mailrail Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Hello to all in the Lexus RX forum. I hope to be a card-carrying member soon. I am currently in the market for a 1999 or 2000 RX 300 to replace my wife's 01 Honda CR-V (she HATES it!) I noticed that someone mentioned a problem with "oil sludge" on some of these models. Strangely enough, I brought a 2000 model home overnight last weekend and was giving it the "once over" and took the oil cap off under the hood and noticed some sludgey looking stuff just inside the engine block at the oil filler hole. Is this where you'd typically find evidence of sludge? Or was this just "old oil" at the top of the head? Thanks in advance for any help. And, "no", I didn't buy the sludgey one. Sully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 Service Records. Service Records. Service Records. Service Records. Service Records. If the seller cannot provide proof of oil changes at least every 6 months / 5,000 miles, then you are knowingly taking a risk of having serious future mechanical problems with the car and not just problems limited to sludge. And not just limited to RX models or the Lexus line of cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RX400h Posted June 3, 2004 Share Posted June 3, 2004 I agree, although there are many owners out there (myself included) who change their own oil and have nothing more than a small notebook with dates and milage numbers written down. A coworker had this problem with his Toyota 4-Runner. The problem stemmed from insufficient driving time (5 miles to work), coupled with oil change intervals that were based upon milage and not time. My Corvette uses synthetic oil (factory-fill) and even though oil change intervals can be stretched to 12,000 miles (mostly highway miles) in some cases, I must change oil every 12 months (5500 miles, in my case). My advice: Talk to the former owner if possible about maintenance in detail, especially if they have no receipts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailrail Posted June 5, 2004 Author Share Posted June 5, 2004 So...is the sludge actually visible if you look at the dipstick or remove the filler cap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPI Posted June 5, 2004 Share Posted June 5, 2004 You will need to remove the valve cover to check for sludge. JPI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailrail Posted June 9, 2004 Author Share Posted June 9, 2004 Thanks JPI; isn't that something I should do before buying a 99 or 00 model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglasmiami Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 JP - Are the '99 and '00 RX models more prone to this sluge, or is it poor maintenance in general? If yes, then why these years? And if you find the sludge, what can be done about it? Obviously you can change the oil, but anything more extensive needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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