RX in NC

Yep, just more snake oil that far too many lousy companies try to sucker the general public with.... I'm still waiting for the TV commercial that screams "BILLY MAYS HERE FOR OXYCLEAN TURBO-BOOST SUPER DUPER SCRUBBING BUBBLES AND FUEL LINE SANITIZER FOR YOUR CAR!!!! JUST ADD A BOTTLE TO YOUR TANK EVERY WEEK AND FEEL YOUR HORSEPOWER DOUBLE OVERNIGHT!!!! BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE...." Unfortunately, this would become a very profitable line in the Oxyclean array of overhyped products. There's a sucker born every minute....

Always wanted to see and climb Vasquez Rocks. I've admired them in television shows, commercials, and movies since I was a kid in the 1960s. Being on the East Coast, I've never had the chance to see them in person. Enjoy your trip and be sure to post the photos here....

I also like your ramps - great idea with a very clean and simple design. Bet they'll outlast the car.... I assume that the original fluid was the familiar pinkish-reddish color when new. If so, the transformation to a nasty brown/black goo in less than 20,000 miles is a real shame. Let's hope that the Mobil 1 synthetic will hold up far longer. Your drained fluid photos make the notorious transmission failure problems in a number of 1999/2000 RX300 AWD models smell like roses.... What is the recommended transmission fluid change interval posted in your Owners Manual? I'm just wondering if Mazda acknowledges that this is an issue and calls for frequent transmission fluid changes as a result....

Saturday night's embarrassment proved that we sent the wrong team from North Carolina to the Final Four this year - it should have been Davidson....

Hey nc211, What happened last night in San Antonio? Far better athletes dominated Tyler Spazzbrough and his buddies. He just couldn't get off his classic spastic shots in the lane without getting the ball stuffed back down his throat, could he.... I'm still smiling big-time this morning after last night's UNC embarrassment and after your smartmouthing last week on how Carolina would take it all come Monday, so be sure to enjoy your deep-fried crow for lunch today....

Let me know how your experience with the Fred Anderson service department goes. It's been a year and a half since I last dealt with them and I hope that they still do business the right way with all of their customers.... When Marc Jacobsen started filming his TV commercials using dogs that look like dustmops and pregnant ladies who look like they're going to eject their kid before the commercial even ends, I said there's no way that I'll ever even consider pulling into his parking lot. That's a Mongolian clusterf*ck of an experience just waiting to happen....

Except when it's not.... There's a local Toyota dealership here in Raleigh where the service manager really understands the importance to the savvy customer of careful diagnostics, thoroughly discussing and showing you the issue at hand, and working with you to derive the best possible way to resolve it. I was astonished at how much time they took with me to go over the issue once they found it, all while the vehicle was up on the hydraulic lift and the three of us were standing underneath it (my wife's previous 2000 RX300 AWD with its tough-to-find exhaust system expansion joint mini-leak back in October 2006). Their prices were surprisingly reasonable as well - an unexpected bonus. These guys have been impressive on a couple of occasions, once when I just wanted some advice on getting to the notoriously-difficult-to-reach three rear spark plugs to change them myself, and they were actually gracious enough to offer me some tips on how their own techs do it. Not many service managers will offer advice to help you when they know they'll lose the business to you doing the job yourself.... I'm rarely a fan of dealership service departments but these guys were more than fair with me in the couple of times I had to turn to a dealer to resolve a non-warranty issue with that previous vehicle. Their parts department is also top-notch - I purchase my Type T-IV transmission fluid there as well as any other Toyota-specific parts I may need for keeping the previous RX as well as the current RX rolling down the road for my wife.... It's Fred Anderson Toyota on Glenwood Avenue near the RDU Airport for those of you who live in the Raleigh area....

Be aware that ever since the advent of air conditioning systems in vehicles, automotive A/C technicians have collectively advised all motorists to periodically operate their A/C systems for at least a few minutes per week even during the winter months. The reason typically given for doing so was that this is necessary to keep the various sealant compounds within the A/C unit properly lubricated so as to minimize the chances for freon leaks occuring. As we all know, freon formulas have changed over the years from R-12 to R134a but the advice that A/C techs offer to their customers hasn't changed - they still tell you to run your A/C from time to time to help protect the seals. Not being an expert in A/C design and function, I can't attest to the validity of this advice and I have to admit that I do not run the A/C in my primary vehicle for at least a few minutes every week year-round as advised. But I do run it at least once a month even during the winter months, usually for no more than 5 minutes....

Sylvia Hatchell is whining about her Lady Heels having to play LSU last night and getting knocked out of the tournament as a result. As if playing them somewhere other than in New Orleans would have made any difference. A superior team is a superior team regardless of where you play them. But she would rather !Removed! and moan than face up to the facts. Always look forward to her whining about something when her team gets knocked out of the postseason.... As much as I despise UNC I have to give ol' Roy credit for not being a crybaby like his female counterpart in Chapel Hill. When the Heels go down at the Final Four next week you won't hear Coach Williams complaining about game location or lopsided fan base in the stands or the hotel beds were too lumpy or anything other than simply getting beat by a better team....

As far as how much tread depth difference would be okay between one brand new tire and the three remaining tires, that is going to vary from vehicle to vehicle. Big, heavy vehicles with heavy-duty, well-proven transmissions (like my 1999 Dodge Ram pickup) aren't going to care nearly as much as an early-model RX AWD would with its well-known flaky transmission. Most new SUV/pickup truck tires that are decent or better have from 12/32 to 14/32 of tread right off the rack. If the remaining three tires are running around with 8/32 or 9/32 of tread still on them, even the flaky RX will probably be okay. But if you're down there close to 3/32 or less on your remaining tires and slap a new 14/32 tread tire on one rim, an RX might start revolting. I don't think my Ram would care one bit, though.... When I've replaced just one tire in the past, regardless of the vehicle, I believe that the remaining three tires all had at least 50% of their treadlife remaining. That may not have been the case a number of years back when my daughter's hand-me-down 1989 Acura Legend picked up a non-repairable screw in one tire and we had to replace it. Since I knew she would be due for new tires within 10,000 miles or less and to save her some money as well, I spent a Saturday morning on the phone shopping around for a decent used tire that would match her other three in approximate treadwear. The car was running a set of Dunlop D60 A2 tires at the time, and I found a good one at a reputable used tire dealer that had been around forever in these parts. I drove over with her to inspect it myself, it was in good shape for a used tire, and I made a deal with the guy for $30 including balancing (no new valve stem was necessary because the car had BBS wheels with built-in metal valve stems). Gave him the $30 in cash, watched him mount and balance that one tire on the rim, tossed the rim in the back of my truck, and we drove off with my daughter happy. That used tire held up just fine and six months later I donated that Acura to charity as a tax write-off. The BBS wheels were probably worth more than the car at that point....

Looking forward to the Heels getting knocked out of the tournament and wishing that upstart Davidson could have been the team to do it. But Stephen Curry dribbled away the clock while remaining 30 feet out and then passed on the shot. Should have taken it strong to the hoop at five seconds and drawn the foul to go to the line. Make both free throws and you're probably going to overtime. As well as Curry played throughout the tournament, he choked at the end. Hate to say it, but it's true.... It should be a great Final Four, though. All four teams have a legitimate shot. I think UCLA is the best team, but Memphis probably has the best talent collection on the floor. If Memphis can keep their composure and allow their athleticism to reign, I think they win it all. But if UCLA manages to beat Memphis, I see them beating UNC in the final. I think UNC will squeak by Kansas - Davidson really exposed the Jayhawks as vulnerable to smart team play, and Davidson certainly showed that until Curry dribbled out the clock....

Although working on cars is now just another chore for me whereas 30 years ago it was fun, I would be willing to put up with frequent grease-covered arms and substantial under-the-hood time once again if somebody gave me a nicely-restored late 60s XKE. They were and still are supercars. But keeping the carburators in sync on those V-12s can be a full-time job, I know. I would only be willing to do that again for an XKE....

Yep, whenever I have a tire that has picked up a nail or has developed a leaky valve stem, I remove just that wheel from the vehicle and take it in for what is called a "loose repair" in the tire business. That saves the tire dealer some work in having to remove and re-install your wheel, and more importantly it takes your other three perfectly good tires out of play in the transaction. The tire dealers don't bear any additional liability other than repairing or replacing your tire on the rim properly because they mark your receipt as "loose wheel" meaning it is your responsibility to remount the wheel properly on your vehicle.... From now on Lenore, this would be the way to go if future tire problems should arise....

To get back to your original question Lenore, you got ripped off and I think you already know that. Although I don't like replacing just one tire due to an unexpected problem, I've done it on several occasions going back to the 1970s. I've done it on RWD vehicles, part-time 4x4 vehicles, and AWD vehicles. It has never created a problem for the vehicle, and I've never had a tire seller refuse to honor their warranty as a result of just one tire suffering unrepairable damage whether from a screw, a nail, a pothole, or in one case my wife running into the curb and exploding her right front tire (I'll never forget that little incident with her quirky but fun little 1982 Fiat Spider convertible with its soft Pirelli tires back in the days when we had far too many toy cars in our driveway). But we all know the inferiority of the early RX AWD transmissions, and it is impossible to predict whether one new tire on your vehicle could have caused potential problems with your already-rebuilt transmission assembly. Still another reason why I'm very glad that my wife's previous 2000 RX300 AWD is long-gone from our garage.... I really despise being forced to replace tires until all four need to go, and I think that Costco hosed you down in this case. I would have stood my ground and escalated the situation to the next level of management. If management continued to refuse to honor their warranty on your one damaged tire, I certainly would not have purchased my next set of tires from them. In any case I hope your new tires serve you well although I find the Cross Terrains to be way overpriced although I'm sure their overall performance is fine. I was a Michelin guy in the 70s and 80s and into the early 90s, but not anymore. Their products often carry inferior warranties (or no warranties) compared to other manufacturers that build as good or better tires at far better prices....

As you already know, there's not much foam to collapse! While the heating element in the seats may cause a bit of degradation over time, I don't believe that it would be nearly as much a contributing factor as simply the weight of the seat occupant. You may want to seek out a good automotive upholstery shop in your area and inquire about having additional or replacement padding installed into your RX seats. When I converted my 1999 Dodge Ram pickup from cloth to leather seats back in 2001, I had the shop add additional padding in both seats along with the conversion to leather. It made a world of difference to me by adding more support for my back, butt, and thighs. The conversion has really held up well over the years. I can hop into my truck today, drive for 6 hours straight, and still feel refreshed upon arriving at my destination. Of course, I have major headroom and legroom in my truck cab compared to any RX cabin, and my truck seat frames are much larger, longer, and sturdier than any RX as well....

Sorry, but no "movement" like this will take place in our lifetimes. Our philosophy is almost unheard of because the vast majority of consumers in the U.S. want it all and want it all right now, regardless of how long they have to pay to get it. I just shake my head when I hear stories about well-paid people running up a $30,000 credit card balance (or two or three of them) and thinking they have it made because they've purchased everything from gas guzzlers to groceries on their plastic or through their home equity accounts and are content with paying it off with the minimum required each month. What they never stop to think about is that they'll be in deep, deep debt for crap they purchased, used, and threw away years ago for the rest of their lives unless they radically change their financial behavior...

No, it's a common complaint that shows up on this forum from time to time. I'm 6-foot-7 and about 245 pounds so on the rare occasions that I have to drive my wife's RX, I'm good for about an hour before I start cussing the vehicle and have to unfold myself out of it before I cramp up. I have absolutely no headroom or legroom and have to fold my knees underneath the steering wheel to get in the thing. My wife is normal-sized and spends a lot of time in her RX. She drives from North Carolina to Florida and back multiple times each year to visit her parents, and that's a 12-hour drive with occasional stops for gas and food. Although she manages, she acknowledges that the seats are not very comfortable for her and could use more padding and bolster support. When she had her Jeep Grand Cherokees prior to her RXs, this trip was always much more comfortable for her. I believe that the seats are too small and too thin with minimal support for long-distance driving, especially for taller folks. You may want to look into acquiring seat cushions and backs that are made for driving long distances and can be attached directly on top of the existing seat with straps, velcro, etc. Good luck - I feel your pain, literally....

My wife and I are both 54, we have no debt at all (and haven't had any debt since I paid off our mortgage when we were both 36), our eventual retirement is fully funded, and my long-time rule is that whatever you want in this household you must pay for in cash - no interest payments of any kind allowed.... My wife maintains her career in social services because she enjoys helping children in poverty who otherwise would not have an advocate to attempt to help them improve their lot in life.... My corporate career was primarily as a project manager in telecom IS, but since the 2002 telecom collapse I learned to play the options market on most days the markets are open so I love market volatility, and now is a very volatile time as most of you uncomfortably know. I may turn a $5,000 initial play into $60,000 over the course of three days to a maximum of three weeks playing a carefully-selected option, but keep in mind that I can also lose that $5,000 and plenty more during that same play if it doesn't unfold the way my well-researched data and constantly-updated market indicators tell me it will. There have been times that when a play turned sour and I didn't get out by accepting a $2,000 loss within 3 or 4 minutes of my charts telling me to do so, the market has crushed me like a grape and reached into my wallet for more than $8,000 in less than one hour because I was too bullheaded to admit that I was wrong and still believed that I could earn my money back by staying in the play. Do this a few times and you learn very quickly that the market is always right regardless of how good you think you are with your research. It's very humbling and you must learn from your mistakes or you will go broke in a hurry. So playing the options market can be a high-reward venture that will occasionally turn into a high-loss consequence as well. And I pay some big-time taxes as a result of any major gains that I put together.... But I'm extremely conservative from a financial standpoint and always have been - that personal trait over a 30-year span is what put us where we are today. You build wealth one brick at a time, just like you would build a wall. And you do it consistently by paying your investment portfolio (which must be kept entirely separate from your options trading funds and never compromised) regularly before you splurge on material things for yourself - no exceptions. It took me years to convince my wife to buy into my philosophy, but gradually she learned that it would pay off big-time for us, and it did. I'm still as tight with our disposable funds as I was when we were 30. I drive a 1999 Dodge Ram pickup that I love. She drives her 2004 RX330 that she bought used at about 30,000 miles. I believe in allowing the first owner of any vehicle we buy to take the biggest depreciation hit, not me. We don't waste our money on crap we don't need, but we don't have any financial worries as a result. Yes, we still must deal with inflation just like everyone else out there, but no mortgage company or financial institution will ever be able to take our house or any of our other property because whatever we want or need is purchased with cash whether it costs $5,000 or $50,000.... In a nutshell, income level doesn't matter nearly as much as developing a financial philosophy and sticking to it through the tough times as well as the good times....

Any engine with worn piston rings will consume oil. How much oil is consumed depends entirely upon how worn the rings are. Some moderately-worn engines get by with adding a quart of oil between typical oil changes, while some severely-worn engines may require having a quart of oil added every couple of weeks. So be aware that if you're looking at purchasing a vehicle that is known to consume abnormal quantities of oil, you may be looking at an expensive piston ring job in the near future....

nc211, Yes, my wife has been hinting around at the Grove Park Inn ads she's been seeing on television lately. I've stayed there for business meetings years ago, she's never been and wants to go get pampered with one of their spa packages. I've already said no - I'm not wasting the gas and time to drive to Asheville for something as trivial as that in these days of economic recession. Besides, I'm too busy playing well-researched option puts and making good money in a matter of days as the market continues to tank.... Enjoyed your point about Cheney visiting OPEC - that truly is a laugher. If Elliot Spitzer has to go to prison for moving money around in order to boink a high-class hooker (with North Carolina ties, no less), then the Bush/Cheney combo package more than deserves to be locked up for hosing this country through their oil escapades. I won't take the time here to go into all the other reasons why these guys deserve immediate incarceration. Perhaps you saw Nightly Business Report last night on PBS where Susie Gharib managed to score a lengthy one-on-one interview with Bush in the White House yesterday and proceeded to grill him like a center-cut pork chop. Bush never knew what hit him, had no clue what she was referring to most of the time, and probably doesn't even know who Susie Gharib is. His Alfred E. Newman facial expressions and ticks throughout the grilling process are absolutely priceless. With her reputation of taking no prisoners in her corporate CEO interviews over the years I was extremely surprised that the White House executive staff allowed Bush to take the bait. It was hilarious and really made my night - perhaps the interview is still posted at the NBR website. You should really check it out if you need a good belly laugh today....

I'll eventually remove it on my wife's vehicle. I've already cut a 3" by 3" hole in it directly under the transmission drain plug in order to make transmission fluid drain-and-fills every 30,000 miles much easier and faster to perform.... The underbody cover is a hard, brittle plastic material - not metal. Once ours starts breaking down, it's gone. And if I have to remove it for miscellaneous service requirements before it breaks down, it's not going back on the vehicle.... Some service techs will tell you that it helps to reduce wind noise. That may be true, but its level of protection from heavy flying debris underneath the vehicle would be rather minimal simply because it is rather thin and quite brittle.... I don't think you'll notice any difference in noise or performance if you decide to remove it and trash it....

I'm 6'7" and there's no way I can drive my wife's 2004 RX330 for more than an hour at a time without cramping up. Not only do I have to constantly duck away from the moonroof and headliner, but I'm also stuck with my knees up in the steering wheel even with the drivers seat as far back as I can get it. In the event of a serious accident I know they would have to cut me out of her vehicle like a sardine can regardless of whether or not I survived.... The only solution is a larger vehicle with a larger interior. I've always been quite comfortable in the Grand Cherokees that we've had in our family over the years and would prefer her to go back to one. Our three previous Grand Cherokees were all better vehicles than the two RX vehicles she's had since 2003. My primary vehicle is a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9-litre V8 pickup and I love it. A big cabin with all the headroom, legroom, and power that I need.... Don't buy anything that you're not completely comfortable in during a full day's driving - you'll live to regret it and begin to dread driving the vehicle for anything more than a few minutes at a time....

As previously suggested, spend some time today preparing a written, step-by-step timeline explaining when you gave the car away, to whom, and bring the violations you've been receiving in the mail with you. Oh, and wear a suit with a tie. Professional presentation usually counts for more than you think. Rehearse your presentation, call the judge "Your Honor", and stay polite and professional in your speech and mannerisms. Lesson learned here - next time you dispose of a vehicle, CREATE A RECEIPT of the transaction that clearly shows the date, the vehicle involved including the VIN number, the odometer mileage, the address and phone of the disposer (you), the address and phone of the recipient, and have both parties sign the document. Doing this in front of a notary public is even better. You can create the receipt document yourself on your computer with something as simple as Word. You keep the original document, and give a copy to the recipient of the vehicle. I do this whenever I sell one of our vehicles to someone else. Whenever I give a vehicle away to charity, I require them to provide me with a receipt showing all of the information I've mentioned above. Too often people believe that title transfers will be handled legally and properly, but you've learned a hard lesson that this is not always the case. If you had created a receipt signed by both parties when you gave your car away, that is all you would need to provide in court tomorrow. Good luck to you and let us know how it turns out. Be sure to prepare today and your results tomorrow will turn out much better for you....

If you have 16-inch or 17-inch rims, I believe that the all-around best bang for the buck is the Firestone Destination LE tire ordered from tirerack.com. Had a set on my wife's previous 2000 RX300 and have a set now on my daughter's 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Long-lasting, good-riding, straight-tracking tires that offer superb grip in wet weather as well as snow. They are so close to the Bridgestone Alenza in design, materials, and performance yet are far less costly. Go to tirerack.com, learn about them, and compare other tires there while you're on the website....

JIBBBY, You're woefully inconsistent and don't seem to be able to grasp the fact that bin Laden and Hussein were never in cahoots with each other. 9/11 and Iraq were two separate issues that Bush, in all his incompetence, attempted to comingle and sell to Joe and Sally Housecoat in order to justify his own misguided agenda.... I see your Los Angeles tagline and have to wonder if perhaps you're smokin' something over there on the Left Coast.... So which one are you really - Cheech or Chong ??