chococat Posted December 7, 2012 Posted December 7, 2012 Just bought off eBay, a "new" to me 2001 RX300 with 87K miles. Records look clean, 2 full owners. I have owned an ES300 since 2005, which I also bought on eBay with 99K miles & it has 212K miles on it now. I bought the RX because the engines are similiar if not the same. ES, the main known issue is engine sludge, which I have avoided. My engine is in really good shape. Most of the maintenance I have done myself....sensors, gaskets, etc... After doing some reading, I hear about the dreaded tranmission fail on the AWD RX. I am going to take it to get it flushed ASAP, however, I am 2 hours from any Lexus dealership, and an hour away from a Toyota dealership. Is there another oil besides the Toyota brand oil that is ok? Is there anything else that is exclusive to the RX that often fails & could be proactively maintenenced? I know it will need a timing belt soon. I bought this knowing it has one window issue and probably a servos issue. I am kinda scared...I have wanted an RX for a long time. I LOVE my ES, but with these Texas country roads an SUV will be much better. But after reading about the transmissions, I now wonder if I did a bad thing. Picking up car tomorrow in Houston (4 hours away). Any help would be appreciated. Looking forward to switching forums & learning all over.
ricco750 Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 You will have members screaming at you to NOT have the tranny "flushed", as it is believed that is harmful to the tranny. A simple drain and refill is recommended, and it is probably a good idea to change the filter as well if you can get the pan off. As far as fluid, Toyota T-IV is the favorite and recommended by most folks on the forum. As you can see I have a "99RX...I too am the third owner. It has 133,000 miles, I got it at 106,000. I have as yet had no problems with the tranny. It's a great vehicle. Enjoy!
chococat Posted December 9, 2012 Author Posted December 9, 2012 It's a great vehicle. Enjoy! Turns out the tranny & radiator were flushed a year or two ago, so I am going to drop the pan, change the gasket & filter on this, as well as the ES my 17 y/o daughter just bought from me. Picked up the RX today. A friend of mine drove it the 4+ hours home and though he usually pokes at me for my taste in "little foreign cars",he said it handled well & he was very positive about the drive. For a 12 year old car, it is in pretty good shape. A few more scratches then I expected, but overall, I was impressed. 2 actual Lexus chipped keys, one Lexus valet key, and then the original spare key blade, in case you lose all the keys & need one cut. The original books, tool kit, keychains, etc. Looking forward to getting to know my new baby.
lenore Posted December 9, 2012 Posted December 9, 2012 I have successfully used mobile 1 synthetic tranny fluid and found smoother shifts. Enjoy your new ride
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