jaswood

I'm pretty sure the engine and transmission are also "sealed", but they still degrade! And Brake Fluid.. well its like honey in color when its new/fresh but after a few years it becomes black, so something is going on. I don't know why, the maintenance schedule says to change it every so often, but many dealers are saying "its a sealed system, we never change it unless major brake work done". The engine crankcase is by no means "sealed" since the lubricating oil is subject to the byprodocts of combustion, even raw fuel at times. My '01 AWD RX300 owners manual indicated that the ATf was good for the life of the vehicle. Then Lexus discovered that the design flaw had not really been fixed and changed the ATF life to 15,000 miles, later revised to checking ATf condition eack engine oil change. Mine was changed, dual drain/fill at ~40,000 miles and now again at ~90,000 miles. I check my coolant freeze level and Ph each fall, never had to change coolant for either of those reasons.

Thanks for the prompt reply. It is AWD. Front seal I believe. There should be 3 "external" seals, left and right front drive halfshafts, and rear driveshaft. One of those..? Common failure, more common, is the internal rear crankshaft seal between the engine and transaxle.

That Shelby Cobra undoubtedly didn't have ABS. Modern day cars take longer to stop in "panic" mode but then they always remain under directional control. "..but even today..." Disable ABS and you might.

You have battery with a shorted cell.

Where..EXACTY, which seal..? AWD? The front (& center[??]) diff'l(s) uses/shares ATF, pickish ATF. The PTO (AWD) uses clear gear oil).

...

I have GREAT personal knowledge of the maintenance history of a '91, '92(2), and '95 LS400, all with over 200,000 miles, the '95 now pushing 300,000. The '91 and one of the '92's have had a single timing belt change, the '95, 2 changes. The '95 first at 90,000 miles second at 270,000 miles, that second one only due (might as well) to the water pump failing. I have had a good look at ALL removed belts and NONE exhibited any undue wear, no cracks, etc. My '01 RX300 is now at 90,000 and I no plans for timing belt change. Since that engineering "estimate" in ~'85 timing belts have endured many years of harsh use and manufacturing improvments.

Starter motors are typically a DIY "reman". Clean/lub the bendix, clean/sand the commutator, new brushes and solenoid contacts, good to go.

The brake system is SEALED and can withstand pressures as high as 5,000 PSI, maybe more. I do not bother with brake fluid, engine coolant, nor diff' lub "renewal" of any kind type useless something requires opening the system. 300,000 miles on our '95 LS400, 90,000 on our '01 "AWD" RX300.

Just be sure to replace the commutator brushes also.

The Ford exploder earned that name just that way, lowering the tire pressure in order to lower the propensity for roll-over. Lowering the tire pressure and then driving for long periods at high speed is fraught with DANGER.

Given a look at the starter components once I had it apart the minimum I would do is: Clean and lub the solenoid mechanicals. Clean, fine sandpaper, the commutator. Replace the brushes. Replace the solenoid "bypass" contacts. Cleaning/burnishing the battery posts/connections might have fixed the flinkering light problem. I have personally seen battery connections so corroded that a light level of current would flow but current at the starter requirement level would result in smoke rising from the battery terminal(s). I suspect almost any marginal elctrical connection could act the same.

There remains a remote chance, very remote, that you have an electrical problem. Battery negative/ground connection to the engine block, positive connection to/at the starter solenoid or from the solenoid to the starter itself. The starter solenoid, mounted on the starter itself, has 2 tasks, 1, to kick the drive gear into engagement with the engine flywheel gear teeth, and 2, to close a set of contacts(***) that then bypasses the solenoid coil itself in favor of FULL battery power to the starter motor. The most common problem is those contacts(***) wear away with useage disabling the starter function. I didn't know you could "tap" the starter/solenoid this way but I'm not surprised that the AAA person would know.

I was trying not to throw my two cents in but I just had to point a few things out. Point 1 - Typically, the left lane is the passing lane, not the "high speed" lane (unless you're in Germany on the Autobahn) - if you were the only one on the road, you should have been in the right lane, irregardless of how fast you were going since you were not passing anybody. Point 2 - So you were in the passing lane and going 10mph over the speed limit - so what? Even if you were going 50mph over the speed limit, your duty (likely by law, as it is in most jurisdictions) is to yield to the faster vehicle. That means moving over to let him pass. It's not up to you to decide that 10mph over the speed limit is sufficient for the passing lane and everyone else be damned. On the Autobahn if someone is overtaking and you are in ANY left travel lane then YOU MUST, by law, more right immediately. If for some reason you are inattentive and do not notice the overtaking vehicle you will get a quick series of headlight flashes and the overtaking vehicle will NOT SLOW DOWN. The driver, having the full expectation that having now gotten your attention you will now more right IMMEDIATELY. Them's the RULES.

Lexus dealers sell the Toyota extended warranty.

Yes it is but perhaps my question is not specific enough. What I would like to know is the speed at which my 450h will achieve the most efficient ratio. Thanks again! Modern day gasoline engines have two high efficiency ranges, low, cruise, RPM wherein pumping losses are high but frictional losses are low. WOT with pumping losses zip and frictional losses high. The HSD control computer is constantly adjusting the CVT to minimize FE based on overall conditions. So there no good, exacting, answer to your question. Overall FE optimization, "cruise" optimization,...likely ~55MPH. 55MPH.

WOW... First and foremost... IMO it is a real shame that there wasn't a cop nearby to observe your actions and issue you the serious citation you clearly earned. As a very minimum YOU should have immediately yeilded the fast lane to the overtaking car as soon as you noticed it. Then if you wished to RACE it would be between you and the other driver.

Due poor clearance between the top of the tire and the suspension components rear tire chains cannot be used on the RX series. I added 1.6" rear spacers and 17X8 wheels on my '01 RX300 so I could have the safety of using rear tire chain first, initially, and only adding the front chains if/as required.

NH... You need to keep in mind, seriously so, that the RX350 is NOT a true AWD vehicle. More like F/awd, primarily FWD except during low speed acceleration or fair tight turns at low speed. This latter in an effort to reduce the RX from the strong tendency for plowing/understeering due to ALL of the engine torque being at the front when lateral forces are seriously in play. For F/awd, base FWD, vehicles the best of the best would be the Honda/Acura SH-AWD. In the price class of the RX350 I would suggest you seriously consider the Porsche Cayenne V6 base (R/awd). The Cayenne uses the same electromagnetic clutch as the 2010 and later RX350, but in this case to couple in the front drive. No plowing or understeering in marginal roadbed conditions, and yes, primarily RWD so subject to inadvertent, unintentional oversteering, but totally under the control of the driver, or in the worse case, driver reaction time. Should you be concerned about the oversteering issue Porsche has an option that will apportion rear torque L/R-R/L automatically, in turns, just as does the SH-AWD system. A big plus, BIG PLUS, for the Cayenne is that is DOES NOT use the horribly flawed (consider it even HAZARDOUS in your wintertime climatic conditions) design of the NipponDenso, Denso US, automatic climate control system. If you should proceed with the RX350 purchase I highly recommend you get a copy of the various, and many, system control options that the dealer can set opposite the factory default. My guess would be given the seriousness of this matter the MDX will have these same options.

Ignore items 2, 3, & 4, those are 98% dealer profit, if they even bother to do the 2% work/material required. As to 5 the dealer cost is less than $500 and there is a toyota dealer in the midwest that will sell you the same Toyota extended warranty for <$800. I suggest you first start by finding a dealer that is NOT "this" crooked. And go into the showroom dressed in jeans, sweat shirt (dirty) and tenny-runners.

How is the level at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) acceleration up to 65MPH, say at 45MPH...? Do you consider it to be adequate..??? If so it very well could be, given the lack of an indication otherwise, that the engine/transmission controlling ECU "thinks" it's at the electronically enforced speed limit.

You can "spoil" an oxygen sensor even in the short term by allowing atmospheric oxygen to reach it while it's still heated, hot. Having this happen over a long period of time, leaking exhaust, might well mean you need a new sensor.

If the leak rate is less than a qt between oil changes then ignore it/them.

Cellular phone has been removed.

Brake fluid is low, volume expands as it warms up from engine heat.