wwest

Thanks for the response. I haven't gotten anyone to do this yet. Besides this is there anything else it might be and the temperature sensor is located near the exhaust manifold? If your LS has an intake air temperatrue sensor it will be in the engine air intake assembly just downstream of the intake air filter. Excuse me for asking but not all 91 ls 400's have an intake air temperature sensor and when you say downstream of the intake air filter are you simply referring to the air filter? Someone correct me if this is wrong but I don't think the early LSes had an IAT. If a "hot wire" MAF sensor is used then an IAT is required to correct the mAF signal. I'm pretty sure my 92 uses some sort of mechanical rotation or vane sensor that is deflected by incoming airflow rate. And yes, the electrical connector on the top of the duct/pipe/tube leading away from the engine intake air filter housing is the connection for the MAF.

You don't say why..... But I would think the compressor and compressor clutch would be FIRST on my list for an overhaul simply due to age or wear. I think the second item for me would be the EPR, Evaporator Pressure Regulator, valve.

Actually, she hinted the Ford's 'Chincy' factor was a little too high for her. sure, the FE isn't as high on the 400h, BUT ... many re-learn how to drive the 400H (and hihy) to get over 30mpg's. So IF you have to regularly shlub a lot of stuff, AND shlub it up a nice grade ... heck, it's nice to have the 400h's surplus power. BUT, it's nice to know that if you DO put forth the effort to get high MPG's, well the 400h CAN get in the 30mpg ... kind of the best of both worlds. Whereas the Ford will always have less power. "Whereas the Ford will always have less power." To which one could counter with: The RXh will always have lower FE capability. "Whereas the Ford will always have less power." As will the Prius.... Ever hear of anyone complaining about the lack of power in the Prius...?? No...?? That's because it was a "purpose" purchase. When someone asks for advice regarding a purchase choice, in this case a hybrid SUV, how do we know, discern, their priorities...?? We don't , we shouldn't, we simply open the book and pass along all the information we think might be helpful. Is it a detriment to the MMH vs the RXh that the MMH doesn't have VSC...?? ABSOLUTELY..!! Is it a detriment to the RXh vs the MMH that the RXh comes up "short" in the FE department...?? Again, ABSOLUTELY..!! I don't know, can't say for anyone else but were I to drive a hybrid on a regular basis I would not be one to "relearn" my driving style to improve FE. If I wanted to take that effort then I could do so just as well, relearning for FE, with my current '01 AWD RX300.

Hey, if this forum is into "book Burning", censorship, turning the truth away, then you might as well band me now. But, let's say, on the other hand, you were considering the purchase of a new C6 vs "whatever" and went to the Corvette forum and asked for advice. Would you really not want to "hear" the full range of responses...? And suppose Laura had asked about the Honda Hybrid (on the "appropriate" forum) vs the Prius, would it have been okay for me to "bash" the Honda..?? In a truthfull way..??

Thanks for the info I will order one and do it myself again thanks for your help Keep in mind that it may very well be that the reason your RX came from the factory with the TOW kit was to compensate for a design flaw within the transaxle. My '01 has the towing package also but at about 40,000 miles the ATF already smelled burned and was. If you plan to tow one of those Home Depot $500/1000lb capacity trailers then I would say go for it, but a 3000 lb travel trailer...trepidation....

Couldn't agree more.. Why put some clunky GPS device in your cockpit area when you already have a nice built-in version? Well, first of all you can open the CD door to the captive gps/nav and NEVER enounter the "I AGREE" question again. That will also eliminate the system's INSISTENCE on keeping the moving map display up absent your turning the diplay OFF. I'd much rather have a CLUNKY Garmin Nuvi GPS suctioned to the windshield than a captive one that only works half (or worse) as well. $50 updates via the internet rather lining the dealer's pockets inordinantly.

Thanks for the response. I haven't gotten anyone to do this yet. Besides this is there anything else it might be and the temperature sensor is located near the exhaust manifold? If your LS has an intake air temperatrue sensor it will be in the engine air intake assembly just downstream of the intake air filter.

I've been fueling my '01 AWD RX300 with nothing but regular from the very beginning, purchased new and now with ~70,000 miles No adverse affects.

This is the key statement that suggests Ford products are out of the loop. Yes, the Mariner may have more options than the Escape, but it can't compare to the RX400h. "suggests.."" Hmmm... It that like an assumption or theory of yours..?? "can't compare to the RX400h.." In many respects I agree, but as I have tried to point out, in some respects, MAJOR respects for some of us, the RX400h doesn't compare to the Mercury Mariner, not even CLOSE. Note that I said Mercury Mariner, not the Ford Escape that "feels cheap and plasticy". WWest, you certainly have no problem bashing a vehicle with which you have no direct day-to-day experience. I guess I find it surprising, quite surprising, that a forum SUPER MODERATOR would think it would take direct day-to-day experience in order to become an EXPERT (at least moreso that the majority of actual owners) on a given vehicle model. And... BASHING..?? Oh, have I insulted your "ride". Theoretical criticism. Which, what,...where....?? Tell me and I go correct it, or label it as such immediately. will get you only so far before it becomes very annoying to people who actually own a hybrid Lexus. Sounds like a bit of buyer remorse to me. But. The lady asked for our advice and both you, as an owner, and me, should be willing, fully willing, to open the book fully. As an old tool&die maker used to tell me, "Quit yer belly-achin!" Hey, you're the owner, I have no reason to "belly-ach", if the shoe fits..... In other news, there is a vehicle called the XH-150 that is made by a company called AFS Trinity. According to this company, the XH-150 gets 150 mpg and can travel 40 miles on battery power alone. Currently, AFS is taking its "extreme hybrid" on tour in an 18-wheeler. Who knows how reliable this vehicle is? I certainly wouldn't buy one until I see some actual long-term test results. Dave

Was it also the AWD model....??

No one used "fabulous" to describe a Ford or Mercury car. And if you re-read and make just a tad more effort to comprehend Laura's opening post she was clearly asking for advice regarding the Lexus vs the Ford. And I remain of the opinion that the Mercury Mariner hybrid should be given serious consideration. Unless there is a Lexus hybrid version of the RAV4 when I next go car shopping the Mercury will likely top my list.

"The fact remains that Lexus vehicles are far more reliable than Ford vehicles -- THAT you cannot deny!" "More" reliable, yes, I agree. "FAR" more reliable....hmmm...no so sure. I have a 1993 Ford Ranger PU, 2.3l I4, stick shift, with over 140,000 miles. Other than regular maintainance issues I have had to clean the idle air bypass at least twice to get it to pass emissions. My 1994 AWD Aerostar now has over 135,000 miles and I had to adjust the transmission bands at about 125,000 miles. My 2001 Four Winds category C motorhome is on a Ford E350 chasis and only has about 90,000 miles, but with no problems of Ford origin. So I guess in the end I wind up being a champion of both, Lexus and Ford. in 1992 I would have said different. "..Not a significant issue with Lexus! " Insofar as sudden/surprising instances of windshield fogging and prevention thereof Lexus is the worse of the worse. Of the half dozen or so suggestions for fixing these systems I made back in ~'93 they have up to now now implemented about half. Passionate Pursuit of Perfection More (fixes, climate control) to come, you can be sure, certain.

Admittedly, the Mercury Mariner is not, can NEVER be, upscale as in the Lexus "class" nor likely as relaible. But...BIG but... Rather than encumbering the FEH/MMH with the horribly wasteful V6, touting the equivalent of 400 HP as does the Lexus and HH, the FEH/MMHt gets along "just find thank you", with a small (2.3L..??) I4 Atkinson Cycle engine. Also, if you need/want AWD the FEH/MMH does that with only ONE HSD electric drive "set". Now, just what, which "geeky" components can be had on the RX400h that cannot be purchased as add-ons, possibly of better quality, more relaibility and certainly less expensive than the Lexus factory supplied ones. Hint: My 2001 Ford E350 based Four Winds MH has grey leather '97 ES300 heated seats with full memory positioning and an aftermarket sound system that I would put up against your ML system any time. And if Lexus is so great, and it is, just why has it now taken them more than ten, that's TEN, years to solve the transaxle problem..?? The very same problem that the new Ford Edge addresses very adequately. And why are they continuing to lie, blatently and explicitly LIE, about the RX350 having the same AWD capability as the RX300..?? And I suppose I shouldn't bring up the issue of the horrible automatic climate control design of ALL Lexus and Toyota vehicles. It may well be that the FEH/MMH now uses Denso US as the climate control design/supplier. So the FEH/MMH mightl have the same propensity to suddenly and unexpectedly fog over the interior surface of the windshield as the Lexus products have had going all the way back to the beginning...

Laura, Just for pure FE you should seriously consider the Prius. Assuming you are intent on buying an UPSCALE SUV primarily for FE I would look first and seriously at the Mercury Mariner hybrid. The RX400h and HH were designed from the get-go to appeal primarily to the "boy-racer", 0-60 crowd, PERFORMANCE considerations above FE. Were I in the market for a hybrid SUV, currently the Mercury, even without VSC, would be my first and ONLY choice. And I suspect the Mercury could easily be converted to CNG, and you can now "home-brew" CNG via "PHILL". No state/federal/roadway use fuel taxes. Plug-in hybrids are a NON-STARTER. Not only is the power distribution grid already maxed out, but until we begin converting to nuclear power generation the US power generation capacity will also remain maxed out. Did you know that many power companies are using surplus night time power generation capability to pump water UPHILL to use the next day for "make-up" power generation. Yes, we have a surplus of coal, but burning coal to supply power to you wall socket is only ~40% efficient at best, and will continue to destroy our living environment. Coal can be gasified and piped as NG. I'm really hoping to see a Lexus HSD version of the RAV4 with a smallish I4 or even smaller I4 Miller cycle engine before "my" VSC equipped Mercury Mariner arrives. But at least with the Mercury I could easily convert it from F/AWD to a much more safe RWD. And remember that the major advantage of a Toyota/Lexus HSD is in stop and go, city, driving wherein you can recover kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost. On the hwy the HSD may not do as well as a standard vehicle.

Thanks much for your opinion. I think I will have the transmission oil monitored every oil change (5,000 miles), and see what happens. I am waiting for the 'newer' breed of cars to appear - smaller/ more FE SUVs (hybrid or electric or hydrogen of not) and will then change vehicle... Are there any 'driving' signs tha the transmission is beginning to 'go' that I should be aware of? Tks. again! pauljcl Your 99-00 RX transaxle will be under the most duress under the 3 conditions spelled out in the TSB issued in the summer of 2003 for the 2003 Camry. The problem occurs anytime the transaxle has just previously upshifted and then for some reason you decide you want to accelerate. The transaxle must then quickly downshift into the proper gear ratio for acceleration, possibly even before the previously "commanded" upshift has completed. Due to an internal design change, abolition of the accumulator, the RX transaxle's gear type ATF pump "ALONE" (absent the accumulator "backup") CANNOT supply enough fluid pressure/flow, to support two gear changes in quick succession, especially if a FULL throttle lift resulting in the engine RPM dropping to idle, was the cause for the initial upshift. A modification(***1) that might work would be to use the TPS, Throttle Position Sensor, signal to detect a QUICK, or SUBSTANTIAL throttle lift and then use a relay to energize the brake light circuit. The brake circuit would/should remain energized until pressure is re-applied to the gas pedal. Provide the driver with a manual over-ride switch to disable this function if the roadbed traction is questionable. That would make it less likely, possibly a LOT less likely, that the transaxle would upshift, inadvertently upshift, when you lift the gas pedal. Absent the brake light signal the engine/transaxle ECU will ALWAYS(***2) assume that when you release foot pressure on the gas pedal your intent is to enter cruise "mode", upshift into a gear ratio more appropriate for the roadspeed/FE. With the brake light circuit energized your intent to "coastdown" to a lower speed is made most obvious. The problem with the 99-00 RX series was overcome in the 01-03 RX series via increasing the base volume of the ATF pump. While that appeared to have alleviated the transaxle failures caused by the earlier 00-99 design change the increased pump volume seemingly resulted in the ATF being overheated resulting in the need for an ATF drain and refill every 15,000 miles vs NEVER. As everyone now knows the solution of the RX330 and 350 series has been to use DBW to prevent the engine from responding to the new gas pedal position until the "e.l..o...n....g.....a.......t........e..........d" downshift sequence can complete. ***1: Not a "West" original idea, simply a RIP-OFF, different implementation, "RETROFIT", of the newly adopted firmware method currently going through trials in certain '08 ('09..??) Toyoya and Lexus FWD and F/AWD models. ***2: Just as downshifting ANY FWD or F/AWD vehicle to attain a not insignificant level of engine compression braking on a questionable, possibly slippery, roadbed surface can be HAZARDOUS, so too would be leaving one of these automatic transaxle equipped vehicles in a "downshifted" mode upon throttle lift after a period of acceleration can potentually be HAZARDOUS.

And I, on the other hand, would start with the electric fan(s) not "shifting" into high speed or not running at all.

Thank you. No the car tracks true, wheel is straight. If I go to an AutoZone, can they either tell me or reset the light? I just find it hard to believe that it needs anything just yet. But there is no way for you to know what the dealer did to "fix" the car, or attempt a fix that "tilted" the VSC system. For instance if the stearing wheel is turned while the battery is disconnected the stearing wheel position sensor signal might now be erroneous. ...

Nope.... not it! Good guess though. How do you know...?? Or... You may NEVER know. The simple act of removing the air filter assembly may have been enough to jar the cold start vane/door loose and out of the cold start position it was stuck in. I assume it wasn't altogether easy to "gently" remove those over-center lid clamps. I don't know if your's uses a vacuum motor nor which position the vacuum might drive the vane/door into. I once had a carburetor icing problem in a Ford Pinto I4 because I had inadvertently left a vacuum line off. In that case the vacuum motor never went into the cold start position.

Simple thing... NOT...!! There are two sensors unique to the VSC system, the stearing wheel rotational position sensor and the yaw sensor (lateral acceleration sensor). There is a calibration procedure the dealer can perform that might clear up your problem. By any chance is the stearing wheel off-center when/even traveling STRAIGHT down the road..??

Hello Grumpa72/Gary - Thank you for the reply Sir. Will the pump cause the car to vibrate? Or is it more of a "surging" feeling when pressurizing the pump? However the feeling is like as if a small motor is running or spinning and not surging. It vibrates and will not stop even when left on the 2nd click for a long time. I tried to leave it for about 5 minutes and it continues to spin. I had to shut off for fear of discharging battery. However at times it will not do it at all. I would turn key on 2nd click and no vibration - nothing - no noise whatsoever - but at times it will vibrate. I do not know how to make it not do it. Thank you for the reply Sir - I am lost. Years ago when my LS400 did "this" I fixed it by having the dealer drain/refill/bleed the brake system. You can test to see if it is the ABS pumpmotor by pulling the fuse.

"..you guys are over analyzing this..." Maybe, or probably so. "..With 33" tires, I could only use 4th gear at freeway speeds and was limited to about 65 MPH in 4th gear and about 3200 RPM, without flooring it and getting into the secondary." Then..... "I could actually shift into 5th gear, and could maintain 80 MPH at 3200 RPM." "chart" that apparent torque change yourself and I think you will then understand our confusion. My guess remains, your OEM intake ducting was either blocked or stuck in the "cold start" intake air heating mode or both.

Hmmm..... My "driving" and engine mechanical repair expereince goes all the way back to the early fifties, mostly back then 1940 vintage farm tractors, Deere, Farmall, Allis Chamlers, and Ford Ferguson. but throughout the succeeding years I don't know, cannot remember, any engine or component failure that I could say was the result of the corrosive effects of the engine coolant. Not even the ones that never had anything but water used, many times ditch water. The Allis Chamlers had a coolant leak, a slow one, and we had to always keep one eye on the temperature gauge. Once it began to rise it was off to the nearest ditch with a bucket.... Even so, that's a fairly small sampling so does anyone know of any modern day engine or engine coolant component that was so "damaged" by coolant corrosiveness that it lead to engine failure, or for that matter any coolant component. my one and only expereince in that venue was with a 1966 T-bird engine. But engine failure was the result of a faulty coolant formulation that resulted in a clogged up radiator and the coolant manufacturer ended up buying me a new engine.

Are you sure, are any of us sure (I'M not) that the Ph measurement doesn't tell us of the state, status, of the anti-corrosion chemical components of the coolant...?? If the Ph is neutral, no acidity nor alkalinity, what is the coolant's "corrosion" factor with/for an aluminum block and head..???

My best guess would be that you have a failed or failing, intermittently failing, check valve or solenoid valve somewherein the ABS pumpmotor system. It is my understanding that each and every time you first, initially, switch the key into the engine run position the pumpmotor goes into a self-check mode. Once the brake fluid is pumped up to a specified pressure the pumpmotor stops, usually with 2-3 seconds. If you switch the key off and then back on fairly soon the motor should not restart unless the initial fluid pressure has/is bled off.