mikey00

$57.22 at newlexusparts.com. Still not cheap. They list for about $68. Sounds like the dealer you spoke to is charging over list. Try calling a few more local dealers. You also may want to go to Irontoad.com and ask for a price quote.

I find it unusual that your rear pads needed replacement at 48k and the front were still good. The pads on the RX usually wear evenly (front and back) and last an average of 70K, depending on driving habits. As far as compressing the piston before unbolting the caliper, how do you do that with the pads and rotor in the way at that point? I just used a quick-grip mini bar clamp from Home Depot. Lastly, it is not necessary to completely remove the caliper. Just take out bottom bolt and pivot caliper up the change pads.

First thing I would do is get rid of those gimmick plugs and put the right ones in.

Also $1000 sounds high. Are you using the dealer?

I put Cross Terrains on my 01 and they were a big improvment over the Bridgestone Duelers that came on it, in both handling and ride. The Duelers wore out at 30k. I now have 50k on the Cross Terrains and they look like they have quite a bit left on them. Check out tirerack.com for ratings and watch Costco for Michelin sales.

Rx330 has indirect. Quote from Car & Driver: "The RX330 has a standard tire pressure monitoring system, which uses the ABS sensors to measure slight differences in wheel speed to alert the driver to a drop in tire pressure before damage to the tire or an accident might occur." Check your owners manual about reset.

The Magellan Roadmate 700, Garmin 2610 and the Tom Tom Go Plus are the 3 top rated ones. The 700 is used by the Hertz neverlost system. I am looking at the Tom Tom Go plus myself. PC magazine rated it as the best of the 3. Do a search on google and you will find more info than you need.

"I noticed that the A/C did not seem to be cooling as well I thought it should" I would find another RX300 and compare the a/c output with yours. It sounds to me like you may be taking a system that is working fine and !Removed! it up.

I know of at least one instance where a dealer quoted a high price when it was only a vacuum hose, although. it does seem like your dealer did a fairly thorough check and not just a guess. Here is a link on how to check for the more common causes of the check engine light. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...++engine++light You can also do a search on "check engine light" here and come up with some more discussion. As far as leaving the light on, it shouldn't cause any problem. However, if you do have a real problem in the future trying to turn on the light you won't know it. Also I don't know how state inspection works in your state, but in NJ they use the check engine light for emmissions verification, so it would fail.

RX manual says 7500 for normal conditions. I think most of us are following the 5000 mile severe schedule. Shouldn't your question be 5000 or 7500?

The Lexus stock pads are hard to beat. They last a long time, have great stopping ability, quiet, and very low dusting. I had a 00 and 01 RX and used stock pads on both.

You need the factory scan tool to change these settings. The dealer is most likely your only option. Do a search on cbest settings on this forum to get a complete list of the settings.

No. Just lift the top enough to access the filter. Don't forget to watch that vacuum hose in the rear as mentioned above.

The design of the front and rear pads are not the same. The rear pad has the wear indicator firmly attached to the pad frame. It is either part of the frame or attached with a rivet. It has been awhile since I looked at it. This is the way I remember pads from previous brake jobs (non Lexus). The wear indicator on the front pad is just a spring steel clip that you slide onto the pad frame. You would think Lexus would include these with the front pads but they don't. You need to remove them from the old pads. A call to the parts dept confirmed this.

The original Lexus pads do have wear indicators at all 4 wheels. This is a small metal tab on the pad that contacts the rotor, before the pad is completly gone, and makes more of a squeal than a chirp. The original pads do last a long time. I changed mine at 75k and I could have gone a little longer. One thing to know: Lexus replacement front pads come without the wear indicator. They must be removed from the old pads and placed on the new ones. I bet there are a lot of RXs around without the wear indicators, after having their pads changed. The rear pads come with wear indicators on them.

There are many possible causes of a problem like this as mentioned above. However, the Panasonic battery in the RX does not have a very good track record and is most likely the cause. I suggest you do a search on "battery" here and on other RX forums you will find many similiar problems caused by the battery. Either temporarily swap out the battery for a test as suggested above or just pick up a replacement battery. Only cost about $40 at Costco and Kirkland is made by Johnston Controls, one of the best manufacturers and also maker of the Optima. If you have the original Panasonic battery in a 00 RX, you will need to be replacing it soon anyway.

It needs to calibrate itself. This will happen through normal driving or if you are in a hurry go around in a circle a few times. Mike

Common problem. See 2 posts down and do a search.

First check for the obvious. The most common one being the black hose that runs down behind the air filter box. It comes off the metal tube below it and causes a check engine light. This is common after someone lifts up on the air filter box top to check the air filter. If this is it, put the hose back on and pull the EFI fuse for a few minutes to reset the light. If that is not it your best bet is getting the code read at Autozone for free. Do a search on this board and on the ES forum. You will find everything you need to know about check engine lights, sensors, etc.

This could be a number of things as mentioned above, but I would put my money on the battery. You didn't say what year your rx is or if it has the original battery. One thing I did notice about the rx , is when the battery starts to go you get a lot of little telltale signs like the digital clock requiring resets, lights dimming, etc., long before the car will give you starting problems. Do you have another car that you can pull the battery out of and test it in the rx. It doesn't have to be a good fit. Just connect the cables and run it in the driveway without even closing the hood to see if the problems are still there. Or if your battery is getting near 5 years old just change it.

Not sure about that filter, SKperformance's problem was with fibers not metal particals. ← I am not totally sold on this filter idea yet, but if you check it out it does filter out fibers not just metal particles.

That is magnetic type with full flow and complete bypass. Read the specs at the link.

I would really like to believe that. Where are your facts coming from?

Here you go: http://www.emergingent.com/magnefine/order_page.htm I really don't like the idea of this but given the problems with the RX trannies I might go for one.

I think this is the exact one from the pics. It's $26.95. They also have a high perf one for $99. The link also has installation instructions, FAQs, forums, etc. http://www.emergingent.com/magnefine/order_page.htm