Benjamin Tang

Thank you for your reply!

That sounds fairly minor. Were you told that new calipers would do the same thing and has this caused you any serious problems?

Thanks again!

it's more an issue with the design of the brake pad backing plates sitting too loose within the caliper brackets, rather than the calipers themselves. like calirich stated, if the problem is the pads, the usual solution is cleaning as much crap and gunk out of them, and then reinstall with lots of anti-seize. i've even tried aftermarket pads, but the backing plates are the exact same size as oem (obviously), so the noise never went away...

Hello all,

I just bought my first Lexus which is a 2003 GS430 and I couldn't love it more! Everything about the car is perfect but there's a "clunking" noise that occurs when I shift into reverse and then again when the car is shifted into drive and starts to move forward. It doesn't make this noise when the car is being shifted and engaging into the gear but rather when it starts to move which leads me to believe that it is in the front-end and not the transmission.

Before I bought the car I read a few reviews that mentioned this noise but no one made it sound like a major problem. Also, I test drove a couple cars exactly like mine and they both made that noise. It doesn't seem to affect the steering or the overall ride but I would like to get it corrected if possible.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be? Any possible solutions would also be appreciated.

Thanks!

for me, it was the rear brakes that made noise when shifting between drive and reverse. i was told it was the pads shifting in the calipers.

Hi:

Do you service your Lexus RX350 by miles or time? I don't rack up enough miles...about 10,000 a year. So for the first year, I did the servicing at 6 months (the car had 3000 miles), then at 12 months (the car had 6000 miles). It's 18 months now and the car has 10,000 miles.

Does it make sense to go for the recommended 18 months or 15,000 miles just because my car is 18 months old or should I wait for the car to put on 15,000 miles?

Please advise since the Lexus dealer charges $200 for the servicing!

Thanks,

K

at my dealer, it's always said "whichever comes first"... so if you hit the time period first rather than mileage, then go by time. your lexus service advisor should have explained this to you?

My 2002 GS300 has after market front brakes. The car vibrates on braking at any speed and the Lexus dealer thinks that putting new Lexus brake pads (front and back) and replacing all the 4 rotors would solve the problem. I was quoted $1200 for the job !!!

- what would be the reasonable cost for this ?

- is there any special thing required that I have to get this done by Lexus dealer ?

- what is the expected cost for just machining the rotors ?

Thanks for your help

PeeAm

questions:

1. what brand of aftermarket brakes do you have, and specifically what? pads? drilled/slotted discs? or some sort of big brake upgrade?

2. are you singling out the front brakes for some reason? who did the work? if there is a specific reason for the front brakes to be bad i don't understand why the rears have to be done as well unless they are worn out.

a private mechanic quoted me $75 to machine four discs, including re/re, but my rears are almost at min. allowable thickness, and my rear pads are at below 50%, so there was no choice but to replace.

but as for the $1200 cost from the dealer... it sounds about right for 4 pads and discs, plus re/re labor, and it may also include having to bleed the brakes if necessary.

I did, i took out the bulb and discovered it was dead, the number of the bulb was 9006 Had a lil blue tint to it. When i went to Autozone to get a replacement, when i put the replacement bulb in, it wasnt putting out the same as the HID on da passenger side............so i was wondering, when replacing these bulbs is there a specific kind i have to buy?

.... 9006 is a halogen bulb? i thought you said you had HID?

Arrr!

Hey all! I am newbie and would like to know what mods I should begin with as far as my GS400 goes. It's a 99 w/ 68,000 miles runs strong and smooth. I am a former Mustang quater mile guy and would like just a bit more power if it does not affect the car adversely. I have a K&N filter in the stock box and am running Mobil 1 systhetic in it. Please any help would be appriciated. THANK YOU!

contact these folks:

http://www.jpimportz.org/

very respected on the clublexus.com forums. twin turbos, supercharging, stroker kits... you name it :)

When i turn my headlights on, the driver side headlight doesnt come on, but the passenger side one does. I have the factory HIDs.....any suggestions???

check your plug connections. otherwise it could be a blown HID bulb and/or ballast.

carson toyota and sewell lexus are 2 places to try. their contact info can be found in the list here:

http://www.clublexus.com/index.php?option=...&Itemid=179

our AM reception isn't that great either, but there are so few stations worth listening to locally on the AM band we never fixed it since our 00 is out of warranty.

Thank you Mr. Tang for your accurate and complete reply. Before receiving your reply, I disconnected the battery (your option 2) which cleared up the matter. But should I now pull the ECU fuse to avoid problems with an emissions test?? What does "ECU" stand for and how do I find that particular fuse (I haven't checked whether they are labeled)?

Bruce Starzenski

i believe "ECU" is short for "electronic control unit"... basically the main brain/computer of the car that is hiding somewhere in your passenger side footwell.

i answered this because i have the same problem with our gs400. if someone dosen't screw down the cap the light comes on. i went to the dealer the first time it happened and they wanted something like $100 to just plug it in for a diagnostic. so i went to a private shop and he used a handheld obd2 reader and the code related to the gas cap came up. he cleared the code and reset the ecu with the reader. he then told me that if it happens again, either disconnect the battery, or go to my fuse box in the engine compartment and find the ECU fuse (the underside of the fuse box cover shows where it is). pull the fuse and the code will be erased.

where i live, the emissions test involves the car being plugged into a diagnostic computer, which will read everything, including past codes. the gas cap is considered part of the emissions system, so they would have red flagged me for that code and i would have failed.

i'm not sure if you have the same kind of test where you are. if not... the pulling the fuse is optional... unless you are getting tired of resetting your radio and clock :)

Both the VSC and the engine warning lights come on eventually whenever the gas cap is not screwed on tightly.

How can one turn off these annoying lights after correcting the problem?

I am fed up with taking my car to a Lexus dealer for this reason alone and shelling out $55 on each occasion.

several options:

1) invest in an obd2 code reader that is able to cancel/delete CEL codes.

2) disconnect the battery for at least 30 seconds (but you will lose all your presets)

3) find out where the ecu fuse is and pull it out to reset the ecu.

note: option 3 will wipe the codes from memory, and option 2 will not, so if you have mandatory emissions testing, option 2 might be a problem if they check for past codes still in memory.

I have changed my tanny fluid a couple times since I've owned my 03 GS 300 and was contemplating if I should change the tranny filter along with it. This is the filter or screen located inside the pan underneith the vehicle. Went to a lexus dealer and asked their repair dept. if this was necessary. They informed me that there is no need to replace this part. Does anyone recommend changing this?

Thanks in advance..

my mechanic told me unless it's completely fouled or damaged, leave it in?

I don't have that many miles on my car but $400 sounds really steep (unless it was siezed on the manifold and the mechanic cracked it taking it out) for an 02 sensor....I can't be certain but maybe the problem isn't with your car but rather your mechanic.. I've never heard of the the seal between the engine and transmission starting to leak but thats just me.

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com...0-400-430-2.htm

http://www.automedicsupply.com/catalog.php...;engine=L6-3.0L

i have a 99 gs400, so i may not have the same problems, but the rear main seal failure is known to happen on mine with high mileage examples. the same goes for the door actuators. but the o2 sensors i haven't heard anything on.

i have over 100k mi on mine, and the only thing i've had gone wrong from the list above is the rear main seal... but i used http://www.auto-rx.com and it stopped leaking thank god :o

we bought ours used when it was 6 years old. it had a paint protection package on it from new, and the car has never been repainted and it still looks good, aside from normal wear and tear.

Lexus vehicles have alluminum wheels, they CAN'T rust. Steel wheels can...

now that i'm thinking about it, didn't the base model gs300 from the 2nd generation had 16" steel wheels with plastic covers standard?

in my case, my tire was losing air pressure all the time because the chrome was peeling from the outer lip due to age/corrosion. all the local wheel shops i contacted said there was nothing they could do short of rechroming the wheel, which is costly because it would have to be shipped to california. i ended up getting a used Ebay wheel instead, but that leaves me with 3 other wheels that are potentially suspect...

2.) IMHO Synthetic is the only way to go. Its recommended for the car by Lexus and its one sure way to avoid oil-sludging.

is this true? my dealer uses conventional quaker state dino oil, not synthetic :(

1. no, but that would mean your rx would not have a service history on file with lexus. try and keep your receipts up to date and everything in the maintenance schedule done on time just in case you do have to claim for warranty (ie. trans. failure and engine sludge).

2. synthetic is nice, but might be overkill depending on your driving.

3. the oil capacity is listed in the back of the owner's manual.

what was the condition of the brake rotors? were they machined/turned at the same time the pads were replaced?

also, what condition were the calipers in? no sticking pistons?

Who has their tires on long enough to see major corrosion? Even the ones I had on for three years didn't show much of anything except maybe the slightest shadow where the tire bead touched.

At least no one said "rust". If the wheels are rusting on your Lexus, you made a major mistake that no amount of nitrogen can help. :D

my uncle had problems with rust on his steel winter wheels for his RX. he kept losing pressure in one tire bceause the bead wouldn't seal to the rim because of all the corrosion... the rust was actually weeping out from under the lip and causing his tires to turn brown :(

bring it in to the dealership when the moisture is still present. this condition either means the seal has failed, the condensate drains are plugged, or possibly the access covers are not secured on the back.

in the case of my gs, it was the seals that had failed. it would have been replaced under warranty, but mine has long since expired and to replace would cost me to the tune of at least $400-500 per light :(

edit: is your rx pre-owned? is there any accident damage? make sure that there isn't because sometimes some bad dealerships will look for any loophole to weasel their way out of a warranty repair.

i am also a resident of vancouver bc. we purchased our 00 rx300 used from JP lexus northshore with less than 60k kms on the odometer, with brand new michelin x-terrains included. under normal conditions, i can get 13.8-14.1 litres/100kms on the computer in the city (a/c off). but in today's dismal winter weather, where i covered 2 blocks in 1/2 hour on w. broadway in total gridlock, i accomplished a dismal 16.9 litres/100kms :(

may i ask why you are using premium fuel? i'm assuming that's what 91 octane is... the book for our rx says regular unleaded is what should be used, and i usually go with 89 octane when the prices are good (which isn't often), or just the lowest 87 octane.

chevron is my supplier of choice.

if you do a search online and on here, you will find that pre-01 rx300's have a history of sludge problems witn this v6 engine. the later models had redesigned oil passages in the head that reduced the sludge issue. other toyotas that use the pre-redesign engine (eg. camry, sienna), have fallen victim as well. it was blamed on lack of scheduled oil changes or low mileage/engine sitting too long, but even some of the properly dealer-maintained ones have gone bad.

is this a lexus dealer that is doing the service for you? you're lucky... my dealer won't even acknowledge the problem even exists, despite a technical service bulletins indicating otherwise.

i believe toyota has also extended the powertrain warranty on affected models, provided you have proof of proper scheduled maintenance. i've seen that info posted here before but i don't have the time to look... please search online for more details.

in addition... the oil seepage you are detecting between the engine and transmission could be a sign that the rear main seal is failing... hopefully a mechanic can confirm this.