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bowtie3

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Everything posted by bowtie3

  1. In the new issue of Consumer Reports it says that the HID headlights on the '06 GS " don't illuminate far enough ahead ". It also gives a thumbs-down on the HID headlights on the '06 Infinity M35. It states that " the new GS300 is refined, but it's NOT the luxury sports sedan Lexus pitches ". The new '06 Avalon is basically the SAME car, gets better mileage, has a bigger engine, and costs about $20,000 LESS! Are HID headlights worth it? I doubt it!
  2. If you think that's a crime then read my post from yesterday-------Certified Warranty Education For $85.00! ← the dealer wanted $965 for the 60k services. i got to find out what need to be done then ill go shop around. ← Golly, It's ONLY a $700.00 difference! They have to pay for those FREE loaner cars!
  3. If you think that's a crime then read my post from yesterday-------Certified Warranty Education For $85.00!
  4. BORED7ONE4------Did you shop around for a second estimate for the 60,000 mile service? What did the Toyota dealer quote?
  5. So I took my wife's 2000 RX300 [ 54,000 miles ] in to the dealer this morning for 2 issues: 1 ] The A/C compressor or the alternator are howling / rattling at times 2 ] The front struts are making that cracking / popping / clunking noise again. I had it to the dealer about 2 months ago for the TSB on the front strut-mount rubber bushings. Now it's beginning to do the same thing again. The car is covered by the Certified Warranty for another year. The dealer tech tells me he doesn't hear anything out of the ordinary on either problem, so I'm billed $85.00 for an hour's labor. I guess they think I don't have anything else to do for two and a half hours. I thought I had escaped this kind of service when I didn't buy another GM vehicle. So I guess the MO is to keep putting the customer off until the vehicle is completely out of ANY warranty and THEN they WILL find a problem. The service rep told me that they ALL make noises when the engine is running and that the warranty would cover it if the A/C compressor or the alternator quits working or comes apart. Poke me with a fork, I'm done !
  6. All RX300's ! ← The design of the current upper rubber strut-mount is faulty. The " fix " has been to replace the rubber strut-mounts with a " new design " rubber mount. When a customer takes their RX300 in to the dealer for the repair you have to wonder if they really replace anything or just move the current rubber mount around, apply some rubber lubricant, collect for the correct repair time from Lexus, and then send the customer on their way. Who knows !
  7. The RX300 has had problems with the front struts and there is a TSB [ Technical Service Bulletin ] on it. My wife's 2000 RX300 was in the shop just 2 months ago for repairs [ Certified Warranty ] and now it's doing the SAME thing again. [ Cracking/knocking when pulling onto uneven surfaces at an angle such as a driveway ]
  8. When I had my wife's 2000 RX300 in for an oil/filter change the other day I inquired into the 60,000 mile service and what is included. The service rep couldn't tell me what is done for the $500.00 price of the service. She said it's all in the owner's manual, so I checked the manual for the list of recommended services. From what I could see, the total of parts is about $80.00 and it looks to be about 2-3 hours work for someone who does their own maint. My wife bought her car 2 years ago [ then had 38,000 miles ] from the Lexus dealer and has been adamant that it get oil/filter changes at the Lexus dealer while it's covered by the Certified Warranty. I do all the maint. work on my Silverado but I'll go along with her on this; if there are any problems [ and there have been ] then she can refer to them as doing all the maint. The Certified Warranty will end next May and after that I doubt it will ever see the Lexus dealer again. If I can't handle it I'll take it to the Toyota dealer. [ Same vehicle as Toyota Highlander ] It seems as though the Lexus dealers think they can gouge the customers to no end without any repercussions. They charge ANY amount they want for ANY service because they assume that the customer is totally ignorant. Any good independent import shop could do an equal or better job for much less money, with the SAME parts. Oh, I forgot. The Lexus dealer has to provide loaner cars for FREE!
  9. I've heard of dealers charging almost $100.00 to replace tail-light bulbs. [ 10-minute job ] When replacing either the two outer bulbs or the two bulbs in the rear hatch I change BOTH bulbs at the same time. Both bulbs together cost about $6.00-$8.00 at the auto parts store. To access the bulbs in the rear hatch just loosen up the bottom of the rear interior panel and they're within easy reach. It seems as though the Lexus dealers charge one hour's labor even if the job takes 5 minutes. Head-light bulbs are ALMOST as easy!
  10. My wife's 2000 RX300 also had the dash drive-indicator burn-out. She purchased her car 2 years ago with the Lexus Certified Warranty and the dealership REPLACED the bulb under warranty. The 4 year bumper-to-bumper warranty had already expired but the dealership said that the drive-indicator bulb is covered by the Lexus Certified Warranty. The drive-indicator light is usually the first bulb to burn out because it's the one that's on the longest amount of time. I don't recommend anyone buying an RX300 without the Lexus Certified Warranty. We've had many issues covered by the Certified warranty [ Rear main seal, shoulder harnesses, gas knock, front strut rattles, etc. ] and it isn't over yet. [ ends May1,2006 ] The front strut problem is coming back just 2 months after the dealership was to have repaired them. [ Knocking/rattling when going into driveways or parking lots ] Also the alternator or the A/C compressor is noisy now. It seems as though it's always something. My '01 Silverado wasn't in the shop half as much as this car has been. Maybe it's because we've had higher expectations from a Lexus. Now I know why there aren't any RX300 repair manuals available to the public; this vehicle is a " gold mine " to Lexus service departments. The other day when I had the car in for it's oil/filter change I observed a woman going " bonkers" because of the almost $100.00 bill to replace a headlight bulb. It seems that the bulb cost about $12.00 and the 10-minute job was $80.00 for labor. The service consultant told her that ANY part of an hour is $80.00 labor! It seems as though the " high resale value " experienced by Lexus owners is extorted from them during the time of ownership!
  11. I think Toyota trucks have had a RECALL for this very problem!
  12. Does anyone know of any Toyota car forums?
  13. My wife's 2000 RX300 [54,000 miles ] has had a periodic gas knock for the past year or so. We've always used 89 octane fuel in it and generally get it from BP/Amoco or Shell. I've had it in to the dealer several times in the past year for this problem and always leave dissatisfied. They continue to tell me it's the fuel we're using. I've even used 93 octane several times and had the same results. It used to happen right after a fill-up, but lately it will do it at even a half-tank. Everything is normal and then taking off from a traffic light and BINGO, there is the gas-knock again. When it happens I pull the ECU-B fuse for few minutes and that solves the problem til the next time. I put a bottle of Chevron Pro-Guard in it about every 3 months. Does anyone have any ideas about this problem? Thanks.
  14. Both myself & wife in mid forties. I agree with you Bowtie about cars built after 1970. However in starting in 1990 quality, especially with Japanese cars got much better. I figuired you may be a Chevy guy with a name like Bowtie. I've owned a 1969 Chevelle for over 25 years & numerous old muscle cars. ← Yes CRUZNROADKING, I'm a retired [ sort of ] GM tech. The BOWTIE 3 refers to the Chevy emblem and I've always been a Dale Earnhardt fan and always will be. I've owned a few Fords, Mopars, VW's, etc. over the years but once you're a Chevy man it's hard to drive something else. What will probably coax me to buy another brand of truck is the decline of GM vehicles. The Tundra is interesting; it's almost a truck! The quality of Toyota and Honda far surpasses anything GM, Ford, or Chrysler puts out. Being a service tech my whole life, it's really difficult for me to bend over everytime I take my wife's RX300 in for dealer service. It still has another year of the Certified Warranty left so I take it in to the dealer for the oil/filter changes and any warranty problems. When I was at the dealer the other day a woman customer just couldn't understand why the labor for replacing a headlite bulb was $85.00 plus the cost of the bulb. It was 10 minutes from the time the customer gave the service-writer authorization for the bulb-replacement til she was told her RX300 was ready. What a screw-job! OK, I'm through!
  15. My wife [age 58 ] is the owner of the 2000 RX300. I'm age 60 and my vehicle is an '01 Silverado. Being an old hot rodder I probably have the philosophy that anything made after 1970 is junk, but the RX300 has been somewhat of an exception to my rule. [ Even with some of the problems it's had ] One of my earlier cars was a 1969 Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet Mustang that I bought new for LESS than the price of just a few of the the RX330 Option Packages. [ Under $4000.00 ] That car today, in excellent condition, would probably bring in EXCESS of $50,000.00. OK I'm through now!
  16. If the Toyota dealer will warrant the complete job I'd have the Toyota dealer do it. The A/C compressor will probably fit the Camry, ES300, RX300, Highlander, Avalon, etc. They are all pretty much the same under the hood. The only Lexus dealer in this area also owns one of the 3 Toyota dealers. Guess which Toyota dealer refuses to do ANY work on a Lexus? There are no service manuals available for the RX300 EXCEPT from the dealer. The 2 volumes are $100.00 EACH! I bought a Chiltons service manual at a parts store for the Highlander and guess what? IT WORKS!
  17. The price you've received for replacing the timing belt and the other belts is reasonable, especially at a Lexus dealer. Where they are trying to get it back is with the water-pump change. If the timing belt is due for replacement I would also replace the water-pump at the same time; the timing belt has to be removed to replace the water-pump anyway. Before you have the work done I would get an estimate for the COMPLETE job from a TOYOTA dealer. A Toyota Highlander is the same vehicle as far as the engine and drive-train is concerned. The Toyota dealer will be much less expensive and the parts used are EXACTLY THE SAME!
  18. Try getting your rear suspension bushings lubricated...... ← While my wife's 2000 RX300 is still under the Certified Warranty, I still have the oil/filter changed at the dealership every 4 months. [ Her idea. ] She puts about 500 miles a month on it. Getting back to undercarriage noises, after I pick it up from the dealer I bring it home, put it up on jack-stands, and examine what was done at the dealership. [ I'm a worrier! ] While doing this I spray EVERYTHING that is rubber under the car with WD40, using a spray-bottle with an adjustable nozzle, which I buy by the gallon at Home Depot. [ $ 9.00 a gal. ] I also have a Silverado extracab truck that I perform all of the maint. on, and have used the WD40 on it also. I have found over the years that the WD40 helps to preserve/lubricate all of the rubber bushings, boots, etc. under the vehicle and eliminate sqeaks. I've always used Mobil 1 in our vehicles but I'm hesitant to begin using it in her 2000 RX300 [ 53,000 miles ] when it is out of the Certified Warranty; always heard of leak problems when converting to synthetic after that many miles. Try the WD40. It works.
  19. I took my wife's 2000 RX300 [ 52,000 miles ] in to the dealer 2 weeks ago to have the front strut rubber mounts replaced; rattle, cracking, clunking noise when pulling into uneven driveways/parking lots. They replaced them under the Certified Warranty, along with a front-end alignment. For 2 weeks there has been no noise. Today when I used her car I could hear the SAME " racket " as before. Do you think all they did was lubricate the old rubber insulators and gave it back to me? Any comments on this matter?
  20. A few comments/questions I have are: What is the logic of removing the fuses before disconnecting the battery ? Would the computer NOT reset if the fuses were left in ? Is this technique of resetting the computer explained somewhere in the owner's manual ? If not, would this affect the warranty ? Do you have a reference to Mickey00's original post ? ← Mickey00's comment was a reply to a question I posted April 6 concerning pulling the correct fuses to accomplish the " repair ".
  21. For the past year my wife's 2000 RX300 has had a periodic gas Knock. We've always used 89 octane in it as per the dealer's advice. I've taken it in to the dealer for the problem three times which has resulted in no cure. [ I was told repeatedly we were using poor quality gas; Shell, Exxon, BP Mobil, etc. ] Last week I took Mickey00's advice and pulled the ECU-B and EFI fuses and disconnected the battery for a few minutes. Guess what? After about a week there has been absolutely NO GAS KNOCK. Also the engine seems peppier and the transmission seems to shift quicker. Is this a PERMANENT fix or will the car's computer go back to the " gas knock phase "? What REALLY burns me is; WHY DIDN'T THE DEALER THINK OF THIS DURING THE PAST YEAR?
  22. Take it to a Toyota dealer for the water-pump replacement. The RX 300 and the Highlander powertrain are exactly the SAME; the difference is that the Toyota dealer charges about ONE HALF the price of a Lexus dealer. [ and uses the SAME parts ] I have found that the technicians at the Toyota dealer know as much about our 2000 RX 300 as the techs at the Lexus dealer.
  23. Just like to repeat the previous question!
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