Please Advise

[jaydlee]

I have a RX300 year 2000. A while ago, I got into an accident and both airbags went off. This also caused the seat belts to lock. Luckily I am able to slide under my seat belt to drive but cannot transport any other people. I went to a repair shop and they told me I needed the entire 'Air Bag Kit'. The car does not allow simply to just install airbags rather I need the kit which includes sensors and such. He quoted $975 for the kit and $460 for the labor. I have California emissions but now reside in Maryland so he is stating it will be a difficult job.

Any idea where I can get such a kit but at a lower price? Also, my engine light has been on for a few months and he stated I needed all 4 oxygen sensors plus 6 coil packs replaced. He says I should really get OEM for the O2 sensors since universals don't last long and won't make the check engine light go away. The O2 sensor system for bank 1 and 2 he quoted $271 a piece. For system 2, bank 1 and 2 he quoted $175 a piece. Coiled $102 a piece times 6 = $612.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[cduluk]

Obvious question, but why wasn't the airbag issue covered under insurance? Do you not have colision?

[1990LS400]

I'd recommend getting a second opinion on the coils and oxygen sensors. I have a hard time believing that any of the coils have failed and it's also unlikely that all the oxygen sensors have failed. Did you get a record of stored error codes?

And moving to Maryland isn't going to make it more difficult to get repairs - the differences between a CA and MD Lexus is small.

http://lexus.sewellparts.com has all your air bag parts but I don't see a "kit". Register with Sewell with a Lexus forum member name to get a healthy discount. There are likely other good online parts sellers but I like Sewell because they are particularly up-front with pricing and shipping charges.

[lenore]

I agree doubt it needs all of the o2 sensors as well as the coils....maybe it isnt covered by insurance because of the deductable or possibly because they would total it because of the airbag deployment....I too like Sewel, however other sources could be Partsgeek.com and RockAuto.com

[jaydlee]

Thanks all. Yeah, since this is a 2000 RX300 I have liability only and the accident was my fault. I looked at Sewell and see all the sensors but what about the airbags themselves? Should I purchase everything on this page:

http://lexus.sewellparts.com/oem-catalog/8421841929-Electrical-RX300-2000.html

Thanks again.

Dave

[1990LS400]

The air bags are on the Sewell website. Using part numbers makes searching the Sewell site easier ... you can often get them from http://www.toyodiy.com/

The discounted price of the passenger side air bag is $1202.42 from Sewell. Do you really want to spend this much money on a 12 year old RX?

[jaydlee]

Well, I've been shopping it around and based on it's condition I can get $3k. Although it's a year 2000, it has only a little over 100k miles on it.

So spend the money to get the air bags, o2 sensors/coils fixed or sell it dirt when I bought it for over $40k? Tough call.

[lenore]

I would fix it. But listen to the advice, and dont just wholesale the coils, and sensors...get us some codes and maybe we can help.

[jaydlee]

So I went to Advanced Auto Parts and the codes are: P0125 (coolant temp sensor) and P1150 (O2 Upstream sensor). The attendant said I would need to buy two of the O2 upstream sensors and the coolant sensor. Easy to install and is he correct that I need two of the same O2 upstream sensors?

[lenore]

amazon has those sensors the cheapest (denso) only please....

[jaydlee]

Thanks all. The O2 sensor should be arriving today. So should the old sensor be sprayed with WD40 or PB Blaster in order to loosen the part? Wish me luck please since I have never conducted a DIY on a car except change the cabin air filter.

Besides the O2 sensor, the repair shop strongly recommended:

1.) Iridium Spark Plugs

2.) Manifold Gasket

3.) Fuel Filter

4.) Air Filter

5.) Fuel Injection service

1.) I read the front 3 spark plugs are easy DIY but the back 3 are hard so I think I will leave that to the mechanic. However, how can I tell which one(s) are bad? Or is it just a mileage thing? My car has around 103,000 miles.

2.) There is an Intake Manifold Gasket and an Exhaust Manifold Gasket. The mechanic did not specify but which one do you think he means? Does this really need replacing, how do you tell and is it an easy DIY?

3.) I heard changing the fuel filter is not quite easy as well so I will probably leave that to the mechanic.

4.) Air filter should be easy so I will order that and install.

5.) Can I do the fuel injection service myself or should I leave this up to a mechanic? If it is an easy DIY what do I need to order and how do I do it?

Sorry for all theses questions but as someone mentioned before, it's an old car (2000) but only has 103k on it and just want to save some money given the economy.

Thanks all.

Dave

[lenore]

Thanks all. The O2 sensor should be arriving today. So should the old sensor be sprayed with WD40 or PB Blaster in order to loosen the part? Wish me luck please since I have never conducted a DIY on a car except change the cabin air filter.

Besides the O2 sensor, the repair shop strongly recommended:

1.) Iridium Spark Plugs

2.) Manifold Gasket

3.) Fuel Filter

4.) Air Filter

5.) Fuel Injection service

1.) I read the front 3 spark plugs are easy DIY but the back 3 are hard so I think I will leave that to the mechanic. However, how can I tell which one(s) are bad? Or is it just a mileage thing? My car has around 103,000 miles.

2.) There is an Intake Manifold Gasket and an Exhaust Manifold Gasket. The mechanic did not specify but which one do you think he means? Does this really need replacing, how do you tell and is it an easy DIY?

3.) I heard changing the fuel filter is not quite easy as well so I will probably leave that to the mechanic.

4.) Air filter should be easy so I will order that and install.

5.) Can I do the fuel injection service myself or should I leave this up to a mechanic? If it is an easy DIY what do I need to order and how do I do it?

Sorry for all theses questions but as someone mentioned before, it's an old car (2000) but only has 103k on it and just want to save some money given the economy.

Thanks all.

Dave

I would not change the fuel filter, not necessary, it is in the fuel tank and should be good for the life of the fuel pump. The plugs should be good for an easy 120k miles. the only failures I have seen are on the coils on each plug, however they should throw a p0300, p0301, etc code when bad. As for the fuel injection, try some Lucas or Chevron Techron cleaner in the gas tank. The Idle Air Control Valve is an item that does cause problems for idle (steady) and running problems after starting the engine, but this forum has a great do it yourself for cleaning it, versus replacement. The real important item is to replace the transmission fluid once a year with drain and fill only procedure. Do NOT do a flush. Brakes last forever on this vehicle, historically fronts should go an easy 80k miles, just use Toyota pads or Akebono ceramics and you should get great life. Door locks mechanism fail on these vehicles as they get older, and their is a thread about a $5 fix for these on this forum...Lots of info on this forum for your car, good luck.

[jaydlee]

thanks Lenore! I tried looking up Idle Air Control Valve install here but couldn't find it. Do you have the link for the DIY? Hope it is easy:)

Thanks again!

[jaydlee]

thanks Lenore! I tried looking up Idle Air Control Valve install here but couldn't find it. Do you have the link for the DIY? Hope it is easy:)

Thanks again!

[lenore]

thanks Lenore! I tried looking up Idle Air Control Valve install here but couldn't find it. Do you have the link for the DIY? Hope it is easy:)

Thanks again!

OK here it is, read the entire thread....

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=30723&st=50&p=269722&hl=+iacv%20+cleaning&fromsearch=1entry269722