I appreciate your help Even if I wind up having to take the car to the dealership I should be knowledgeable enough not to be taken advantage of. The dealer told me that it might take hours to find the problem; that’s why I’m taking advantage of your experience Ain’t the internet great!