artbuc

Your point about high failure rates in RX300 transmissions is duly noted and correct - simply perusing this board and others like it will provide even the novice RX owner with plenty of evidence that the early transmissions are flawed and require a ridiculous maintenance schedule of changing the fluid regardless of what Toyota proclaims....

But where is that same type of evidence concerning coolant hoses? It doesn't exist because coolant hoses (in general, not just in the RX series) have been improved dramatically over the past decade or so, as have the coolant compounds themselves....

If you naively perform all of the maintenance tips and suggestions that Pat Goss and others like him encourage you to do, you'd waste all of your disposable income and time working on your vehicles. You have to temper what the industry wants you to do (hand over as much of your hard-earned money to auto parts suppliers and service providers as they can pull out of you) with what common sense and component failure history empirically prove to you. In this particular case, coolant hoses rarely need to be replaced these days unless they are more than ten years old or showing signs of breakdown, usually at the clamp joints....

I'm glad that you obtained some peace of mind in performing this task on your wife's vehicle. But my original point remains that this is overwhelmingly an unnecessary and wasteful procedure unless signs of failure have been detected....

Point taken. Hoses were 9 1/2 years old and will be 11 1/2 years old when I do the next coolant replacement. I could have deferred spending $41 two years and made a little extra interest (about $1.70 after tax). But, for me, I would rather have peace of mind.

I do agree that many of Goss' recommendations are downright silly. In this case, just too cheap and easy to do when I already have the coolant drained. OTOH, I would not even consider removing the intake manifold to replace the by-pass hose. It all comes down to cost/effort vs perceived benefit.

Thanks for your help.

Man, nobody listens to common sense anymore....

Here is my idea of common sense. I want the car my wife drives to be reliable. Many experts, most notably Pat Goss of Motorweek, say to replace coolant hoses at least every 4yrs/60k miles. Toyota says this isn't necessary but Toyota also says my AWD transmission doesn't have a design problem and doesn't have an unusually high failure rate. My brother-in-law is a master mechanic who owns his own garage. He only replaces hoses if they are too soft or too hard. I certainly can't feel a coolant hose and tell you if it is too hard or too soft. Visual inspection of hoses is at best an art, at worst totally worthless. I have the time, money and interest to work on my cars. Replacing upper & lower hoses cost me $41 and less than 30 minutes time. Over the years, I have seen many components fail well before their expected life time.

I posted my experience to help those who may not know as much as you do.

Not only are today's hoses better made and more durable than the hoses were in the 1970s, so are the coolant fluids they conduct. I inspect our hoses periodically but haven't had to replace one in at least ten or fifteen years. If your hoses remain flexible, don't flake when you rub them, and aren't showing surface cracks in the areas where they are clamped to their fittings, I would simply leave them alone and keep driving. Today's vehicles have far fewer hoses than the vehicles did back in the '60s and '70s - my 1974 Datsun 260Z had more hoses than your local Wal-Mart Garden Center....

Well, my obsession to do unnecessary preventive maintenance struck again. Just replaced upper & lower radiator hoses on my 99 w/86k miles. Used Toyota factory replacements which I got from Discount Toyota ($41 including S&H).

The old hoses looked pristine. I cut them open. Rubber was smooth and supple. No cracks, soft or hard spots. I now believe Toyota when they say coolant hoses should last the life of the vehicle.

I'm glad I did it since my wife drives the car. But, there is no question in my mind that these hoses would have lasted a very, very long time.

Once you get the old rotors off clean the hub completely and coat with permatex synthetic brake lubricant (green) and you won't have this issue again. When relining coat the back of the pads with the same lubricant to eliminate pad noise. Try rockauto.com for some decent prices on parts. FWIW I just did a complete brake job on my rx330 with Raybestos Advanced Technology rotors & ceramic pads. Excellent parts. DO be sure to bed new pads in by doing 25 or 30 30mph to 5mph slow downs with 1 mile of driving in between each slowdown. New rotors should be cleaned with brakekleen prior to install.

I put the Raybestos AT rotors on the front of my 99 Avalon. Like them very much.

I'm new to the forum and joined so I could help my son maintain his '99 RX300 that he bought used 6 months ago. He asked that I help him to replace his brake pads and inspect the rotors. Unfortunately, the rotors are badly worn and need replacing. I tried to remove the rotors but encountered what appears to be a large (> 1") nut that holds the rotors to the axle. We didn't have a socket large enough to remove the nut but also discovered that the axle turns when trying to remove the nut. Is there something we're missing here? I've never seen rotors that appear to be so difficult to remove on a vehicle. Do we have to have a person on each front wheel so they can keep the axle from turning when trying to loosen the nut? I'd appreciate any assistance and advice. Thanks in advance.

Don't remove the nut. Once the calipers are out of the way the rotor should just about fall off. Sometimes it's rusted a little. Try tapping with a rubber mallet. Also there are 2 bolt holes in the rotor. Buy the proper size metric bolt at Home Depot and thread it in to push off the rotor.

8mm x 1.25 pitch

If you have the Service Engine light and not the Check Engine light, that could be something as simple as your car reaching the 5000 mile engine oil reminder. That is all it is on my 05 330. The Service Engine reminder comes on at 5000 mile intervals, from the last reset, only as a reminder, not as a tell-tale that something is wrong. I don't know about the 300 but on my 330 you put the key in the ignition, then, while holding down the odometer reset button, turn the key to run (not start) and after about 5 or so seconds the reminder goes out.

Try it and let us know how it came out.

Now, if you have the Check Engine light, then your diagnostics are telling you something.

My 99 RX doesn't have a "service " engine light so I assume OP's doesn't either. Need to go to your local service station and get the codes read. Autozone will do this for free.

Thought I would start a new thread with a more descriptive title. I have two vehicles with V6 3.0L engine - 99RX300 and 99 Avalon XLS. Both have about 86k miles. I asked both of my dealers why Toyota does not recommend an interval to replace coolant hoses. Toyota said coolant hoses should last the life of the vehicle. They should only be replaced IF they show obvious signs of pending failure such as seepage, bubbles, soft spots, etc. Lexus said coolant hoses are not necessarily designed to last the life of the vehicle, but they did say hoses should only be replaced if visual inspection indicated it is necessary. Lexus went further to say that even if, for example, the upper hose looked bad, they would replace it only and not automatically replace the lower hose.

Doing some Internet research I came across various preventive maintenance recommendations from Pat Goss of Motorweek. He says coolant hoses should be replaced every 4 years or 60k miles. Furthermore, he says a coolant hose could look perfectly fine but be close to catastrophic failure. The problem I have with Pat Goss is that his maintenance recommendations seem so conservative, almost bordering on ridiculous. For example, he says you should flush your cooling and brake systems every year. If I did everything Pat Goss said, I would be working on my cars non-stop.

I'm not sure what I will do. I may replace just the upper/lower radiator hoses. I may also repace the heater and IACV hoses. However, I will not remove the intake manifold just to replace the by-pass hose.

I am on my original hoses too, a little nervous about it, I will change the radiator hoses for sure... bought my lexus in November of 1998 and have 151k miles...

Thanks Lenore. Judging by the lack of response, I assume coolant hoses are generally reliable for the life of the vehicle. Modern cars are just so much more reliable than the cars I grew up with. When I started driving in 1966, coolant hoses didn't last very long - seemed like I was replacing heater hoses on my old 55 Chevy on a regular basis. Today, I think I do way too much preventive maintenance on my cars.

For example, I still replace brake fluid and coolant every two years (less than 24k miles in my case) and change oil & filter every 3k miles. I'm also doing 2 drain & fills (10 qts total) on the trans every 10-15k miles. I'm sure I could save time and money by extending these intervals but I just can't bring myself to do it.

Let me ask a slightly different question. My RX is 9 1/2 years old with 88k miles. Still has all original coolant hoses.

Has anyone out there had a coolant hose failure? If so, which hose failed and what was the age/mileage of your RX when it gave out?

I'm starting to think that the smaller diameter hoses (all hoses other than upper/lower radiator) may last the life of the vehicle. I'm thinking that because they have thick walls relative to their inside diameter.

PS. I think the by-pass hose I asked about in my first post became accessible during replacement of knock sensors, not speed sensors.

99 RX300

Want to change out all rubber coolant hoses as preventative maintenance. Know about upper/lower radiator, heater and IACV hoses. Are there any others? Seems like I remember reading posts which mention a coolant hose which becomes accessible when changing out trans speed sensors? Thanks.

Since Lexus, and virtually every other manufacturer I would guess, doesn't make their own filters, spark plugs, plug wires (where applicable), sensors, and a host of other parts, I don't see what is wrong with buying name brand parts that meet the OEM specifications. Do we buy Lexus oil? No (well, at least I don't)! We buy a name brand, quality, 5W-30 that meets the requirement. Do we buy a Lexus oil filter when there are probably half a dozen other quality pieces out there? One of the few things that is in short supply in the aftermarket is ATF, although that is even becoming less of any issue as other manufacturers make a Toyota spec'ed ATF.

If the aftermarket industry is willing to make a product that meets Toyota/Lexus requirements, why do we have to buy something with a Lexus name on the container that was spec'ed and outsourced? A good example is timing belts. You can buy a great belt from Gates that is every bit as good as anything that Toyota ever asked for.

Ok, off the soapbox.

Gary

Gary- have you ever priced compared your choice of aftermarket parts with Lexus/Toyota orig. eq.? Believe it or not there are times when the Denso, Aisin, Mitsuboshi, etc. are actually cheaper than the aftermarket. I have found for the most part the orig. eq. L/T parts to be some of the longest lasting, best parts you can buy. I have spent my entire life in automotive work and can only say that anyone that feels that ALL aftermarket parts that meet the manufacturers specs. (they should) are equal to orig.eq. hasn't been paying much attention. That simply isn't true! My experience is that there are good aftermarket parts and there are bum aftermarket parts. I would bet a ten spot that all 3 of the aftrermarket belts that I have had to scrap because of problems met manuf. specs. Two were made by Gates and 1 by Dayco. I buy aftermarket parts but when it comes to Toyota/Lexus, the orig eq. is of such known high quality, I'm going to stick with them.

Just my 2cents worth.

I have read several reports on various automotive forums which say Bosch & other aftermarket A/F and O2 sensors do not work in Toyota vehicles. I sometimes wonder if people install the wrong part, eg using an O2 sensor where they should be using an A/F sensor. In any event, I only use Denso sensors. They are technically aftermarket because I don't buy them from a Toyota dealer. However, after talking with Denso and inspecting the sensor, I believe Denso aftermarket sensors are the same as Denso purchased from Toyota.

I also agree that aftermarket belts can be a problem. I just went through a major fiasco with my Toyota Avalon which has the same engine as my wife's RX300. After replacing belts, water pump and idler & tension pulleys, I had a terrible noise when I put the car in gear, especially when cold. Thought it was the aftermarket water pump so I went in again and installed a Toyota factory water pump instead of the Gates Tru Flo. No improvement. Also replaced Gates TB with Toyota factory belt. No improvement. Thought maybe I had a bad rear motor mount. Installed a new one (big job!). No improvement. Recently adjusted the A/C belt (as I did on my wife's car to improve her A/C performance). Most of the noise went away. So, it looks like the Gates Accessory belt was the culprit all along. Who would have guessed that??? I am going to install a factory belt to see if the noise goes away all together.

I feel the same way about brake pads. Over the years I have experimented with various brands of hi-end pads. I always go back to Toyota factory pads. I know some say Akebono are the same as factory (sort of like my argument that Denso aftermarket are the same as Denso Toyota factory). Maybe some day I'll give them a try but probably not.

In general, factory parts are worth the extra money, IMHO.

After replacing timing, PS and alternator belts last winter, I left the alternator belt a little loose to be sure I didn't ruin the alternator bearing. Wife tried to use A/C yesterday and told me no cold air. The alternator belt doesn't squeal when I turn on the A/C or rev the engine.

Is it possible that the alternator belt is loose enough that it is slipping on the A/C compressor? Could it be slipping without squealing?

How much deflection should I have on the alternator belt? I read somewhere that you should have 3/8 - 1/2" of deflection per foot of belt length between pulleys (measured from where belt loses contact with the pulley). The belt length between the crank and alternator is about 11". That means I should have less than 1/2" of deflection and I have 5/8".

I am always afraid of overtigthening fan belts. Thanks for your help!

artbuc- If the alt. belt (also a'c) is loose enough that you aren't getting any a/c, you are bound to have squealing. I don't think there is much chance of having NO a'c and tightening the belt that small an amount and regaining your a'c. I agree with Lenore in the amount that the belt should be tightened but I would 1st. visually check to see that the compressor clutch is engaging when the a'c is on. You may have a fuse blown or a small hole in the condenser from dabrie that let the R134 out. Tap the low side valve with a small screwdriver to see if the system still has a charge. Could the system be a little low and the low pressure switch shut the compressor clutch down? I would personally be a little surprised if you have NO a'c and it is just a minor belt adjustment. Let is know what you find out. <_<

Thank-you lenore and code58. I increased tension a little - reduced deflection from 5/8" to 3/8". Before I could easily twist the belt more than 90 degrees, now I can twist it to almost 90 degrees but have to use alot of force to do it. Yesterday was hotter than the day my wife "tried" to use A/C for the first time this year. After adjusting the belt, wife said A/C worked great. (I wish I would have driven it myself before making the belt adjustment because my wife isn't always reliable when it comes to describing her RX).

Code58, I am with you re the squealing which is why I asked the question. Here is my best guess: the new belt was slipping but not squealing because it had not yet glazed. I'll let you know if anything changes. When you consider the low contact angle of the belt on the A/C compressor pulley, I would think you need pretty good belt tension to drive it.

I have wanted a belt tension gage for over 30 years now and I think I am going to buy one. I'm getting too old to be guessing if I have enough belt tension!!

The AC belt probably needs to be tightened just a little bit more. If you can twist the belt more than 1/2 from it movement it is too loose. You should be able to twist it a little, but not a full 90 degrees.

Lenore, I just posted a question re alternator belt tension then I found this thread. Could you elaborate? I'm not exactly sure what you mean. Thanks.

After replacing timing, PS and alternator belts last winter, I left the alternator belt a little loose to be sure I didn't ruin the alternator bearing. Wife tried to use A/C yesterday and told me no cold air. The alternator belt doesn't squeal when I turn on the A/C or rev the engine.

Is it possible that the alternator belt is loose enough that it is slipping on the A/C compressor? Could it be slipping without squealing?

How much deflection should I have on the alternator belt? I read somewhere that you should have 3/8 - 1/2" of deflection per foot of belt length between pulleys (measured from where belt loses contact with the pulley). The belt length between the crank and alternator is about 11". That means I should have less than 1/2" of deflection and I have 5/8".

I am always afraid of overtigthening fan belts. Thanks for your help!

Thanks for the suggestions. The car had plenty of gas and since the tow truck driver started it, it operates completely normally. I called 3 local shops and the Lexus dealer and all of them told me that this may be difficult to troubleshoot because the car is now working. All said that the engine immobilization system has nothing to do with it and that the wiggle on the outlet probably had nothing to do with the problem going away. Apparently there are several sensors that could shut the engine down and the plan is to have a shop try and shake wires/inspect components to see if they can duplicate it. If they cant find anything, then I'm faced with wondering when it will happen again. I use this car to travel between Fresno and SF which is 180 miles of freeway with services not that available so I may be faced with trading it in. Too bad because it has been an absolutely trouble free vehicle until now. I have done all services including timing belt/ H2o pump. All shops here in Fresno recommended taking it to the dealer so that is the plan. The dealer has treated me pretty good and they give my wife a brand new loaner car. Their trouble shooting estimate is $108.00. I'll let you know what they find or don't find.

I wonder if your problem was a result of bad fuel? I had a similar situation a couple years ago. One morning the RX would not start. After several tries I gave up. Next morning same problem. But, after several tries,it did start, ran ragged and shut-down. After a few more tries it started and slowly smoothed out. I always assumed I got a slug of water or some other contaminant which worked its way through the system. Never had a recurrence. Go figure.

Hi,

I am new to this forum. lately I have had a sudden problem with my 1999 RX300 with 86,000 miles and am not sure what to do next. Just last week, I had more than $3,500 worth of work on on this vehicle. This included replacing ignition coils 1 and 2 (as I was told that there was misfiring and these 2 were dead), water pump, timing belt tensioner, thermostat, exhaust manifold and gasket. I also had the 90,000 mile service done, which included EFI/Carbon Clean service, oil change, air filter, spark plugs, etc.

Immediately after the above repairs and service, as I drove out, I got the Check Engine sign again. I took it back to the shop. At that time the error code was P0125 (Insufficient Coolant Temperature For Closed Loop Fuel Control ). He reset it and we went for a test drive. within 5 miles we got the engine check light again. This time the error code P1155 (Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 1) ). He estimated another $500 worth of repairs.

My questions:

1. Would all the initial repairs cause these new problems? Like replacing the exhaust manifold, or anything else?

2. How much should I spend to fix the codes P1155 and P0125?

3. Can these 2 codes have an easier fix (like cleaning, etc) rather than replacing them?

4. The repairs were done at a shop that claims speciality in SUVs. Should I take it to the dealer?

At this point, the Check Engine light stays on. Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Absent knowing, having a LONG service history with the non-marque shop involved, I would NEVER take a modern high technology vehicle to a third party shop.

In short, you've just been screwed.

Now take it to Bellevue Lexus and get screwed yet again.

But at least you'll get the car fixed properly.

Wow. This is one of the worst hosings I've heard about in a long time. At 86k miles, I seriously doubt you needed a new tensioner, thermostat, carbon clean service, exhaust manifold or new plugs. At 83k, the original spark plugs on my RX look brand new. Did they show you the old tensioner and explain what was wrong with it? Why did they replace the exhaust manifold? Was the water pump bearing showing signs of failure or did they replace it just to be safe? Did they get your approval in advance?

Regarding the new work, P0125 & P1155 together indicate you need a new Bank 2 Sensor 1 (A/F) which will cost about $150 for a quality aftermarket Denso. It should take less than 1/2 hour to install it. Yes, IMHO, their work almost certainly caused the A/F Sensor failure although I had an A/F Sensor fail on my Avalon (also has the 1MZFE engine) at less than 85k miles. Just too much of a coincidence that yours failed right after they assaulted your RX. P0125 & P1155 codes together indicate the heater circuit in you Bank 2 Sensor 1 is shot. Did they replace the Bank 2 exhaust manifold? Could be something as simple as they forgot to reconnect the B2S1 and they want to charge you $500 to do a 5 second job. You can confirm the B2S1 heater circuit is fried with a 15 second ohmeter check.

A shop claiming specialty in SUV's is like finding a doctor who specializes in parts above the waist. Pretty meaningless claim.

RE: FSM RM626U2, Vol 2, pg EM-61

What is the purpose of the exhaust camshaft gear spring and sub-gear? When replacing timing belt I rotated LH exhaust camshaft backwards a few times (counterclockwise). Now I have high compression on the LH side at 230 +/- 5 psi. RH side compression is perfect at 220 +/- 5 psi. I'm thinking the reverse rotation screwed up the exhaust camshaft sub-gear causing the LH side exhaust valves to be closing too soon.

Thanks for any help I can get.

I found the answer. The sub-gear aka scissors gear is the part of the helical drive gear which is spring loaded to hold it against the driven gear (on the intake camshaft). The sub-gear minimizes noise due to gear lash.

You can not damage the helical camshaft gears by rotating them backwards. Helical gears are designed to operate in either direction.

My compression measurements are meaningless because I did the check on a cold engine. Well, not completely meaningless in that it shows I am a nitwit!

Repair Manual says to connect Terminals TE1 and E1 of the DLC1 before checking engine timing. The SST is 09843-18020. Two questions:

1. I assume the SST is just a wire which shorts out TE1 and E1?

2. What does shorting out TE1 and E1 do?

You also have to connect TE1 and E1 prior to checking the Air Assist system on the IAC Valve.

Thanks for your help.

Well here's the story, I had a road hazard failure on one of my front tires (Michelin Cross Terrains) and they have 5/32 left of tread. When I went to Costco to get that tire replaced under warranty, I was informed that because my vehicle is AWD that they could only replace all 4 tires because of safety concerns. (Costco Policy) which by the way was never stated when I purchased the tires four years ago. Man, four tires when I only planned on one. I called Lexus of AMerica to get a statement of their policy, and they would not commit, but passed me to the local dealership (Lexus of Sacramento) Where I spoke to the Service Manager who said they had replaced a single tire many times with no problems, except that they would not back that up because I was at a third party vender(Costco). I am furious, one because when I bought the tires I was promised road hazard which they would commit to, but only on that one tire, the other 3 would be at full cost, two: because when I bought the tires nowhere on their contract does it state the weird warranty for the AWD/four wheel drive vehicles, and THree: No where in the owners manual does it state their is a problem other than using different size tire on the vehicle for replacement with the other ones being a different size. I finally got mad enough to get all four tires to be adjusted, but it was only $18 per tire for a $165 tire. They did not charge for mounting, but all taxes and disposal fees applied. Nice to have all new tires but quite frankly they would have gone another 20k miles on the old tires. What does everyone think about this????

I would say don't worry about it. If your taxes and disposal fees were say $18 per tire, you had to put out $165 per tire 20 months too early (assume you drive 1k miles per month). At 3% interest per year, you lost about $33. Since you got free mounting, I would say you are way ahead of the game.

Do not depend on wear indicators. They will not damage your rotor but they can break almost immediately after giving you a little squeal. You may think all is well and then you have to buy new rotors.

You don't have to have the rotors resurfaced unless they are warped (you will know that by a pulsation in the brake pedal when applying brakes) or they have worn past min thickness (you should get at least two full pads worth of life out of your rotors).

Forget about aftermarket brake pads. Buy Toyota pads. The braking on the RX300's is outstanding with factory rotors/pads. High tech ceramic pads will give you excessive black dust and/or generate enough heat to warp your rotors. Don't try to save money by buying cheap pads and don't try to improve braking performance by buying hi-tech ceramic pads.

Make sure you lube the caliper slide pins.

RE: FSM RM626U2, Vol 2, pg EM-61

What is the purpose of the exhaust camshaft gear spring and sub-gear? When replacing timing belt I rotated LH exhaust camshaft backwards a few times (counterclockwise). Now I have high compression on the LH side at 230 +/- 5 psi. RH side compression is perfect at 220 +/- 5 psi. I'm thinking the reverse rotation screwed up the exhaust camshaft sub-gear causing the LH side exhaust valves to be closing too soon.

Thanks for any help I can get.

Boy, wish I could repair my car like you guys do! I'm a slave to the dealership. Just had my #3 replaced on Thursday, along with six spark plugs (which they said all had been damaged when the coil went out). Labor was over $200 for this! Today, the check engine light is on again (remaining solid - not blinking) and it's my 02 sensor (which was replaced 2 years ago).

This 2000 RX is turning into our own little money pit - have a new engine and transmission (replaced in 07) and here 08 starts off with a bang!

Does anyone know how one bad coil (#3 in this case) can ruin all 6 sparkplugs?

To my knowledge ( and I'm not a professional mechanic) this would be very difficult to do in these vehicles. I've had three coils go out on me now and I've never replaced a spark plug because of it. In each of the times I've replaced a coil never once did I change the plug. I suppose if you drove it extensively with a coil out (5 cylinders) there's the possibility of doing some damage but 5-10 miles or so I'd say probably not.

Also, changing one of these coils, (provided its #2,4 or 6) is easier and takes less time than an oil change. Seriously all it entails is unbolting the old coil, un-clipping the coil leads, pulling out the coil, replacing it with a new one and re-clipping and re-bolting it in place. The 2,4,6 plugs/coils are right there in front. Now the back three, man-o-man thats a different story-

That's what I thought. So, we have yet one more case of a Lexus dealership lying to a customer. Really makes me sad.

Boy, wish I could repair my car like you guys do! I'm a slave to the dealership. Just had my #3 replaced on Thursday, along with six spark plugs (which they said all had been damaged when the coil went out). Labor was over $200 for this! Today, the check engine light is on again (remaining solid - not blinking) and it's my 02 sensor (which was replaced 2 years ago).

This 2000 RX is turning into our own little money pit - have a new engine and transmission (replaced in 07) and here 08 starts off with a bang!

Does anyone know how one bad coil (#3 in this case) can ruin all 6 sparkplugs?

I have a 1999 Lexus RX 300, and have had about 71K miles on it, and recently had the car breakdown about 240 miles away from my home. My car would shift to neutral gear at speeds higher than 45 mph, requiring me to turn the ignition off and back on to drive ( only at lower speeds). Any one seen this? The local dealer at the place where my car broke down wants to replace the entire transmission for 4K!!

We were not too sure about the cost and timeframe she proposed, and got it towed to our city for our local dealer and Lexus cust service to take a look at. I am surprised to see that RX300 had so many transmission issues, and am hoping Lexus will take a look at all the anguish the owners are experiencing and take some positive action.

Has anyone lodged official complaints with Lexus customer service, and how was the response? I Have reseacrhed on the net and saw many complaining about transmission issues with '99 RX. Shouldn't this be a recall? I was a die-hard Lexus fan, but now I am very disappointed with the transmission dying so early.

Rather than repeat my thousands of words on this subject go to the RX300 Forum and type transmission. You will find a lot from RX NC and Lenore (Me) Lexus of America could give a damn about your satisfaction or dissatisfaction on this problem. I Wrote 5 pages of explanation why they should recall and support their product and all they would say is too bad, its past warranty, and basically suck it up. I personally am disgusted with Lexus, and will never buy again, I have played phone tag and been thoroughly messed up by the dealership ( Roseville Lexus) the worst dealership on the face of earth. I am on my third tranny and the damage done by the dealership installing them was beyond belief. Good Luck

Lenore, if you think Roseville Lexus is the worst dealership on the face of the earth, I know you have never experienced Lexus of Wilmington (DE). Saturday Night Live could do a really funny parody of L of W. Bold faced liars and not one qualified mechanic in their whole shop.

Did you tackle the cam belt and pulley change yourself? How would you rate this task for level of difficulty and frustration level, special tools needed, etc.?

This job is easy if you have some experience working on cars. I would say no more difficult than changing brakes. I did have to make a tool to hold the crankcase pulley when I reassembled...crankshaft bolt takes 159 ft-lbs. Also, couldn't budge crankcase bolt with my impact wrench so I taped a breaker bar tight against the frame and turned the engine over BRIEFLY to break loose. I was able to compress the hydraulic tensioner piston on my bench vise.

The 12mm top bolt on the PS pump is tricky to get to. I shortened (ground) a 12mm socket to get it to the right length and had no problem.