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Jon in Raleigh, NC

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  1. A second opinion is still important in this case, but that doesn't change the fact that if Punjani's story as reported here is accurate, his current dealership has not provided him with a sufficient level of detail to allow him to understand what is wrong and what measures need to be taken to effect repairs on his vehicle. "We might be able to fix it for $1,800, but if we can't, be prepared to spend up to $7,000" just doesn't cut it from any competent, professional service department. Lexus01 made a good point above - regardless of whether or not the problem can be attributed to the known engine gel issue, Punjani may be much better off to find another Lexus dealership in which to attempt to place his trust. He needs far more detail both in terms of what's truly wrong and what it should cost to repair. If his current Lexus service department isn't willing or able to provide it, a second opinion from a respected independent Japanese service provider could be the best way to go in this case.
  2. tmastres, Actually, there's nothing wrong with me other than the fact that I've had to battle with Lexus throughout this autumn in an attempt to get a poor-performing transmission replaced and now the vehicle emits considerably more cabin noise than before and my wife is unhappy about it since it's her primary car. And I'm not insinuating anything about anyone on this board in my posts. If you're attempting to read between the lines, you're wasting your time. I've gleaned a lot of good information about Lexus in general and our vehicle in particular on this board. Folks like Castrol (I believe he's in Miami) and Lexus01 (I'm not sure where he's located) have been especially insightful on several topics that are important to me, and I'm thankful for that and have personally expressed my appreciation several times. But a couple of folks are particularly annoying to me and can't seem to let a strong complaint or a disagreement go without attempting to speak from the throne as if they are the be-all-and-end-all authority figure when no such figure exists. Not everyone who visits here does so out of love for their Lexus vehicle. Some are frustrated, angry, and just plain sick of being told by their dealer that "nothing's wrong with your car". I found this site through my frustrations over attempting to deal with Lexus concerning a very real problem that both my wife and I recognized. We've made some progress, but we still have problems with this vehicle and our battle with Lexus continues. As far as selling our RX300 - I'm not going to do that unless and until I feel that the transmission issue has been resolved to the point where the next owner can be safe on the highway without having to adapt to "feathering" the transmission since not all emergency conditions allow you the time to think about how you're going to use your accelerator. In my opinion, to sell it right now would be unethical, unfair, and possibly unsafe to the next owner. I trust this answers your questions. If not, let me know. I'll be more than happy to provide details to whatever level you care to discuss.
  3. This advice is right on the money, and Lexus01 hit the nail squarely on the head when he pointed out that you must be a fighter with the word "quit" not even in your vocabulary. So call Lexus Corporate at (800) 255-3987 and follow the advice above. Don't take no for an answer, keep escalating to higher levels of management, and keep us posted on your progress. We can also provide words of encouragement if you need them. But the bottom line is to document your issues, always be professional when engaging with Lexus, but don't ever forget that you must maintain a warrior mentality to get what you want. By following this same strategy throughout October and November, I was able to have a new transmission installed in my wife's 2000 RX300 at no cost to us.
  4. Steve, Of course it's my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own. The question was asked, and I answered with my viewpoint. Nobody has to agree or disagree with me - it's just my opinion on that particular topic. You need to relax your sphincter muscles enough to allow folks to express their opinions without feeling the urge to add your own brand of social commentary after each post. Your opinion is no more valuable than anyone else's here, and nobody died and made you the absolute pundit of this forum. So how about letting people have their say without trying to !Removed! all over them for a change. You just might learn something from your elders.
  5. Spending money on meaningless aesthetic parts to replace existing components that are perfectly fine just as they are installed by the factory is a huge waste of money. I certainly realize that such impulse behavior drives the aftermarket parts business, but I prefer to establish my vehicle bank accounts for maintenance and performance enhancement, not wasteful spending on junk I don't need or want.
  6. What Lexus needs to do is to formally acknowledge the problem and to seriously study the cause-and-effect issues that seem to be created by the presence of an electronic throttle. A conventional throttle may very well eliminate the transmission "freeze" that my wife and others have reported experiencing while attempting to pass another vehicle on the highway. But I don't know what the answer is (other than a complete transmission re-engineering) for the many folks including ourselves who experience the herky-jerky transmission tendencies while climbing through the gears upon initial start-up in cold weather. As I've said several times before and even you agreed with me: a stuttering transmission is simply inexcusable in a vehicle as expensive and supposedly as well-engineered as a Lexus.
  7. Check your fuses. They're all obviously intact to some degree, but one or more could be weakening. Remove, clean, and re-install your fuses and their connectors, ensuring that you keep the correct amperage in each fuse port. Your owners manual will have a schematic diagram of your fusebox. Find it, study it, and try to determine if the systems that are wavering are all wired through the same fuse or couple of fuses. This may not be the problem, but fuses are always the first component you should check with any electrical problem in any vehicle. It's easy, fast, and best of all free to check your fuses first.
  8. You should immediately run the other way and find someone with more competence in their engine diagnosis skills. A good mechanic should have the ability to pinpoint your problem with no guesswork and define the steps and the costs to effect your repairs. If I were you, I wouldn't throw away a hard-earned $1,800 on repairs that "may or may not" fix your engine problems. Find a good local repair shop that specializes in Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. Look in your local Yellow Pages and make some phone calls. Talk to some of your acquaintances and colleagues who drive Japanese cars and inquire where they get their repairs done. But don't get taken by your dealer who sounds like he is setting you up for a good old-fashioned wallet-skinning.
  9. Of course there are other horror stories with other brands of vehicles, Steve. Always have been and always will be. Issues get resolved and customers stay loyal when manufacturers admit and address them promptly, therefore minimizing the pain, suffering, and hassle factor. I've found GM to be poor at doing this. I've also found Jeep and Dodge to be good at doing this. I just wish that Lexus would step up to the plate on a national scale with their transmission problems. Sorry to hear about your mother's VW experiences. Sounds as if you feel about VW the same way I feel about Lexus. And we each have our own justifications for feeling the way we do.
  10. My wife and I will never buy another RX model due to the transmission problems we've experienced with our 2000 RX300. I battled Lexus for about five weeks and they finally decided to put another transmission in under our original warranty in mid-November, but the jury is still out and will remain out for quite some time. The new transmission is operating more smoothly now, but the noise level inside the cabin increased immediately upon the installation of the new transmission and Lexus has thus far been unable to determine why. Fit and function of the RX series is quite good, however. I just happen to believe that for a four-door SUV, it's significantly underpowered. In our neck of the woods, it's also viewed as primarily "a chick car". This seems to be true, because the overwhelming majority of drivers of the RX's that I see on the road are women. But from the looks of the trouble checklist pertaining to your Mercedes, ANYTHING will probably be an improvement for you. If you prefer German engineering, you may want to look at the VW Touareg (spelling?), which is essentially a poor man's Porsche Cayenne. The VW has been getting quite a bit of good press, although being new, it doesn't have a track record yet.
  11. You can call it an idiosyncracy or an annoyance, but the bottom line is that if it puts drivers and passengers at risk (which I believe any type of hesitation ALWAYS does), it's a flaw (and a dangerous one at that). Sooner or later someone will pull out into traffic and get creamed from behind when this transmission quirk unfortunately kicks in for them. And if it happens enough, we'll all start hearing about it in the news media. Transmissions, brakes, and tires have to work as designed 100% of the time or people will eventually get injured or killed. That's just common sense, and the manufacturers must ensure that their designs and components in these three systems aren't subject to quirky behavior. Period.
  12. This entire scenario unfortunately reminds me of the Ford Explorer/Firestone Tire fiasco a few years back. I certainly hope that it doesn't come down to Lexus drivers and passengers losing their lives due to these transmission quirks before Lexus Corporate does the right thing and issues the appropriate warnings and recalls. Steve, I appreciate your willingness to speak up and acknowledge that this transmission condition is prevalent across the entire Lexus model line-up. A flaw like this one is not worth risking in any planned future vehicle purchases for my wife and me. But in the meantime, we still have to deal with our current RX300.
  13. Thanks for the additional tips. Attempting to change these three rear plugs gets scarier all the time. I remember in the mid-70s when Chevrolet sold a particular model (I can't recall which one, but I would bet it was the Vega) which required hoisting the engine from the engine mounts in order to change the plugs. I guess I should be thankful that it appears I'll be able to get to the rear plugs in our RX300 without having to go quite that far.
  14. If what you said above is true, this is an inexcusable (and highly dangerous) condition for ANY automobile manufacturer to be allowed to get away with. The average driver should not have to learn to "feather" the throttle according to the particular driving conditions at each and every moment they are on the road. Where are the details published on this particular condition for the RX300? I doubt very seriously if they can be found on a Lexus-owned or controlled site.
  15. Thanks for the tip - this information may turn out to be extremely helpful. I'm still dreading the job of trying to change those three rear plugs at 60,000 miles (our vehicle is sitting at a little over 50,000 miles now, so I still have some time to research it further). If anyone else out there has done a spark plug job in their RX300 recently, please post here with your tips, tricks, and tools required. Thanks in advance.
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