tatmiko

Thanks for your reply, GDixon. My problem is I do not have the "towing package" so I was told I need this Junction Block Assembly (P/N 826700E040) to get electrical power to the hitch. And the part is located under the rear seat. Someone had a posting on installing this part and I am trying to get some details on how it was done. I did use the very detail instructions on installing the hitch and connecting the wiring harness plug. Now trying to get power to the trailer lights.

I am trying to complete wiring for my 2004 RX330 trailer hitch. I was informed that I needed to install a special juction box in order to make my electcical connection work. The juction box is to be installed :( under the rear set behind the driver. Does anyone have any experience removing the seat? I would really appreciate some directions for this removal. Thanks

I am experiencing some shifting problems with my '04 RX330. At low speeds (~20 mph) if I let the car coast down to that speed and accelerate the car sometimes hesitates before shifting to the lower gear. It seems to not know what gear to shift into. To make a long story short...took the car into my delear and was asked if I ever had the transmission "reflashed". Appears this is a procedure where they re-program the shift points of the transmission to match different driving styles. Never heard of programming a transmission before. I am so out of touch technically. Luckily this service can be provided under the current drive train warranty so it should not cost me anything. Has anyone else had this service performed on their Lexus? Curious to understand what is involved. Thanks.

Well everyone, I've made one last check before deciding to consult my dealer. I checked the weight of the filter installed against a new dry filter and did find a significant weight difference between them. I guess this is a decent indicator that although the installed filter did not have significant oil in it when removed, there was some residual soaked into the filter element and therefore oil must have passed through it. I'm going to go with the assumption that this means I am really okay and do not have a circulation problem. I thank you all for your inputs and wish me luck. You might have guessed I'm really trying to aviod taking my car back to the dealer. Have not had very much luck with them before with problems on my es300.

Thanks for the quick reply, carguy7. So based on the discussions, it is not uncommon to not see any indication of oil in the filter? Hmmm. This is all new to me since with all my other cars, including my es300, I have always seen some oil when I remove the filter regardless of how long the car sat before I removed the filter. I have checked the RX330 oil at the dipstick since the oil change and the oil still looks clean. I will try removing th filter and see if I have the same dry filter.

I am a recent owner of a 2004 RX330 with front-wheel drive. I did my first oil and filter change and was shocked to find that the filter was nearly dry indicating no oil flow through the filter. Needless to say I am very worried that this may cause damage to the engine. I called the Lexus help line and they have never heard of this problem. I will be taking it back to the dealer for some diagnostic check. Has anyone experienced this problem with an RX330? Any feedback would be appreciated.

My normal process is to drain the oil pan and then follow with the filter removal. Usually there is some oil in the filter, but this time it was nearly dry...like no oil passed through it. I use a Fram (3614). I noticed that there is much concern with Fram. Is there a history of problems with Fram? I also noticed that the oil from the crankcase was pretty thick. This after I changed the oil only 4000 miles ago.

I am a recent owner of a 2004 RX330 with front-wheel drive. I did my first oil and filter change and was shocked to find that the filter was nearly dry indicating no oil flow through the filter. Needless to say I am very worried that this may cause damage to the engine. I called the Lexus help line and they have never heard of this problem. I will be taking it back to the dealer for some diagnostic check. Has anyone experienced this problem with an RX330? Any feedback would be appreciated.