ajvenuto

Lex, I have no knowledge of this re-chroming process but it does sound a bit risky. Even with a 3 year warranty, if the job is not done properly, you could come out on the short end of the stick over the long haul. The only other alternative I am aware of is the following link. http://www.lexus-parts.com/partdetail.asp?...ubCategoryID=19 I can't at all vouch for the quality control here either. It just happens to be the only other place I've seem original factory wheels in chrome. This is a bit more pricey of an alternative than what you have found, however. Best of Luck.

Ericok, Thanks very much for the very detailed instructions. I plan on trying this as soon as I can. Your time and help are greatly appreciated. Regards, ajvenuto

Thanks SK. I feel kind of silly not knowing about such a handy item. I sure wish I would have know about the plastic bolts before I went to stainless steel and got myself into a bit of a jam!!! Regards....

← TO ERICOK, Thanks so much for the reply. I really had no idea about the SS seizing issue. In fact, I put SS license plate bolts on my last car. After 16 years I removed the stainless steel bolts with no problem!!! Thinking back however, I believe the bolts were screwed into plastic nuts. Hence I gained a truly false sense of security using SS bolts. Are plastic bolts easy to get or are they a specialty item. I honestly have never heard of them. I would love to replace all my SS bolts with plastic ones. One other thing if you don't mind..... On a difficulty scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult, what would you say the difficulty level of removing the front bumber cover to be? Thanks again for taking the time to reply. Your great insight and advice with this touchy problem is greatly appreciated. ajvenuto

Has anyone had any experience dealing with a stripped front license plate bracket in a 2000 RX300. I can't get one bolt to release from the front bumper. It just turns freely but won't unscrew. BTW I've thought about cutting the bolt off and drilling out the hole but the bolt is stainless steel. I replaced the original rusted bolts with SS so they would not rust or bind in the future. I may have screwed MYSELF !!! I hope this doesn't cost me $500 to correct this issue at my local Lexus dealer !

After removing the plastic panel as stated above, wait for just 30 minutes. Place an oil pan below the oil filter. Then slowly unscrew the oil filter only as far as is necessary to start a slow oil flow fom the filter. The oil draining from the filter will fall into a small well directly below the filter that is incorporated into a bracket. If the well comes close to overflowing, you can control the oil flow by how far out you unscrew the filter so the well does not overflow. The oil draining into the well will drain out of the well through a small hole at the bottom. When the oil is finished draining, you can the completely remove the filter.

Since you mentioned LED bulbs........ I'm new to the world of LED replacement bulbs. Can you fill me in on the advantages. I can think of one which is extended bulb life, but that's all I'm aware of. Thanks

Tuned, I'm guessing that the front sidemarker light bulbs are clear, but I don't know for sure.

Someone may says it is inteligent. I have a question about it. In cold weather, I need to warm the engine up, It may not be my real driving style in the first couple of minutes. The following is my real story. I always follow break-in procedure for my new cars. In thefirst 1000 miles, I have no choice but baby my engine. At 10000 miles tune up, I complain that my RX shifting is not as smooth as the loaner. They reset my transmission memory. After that, I drive with my real me. I feel that my transmission is now much smoother and more responsive than before. :) ← So the RX330 really has a driving style "transmission memory" ? If so, does anyone know if the 2000 RX300 model also has this feature ?

Tuned, I'm glad you were able to get at the license plate bulb. To answer your question, I've not had to replace a license plate bulb on my RX300 yet. Regards, Tony

Tuned, Your went in the right direction. You're almost there. After removing the phillips screw, lower the right side of the bulb housing. Then slowly and gently pull the housing by the lowered end, towards the right. The left side is held in place with a small tab that you will only see when the housing is completely removed. As far as the bulb, the owners manual only says it's a 5 watt type D bulb. Good Luck and Best Regards, Tony

To Steviej, In a post you made on Jan. 22, you were discussing the new long life pink Toyota engine coolant. You mentioned incompatibility with the older red fluid and even "green" fluid. Were you saying that conventional "green" ethylene glycol coolant is not compatible with the Toyota red coolant fliud? I'd like to know because I have already added "green" conventional coolant to the red fluid in my '99 Camry and "00 RX300 which both have red coolant. I did this assuming the red Toyota coolant was compatible with standard green ethylene glycol coolant. Please clarify........... Thanks

Thanks for the imput RX

This one is even more of a beast. I like the A even more than the C !!! Thanks again, Matt.

QUITE A BEAUTIFUL BEAST !!! Thanks for posting all the pix !

Has anyone had any experience with Lexus paying or not paying for an automatic transmission oil change if the oil is brown in color but not burnt smelling ? I have 33,000 miles on my newly acquired 2000 RX300 and I'm going to have the oil changed regardless, but I'll do it at the Toyota dealer if it is not covered under warranty because I'm assuming that it will cost a little less at the Toyota dealer. If it's covered under warranty, of course I'll do it at the Lexus dealer instead. FYI...I still have about a year left on the drivetrain warranty. Thanks to anyone who might be able to shed a little light on this issue.

SKperformance, Thanks again for clarifying my confusion.

To SKperformance, I'll take that as a hearty endorsement for the Lexus manuals ! Can you recommend a web site or store location for the best price? I've seen quite a variation in pricing among the few web sites that carry them. Thanks, Tony

To SKperformance, If a flush is the preferred method, it sounds like a dealer job, not a home job. Am I correct? Also, Maybe I'm reading it wrong but it looks like my owner's manual supplement lists the transmission, transfer case and the differential as three separate items. Now I'm confused. Can you help? Thanks, Tony

To mh6, Sorry I can't respond privately but we are restricted in this realm since we are new members. I am also looking for a good repair manual for my 2000 RX300. I'm not having much success however, except for the Lexus brand two-volume set at around $200 or more. If you make a purchase before I do, please let me know what you purchased and how you like it. Welcome to the LOC, Tony

To VGR, I thought I read somewhere that a transmission oil change involves a flushing procedure. Is this true or is a tranny oil change just as simple as an engine oil change, where you just drain out the old oil and put in the new? In other words can it be done at home or does it have to be done by the dealer to do it right? Thanks, Tony

Simply drain and refill the transmission oil pan every 15,000 miles. Incredibly simple. Incredibly inexpensive. And risk free (unlike mods). ← Does anyone know if the transmission problem mentioned above is limited to the automatic transmision alone, or is the transfer case and the differential also invloved? I just checked my transmission oil on my newly acquired 2000 RX300 with 30,000 miles only to find that is was light brown in color but without a burnt smell. I believe transmission oil is usually red. I'm now wondering if the other drivetrain oils need to be changed also. Thanks in advance for any assistance. Tony

Although Consumer Reports is fairly good at picking up major widespread car problems, it shows no sign of the transmission problems listed on this forum. Do a search with "Transmission problems" on this forum to locate these postings. A few months ago I purchased a 2000 RX300 with 30,000 miles and after seeing these postings I have become a little squeemish about the RX300 transmission. I certainly hope Consumer Reports is correct in that these tramsmission problems have not shown up as a widespread issue in their readership surveys. As far as 2WD vs AWD, My last car was 4WD so I'm really used to the idea of having a car with the additional stability and traction of four drive wheel as opposed to two. Do you really need it ?...maybe not, but all I can say is I had a huge smile on my face today, driving through the 8-10 inches of snow on unplowed streets this evening in New Jersey. I would not even have attempted it in a 2wd vehicle. A full mainteance schedule is located in the RX300 Owner's Manual Supplement. Best of Luck with your vehicle choice, Tony

Bob, Forgive me if you've already checked this. My 2000 RX300 has at least one set of dual filament light bulbs in the rear. I have a tail light/brake light combination bulb for example. If the brake light filament of this combination bulb was burned out you would not know just by looking at the rear tail lights because all the lights that should be on would be illuminated. You would only know for sure if you could get someone to press the brake pedal while you stood at the rear of the vehicle. What you should see from a combination tail light/brake light is the tail light that is already on, increase in intensity when the brake pedal is depressed. If this does not happen, one of the filaments of that dual filament bulb is out.....hence the dashboard indicator light. Once again forgive the redundancy if you've already checked this out. Good Luck, Tony

Russ, I received you email and tried responding personally to your email via email or personal message but have been denied access to both on this forum. I'm a new member so I don't know the forum rules very well yet. If you could explain, it would be much appreciated. Now to answer your email. I did open the lens cover on the map light housing (with the help of fellow members) and found only one bulb inside. It was on the right side of the housing. The left end of the housing (where you might expect to find a second bulb) was empty. Your are correct in assuming that this light is NOT illuminated when my doors are opened. The only light that comes on is when doors are opened is the larger light between the front seats and rear seats on the ceiling. My map light near the inside rear view mirror only comes on when the switch next to it is turned on. Please let me know if you got this message because I could not send this to you personally. Regards, Tony