Tells Us About Your Car And Its Mods Or Problems

[pjross]

I have a 2002 rx300 sport awd. My doors are all closed and locked.

As I drive down the road, my door chimes go on and off. My dash icon for the doors blinks. And my interior light blinks on and off. But remember all my doors are closed ????? I have checked and double checked.

To top it off now my remote lock now thinks my doors are open. Responding with a long uninterrupted beep. Please can someone help. It is probably just a dead battery in my remote ..I hope ????????

[UCF3]

It sounds like you may have a bad sensor or a bad relay. Were there any obvious damages or missing rubber where the door makes contact with the body of the car?

[pjross]

It turned out to be the battery. I went out in the morning and the car was dead. Cost $45 for a boost. But Les Schwab credited it back because I purchased a new battery. Ghost is gone. Yeh.

[vassiton]

1999 LS 400
I believe I'm the 3rd owner.

Got it for $5,400 in Denton, Tx last month.

No problems so far. Drives like new. Runs perfectly. Got some dings and a few scuffs in the seat but hardly noticeable. The most obvious thing is the blacked out clock lcd and the cracks in the wooden steering wheel. But everything works. Oh, but the cup holders are too small for my coffee mug. Dang it!

[jimf4242]

I have a 2000 RX300. I have an odd knock sensor problem. The knock sensors have been replaced (twice), but the knock sensor code came back. When it comes on, it goes into limp mode...if I turn the car off, wait 30 seconds, restart, limp mode goes away. The check engine light stays on...but the next time it throws a code, back to limp mode.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you

Jim

[pjross]

02 rx300. 142,000. Km.

Door open problem

When you open windows while driving. Door chimes keep going off and on even though doors are all closed. It has now doing it every time you hit a small bump. I slamed all the doors, locked them and it still is happening.

The old days there was a button that got pushed when the door closed. Now I have no idea where the contact is, or how to fix it

Goes really crazy when you open sunroof.

Peter.

[pjross]

02 rx300. 142,000. Km.

Door open problem

When you open windows while driving. Door chimes keep going off and on even though doors are all closed. It has now doing it every time you hit a small bump. I slamed all the doors, locked them and it still is happening.

The old days there was a button that got pushed when the door closed. Now I have no idea where the contact is, or how to fix it

Goes really crazy when you open sunroof.

Peter.

[Lexus_Family2016]

RX300 2000

2nd owner

Original ower bought from Lexus of Concord and I bought it from her @4k

I have owned it for a little over a year and already the Transmission might be out or On it's last leg.

Engine was replaced at the dealership after a road trip in 2012 and the Transmission rebuilt 5 years ago at macco

Recently we replaced the motor mounts and the brakes a few months ago. (did the work myself)

Current issue:  The car starts up it will not go into gear. It just revs. Unsure if its the tranny or something else. 

[RoyBA]

I have two Lexus RX 300, yr 2000 and RX 350 yr 2013.  I am writing about my RX 300, 3 owners that i am aware, i am the third, bought it used. I bought it used for about 9K.  We have had now since 2009 with 210K for mileage. There have been problems and fixed them as they came, starter replacement, moon roof leak, heater vent motor, side light markers, Elk ran into side of car.  

The issue I am writing about is:  My dog chewed through rear seat belts and i want to replace them.  The cost would be about 1800 dollars.  i bought the belts from a junk yard off a 2000 lexus that was just in an accident. The belts are fine. I am wondering if there are/is a manual (step by step) to replace the seat belts. 

[VBdenny]

I have had 3 Lexus cars and currently have 2.

My 1990 LS400 - AC went out after 15 years, one upper control arm replaced.

My 2004 ES330 - No problems ever, has about 120,000 on it now

My 2014 IS250 - Other than not enough horsepower, perfect.

I've found that vehicles than have had quality service tend to last longer without problems. You can easily spend good money for nothing but in the end it might pay you back.

 

 

[softy]

On 12/29/2003 at 9:39 PM, SKperformance said:

List your model, year ,

# of owners ,

price when bought and from where

lenght of ownership and attributed problems and repair costs.

Also mention where you had it fixed ( lexus, independent, midas or diy).

When it was done.

Any mods done to the car and its costs.

If desired your age and insurance you pay.

If you have any picutes in the gallery put links in the post so we can have an idea about the car.

Please only post once and if you have a question either pm the member or make a new thread .

This will keep the page from being filled with excess.

02 RX 300  Just bought for 6000.  Having problem getting cd player from the glove box area.  Also not able to set the seats. 1-2.  Otherwise a great automobile.

[Mystery123]

I have a 2000 RX300.

Last year, it happened once.
I took the key out and the engine didn't turn off.
It was still running. I tried several times putting the key in/out but it still kept running.
I drove it around and after driving little bit, it finally turned off.

It worked fine for almost a year and it happened again. 
This time, same thing, many tries on using key in/out did nothing, the engine still was running so I drove it around but it died while driving.

I smelt something burning on the exhaust. Now I can't get it to start back again.
Thankfully, it's in a parking lot currently. I'll try to get a jump start later and see if that works.

What do you guys think? What's happening?

[Denise & Elwood]

Hello everyone,

So we own a '99 RX 300; we believe ourselves to be the second owners - purchased from original dealer : Lexus of Portland after lease return. Purchased in '05 for $17K.  The odo was pushing 75K.  The test drive threw a "Chk. Eng," lite but we bought it anyway after the svc. dept. cleared it with an explanation of what set it sounded mundane & unremarkable.  The transmission failed about 60 days (78Kmi) later.  Dealer made good on it. 

Currently still enjoying our ownership experience {200 K and counting}.  Issues we've encountered are:

1] Alternator belt noise that turned-out to be a failing Alt. bearing/'Cocked" pulley [after 3 belt replacements]-Had never witnessed an alternator fail like that and NOT stop charging &/or make a racket with "metal-to-metal" contact.  This one manifested neither.  

2] exhaust leak from front exh. header cross-under flex connector : age (TBE)

3] C/E Light

 O2 Sensor Inbd Bank - These are "heated" sensors; that circuit should be expected to fail over time. Since they were both OEM commonsense supported both be replaced. Murphy's law as well. 

4] C/E Light [Code 1354] - VVT Oil Control Valve Bank 2 - This one was tricky and troublesome; seems there was some kind of terminology mix-up in getting the right part; ended-up replacing Bank 1 & 2.

5] Mysterious run of tire flats started around 160K - Maddening because it followed the purchase of new tires. Turned-out the flashy factory CHROMED mags were manifesting a corrosion caused finish failure; had to replace them.

6] C/D player failed : BEAT THE DEALER out of their "rip-off" on that one; found the ONLY NATIONAL repair outlet and dealt direct. SAVED $$ on that one.

7] Driver's Door window drag w/ noise come the wet season : suspect channel guide felt needs replacement [body shop job] haven't done it yet. We've also begun to see water collection in the spare tire well & left rear {driver's side} fender well below the cargo pocket. Rough winter [2016], unsure if it's an established problem or fleeting..

8] Taillight bulb-out indicator {hint: Don't forget to look at the "Hi-Mount" brake light in the lift door}

9] Driver's seat OTBD bolster fabric failure : $250 recover.

10] 178K we had the entire engine checked out for full field service.  I knew the T-Belt was over due along with the ancillary items that usually are included in that work awa the brake fluid was no longer clear {in need of change} & the A/T was due a complete fluid flush BUT they found Head Gaskets just beginning to leak coolant & oil {This should be expected because of the steel block vs aluminum head design of 3.0L}, P/S pump was leaking . A little over $4K later we've got a car that should take us to 500K mi. without a whimper.  That last repair was done by an independent shop I thought I could trust; everything else was DIY [I'm a certified mech].

One area that I tend to look for application of after-market improvements is the brakes.  To that end I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to anyone with a desire for the best stopping experience & reduced brake service costs to seriously consider the POWERSTOP Extreme Performance Drilled & Slotted Disc Rotors. They can't be resurfaced but if you're diligent about oversight on your pad wear you'll easily get two pad changes out of any set. You should buy the POWERSTOP pads with them. I live in the PNW, 1800' elevation; I use engine compression for deceleration as much as I can [the wife has adopted the technique as well]. First the O/D is switched off and then I shift to second as required to reduce speed. So even though hills are an "average trip" for this vehicle, in this way my service-to-service interval is extended dramatically. Rotor warpage is a thing of the distant past in my driving experience. 

I also have chosen to rebuild my struts in all four corners.  Don't cut corners on that when you choose to have it done, replace all associated components.

Finally I have used Mobil 1 Synthetic on a normal service life cycle; that is to say that the vehicle sees 10+ miles [min.] per "key-turn" operation for 98% of it's service duty. That usually provides 8-8.5K miles between LOF. {Severe Duty is city driving with under 10 mi & stop'n'go}

 

[marsh4ll.john]

I have white Lexus RX 300 2001 year. I bought it in 2017 because my family needed a bigger car in order to load more people and more cargo with us. When I bought it it had mileage of 89034 miles. I first saw my new car on https://jiji.ng/cars/lexus-rx-300 and then I quickly contacted its owner to get to know all about it. Its condition was like buy and drive you know. With with leather interior, conditioner and new tires! I'm the second owner of this car and I think I wouldn't sell it. The only problem I had to solve about this car is to change the shock absorbers. Fortunately it wasn't too hard. Now everything is working perfectly. When I bought it the price was 3600$.

[Director59]

I recently purchased (Sept 18) a 2002 Lexus RX300 2WD 123K,  that was only owned by one other person. It does have some minor body dents and dings, the interior is like new. When I purchased it the MILwas on and the DTC code was P0440. I started checking for Vac line leaks as that is what the Lexus dealer had told the previous owners. Then suddenly the VSC and TRAC off lights came on and now the DTC are P1135, P1155, and C1201. I cannot believe that both of the A/F sensors would go bad at the same time.

[HarleyAnnieGood]

2001 RX300 front wheel drive 135000 miles on it. One owner until late 2019 when I became  lucky number two. I've had this car for a couple months and have driven it barely anywhere and I've got reasons for that. If something doesn't fall off every time I get into this car I know that I am not in my own car. In fact, if I am lucky enough to get into my car....it isn't my car. Because MY car always locks me out for mysterious reasons and sets it's panic mode against me when I attempt to resist.  Once I do manage to get inside? It locks me in.  I'm not joking. From the moment that I got this machine things began falling off of it, popping out of it, flying off of it, I just don't even know where to begin. The back hatch the headlights every little door and compartment inside the car is either stuck  stuck closed stuck open missing or taped on. The same car that locks me out has now decided to keep the passenger window open for as long as it feels like doing it. And yes I've got the mysterious noises from the front of the car both from the inside and I'm guessing outside. Only MY dash-noises don't stop even when I turn the car off and take the key out. It moans and rattles like Jacob Marley in his chains. like I said I just got the car and have yet to have it serviced and I apologize if this posting is not very helpful but I just don't know what to say. Except that it was a quote unquote gift and I feel cursed.

[HarleyAnnieGood]

On 2/21/2019 at 4:15 AM, Director59 said:

I recently purchased (Sept 18) a 2002 Lexus RX300 2WD 123K,  that was only owned by one other person. It does have some minor body dents and dings, the interior is like new. When I purchased it the MILwas on and the DTC code was P0440. I started checking for Vac line leaks as that is what the Lexus dealer had told the previous owners. Then suddenly the VSC and TRAC off lights came on and now the DTC are P1135, P1155, and C1201. I cannot believe that both of the A/F sensors would go bad at the same time.

Same here insomuch as the very scary tiny-car-swerving-out-of-control console light you mention. (I  don't know what the rest of the stuff you note means...yet.) But if you covered my actual vehicle in Christmas lights, it'd BE that little illuminated dashboard illustration, when viewed from outerspace.

(And yet the thing still appeared to be in near mint condition for almost ten minutes after I officially took possession of it.)

🛴.

 

[Barbara11]

RX300 2001 2nd owner, 175k miles
paid.. $22,000 Used. 
from Rocky Mountain VW Dealership
(20 years ago.
Regular Maintenance from same 2 independent Mechanics (my first mechanic retired. 2nd was a referral and is excellent)    Tires changed and rotated at Tires Plus. 
Special maintenance when needed at Lexus Dealership in Longmont,  Co (Clips, antenna, 
Maintenance was does Regularly.  (I love my car and take good care of her) 
I've never had any major work needed.  All general maintenance, oil change, tires, etc.
until this recent problem. 

While driving on the highway, 70mph, had a pop under the left side of the hood, a grinding noise as we pulled over and the car was wobbling back and forth (driver front)  Thought the tire had blown.  That was not it.  (We noticed the thermostat jumped to hot.) As we were parked, all lights worked, hazard lights worked, windows, signals all electrical worked, car shifted fine. The engine was hot, no steam from the radiator, oil was full, radiator was full.  Called Road side assistance. While waiting the GPS system started flashing a light show and then the electrical system slowly shut itself down. 
Car was cranking but wouldn't start but eventually wouldn't even do that.  (We were there for 4hrs at 11:30pm)   Still shifted and overhead lights worked. ...  Towed it to mechanic who said it was 'seized'.  (not my regular mechanic, he was moving) 
No codes.  Deader than dead. Won't jump, won't start. No electrical.  
Did it immobilize?  How do I know if it has an immobilizer?  The book does not say it does.  The key trick won't work, but the battery is dead. 
Who do I call?  What do I do?  
I'm a 75 woman without mechanic knowledge. 
Something tells me it's fixable but I don't know where to start.  I've never had any problems with this car. 
That said... for the past 6 months the 'engine light and VSC light have been on. The brakes felt soft and I felt like there was something not right on the drivers side.  The mechanic did everything to figure it out.  Couldn't find anything.  
Obviously something was going on.  But what?  

 

 

Edited August 31 by Barbara11
fixed and error, added mileage