Known Problems With The 2004 Rx330 Awd ?

[jgr7]

I will try the X3 before I buy in fact I will most likley wait for the next years model as I have a feeling that a few of the things missing may turn up on next years model, like memory seat and mirrors, power passenger seat and LED tail lights.

Jeff

[Rx330driver]

RXNC you must have very high expectations. I too came from an RX300 and then switched to an 2004 RX330. I must say the newer RX is a much bigger improvement over the old one. I enjoy it very much when i drive it everyday. ITs been the best car i have ever owned, maybe cause it was the most expensive. But the point is...it is a great car, and im not really seeing the negatives that your pointing out. Surely, you must also admit that its a big step from what you left behind. it has more power, more torque, more convenience, more safety, better looks.

Dont misunderstand me if im turing into this crazy person whose starting an argument. Im just saying, you turn in an old rx300 for a rx330. thats already a big improvement. Obviously, its dated already (2004) so you can expect it to compete with newer cars like the rdx, mdx. If you wanted something to compete with that, you shoulda bought an rx350

p.s. they gave you a loaner car at least. Even if it has harsh tires, is that something to complain about? its interesting how the service advisor apologized for giving you BRAND NEW 06-07 IS. again, im not starting an argument. just thought that its not that big of a deal to bring in the car, you dont need to be so angry at them. i guess i just deal with things differently. I would never have asked for new tires on a car that i didnt even buy the tires for when you werent happy with the whatever tire your car came with. lol. maybe thats why im not in customer service, i wouldnt have cared that you didnt enjoy the tires. You didnt pay for them...

as i read over my post, i admit im being a bit of an !Removed!. Sorry if i come out as one. I dont really mean to accuse you of anything. just stating, be happy with what you bought. and to stop telling people to not buy this car ;)

[wwest]

RXNC you must have very high expectations. I too came from an RX300 and then switched to an 2004 RX330. I must say the newer RX is a much bigger improvement over the old one. I enjoy it very much when i drive it everyday. ITs been the best car i have ever owned, maybe cause it was the most expensive. But the point is...it is a great car, and im not really seeing the negatives that your pointing out. Surely, you must also admit that its a big step from what you left behind. it has more power, more torque, more convenience, more safety, better looks.

Dont misunderstand me if im turing into this crazy person whose starting an argument. Im just saying, you turn in an old rx300 for a rx330. thats already a big improvement. Obviously, its dated already (2004) so you can expect it to compete with newer cars like the rdx, mdx. If you wanted something to compete with that, you shoulda bought an rx350

p.s. they gave you a loaner car at least. Even if it has harsh tires, is that something to complain about? its interesting how the service advisor apologized for giving you BRAND NEW 06-07 IS. again, im not starting an argument. just thought that its not that big of a deal to bring in the car, you dont need to be so angry at them. i guess i just deal with things differently. I would never have asked for new tires on a car that i didnt even buy the tires for when you werent happy with the whatever tire your car came with. lol. maybe thats why im not in customer service, i wouldnt have cared that you didnt enjoy the tires. You didnt pay for them...

as i read over my post, i admit im being a bit of an !Removed!. Sorry if i come out as one. I dont really mean to accuse you of anything. just stating, be happy with what you bought. and to stop telling people to not buy this car ;)

Isn't the 2004 RX330 the first RX to use DBW to protect the drive train, delay the onset of engine torque for the 1-2 seconds it takes to accomplish a second transaxle gear change, downshift, upon a sudden re-application of gas pedal pressure almost immediately, shortly after, a FULL lift throttle event?

I think that encapsulates the TSB wording...

You have one of these death traps and you haven't yet been PANICKED, SHEER terror, by the delay to accelerate in DIRE circumstances as many other owners have reported?

Lucky you.

[RX in NC]

RX330driver,

There are numerous ways to respond to your post. I've decided to be diplomatic about how to do so.

Firstly, learn to read and understand other member's posts much more thoroughly before you blindly begin typing a response to them. If you had done so, it would have been blatently obvious to you that I didn't select or purchase this 2004 RX330. My wife did. It's her money. It's her vehicle. It's her choice. She's quite intelligent in a number of different disciplines, but when it comes to the reasons for choosing her primary vehicle, unfortunately her IQ drops right down there into the double-digit George W. Bush range. So I'm stuck having to maintain her poor choice as best I can. And this website is a great tool towards assisting me in that effort.

Secondly, we both agree that spending $40,000 to $45,000 on an asset that immediately begins to suffer significant depreciation is financially inept. That rules out a new RX350 along with a new Acura MDX (which beats the RX350 hands down in my book). We had set a target expense level of around $30,000 which we both could live with regardless of whether her replacement vehicle was new or used. I could have negotiated a deal for a brand new RDX with all of the features she wanted for less than that. Since she chose the 2004 RX330 AWD instead, I negotiated the deal for that vehicle to fit our criteria and was obviously successful in doing so or else she wouldn't have purchased it. In our household, wants and needs are always assessed in terms of cost. If the cost is deemed to be out-of-scope compared to the benefit of the item wanted or needed, we don't purchase it. Simple economics. Is that a harsh path to take? Maybe. But by managing our household that way, we were debt-free in our mid-30s. We paid cash for the current home we live in and the 20 acres of mountain property that we'll eventually retire to. We'll pay cash to build that soaring mountain home when the time comes. All in all, a lifestyle well worth most of the sacrifices we've made over the years to obtain it.

Thirdly, I want the Bridgestone Alenzas on this RX330 AWD because the Michelin MXV4 S8 tires that are currently on it are the wrong tire in the wrong application. Check the Michelin website - these tires are designed for sport sedans and coupes, not SUVs. The wrong tires on the wrong vehicle can lead to disaster in certain weather or traffic conditions. If my wife is involved in an accident or trying to deal with snowy road conditions, I want her equipped with the proper tires to do so. Discount Tire has a 30-day tire return policy standard-issue to any customer. I am simply taking advantage of it to acquire the tires that this particular vehicle needs. I consider that to be completely warranted purely from a safety standpoint and it would be foolish not to do so.

I'm not surprised that you wouldn't think to do this. And no, you didn't come across as "a bit of an !Removed!". To me, you came across as uninformed, naive, and someone who didn't understand or comprehend the situation to its fullest extent. There's no need to apologize for that....

[lenore]

I know how you feel RX, good luck with the RX, I too agree with you, I would have gone elswhere for my next car after the RX300. We drove the RX330 as a loaner during the tranny issues and found the car a big dissappointment. But everyone has different likes and dislikes, I just feel that you and I do more research before jumping the gun. When I was younger I would let my emotions get the better of my judgement when buying cars. Made lots of mistakes, but it was all a learning curve for me. Funny older I get reliability and safety are more important. Cosmetics are still a driving point, but not like the old days. Hope your new tires resolve any future issues, I kind of chuckle when you said your car was in the dealership to get issues fixed, just another example of how Lexus is no different than others at times when the chips are down. Hope they continue to work with you to fix anything that crops up. Have a great day. Tom

[SW03ES]

RX, You'll be happier with it once the dealer gets the kinks worked out, sounds to me like they're trying to get it done. They've always come through for you in the past.

Rx330, Different strokes for different folks. RX in NC doesn't care for the RX, which is his perogative. He and I have been round and round about it in the past but he's a good guy ;)

As for loaners, personally I think its an imposition to expect the owner of an RX to make do with an IS. The IS is REALLY small and stiff, I got one as a loaner one time because I asked for it, but MY dealer would never make anybody but an IS owner drive one of their IS loaners. They have RX400hs for hybrid owners, ES350s for the other sedan owners (and a couple GS300s), RX350s for SUV owners, and IS250s for IS and SC owners. They schedule the loaner when you schedule the service, so it always works out.

I mean, I don't consider anything the dealer does above and beyond at $100 an hour for labor. They owe me a like kind loaner and excellent service for that.

[Rx330driver]

lol i guess i just got defensive about how you think its a bad car.

also, what is this throttle hesitation that is life threatening? sure, its annoying, and it does take about 2 seconds for the acceleration to start, but i dont see it as being life threatening.

if you go to the tirerack.com, you will notice that the michelins are stock tires for the RX. many people say its good in the snow as well. The point is, they have to be meant for the car, in some sort of way, for lexus to use them...

last point, its a great car for you or your wife. just enjoy it and relax with all the tsb's. THose problems dont seem like such a big deal to me.

[SW03ES]

You like yours, thats all that matters. Obviously plenty of people like them or they wouldn't sell so well, but not everybody likes what other people like...if that makes sense...

I've also never seen the big deal about the throttle hesitation either, but I've gotten tired of fighting about that one too lol.

As for tires, I do agree the MXV4s aren't suited to an SUV. I don't think most RX owners consider it an SUV though, more like a big car. On that basis, the MXV4s are fine. The BMW X5 comes with MXV4s too, also not traditionally looked at as an SUV.

[newtoncd]

if you go to the tirerack.com, you will notice that the michelins are stock tires for the RX. many people say its good in the snow as well. The point is, they have to be meant for the car, in some sort of way, for lexus to use them...

>>>

If the surveys on tirerack say that, it must be very light snow they are talking about. I live in Colorado and have been displeased with the OEM Michelins (both the first set and the second set). I only replaced the original set with Michelin again because Discount Tire had two tires for sale; a Goodyear tire and a Michelin tire. Now, there are other options and there is no way I will be putting the Michelin's back on. YMMV.

[SW03ES]

Yeah I've had the MXV4s, they're great long lasting smooth and quiet tires, good snow traction they don't have though.

[RX in NC]

The dealer finally called yesterday morning and notified us that my wife's RX330 was ready after all of the warranty work had been completed. She picked it up and brought it to me by mid-afternoon so I called Discount Tire and notified them that I was bringing it in to swap the Michelins for the Alenzas. I had to drive about 40 miles round-trip for the tire swap, some on freeway, some on rural roads, and some on city roads, plus it was raining. All in all, perfect conditions to compare the Michelins to the Alenzas. And remember, the Michelins are new just as the Alenzas are, so there's no brand-new tire being compared to an old worn-out tire in play in this equation.

The bottom line is that for this particular vehicle, the Alenza is hands-down a better tire than the MXV4 S8. Far better wet traction, no drift, a stiffer sidewall meaning better cornering, and it tracked right on the money. It is an SUV tire, the MXV4 S8 is not. It carries a 65,000-mile treadwear warranty while the MXV4 S8 carries NO treadwear warranty. It has a new tread depth of 12/32 while the MXV4 S8 has a new tread depth of only 9/32. Now whether the Alenza will actually go 65,000 miles on this vehicle, I doubt it. But at 600/A/A, I'd be willing to wager that it will go at least 20,000 more miles than the MXV4 S8 will, and that's important to me.

I'm not a fan of the Bridgestone OEM tires - for me they rank right down there with the Goodyear Wranglers as the lousiest tires I've ever owned on some of our SUVs. In fact, these Alenzas are probably the ONLY Bridgestones I would buy for our SUVs. If I could get the Firestone Destination LE tire to fit these 18-inch rims, I would buy those instead because they are essentially Firestone's version of the Alenza for about half the price at tirerack.com. We've had great success with the Destination LE on my wife's former 2000 RX300 (the tires had over 52,000 miles on them when we sold that vehicle) as well as our daughter's 2000 Grand Cherokee (the tires have over 25,000 miles and are going strong as ever). But unfortunately they're not made in 18-inch sizes. Maybe they will be by the next time my wife's RX330 needs tires.

So for those of you who have an 18-inch SUV or truck application and are debating between the MXV4 S8 and the Alenza, spend some time doing your research. As I've pointed out before, Michelin's own website specifies that these tires are designed for sport sedans and coupes, not SUVs or trucks....

SW03ES, I've previously stated that my wife's RX330 is an improvement over her haunted RX300. But remember, that bar was set about as low as possible with all of the failures it suffered from. I'm hoping that the vehicle integrity proves to be better all the way around and I actually think that it will be. You're correct about our local dealership - they've taken care of our many issues after they realized that my research was accurate and valid and that I wasn't going away. I expect that same approach from them to continue with the RX330. If it does, there will be considerably fewer posts from me on this forum seeking advice and recommendations from those who've dealt with the same issues before....

[SW03ES]

SW03ES, I've previously stated that my wife's RX330 is an improvement over her haunted RX300. But remember, that bar was set about as low as possible with all of the failures it suffered from. I'm hoping that the vehicle integrity proves to be better all the way around and I actually think that it will be. You're correct about our local dealership - they've taken care of our many issues after they realized that my research was accurate and valid and that I wasn't going away. I expect that same approach from them to continue with the RX330. If it does, there will be considerably fewer posts from me on this forum seeking advice and recommendations from those who've dealt with the same issues before....

I hope they got all the issues fixed and it serves you better than your 300 did.

No issues is no excuse not to come hang out with us anymore though ;)

[RX in NC]

Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated....

And this is too good of an on-line automotive club to quit just because I decide to dump my wife's RX300 or RX330. Lexusfreak is living proof of that. He's strictly a Subaru family now (a brilliant move, I think) yet he keeps coming back for more....

[SW03ES]

Aw shucks!

[Rx330driver]

the problem with the alenzas are that they look like they should go on a mini hummer. Perhaps you do require a tire that provides the best traction. However, (if the pictures im looking at are correct), they are too "butch" for the sleek lines of the rx330.

in rain and hail storms, my RX with the 18inch good years have never slipped on me. Perhaps in snow they arent too good, but i do base my tires on how it looks on my car. THat is a factor to consider.

[wwest]

The only time I have to go beyond(***) my comfortable riding and quiet "summer only" Bridgestone Turanzas is on an icy or packed snow surface, otherwise I find that work just fine all year around, rain, snow, mud (mud??), etc.

***Tire chains, rear first and then added to the front if things get really slippery.

[RX in NC]

I couldn't care less what the tires look like, RX330driver. My concern is performance, handling, wet traction, light snow traction, and treadwire lifespan. Safety and longevity are far more important in my book than appearance. And for all of the factors I've listed, the Alenzas put those Michelins to shame. Period.

Even my wife noticed the better handling and braking characteristics of the Alenzas after spending much of yesterday in her vehicle. She is now happier with it compared to before. An excellent accomplishment.

I don't consider the RX a "sleek" work of art. It's a daily driver that needs to perform in all sorts of weather and traffic conditions in our neck of the woods. Nothing more, nothing less.

[wwest]

I couldn't care less what the tires look like, RX330driver. My concern is performance, handling, wet traction, light snow traction, and treadwire lifespan. Safety and longevity are far more important in my book than appearance. And for all of the factors I've listed, the Alenzas put those Michelins to shame. Period.

Even my wife noticed the better handling and braking characteristics of the Alenzas after spending much of yesterday in her vehicle. She is now happier with it compared to before. An excellent accomplishment.

I don't consider the RX a "sleek" work of art. It's a daily driver that needs to perform in all sorts of weather and traffic conditions in our neck of the woods. Nothing more, nothing less.

"..treadwear lifespan..." "...Safety and longivity..."

Every time I see those ads, brake pads guarannteed to last for the life of your car, or dust-free, I wince.

When I buy brake pads I want the ones that GRIP the rotor so tightly the rotor is worn down by the time I need the third set of pads.

Same with tires, I want TRACTION first and foremost and that generally means high tread wear rates.

[Rx330driver]

well i gues the saying goes to each their own. I believe traction is important because my family will be transported in the car, but its not like the eagles and michelins are unsafe.

im just saying that those "performance" tires look better and match the car better. the side walls are as tall, which makes it look sportier

[newtoncd]

Hey RX in NC; how about some photos of the Bridgestone Alenza's on the RX330??