Need You Help

[chiks]

It appears that the members in this forum are more inclined to finding a solution to a given problem. I am there fore posting my problem here and hoping that you guys can help me figure out the problem.

The vehicle is question is a 2001 RX300 with 47000 miles on it. I am facing a idle vibration problem that is best described as below:

1. Vehicle is throughly warmed up (drove more than 3-4 miles or more)

2. Light switch is on Auto or Off

3. Gear selector is in D

4. Foot on the brake pedal

5. AC is switched off

This is the situation when I am waiting at a red traffic signal.

At this time, the idle will drop to maybe 600 and the vibrations and the ensuing drone in passenger cabin is unbearable.

Now look at the changes in some of the variables and how it affects the scenario:

#1:

========

If I switch on the lights (not on auto), the idle speed goes up to ~750 and once again idle vibration is there, but minimal.

#2:

========

If I take the foot of the brake pedal and instead use the e-brake, idle speed goes up a bit, ~700-750 and the vibration is there, but minimal.

Now what do you think is the probable cause?

In my opinion, the mounts are certainly worn as I can feel some vibrations in any case.

But the dropping of the idle speed and the resulting increase in vibration is of concern here.

[RFeldes]

A little more information on your scheduled maintenace would be helpful..i.e. where are you with scheduled?

and be honest. Let's start there.

[chiks]

The vehicle in question is a CPO 2001 RX300 47000 miles, purchased 2 weeks ago.

I hope that answers your question :)

[RFeldes]

Could be the Alternator bearings are bad. Since the car is a CPO, take it in. If you go to the Dealer get a printout of previous service, if you haven't already.

[SKperformance]

clean your throttle body

[RFeldes]

True, either one..throttle body or alternator...I had a problem with my alternator on my 90 400 and the symptoms were similar..The bearings were fried and when the car warmed up they caused a vibration and heated up the alternator in turn causing the internal voltage regulator to overheat which in turn caused erratic idle when lights, etc. were turned on/off. One of the two is a good bet.

[nc211]

Could be the Alternator bearings are bad. Since the car is a CPO, take it in. If you go to the Dealer get a printout of previous service, if you haven't already.

I agree. Although Rf sniffs too much kitty litter from time to time and is still suffering from the hurricane debries, he's right. Since it's a CPO, and you paid for that fact, take the car back to the dealership.

I bet SRK is right, and I also think you might have a bad alternator.

Question for the crew: Does the RX have the same positionairy problems of the power steering pump resivour as the LS400 does? Is it sitting right above the alternator?

[RFeldes]

"positionairy" (new word) problem only refers to my cat.... LOL

[nc211]

It goes with my avatar...it's all about strategery. hahahaha.

Ok, I'm tired, long day and the fingers are numb. Time to go to bed.

peace, love, and clean body...throttle body that is. ;-)

[RFeldes]

Amen!!! God Bless. ;)

[chiks]

Excellent going guys!

I did take in to the dealer earlier....before I posted it here. Their reply was "It is Normal"....wtf.....a lexus vibrates like a cheap car and it is normal?

I wanted some ammo to get their !Removed! fried and now I have it......I now have Lexus customer rep involved in this issue and I am sure this info will help if they also try to take side of the dealer.....

[nc211]

Chiks, one tiny piece of advice from my own personal experience. Just my 2 cents here.

Before firing up the war machine, I would send a polite, but to the point, email to the dealership service center requesting that they put their top mechanic on the problem, as a last resort before filing an official complaint with Lexus Corporate. The dealership has a wide variety of talent in their service center, and what you want is the top dog to sign off on it being normal before you move up the ladder to corporate. This comes in handy later on if you have another problem with the car that requires their help. I've learned that you can catch more flies with honey, instead of vinager. Case in point, I've been battling a strange wobble vibration in my car for a very long time. I recently threw in the towel and sent a kind, but not a "kissass" email over to the dealership. Long story short, they took pity on me, put their top tech on it, and finally found the sources of the problem, as I had a few. Now, I'm happy to say that it appears all is well again, and all for $120 grand total from them. That included fixing a brake light, two coolant leaks, a twisted shock mount, sporatic power steering wheel, loose seats, 3 balancing jobs, two alignments, 3 washes and keys to a few cool loaner cars.....all for just $120 +/-.

Just my 2 cents.

Excellent going guys!

I did take in to the dealer earlier....before I posted it here. Their reply was "It is Normal"....wtf.....a lexus vibrates like a cheap car and it is normal?

I wanted some ammo to get their !Removed! fried and now I have it......I now have Lexus customer rep involved in this issue and I am sure this info will help if they also try to take side of the dealer.....

[chiks]

nc211, rest assured that is the way I fry asses....curt, polite, supported with information to help them out.

It is not my style to be confrontational......I work with the dealers and make them speak what I want to hear, by introducing the right hints at the right places.

[chiks]

and by the way, I have observed that a relationship gets stronger(more personal attention, willing to listen more serioulsy) once there is a small confrontation/standoff simply to prove a point. Otherwise you will be treated like one more customer in the same queue.....come and go.....

eg. my electronics dealer/repair shop I used for getting my repairs done when I was in my teens was amazing ever since I proved to him that his diagnosis of my stereo problem was entirely wrong. I even drew the circuit diagram with calculations to support my "guess".

It will hurt them, but I believe it will also make them respect the customer.