tds

My 2001 RX300 has dashboard squeaks too. The dealer ended up taking the dash out and I thought that would fix it...NOT. Now I will take it back in and get them to keep taking the dash out until they fix it. The bad news is that they still have not fixed the root cause, because they have the same problem in the RX330....and they will probably have the same problem in the RX400H (pessimist) Lexus, are you listening?

Here we go again :) I live north of Toronto in Canada and we get a lot of snow. I installed 4 snow tires on my 2001 RX300 AWD and the winter performance is simply outstanding. I never get stuck and my traction control rarely comes on. When compared to the winter performance of my rear drive 91 LS400 (again with 4 winter tires) I have around 1000 percent more traction (my guestimate :) Remember that the AWD is used not only for deep snow, but also for ice and extremely slippery conditions. Because it is AWD the vehicle is balanced in extremely slippery situations, and balanced means stable and less likely to skid out. Regardless of any of this remember that you cannot violate the laws of physics regardless of how many wheels you have driven. This is why it is usually the 4WD/AWD vehicles who are first in the ditch every winter. They have no clue how slippery it really is when they start out and they tend to overdrive the vehicle for existing conditions. They find this out when they try and steer around a curve or brake to a stop...they can accelerate better than a 2WD vehicle, but they cannot steer or stop any better (i.e. AWD/4WD is out of the equation for stopping and steering). The long and short of it is that Lexus have done a great job with their AWD RX300. I highly recommend the AWD version even though the gas mileage is a little bit less and the maintenance is a little bit more.

I have a similar idling noise in my 2001 RX300. I have documented it on a video and will schedule an appt to have it fixed. It turns out that the headliner is vibrating in resonance to the engine at low idle rpm. It appears to be coming from the area of the overhead lights / sunroof controls. If you have a grinding noise when you try and start the car, it sounds like the starter solenoid is not forcing the starter gears into mesh properly.

Go to an autoelectric specialist and have the rebuild your alternator.

Fill the differential with hypoid gear oil. Oil Grade: Hypoid gear oil API GL-5 Recommended oil viscosity: Above 0 deg F SAE 90 Below 0 deg F SAE 80W or 80W-90 Capacity: .95 +/- .05 US qts

I have a 2001 RX300 and the fuel pump makes no sound at all. Take you car back to the dealer and have it fixed as this is a warranty item. The same should apply with your brakes if they are warped or distorted...the dealer should fix them under warranty.

Your 99 LS400 came standard with V rated tires. This is because the top speed is around 150 mph and V rated tires can handle 150 mph continuous. Here are speed ratings of other tires: S rated: 112 MPH T rated: 118 MPH H rated: 130 MPH V rated: 150 MPH Now, you should keep in mind that the handling characteristics of your LS400 are based on V rated tires. A T rated tire also has a much softer sidewall than a V rated tire, so your handling will deteriorate with T rated tires. On my LS400 I installed H rated tires. It is a good compromise between tire cost, handling characteristics and safety. I would never run a T rated tire at 115 MPH, but I would run an H rated tire at that speed.

I recommend using OEM Lexus brake pads, although the rotors could be aftermarket. I had a set of aftermarket pads installed on my LS400 and had to put up with the groaning sound they made (when almost stopped) for several years until they wore out. The OEM Lexus pads are quiet and work great.

If you don't want to do the work yourself, ask your friends to recommend a good (i.e. capable and honest) mechanic who has worked on Japanese cars before. Then have your RX towed there (make sure they use a dolly so all wheels are off the ground). Explain to the mechanic that you want a new battery and that you want him to remove the alternator and have an auto electric shop check it out / rebuild it. It will cost you a bit more but still a lot less than Lexus would charge.

A battery is good for approx 5 years, so I am not surprised yours is dead....you need to install a new one. For the alternator, check the yellow pages and remove / take your alternator to an auto electric specialist...let them rebuild it...you should be able to get all this done for around $200 - $250.

The door rattle could be a broken weld on the mounting bracket for the electric window motor. I had a broken weld on the mounting bracket on the front passenger door. I had Lexus take off the door panel, drill a hole through the spot weld and retighten it with a bolt through the hole and nut on the back. This fixed the rattle. Now I have a similar one in the driver's door...I think I'll take off the door panel and fix this one myself.

When I bought mine (new) there was a package in the glove box containing 4 wheel nuts and the wheel key. Take a look there.

Clean and install the oil drain plug with a new gasket (important) and torque to: 45 N-m, 460 kgf.cm, 33 ft-lbf (take your pick ) fyi: Drain and refill... W/Oil filter change (4.7 liters (5.0 US quts, 4.1 imp qts) W/o Oil filter change (4.5 liters (4.8 US qts, 4.0 Imp qts) Dry fill (5.2 liters (5.5 US qts, 4.6 Imp qts)

Any of these seal instant tire repairs are not intended to be a permanent repair. I assume your car was not vibrating before the puncture and was vibrating after, so the Gunk that sealed your tire (temporarily) also has weight and caused your tire to go out of balance. You should have the tire removed from the rim, the Gunk removed and the tire repaired properly, then reinstalled and rebalanced.

You are correct. The engine controls keep advancing the timing until they begin to sense detonation (i.e. pinging). Advancing the timing gives you more power (only if the engine does not ping). Here is the official answer from Lexus for my RX300...same answer for RX330: I interpret this response to mean you should be able to get an additional approx 10 hp by using 94 Octane gasoline. Here is the response: There is more than one "octane rating". Research Octane Number (RON) is a laboratory rating that manufacturers generally use. Motor Octane Number (MON) is another laboratory method of measurement. Anti Knock Index (AKI) is the number quoted at gas stations. It is an average of these two: RON + MON / 2 87AKI is equal to 91RON. The engine in the RX300 produces 220 hp on this "regular" fuel. If premium fuel is used (over 87AKI or 91RON), a slight improvement in power output is likely. The ignition system used on the RX300 continually monitors engine knock (detonation), and tailors spark advance to operate at where its peak performance can be obtained. Hence, the better the fuel, the better the potential performance (within limits, of course).

Remember that any time you are carrying a load on the roof of your RX300 you are increasing the likelyhood of a roll over. How much of an increase depends on the load you are carrying and the distance of the center of gravity of the load from the center of gravity of the vehicle. If you check this link: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Cars/2001SUVs.html you will see that the RX300 gets 3 stars out a a maximum 5 (more is better). You will be reducing the RX300 to 2 stars or maybe even 1 star. I recommend that you don't carry anything on the roof (i.e. safety over convenience)

I had a similar noise about 1 wk after I picked up my 2001 RX300. I had friends in the car and was taking them for a ride to show off the RX300, so it was kind of embarassing (Lexus are you listening???) Anyway, the dealer removed the panel from the inside of the hatch and rerouted some cables. This fixed the problem and it never came back (other stuff came back, but not this)

I guess another way to look at the AWD/FWD issue is to compare the RX300 AWD with a FWD car. The last time I had my RX300 in for maintenance they gave me an ES300 for a loaner for the day. Now the ES300 is a FWD vehicle, so I turned off the traction control and gave full power when the light turned green. I had to fight the steering wheel against torque steer and I got lots of wheel spin. This is typical of a FWD with high horsepower...no matter how good a job they try to do they just cannot completely eliminate torque steer. Now, on my way back from the dealer after picking up my RX300, when the light turned green I again gave full power (i.e. gas pedal on the floor). There was no torque steer (i.e. zero) and no wheel spin (i.e. Zero). So I guess my question is, if the RX300 AWD is really only a FWD, why do I not get the torque steer and the wheel spin I should get from a FWD vehicle (traction control did not kick in either). The answer is clear. The RX300 is definitely an AWD vehicle. It doesn’t matter how the ratio is split front to back. All that matters is how the vehicle performs, and it performs as an AWD in dry weather, on snow, on slippery roads or anywhere. I am very happy with the job Lexus has done with the AWD (although I am less happy with some of the squeaks and rattles).

The dash in my 2001 RX300 squeaks and rattles too. They had the problem in the RX300 and they still have it in the RX330. You would think they figured out how to fix this by now!!!

Canadian RX 330's have kph and Celsius, so I suggest you ask Lexus. It may be a programmed computer setting for the temp.

Fill up with a full tank of Sunoco 94 octane and you will see significant improvement in power (10 - 15 hp).

I'm assuming that you just want to change the rubber blade strip and not the wiper arm itself. The rubber blade contains two slender stainless steel strips on either side. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and carefully grab the rubber blade at the large end and pull the rubber up and away from the stainless steel strips. Be carefull not to bend the strips. Once you have started to pull the rubber out from the stainless steel strips, you will be able to slide the rest of the rubber blade out. Note the orientation of the two stainless steel strips. They have notches which go on the inside. Place the two stainless steel strips on either side of the new rubber blade and then insert into the arm. Push the new blade into the arm until the metal notches at the end lock into the rubber. Do one at a time and if you get stuck, look at the other to see how it fits.

I suggest you read through the post and responsews called "60 Problems in 4 Years". It is in this forum (i.e. Lexus RX300 / Lexus RX330 Forums) and I believe was started sometime in early December 2003.

I had a similar noise in my passenger door. It turned out that one of the welds holding the window electric motor bracket had broken. Lexus drilled it out and put a bolt in. Problem was solved. I now have a similar noise in my left rear door. I have to take off the door panel and fix it myself this time. There is another post somewhere on this site that showls you how to do this.

One ML 320 owner complained that he had been to the dealer for warranty work 60 times in 2 years. Another complained that he had ordered a Mercedes and had been delivered a Chrysler. Check the Consumers reports for reliability histories and you will see that the M series have black dots (i.e. worst reliability). As for the RX sludge problem, this only occurs when an owner does not follow the recommended oil change intervals. I suggest you ask the dealer to look at the warranty service records of any RX you are thinking of buying. If all the oil changes have been done on schedule, it is not a problem. I have a 2001 AWD RX300 and it is absolutely superb in snow and on slippery roads. Lexus have done a good job here and my vehicle has great traction and is stable on even the most slippery surfaces. Do yourself a favour and get a Lexus. If you have a lot of spare time to waste and like the truck ride, then get a Mercedes.