2004 Rx330 Power Liftgate Gas Strut (lift Cylinder) Replacement Needed

[jaed2]

I have a 2004 RX330 with a power lift gate, but when opening the gate manually I noticed that the lift gate needs to be fairly high before it opens all the way up on its own. The power door still seems to work well going up or down when using the automated feature. I'm not sure if these gas struts, or (lift cylinders as they seem to be called) should be replaced, or if this type of opening is normal with a power trunk. I noticed a small amount of corrosion around the liftgate cylinders, and they are 6 years old. The dealer cost in parts alone seems to be over $300 for the pair.

Mostly what I'm concerned about is that if the struts are weak or running down, that it will put strain on the power lift motor. Has anyone else noticed this or experienced this? Should the trunk just "pop-up" as soon as the electronic trunk button is pressed or should it delay until it's about 1/2-3/4 the way up? The trunk doesn't drop on your head, it just doesn't go up on its own upon first opening. It is in the mid 30s here in Philadelphia! Maybe it's the cold? Has anyone replaced these? Any experience?

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thank you! :)

[Filehorse]

When rounding up a group of the likely suspects for your problem, the lift struts are very likely candidates. I've replaced the ones on my 2000 RX300 twice with the Lexus struts at about $300 a pop and they functioned properly for about 2-3 months before they begin to get weak - especially in cold weather. This seems to be one of those problems about which you can truthfully say, "They all do that." Don't ask me why the hood struts continue to work exactly as they should after 145,000 miles and almost 10 years.

Fortunately, there is a better-than-OEM alternative. For the third set of struts I discovered Lift Supports Depot.com and be prepared to pay approximately 1/4 the cost of the Lexus OEM struts. Oh, and these actually seem to continue to work exactly as they should long after the 2-3 month prepare-to-die window for the Lexus product. Mr. Lou's customer service is excellent and he will gladly exchange emails with you to be sure you have the right product. After being held up by the Lexus Parts Department for years, Lift Supports Depot seems almost (keyword) too good to be true. To my knowledge, this is the ONLY aftermarket supplier of lift gate struts for the Lexus RX. Hope this helps you out.

[Andi2005]

Do you think this problem with the lift gate struts is under warranty? And do you think this is a known problem? My Rx330 2005 started exhibiting this a few years ago & Lexus poo-poo-ed it. Thanks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When rounding up a group of the likely suspects for your problem, the lift struts are very likely candidates. I've replaced the ones on my 2000 RX300 twice with the Lexus struts at about $300 a pop and they functioned properly for about 2-3 months before they begin to get weak - especially in cold weather. This seems to be one of those problems about which you can truthfully say, "They all do that." Don't ask me why the hood struts continue to work exactly as they should after 145,000 miles and almost 10 years.

Fortunately, there is a better-than-OEM alternative. For the third set of struts I discovered Lift Supports Depot.com and be prepared to pay approximately 1/4 the cost of the Lexus OEM struts. Oh, and these actually seem to continue to work exactly as they should long after the 2-3 month prepare-to-die window for the Lexus product. Mr. Lou's customer service is excellent and he will gladly exchange emails with you to be sure you have the right product. After being held up by the Lexus Parts Department for years, Lift Supports Depot seems almost (keyword) too good to be true. To my knowledge, this is the ONLY aftermarket supplier of lift gate struts for the Lexus RX. Hope this helps you out.

[jaed2]

Thanks so much, Filehorse. I had actually seen Mr. Lou's on eBay before posting, but was unsure if the condition of my lift struts was normal or not. I'm guessing it isn't now, so I just bought a pair 2 minutes ago from him and we'll see how these work when I get them. $59.00 with free shipping seemed like a bargain after seeing dealer prices and reading through his feedback comments I saw that there were several satisfied 330 owners. I appreciate the help and I'll try and post on the differences after I install them. Thanks again.

I'm still curious about the experiences of other Rx330 or 350 owners with power gates, so if you've notice this please do let me know.

[jaed2]

I would doubt this is under warranty. My car is out of warranty by almost 2 years (I'm guessing yours is out by 1 unless you have an extended plan). There probably isn't much incentive for the dealer to replace these under warranty.

When you say Lexus "Poo-poo-ed" your claim, do you mean that they refused to replace it under warranty a few years ago? I wasn't able to find too much information about this online, so I'm not sure how known the problem is. Guessing that there were other Rx330 or Rx350 owners who were purchasing these from Mr. Lou's on eBay, there must be some others who are having this problem.

I'll let you know my experience when I install the after market ones.