Jon in Raleigh, NC

We've had a 2000 RX300 for about a month now. My wife has put approximately 2,000 miles on the vehicle, mostly in outside temperatures in the high 70s to low 90s. This morning, with the outside temperature at perhaps 60 for the first time this season, I noticed that the transmission was extremely sluggish in moving up through the range after initial start-up and leaving the driveway. I've read that these 1999 and 2000 transmissions can be rough shifters and somewhat problematic, but I'm wondering if others have experienced similar rough shifting when the weather begins to get cooler. The vehicle has just a little over 44,000 miles on it, and was very well cared for by the previous owner. That's primarily why we purchased it. I don't like the fact that this vehicle is woefully underpowered, however, and that may be adding to the transmission shifting problems. What have those of you who've had your RX300 through multiple changes in the weather got to say about this subject? Any relevant experiences would be appreciated.

Never, NEVER pay for out-of-warranty exhaust system work at a dealer. Dealers do mostly warranty exhaust work (and very little of it), so they don't have the expertise that the national chain muffler shops do. Dealers are also sometimes two, three, or even four times costlier on their exhaust work than the national muffler chains are. Many dealers don't even stock the parts, and may have to spend days ordering and receiving them. Bottom line - you'll always get much better pricing, better expertise, and equal-or-better parts for ANY exhaust work on ANY make & model of vehicle at a national muffler chain. That's their specialty, and all consumers should benefit from it.

Check with any national muffler chain. If it's catalytic converter, muffler, or exhaust system-related, they can usually do a BETTER job than ANY dealer of ANY make & model for about one-third to one-half the price. That's their specialty - dealers do very little exhaust work except warranty failures. So go to a muffler shop. You'll get equal-or-better exhaust parts, probably better expertise, and often a lifetime warranty if you ask for it.

I believe in security systems as much as anyone, but this entire concept of having to replace a computer over a lost key is idiotic engineering at its worst. Makes you want to store your keys in a vault.... My wife has locked her keys in her various vehicles a couple of times over the years. After the Lexus dealer's story of "it's easier to throw a brick through your window than it is to program a new master key for you", she's scared to death of locking her key in the car or losing it. But her fear might turn out to be the solution to her problem.... Still, this is a Lexus design flaw that needs a better solution.

Stang hit the nail on the head in an earlier post in this thread. He stated that if you watch your fluid levels, do not race, and stay on pavement, all extended warranties are a waste of your hard-earned money (and a huge profit center for the car manufacturers and dealers). The only thing I can add is to change your oil and oil filter regularly, regardless of whether your change interval is 3K or 5K or 7K miles. That is the single best thing you can do for your vehicle (regardless of whether it's a Lexus, a Rolls Royce, or a '91 Taurus) to prolong its longevity. I've owned more than 20 vehicles during my 33 years of driving, sometimes 5 at one time. I have meticulously maintained them all and driven several of them beyond 180,000 miles before deciding to replace them. I've still never needed an extended warranty on any one of them. If you're a habitual car abuser, then buy the extended warranty. But if you will routinely and thoroughly care for your vehicle the way its owner's manual tells you to, don't waste your money.

Just because a vehicle is made by a supposed "luxury" manufacturer does not mean that it is superior in every way and every purpose to supposed "non-luxury" vehicles. One must consider how the vehicle is to be used, under what conditions it will be driven, and the size & build of the driver and occupants. There's no question that our Durango was larger, faster, roomier, and tougher than our Lexus. For the purpose of hauling our three Gordon Setters, or bags of mulch from the garden center, or my Little League coaching equipment, the Durango wins hands-down over the RX300 every time. But after all, it's my wife's car. So for the purpose of her being able to drive around in a small, underpowered, overpriced, pretend-SUV that she likes because of it's looks and styling, it certainly fits the bill. But for practicality, power, room, function, and the ability to perform one's own maintenance with relative ease, I'll take my Durango back any day of the week. Don't believe for a second that just because a car is a certain brand (Lexus, Infiniti, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, and Aston Martin included), it is automatically superior in every way to a domestic vehicle built for specific purposes. In my 30+ years of driving, I've owned Japanese, Italian, German, and American vehicles. My favorite? Good old American Big Iron full-size pick-ups with 4-wheel drive. They're easy to buy, easier still to maintain, and they go anywhere and do anything these days with superb engineering, power, and room. Add leather and a great sound system, and some of the upscale truck interiors are comparable to today's overpriced "luxury" sedans. I may now be a Lexus owner, but I guarantee you that I'll never be a Lexus snob. Keep in mind what various folks need their various vehicles to do for them. Don't turn your nose up at a V-8 pick-up. You may depend on one some day to haul off that dead pine tree you just cut down to keep it from crashing though your roof....

I'm a firm believer in changing the oil filter every time the oil is changed. Even though it will definitely be a hassle with this particular engine. What a lousy filter placement - one of the poorest set-ups I've ever come across. We've now had the RX300 a little over a week. My wife has been wanting one for a couple of years and finally convinced me to sell our 1998 Durango and replace it with a nicely-maintained RX300. She's very happy now, but she's not the one who will do the work to keep it in showroom condition. I must say that the more time I spend with this vehicle, the more disappointed I am with it. It's too small, too slow, and poorly designed for those of us who do our own maintenance. I'm 6'7" and I miss the headroom, legroom, and engine compartment room of my Durango, along with the speed and acceleration of the 5.9 litre V-8 powerplant. I do like the RX300's gas mileage and Nakamichi stereo, however. But nothing can make up for the loss of plenty of room and plenty of power. Sometimes we all have to sacrifice to make others happy. I hope this vehicle can somehow grow on me. But whenever I drive the RX300, I know I look like a clown getting out of one of those little cars in the circus....

The oil filter wrench is a Lisle Part No. 63600, available at Pep Boys for about ten bucks. I bought one this morning, and it's spring-loaded and well-engineered just as Castrol said it would be. It is used in conjunction with a 3/8" drive socket wrench. Still not much working room underneath the exhaust manifold in the front part of the engine, but this tool should make the job at least a little more doable.

Thanks, Castrol. I use NAPA filters (already have one for the RX300) so I'll take it into my local Pep Boys and look for this Lisle wrench that you mentioned. I have huge hands so I know I'm facing a difficult situation with the extremely limited amount of room that Toyota engineering has provided to access the area underneath the exhaust manifold. American engineering is much better these days for those of us who still like to do the simple maintenance procedures ourselves. Now, has anybody out there tackled the three rear spark plugs? How did you get to them, and what tools did you use? Please let us know. Thanks.

Just bought a well-maintained 2000 RX300 for my wife this week. In my Jeep and Dodge SUVs and trucks, I'm accustomed to having plenty of room under the hood to get to oil filters, spark plugs, belts, etc. That's certainly not the case with the 2000 RX300. The oil filter is on the front of the engine underneath the exhaust manifold. My conventional spanner wrench can't get to it, and even if it could, there's no room to get leverage to turn it. What tool is required to remove the oil filter, and how do I get to it to change it? Also, how do I get to the three spark plugs on the rear of this engine? Again, I don't think that I'll have enough room back there for my conventional socket set and extension rods to pull the plugs out. Are special tools required for removing these three rear plugs? Any advice from those of you who do your own routine maintenance would be much appreciated. I don't want to go to the dealer for what should be simple jobs like oil and filter changes and new spark plugs.