Riva

I live in Florida and I have a silver RX 330 with a black interior; I think those two colors together are the most interesting and attractive. I also took into consideration that Silver is a good low maintenance color for the exterior; and black is the best color when it comes to leather maintenance, since it doesn't show dirt or scuffs easily. As for keeping the black leather cool, I keep a shade in the front window when it's parked; but even the few times I've forgotten to use the shade, the leather has not really gotten that hot. I suppose that may be the front dash is quite long, pushing the front seats back a little..., not to mention all the side windows are factory tinted. My 2 cents. ;-)

JBL - With all due respect, I think your needs may be better served in a Honda Odyssey/MDX vs RX 330 forum. Good luck. :-)

A tsb or recall offers hope, but it certainly does not guarantee the component or vehicle will be reliable from that point on. Check out automotive message boards (i.e. Edmunds), you'll see that Honda owners have been reporting problems with the Odyssey transmission going back to the very first year the new model was released. In fact, the very mdx/Odyssey transmission the govt. is now recalling was suppose to be the new and improved replacement for the poor transmission used in the 98, 99, 2000 models, where no recall was issued at all. In addition, the nhtsa recall, which was just released, only requires that Acura/Honda fix 2002 Odyssey/MDX's that have less than 15k miles on it. How many 2 + year old vehicles do you know that only have 15k miles on them? Note: Acura is not offering any kind of extended warranty with these problem transmissions. As for the RX 330 transmission, there has not been a single accident or complete mechanical failure reported to the NHTSA, which is most likely the reason no govt. recall has been issued. As unpleasant as this problem has been for some RX owners, I think most would take their unusual tranny performance any day over the more serious transmission problems millions of Acura/Honda owners have experienced to date. Lexus has addressed the RX transmission complaints with an upgraded software (per TSB), and judging by the fewer complaints posted here and on other boards, this seems to have resolved the issue for many. Hopefully, they will continue to make efforts to fix this matter for those that are still experiencing problems. In the meantime, let's not overlook the fact that they didn't have to wait for a goverment imposed (nhtsa) recall in order to get the ball rolling here.

Well I don't put much weight in JD Power studies either, but let's not assume that the Acura MDX is more reliable. The NHTSA jut recently recalled over 1 million Acura MDX's and Honda Odyssey's for transmission problems. NHTSA ID# 04V176000. The fact is, anything that's manmade is not going to be perfect. And to get back to the subject of the RX 330 transmission: I am curious to know the actual manufacture date (not in service date) of the vehicles that have this problem, and if there's any truth to this rumor about Lexus automatically "upgrading the transmission software" in the newer ones coming off the line.

So far, no problem with my fwd 2004 RX 330 transmission (manufactured 06/04). From what I've read, the transmission anomaly has been reported in a small percentage of RX 330's. There are also similar reports about the ES 300 and 330 transmission. I also read that the both new RX330 and ES 330's coming off the factory line have a new upgraded transmission software ("fix") in them and should be okay. I do know that my one month old RX 330 has exhibited no unusual performance at all. I'm just under 1000 miles. I had heard about the trannmission before my purchase, so when test driving I was sure to watch out for this; and I was not able to reproduce any of the unusual symptoms, I've read about, in any of the three RX's I test drove. My sister also just purchased a 2004 ES 330, last week, and so far her tranny has been performing great. Anyway, here's a question: For those that have experienced problems with their transmission performance, is this something that occurred right away... or did it develop this problem after putting a number of miles on the vehicle? Also, what is the manufacturer date on your vehicle?

From what I know, the pricing will vary quite a bit on this vehicle depending on the particular dealer/location, the individual sales person you're dealing with, the options you want, and the time of the month. I've heard it's harder to negotiate near invoice if you want one with the navigation system. My own experience. When I first started shopping (last month), the quotes I got were all over the map, some as high as 2000 over invoice. I ended up purchasing my 2004 RX 330 (no navigation) on July 2 for approximately 200 over the dealer invoice, Central Florida dealer. I had lower quotes from two dealers (Countyline Lexus & Lexus of Palm Beach) in South Florida. I got my local dealer to lower his price showing him the lower quotes. His cost came to few hundred more, but I didn't mind paying the little extra to save myself the trip. In California, I've heard the best places to shop are Longo Lexus (El Monte, Calif.) and (Coliseum Lexus, Oakland). My sister just purchased a 2004 EX 330 with the Mark Levinson package below invoice from Coliseum. As for pricing: Be aware that your Lexus/Toyota dealer invoice will differ slightly from region to region (unlike other manufacturers), because of the different distributors Lexus/Toyota uses. There is an additional layer of pricing with mandatory distribution fees in certain regions/states (i.e. Florida). I found a good place to check for an accurate dealer invoice is Carsdirect, because they also include these regional distribution fees (if any) in their quote. Put in the zip code of the area you want to purchase in. Also, you can check at Lexus.com (build your Lexus) to see the mandatory options packages, that come with the vehicle, in a particular region. Knowing what the packages/options are, on the vehicle, will help you to figure out the exact cost. Good luck.