My Rx350 is underwhelming

[Digitalflesh]

On 7/21/2011 at 4:51 PM, klonny said:

I had to post it, just had to.

I bought a Rx350 last year, with high miles, but well maintained. 70K. I've had it exactly one year and a 2 weeks and let me tell you the problems I've had.

1) 101k 4 new struts. yes I know they wear out, but these are completely shot, leaking probably should have been done 20K ago. no towing, no off roading.

2) wheel bearing shot. The last time I replaced a wheel bearing was on my 1979 Dodge Aspen.

3) yesterday had a piece of body trim fall off...fall off. I guess that's what they say when they talk about pursuit of perfection.

4) fan/lights/in ability to lock door comes on about 50% of the time when you shut it off...dealer says they can't reproduce the problem. baloney.

5) cost to get a duplicate key? $350. my Benz was $100.

6) nav is next to worthless, can't change it when your driving, not intuitive...takes 3 buttons to get outside temp.

7) AC condensor died...replaced for $700.

8) and probably my favorite is the rattles...you name it...it rattles. T

I am totally amazed when I read that Lexus and this car was runner up for c&d truck of the year and keeps being top rated. this is a nice looking but crappy toyata highlander that I cannot urge anyone who reads this to stay away from it! I thought my S600 maintenaince was bad? it was expensive yes, but nothign like the frequency of this piece of crap. I had a Acura MDX for 3 year...no problems. a acura TL for 7 year...no problems at all. I just can not understand why anyone purchases a Lexus anymore.

Ok, there you go.

 

[Digitalflesh]

I know this is an old post, but I want to put in my two cents. I bought a used 2007 Lexus RX 350 based on Lexus's vaunted reliability and it has been a bigger pile of crap than my former BMW 325 XI. It had 77K miles on it when I purchased it, and it has had numerous problems since I have purchased it. 

1. Rattles in the interior. One of the plastic shields was rattling under the car and hitting the bottom of the chassis at highway speeds. I thought it was the seat rattling at highway speeds, but it was a plastic shield underneath the car hitting the bottom of the chassis at highway speeds. I cut part of the shield off, and not more interior rattles! The local Lexus dealer couldn't figure out, but I did and cut it off with shears so it couldn't hit the bottom of the chassis anymore. 

2. Car eats the battery every year, and I drive it all of the time.

3. Had to replace coil packs numerous times and the car only has 135K ! Never had to replace coil packs on my BMW in 150K miles when I got rid of it. The bad part is that you can't access anything on the back side of the motor and have to rip off the entire back side of the engine to get to the damn spark plugs and coil packs. This engine sits at a 45 degree angle and you can't get to anything easy! Spent over $2K to replace spark plugs and ignition coils! I will never buy a V6 Toyota anything. 

4. VVTI gear is making horrendous noise and sounds like a diesel until it warms up. I am hoping I don't have to replace the VVTI system. This engine is just straight crap. The oil line was replaced under a recall, but I am sure the engine was prematurely damaged by this defect. Avoid Toyota V6 engines, they are *BLEEP*. It sounds like it is tapping and going to explode until it warms up

5. Transmission is total crap to. It takes forever for it to shift into a gear, and slams into gears erratically for no damn reason at low speeds from 20-30 MPH without warning. 

6. Brakes are total crap and wear out too fast and aren't adequate for the vehicle. 

7. AC warning light in cabin turns on and flashes, and I have to jack with it a few times before the AC kicks on. 

8. Key fob is a piece of crap and doesn't unlock the doors half of the time. I have to hit it multiple times and I have a spare set and it does it too. 

9. Just had to replace the idle pulley tension er, idle pulley and water pump. About $3K there to do all of that crap since you can't get to anything on the damn engine. The whole trans axle and motor had to be lifted out to just replace the damn water pump. 

To conclude: My BMW 325 XI only needed a starter, breaks, and suspension work at $150K and window regulartors which all German cars burn through. I hate this damn thing and wish I never bought it. To add insult to injury, the dash is cracking everywhere and there is all resign popping out everywhere. What an overpriced POS. 

I never had rattles in the BMW and it was still solid everywhere compared to this POS. At least the BMW made me smile when I drove it and it was blast to drive, and I felt ok about the repairs. 

Do not buy! 

 

 

 

[RX400h]

I have to (once again) bring up the TED presentation that went into detail about why many presumptions (like this last post) are based upon a very tiny percentage of a much larger population of the vehicle/condition/event/issue in question.

Consumer Reports receives ratings of tens of thousands of Lexus RXs, every year. Based upon this data set, they are among the most reliable vehicles. You can always find one BMW X5 that is more reliable than one particular Lexus RX, but this is most definitely NOT representative of all Lexus and BMWs. CR's data clearly shows that Lexus and most Japanese-branded vehicles have superior reliability compared to almost all German brands.

 

[zieke]

On 8/25/2016 at 10:10 PM, Digitalflesh said:

I know this is an old post, but I want to put in my two cents. I bought a used 2007 Lexus RX 350 based on Lexus's vaunted reliability and it has been a bigger pile of crap than my former BMW 325 XI. It had 77K miles on it when I purchased it, and it has had numerous problems since I have purchased it. 

1. Rattles in the interior. One of the plastic shields was rattling under the car and hitting the bottom of the chassis at highway speeds. I thought it was the seat rattling at highway speeds, but it was a plastic shield underneath the car hitting the bottom of the chassis at highway speeds. I cut part of the shield off, and not more interior rattles! The local Lexus dealer couldn't figure out, but I did and cut it off with shears so it couldn't hit the bottom of the chassis anymore. 

2. Car eats the battery every year, and I drive it all of the time.

3. Had to replace coil packs numerous times and the car only has 135K ! Never had to replace coil packs on my BMW in 150K miles when I got rid of it. The bad part is that you can't access anything on the back side of the motor and have to rip off the entire back side of the engine to get to the damn spark plugs and coil packs. This engine sits at a 45 degree angle and you can't get to anything easy! Spent over $2K to replace spark plugs and ignition coils! I will never buy a V6 Toyota anything. 

4. VVTI gear is making horrendous noise and sounds like a diesel until it warms up. I am hoping I don't have to replace the VVTI system. This engine is just straight crap. The oil line was replaced under a recall, but I am sure the engine was prematurely damaged by this defect. Avoid Toyota V6 engines, they are *BLEEP*. It sounds like it is tapping and going to explode until it warms up

5. Transmission is total crap to. It takes forever for it to shift into a gear, and slams into gears erratically for no damn reason at low speeds from 20-30 MPH without warning. 

6. Brakes are total crap and wear out too fast and aren't adequate for the vehicle. 

7. AC warning light in cabin turns on and flashes, and I have to jack with it a few times before the AC kicks on. 

8. Key fob is a piece of crap and doesn't unlock the doors half of the time. I have to hit it multiple times and I have a spare set and it does it too. 

9. Just had to replace the idle pulley tension er, idle pulley and water pump. About $3K there to do all of that crap since you can't get to anything on the damn engine. The whole trans axle and motor had to be lifted out to just replace the damn water pump. 

To conclude: My BMW 325 XI only needed a starter, breaks, and suspension work at $150K and window regulartors which all German cars burn through. I hate this damn thing and wish I never bought it. To add insult to injury, the dash is cracking everywhere and there is all resign popping out everywhere. What an overpriced POS. 

I never had rattles in the BMW and it was still solid everywhere compared to this POS. At least the BMW made me smile when I drove it and it was blast to drive, and I felt ok about the repairs. 

Do not buy! 

 

 

 

It sounds like u just got a lemon. Happens to most all makes once in a while. I have a nice '07 rx and it has needed some but not near the stuff yours has. My coil packs went around 75k. I've changed all the fluids, the trans. is fine as is the engine. I think the timing chain makes the noise when cold, but at least u don't have to replace it as with a belt. Of course there is a ground issue or etc. causing a battery to go bad that soon.  With each vehicle I own I have a tolerance level concerning problems with it. When that level is reached that vehicle gets a new owner. Sounds like your Lexus should have reached that plateau a long time ago.

 

[shokelah]

I bought my 2007 RX350 when it was 3 years old.   It had 75,000 miles when I bought it.   I still own it in 2016 and it now has 144,000miles.  Apart from normal wear and tear items like brakes and tires, the only other thing I have replaced is the battery.   The car has always been serviced at the dealership and I have always kept up on the maintenance and have never abused it.   Most trouble free vehicle I have owned.