Denise & Elwood

Hello everyone, So we own a '99 RX 300; we believe ourselves to be the second owners - purchased from original dealer : Lexus of Portland after lease return. Purchased in '05 for $17K. The odo was pushing 75K. The test drive threw a "Chk. Eng," lite but we bought it anyway after the svc. dept. cleared it with an explanation of what set it sounded mundane & unremarkable. The transmission failed about 60 days (78Kmi) later. Dealer made good on it. Currently still enjoying our ownership experience {200 K and counting}. Issues we've encountered are: 1] Alternator belt noise that turned-out to be a failing Alt. bearing/'Cocked" pulley [after 3 belt replacements]-Had never witnessed an alternator fail like that and NOT stop charging &/or make a racket with "metal-to-metal" contact. This one manifested neither. 2] exhaust leak from front exh. header cross-under flex connector : age (TBE) 3] C/E Light O2 Sensor Inbd Bank - These are "heated" sensors; that circuit should be expected to fail over time. Since they were both OEM commonsense supported both be replaced. Murphy's law as well. 4] C/E Light [Code 1354] - VVT Oil Control Valve Bank 2 - This one was tricky and troublesome; seems there was some kind of terminology mix-up in getting the right part; ended-up replacing Bank 1 & 2. 5] Mysterious run of tire flats started around 160K - Maddening because it followed the purchase of new tires. Turned-out the flashy factory CHROMED mags were manifesting a corrosion caused finish failure; had to replace them. 6] C/D player failed : BEAT THE DEALER out of their "rip-off" on that one; found the ONLY NATIONAL repair outlet and dealt direct. SAVED $$ on that one. 7] Driver's Door window drag w/ noise come the wet season : suspect channel guide felt needs replacement [body shop job] haven't done it yet. We've also begun to see water collection in the spare tire well & left rear {driver's side} fender well below the cargo pocket. Rough winter [2016], unsure if it's an established problem or fleeting.. 8] Taillight bulb-out indicator {hint: Don't forget to look at the "Hi-Mount" brake light in the lift door} 9] Driver's seat OTBD bolster fabric failure : $250 recover. 10] 178K we had the entire engine checked out for full field service. I knew the T-Belt was over due along with the ancillary items that usually are included in that work awa the brake fluid was no longer clear {in need of change} & the A/T was due a complete fluid flush BUT they found Head Gaskets just beginning to leak coolant & oil {This should be expected because of the steel block vs aluminum head design of 3.0L}, P/S pump was leaking . A little over $4K later we've got a car that should take us to 500K mi. without a whimper. That last repair was done by an independent shop I thought I could trust; everything else was DIY [I'm a certified mech]. One area that I tend to look for application of after-market improvements is the brakes. To that end I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to anyone with a desire for the best stopping experience & reduced brake service costs to seriously consider the POWERSTOP Extreme Performance Drilled & Slotted Disc Rotors. They can't be resurfaced but if you're diligent about oversight on your pad wear you'll easily get two pad changes out of any set. You should buy the POWERSTOP pads with them. I live in the PNW, 1800' elevation; I use engine compression for deceleration as much as I can [the wife has adopted the technique as well]. First the O/D is switched off and then I shift to second as required to reduce speed. So even though hills are an "average trip" for this vehicle, in this way my service-to-service interval is extended dramatically. Rotor warpage is a thing of the distant past in my driving experience. I also have chosen to rebuild my struts in all four corners. Don't cut corners on that when you choose to have it done, replace all associated components. Finally I have used Mobil 1 Synthetic on a normal service life cycle; that is to say that the vehicle sees 10+ miles [min.] per "key-turn" operation for 98% of it's service duty. That usually provides 8-8.5K miles between LOF. {Severe Duty is city driving with under 10 mi & stop'n'go}