Bykfixer

Here's a place to start.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/estimates/lexus/rx350/cruise-control-is-not-working-inspection Here's some possible reasons.

Is there a setting somewhere that causes the automatic "follow" to turn off? Just curious, as I turn it off manually. Call me old fashioned but I prefer not to follow every thread I post in. Thanks

I read elsewhere that there is an issue with the connector to the alternator. Without actually seeing the connector they speak of I cannot provide details but apparently it's not uncommon for the connector to not fasten correctly to the alternator due to a small clip that connects being broken. So even though the alternator is working proper the charging system is not and the car ends up running off of the battery instead of the alternator.

Here's a way one person did it.

The check engine light is mainly for when something is amiss with pollution output and those things can send the car into limp mode. Things like clogged tranny filter or PCV can cause the car to go into limp mode. Valves out of adjustment can also cause limp mode without a code. I read somewhere that the throttle body has issues and can cause limp mode. If you know how to use a vacuum tester that would likely show what is out of spec mechanically but not cause a CEL code.

I drive a company vehicle. The giant company made a deal with Ford so they get huge discounts on the F-150 and Explorers. The client requires full size 4wd vehicles made by one of the big 3. I put in somewhere between 125 and 200 miles each day and while sitting next to the interstate requires an array of flashing lights so it idles a lot as well. Today I watched a few gasoline tanker trucks wizz past heading for Metropolis. Sadly it wasn't uncommon to see cars and trucks go past loaded down with gasoline tanks. Later in the day I opened an email that appeared to be from Microsoft today. It was a scam and had I clicked on the link my company might have been hacked. It was pretty freakin' authentic looking.

Many of us are used to putting high test fuel in our Lexus vehicle, but we are not used to everybody else in the city buying up all of the high test because panic buying has depleted low octane and mid-grade. Yikes!! My work has me using about 12 gallons a day and the job is in small town USA. Welp small town USA was completely out of gasoline yesterday. It's just off the interstate so travellers were just out of luck. The place I work is on the interstate where thousands of cars and trucks pass by every hour. By close of business yesterday that was no longer the case. It was sureal, as if somebody had closed a gate upstream. Anybody else see the effects?

Well, after 20 years the motor and transmission would still be good to go but all of those creature comforts begin to stop working. If you can live without those then yeah it's a good choice. Any 20 year vehicle will have the same issue regardless of brand.

John

Here's a how to video.

If I recall correct the piston slap sound was most pronounced during accelaration. But could be head while it idled. It kinda sounded like in a 4 cylinder engine you had 3 gasoline fired cylinder and 1 diesel fired cylinder. The slapping piston being the diesel sounding cylinder if you remember the sound of diesel pickup trucks in the 90's. If you have piston slap you WILL hear it. It seems it's an alluminum alloy thing in that if driving the car agressively with a cold engine the pistons don't "swell" before load is applied so distortion can occur. The car has a knock sensor for that and adjusts timing accordingly. If it does actually have piston slap, letting the engine warm up a few minutes will help extend the life of the piston. These days it should cause the check engine light to illuminate and the code would be misfire or similar. I have an 018 F-150 for work that has a rod knock sound that Ford says is the fuel pump. Nothing to be concerned with. If my mechanic says I have piston slap and I'm not getting a code or hearing anything odd I'd get a second opinion.

Not bad. Sounds about normal for a car that age.

brown is bad, red is good, dark brown is real bad but again the solenoids on Toyota made cars do quit working after a couple of decades.

Dawg gonnit. That does not sound good at all. Very good description by the way. It sounds like your car was supposed to have inflated seats and the air leaked out. Just kidding but my gosh. Keep pestering Lexus.

Any particular window? Or all of them? I gotta ask: is anybody sleeping in the car that you may not know about? In my dads non climate control garage if there's a big change in weather, especially warm to cool where inside is in say a humid 80's but then quickly falls to the 50's or 60's when a cold front passes through, everything has a coating of condensation so it could be as simple as weather changing.

Was out and about today at a craft show on an awesome weather day. Taking a casual stroll with Mrs Fixer I looked in the distance and saw a really sexy car in the grass parking lot. After commuting to and from work in my work vehicle for the last 21 days in a row I'd forgotten I didn't drive that. Hey, that's my car. Woohoo!!

piston slap was a problem with 90's GM cars like Caveliers and Skyhawks but I'd not heard of it in any Toyota made cars.

It's probably solenoids gone bad but at least check the fluid level.

Way back when this site was conceived the idea of a hybrid automobile was about as interesting to most as the wire bread tie. Oh that's cute what what is it actually good for? Gasoline was about a buck a gallon and the big three were pushing "more power" as the US market was interested in tugging around big ole boats or campers. Room for six was required even though the majority of those SS Soccer Mom sized vehicles were driving around with occupancy of one up and down the interstate every Monday through Friday. Most did not know that Mr Porsche had built and sold hundreds of hybrids when McKinley was president of the US. Had it not been for Mr Ford and his mass produced gasoline powered cars they may have caught on back when some still used a horse and buggy to commute. The idea largely went away until the 1960's when the US noticed this thing called smog. The EPA was created and some ideas were bantied about but again it seemed impractical. Nothing got past the concept stage. The oil embargo in the 70's fueled some ideas but again nothing really came to fruition. GM had a hybrid concept but it was pretty lackluster. In the 1990's Japanese makers had flooded the US with cars and trucks. The US government decided to fund R&D for hybrid technology in order to give the big three a new world to play in. They yawned. But Toyota said "can we play?" Uncle Sam said "no you're foriegn, go away"… so they did. Meanwhile in Japan they were building what became the Prius. And in 97 they began selling them over there. But Honda decided to play in America. The Insight arrived. It raised some eyebrows at the big three but they were still largely interested in selling tug boat sized automobiles. Then came "$4 gasoline". While Dodge Ram was touting bigger payloads and more horsepower the American consumer was taking a second look at the Insight and now availble in the US, the Prius. When Hollywood types were buying the Prius things really took off. Suddenly it was cool to drop off little Janey at school in a Pruis. But America wanted horsepower. Acura answered with a hybrid that could compete with the fastest of the fast with an NSX hybrid. By then instead of a "flex fuel" badge being the in thing the hybrid badge on the rear of the car was it. I started this thread after reading some history here where the hybrid vehicles were all in a hybrid section but since so many models now had a hybrid version it was time to sort them back into the particular model section. Perhaps some day the all electric versions or hydrogen versions will go mainstream as well. Yet hydrogen technology seems to be the BetaMax version of planet friendly commuting. There's a huge push in the US right now for all electric. Tesla seems to be the dominant force at this point, but Toyota says they'll have 15 all electric vehicles by 2025 and Lexus had a "Direct 4" concept with An ES model on the way. I read a rumor that a GS "type" model will be reintroduced as an all electric. It seems as though that hybrid thing isn't just a fad afterall.

Sounds like fans are getting it done without having to turn on high. Normal operating range is 195 to 220. If it goes to 225, then you should be concerned as 230 is when it begins to be in "over heated" territory.

120k as in 120,000? As in miles? Have you perhaps checked to make sure the proper fluid level is actually present?

0758 is a 1st to second solenoid 0773 is the TCM turning off the shift solenoid valve 1765 is the clutch solenoid. Sometimes in cars that old tranny solenoids just start failing. Apparently in Toyota made vehicles it's pretty common after a couple of decades. It could be bad connections to the Engine Control Module causing the tranny to go into self preserve mode. Have you had the fluid and filter changed? Does it have the correct amount of tranny fluid?

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