lenore

Very fortunate, I would suggest doing another drain and fill on the next engine oil change to further clean the fluid on the transmission. Welcome aboard by the way.

Love the looks, but only for the race car...still life the LFA better.

Yes I know, I had an RX300 1999 and it was very similar in the tranny, mine failed to shift overdrive. I took the valve body apart and it was full of fine sediment. The Solenoid code is what I had too, but it appeared to work fine. However after looking at how it affected the valve body pistons, I see that the real problem was a contaminated valve body. Long story short, the tranny had a major failure shortly after, with metal debris. The Planetary gears assembly was made out of aluminum and the steel gears eventually wore the support assemblies causing them to wobble. I talked to a tranny shop locally and he said he saw this all the time, the fix was a steel carrier with additional gears added for strength. The RX300 is a very heavy vehicle, running on a camry transmission.

I have been on these forums for a long time, and have never seen anyone get a claimed 37mpg. 29-31 yes, but on average 24-25 mpg is what I get and many others. This is a fantastic improvement over the old RX300 which got on average 17-19mpg. Wow the advertised 37 must be the Camry. That one does get that kind of mileage on the Hybrid. Oh and welcome aboard to a great site with lots of knowledge.

You very well may have an alternator that is about to fail completely. Take the belt off and spin the pulley by hand, there should be very little noise and no resistance.

One thing to remember the solenoid may click, but that doesn't mean the corresponding piston in the valve body is working. You might have a severly contaminated valve body and that is a sign of tranny failure.

Here is tube procedure:

I would spend the afternoon and remove both belts, than turn by hand the power steering pump, alternator, and AC pump. The alternator should turn very easily, the Power steering pump may have a little resistance, and the AC pump with no power should spin easily. I have seen the clutches go bad on AC pump and cause belts to actually break. The alternator bolt is the adjustment, there is a pivot bolt that needs to be loosened and then the adjuster bolt....

I would spend the afternoon and remove both belts, than turn by hand the power steering pump, alternator, and AC pump. The alternator should turn very easily, the Power steering pump may have a little resistance, and the AC pump with no power should spin easily. I have seen the clutches go bad on AC pump and cause belts to actually break.

Or P0430? Just a bit of info, you might just have a cracked vacuum hose on the intake somewhere. Cats generally don't go bad, they get contaminated with oil, etc. They can be cleaned with commercial cleaners or even just plain water.

I cant find that code, is it p0403?

I am so with you, I do not like the steam locomotive catcher look on the new cars....

Lastly welcome aboard, there is a lot of knowledge base on this site that can assist you in communicating with these service people.

By the way you are way past warranty, so try your recommended independent or a Toyota Dealership, The car is built on the same platform as a Highlander.

Totally agree, at 95k miles there should have been a timing belt change. At that time the camshaft seals and waterpump should have been inspected. Any Toyota dealership would have done that job for less than $700. The next big item are the spark plugs at 125k miles, but between you and me, they will easily last much more. If all of these leaks showed I would first change the PVC valve on the valve cover. Something is real shady about that estimate, I would run and as said find an independent for an estimate for the service that is really necessary.

Go back to basics, you need to check fuel pressure. The pressure regulator may be defective if the fuel pump is indeed pumping.

I cant remember, but is there a fuel cutoff valve for crashes in this car...?

Also try CLub Lexus.com they have a forum for selling parts as well as cars by owners. Saw a few RX300 on that forum for sale.

Try Carmax, OR Cars.com...Carmax will ship for a reasonable fee from anywhere. Look for California or florida cars as they will have no rust or snow abuse.

Could you run codes and give us that info....it would help us help you. By the way welcome aboard. Sounds like it is in limp mode, you could have other issues such as knock sensors/etc. but without codes don't know...

Could you run codes and give us that info....it would help us help you. By the way welcome aboard.

The compressor is less than $300 from RockAuto. I would pull vehicle and have an independent replace it.

Either that or the the belt broke and wrapped around the crankshaft.

Your Camry experience is probably all you need. KYB will work well. My son has an 07 ES350 and the only issue has been front brake vibration. He has tried many combinations of disks and pads and the vibration has always returned. Still have not come up with solution. By the way welcome aboard. The Camry and ES platform share many of not most components.

Brake Pads Clip - Lexus (04947-48050) about $12 at Lexus.