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My son has 05 GX with KDSS system Front sway bar bushings, ones on the control arms, are toast. We have new ones, but I am seeking the wisdom on how to replace them, before I get myself into trouble. Reason being, when we had truck up on the lift today for tie rod ends replacement - both were meh, almost toast - and I started undoing bushings bracket, sway bar clearly started moving down and forward, towards the radiator. AWAY from the control arm. What made me stop right there and redo the bracket bolts, as I didn't want to end with bar shooting away from the control arm and us not being able to bring it back. Any tips? Thank you. It is definitely not the same, as for non-KDSS vehicle.

Been a while since I visited this topic. I own 2012 Highlander Hybrid which, technically, is same vehicle as RX400 or RX450 hybrid. That power train performs excellent in mpg respect. Even now, winter time and after I used my HIHY as truck, towing and doing tons of short trips, mid winter, I am sitting at 30.1 mpg. Summer time no traffic I had her at solid 32 plus. Please, do not blame excellent cars and design in something that has many many variables that may cause sub advertised mpg. Starting with very poor driver habits, through mostly short trips in rural areas and all the way into possibly a mechanical issue with a particular vehicle. Before blaiming, one has to clearly describe terrain, daily trips, traffic, petrol quality AND DRIVING STYLE as those are the three great whales mpg is based on. Just like when I bought my 07 TCH, owner had her at 32 mpg and in 6 months down the road I had her at 39.6 Or, when I bought my HiHy, previous owner sold it with 26 mpg and I brought it up to documented 37 same year, late July. I said it and will keep saying - it's not what you drive, it's how you drive and where you drive. Best

Unfathomed ignorance from Lexus support. She could have Googled it. So could I, actually. On page 22 on the (2011 RX350) owner's manual, there's a section titled "Noise from under vehicle after turning off the engine." It says, "Approximately five hours after the engine is turned off, you may hear sound coming from under the vehicle for several minutes. This is the sound of a fuel evaporation leakage check and it does not indicate a malfunction." Read more: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-3rd-gen-2010-2015/554691-buzzing-sound-when-engine-is-off.html#ixzz3m2k3f1Sk

I'll call dealer today.

So no, apparently there is nothing that is supposed to whirr in the back. Nothing pretty much obvious for a CSR online. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and for the experience you are having with your vehicle. Unfortunately, being that I can't diagnose your vehicle over email and provide you any suggestions, we do advise that you please have your vehicle inspected by your nearest Lexus dealership.

Oh, she just took off for work. Car started fine. Noise was for at least 5 minutes, while I was investigating, but then it stopped and I walked through garage many times after, there was none.

OK< have ticket opened with Lexus. I just had a thought. Maybe it's EVAP purge? EVAP canister should be about there too, usually they are by fuel tank filler neck. Missed live chat with lexus, that would have been fun. I'll keep posted.

I actually feel fine. It helps to have her out several nights a week. :whistles: I'll send request to Lexus support. Unless pump is supposed to prime the fuel pressure to keep it at a certain level, it should be not working. I ma pretty positive that was pump, nothing else there to make that noise. I am more curious if someone else encountered this situation - pump working on vehicle that is completely turned off and several hrs parked.

We own 2011 RX350. Still under factory warranty. Wife parks it overnight outside, as she's ICU night shifts nurse, so I am concernd. This is why. I walked into garage and heard whirring noise. Like a relay buzz or something. Checked outside - no, not from there. Walked around cars parked inside and determined that whirr is coming from under the RX rear end. Well, my wild guess is, it's fuel pump, but why would it be working on a vehicle parked for 4 hrs by then? Whirr stopped, I just checked, but I have no idea how long that something was working. All doors were shut, only security light blinking. My concern is, she still has 3 nights in a row and if something electrical keeps running in the rear, battery may die. Is it something that vehicle is actually supposed to do? Was clearly coming from fuel tank area, I had my head under the body. It's not a hybrid, so there is no cooling fans and such in the rear. My Camry Hybrid does all kinds of noises, I am used to that, buit not this. Shouldn't be making any whirrs. Any ideas? Can't take to dealer unti Saturday. Thank you

No worries. it's ame battery we have in Camry Hybrid, also it's ame battery used in airplanes. They last a very long time. Of course, that said, life can happen but overall, they are long lasting ones. Honda on the other hand had real crappy batteries in their hybrid vehicles, practically that's why they stopped making hybrid Accords and Civics. No worries.

It appears to be mended. Phone was power cycled and all works fine now. Thank you. Poor or not dealers Lexus proves to be a very good resale. I'll keep staying with the brand.

Ahh, that makes sense. Apparently BT in RX is powerful enough to reach to that phone via garage walls and 2 rooms. So it's not the RX dialing, it's i-Phone going into dial mode the very moment it senses Handsfree. Well, I shut down BT on her phone before I left for work. That's lesser evil than having entire headunit disabled. Son is at home, he knows i-Phones, I'll ask him to cycle that phone. I have gut feeling last call she placed off that phone was not properly shut down and it loops back. What updates are you referring to? We just bought the car, it's still under warranty for 8 months. Whatever I need to do in that period, I'll appreciate guidance.

Thank you. No, that's not the problem. Here's step by step: 1. Push Start 2. Stereo kicks in and starts playing whatever for about 5 seconds 3. Sound disapperas and there's only static coming out of speakers 4. Going through menus "call in progress" shows on the screen 5. same time, none of the stereo controls work or steering wheel buttons. You can not hang up on that "call" from the steering wheel controls. 6. If I shut down Hands free feature from menu, everything returns back to normal - stereo works, I can switch between USB and CD. 7. But the very moment Hands free is turned back on - system automatically goes to #3 every time Start button is pressed. Basically, it looks like as if the last call she did via Bluetooth somehow got stuck in the vehicle system and now it reverts to it automatically at start up. But same time, because it;s on Call mode, it shuts down everything else in stereo. B BT was turned on on her phone. Phone connects to the vehicle system fine. But it's disabled by what looks like automatic dialing from the Hands free.

Ok, 2nd week with our 2011 RX350. Wife is driving it and started complaining that nav voice directions are too low on volume. So I set in the car, hit Start button once - system instantly goes into bluetooth connection and ther eis nothing but static coming out of speakers. Digging in settings here and there, found "call in progress" message. With that going, on, all steering wheel phone and audio controls do not work. Trying to hang up from steering wheel or menu produces no result - call in progess and static. Can't switch to FM or USB or Cd. System is hung on a phone call that might I turned off Handsfree - stereo and steering wheel controls came back to life. The only fix so far I can see is to delete the phone completely. But she's a "I drive I hang on the phone" person and, so far, hands free talking was part of the reason this car was bought. So far, after major frustration, I have no idea what is going on and why system goes into non existing phone call from the get go. Any suggestions, before she is sent to dealer to have it worked out? She has magical touch to mess anything electronics related. I am hoping it's a simple "I pressed the wrong button" situation. She has i-phone, I had it inside the car, outside - it shows no signs of any calls. Almost like she preset vehicle to autodial somehow. Thank you.

We bought 2011 RX350 AWD Saturday. I have maybe a strange question. It does not appear to have AC on/off button. I found that there is AC on/off button from menu>climate>ac on/off. My silly question is - it does not appear to have any effect on its function. It still blows cold. It's turned off from climate menu, right? I didn't check yesterday, I know there is no way to turn ac off should vents be pointed at windshield. Any tricks to this? Trying to set her up with best mpg, ac takes quite a bit of it away. Thank you.

My HiHy is 500 lbs heavier and has technically same power train, right?

Yes, it starts with cold noise then bearing seizes. Considering that I am likely looking at "a bearing" somewhere around timing belt, it'll tare the belt. Problem is, idler and tensioner bearings are hidden inside the timing belt cover. So to get to it, all 3 covers have to be removed. I am really hoping it's alternator, but alternator bearing squeals all the time, not just on cold and go away. Oh, not to forget. That noise was quite some time around. Including summer time, so trip to FL is postponed. Time wise it's the same, it is getting louder though.

Hi all We have 99 RX300 that has rather loud bearing noise on cold start ups. It slowly goes away in about 40 seconds to a minute. I reached as far down as I could with mechanic sthetoscope, to pin point noise origin. It is somewhere around engine mount, maybe a bit lower. I am yet to get her up on lift, have wheel removed, and scope from the bottom. Timing belt and WP were done around 110 000 miles. Engine has 152 000 miles on it. I don't really know, if they used aftermarket pump, most likely so. Coolant level stays pretty solid, I may add a little bit once in a year and half. No leaks. I am inclined to think it's water pump, as I had exactly same noise on my Silverado, then pump started leaking. But on Silvie it was roughly 30 min job to replace it. Here - you know.... Has anyone experienced this issue? There is an idler pulley inside timing cover that may go bad, but I am not aware of idler pulley bearings that will STOP making noise as they warm up. Anyway. Thoughts appreciated.

Excellent post, my friend. We bought 2000 ES300 and it throws P1663 plus TRAC off light. With some extensive digging, I found your post. I pulled oil filter out, though it was not quite clogged, the screen was yellowish. I sprayed it with carb cleaner until it was totally clear. Had to use needle nose pliers and remove air filter cover to get to it. Then, I pulled OCV out. I checked it for stickiness with small flat head screwdriver. Basically, it's a long solenoid with several orephicies supplying oil to apparently VVT. I must say, that there was some stickiness in it. After I cleaned it, plunger was moving much easier and freely, before, there was some catch to it. I think, so much for not doing good oil changes. Car was owned by a female. Clueless. I then plugged my Scangauge in and cleared code. Before, when I was trying to do this, CEL will blink and return right away. Now, CEL went off. I let engine run for maybe 3 minutes, and then TRAC OFF disappered by itself. Hopefully, it'll stay that way. Once again, much obliged for post and pics.

Dear ES owners. I have 07 Camry Hybrid and I know it's a shared platform with Es. We also have 99 RX300 and it has by far the best struts ever. 150 000 miles on them and still comfortable and holding. So, here's my question. Are the ES struts same quality, if yes - who makes them and do you know if they can be swapped with Camry ones? Mine are getting there.

Does anyone know, who made 99 RX300 struts? I am amazed at their quality. We have close to 150 000 miles on ORIGINAL ones, and they still work just fine. No leans, comfy ride. Reason I want to know is my 07 Camry is soon due on struts. I want SAME manufacturer struts on her. Thank you

we have 99 RX300. has 116K miles. about 2 years ago, started developing a whistling noise somewhere from the rear. when i seat in the driver seat, it's coming from behind my right shoulder, from the back, and about my ear level. i am 6'5''. basically, sounds like upper part of tailgate. it comes up only at high speeds. sometimes it's 55, always 65 and up. starts with slight hiss then turns into what i can describe as low pitch flute sound. whoooooooooooooo. it is speed relevant, pitch goes higher as speed increases. it is absolutely annoying. so far, i had additional seals added to the entire tailgate. rear roof rack removed. had entire tailgate taped around so that no air gets in. tried create positive pressure inside and sprayed soapy water on all doors and tailgate. nothing helps. i asked my sons several times to locate the sound origin, while driving, they can't. it's somewhere in the back is there response. i tried it myself, and still can't pinpoint where it's coming from. it's quite loud, actually. yes, i did have rear diff fluid changed at 65K. it does not sound metallic or crunchy, like bearings. i have no idea. anyone had this?

will not cost you 3000 to replace engine head gasket. i don't know where you at, but around here, we have greg's japanese auto, that's a place to do this at. or a known reliable independent. my guess is job should cost you around 8-900 bucks. you prolly need to do timing belt and water pump same time, it's should be parts only, as they will have to remove all this anyway. i am very hesitant to trust that opinion, btw. misfiring in cylinders is usually either bad plugs, or timing issues, or one of the sensors. coughing is normally a sign of backfiring, and that is definitely timing issue. what you need to do, and i am trying to save you a lot of money, is to get it to a place like greg's, have solid testing done, problem pinpointed, and then estimate looked at. reason i mentioned engine head gasket is because it may be a possible cause for internal oil leak. how your mechanics determined there's leak, i have no idea. spark plugs fouled with oil are usually caused by bad valve cover seals. i have gut feeling, you are being taken for a ride, hence, 1st stpe is to have proper diagnostics done, not just Joe give his opinion. though i do not like my wife's 99 300, i must admit it's a solid car and those engines are very reliable. something's not right.....