Advice For New Rx 300 Owner

[bwlane47]

Hi All,

Pardon if there are some duplicate topics here, as I am new to the forum and the Lexus auto owning world. My previous car has been a 1997 Nissan Altima, which made it to 140K just fine until developing what we might call a late-life crisis. I recently came into possession of a 2002 RX 300 with 76,000 miles on it. It was once my parents' car, who bought it used and after driving it for some time decided they liked it so much they wanted a new one. It has had regular maintenance done to it, and no problems of note. It currently runs synthetic Mobil 5w 30 oil. Now, I mention that background for advice on the following points:

1) I live in Bloomington, Indiana, and make a long drive (+/- 2500 mile trip) at least twice a year. This means there are two types of driving I do: very short distance stop and go, and long distance highway driving. What is a good interval to do oil changes? And, knowing that this is apparently a loaded question among Lexus owners, should I keep the synthetic oil?

2) With the above in mind, I currently sit at 6,000 miles on the existing oil, and preparing for a 1,000 mile trip. Am I 1,000 miles overdue? Am I just fine and can drive up to 4,000 miles (as I've read elsewhere) before getting it changed?

3) Would it be a particularly good or bad idea to try to take the luggage rack off (one which is never used) before making a long trip?

4) Should I pay particular attention to the oil and the transmission, given problems I've read about with the infamous Toyota Engine Oil Sludge and a potential 150K expiration date of the transmission?

5) The nearest Lexus dealer is 56 miles away in Indianapolis. Any recommendation on good service places near Bloomington, Indiana?

I was just curious for some specific thoughts based off of understandably general questions, as I feel like these are somewhat unique driving conditions. I've never driven a car that you could unlock without turning a key before, much less one that runs on synthetic oil and provides up-to-the-every-other-second information on gas mileage. Thanks in advance for any replies.

[wwest]

Hi All,

Pardon if there are some duplicate topics here, as I am new to the forum and the Lexus auto owning world. My previous car has been a 1997 Nissan Altima, which made it to 140K just fine until developing what we might call a late-life crisis. I recently came into possession of a 2002 RX 300 with 76,000 miles on it. It was once my parents' car, who bought it used and after driving it for some time decided they liked it so much they wanted a new one. It has had regular maintenance done to it, and no problems of note. It currently runs synthetic Mobil 5w 30 oil. Now, I mention that background for advice on the following points:

1) I live in Bloomington, Indiana, and make a long drive (+/- 2500 mile trip) at least twice a year. This means there are two types of driving I do: very short distance stop and go, and long distance highway driving. What is a good interval to do oil changes? And, knowing that this is apparently a loaded question among Lexus owners, should I keep the synthetic oil?

The oil change interval for my 2001 911/996 C4 is 15,000 miles. I use Mobil 1 synthetic exclusively and have changed the oil each year.

2) With the above in mind, I currently sit at 6,000 miles on the existing oil, and preparing for a 1,000 mile trip. Am I 1,000 miles overdue? Am I just fine and can drive up to 4,000 miles (as I've read elsewhere) before getting it changed?

You're just "fine".

3) Would it be a particularly good or bad idea to try to take the luggage rack off (one which is never used) before making a long trip?

My luggage rack and trailer hitch came off the week I bought the RX, never been back on. If you ever do need to make use of it be sure and read the weight limitations.

4) Should I pay particular attention to the oil and the transmission, given problems I've read about with the infamous Toyota Engine Oil Sludge and a potential 150K expiration date of the transmission?

76,000 miles, hmmmm....

Right at the "cusp" of premature transaxle failures the '01-03 RXes seem to be subject too. Keep a close eye on the condition of your ATF. If it hasn't already been changed out then do so IMMEDIATELY. If you didn't buy some sort of extended warranty then I would suggest looking into one SOON.

5) The nearest Lexus dealer is 56 miles away in Indianapolis. Any recommendation on good service places near Bloomington, Indiana?

I was just curious for some specific thoughts based off of understandably general questions, as I feel like these are somewhat unique driving conditions. I've never driven a car that you could unlock without turning a key before, much less one that runs on synthetic oil and provides up-to-the-every-other-second information on gas mileage. Thanks in advance for any replies.

"up-to-the-every-other-second..."

Useless feature, meaningless.

[KBRX330]

Hi All,

Pardon if there are some duplicate topics here, as I am new to the forum and the Lexus auto owning world. My previous car has been a 1997 Nissan Altima, which made it to 140K just fine until developing what we might call a late-life crisis. I recently came into possession of a 2002 RX 300 with 76,000 miles on it. It was once my parents' car, who bought it used and after driving it for some time decided they liked it so much they wanted a new one. It has had regular maintenance done to it, and no problems of note. It currently runs synthetic Mobil 5w 30 oil. Now, I mention that background for advice on the following points:

1) I live in Bloomington, Indiana, and make a long drive (+/- 2500 mile trip) at least twice a year. This means there are two types of driving I do: very short distance stop and go, and long distance highway driving. What is a good interval to do oil changes? And, knowing that this is apparently a loaded question among Lexus owners, should I keep the synthetic oil?

I run pennzoil platinum and follow the owners manual of 5000 miles on oil changes now have 140k on the clock and it uses no oil you can get 250k out of that engine easily if you DO NOT do extended oil drains

2) With the above in mind, I currently sit at 6,000 miles on the existing oil, and preparing for a 1,000 mile trip. Am I 1,000 miles overdue? Am I just fine and can drive up to 4,000 miles (as I've read elsewhere) before getting it changed? no get it changed. oil is cheap. engine components ar expensive

3) Would it be a particularly good or bad idea to try to take the luggage rack off (one which is never used) before making a long trip?

4) Should I pay particular attention to the oil and the transmission, given problems I've read about with the infamous Toyota Engine Oil Sludge and a potential 150K expiration date of the transmission? change atf out with a complete fluid exchange or drain & refill yourself 4 times with toyota T-IV with about 20 miles of driving in between each drain fill. I do this every 30-40,000 miles. My trans still shifts like new

5) The nearest Lexus dealer is 56 miles away in Indianapolis. Any recommendation on good service places near Bloomington, Indiana?

I was just curious for some specific thoughts based off of understandably general questions, as I feel like these are somewhat unique driving conditions. I've never driven a car that you could unlock without turning a key before, much less one that runs on synthetic oil and provides up-to-the-every-other-second information on gas mileage. Thanks in advance for any replies.