mikey00

Download the factory one for free. Remember copyright laws may apply. http://www.unc.edu/~scorcher/1999/

I went through this with my 01 a couple of years ago. Most aftermarket lack in overall apperance. I ended up with the round tube by HiddenHitch which in my opinion looks better than the factory hitch. Not to mention that it saves a lot of $ over Lexus hitch. Sorry I don't have any pics.

Where do you see the suggestion of 100K in the book?

You can get an activated charcol cabin filter. http://catalog.drivewire.com/drivewire/bas...ication=2482898

Looks like there are finally alternatives to the expensive Lexus cabin air filter. I still have my original 2001 filter at 110K. I just washed it again today. Here is a Denso one for less than $5. http://catalog.drivewire.com/drivewire/bas...CC+Cabin+Filter

10 qts of the same fluid should be less than $50 at the Toyota dealer. I would buy 14 qts and do 3 drain and fills (4.5 qts each) a couple of weeks apart.

I think DataDots by themselves are of very little value to HID owners. Their main purpose is to aid in prosecution of individuals caught with stolen HIDs in their possession. Without Data Dots it is difficult to prove the used HIDs didn't come from a legitimate source. What is more important to you is if you have DataDots they were most likely installed as part of the Lexus HID theft deterrent package which includes additional hardware to make HID removal difficult.

Just search this forum for "pinging". You will get many hits on others who had the same problem. I am betting on the knock sensors. Cheap low grade gas is all my 2001 RX gets and I am over 100K without any problems.

Interesting, for some reason Lexus is not getting on the bandwagon with these transmission flushes. I did a search for locations with BG flush machines within a 50 mile radius (which includes a lot of Lexus dealers in NJ, NY and PA). There were over 500 locations with a BG machine. Many of these were Toyota dealers. There were no Lexus dealers with a transmission flush machine. A few Lexus dealers did have BG machines but only for coolant and/or fuel.

I am also in the same boat. Wife would like a replacement for our 2001 RX, but after looking at all the possibilities we find no worthy contenders yet. We prefer the RX 300 styling over the RX 330/350 but may have to compromise a little here. We prefer smaller and sporty over bigger and more luxury. I also wouldn't mind getting away from the outrageous Lexus service and parts cost. So far I have been able to avoid it by DIY and using Toyota dealer for timing belt but I am certain the day will come when I need that Lexus exculsive high priced part. Just an observation about your comment on lousy fuel econmy for the RX 330. I know from a previuos post you are also considering a RDX. I remember because it also ranks high on our list. Consumer Reports tested both the RX 330 and the RDX and both got 18 mpg overall. But the 330 only requires regular and the RDX requires premium (plus syn oil). So you actually end up with better fuel economy with the 330. Also you get the silky smooth 6 with the RX and the turbo 4 with the RDX which consumer reports claims has a "undesireable rumble at idle". Of course the RDX is a little more sporty and has better acceleration. Now if they would only offer the RDX without the turbo, it might be the one. Or maybe if lexus would come out with their own version of the Rav 4 and change the rear tailgate to a vertical opening and get rid of the ugly spare.

I had my local Toyota dealer flush and fill. It was called a BG machine flush. It took 12 qts and cost $125.00 parts and labor. I plan on having it done every 15,000 miles. I know it was done right and with the correct ATF. I'll pay the $125 every 15,000 but do not want to pay the $4,000. plus for a new trans. Just curious, what Toyota dealer in NJ did you use that had a flush machine? Most Toyota and Lexus dealers seem to be offering drain and fill only.

Now that Toyota Long Life Red (RX300) and Toyota Ultra Long Life Pink (RX330) are almost $20 a gallon, I switched to Prestone all makes and models ultra long life, about $6 at Walmart. Not that an additional $15 for a gallon is going to break me. It's just the principle of overpaying.

I always thought the ExxonMobil information was carefully written by their marketing department to try to discredit the many claims of oil leeks after switching to synthetic. They emphasize the fact that synthetic will not actually cause oil leeks but shy away from the actual claims that an engine that does not leek with dino may leek with synthetic.

Many RX problems have been solved by replacing the battery and they always test fine. The original Panasonic battery has a weird way of failing where it just causes small unusual problems. The most common one being the clock resetting. If your problem continues and you still have the original Panasonic battery just change it. They are only about $40 at Costco and have better specs than original.

I agree with Gary on this one, stay away from Lexus unless you have a problem. The last thing you want them to do is enter this in their records. This gives them something to blame any possible problems in the future on and they could even use this against you come trade in or sale time. As long as your car is running fine and there is no check engine light there is really nothing they can do for you. Chances are you will never have any problems now that the diesel is out of the system and just let it go at that.

Bad link??

I have 107K on my 2001 AWD without any problems yet. I didn't start changing the trans fluid until 65K and have been doing a drain and fill every 15K since then. Only real problem other than normal maintenance items is that damn "D" bulb. I guess I complain a lot about the potential for oil gelling and trans failure but so far this has been a very low maintenance car.

Am I missing something here? Being that Lexus extended the warranty for sludge, why are you messing around with it hoping that you can clean it up? You mention the car was maintained at the dealer with 5k services, so there are records of oil changes. Why not let Lexus take care of it? You may even get a new engine out of it. I don't think purchase records of Toyota oil are going to do much for you in the future.

Being that you prefer Lexus/Toyota pads, why not use them. The Lexus rear pads are $45 from Irontoad. I received them in 2 days.

I am not sure exactly who in US says premium is the fuel of choice. I used nothing but regular except for some testing with premium in both my RXs. Regular is definitely my fuel of choice. I am not, however, looking to start another long discussion on regular vs. premium. It has been discussed many times before. Do a search here and at CL. Looks like opinion is somewhat divided. As far as your mileage goes you are not too far off. I get 19.5 with a combination of city and country roads, almost no highway. The RX is geared kind of low so highway mileage does not go up as much as some other autos with higher gearing. Are your tires the proper size? This could affect odometer accuracy and result in lower mpg if you have larger tires. Check odometer accuracy with milepost markers on highway.

Dealer or independent shop? How much? Any additional thoughts or suggestions? I am just trying to prepare for when my day comes. I'm at 106k now.

It's the "brake system warning light" that comes on if the fluid level is low. If the "ABS" light is on I don't think adding fluid is going to do much.

You may want to try just disconnecting the battery cable for a few minutes. Sometimes resetting everything gets you back to normal. This has solved other problems in the hvac area.

Ok, here is the answer to my question which nobody could answer. For some unknown reason the computor system put the defroster / floor vent into "fail safe" mode and the local Toyota dealership "re-initialized' the system. Same as rebooting your computor. Now everything works fine at the cost of $100.00. Could have been alot worse I guess. Wow. sounds like the dealer got $100 for disconnecting the battery cable for a few minutes. Not bad.

Be sure and post back if their "guess" fixes the problem.