LexusTom

LexusTom,

You really need to put the correct plugs back in your car.  The Iridiums are the finest plugs out there and last forever--I think you will notice an improvement in both idle and highway mileage.

How many miles were on your car when you pulled the original plugs?

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Ok. It seems to be the consensus. I will do it then. Maybe report again in a few month.

If most of your trips are 10 mins or less then 15-16 mpg is normal.  You need to monitor the gas mileage the next 2-3 tanks & take any average. Keep mind also that now that the weather is colder especially in the morning it takes longer for the engine to warm up. Also in the Bay Area gas stations are still selling winter blend gas which reduces gas mileage.  You should see an improvement after the weather gets warmer & when they switch out of winter blend gas.

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Cruz, your info is helpful. I feel a bit relieved.

Ha ha. I used to live in bay area, but moved to Seattle last summer. :-P

But, I suppose they might keep the winter blend even longer here... need to update my profile...

I think my spark plug has some carbon disposit. Can you take a look at my picture? It was a picture of my spark plug this morning. The tip of the plug looked a bit white. The side looked brown, and the base looked black...

A friend of mind told me that I might tighten the plug too much. He think it looked like the plug run too hot.

What type of gas mileage are you getting?  I had an 01 & was getting between 15-21 mpg.  If the spark plugs are a tannish color that's normal.  If it's black then it's running too rich, or it's white then it's running too lean.  When the 02 sensors go out the check engine light should come on. Hope this helps

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I got about 15-16 for mostly local. The actual (calculate from the fuel pump) is usually about 1 mile less...

But, if I drove a long trip, the mileage get much better after 20-30 mins. For example, if I reset the computer after drove 30 mins, the computer shows 23, 24 on highway.

But, if the car had been only run for 10 mins, it shows about 20 on highway. I suppose the car doesn't take that long to warm up. Cus, many of my trip is less than 10 mins...

Image two:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&cmd=si&img=605

Question two:

I read something about oxygen sensor might causes bad milaege. Is the thing on the picture the oxygen sensor?

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&cmd=si&img=606

Thank in advance!!

Thomas

So, I feel that my Rx300, Year 2000 should get more mileage than now. The car ran reasonably smooth but the mileage is really bad in the first 10 mins after a cold start.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&cmd=si&img=604

I replaced the new spark plugs about 9 months ago. Driven about 8000 mile on the new plugs. It looks brownish and white. Like the old one I replace.

It doesn't seem normal, is it? What can be the cause?

Oxygen sensor? A bad wire with one of the cylinda?

I like the new X3, haven't driven one but its caught my eye on the road. Trading the RX on it?

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Don't do it.

I am an owner of 2000 RX300 AWD. I test drove both 2.5L and 3.3L X3. Not impressed! In fact, I couldn't believe the ride was so bad.

I like the look (exterior) a lot too. But, you definitely definitely need to test drive it before you even think about it.

The full story, it was a year ago that I bought my RX300, used. And, it inspired my friend to look at X3 a few months later. He had known the salesman well. The salesman was pretty busy, managed to get us started with the 2.5L. We took turn driving the car. We took some city road, some shape turns, and highway. We came back pretty unhappily. With the eager transmission, the power was ok, but not great.

The car felt heavy. But, the ride was rough. It felt like the car was put on springs without the structs. Feeling Boncy even just making a lane change. Felt much worse than an old Dodge caravan with the truck springs at the back, which my father had been driving. I am not kidding. Needless to say, handling was not great with all these bounces.

We went back after about 20 unhappy mins, switch to 3.3L. We test drove for about 20 mins, and went back more happily but definitely not great. The salesman was even more busy with the paperwork with client. So, we drove the car out again for another 1/2 hour. That's a bit longer than we planed. But, the salesman was still busy. But, it was alright. He don't really want to buy the X3. :-)

The first feeling with the 3.3L was Wow. The engine has much more punch, and the car doesn't feel heavy anymore. That's what you expect from a BMW. Alright. Comparing with RX300, it is definitely faster. (we later the same day went to Lexus to test drive a RX330. The X3 3.3L felt a bit faster than RX330 AWD. And, about the same as FWD version.)

The eagerness and the smoothness of BMW downshift make the car so much more fun to drive. On highway, on the 5th, once you press the gas hard, it immediately knows what you want, it smoothly shift 2 gears if needed. The RPM shoot right up from 2k+ to 4k+, and plenty of horses waiting to give you the torque there, and you're ready to zooo. The downshift is noticable, but very smooth every single time.

Both new and old version's of RX tramission was much more lazy. The upshift was always smooth. Downshift one gear was usually pretty smooth. Down two gear, about a quater of time you get a rough shift, while other times it was smooth. It really not too bad, but this unexpected roughness kills a lot of fun, when "you" are in spirited driving mode.

Back to the ride of X3, it was improved from the 2.5L a lot, but it was still not acceptable. I felt the body of the car roll a lot with uneven road. Say the road has a pitch on the left, and then on the right in 5 meter. You feel like you slide to the left a bit and the car tilt to the right... For handling, it also improved from 2.5L. But, it didn't feel that much like a car. You still got a lot of hint that you're driving a SUV with high clearance. It didn't feel as stable as the RX330 on high speed (90+ mph) either.

I never own a BMW, but had been the passenger enough of time to tell. It was not typical BMW at all. And, BMW is absolutely not ready for prime time of small SUV.

Even I like their tramission so much, it is still not a good car. I think they are not that many on the road for a reason.

I have a set of brand new (in original box) KG/MM lower springs for sale for those who like to customize their RX300. It is a 2.2 in. drop. The quality of these springs far exceeds Eibach. You can not purchase these springs in the US. They were freight shipped from Japan by boat (took 3 months). They are one of a kind, it sits beautifully with rims or without. Provides the car with a stable stance which increases the stability and lowers the center of gravity to reduce roll(swaying on turns). I bought these springs before I recieved a great offer for my rx300 silversport which was for sale for only 5 days! Easy to install. I am planning on getting the RX hybrid as my next ride.. amazing.. well if u are interested please contact me.

Certianly interested. I can't seem to able to send pm. Please contact me, tyip_bulk@yahoo.com.

How does your key work now? Was it hard to program yourself?

My friend told me if I tried to do it myself I could mess it up real bad and have to have the dealership install a a whole new alarm computer key system that could cost thousands of dollars.

Well that scared the crap out of me. :(

The programming is pretty easy.

I was worry at first, but I got mine right the first time.

If you read the instruction a few times before you do the programming, i don't see much place you can go wrong.

Previous post from this site also has instruction/trick on how to program an uncut key.