lexusboii

Hi all.

First I brought my rx300 in for the engine light, and LExus dealer told me that my rx300 got sludge oil and rear main seal also leaking...So Lexus dealer cleaned the sludge oil on my 01 rx300 AWD 50k miles plus valve cap and so on, and also replaced main seal, but the engine light comes back on agian...So I stopped there this morning, they said that 1 of my knock sensor is bad and wire harmness, so they swapped them around and that why they know there is only 1 bad knock sensor, I dont know about this.....so it costs $600 to fix it. So far I paid $1200 for rear main seal only...So my concern is will they fix this engine light 100%?, im affraid it might be something else? like there could be some sludge oil left in there??....Rightnow, I don't know whether trade it or keep it for while? but my wife really love this SUV.. any inputs??

thank you all.....

continious my engine light problem........

my rx300 engine light was on 2 days ago. And In this morning, when I started it, the engine light is gone. It has happened like this many times. And that what I told to the Lexus dealer. Other times, it was on when my gf drove it up hill road....and sometimes, she turned on the key and it on rightaway.....Is this maybe dirty fuel? last time Lexus put fuel injector cleaner and I just put another 1 last time.

So any ideas?? thanks...

When I picked my rx300, they told me that the engine light might comes on agian, i have no idea....

Ok so today it on agian, just talked to them and maybe this time, they will change knock sensor for sure....I have no idea what they will do to fix this engine light??? Im tired of this problem. First I brought this rx300 in for engine light then they adiviced to change rear main seal then oil sludge, but the engine light still comes on agian. any helps??

will the engine light goes away if they change knock sensor???? thanks all....

I just picked up my Rx300...And on the way home my engine light comes on agian... when I 'm at stop light and hit acelerator, the engine light comes on and I also I still hear that pinging noise as I hit acelerator...And my local Lexus advisor told me that it maybe comes from knock sensor......

Here is what they did: they cleaned the sludge and changed some parts and replaced main seal...I have no idea, just talked to them, and they said I might need to replace the knock sensor...

I would be curious to know what the dealer does to remove this "sludge" once they find it. They can manually clean the covers, pan (probably not!) and valve train but they would not get it all out. Hopefully there is some flush that they would follow through with.

I don't normally like to flush engines but I do it on the RX occassionally. I only run Mobile 1 in it and change around 5K with filter. A flushing changes the fluids' viscosity so it can get messy and splatter easily. I also let it drain for a very long time to remove as much of the oil as possible. I'm over 100K and I have never found anything in the oil to make me think I have any sludge buildup, but I will always keep using Mobile 1 since this is a design defect that cannot be rectified.

I would think that if they clean the sludge and you run Mobile 1 (or any synthetic) you will have no problems. There are more serious problems to worry about in life...like when the RX tranny will crap out on a trip.

Thank you gp1200x...............

I will pick up my rx300 on Tuesday, of course I will ask them how did they remove it and is it all out??

and also they said that they will replace covers, pan and so on......

I always use Mobile 1 for all my vehicles and have them change every 3000--4000 miles....

We may trade it with Acura MDX or 2006 Honda Accord v6........I will never get another Lexus...

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.

I dont know about previous owner, but I always use mobile 1 synthic oil for all my vehicles...And with this rx300 this is my first oil change...So are you sure it will never happen agian? my wife really love this rx300.....I have no idea.....thank you all

If you change your oil every 5,000 miles you won't have a problem with sludge. Good if you use synthetic but still change every 5,000 miles. Some also recommend changing the PCV valve every 24 months. Toyota does have an 8 year unlimited miles warranty on this engine against sludge.

good to hear that Eric....

My wife will not trade this rx300 for MDX or, it's 01 rx300 AWD 50,000mi + Navi......and we put remote starter, System DVD player, TVs... .....But I will ask LExus dealer about this when i pick up....thanks alll...

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.

I dont know about previous owner, but I always use mobile 1 synthic oil for all my vehicles...And with this rx300 this is my first oil change...So are you sure it will never happen agian? my wife really love this rx300.....I have no idea.....thank you all

if you do a search online and on here, you will find that pre-01 rx300's have a history of sludge problems witn this v6 engine. the later models had redesigned oil passages in the head that reduced the sludge issue. other toyotas that use the pre-redesign engine (eg. camry, sienna), have fallen victim as well. it was blamed on lack of scheduled oil changes or low mileage/engine sitting too long, but even some of the properly dealer-maintained ones have gone bad.

is this a lexus dealer that is doing the service for you? you're lucky... my dealer won't even acknowledge the problem even exists, despite a technical service bulletins indicating otherwise.

i believe toyota has also extended the powertrain warranty on affected models, provided you have proof of proper scheduled maintenance. i've seen that info posted here before but i don't have the time to look... please search online for more details.

thank you for replying Tang...

yes, I have my car in service at local Lexus now...... I only have this rx300 for 3 months and I just changed my first oil at Toyota and found this problem, rightnow i don't know whether I should keep this rx300 or trade it? any advices...

So will this problem happen agian?

has anybody here had sludge clean before?....My rx300 is in service now and they will clean all the sludge, and replace valves cover and so on..... but will this problem happen agian? Im really worried, I think I will trade this SUV and get MDX or something else....any helps???? thanks all.....

Hello all.....

I notice there is a tingling sound as I accelerate and my engine and VSC light on plus there is small amount of oil under trasmission....So I will take it to Lexus dealer tomorrow to replace Rear Main Seal tomorrow..

But right now I just let them replace the Rear Main Seal first, then will that solve Engine light problem too or I have to repplace knock sensor too? any help???.....

Thanks alll......

my local Lexus just called, they said my engine got sludge too.. what the heck....I change my oil every 3000 miles...but they said they also talked to Lexus Coop in CA and still waiting for their answer...

So if they just clean my engine, will it come back later?

if they replace the engine for brand new..is it from Japan or remanufactured?? a

any help??

Hello all.....

I notice there is a tingling sound as I accelerate and my engine and VSC light on plus there is small amount of oil under trasmission....So I will take it to Lexus dealer tomorrow to replace Rear Main Seal tomorrow..

But right now I just let them replace the Rear Main Seal first, then will that solve Engine light problem too or I have to repplace knock sensor too? any help???.....

Thanks alll......

Hi all, I have 01 rx300...Engine light and VSC on.... code tester shows knock sensor 2 bank 2 malfunction. So I took to the Lexus dealer they said it's error code so they delected it, no further problem.....And after for while, I mentioned about the noise that comes from engine, it likes the more I accelerate the more noise I hear, I believe it comes from valves. So they put fuel injector cleaner and told me to drive it and fill it with preminum fuel for another 2 tanks, and it should be ok. So in the end, they told me that fuel injector could cause engine light on, I didn't know what to do.......... So on the way home, the light came on agian, and so I put 1st full tank and the light is gone for 1 day....but it came back agian.

So is fuel injector cleaner really help to solve engine light problem? or there is something wrong with the gas cap, or I must replace nock sensor?? please help.....thanks......

I called the Lexus advisor and they told me to wait another tank...suxx....

Please help, My engine light was on, then Lexus dealer put fuel Inector cleaner and I was told to fill up with preminum fuel... So I filled up with preminum fuel and it was off for day, and came on agian? ANY HELPS?? maybe gap cap or sensor bad or what? thanks alll/.//

Hi all, I have 01 rx300...Engine light and VSC on.... code tester shows knock sensor 2 bank 2 malfunction. So I took to the Lexus dealer they said it's error code so they delected it, no further problem.....And after for while, I mentioned about the noise that comes from engine, it likes the more I accelerate the more noise I hear, I believe it comes from valves. So they put fuel injector cleaner and told me to drive it and fill it with preminum fuel for another 2 tanks, and it should be ok. So in the end, they told me that fuel injector could cause engine light on, I didn't know what to do.......... So on the way home, the light came on agian, and so I put 1st full tank and the light is gone for 1 day....but it came back agian.

So is fuel injector cleaner really help to solve engine light problem? or there is something wrong with the gas cap, or I must replace nock sensor?? please help.....thanks......

I called the Lexus advisor and they told me to wait another tank...suxx....

I took my rx300 to the dealer today, and they ran another code scanner, and show: knock sensor 2 (bank 2). And He told me that my car lost about 1qrt oil, so he put 1qrt and drove 4 miles the engine light gone, and he recommended that I must replace rear main seal...What is this all about? Do i have ot replace this part and not knock sensor 2?? any helps??? thanks alll....

Hi all,

I'm interested in getting a trouble code reader to use on my 2000 RX and was wondering which ones everyone/anyone out there is using and if you like it. Also if anyones got any ideas on the type to get/not get I'd appreciate the input. Thanks

go to autozone they will do 4 free....

it was off then on agian?? any ideas?? thanks..

I have 01 rx300 49,000 awd with nav.... and engine light and VSC on yesterday, and so I tried to tie the gas cap really tight last night. And today, I went to the autozone and it gave me this code p0330 knock Sensor 2 Circuit Malfunction(bank 2). and I just retest my car couple minutes ago, and the engine light gone, Im not sure whether it's a good thing or not ?? I hope it will gone 4ever, I hate this engine thing, any ideas thanks alll.....