lenore

Wow, I am impressed, Your daughter is quite observant....Wish I had her ears when I was trying to hear which wheel the noise was coming from....I asked my Grandson, but he was having dificulty also...

wasnt there some kind of limited in 2007 that included the panoramic sun roof?

Not sure, are they Canadian built cars? That would be an interesting statistic....My RX has 105k miles...I expect to change plugs at around 125 k miles. The rear main seal bothers me, especially since most of these cars use synthetic now...I know on the old RX with poor or dino oil changes the seals would build up with debris and wear them....I know a treatment of Auto RX has stopped or nearly stopped many a rear seal leak on these forums....I personally have never used it...

Dont forget Josh to make use of military bases for overnight stays....much cheaper than hotels...If you enjoy your Dodge drive it. You can always get a oil change during the trip....I did that years ago when we drove to North Carolina from California to see the birth of oldest grandbaby...

Sorry, typing faster than I was thinking, Fredie Mac and Fannie Mae.....

not normal at all....Has the vehicle a good record of oil changes? The rear main seal leak was a problem on the 99RX300 but havent heard any problems on the Newer RX's....I would try Auto RX and let the oil leak go. As for the steering rack that too is weird.....

Towing with trailer, definetly get the tranny fluid changed....it is required. There is no such thing as lifetime fluid....You might also want them to drop the pan and change filter while doing it. Make sure to use correct fluid for the vehicle (very important.) Note also you may have an issue with prodigy not being set up correctly or the trailer brakes need adjustment...Read the prodigy booklet carefully because I was making a mistake when I adjusted mine. I tow a 4600 lb trailer with a Ford f150. I found on the last check my trailer brakes themselves were not adjusted properply....Two important things to look at.

Too bad we didnt let the highest bidder take over GM, Bank of AMerica, Freddie Mae, etc. That is true Americanism, But no we bail them all out....."It was a great civilization while it last." So half time and we have 14 trillion in debt, 9.3% Unemployment (however its probably higher because employment to our government means part time jobs) and They still cant balance a budget....kick the can until we become Greece, Spain, or Euro. I heard an analysis that the Greek bonds are going to be 50% of face value coming soon. Heck we dont even have to use rockets to the moon, we could just stack the Dollar bills of debt and climb there. I sure hope the second half is a winning team and not one bent on destroying the dignity of the American people......Wise up, or we face economic doom.

I suspect the starter contacts are failed, you might have to pull it...here is a description of what you would have to replace on the starter: http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/instructions.html

Yep but California has always led the way in the strictest emissions standards in the Unitied States....Though I will say the smog in LA is so much better (less) than when I came to this state in 1965. The windshield turned yellow with a thick film back then...The air is relativlely clear most of the time now.....

+1 agree would not mix fluids, only as a last resort in an emergency, than first opportunity would change it out.

I would use the toyota Pink, a little expensive but it will last 5 years or 150k miles....The toyota fluid is an excellent fluid and protects all of the bi-metals in the engine with no silicate in it.

I would also use a full synthetic oil in the engine....Make sure car is hot (warmed up) and new air filter, I am not familiar with your car but you could have bad cats or cats that are failing....You difinetly want the cylinders all to be firing so if you have bad plugs replace them with OEM plugs. Good luck, I too get a queazy stomach everytime I get a smog check in the !Removed! Air resources controlled state of California. Does that engine have an EGR valve, if so hopefully it is functioning properly....

Actually cars use the battery as a voltage stabilizer...The alternator has a regulator in it to convert AC to a rippled DC current, The battery further eliminates the spikes...I would check for grounds and poor battery cables...sometimes they corroad inside the plastic and cause poor current conduction. Check all of the grounds to the engine, battery, and frame and make sure they are not rusty etc. Other than that the rebuilt alternator may be defective.

Hey Josh, glad you are enjoying the trip...I love your picture of that coastal highway bridge...Those were all constructed during the WPA days of the Great depression, they are so unique and classics in themselves. Hope you are enjoying yourself....Thank you for your service.

If it is not serviceable than how did they change the fluid, and fill it to the correct level...logic tells you that they are lying. I found pan and filter kits for that vehcile online. That means it is serviceable. What a bunch of baloney... I would fix the leak, change the filter and pan gasket, and if everything works, than run from that stealership.... on a side note look in your service booklet and find out exactly what the service interval is. if you dont have that log on to mylexus.com and enter your Vin # and you will find a source for that booklet on that site...

here is a basic procedure for wheel bearing, I just did mine....machine shop will press it in and out for you for usually around $40....Good luck By the way my Vehicle is a RX400h.... http://www.clublexus...ep-by-step.html however the GX470 uses a hub/bearing combination....see here http://lexus.sewellp...GX470-2007.html Also the assembly can be found a lot cheaper at alternative like RockAuto.com...But there are a host of sites with this part.

the plugs can be changed without removing the plenum....Just takes patient....its a 1mze engine in the RX300

here is a great procedure from the RX forums which should be same as yours... http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7408&hl=iacv

I would go with the IAC cleaning, but do it completely not the short cut...Take it apart and be very careful...

The front cv on the lexus vehicles are very stought....not like some cheaper cars...I replaced one on my old RX300, again a waste as it did not solve the vibration problem that I had...Turned out to be the driveshaft support bearings to the rear axle....

I would have your mechanic look for signs of leakage on the crankshaft, These toyota based engines generally dont leak there...My old RX300 had 188k miles and never leaked from the crankshaft....Your mechanic could replace seal if necessary, but i wouldnt do it unless is is leaking.

Fog lights are supposed to cut the path very low...Their effectiveness is that the light is on a very low beam path so as not to reflect back into the drivers eyes...So on coming traffic should have no difficulty at all.

Actually the best fog lights are yellow in color...When I lived in Spain the fog lights were yellow and they penetrated better for visability. The French cars came with yellow headlamps for this reason. However fog lights properly adjusted are low in their penetration so that the light doesnt reflect back into the drivers eyes.

I would hit those bolts with pb blaster a couple of times. A day or two of soaking is probably the best you can do. As for bolts locally, I am not sure of the construction of those bolts, if they are a specialty and off centered than a normal bolt wont work....I would suspect they are also of a stronger grade than a normal bolt also.