RX in NC

wwest, One last question on the power steering belt change instructions in your shop manual and I'll leave you alone for awhile. Does your shop manual indicate what mm-sized socket is welded onto the tip of the Special Service Tool needed to reach the adjustment bolt located underneath the power steering pump drive pulley? It's crucial to know the exact mm-size required before contorting myself down into the engine compartment to go after that bolt so I don't have to fumble around trying to guess the mm-size to use. Thanks for your patience on this topic. You've been very helpful.

My local dealer has been very cooperative in covering the numerous problems that my wife's 2000 RX300 AWD albatross has developed over the years. The vehicle is approaching 89,000 miles and I've never paid them a dime for any of the repairs they've had to do (transmission failure, rear main oil seal failure, exhaust manifold failure, front strut mount rubber bushing failure, mass air flow sensor failure, air/fuel ratio sensor failure, etc. etc. etc.). More than $9,000 worth of repair bills since September 2003, some during the warranty and some after the warranty expired. I research the problem thoroughly, back it up with plenty of documentation (sometimes originating here on this site), and then refuse to take no for an answer. This approach has always worked for me. My problem is with Lexus Corporate. They refuse to acknowledge or address the relatively common transmission failures in the RX300 AWD even when the owner backs them up against the wall with the evidence, as I did. The owners manual clearly states that "your Type T-IV transmission fluid should not be changed over the life of the vehicle under normal operating conditions" while most Lexus service departments around the U.S. continue to recommend changing the Type T-IV fluid every 15,000 miles in an effort to dance around the well-known transmission failure problems. It's well past time for Lexus Corporate to face the music on this particular issue. I don't fault the dealerships for that - the blame is squarely on the big boys....

Purchase your new belts from your local Toyota parts department, not Lexus. Toyota's prices are always better and the belts are exactly the same ones used by Lexus. Here are the part numbers you'll need: AC/alternator belt: 99366-21040-83 (should cost about $14). Power steering belt: 99364-20880-83 (should cost about $11). Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you. Tips and tricks for making tough tasks easier are always appreciated here on this forum.

Please keep us posted on Lexus corporate's response to your e-mail. Based upon your transmission experiences with your 2001 model, I am surprised and puzzled that you would consider purchasing another RX.

Yep, my biggest gripe by far with Lexus corporate is the inferior and flawed transmission in the RX300 AWD. For Lexus to claim in the owners manual that the Type T-IV fluid should never be changed during the life of the vehicle under normal operating conditions is pure lunacy and an invitation to disaster. I've learned my lesson and we'll never own another one as a result.

No warning lights will tell you when to change your belts. Most decent-quality belts (Toyota's OEM RX300 belts are decent, not superior) will last 4 to 5 years before they begin to chirp, squeal, or tick. The belt noise is an annoying indication that your belts are beginning to fail. Automotive belts stretch over time from usage and constant exposure to heat, cold, and wetness; they then begin to slip on their pulleys, and this begins to create the annoying ticks and squeals that get worse and worse as our belts get old and worn. Look carefully and closely at the inside portion of your belts (the side with the ribs and grooves on it). Do you see hairline cracks on the ribs? Press on the belt, make it flex, and look for those cracks as you're moving the belt back and forth. You may need to use a magnifying glass to get a better look at the hairline cracks and crevices that are definitely present in a five or six-year-old belt. If you have a 1999 RX300 with original belts, it's past time to change them regardless of your mileage. Your AC/alternator belt is somewhat challenging but very doable yourself if you have the right tools (a socket wrench with 12mm and 14mm sockets and a long, thin 12 mm box wrench to get into the tight spots where your socket wrench can't go). I changed this belt on my wife's 2000 RX300 last Saturday with the help of a friend and his long, thin 12 mm box wrench. But your power steering belt is a pain in the rear to get to and change. Be aware that your AC/alternator belt must be removed before you can remove and replace your power steering belt. Open your hood and look at the belt configuration on your vehicle and you'll see why - the power steering belt is located BEHIND the AC/alternator belt, almost to the point where there's no room to get to it. Good luck with your belts. If you decide to tackle this project, let us know how it turns out for you. Especially if you're successful in changing your power steering belt. I'm going to tackle this project eventually, but not until my friend is available again with his full set of specialty wrenches and extensions. We were both grumbling last Saturday about the inaccessability of the power steering belt on this vehicle and how much trouble we knew it was going to be to change it....

Better yet, do it yourself for less than twenty-five bucks....

Thanks for the clarification on "SST". Does your shop manual describe how to get to the power steering belt? Is it from the top (through the hood), from underneath the vehicle, or from removing the right front wheel and associated plastic skirting material and thereby gaining access through the now-exposed wheelwell?

I'm not familiar with the acronym "SST". What is it?

The belt set-up for the RX300 is right out of the 1960s except back then you had plenty of working room. There are no spring-loaded tensioners in this configuration. Pop your own hood and take a look - you'll see what I mean. I'd still appreciate the details on getting to and changing the power steering belt per your shop manual. I won't be surprised if it instructs you to remove the right front wheel, then all of the plastic wheelwell skirting, and gain access to the power steering belt in that manner.

wwest, Would you check your 2001 RX300 shop manual for the details on removing and replacing the power steering belt? I'd like to know if it is to be accessed from above (under the hood) or below (underneath the chassis), where exactly is the adjustment bolt (is there more than one), how do you get to it and what mm size it is, and any other tips or details your shop manual can provide for tackling this task. Our vehicle is a 2000 model but I'm assuming that few if any changes were made to the belt configurations between 2000 and 2001. I also assume that like our 2000 model, your vehicle has two belts (the AC/alternator belt and the power steering belt). If so, then the 2000 and 2001 models probably match up identically in this particular area. Any details you can provide would be much appreciated. Changing this belt is not going to be easy and I welcome all the information I can assemble before I decide to go after it.

Thanks for the tip on the new Grand Cherokees. Keep in mind that it would be my wife's primary vehicle, not mine. I would drive it occasionally and never for more than an hour or so at a time, so I could live with it. But I'll stick with my Ram as my primary vehicle for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for the suggestion on going to the library for the Chilton or Haynes Camry manual as it pertains to the power steering belt on this vehicle. That's a good idea. A friend of mine (he was a professional tool-and-die craftsman at GM for more than 20 years) and I tackled the AC/alternator belt change this morning. If not for a couple of specialty tool sets that he brought with him, I would not have been able to complete this job. He had a long, slender 12 mm box wrench that allowed us to get to the lower mounting bolt and adjuster bolt that my metric socket wrench set just couldn't reach because of the tight operating quarters around the alternator near the radiator. The top-mounted pivot bolt was the easiest part of the job and can be reached with your typical socket wrench. Once we loosened the 14 mm pivot bolt and then the 12 mm lower mounting bolt, slowly loosening the 12 mm adjuster bolt caused the alternator to begin to swing downwards and gradually release tension on the AC/alternator belt. We slowly unscrewed the adjuster bolt until the old belt could be slipped off of all three pulleys and removed from the engine compartment. Then it was just a matter of installing the new belt and tightening everything up in reverse order. The belt ticking noise is now gone and the vehicle sounds normal again when sitting at idle. This is one of those jobs where the tools you have access to make all the difference in your ability to complete the task successfully without doing damage to the heads of your bolts. Be sure you have a long, slender 12 mm box wrench in addition to your metric socket wrench set before beginning this job and you'll be much happier with your results. While my friend was here he took a look at the power steering belt status. There's no question that this is going to be a tough job to pull off because of the location of the belt - it's below and inside the AC/alternator belt. Plus, there is almost no working room to speak of once you get in there. The condition of the existing power steering belt is still good and it remains quiet when operating, so we're going to leave it alone for now. I don't look forward to having to change it but if we keep this vehicle long enough, that day will eventually come.

Be aware that the Denso iridium spark plugs are typically good for 120,000 miles with no problems. So is the Denso timing belt - my local Lexus service manager admits that if the vehicle has been cared for properly, the original timing belt rarely wears out until 150,000 miles or so. I plan to change ours at 120,000 miles.

sgriffith, Well said, my friend. I assume your new keys worked out just fine and your ignition system is back to normal with extra keys to spare. My wife's 2000 RX300 is approaching 89,000 miles and has now gone five months without a problem, major or minor. That's the longest period of time this vehicle has served our household without some sort of failure. I'm knocking on wood right now and hoping that I haven't just jinxed it. But with a replaced transmission, exhaust manifold, mass air flow sensor, air/fuel ratio sensor, rear main oil seal, front strut mount rubber bushings and a few other components that escape my memory at this moment, I keep wondering what's next. I've had no choice but to baby this vehicle moreso than any other I've owned over the past three decades. When this vehicle reaches 90,000 miles in June, I'm going to replace the AC/Alternator belt (looks pretty simple to do) and the Power Steering belt (if I can figure out how to get to it and get it off, which I'm still working on) as part of my 90,000 mile service. But that's just regular maintenance and I certainly can't complain with the original belts going 90,000 miles.

Good information to have. Thanks for posting it.

Call your state attorney general's office and ask to speak with the consumer affairs department. They can send you the lemon law brochure that pertains to your state or perhaps even refer you to a website where you can get it on-line. Your key will be to have solid documentation pertaining to your problem, the number of times your vehicle has been in the shop for the same fix (many states allow the dealer four times to come up with a permanent fix), and how many days have been involved each time the vehicle has been in the shop. Looks like you're well on your way to building a case. Good luck to you.

How about wrapping a piece of rubber (perhaps cut from an old bicycle inner tube, or maybe even one of those rubber twist-off jar lid openers) around the PCV valve and then using a pair of channel-lock pliers on the rubber surround in an effort to unscrew the valve? Be sure to clean any grease or grime off the PCV valve first so the rubber won't be as prone to slipping when you clamp down and start turning the channel-locks....

VGR is flat-out wrong when stating that no owner who has meticulously inspected and maintained their RX300 transmission has reported early transmission failure. All of our vehicles have always been meticulously inspected and maintained, and my wife's RX transmission still failed at about 48,000 miles. Lexus agreed and replaced it under warranty. Meticulous inspection and maintenance (along with proper operation of the vehicle at all times) will always help prolong the life of a vehicle, but it cannot overcome inherent flaws. Many owners believe that the RX300 transmission (particularly in the all-wheel-drive configuration) suffers from engineering weaknesses that cause it to fail prematurely. Based upon our own experiences, I have to agree. Vehicle neglect is not a factor in our household, therefore VGR is mistaken.

The RX300 transmission is the weakest link in this vehicle, especially in the all-wheel-drive version. Regardless of what your owners manual says, you must change your Toyotal Type T-IV transmission fluid at least every 30,000 miles (some say 15,000 miles as mentioned above) in order to have a chance for this transmission to last for the life of the vehicle. Many of us believe that it is poorly engineered and possibly does not have enough cooling capacity. Spend some time searching this site and others like it for threads pertaining to RX300 transmission problems (there are many, many of them). Educate yourself accordingly, and use this information in a professional but unyielding manner when dealing with your local Lexus management. This approach has always worked for me - I've required Lexus to perform over $9,000 worth of failure repairs on my wife's 2000 RX300 since October 2003, including a new (rebuilt) transmission. None of this work has cost me a penny. But I always thoroughly research and document the issue before I approach my local Lexus management. They know that I come far more prepared than the average customer, and it makes a huge difference in my ability to convince them that I should get exactly what I want at no cost to me. Take this same approach and your results may be much more to your liking....

Replacing the front strut mount rubber bushings this past January flat-out fixed the noise problems in my wife's 2000 RX300. If you suspect that you did not receive new bushings when your Lexus receipt says that you did, you should take the vehicle to another Lexus service department and try to get confirmation from them on whether or not you actually received new bushings. Ask to be present during the inspection so you can see them yourself. You should be able to recognize old, cracked, dirty, worn-out rubber. If it indeed turns out that your original Lexus dealership lied to you about what they did and you have the receipt to prove it, then you should go back to the original service department and explain that unless they fix your problem immediately and get it right this time, you plan to sue for misrepresentation and dishonesty. If they are caught in a documented lie, they will take your vehicle apart piece by piece if they have to in order to get it right for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

scoobie, We're not talking about changing the aerodynamics of the vehicle here, we're talking about moving the primary culprit (the front crossrail) away from the sunroof in order to lessen the disturbance of the airflow there, where it appears to be most annoying to the ears since you're sitting inside the vehicle directly under all the airflow commotion. I wouldn't have suggested this approach if it didn't help reduce the wind noise on our particular vehicle. Notice that I didn't say it eliminated the noise, I said that it reduced it. You should try it before you arbitrarily proclaim that it won't work. As I said before, in our case the wind noise was lessened quite a bit. My wife hasn't complained about the wind noise since I moved the front rail rearwards in autumn 2003, so I couldn't care less what you think or say - my mission was accomplished.

You can also move the crossrails around on the luggage rack in order to experiment with wind noise reduction for your particular vehicle. In our case, moving the front rail back towards the rear of the vehicle, and therefore away from the sunroof, made for quite a reduction in wind noise. Experiment with your crossrails and you'll probably find a quieter setting for them.

You should drive the vehicle so you can witness the hissing sound yourself. Then, have her drive around you while you're standing in a parking lot to see if you can hear it outside the vehicle as well. If it turns out to be exhaust-related, you'll want to find it and fix it immediately. Exhaust problems can impair and kill the vehicle's occupants, especially if your wife prefers to keep her windows up and rely upon the climate control system for ventilation as most women seem to do. Good luck and let us know what you discover.

Put a lanyard on it and wear it like a security badge....