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Sorry, But I seem to be having a hard time with the format here... I just wanted to put ion my 2 cents, I have a '99 Rx300 with 182K+ miles. I am located in upstate NY and drive the vehicle year round. My rear wiper has stopped working and my power antenna is not working. Other than thos things everything is fine. I have not done anything with the trans, or any other major componants. I bought in 2003 with 100k on it and have changed all fluids once, changed one O2 sensor, changed one front strut, and a mass air flow sensor, timing belt and brakes. Other than that I would say I am pleased. I am a sales rep and depend on my RX everyday to get my work done and I have not been let down yet. If I was in any other vehicle, I probably would not be able to say the same. I challage a chevy, ford, dodge etc to accomplish the same!

If anyone has experience with replacing or rebuilding a rear wiper motor I'd like your input. They want $410 to replace at the dealer. I can get by with dirty rear window but we get snow and ice in upstate NY. Have had NO responses from used sources. Have not found any aftermarket either.

You'll find a surprise if you go looking for all that stuff... There isn't any cap, rotor, wires. Looks as though it's a coil for each plug with no wires. As for the spark plugs; I realize that the Iridium tipped plugs are a bit expensive but $350 was the quote I got from the dealer to change them. When they do the rear bank of plugs they remove the intake manifold and then have to re-seal it!!! Good thing this doesn't need doing til the dealer recommended 90,000 miles. Mine has 157,000 on it and has original plugs. 90,000 was also the recommended time to change timing belt. I had an independant shop do this for about $500. The books allow for 6 hours labor to do this, and it was just about right. Be careful working on it yourself, if you ruin something it'll be expensive as it seems most of the parts are "Dealer Only". Ouch!!! Good Luck

At what mileage do you think the spark plugs should be changed? I don't think they have ever been done. (155,000 miles) Can I do this myself? I know you have to use the specific iridium tipped plugs, but how hard are they to get to? The last thing I want to do is break something or cause another problem. On my Dodge Caravan I didn't change the plugs 'til 125k miles, and as soon as I did one of the coils burned up!!! Should have left it alone!

In 2003 I bought one with 97K on it and paid $18K for it. I had to have an O2 sensor changed ($100) on it and have had 3 wheel bearings changed. My parking brake system went to hell because of corrosion ($1,100 Ouch!), also had timing belt changed ($350). But these are all maintenenace items that would have to be done on any car. The only thing is that many parts are "dealer only", and you really get whacked when the parts come over the counter at a Lexus dealer. Overall I have been very satisfied, the vehicle is a blast to drive, I look forward to it every day. It's great in the snow. I put on 55,000 miles in 2 years. If you can buy a warranty for it I would do so. The repair costs can be mammoth on these things because of the prices for parts. One parking brake shoe is $35! The good thing though is they are built well and they use high quality materials and construction methods; I think that is why they hold up so well. Just don't let a 3 year old boy loose inside with a ball point pen!

I changed over to ceramic pads on front and back. This eliminated most of the brake dust issue. Brand name I got was "Satified", bought through JC Whitney at about $60 per set.

AWD, I've been reading some of the comments and concerns here about transmissions; But I have had no issues,mine has a factory towing package with a receiver hitch, maybe it has extra cooling capacity. I bought the vehicle with 97K miles on it and had all the fluids changed at about 140K. Trans, Coolant, Differentials. The A/C is flawless!! The only problems I've had in two years is an O2 sensor ( luckily it was the "cheap" one), and my parking brake system which is understandable in our upstate NY climate, parking brakes never hold up here because of corrosion. Any other issues I have had have been related to poor workmanship and service on the part of a Tire shop. Oh yeah, I got rear-ended last June, I was afraid to get out and look but it was not too bad.

I have a '99 RX300 and I had some noise also from the rear. Ended up finding a bad rear wheel bearing and a dragging parking brake shoe. Tires: I'm not sure what is quiet but I do know what is noisy. Continental Contitrac SUV, dealer took a set back from me with 20,000 miles on them because of noise/ broken belts/ bad balance etc... Now running Firestone Destination LE, not the quietest but the vibration is gone and they ride nice; plus they did not cost me anything!

In July of '03 I bought my '99 for $18,000. It had some miles (97k) but I have 155K now and no regrets! Good Luck!

I'm not sure what to recommend for a summer tire, I just had a real bad experience with a set of Continental Contitrac SUV's. For winter here in Upstate NY (170" of snow per year) I've been running the Michelin Arctic Alpins and they are a great all-around winter tire, quiet too for a snow tire. They made less noise than the Continentals. Good Luck!

I have a '99 RX300 with 155,000 miles on it. Just wanted some feedback from any other high mile RX owners on what things to watch for. I recently had to re-do all my parking brake cables, shoes, rotors, spindle. Had some tire issues that were just fixed (Never put Contitrac SUV tires on this vehicle!) Most of my problems are likely due to our climate here in Central NY, roads are heavily salted in winter so corrosion is a big probelm with all vehicles. My engine, trans, A/C, electronics, cooling sys have all been great. Any help I can get avoiding problems will be appreciated as I work out of this vehicle and put 30k on a year; when it's in the shop, I'm out of business! Thanks