jbarhorst2

Right SK. The first brake application after replacing brake pads will go pretty low because you are pushing out the piston again. Press the brake pedal a few times before you judge. Tom

I don't think you are really talking about brake fade. Brake fade is when after multiple frequent stops (usually from high speed) your brakes feel like they are working less and less. It sounds to me like your brakes just are not holding well under certain conditions. If your pads or fluid are low, they could cause this. Also if your hydraulic vacuum assist system is beginning to fail you could see this. I would try the cheapest first. Make sure your pads are in good shape and change the fluid. If that does not help then you can look elsewhere. If, however, your problem IS after several high speed braking maneuvers, then ignore everything I said. Tom

My '01 RX300 and my '97 SC300 are 76 ft lbs. My guess is that yours is very similar. Tom

This may be a stupid question, but are you downshifting to 3rd gear when you punch it at 60? Tom

I thought the 3rd gen cars were 98-00?? Tom

If the light is blinking, it is probably not programmed. Is it a fast or slow blink?

There is one available. Here's a link. Link to NAV input override

Is your house haunted? It is approaching the autumn Halloween season. Just kidding. Tom

Take a look for where the oil is coming from. Look for a greasy leak. Since it won't start, check your distributor. Maybe the oil seal gave out and filled the cap with oil. It would also be leaking out of the cap probably. Tom

If the shocks that are flat keep changing, I wonder if your control valve is leaking/sticking instead of the bags leaking. I would think that if the bags were leaking the same ones would go flat all the time. Does anyone else think this too? I don't have air suspension on my cars so this is just from an outsider looking at the symptoms without knowing how the system is designed. Tom

I definitely like the second ones better. They looked more beefy and solid. They almost gave it the look of a high powered Bentley. Just an opinion. Like they say, everyone has one. ha ha Tom

You can watch it move. Unfortunately I am out of town and won't be back until Monday to be able to take a picture. If you are looking at your engine from the front of the car, the valve is on the passenger side of the firewall. You will see two hoses connected to it. They are about 1 inch hoses. It is near the top of the firewall. Go take a look and let me know if you find what I am talking about. Tom

I don't think so. I believe you must press the button on the dash. Tom

I don't think it's your thermostat. If the heat comes on all of the sudden, then I think it is your heater control valve. This controls the flow of hot water to the heater core inside the dash. The valve is easily accessed under the hood on the firewall. I replaced mine last year because it was leaking. It's not cheap. It was almost $400 for the entire assembly (valve and electronic control). My valve was leaking, but my electronic control still worked. They will sell the control separately, but if you need the valve then you must buy both in an assembly. It sounds almost like your control is going out. Let me know if you need help finding it under your hood. I can take a picture. Tom

Sounds like it could be. Depends on the failure. Mine kind of rubs and clicks. I'll have them replace it the next time I schedule service.

It's probably the spiral wiring inside the column. Sometimes it takes replacing it to fix it.

Sounds to me like you need a little more fluid in the reservoir. As pads wear, more fluid is distributed into the system from the reservoir and you need to top it off.

The 15/16 plugs are for what they refer to as the transfer case. That takes gear oil. The 10mm hex (there are 2) are for your transmission drain and front differential drain. The transmission one faces down and the differential one faces sideways. The front diff and transmission both fill through the transmission dipstick tube and both take Toyota T-IV tranny fluid. Hope that helps. Tom

$550 is a discount?? Maybe if their discount key is a plus sign. Sounds like you need a new dealer. I think a whole set at my dealership is about $1700. Tom

I am in the Dayton area, but I did it myself. After I removed the pan I just took a pair of vice grips and pulled and twisted on the bolt. The steel pan dug into the aluminum bolt and allowed it to be removed. I think this could be done while the pan is in place, although I would be a little worried about small bolt shavings in the pan. Since they are aluminum, the pan magnets will not keep them from going through the system. You could remove your pan, clean it out, then put it back. All you would need would be the tube of FIPG from the dealership. You may want to check with them on that. I used FIPG on mine because that is what it called for. Make sure you get the proper material for your car. Be careful if you remove your pan. Even though you have drained it there will still be transmission fluid in there that will get everywhere if you are not prepared. Tom

It holds your transmission in the current gear longer before it shifts.

When I stripped my tranny pan plug I bought a new pan and installed it. After I did that I looked closely at the old one and found that the pan was fine. The plug was aluminum and it stripped easily. The pan is steel and much stronger. Now I have an extra pan for my SC. Also, the new plug was steel. Tom

DBW = Drive By Wire. I change my fluid every 10,000. I figure it's easy and cheap insurance. We'll see how it does for me. 2001 with 50,000 so far. Tom

I thought it was 06, but I could be mistaken.

Well, would you look at that. All we ever hear about are the horror stories with the AWD RX300 transmission problems. Here are a few fine examples that prove to us that it is not EVERY AWD RX that has problems. I hope to get many miles out of ours too. I hope that my devotion to maintenance will prove to be the key over the years. Tom