wwest

"drove a very dark, undulating, curvy road in the rain at freeway speed." AT FREEWAY SPEED You have a death wish, maybe..??? Otherwise, say an emergency situation, turn on the hazards and go ahead and use the high beams. Oncoming drivers will be very forgiving in your situation.

Yes they do. This is a strange one. There are three resistive nichrome wire links inside the bulb failure detection module mounted inside the driver's side rear quarter panel, about a foot forward of the cigar lighter socket. My guess is you "blew" the street/parking/corner light link somehow.

Due mostly to space limitations under the dash of modern day vehicles the A/C cooling evaporator core has become a VERY dense and complex assembly, 10,000 square inches of cooling vane surface area is typical. Most systems today operate the evaporator very close to the point of freezing the condensate that accumulates thereon during operation. Put an ice cube out on table in hot weather and force a goodly level of warm airflow over it. How long does it take to melt. Even if you turned your A/C off 10-15 minutes before parking the car for the day, turned the system to "fresh" mode if necessary, and the blower up to maximum, you would still have no assurance of a dry plenum upon arrival. And in the meantime you would suffer through a LOT of very HUMID system airflow.

"One" has to wonder, at least this "one" does, just what the FE of the '04 RX330 would have been in comparison to the RX400h had you driven it just as CONSERVATIVELY as you seemingly have adopted for the RXh. Not denigrating the RXh in any way, just wondering what it is that makes people think they need to revise a lifetime of learning in order to drive an RXh advantageously over an RX.

I suspect that if you could keep your "foot" out of the turbo(***) then the "tiny mill" might more than suffice. *** Most US buyers cannot, which is likely why the EPA mileage calculation requires use of the turbo mode by default. I have always wondered if one could (reverse) "chip" the RDX such that the turbo wastegate remains open longer, turbo "mode" coming on later in the "power band".

The Prius I4 was easily adapted to the Atkinson Cycle since just as one cylinder would be EXHAUSTING a portion of the mixture into the intake manifold the "opposite" cylinder would be beginning an intake strobe and thereby absorb the pressure pulse from the mixture being "exhausted", forced back into the inatke manifold. Obviously the V6 has no such advantage, cylinder intake/exhaust (intake) synchronization, which may be why the Atkinson Cycle is not used on the RXh or HHL. Maxda solved this problem in the Millenia "S" V6 by switching to the Miller Cycle, using an SC to prevent reverse air flow in the throttle intake. Could a "reed" valve or "flapper" valve system such as used in 2-cycle engines be used in the throttle throat of a V6 to overcome this problem..??

Methinks 2004, the RX330, was the initial adoption of DBW, supposedly to "protect the drive train", and that resulted in MANY owner complaints of 1-2 second acceleration delays that often resulted in a heart in throat, PANIC, condition. Apparently upon a lift-throttle coastdown event at certain speeds, noteably 40-30 and 10-0, the transaxle upshifts(***) and then cannot quickly downshift if the drievr should suddenly or quickly have the desire or need to accelerate. *** While this would undoubtedly extend the coastdown distance and therefore also extend FE, I have always argued that it is done to alleviate or reduce loss of control incidents resulting from a significant level of engine compression on the front wheels should the roadbed happen to be somewhat slippery.

I have a 2001 AWD RX300 with ALL the bells and whistles. Were I in the market at the moment the RX series, or ANY Toyota or Lexus FWD or F/AWD vehicle would be at the VERY BOTTOM of my list. Beginning in about 98, with the new RX, symptoms of a serious design flaw in the transaxles of these vehicle began showing up and continue to this very day. Google for: Toyota transmission (transaxle??) flare or: Toyota transmission (transaxle??) hesitation If AWD, TRUE AWD capability is high on your list then look at the Acura RDX's SH-AWD system for absolutely STELLAR AWD capability in, from, a base FWD vehicle. PS: I might pop the RX up higher on my list once the Lexus IS & GS's DFI, Direct Fuel Injection, system is adopted, I expect certainly by 2010.

NOT possible, forget it.

It isn't the "freaking" filter, it's the A/C cooling evaporator core itself. As the A/C operates condensation is continuously forming on the ~33F evaporator core ("today's" TIGHTLY woven evaporator core, think SPONGE). When you shut down the A/C at the end of the day the evaporator vane surfaces, all ~10,000 square inches thereof, will remain covered with a thin film of moisture that may take hours to evaporator from those surfaces. Once it evaporates, and with no place to "go" (no convection or forced airflow) it will simply remain in the A/C plenum and provide a STELLAR dark, damp & dank breeding evironment forf the microbes that provide the excrements that become the source of that horrid dirty gym socks odor. Some manufacturers are today coating the evaporator surface area with a thin porus film into which is embedded an anti-microbial chemical. The problem is that once the chemical is used up, "leaches" out of those pores, the pores themselves help with the SPONGE effect. Be careful of a car that fogs over the interior surface of the windshield early in the drive on a coolish morning, that's a "CLEAR" (pun fully intended) indication of a sponge-like evaporator core that has retained moisture overnight.

"two required.." Oops...where is the second one? Sorry, that's two for my Porsche 968, not my RX. Tom I was/am concerned that the little green car pictured on your left might need a second filter that I am not aware of...

Presumes the garage isn't already too full to keep the 400h there ... or that everyone has a garage. Something about having to rescue the manufacturer by doing stuff as a work around for their poor design that just doesn't seem right. On a good note though, the link above for the CABIN air filter, is also a great place to get you ENGINE air filter, too. Don't forget to change it too, folks, as they can really load up, and decrease mpg. As for the mold smell, we found an aerosol made in the UK (wish I could remember the name of it) that really works well. It not only kills mold growth for 6 months, but dust mites as well. Kind of over priced, but worth it because it works well, and for a long time. Be extremely carefull about what you spray into the A/C intake airflow ducts, it might be detrimental to human life also as was the spray Lexus used to use as a matter of course for this reason.

"destroyed sensor.." No, more likely a loose connection/connector. For emissions reasons the fuel tank/system is kept under a slight vacuum. It is expected that the vacuum will be lost when refueling (loss of vacuum along with a rise in fuel level in the tank) but a loss of vacuum otherwise is considered a problem.

"two required.." Oops...where is the second one?

To get a more firm idea, background, about this problem go to airsept.com and read about their EED, Electronic Evaporator Dryer. Or google for: wwest demist The simplest solution is to leave your windows down slightly in the garage each and every night.

For the ultimate in rding comfort and QUIET I run Bridgestone Turanza "summer only" tires all year around. I resort to tire chains (rear FIRST, and then add the front ones if needed) on the rare occassions of need here in the Seattle area.

Since you're in FL and are not likely to need other than summer tires I would recommend "summer only" Bridgestone Turanzas. They seem to be ultra-quiet and comfortable riding. I have run a set on my 01 AWD RX300 for about 50,000 miles now, very pleased.

I purchased strips of velcro at Home Depot. Did not want to drill holes in the front bumper. Bolts/nuts used so it looks firmly attached. You can avoid those tickets by getting a personal plate, losing the front plate, "Officer, I think it was stolen" and always having an order sheet handy to indicate you have a new replacement one ($13, WA) on order. Takes forever for WA to send a new one, and even then they apparently often, seemingly, send it to the wrong address.

HI I have purchased a used 2006 RX 330 as well. The vehicle needs to be in park then move the seat where you desire and hold both buttons (set and the number) at the same time until you hear a beep Your seat position will be set for that number. I'm not sure if the sequence is set-number hold or number-set hold. Any questions you can email me. dcschnd@yahoo.com You MUST depress the "set" button first and then hold it while depressing the number select button until you hear the beep.

Your friend, regretably, is correct. Without the VC, Viscous Clutch, your RX does not have TC (nor VSC), so the center differential is simply a standard, OPEN differential. What that means is that the engine torque will go to the WEAKEST "link", front or rear depending on which has the least traction. The VC is sort of like a "wind-up" rubber band, once it is wind-up tightly it will begin to convey engine torque to the opposite end. In the case you describe, simply dropping the rear driveline/shaft, the LEAST "traction" would now be at the rear. So on depression of the gas pedal the engine would ROAR quickly to HIGH RPM, spinning the center differential output shift RAPIDLY, the VC (rubber band) would wind-up into knots and then finally start conveying torque to the front driveline. Not exactly the type of CONSTANT duty the VC, VC's viscous fluid was formulated for. What I propose to do is eliminate the center diff'l altogether by LOCKING the rear driveline into the transaxle output and then use the VC, "rubber band" to drive the front driveline only if it lags the rear driveline. And by the way it is my firm belief, QUITE FIRM BELIEF, that in the normal case, no wheelspin/slip, the RX's engine torque is heavily biased to the front (95/5 F/R). So your only FE disadvantage, really, for the RX's AWD system, is carrying around the extra weight.

Other than being there to help remove the fender liner, etc, no.

It is expected, or so I would believe, that in ECT mode the driver would not operate the vehicle aggressively. So, in ECT mode were you to be drive aggressively the transaxle might be damaged in the long term. That being said I'm pretty sure the engine torque curve is also modified downward in ECT mode, at least it appeared so in my GS300.

I disconnected the battery for 20 minutes. I also pulled the EFI fuse for 5 minutes. I didn't touch the MAF other that moving the hose it is attached to to get to the IACV. I'm not sure what the IAT is? MAF: Mass AirFlow sensor. IAT: Intake Air Temperature. And sorry, I miss-spoke I meant to say you broke the IACV. When the A/C compressor comes on line at idle the IACV is used to raise the mixture volume in order to maintain the idle RPM.

No one seems to know why but all VSC/TC functions are automatically disabled with a CEL. It's in your owners manual.

Actually there can be a strong safety benefit at certain times and circumstances from quickly shifting into neutral, especially on FWD or F/AWD vehicles such as is the RX series. The AAA has recommended this to owners of FWD and F/AWD for many years now to help maintain directional control while slowing or braking on an adverse roadbed surface. A significant level of inadvertent engine compression braking can/will not only raise the potential for a skid, "jack-knife", but it will also interfere with the anti-lock system. The slippery the roadbed the higher is the potential for loss of control. But in this case I rather doubt if the engine/transaxle ECU would have actually shifted the transaxle into reverse, at least not until the driveline was turning slow enough that no harm would have been done.