RX in NC

Absolutely not. But that's based on our terrible experiences with a 2000 AWD model....

Contrasting your aunt's experience, in our family we've had a 1985 Cherokee, a 1988 Cherokee, a 1994 Cherokee, a 1996 Grand Cherokee, and a 2000 Grand Cherokee. Hands down the best AWD or 4x4 vehicles we've ever owned. Nothing but routine maintenance required by all of them. The only major issue was the paint fading on my 1988 Cherokee (it was black - my mistake, I'll never own another black vehicle). In early 1992, Chrysler took all of the original paint down to the metal, re-primed, and re-painted it for me at no charge.... Our Jeeps have all been great. Sure wish my wife's current RX330 was a Grand Cherokee instead....

I hear you loud and clear. As I mentioned above, a Subaru Outback, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, or an Acura RDX would all have been much better choices for our needs.... Sorry you've had such a poor experience with yours. Next time you need a small SUV, check out any or all of the above choices....

Those of you who've been around this forum for years know that I berated my wife's previous 2000 RX300 AWD as the worst vehicle I've ever owned, period. It required more than $9,000 in warranty work while we owned it, and it suffered from all of the classic design flaws prevalent in the early RX models (transmission failure, rear main oil seal failure, cracked exhaust manifold, multiple sensor failures, strut mount bushing failure, etc. etc. etc.). I hated that vehicle and I was delighted when we sold it in January 2007. I did not like the fact that my wife wanted to replace it with another RX (her current 2004 RX330 AWD), but it was her money, her vehicle, and therefore her choice. I sucked it up, cut the best deal I could on the vehicle with the seller, and prepared for a continuation of more troubles with the Lexus brand.... After about a year of ownership, I came to realize that Lexus had learned its lesson with the early RX models because her 2004 RX330 was holding up far better than her previous 2000 RX300 ever did. We had several warranty issues and TSBs taken care of during the first year of ownership (transmission oil cooler tube assembly replaced, both front seat heaters replaced twice, various rattles quieted multiple times, malfunctioning HVAC servo motors replaced, both front brake rotors replaced), but after getting the vehicle settled in that first year, it has performed well with little more than routine maintenance since then. While never admitting that early RX models had weak transmissions prone to early failure, Lexus quietly upgraded them by the time the RX330 replaced the RX300 for the 2004 model year, and you just don't read about RX transmission failures from 2004 on. That's a good thing.... While I still believe that my wife could have made a number of better choices for a true AWD SUV (Subaru Outback, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Acura RDX), I want to give credit to this RX330 for holding up far better than her dog of a vehicle RX300 did. She crossed the 100,000-mile threshold in it yesterday and while she continues to prefer to drive her 2005 Jaguar S-Type sedan most of the time, her RX330 still shuttles our dogs around to their various classes and activities without complaining (albeit still a bit underpowered).... So thanks, RX330, for doing your duty and not turning out to be the piece of crap that my wife's old RX300 was. Just keep on doing what you've been doing here in our household since January 2007. Those of you who know me also know that's about as strong a measure of praise that I can muster for the RX line....

For a 17-inch tire, the best bang-for-the-buck hands down is the Firestone Destination LE. They are 90% of the Bridgestone Alenza at less than two-thirds of the price. Had a 16-inch set on a previous 2000 RX300 AWD and a 17-inch set on a previous 2000 Grand Cherokee. Both sets did more than 50,000 miles and never hydroplaned on either vehicle. The only reason I have Alenzas instead of Destination LEs on my wife's current 2004 RX330 AWD is because it unfortunately has the 18-inch wheels and the last time I checked, the Destination LE is not built any larger than 17-inch. Check with Discount Tire - they'll give you the best service as well as the best deal....

Very rarely is purchasing the vehicle at the end of the lease a wise financial decision. In addition to the probable inflated residual value, you'll pay sales taxes on the vehicle again along with whatever acquisition fees may apply. Remember - autos are an expense, not an investment.... There is one potential advantage to keeping a leased vehicle, however. If you've had it since new, you know the service and maintenance history. If it was well-cared-for, it may suffer fewer problems down the road compared to a similar vehicle that you are not familiar with.... But from a purely financial standpoint, purchasing your vehicle at the expiration of your lease benefits the seller far more than the buyer. This method usually results in the highest cost-of-ownership experience possible for the consumer.... In this still-terrible economy, some leasing companies are more willing to negotiate with their customers who decide they want to buy their vehicles. Don't settle for the selling price that was determined years ago in a better economy. Contact your leasing company and begin negotiations with them. If you cannot get a better deal, then simply walk away. They would rather sell the car to you at a reduced price than practically give it away at a wholesale auction....

I don't eat in any of our vehicles and never have. I do carry an old Gatorade bottle filled with ice water in my truck when I go hiking, and it waits for me sitting on a towel on top of my console until I get back to the vehicle.... However, my wife eats lunch in her vehicles when she's out and about during the business day. Whenever I clean up her interiors, I always vacuum up at least a french fry or two. That's a big pet peeve of mine - I wish she'd quit eating in her vehicles. Of course, I also find money down under her seats during nearly every interior clean-up I do. And she knows it's finders keepers....

I agree that general product degradation is not limited to automobiles. My pet peeve right now is how much the typical residential lawnmower quality has degraded over the past 20 years as their prices have escalated. Too many plastic parts today that were metal in "the good old days", too many parts quickly affected by rough-and-tumble areas in my lawn that were never a problem for mowers built before the mid-80s, and practically all the mower manufacturers lying about their horsepower since 1994. In fact, there's a class-action suit right now on that last one (www.lawnmowerclass.com). Today's mowers don't last me more than 5 or 6 years before they're not worth repairing anymore. My previous mowers built in the 60s, 70s, and even into the 80s would last twice as long and cut twice as much grass as my current mowers do. Grrrrrr....

Wishful thinking, Blake! Those Siennas are just suffering from potentially rusty spare tire holder cables. No big deal there. I need more brake pedal / gas pedal scares in the news....

Maybe so. But as long as these types of stories keep popping up in the media, my chances of making some fairly decent money off of my Toyota May 2010 put options continue to increase. Just two more weeks of negative press - that's all I'm asking for....

Ditto. When it comes to iridium spark plugs, Denso and NGK are the only way to go....

Not unusual at all. Our 2005 Jaguar S-Type sedan has the German-built 6-speed ZF transmission that runs 10 litres of Shell M1374.5 mineral oil as its transmission fluid. Our local Jaguar dealership specializes in ripping off their customers and sells a one-litre bottle of this "liquid gold" for $55. The Jaguar dealership 70 miles away sells the same one-litre bottle for $38. Just be glad you're only talking about the difference between $3 and $6....

My biggest problem remains the greyscale font. Any words appearing in light grey are almost impossible to read on my monitor. Lose the greyscale and show all font in basic black, please....

Admins, Why the dramatic change in the site graphics today? Maybe it's just me but the site now loads and navigates much slower, the screens are more cumbersome to find my way around in, and some of the font appears too light or faint to read very well. I'm all for improvements, but I'm not sure these are truly improvements at this point....

If a new belt still squeaks at start-up on occasion, it usually needs to be tightened a bit. If you're still running around with your original factory belt after 11 years, tightening it up won't fix the noise because the belt is worn out. You'll need to replace it. Thinking back to when my wife had her lousy 2000 RX300 AWD and I changed that AC/Alternator belt at about 90,000 miles or so, I believe the primary belt adjustment process worked like this: There was an easily-visible pivot bolt at the top of the alternator (we'll call it bolt 1). There was a harder-to-see adjuster bolt on the opposite side down near the bottom of the alternator, towards the radiator (we'll call it bolt 2). Just below the adjuster bolt was another mounting bolt (we'll call it bolt 3). If you will tighten bolt 2, you should start to see the belt tighten up as well. You may need to loosen bolts 1 and 3 just a bit in order to allow the adjuster bolt to do its thing. Be sure to tighten up all three bolts after you are satisfied with the belt's new tightened position. I think bolt 1 took a 14mm socket and bolts 2 and 3 took a 12mm socket. Keep in mind that I'm typing this information from memory. I remember that I replaced the factory AC/Alternator belt in May 2005, the new belt squealed just a bit upon start-up, so I went back in, tightened it up some more, and the new belt stayed quiet after that. Hopefully someone who's done this recently will jump in here and either confirm my instructions or provide you with a better set. Good luck to you....

For a vehicle approaching 4,000 pounds, a tire load rating of 93 is just too low. 96 would be my minimum and 97 or 98 would be even better. Extra capacity is worth its weight in gold (and tire blowouts from hitting potholes) as far as load rating is concerned....

The biggest complaint about the new Continental DWS tires is that their sidewalls are too soft for heavier vehicles such as SUVs and pretend-SUVs like the RX series. Check out their relatively low load ratings compared to the competition. That could explain the steering vibrations reported above.... I believe that the DWS is more of a sedan tire than an SUV or truck tire. I had it on my list as a potential next tire for our 2005 Jaguar S-Type sedan, but since that vehicle weighs about 4,000 pounds, I believe the soft sidewall issue will come into play on it as well. From what I've researched, I would try the DWS only on cars (not SUVs or trucks) 3,000 pounds or less.... We're on our second set of Alenzas on my wife's 2004 RX330 AWD. Best bang-for-the-buck SUV or truck tire out there if you require the 18-inch size....

First thing I would do is to read the OBDII codes that have been thrown. Could very well be a faulty speed sensor. Get your codes read first, though....

Bad decision on your part. The dealer is hosing you. These timing belts are well-engineered and will easily do 120,000 if not 150,000 miles if the vehicle is not driven like a bat out of hell. The iridium spark plugs will also easily do 120,000 if not 150,000 miles. Waste your money with your dealer if it will make you sleep better. In the meantime, our 2004 RX330 AWD (currently at 98,400 miles) will just keep rolling right along with its original timing belt and spark plugs....

It's actually fairly simple why this story has dominated the news lately. When a corporation chooses to handle product safety issues by lying about them and attempts to divert attention to areas that have nothing to do with the root cause of the issue (gas pedal shims and floor mats), once that corporation is caught lying the media automatically saddles its horse and stays in the saddle through the end of the story. That is exactly what we are witnessing now....

I have rotated my own tires on all of our vehicles for more than 30 years. I don't pay for services that I can easily do myself right here in my driveway in less than 30 minutes. It's the standard final step in my oil & filter change policy. Paying your dealer to rotate your tires is insane given dealer-inflated prices for any type of service. Some tire stores (such as Discount Tire) include lifetime rotations and nail repairs in their prices. And I've always been able to negotiate with Discount Tire to match or beat tirerack.com's prices. So if you are uncomfortable doing your own rotations, this is an easy solution.

My May 2010 Toyota put options play is loving this stuff. The more national publicity, the better I'll do....

As poor as the all-wheel-drive system is in the RX series, I doubt if the vehicle will be sensitive enough to detect the difference in treadwear if you decide to work your spare into the rotation. Be aware that by not rotating your tires often enough, you are shortening their lifespan regardless of how evenly you believe they are wearing. Front tires always suffer more edgewear at the side blocks as a result of constant steering and turning requirements regardless of psi or alignment specs. Rotate your tires more often to help balance out this effect. A good rule of thumb is to rotate your tires at every oil & filter change....

Do you actually need locking lug nuts? If I were you, I would have the four locking lug nuts removed by the dealer (yes, they have the master keys) and replace them with four matching regular lug nuts ordered from rockauto.com for about $4 each. My wife's 2004 RX330 has four locking lug nuts (the key is kept underneath the cargo area along with the jack and tire tools). Her 2005 Jaguar S-Type and my 1999 Dodge Ram do not have locking lug nuts. Much, much easier to deal with tire and wheel issues without them, and we don't need them in our neck of the woods anyway....

Increase your tire pressure to 36/37 psi. The tires will quiet down and last longer as well....