arens

I prefer Mobile 1 and Pennzoil but any synthetic should work for changes between 5k and 7.5k miles. A quick word of advice on oil filters. Stay away from FRAM. There have been a number of issues with clogging and check valves not working properly.

How much fuel is left when the gas light comes on will vary from car to car but should be in the 2 to 3 gallon area. Change the oil yourself, if possible, with synthetic oil and a quality filter. Using synthetic oil you will be good on oil changes for anywhere from 5k to 20k miles. 5k to 7.5k with a quality filter is pretty much guaranteed safe. The only way to tell for sure how long you can go is to have your oil analyzed. I know our local dealer wants around $50 or $60 just for an oil change with regular dino based oil. Then they want to tack on extra stuff. I would imagine it was extras that got that ladies son. As far as your rubber weather seal goes.....It may or may not be covered under warranty. Depends on if it is a defect or the dealer determines it was abused in some way. Anyway, you should be able to purchase it from a Lexus parts counter. I would assume it is as easy to replace as weatherstripping on any other car, which is to say it is really easy. The old stuff should just pull out and you can install the new by pushing it in place with your fingers. If that doesn't quite get it you can finish pushing it in with something rather soft and thin like a credit card, wooden school ruler, one of those plastic/rubber desert knives, etc. They do make a special tool for installing that stuff but why buy something when other household items will work just a well. Edit -- I should have added that if you drive alot of highway miles and are thinking about stretching your oil changes beyond 10k miles you still should change the filter at 10k miles and top off the oil (roughly 1 quart).

If you like the RX 300 I would suggest you start using synthetic oil. This should eliminate any sludge issues. As said above it is a design issue. As long as you are using dino based oil the sludge issue has a chance to come back.

We put Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza tires on the wife's not too long ago. She has been really pleased with the tires. She thinks they are quieter than the stock Michelins and definitely handle better in the rain. She couldn't really tell any ride quality or dry road handling differences. I have no idea how they handle any type of snow, we just don't get that down here. And a little tip for buying them. I got mine at Discount Tire. Shoot down their original quote and let them know what they cost at tirerack.com. Even after paying sales tax I wound up saving about $40 from what it would have cost with shipping from tirerack.com and local installation.

Considering the RX330 has a dual octane tune there could be an issue with his ECM or programming. I don't know what the differences are between the 87 and 91+ octane settings are as my wife only runs 93 octane in hers. It is very likely there is a difference in shift firmness and shift points between the two octane settings. Definately get this to the dealer and have it checked. Could be as simple as an ECM reflash to get this fixed.

I am usually only in the wife's when we go somewhere on the weekends. With the cover in either position I really don't notice any noise. Of course, between the wind noise and the radio it would have to be a loud rattle before I would notice it.

Not sure about your Lexus dealer but here in San Antonio they don't use synthetic oil. We got our 1st oil change for free and it was dino. I pay $40 to Discount Tire and they balance and rotate the tires every 6 to 7k for the life of the tires. I get the Mobile 1 synth from WalMart in the 5qt jugs for $20 or $21. I buy WIX filters from O'Reillys for about $6 and do the oil changes myself. I just put the old oil into empty Tide jugs and take it to Pep Boys whenever I get 3 to 5 gallons saved up and it doesn't cost anything. Be sure to save the receipts and document your oil changes at least until the warrany is over. Some dealers will be pickier than others but better safe than sorry.

I'm thinking that might look better with just single tips on each side. However, if you are happy with it that is what really counts.

I see it's been a few days and nobody has replied to you. Did you check the installers on tirerack.com? You should be able to find a list in your area. They have ratings and feedback just like their tires do. You can even have the tires shipped directly to them.

I will second that vote for the Bridgestone tires. My wifes came with the Michelin tires. When they needed to be replaced we went with the Bridgestone. The ride quality is about the same but she stated they feel better in the rain and are quieter.

If you are already running ceramic pads (OEM or aftermarket) then definately follow Benjamins post above. If you are not using ceramic pads I would suggest you invest in some. They are quieter and less dusty then semi-metallic.

My wife just got her 2004 RX330 back from the dealer. There was a loud popping noise/feel coming from the right front during some sharp right hand turns. I know they replaced the hub and a few other parts due to some binding. Not sure on the specifics because I didn't pick it up and their paperwork is severly lacking on details. My only gripe with them is they tried to get us to pay for an alignment after the work was done. The Assistant Service Manager eventually caved and they did the alignment for free.

My wife was looking for a 2001 to 2004 uplevel SUV. The plan was to look for a month or two to make sure she got exactly what she wanted. After day 1 she had removed the Caddy SRX and Acura MDX off the list and BMW X5 still on the list. On day 2 we started with Mercedes but she didn't really care for them. Then we were looking at RX300s when she spotted the RX330. She was ready to buy the thing before she even test drove it. It the choice had been mine it would have been the BMW X5. We test drove a couple of those, both V6 and V8. That is one tight SUV.

You might want to try changing from .mp3 files to .wma files. My wife's RX330 will play CDs with .wma files. She does have the NAV but as far as I know it is just the standard am/fm/tape/cd stereo, not the Mark Levinson.

There are a couple of other things to look out for with really low mileage vehicles. If they are not started very often the seals and gaskets will start to dry out and wear prematurely. If the car is started often but not driven very far it doesn't really have a chance to reach operating temp which can cause a host of other issues. I would much rather have a high mileage vehicle with highway miles on it than one that wasn't driven enough.

I have found it is best just to go to the dealer for most interior replacement parts. For GM parts there is partszoneonline.com. Even using that the correct part# isn't always clear. And using a dealer still doesn't guarantee the correct part will be ordered. I don't know of an equivalent Lexus/Toyota parts web site. I would think if there isn't a big aftermarket demand for the parts most are going to be dealer only anyway. Of course you can always use car-part.com to do a junkyard search. I know I didn't really answer you question but I hope it helped a bit anyway.

We purchased my wife's 04 RX330 as a CPO. We didn't find any RX330s for sale privately, only at dealers. The RX330s at the Lexus dealer were right in line with every other dealer so it was the CPO program that clinched the deal. However, if we could have found one privately we may well have gone that way. But it would have had to have been more of a difference that just 1 or 2k for a comparable car.

The Lexus is my wife's and I haven't driven it in months. However, I am fairly certain it will have a lockup torque converter. These will not lock until the trans reaches a certain temp, this is for trans protection. Hope this helps.

It could also be a pre-cat O2 sensor sending a bad signal. This sensor direclty affects the A/F ratio and can cause a rich or lean condition. Normally you will get codes directly relating to the O2 sensor being bad but I have seen similar instances of this happening.

What you just described sounds like the anti-lock brakes kicking in. 4wd and awd have no factor in slowing down. If you really wanted to test the awd you should find a nice deserted loose dirt/gravel road to test under accelleration.