Hi! New (to Me) Rx300 Owner

[Richard Carver]

I just bought this 2001 RX300 today! I had it inspected prior to purchase at Sewell Lexus here in Dallas and it turns out they have serviced it since new and gave it a clean bill of health. I'm having the transmission flushed, oil changed etc (52K).

One thing they mentioned that is looming in the next 90 days or so is front brake pads. Reading over the board, this doesn't seem to be that unusual a happenstance. :)

My question is about ceramic pads and cross drilled rotors. I used ceramics on my last car (heavy, heavy Lincoln) and want to use them on this car as well. The lack of wheel dust, the silence and stopping power are things I don't want to be without again.

I ran a search and found mostly mixed feelings about ceramics on Lexus, only one or two people I found actually use them. Are any of you RX300 owners using them? I think I'm going to put cross drilled rotors all around when I do the pads and wondered if anyone has experience with those on an RX300.

This site is very well done, nice people and very informative. I've spent many hours lurking over the last week or so and can honestly say my decision to buy was a direct result of the comfort level I achieved by browsing here. :)

This is my first Lexus and I must say the dealer experience was superb during the inspection and subsequent service work (...and they gave me a cookie)

[lenore]

At 120k miles I switched to Brembo disk on front, and Akebono ceramics pads. They seem to be working great. pads going out at 59k is really soon, my first pads went 80k and they still had some left. By the way I had to change rotors because they were warped. The Brembo/Akebono combination is great, the slotted is overkill. I just went with the standard Brembo disk.

[Rx330driver]

welcome to LOC! IMO, i feel that the regular brake pads from lexus are sufficient. Not much brake dust, good stopping distance, but if you want change them its your choice. i left mine the way they are.

p.s. 52K for new brakes isnt bad, my rx has 53K right now, and ive had my brake pads changed at least 3 times. I guess this is a result of the steep hills we have in san francisco.

[anthonyiez]

yes brake wear is directly related to your locale.

i run the akebone/brembo combo on my gs with the factory shim kit. a nice combo but the akebono pads are actually more expensive than the factory toyota pads. yes buy them from toyota, they will be cheaper.

iirc most toyota pads are ceramic based anyway.

[wwest]

I prefer to buy brake pads that eat rotors for lunch, the more brake dust all the better, tells me that brake rotor and pads have good adhesion, like moving sandpaper over soft wood, lots of GRIP!

You need to monitor your ATF fairly closely, mine was dark brown and had a definite burned odor at only 40,000 miles

[Richard Carver]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I expect I'll be a bit of a pest until I get up to speed. :)

You need to monitor your ATF fairly closely, mine was dark brown and had a definite burned odor at only 40,000 miles

Yes, after my studies here I was particularly sensitive to the transmission issue. Sewell said the fluid was "dirty", so I nailed the service rep as to the possibility of it failing and he assured me that was not the case. We went over every service that car has had since new and the previous owner was consciencious on every single service that was required. Even had it detailed every year.

I was also impressed the car had not had "problems" requiring visits to the dealer other than regular service. The car is unbelievable clean, perfect service records and low mileage so I felt very comfortable with it and with Sewell.

Lincoln transmissions (my last car) are sensitive to fluid condition as well and I'm used to flushing the thing every 20K, it's actually cheaper to do it on the Lexus than the Lincoln!

I'm a nut on maintenance so I'm hoping for a very enjoyable experience with my new RX300. :D