cardona6569

Hello: Indeed it is a very premature failure, in my opinion that should be covered as emissions systems when it happens so early. It may also be the indication of upcoming problems, fix it and get rid of the SUV. That is what I would do even if you change it for another RX330. Remember those tend have to have tranny problems after 90,000, they fixed it in 2004 so it may be a good time for a trade in and save 6000.00 in the future. Remember to change tranny fluid every 15,000 miles and if you are going to keep it put a tranny cooler on it with a fan if possible. CPR

Hello, In the Dealer about 1200.00 parts and labor tranny included. In an Indy about half 600.00 + - a hundred bucks for labor and parts. CPR

I would stay with the ES350 and its new car smell. When you finish paying for it, you can then use it as a trade-in to buy a new LS of lets say a 2012 model, imagine how good that one will be over your 2005 LS or 2007 ES. I have to also agree that you could loose money, if you do not loose any money then if you feel the LS is so much more with your mind, Logic and your Emotions, feelings then do it and drink all night over it, you will feel great in the morning when you see your great LS, if you do not do it, it is not bad at all to have a brand new car. Remember every year they are improving imagine the future, maybe a Diesel Hybrid from Lexus that will give 55 mpg and feel every inc a Lexus! The future is brigther every second in the Lexus camp! CPR

Very good Post. CPR

I am very happy that you are flushing the brakes. If your car would not have ABS, it could be avoided, but with the ABS sensors it is not a good ideal to void doing it. You are extending the life of your calipers. I would suggest to perform a Throttle Body cleaning and a Seafoam treatment to clean all the carbon out of the system. But it is up to you, if something is not broke there is no need to fix it or break it, but I believe more good than harm could be done. There lots of post about seafoam in the forums. I do mines like every 50,000 milles or when I get a new car that is used. CPR

Taken from the 1998 Lexus Owner's Manual Suplement, (Factory Supplied), Page 70 Numbering in the back of the manual 98-WTY-114 00247-01998 Additional Maintenance Items for "Special Operating Condions" "Special Operating Conditions" "Towing, Repeated Short Trips less than 5 milles in temperatures below freezing, Extensive Idling or low-speed drving for long-distances as in heavy commercial use such as delivery , taxi or patrol car. OPERATING ON ROUGH, MUDDY, OR SALT COVERED ROADS, Operating on unpaved or dusty roads". To most of us the last 3 apply because of the below freezing and the traffic jams, winter driving or dusty conditions. The following proves that the 15,000 tranny fluid changing schedule is not such an idea to get the dealer more of your funds but one to get the best performance of your tranny. My manual does not state a tranny fluid change if you follow the normal driving schedule, it only states to inspect the fluid. But if someone is misguided and does that it is very likely that the owner will have a tranny failure in his or her hands. Changing fluid every 30,000 milles is an aceptable choice, but with a tranny that costs so much money to repair, it is a better policy to have it changed every 15,000 milles or like many in this forum have, they change the 2 quarts every oil change. This option is the most cost effective of all. I had a Mitsubishi Diamante, everyone would say the tranny was the weakest part of the car and that I would have lots of trouble with it. I did change fluid every 15,000 milles and fluid and filter every 30,000, the car had 160,000 milles and that tranny shifted as one in a new car. Tranny repair service is an even more expensive proposition in a Lexus, if not ask the pre-2004 RX SUV owners. CPR

I am in no way trying to become a contrarian or any of the sorts, but I have to say that the AC Delco Oil Filters are some of the best filters there are. The discs in that car are 18 years old, the rear ones need replacing the front ones do not need to be touched yet. I imagine that the ones put in the Lex if used normally should last many years. Please let us know about your experience with them. I will go further to say that if I cannot find a Lexus, Purulator or K & N oilf filter I would intall an AC Delco Oil Filter on my Lexus without any worries. GM parts are usually good in the mechanical department, and if the cars do not have many electrical issues they can last if properly maintained. In my family we have to GM models, one mine, a Grand Prizx with 145,000 miles no major problems the motor has never been rebuilt, and a Olds 88 my uncle had, thar was junked with 200,000 miles never replaced engine and had a minor tranny rework, mine had the tranny rebuilt once. GM products have some lacking in the electrical parts if the models are complicated like the Cadillac STS, but their premium models, if not electrically challenged, with proper maintenance can go for 10 or so years with the least of problems. My Grand Prix does need a paint job and interior work but the engine is ready to go for some time. I plan for this car to be a second daily driver if I do get a super special weekend/night car. Like a New Lex, or a BMW 7 serires. CPR

The 80,000 miles car looks like a more agreable choice. Remember a Lex usuallally goes for 300,000 milles with good maintenance. Yes I know there are some oustanding engines that had gone unto a lot more but that is the least. Why buy a car that has travelled so much and then a repo with not so good records of maintenance? I would rather have you buy an Avalon for the same price newer and with less milles than have a car that will probably need a suspension update, tune up, tranny flush, and a probable starter very soon. It an owner does not have documents of the major maintenances, like tranny fluid change and timing belt changes, the car is not a good deal with the many miles and with almost 10 years of age. Even if the owner is a DIY then he should have the receipts of the parts he installed, like timing chains and starterts generators. I just do not want to get taken into a car that may give you a lot of troubles down the road. I do not want anyone to regret their Lexus experience. Mine is coming out of the paint shop looking almost like new. CPR

Make sure your transmission is flushed and the filter is changed. And after the filter is being changed make sure you have the fluid changed every 15,000 miles. You should see and improvement in your shilfting. But as NC said they tend to be that way when cold. CPR

I had a similar problem. I would advise to take the upper plastic engine cover of the engine, and check the brake air line for cracks, fatter you probably find that the line is cracked then I would see the brake that the brakes are properly bled. If the problems persist the brake pump, booster could be your problem, but not before checking the above. My brakes were kind of spongy until I found a cracked brake booster line under the middle of the engine below the main engine cover that in my case has four nuts. CPR

Repllace your radiator cap, which is most likely the cause of your coolant being low. The valve in the cap is probably not working properly, hence not venting at the pressure precribed. This is a cheap fix that can save you from buying a new radiator, my car is a 98 and already had a bad cap which caused it to consume coolant/antifreeze. Stant is usually the OEM brand of Japnaesse cars, so there is no need to go to the dealer and overpay! CPR

Hello: In conclusion what was the adapter for? CPR

The above mentioned member is nominated for the "Rocket Scientist Award 2008". Second, whenever you take out your wheels is good to use a criss-cross pattern when tightening them. Third, the wheels should be torqued to specification, if you have a torque wrench, this will avoid damage to the discs. CPR

I would recommend to try the Turtle Wax Ice Products in liquid form, besides the clay, the wax is just great. The Ultima Paint Prep Plus caused a yellow spot in my white car, but the part in which that happened was painted a month before. Next time I will not put any wax until 3 months on any car that has recently been painted. The Ice Stuff is so great you can apply it in direct sunlight with no problems. But the Ultima Paint guard plus is the easiest one to apply and to get results from. I found the Ultima detail plus to be a good product, but never intended to be a waterless spot/dirt remover in itself. CPR

Have cleaned, replaced the air filter, throttle body, maf sensor? Also have you changed the spark plugs, cables, rotors? CPR

HI Check your wires again at night with no light see if you see any sparks, fuel filter may need change so does the air filter. If all fails may want to change the coils they are notorious for failing. C. PR

Regards: You need to have someone that is really good with tires check your tires, you could have a bad tire. Check the one that had the flat, and then check that rim to see if it did not hit anything or became bent somehow. CPR

Hello: I would first give it a good cleaning in the affected area. This to get all of the residual fluid out of the area. With it clean you can start looking for the leak. Usually some hose clamp is loose. Do not give up leaks like earth girls are not easy. C

Hello: For the Maintenance Manual go to www.tradebit.com or you can search google there was a 2000 manual laying around the net which is the same as 1998-2000 models. For the owners manual you can buy one from www.irontoad.com, or you can call the following number and see if they send it to you as a courtesy: 1 800 2256 3987 in the US. I got the tradebit download and it is clear, and once you learn to look in it you should be OK, and will need pdf reader in your computer, which you get in the net for free. Sincerely, CCF

Before you replace the High pressure hose, replace the fitting and gasket not the complete assy. They sell the fitting separate from the whole pressure line assy. Second check the engine valve covers gasket for leaks, couple of mechanics told me my rack was leaking and in all reality it was part the rack and part the valve cover gasket in the passenger side leaking, not the high pressure hose. They dealers know this, but they try to push the high pressure line since it is an expensive Item. The rack will need rebuilding/replacing after a 100,000 miles, I would use synthetic ATF from Mobil it gives much better feeling in the steering system. CPR CPR

Looks like they did not bleed the system correctly or your pump is on the way out. Check fluid levels are correct and no leaks anywhere. Turn on the car loosen the PS cap( making sure is not that loose that it falls in the running engine, just loose enough to bleed the air out), and turn the wheels. Turn the wheels at least 30 times in each direction to make sure the air is out, then place the cap back. If the noise does not stop you may have wrong fluid, bad pump, bad rack etc. Mine car was diagnosed with a bad pressure line, a bad rack and does not make any noise. It leaks little if leaking. CPR

Congrats so far so good, the car price and condition are outstanding. Make sure you read the buying guide we have at the site. I would ask to what Lexus dealer he takes it, take the VIN and see what have they done to the car. Second I would drive it for an hour in the highway to see if any warning lights come up. Third take it to the dealer and have them diagnose the computer/suspension, those can get really expensive, if it passes with a 90% and you will only have to spend like a 0 to a 1000 on repairs, then I would surely buy it. If the owners gets defensive about any of this, walk away and buy a 96, 98-2000, 2002 and up. The year 1995 was a transitional year for environmental controls but if it is working correctly then, there should be no problem. For what i can see in the pictures the car has been more than well taken care, it looks mint in the outside upkeep. But that can be the carrot at the end of the stick, we just need to look more inside to make sure it is as good as it looks! CPR

I had a similar problem and it was the cap. Yours probably needs changing anyway. I had that problem iwth my Lex and with a Nissan Murano changing the cap cured both. If you did not pressure test the cap when you took it out chances are it is bad. A friend of mine who is a mechanic and his cars last him over 200,000 miles, recommends that anytime you take the cap out, either pressure test it or replace it with a new one. CPR

Hello: I have a 98 and when I open the roof there is about 15% to 30% more noise depending on the speed. What you are experiencing is normal in mine opinion. The shade is there to isolate the noise, since its glass has enough tint so the sun does not bother the passengers. CPR

You could have a bad connection, may need to replace the bulb and the plug, wiggle the cable/plug with the light on, if it is on all the time your bulb is defective, I would replace the bulb first. If when you take out the bulb you see the contact burned you need to change the contact. I had to change mine. I replaced 3 bulbs before realizing that the problem were not the bulbs but the plug. The dealer does not change light sockets they rather change the engnine light harness a 2000.00 ticket, so I went and bought a plug and put it in myself, had to really clamp it hard. I have no more problems to report. CPR