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I also love Michelins. Couldn't wait to get the Duelers off my RX. I now have the Cross Terrains, and need new tires. Apparently, they no longer make the Cross Terrains for my size vehicle. My tire shop suggested the Lattitude Tours. Any experience with those?

proper alignment, balance and proper rotation schedule a must for tire wear and noise. Best to hook up with a shop that will offer the rotations free when you put on new tires. The alignment is infrequent if you aren't going off road alot and don't curb dog it.... balancing cheap. Tires are nearly a personal brand preference item so to each his own!!!!! :)

As for Bridgestone/firestone I myself personally wouldn't go near them -- Near same opinion of bad/goodyear. Sorry my personal opinion is they are dog *BLEEP* tires. I've found Michelin to be primo in terms of performance, wear and longevity (depending). Yokohama I don't have experience with so can't comment. Tire choice is crucial for ride, handling and noise... many mixed opinions you will find. I advise spending the time researching and sifting though it all... realizing brand loyalty and narrow personal experiounce will be abundant... just as I've demonstrated with distaste in the open of the statement. Good luck!!!

I re-opened my accident claim and the Service Manager told the adjuster that this problem was common with this Lexus. He was saying that he "thinks" the plugs on the back of the block are seeping. This is his guess, but without taking the transmission out, he can't tell for sure (and I know he does not want to do that on his dime) He would be more than happy to help me if I want to pay $400 for a diagnosis. There was no oil leak prior to the accident and their replacing the transmission. I am not happy, and I think everyone knows this right now!

I had one rebuilt a while back after the tranny failed on my '99 RX300, somewhere in excess of 100K. I told them to replace the rear engine seal while they were in there, which they did. For whatever reason, the spring inside that seal broke almost a year later, so was replaced under their warranty (after some discussion).

If your dealer didn’t replace the seal while they were replacing the transmission, it’s cheap insurance and they should have. Look at the parts list and see if it’s there, or maybe get it pulled up on their computer if it’s not clear. If they didn’t replace it, maybe the seal decided to give up early, and now it requires the transmission be pulled to replace it. Bummer. I’d have to think about letting them do the work if you were going to pay full price to replace that seal after they failed to look out for YOUR best interests in the first place.

If they DID replace that seal, the next question is whether it failed afterward (like mine did), and whether it’s covered under their warranty. I don’t know if that kind of leak can be identified without yanking the transmission, so it may require an educated guess. Obviously, if it’s their problem and covered under warranty, they should fix it. Again, if you would have to replace the seal at full price, I might consider letting an independent do it.

As said elsewhere, first determine the kind of leak, then plan from there.

I had one rebuilt a while back after the tranny failed on my '99 RX300, somewhere in excess of 100K. I told them to replace the rear engine seal while they were in there, which they did. For whatever reason, the spring inside that seal broke almost a year later, so was replaced under their warranty (after some discussion).

If your dealer didn’t replace the seal while they were replacing the transmission, it’s cheap insurance and they should have. Look at the parts list and see if it’s there, or maybe get it pulled up on their computer if it’s not clear. If they didn’t replace it, maybe the seal decided to give up early, and now it requires the transmission be pulled to replace it. Bummer. I’d have to think about letting them do the work if you were going to pay full price to replace that seal after they failed to look out for YOUR best interests in the first place.

If they DID replace that seal, the next question is whether it failed afterward (like mine did), and whether it’s covered under their warranty. I don’t know if that kind of leak can be identified without yanking the transmission, so it may require an educated guess. Obviously, if it’s their problem and covered under warranty, they should fix it. Again, if you would have to replace the seal at full price, I might consider letting an independent do it.

As said elsewhere, first determine the kind of leak, then plan from there.

Where is the oil leaking? Front main seal? Rear main seal? Are you leaking engine lubricating oil or transmission fluid? If it's an engine main seal leak and all the dealer did was install a replacement transmission, I can see how he would be reluctant to assume any liability for an engine oil leak. You really didn't give us enough information to make an informed recommendation.

Thanks for the response. They have put Dye into the engine oil to try and determine where the leak is. Since they are already telling me its not their problem, I wanted to see if this was a common issue with the 2002's, so I am prepared...

I have a 2002 RX 300 with 84,000 miles. Last winter, I was involved in a front end collision, which destroyed my transmission. Lexus Dealer installed a re-built transmission. Now I am leaking oil, and they are trying to tell me it has nothing to do with the accident (because they don't want to fix it) I never had any problems with the car leaking oil in the past. Is this a known problem with the 2002's?