RX in NC

Yep, around here the tire shops do far better jobs at much better prices than the dealerships do. I frequently see coupons from the tire shops in the local newspaper or receive them in the mail as part of advertising inserts. I stash these coupons in my "Vehicle Maintenance Coupons" folder in my desk drawer and save them until needed. We just did a thrust alignment on my daughter's 2000 Grand Cherokee last weekend. A typical non-discounted alignment cost for that vehicle is $60 to $70. Using a coupon I provided, she paid about $42 and the vehicle now tracks like it was new again. Check your newspapers and junk mail for coupons such as these and you can save yourself a nice chunk of change on routine services that we all need from time to time but we just can't do ourselves. The key is to start a folder where you keep all of these offers together so you can easily find them when you need them.

My experiences in moving from V-rated tires to H-rated tires (Michelin V-rated to Dunlop H-rated) have always proven that the H-rated tire delivers longer mileage lifespan, sometimes by as much as 15,000 to 18,000 miles (depending on the tire and the vehicle) assuming that the driver and driving habits remain the same. As SW03ES pointed out, the ride is typically slightly harder, but in my opinion the extended mileage obtained by going to H-rated tires is worth it as long as the all-important rain-handling characteristics remain essentially the same.

Please keep us posted on your findings and how you decide to proceed with repairs. This could turn out to be valuable information for many folks who may suffer from similar circumstances in the near or distant future. Although I'd really like to see a recall or a class-action against Lexus for the inherent weaknesses in the AWD RX300 transmission, I don't believe that the likelihood for either one is very high at this point in time. Lexus continues to do an effective job keeping this ugly little problem behind closed doors.

Any light snowfalls taking place in Tahoe yet? Tahoe is my favorite California location.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I can't pre-install this application on backerboard and then just pop it up. There are multiple electrical outlets and light switches on the backsplash wall to contend with. I'm thinking about doing some re-wiring to move the electrical outlets (but not the two light switches) to the bottom of the overhead cabinets and therefore get them off the wall and underneath the cabinets where they won't be seen and will be out of the way of the tile pattern. I've seen some very modern-looking slim and flat electrical outlet boxes at Lowe's or Home Depot that could work perfectly for this idea. My son-in-law is an electrician and he's coming over tomorrow with some tools and hardware. We may wind up doing a real number on that wall. If we can get the electrics moved and taken care of, I'll then have five former wall outlet holes to patch with drywall and then I can get started on the tile. I still hate HGTV, and I have a feeling that hatred will be more intense after tomorrow....

Due to his inescapable OEM tunnel vision, monarch apparently doesn't realize that not every owner is fortunate enough to receive the original owners manual when they purchase a used vehicle from a third party. Although it certainly ought to transfer with the vehicle, for various reasons it often doesn't. Next time you buy a used vehicle, insist on receiving the appropriate owners manual as part of the deal. For the time being, you may be able to find one cheaply on eBay.

I've never had Pirellis on a Japanese vehicle but ran a set of them on my Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio some years back. They're great track and performance handling tires because most Pirellis are softer composition than the majority of the other name brands on the market. But you sacrifice long mileage big-time. I'm obsessed with tire care and getting maximum tire lifespan on all of my vehicles and the best I ever got out of a set of Pirellis was about 25,000 miles and they were almost like racing slicks at that point. I doubt if there is a Pirelli tire out there that will even come close to 50,000 miles. Granted, I drove that Alfa hard and fast because that's why I bought it, but I firmly believe that a good set of Dunlops or Michelins would have lasted far longer than the Pirellis did.

This is important information to have. When replacing your iridium plugs, be sure to obtain the ultra long-life OEM version. Thanks for the details - good stuff.

Be aware that if you're currently running your original iridium plugs, it is unlikely that you need to change them now and if you do, you may see no improvement in performance or gas mileage whatsoever. These iridium plugs are very capable of going 100,000 to 120,000 miles in the RX300. If I were you I would pull them (at least the front three plugs which you can easily reach by removing the dust cover) and inspect them before you arbitrarily replace them simply because you've reached 60,000 miles on the vehicle. My wife's RX300 is approaching 97,000 miles and still runs the original Denso iridium plugs because they are clean and in great shape. I pull one at random every 20,000 miles or so and take a close look at it. There has been no reason to refresh the plugs on her vehicle thus far, so I'd be foolish to waste the money doing so. I won't be surprised if these plugs do indeed go 120,000 miles, and at that point I'll change them.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll stick with my 30,000-mile drain-and-fill schedule. That's what has been recommended to me and if our current transmission fails under that schedule, then I'll simply require that Lexus install another one for us. By the way, our T-IV fluid has remained clean, red, and normal-smelling with the 30,000-mile change interval. I hope that our current second transmission will be our final one in this vehicle.

Glad to learn that you perceive an improvement in your shift hesitation issue. It will be interesting to see if this continues for you. Keep us posted. If we were going to keep my wife's 2000 RX300 for another five years or so, I would consider adding an external filter as SKPerformance suggests. But we'll probably keep it another year or two and then it's gone as soon as the depreciation hit becomes acceptable. Also, I don't want to do anything to the vehicle that would make it difficult to require Lexus to replace our transmission again if it happens to fail as the original one did. Unfortunately, installing an obviously non-Lexus external transmission filter would provide them with the perfect opportunity to turn me down. So I'll just keep doing drain-and-fills with T-IV fluid every 30,000 miles as our local service manager suggested to me a couple of years ago. As long as I can document that I'm following her advice, I know that another new transmission in this vehicle is only one slippage failure away.

I've used both NGK and Denso plugs in several Japanese vehicles over the past three decades. Both are top-quality and as long as you stick with the required iridium application in the RX series, you'll be fine. Do NOT downgrade to a platinum plug - stay with iridium.

Sorry monarch, but your feeble suggestion of checking the Lexus website or talking to a Lexus dealer does not get Lexus off the hook in terms of attempting to change what is clearly printed in black and white in the RX300 owners manual. Very few owners go to lexus.com and many owners choose to have their vehicles serviced by independent garages, some even during the warranty period, and therefore don't go to Lexus service departments. If Lexus was serious about revising the transmission maintenance requirements for the RX300 to drain-and-fills every 15,000 miles or complete fluid replacement every 30,000 miles as you state, then they would notify every registered owner by mail as well as announce the revised program through the news media. The RX300 owners manual clearly states that under normal conditions (meaning no racing, no dusty dirt roads, no towing, and no wanton abuse by trying to take this delicate flower off-road like a 4x4), the factory-filled Type T-IV fluid is good for the life of the vehicle. That simply isn't true, and every owner should have been notified by a letter containing a revised transmission fluid maintenance schedule years ago. But Lexus will not do this because it will confirm what many of us already know about the RX300 all-wheel-drive transmission. Lexus has thus far been successful in sweeping this issue under the rug and dealing with individual transmission failures privately under the radar. It's far cheaper for them with limited negative publicity that way, but many uninformed RX300 owners who suffer premature transmission failures and aren't aware of the information that can be obtained through forums such as this one get hosed in the meantime. If Lexus had stepped up to the plate originally, I might have been willing to try them again with a "new and improved" SUV down the road. But not now. Once this RX300 runs its course, the Lexus marque will be banished from our garage.

All manufacturers expect potential problems when new models are developed, tested, and sold. No laboratory or test track can substitute for what really happens when hundreds of thousands of units are built and sold to the real world where they are exposed to a myriad of driving habits, road conditions, and maintenance habits. Within a couple of years, enough data becomes available to determine which components are going to be more prone to failure. Manufacturers earn respect and loyal customers by stepping up to the plate to acknowledge and fix the issues that arise in their new models, usually in the form of recalls. They develop a standard fix, train their dealership service departments quickly, announce the recall, and then fastidiously notify their customers. It is then up to the customer to make the arrangements to get the fix accomplished. Recalls are a part of automotive life; they are nothing to be ashamed of. They reflect honesty and the desire to "make it right" for their customers by the automotive industry. I believe that a major contributing factor to the RX300 AWD transmission failure saga stems from the fact that Toyota essentially built this vehicle off a Camry platform. An SUV is always heavier and more stressed during operation than its car cousin sharing the same platform. I don't think that Toyota took the engineering requirements far enough in the design of the RX from the Camry. Its engine, transmission, and in fact its entire power train were not bulked up sufficiently to raise it to a true SUV level from that of just a stretched Camry. Some car-to-SUV platform conversions in the industry have been seamless. This one wasn't. And many of us RX300 AWD owners have suffered as a result. None of us are sucking on lemons or work for another car company. We are simply driving flawed vehicles and we want them fixed just as you would, bluestu, if you were in our situation. I battled Lexus and earned a new transmission under warranty for my troubles. Our vehicle has always been babied, I'm doing drain-and-fills every 30,000 miles, and thus far the replacement transmission has outlasted the original one although we've never been pleased with this vehicle's hard shift tendencies. But many other RX300 owners with similar problems have been told by Lexus to essentially go screw themselves. And that's the issue here whether you agree with it or not.

In my opinion, it's better to delay premature transmission failure than it is to just accept it by never changing your fluid. If changing your fluid every 30,000 miles causes you to get 120,000 miles out of your factory transmission rather than your transmission blowing up at 60,000 miles because it's still running around with the factory fill, that's a damn good trade-off in anyone's book. And as simple as this job is, ANYONE can do it themself as long as they have a 10 millimeter hex wrench, some clean rags, and a catch basin. Some folks swear by flushing, but bear in mind that flushing always introduces greater risk because you can dredge up particles and shavings and pull them back through the entire system where they can lodge once again after they've already settled around the drain plug magnet, ready for easy removal when you unscrew the two plugs to drain the transaxle. But whether you decide to drain-and-fill or flush, you're better off than you would be if you never did either one. RX300 AWD transmissions are weak and susceptible to failure, and periodic fresh fluid is required to give you a fighting chance to get decent mileage out of your transmission before it dies. But the real moral of the story is this - once bitten, twice shy. During future SUV purchase considerations, stay the hell away from RX300 all-wheel-drive vehicles. Don't repeat your mistake, learn from it instead.

I trust this dealership's service manager. She has bent over backwards with the Lexus goodwill warranty program to rectify every single well-known problem that has come up on our vehicle since the factory warranty expired at 50,000 miles. This includes a couple of oxygen sensor replacements, the rear main oil seal replacement, the front strut mount rubber bushings replacement, and a handful of other relatively minor issues. I've still never paid a penny for any services there, and it's because of my relationship with her. I won't deal with any other personnel there except for the general manager. She knows me well enough to realize that if she were to lie to me about a gelling problem or anything else concerning my wife's vehicle, I'd have the dealership's general manager in court within 30 days. This service manager is the most customer-oriented dealership employee I've ever met. She knows I'm extremely informed before I ever contact her concerning an issue, but she's still one in a million. I'll regret losing her when we decide to dump my wife's RX300, but as you know, we won't have another Lexus SUV in our stable after the RX finally gets pushed off a cliff.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of vehicles, regardless of manufacturer, will have much weaker airflow delivery to the back seat passengers than they will to the driver and front-seat passenger. Once the air is conditioned, it must travel much further through relatively inefficient ductwork to get to the back seat, so it will lose blower power as well as heating/cooling capability by the time it arrives to the back seat vents. Some vehicles with more powerful blowers do a better job of delivering more of the properly-conditioned air to the back seat vents than other vehicles do. Some vehicles have better-insulated ductwork to the back seat than other vehicles do. Unfortunately, the RX appears to have both a weak blower system and poorly-insulated ductwork. The net result is that by the time the conditioned air shows up in the back seat, it has lost much of its ability to do the job.

My wife dropped off her 2000 RX300 for the oil gelling inspection first thing this morning. Our service manager just called me with the results - no evidence of gelling was found and all visible engine components are clean and in good shape at approximately 97,000 miles on the vehicle. Lexus claims that my recent need to add about a half-quart of oil between oil-and-filter changes is "well within normal maintenance expectations". At this point I plan to simply monitor the oil consumption situation in an effort to determine if it stays the same or gradually gets worse. If the situation remains the same I can live with it. I also plan to stay with good old conventional Valvoline 5W-30. That oil has served me well over the decades in numerous vehicles and there is no compelling reason to change at this point.

ArnoldsLex, Sorry about your experiences. You've read enough threads on this site by now to understand that the RX300 transmission is quite weak and probably flawed, particularly the all-wheel-drive version. If you fix it and keep it, you must change the fluid at least every 30,000 miles and many here do so every 15,000 miles regardless of what your owners manual says. I continue to run Toyota Type T-IV fluid in ours because I intend to make Lexus put another transmission in place if ours fails again (the original transmission failed in November 2003 at about 48,000 miles). If you've read enough of my posts, you know by now that I despise this vehicle moreso than any other I've owned in 36 years of driving because of its numerous inherent problems and the only reason we've kept it is because our local Lexus service manager keeps fixing it through the Lexus goodwill program, knowing better than to attempt to charge me for known failures and I'm not yet willing to swallow the depreciation by getting rid of it. It's my wife's primary vehicle and is now approaching 97,000 miles. It's at Lexus this morning being inspected for the well-known engine gelling problem. A tendency towards slight oil consumption between oil changes has recently begun and I want to find out why before I decide what action to take. Pay no attention to "monarch". I believe he's on Toyota's payroll somehow but he stays silent on that subject. He continually spouts that everything on the vehicle should remain Toyota OEM without even bothering to consider better options. Those of us who have been here awhile have learned to take him with a grain of salt. Even one of the site moderators has made comments to him about being duped by Toyota into believing that every component Toyota makes is automatically better than anything else out there on the market. His credibility is shot on this site so don't let him get to you. Your best bet is to just ignore him. Keep us posted on how you decide to resolve your transmission issue. Good luck with it, and keep in mind that you're not alone.

lenore, Our vehicle also shows a slight oil build-up under the fill cap. It has always been there and has never concerned me before. I guess we'll find out after the inspection whether there is any cause for concern. Under normal circumstances, having to add less than a half-quart of oil between oil changes on a vehicle approaching 100,000 miles would not concern me. But I've never had to do so with any of the Japanese vehicles we've owned, all running conventional Valvoline motor oil with one vehicle going over 280,000 miles before I sold it (a 1974 Datsun 260Z that I still miss very much). And the fact that this situation seemed to arise rather quickly also justifies taking the time to have it investigated by Lexus, especially with the known gelling problem. I'll let you know what the inspection turns up.

My wife's 2000 RX300 is currently showing about 96,500 miles on the odometer. I check the fluid levels weekly, and last weekend I had to top up the oil level by adding just under half a quart. This really surprised me because I've never had to add oil to this vehicle between oil changes before. There are no visible oil leaks underneath the chassis or on my garage floor - I've checked that out thoroughly. I e-mailed the service manager of our local Lexus dealership explaining the situation. She replied that they consider having to add up to quart of oil between 5,000-mile to 7,500-mile service intervals as "normal". I've owned American vehicles that needed up to a quart of oil added between oil changes before, but they gradually developed this requirement over extended periods of time, not all of a sudden like this RX appears to have done. So I expressed my concern to our service manager that perhaps this symptom could indicate the beginning of the dreaded oil gelling problem that is well-known in these 3-litre Toyota engines, but usually because of neglected maintenance. She is well aware that our vehicles are all meticulously maintained, so she agreed to pull the valve covers and have a look at no charge to us. Our RX300 goes in for this inspection next Monday morning and my wife gets a loaner vehicle for the day. I don't recall seeing previous postings on this forum about this particular subject. Are any of you RX300 owners out there having to add oil between oil changes? If so, how much oil are you having to add and at what mileage reading did this need begin to occur? I'll post the results of our oil gelling inspection next week after I receive the details. By the way, I've always run Valvoline 5W-30 conventional motor oil in this vehicle.

Thanks for your reply. I've thought about a wet saw, but I believe there are some other options that might be better for this project's particular requirements. I once saw a professional tile guy using a small hand-held power tool that spun a cutting wheel at extremely high speeds. It apparently allowed him to make very precise and intricate cuts, and the sparks really flew when he cut tiles with it. But I don't know what the tool was called, what the cutting wheel was made of, or how much this little device costs and where you find one. If anyone here knows, please post. In the meantime I'll check with some local tile distributors.

My wife watches far too much HGTV and has decided that she wants a custom tile backsplash in the kitchen on the wall above the cooking surfaces. That wallspace is about 16 feet long and runs about 14 inches from the top of the existing granite countertop backsplash to the bottom flange of the row of overhead cabinets. I've laid plenty of tile and this wouldn't be a major problem except for two factors: 1. She has selected three different tile sizes that will form a custom pattern. 2. That wallspace has seven separate electrical outlets and light switches. What this means is that I know I'll have to make numerous extremely precise and intricate tile cuts, some of them U-shaped, in order to accommodate the outlets and switch boxes and cover plates and also at the point where the wallspace turns a 90-degree corner and heads for the dual kitchen sinks. You can't cut angles on tiles with even the best score-and-snap tile cutter. What I need from all of you do-it-yourself tilelayers out there are recommendations on the best tool for the job, considering the cost factor as well as the ability to make any small cut necessary (including 90-degree angles). The main tiles (middle row) will be 6 x 6 installed on the diagonal, the border tiles (top and bottom rows) will be 3 x 6 installed horizontally, and the occasional accent tiles will be just 1 x 1 (no way am I even attempting to cut any of these). With the precise cuts required and three different tile sizes involved, this project is going to be a bear. I'd appreciate any recommendations on what you believe will be the best cutting tool for this job. Almost surgical-like precision will be the key to achieving the professional look required. Damn that HGTV. If anyone has any spare weapons of mass destruction laying around the house, please launch them towards HGTV network headquarters. My life would be a whole lot easier if that channel was obliterated from the planet....

Your transmission will always remain sluggish first thing in the morning (or whenever the vehicle is initially cranked up for the first time each day). Until normal operating temperatures are reached (typically a couple of minutes or so), all RX300 models will shift sluggishly and harshly. That is a Toyota characteristic which I was not aware of until about a month after we purchased my wife's RX. Nothing you add to your transmission fluid will alleviate this problem. I think it would be a mistake to introduce a foreign substance into your transmission pan. Stay with Toyota Type T-IV transmission fluid until you no longer have an interest in pursuing a failed transmission with Lexus. At that point you may want to switch to a synthetic transmission fluid in an effort to possibly gain better lubrication and endurance, but I would not make that move until you are absolutely sure that you've reached the point where you don't expect Lexus to financially assist you with transmission failure should yours decide to roll over and die.

Your absolute best option for simple maintenance such as oil and filter changes is to learn to perform them yourself. You will always take better care of your vehicle than anyone else, and you will always ensure that the intended task is completed exactly as desired. And think of the money you'll save....