vegasrob

Does anyone *know* from experience what worn front bearings or a worn axle feels like on these cars? I've never had a front wheel drive car before, so this is a new experience for me. Is there a way for me to check without pulling the front end apart?

05 RX330 2WD, 95k miles. Car just had its 90k mile service and 95k mile oil change, all sections of the car were verified as operational. In the last few days, a strange noise has been heard from the front end of the car. It doesn't happen all the time when braking, but it does happen ONLY while braking. It sounds like a suspension component is grinding while the car comes to a stop - almost if a brake caliper were catching on a high point of a warped rotor, but it's further in than that, doesn't sound like the brakes. I was thinking a pinion arm or similar. The front struts were replaced at 65k miles, the trans doesn't slip or shift funny, the steering wheel doesn't pull or shimmy, and the tires are wearing fairly evenly at 60k miles of usage. Anyone else experience this type of problem? I checked under the car, and nothing is leaking. The pinion boots seem tight and not overly squishy. Thanks in advance!

Generally I agree with your statement except that, even with the a/c on, you will most likely have an increase in moisture simply because human respiration releases a tremendous amount of moisture just in normal breathing. Add one or more persons and that is why you can have the foggy windows on buses and cars. I used to have this information but it is no where to be found. Besides, I don't run my a/c in the winter except on occasion to keep things working. I checked with another dealership and they were kind enough to check the TSBs on the car, and apparently there is a TSB on the catalytic converter, where customers complain of a bad egg smell under accelleration. Since I'm not an expert in automobile plumbing, can someone explain how that could cause a problem with the AC smell? My understanding was that the EGR valve allowed spent exhaust gases to recirculate back into the engine for backpressure or constant temperature purposes, yada yada. Do the vents for fresh air ever fully close when recirc is on? Also, the reason I leave the recirc button on so much is because here in vegas we have an extraordinary level of dust and dirt being thrown up into the air by 18 wheelers hauling dirt and construction equipment. On the flip side I have an 01 silverado with 145000 miles on it - I can count on two hands how many times I've used fresh air. It always stays on recirc. and I have never had a problem with smells.

2005 RX330 FWD 49k miles. This problem started about 2 years ago. When I accellerate on a freeway onramp, the AC produces a nasty stink. The best I can describe it as is the smell of a hair salon, specifically when a perm is being done. NASTY! This started happening at about 20k miles. Took it to the dealer, they said "replace the AC filter" to the tune of 100$, so I had them do it. They also sprayed ozium into the AC system, and said that condensation accumulates in the AC system, and to turn off the recirculate button whenever possible. Ok, fine. Did that. 10k miles later, same thing. Long story short, the system has been sprayed 5-6 times in the 3 years we've owned the car, we tried turning off the recirc button before shutting the car off (dealer recommended), the cabin filter has been replaced at least 3 times now, and it still stinks on accelleration. It doesn't happen all the time, and up until recently if we turned off the recirc button while getting on the freeway, it was ok. We have been turning off the recirc button everytime before shutting off the car (its been about 5 weeks since the filter was replaced and ozium sprayed by the dealer), and today when the wife got on the freeway (with the recirc button off), she got that same nasty stink. Anyone else have this problem? We have already spoken to the service manager once about this after like the 5th time bringing it in, but it's still a BIG problem. We're 1k away from the warranty expiring, and I want to get this fixed. I'm thinking it's about time to demand a replacement AC system, or call the lexus customer service line (if that'll do anything). HELP!!!!

Very strange, indeed. I can't seem to get a straight answer from the dealership on this. We just bought our first set of new tires for our 05 rx330 fwd, at 48000 miles. All of a sudden after getting the tires installed from Costco (the dealership was outrageously priced), the TPMS light came on. I checked the tires and my front right was low. I had Costco add air to that tire (all nitrogen fills at costco) based on what the dealership told me (35 pounds cold), but then the next day the light came on again. It comes on after about 12 to 15 minutes of driving. The wife took the car to the dealer, and the first time they said the monitor system needed to be reset, but didn't do it. The second time, she went in and they reset the system via the underdash button. My question is, do all the rims have a pressure monitor on them, and what type of monitor is it? A band around the rim, or a sensor IN the rim? The factory rims are on the car, and here's where it gets a little screwy for new people as I tell them this: last year the RF tire went flat. I went to costco and had them pull the spare (fullsize with matching rim) out and install it on the RF. No problems with TPMS after that. At the same time, I had them replace that flat tire with a new, different style tire and put it in the spare tire carrier. Before new year's, we took the car back to costco and bought 3 new tires that matched the new spare (that was originally the RF tire), had them install the 3 new tires, pulled the spare and put it back into the spare tire carrier. Now the tire that was replaced is back in its original spot on the car, RF. And now I have a TPMS problem. Help! Costco replaced the valve stems when they did the tires, and I've checked the tires several times to be sure that pressure is correct. Tires are the michelin mxvs8 in stock 18" size.