Hair's Width Away From Joining The Rx Club

[bomberboybrad]

Hi guys, my first post here... hopefullly not the last if I end up buying.

I'm close to buying a RX330 but had a few questions which I think the readers of this board would be experts to answer.

1. RX 300 vs RX 330 - I commonly read that the RX 330 is the second generation of the RX family. Does this mean the RX 330 was a completely new design, or was it simply an interior or exterior upgrade on the RX 300?

2. When is the next RX out? - The RX400h is out in 2006, but has anyone heard any timeline for the next all new thing for the RX family? I mean, the GS, IS series all got upgrades recently, when is the RX due?

3. Is there a point in the Km's range of RX330's whereby they tend to develop more problems?

Thanks so much for your help guys. Cheers.

[wwest]

Rumor has it that the RX350 will be available for purchase in the early spring of 2006. The new V6 uses DFI into the combustion chamber to facilitate a "lean" burn capability and even better fuel economy than today's model.

With any luck at all it may even have the new RAV4's more robust and capable AWD system as the current one is somewhat lacking in comparison.

There is also the issue of the current 5-speed transaxles throughout the Toyota/Lexus product series having a low level and seemingly random occurance of engine/throttle hesitation. Apparently a delay of 2 or even 3 seconds before the engine responds to gas pedal pressure if a transaxle downshift is "commanded" as a result of the engine torque required of the new pedal position.

The initial TSB to address this problem was first issued in the spring of 2003 and very well describes the three circumstances under which the hesitation is known to sometimes occur. There have been multiple versions of the TSB issued since and the yea/nay votes on the latest are still coming in.

I'm personally more of a champion of Lexus than otehrwise, currently drive a 2001 AWD RX300, but my next SUV purchase might be the BMW X3 or the Mazda CX-7 if this hesitation issue isn't soon addressed satisfactorily.

[Husker4theSpurs]

I had the hesitation and the latest fix worked much better than the initial ... the transmission is still quite tight though ... some harder shifts depending on the situation, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

The 330 is a complete re-design of the 300. As said the 350 is supposedly coming out in April as an early 2007 model. If it were me, I'd wait for the 350 if you're deciding b/t waiting for that an getting a 330 now ... you will probably have to pay 2-3K more though unless you wait until later in the model year when prices go down b/c of the newness factor wearing off. I would imagine there'll be a redesign of the RX for the 2009 model year ... just an estimate.

Otherwise I'm completely satisfied with my 330. Any other questions PM me and I'll be as honest as possible.