RX in NC

My wife drives a 2000 RX300 AWD. It's the most problematic vehicle I've ever had in more than 35 years of vehicle ownership, starting with the infamous transmission problems. We'll never have another RX, I promise. I firmly believe that your risk factor will diminish considerably with a well-cared-for FWD version if you're dead-set on buying an RX. If you do decide to purchase your friend's vehicle, I recommend that you begin a maintenance contingency fund immediately upon bringing the thing home. Good luck either way.

My initial guess would be your wheel bearings but it could be a number of things. Have you upsized your tires lately?

No, that's not normal. Power steering fluid typically remains cleaner than just about any other fluid under the hood. You were obviously the intended victim of "systemic wallet extraction". Watch out for your dealer insisting that they need to change the air in your tires next....

monarch, A number of RX300 AWD owners who change their fluids regularly, including their Type T-IV transmission fluid, continue to suffer from premature transmission failure. There is simply no denying this fact. You and VGR can drone on and on about routine maintenance neglect until you're blue in the face, but quite a few of us who DO take meticulous care of our vehicles and keep the fluids fresh have still been forced to deal with dying transmissions at relatively low mileages (in our particular case it was at about 48,000 miles). I'm not sure why you continue to categorize every Toyota/Lexus component failure as "neglected maintenance". Perhaps it's a classic case of rose-colored glasses or maybe you just don't read very thoroughly. Either way, you're still dead wrong.

SW03ES, I've noticed that you've become more open-minded concerning the RX300 AWD transmission issues during 2005, and I'm glad to see that you've taken the time to do the research on your own and admit that your conclusion also points to a problem. I believe that most folks who spend enough time studying the early failure history will eventually reach a similar conclusion. Now if Lexus Corporate would follow the same course, they may salvage quite a few owners like myself who've sworn that once we kick these RX models out of our garages we're done with the brand. But it may be a bit too late for many of us. In the meantime, you and I have had our come-to-blows differences in the past but we've apparently worked through them. So I'll raise a glass to you right now with my beverage of choice (which this morning happens to be orange juice)....

The light bulb and the airplane introduced electric light and heavier-than-air flight to mankind. You're just talking about !Removed! around with a production vehicle looking for a moderate increase in fuel economy. That ain't gonna revolutionize the automotive world, my friend. If that $50,000 is really burning a hole in your pocket, what you should do is take that money and put it towards the development of the first generation of hydrogen-powered automobiles. Hydrogen is the auto's future and this nation's exit strategy from the dependence on foreign oil. Find a way to get it to market within the next three years instead of what will more likely be ten to fifteen years. Do that, and then I'll put you right up there with Edison and the Wright brothers and maybe even Les Paul....

One final time - you don't have to "cheat". You can ask any question you want in the RX300/330 forum. But your biggest problem now is that nobody who's been following this thread will feel like responding to you because you continue to talk (type) in circles and I believe that you're just trying to yank people's chains now. I'm done with this thread. I imagine that most everybody else on here is as well.

wwest. I respect your engineering knowledge as it pertains to our mutual transmission problems in our respective RX300s, but in this particular case (and given my background in investing and financial management) there's an old southern expression that fits you like a glove, namely: "That ol' boy's got a lot more money than sense...."

Your LS is a much, much better vehicle than any RX. Keep it or you'll regret it.

A couple of us have tried to explain to this guy the valid and logical reasoning behind the hybrid forum but we have yet to break through his defense shields. Anybody else out there want to take a crack at it? Set your phasers on "heavy stun".... rocky2, If you'll take the time to read some of my RX forum posts you'll see that I'm about as far from "elitist" as you can get. The 2000 RX300 that we own is my wife's daily vehicle and I hate it more than any other vehicle I've owned in 35 years of driving. My long-term goal for that vehicle is that after she's done with it, I get to set it on fire and push it over an 800-foot cliff that I've already selected in the Blue Ridge Mountains....

Never, never, NEVER purchase tires from ANY automotive dealership - period. You will be reamed out your rear end and your wallet will be emptied. Go to a tire store or deal with an on-line tire specialist like tirerack.com. But before you buy, spend some time researching tires. There are a number of us on this forum who will be glad to help you with tire decisions. We can save you a lot of money and you'll have far better tires than what your dealership will sell you to boot. I hope you didn't agree to purchase new tires from that dealership. Pick up the phone and cancel that deal as soon as you can - you're going to get reamed royally if you don't....

Nothing or nobody says that you can't post a question about your 400h in the 300/330 forum. I'm sure the 300/330 owners will assist you if we can. But it still makes perfect sense to have a separate hybrid forum. The results of the poll that was conducted on this site a month or so ago overwhelmingly confirmed that.

You'll find the "Hybrid Forum" several links down from where you normally click into this RX forum. So no one's been booted outta here. I think the forum separation is a great idea since the hybrids are such different animals. It will keep conventional owners and hybrid owners from wasting so much time looking for the information they need on this board.

VGR, Not all "genuine Lexus/Toyota parts" are created equal. For instance, the factory timing belt installed in my wife's 2000 RX300 AWD is admittedly of world-class quality and is designed to last far longer than the recommended change interval of 90,000 miles. But the factory AC/alternator belt and power steering belt are simply average and easily exceeded in quality by other manufacturers of replacement belts out there in the marketplace, some of them American-made. A second example would be the original Bridgestone Dueler tires that the factory installed on most RX300s rolling off the assembly line. Only a moron who didn't learn from driving on those tires would buy them again as replacements. Consider the poorly-designed rear main oil seals that are now failing routinely in a high number of 1999, 2000, and 2001 RX300s. Don't even get me started on the RX300 AWD transmission. You always preach that every component Lexus uses to build its vehicles is world-class, nothing-could-possibly-be-better-so-I-won't-even-investigate status. That can often become a dangerous, and very wrong, assumption to make. Better components are frequently out there. Owners must learn from their problems and search for better solutions accordingly.

If indeed it does have a 4-cylinder under the hood, then it also better come equipped with some bicycle pedals and a chain drive to the rear wheels so he can get up the hills. The RX300/330 is underpowered to start with, but if you were to throw in a 4-banger instead of a 6, even skateboarders would pass you....

Epoxy is a wonderful thing. A good quality epoxy, carefully and properly mixed for the job and applied with patience and skill using a long needle for an applicator can do wonders on broken plastic parts. Just take your time and get it right. Once the pieces are lined up and pressed together, use rubber bands that are slightly smaller than the circumference of the key body to hold everything in place until the epoxy dries. I always keep a couple of different kinds of epoxy in my tool cabinet for situations such as this one. It has kept me from having to spend hundreds of dollars on small replacement parts that literally should cost no more than a couple of bucks but are always ridiculously priced just because the company can get away with it. Try a three dollar epoxy kit before you decide to spend a bunch of money on plastic key casings. Don't get the kind that sets in less than five minutes - you want to be able to work with the batch you mix up for at least fifteen or twenty minutes to ensure that you have enough time to get it right....

Yep, they're probably the same part. But you're correct, Toyota does not make it easy to cross-reference parts between Toyota and Lexus. I agree with Bowtie - go to a Toyota service department for this job or find yourself a well-respected, quality independent garage that specializes in Japanese makes.

The RX300 timing belt is very thick, wide, and well-made when compared to the timing belts used in many other similar vehicles. Although the recommended change interval is indeed published as 90,000 miles, my local Lexus service manager has admitted to me that they have never seen one fail before 120,000 miles. The owner of a high-end repair shop that specializes in Lexus and Infiniti told me last autumn that he routinely expects these particular timing belts to last 150,000 miles before he advises his clients to think about changing them. Whatever you decide to do, you'll get a far better deal and the same exact parts if you choose a Toyota service department to do your work. There is no need to pay a premium to Lexus unless you enjoy significantly overpaying for service.

The thin Lexus sheet metal really is a shame given what these vehicles cost. My Ram's sheet metal has absolutely no dings, but any firm tap on my wife's RX300 is likely to create a ding. I've told her to always hide that vehicle in the far end of the parking lot wherever she goes. Lexus gets a big black mark and a swift kick to the the quarter panel on this subject.

Lexusfreak, I hear you loud and clear about your bias against Chrysler, but they have made greater strides over the past decade in quality improvement and vehicle diversity than GM and Ford combined. I used to laugh at Chrysler with their cheap K-cars and stodgy image, but our Grand Cherokees and my Ram have all been solid, fast, bulletproof, easy-and-inexpensive-to-maintain vehicles. There's not a new truck out there that I would trade my 1999 Ram 1500 5.9-litre V-8 Laramie for. It is a fast, comfortable, well-built workhorse that just keeps barrelling along. Take a good hard look at the Pacifica - it is a wonderful vehicle for the money. My wife now wishes she had either a Pacifica or a Grand Cherokee instead of her haunted RX300. And remember - her vehicle has caused me to feel the same way about Lexus as you do about Chrysler. But even some "hated" manufacturers make a few great models. The Pacifica is one of them. I'd bet that you can find a low-mileage, loaded 2004 Pacifica for less money than a 2002 higher-mileage Highlander. The Pacifica is roomier and I believe it is also smoother and quieter. Reconsider your bias and at least go drive one. If you still can't shake your bias, then at least you've made an informed decision. And finally, stay far, far away from any AWD Highlander....

jbarhorst2, I'm not sure what you mean by the "center differential", but the "front differential" (which is located just behind the transmission pan) not only uses Type T-IV transmission fluid, it also obtains its fluid from the main supply inside the transmission pan. Whenever you drain-and-fill your transmission pan, you should also drain the "front differential". Both are then filled with fresh fluid through the transmission dipstick tube. The drain plug on the "front differential" is identical to the drain plug on the transmission pan except the "front differential" drain plug has a magnet on its inside tip in order to catch and hold any metallic particles that may shed and be suspended in the fluid during the course of operation. Be sure to clean this magnet thoroughly with a rag before !Removed! the drain plug back into its housing. Both the transmission pan drain plug and the "front differential" drain plug are removed and replaced using a 10 mm hex wrench (also called an Allen wrench). I researched this topic very thoroughly last autumn and I know that this information is accurate for the RX300 series. I change my own fluids and can confirm that everything I've stated above is 100% correct. I'm not sure about how many differences may be involved with the RX330 series, however.

Paintless dent repair is phenomenal and very affordable when done by a trained, experienced craftsman. You may want to look into having your ding restored in this manner, and if paint touch-up is required (it sounds like it will be), you can do that once your metal surface contours are restored to their original shape. Let us know how it turns out.

Thanks for the real-time check. Looks like going in from underneath will be the best way to change this pesky power steering belt. As you pointed out, long-handled box wrenches will apparently be the tool of choice - there's just not enough room down there for our socket wrenches to operate. I'm going to change this belt later this summer. The original one is still in fairly good shape and remains quiet. The power steering belt is just a two-pulley belt as opposed to the AC/alternator belt which is a three-pulley belt and has to work harder as a result. Our original AC/alternator belt was in far worse shape and ticking quite annoyingly, so I changed it last weekend as mentioned previously on another belt thread. If anyone decides to change their power steering belt during the course of the next few weeks, please post a full report here and let us know the tips and tricks you discovered to make this unpleasant job a bit easier next time. Thanks again to wwest and lsrxlex for your input on this thread. I've consolidated a full page of hand-written notes from it, and I'll work from these notes when I decide to go after the power steering belt later this summer.

wwest, I tend to agree with your theories about why the RX300 AWD transmissions fail prematurely even when meticulously maintained by the owner. VGR can't seem to comprehend that the owners manual and the dealership service departments are on opposite and conflicting sides of the spectrum regarding what constitutes proper transmission maintenance for this particular vehicle. Whether that is for valid design flaw reasons (which gets my vote) or customer rip-off reasons (generating greater revenue with what your owners manual says is an unnecessary service) is inconsequential.

Thanks for the offer to post or mail the pictures, but I think I have a good idea of the task ahead of me without them. If you can find any information in your shop manual pertaining to what mm-sized socket is welded onto the tip of this Special Service Tool, that's really the only missing link that I need now.