Jonathan

Try getting your rear suspension bushings lubricated......

I have had the Dueler Alenza H/L on my RX330 (18") for about two weeks now. I replaced the awful Goodyear RSA's that were worn out at 33K miles. I highly reconmmend these tires!! They are great in every respect so far. Tirerack has them for $129 per tire now. It drives so much better now and is very quiet. I also had the fuel injector "ticking" TSB done, that makes a big difference as well. Jonathan

Just checked with my Lexus dealership about this brake booster problem and if it affected my Japanese built '04 RX330, this was there reply... "THIS SSC (RECALL) ONLY INVOLVES CERTAIN RX 330 VEHICLES PRODUCED IN NORTH AMERICA WITHIN A CERTAIN VIN RANGE" Hope this helps... Jonathan

I had the same fix done on my old 99RX. It would rattle/creak/etc over uneven ground while turning. The strut/bushing fix did not stop the noises. It turn out it was the wiper motor bushing. After replacing the wiper motor bushing the sound completely went away. Lexus did not find this problem, a neighbor with another 99RX told me about it and Lexus fixed it. Jonathan

Thanks for the tip of requesting the alignment report. I did so, and did not look at it until I got home. "The knuckleheads" lined it up per 2003 RX300, 4wd specs.... One minor problem....I have a 2004 RX330!!!! Needless to say, it is back at the dealer this morning.... Jonathan

FWIW...I asked the manager about it this morning. He said they now have some fancy new alignment machine. They used to use the one at the Chevy dealer they are attached to. I asked him to justify a 100% increase for alignment since two years ago. He did not, actually he said, when pressed, that the new machine was not up and running yet and they would use the Chevy one for a price of 79.99. (quoted price 139.99) I then asked him why he was going to charge people full price even though the machine was not working that supposedly justified the price increase in the first place.... :P Jonathan

I am putting the new Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza's on... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...romCompare1=yes Intersting note....On my old RX300 in Jan '03, I had this same dealership put 4 tires on it (Michelin LTX M/S, loved them) and they did a 4 wheel alignment for 69.99. I am going with receipt in hand tomorrow morning with my RX330 (the service advisor on that receipt is now the service manager) and politely ask him to justify a 100% increase (@139.99) in the last two years. The last time I checked, there is no shortage of alignment shops....;-) Jonathan

I have 32K mile on the RX already....my opinion is that the alignment is more a "best practices" thing to do while getting new tires put on a vehicle. Also, the front left was wearing a differently on the outer edge than the others. I had regular rotations and kept the tires at 32psi. BTW, the crappy Good Year RS-A's are already shot and I am not an aggresive driver. Jonathan

I was wondering what people out there have been charged for 4 wheel alignments? I was just quoted a price of $139 dollars to do a 4 wheel alignment on my 2004 RX330 by the Lexus dealership. Does this seem like a "ballpark" figure for a 4 wheel alignment? Thanks, Jonathan

I just got some Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza from www.tirerack.com If the link does not work go to www.tirerack.com and plug in your vehicle info. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...romCompare1=yes They are $130 per tire (for the 235/55 R18) and if you order before May 7, get a $75 rebate. They have a 600 treadwear rating and temperature and traction are "A" I will post how I like them when I replace the crappy Goodyear RSA's with them. Jonathan

I had the clunks you described. Lexus replaced the struts, mounts, and performed a TSB for that noise on it. I still had the noise.... It turns out my '99 RX300 had a bad wiper motor bushing that caused the motor to creak/groan/squeak when the vehicle went over bumps at low speed, especially while turning over a bump at low speeds. I know it sounds crazy, but my neighbor had this done on their '99 RX300 as well. When the chassis flexes, this bad wiper motor bushing did not insulate the motor which caused the motor to rub and/or clunk against it's mount. My Lexus dealership said they see it from time to time. Changing the wiper motor bushing absolutely fixed the problem. I now have an '04 RX330 and like many of us now am sorting out the gremlins. Jonathan

My friend and I had a similiar experiencewith our '99 RX with a "clunking" noise over sharp bumps while turning, especially at low speeds. Lexus replaced the front struts and suspension support under warranty on both of them. THe clunking was still there. It turns out on BOTH vehicles it was the wiper motor bushing that was bad and when replaced fixed the clunking problem. I guess chassis flex made the motor cluck as it is mounted to the firewall. Get the bushing(s) replaced for the wiper motor, you may be surprised. Jonathan

Hmmmm....how does an Antenna defrost that window as well....I guess it is one of those new "dual purpose" antenna's you hear so much about these days....;)

My old 99 RX had them only on the drivers side rear window. They are indeed defrost wires. I understand this a caryover from Japan as the drivers side is on the right and you would not need the right window defrosted if you were driving on the right. Because we drive on the left, it would be nice to have the right side rear window be defrosted instead of the left. I bet it was an oversight as it is pretty useless to defrost the left rear window on a left hand drive car, but quite useful on a right hand drive car. Jonathan

My old '99 RX300 had a rear main seal at 55K and was also covered under CPO. Kind of weird, these are not the only RX300's losing their rear main seals that I have heard of.... Jonathan

Is this what you are looking for? http://www.lexus-parts.com/partdetail.asp?...SubCategoryID=1

Good luck as Diesel nozzle will not fit in a gasoline filler opening....The Diesel is much larger in diameter.

Resolution found by dealer today..... Of all things the gas tank cover was both loose (a broken clip) and needed to have clearence cuts made as to not hit the car due to wind hitting the cover at speed. This noise in turn somehow found it's way through the car and produced a tapping noise above the drivers area as I described before. THe dealer was stumped for a couple of days on this one. I took it up to about 80 and it is now fixed as the noise was very regular before. Truth can indeed be stranger than fiction.... Jonathan

Thanks....it is definately outside and only occurs around 75mph or above. Drop below 75mph and it goes away. The roof above me seems tight and does not move at all, nor ratlle, etc. even over bumpy roads. The dealership has it now and are scratching their heads..... Jonathan

Has anyone experienced a consistent intermittent "tapping" sound above the driver’s area of a 2004 RX330 at around 75mph? The sunroof is closed and tight, the roof rails are tight (as well as the little access doors to adjust them) and the weather stripping seems secure all around the drivers door and top of vehicle. It almost sounds like heavy raindrops on a tin roof, or fingers drumming on the top. It is only above the driver’s area. It is speed dependent upon reaching 75mph. Thanks, Jonathan

OH, BTW, they did replace my struts (under warrenty) and even added some kind of TRD strut brace and it still clicked/popped like yours. As I said it was COMPLETELY fixed upon replacing the wiper motor bushings. Jonathan

Believe it or not, have them check the windshield wiper motor bushings. My buddy and I had this happen to both our '99 Rx300s. Replacing these bushings and I bet your problems go away. Those were the exact same symptoms we had on our two vehicles. HTH, Jonathan