CooperaRX

I know this is an old thread but I thought I would give a response. It is interesting to me how many 20 somethings own RX 300s, and also how many compare this to the Acura TL. I am 28 my wife is 26 and we have a 2 YO daughter. I bought the RX mainly for my wife for safety and reliability, and I drive the a 99' Acura TL. The Acura TL was the best value car I could find, I love the luxury, and sportiness. The Lexus was the perfect size and a used 01' was basically the same price as a new Kia Sportage - hmm, tough decision. I guess it is not so much age or income as it is value.

I was looking at the RX350 and the Highlander's websites and it was interesting to me actually how close they are in price when you compare option for option. However, there are quite a few options that you just can't even get on the Highlander that you can on the RX350, like HID lights, Bluetooth Nav, and the awesome Mark Levingson stereo, not to mention the window roll down feature. Personally the RX just looks better inside and out than the Highlander. I wouldn't really consider either to be much of a "utility" SUV, but I don't really think that is why you shop in this segment. Our 01' RX300 is really for my wife, and although she is really not a snob (really) she does prefer a Lexus over a Toyota (and we've had 2 Camry's, a Supra, and a couple of pickups to compare - oh and an EB Ford Explorer). It's hard for one person to tell another what to buy, but if it was me and price was not factor - RX350.

I chose the RX300 for my wife for a number of reasons. I have always bought Japaneese vehicles because of their reliability (with the exception of my Ford Explorer which was a big mistake which I paid for during the 9mos I had it). I bought an Acura TL for my wife, but the arrival of our daughter meant we really needed more room. I drove the MDX which I loved, but it was really bigger than we wanted and tough to fit into our garage. The RX300 was big enough without being a huge SUV. I love the AWD, which we really don't use all that much but it is a safety feature which I appreciate. Cost was also just right for our used 01' RX300. Rides great, it's quiet, and has all the options we wanted. Been getting 21-24MPG which for an AWD SUV is pretty darn good. I drive the TL now which I really prefer driving, but the RX300 is certainly not a bad second choice to take on a trip. Besides when we go to the mountains, I don't have to worry about the forcast with the RX.

Well hopefully you do not have a problem with Costco gas. All I can say is my wife was running it for about 1.5 years and it started have real hesitation problems. I finally took it into Acura and the service manager said there had been a sudden jump in the number of fuel injector problems in the last six months and most if not all were running Costco gas. $185 for FI cleaning later I learned my lesson...

Owners manual says 87 and that is all I ever used in both my RXs, except for a short test to see if there was any performance or mileage advantage for a higher octane and there wasn't. I was a happy 91 guy before reading all these posts made me re-think and I tried Costco 87 today. Guess what :cries: 15 miles later my CEL came on and my "very rare" IACV problem is back for good i.e. the car won't IDLE at all. I had this issue before but it was very rare and hard to reproduce so that I could not really make a claim through MBI insurance (although they cover the part) LSS ... I think going to 87 from 91 has caused the CEL to come on and made the IACV problem worse. NTS, I will take my car to my mechanic first thing Monday :( Anyone having similar experiences in the past and/or suggestions how to tackle this situation? Do not use Costco gas! It pretty much ruined the injectors on my Acura TL and only after extensive fuel injector cleaning is it any better. Costco just buys whatever the cheapest gas is on the market (hence their gas is cheaper) so it can be anything BP, Shell, Arco, whatever. I have heard of many problems with their gas especially with Japanese motors. As far as the octane grade, I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure my 2001 manual calls for 91 octane in my RX300. Using a lower grade will not harm the motor, because it has knock sensors to !Removed! timing if it senses ping. It WILL affect performance and MPG which in my opinion negates the advantage of spending 10cents less per gallon if you loose 2 MPG with a lower grade. All I can say though is try a tank of premium, check MPG then try a tank of lower octane. If it works for you than fine. I'll stick with premium.

Last Wednesday some idiot rear ended my wife in our 2001 RX 300. He claimed fault of course and she was ok from it, but now it is in the shop for 3 weeks getting $5500 worth of repairs done to it. (BTW his 1990 Jeep Wrangler was basically totalled and had to be towed, while we were able to drive away - a testament to the Lexus quality) Anyways, while I trust the shop we took it too, and I have known the body guy personally for years I'm sure he will repair it correctly, now I am left with the depreciated costs of a vehicle that has been in an accident. We purchased this vehicle less than 5 months ago from the dealership where it was originally sold and serviced at a slightly higher price, because it was essentially perfect and had excellent maitenance records with NO ACCIDENTS. So my question is how much does this take off of the value of it now that the accident will show up on a car fax? How much should I fight for from the insurance? Thanks.

I have a 2001 AWD RX300 and I can indeed confirm that the AWD DOES work. In a recent trip to the mountains with a couple of inches of packed snow on the highway and 10+ inches off the highway I had no problem accelerating very quickly. Also, when gunning the gas around some corners (playing around) I could get the rear end to slip from throttle input, (oversteer) which just wouldn't be possible without sending torque to the rear tires. This was also accompanied by the VSC light beeping and flashing at me and the vehicle straighting itself out. I might add that we were traveling with friends who had a 4x4 suburban that would merely spin on the fairly steep driveway in 2wd. They had to flip over to 4wd in order to make it up the hill, which I was able to go up no problem. Do I have the same confidence I had with my 4x4 Toyota pickup with 31" snow tires? Of course not, but I did not buy the RX300 to be an, off-road-2ft-plus, snow vehicle. Which brings me to another point that no one has even mentioned here. TIRES! Tires will make all of the difference in the world when driving in snow. Are you running factory original tires, snow tires, or just good aftermarket AT tires? It's is not fair to say it is the vehicle when your tire choice can make a HUGE difference in traction. I bought the RX for my wife, and we rarely get snow here, but it makes me feel better when she is driving an AWD vehicle that sits up a little higher when next to a Hummer on the highway.