wwest

How much am I offered for mine, 2001 AWD RX300, removed in favor of billet grille.

Not really "tongue in cheek", but how did you check exhaust flow with the engine under a 70MPH load factor. You most likely have a partially blocked exhaust due to a crumbling catalytic converter, not an unusual event for one this old. Drive it at 70 for a few minutes at night and then look to see which parts of the exhaust are glowing CHERRY RED from HEAT. I don't think the firmware for models this early was sophisticated enough to detect this.

lenore and everyone else...... Thank you! This site has been great. My luck with Lexus, hasn't been as good. Rx300 was towed to the dealership on Thursday, they were wonderful about a loaner as they usually are here in Charlotte, NC. We received a call on Friday telling us that the tranny is shot and it will be $4025 out the door. I brought up the three TSB's (Technical Service Bullitens) and the hundreds of complaints about the tranny problem with this model. I was told they will see what they can do..... A few hours later I received a call back from our service tech, who informed us that they won't be able to help us with the cost of this issue but......... He gave me the number 1 800 25 LEXUS... I am calling them today, as last night was to late. He mentioned that they are only the dealer, where as Lexus would be the one to make a decision to assist or not. For anyone that I read who was lucky enough to have Lexus absorb the cost... How did you do it. I really would rather not spend $4000 on this issue if it is so common that there should be a recall. Thank you again to everyone on this website. I'll keep everyone informed. Make loud, really LOUD, noises on the showroom floor.

18" will yeild an unusually HARSH ride for an LS400, 430

Yes. If I wanted to avoid a DIY transaxle overhaul at ~75,000 miles I would do exactly what the previous owner of your RX did. Sell it quick! Given the reports here and there on the internet, and the fact that my own RX's ATF was smelling and looking burned before I flushed it at 40,000 miles, I fully expect a failure in the 80-100,000 miles. With the auxillary ATF cooler, no tow hitch, and NO severe service history, ATF doesn't normally simply get BURNED. Show signs of overheating, begin to look and smell burned, there is a core causative factor in there somewhere. I very strongly suspect it somehow relates to the well documented premature transaxle failures of the '99 RX series. If you haven't yet experienced a Toyota or Lexus automatic climate control you are in for some surprises this coming winter. Search for "wwest" and "demist" for some clues, or wwest and "c-best" for some things the dealer can do to help. Your AWD RX is actually more FWD than otherwise so be extremely careful on adverse roadbed conditions and search for wwest, tire chains, and wheel spacers.

I hope that was R134a not "freon". In any case there is a rotation rate sensor/detector that is used to be sure that when the clutch is engaged the compressor is rotating at a rate cognizant with the RPM of the engine. Undoubtedly the sensor gap is not quite small enough and only works properly at higher engine RPM. Electromagnetic sensors are like that.

Actually its now been almost ten years. The problem that resulted in premature transaxle failures for the '99 RX300 appears to have been carried forward to the entire Toyota/lexus fleet of FWD and front torque biased AWD vehicles. it apears that Toyoat has yet to find a "final" fix/solution.

Four years ago we purchased a used 27" Four Winds MH on a Ford E350 V10 powered chasis. Our primary criteria insofar as MH vs TT was for my wife to be able to get up and move about while traveling as I am the primary (only?) driver. I can drive about 500 miles a day if it's in daylight. But at 60+ I knew I Needed food, coke, or whatnot after that first 300 miles to avoid getting drowsy enough that I yawned almost continuously. Part of the problem, equation, was that all of our other vehicles, at least the viable ones, are AWD, so if towed they had to be on a trailer, all wheels "up". So for that 4 years we have vacilated between buying a trailer for wheels up, and/or a TOAD, a new vehicle that could be towed all wheels down. Meantime we have settled for renting a vehicle at our destination. More recently we have considered the RAV4 initially but then the '08 came out without a stick shift. Have had my eye on the Suzuki SX4 stick shift of late. But on our last return trip, central MT and back, the discussion came up about the safety of my DW, VERY DW, being up and around while underway. Bottom line is we are now seriously considering selling the MH and buying a small, ~16', Travel trailer. The "usefull" portion of our MH is only 16' long. And now this is where our 2001 AWD RX300 comes into the discussion. There are a myriad of used (it is NEVER cost effective to purchase a new RV!) TT's out there in the maretplace wherein I can stay below the 3500 pound (supposed) towing capacity of the RX. The tow hitch from my RX was removed the first week of purchase and it has never endured anything close to rough service. Yet at 40,000 miles the ATF smelled and looked burned. I flushed it twice within 5,000 miles and am watching it carefully at each oil change. I strongly suspect the burned ATF is due to the same shift pattern change that was made for the initial RX production and it is that change that resulted in premature transaxle failures of many '99 RXes. So I am fully prepared, expect, for a DIY transaxle rebuild at 80-100,000 miles. At the same time I will be locking the transaxle's center diff'l in a way that the drive to the rear will be a solid mechanical connection and the VC will become the only drive to the front wheels. Should I go forward with this TT purchase plan the first thing I will do after mounting the tow hitch is add cooling fans for the auxillary ATF cooling heat exchanger. Now, the QUESTION. Does anyone out there have a substantial enough level of experience towing with any RX. 300, 330, 350, to be able to say if I am on the right track or not? We have put ~10,000 miles on the MH in those 4 years. 65,000 miles on the RX, daily driver, since purchasing it new in '01. Any other options, modifications, to the RX that I should consider to make it more robust for towing a 3500lb TT?

The very best solution, ABSOLUTELY the best, is to remove the DVD from the GPS/Nav drive in the spare tire well and NEVER again use it. My portable touch screen voice prompting Magellan is a FAR better GPS/Nav than is even the 6.1 version in the Lexus. The Magellan system will route me correctly every time whereas the Lexus system will change its initial routing to the correct one as I follow the Magellan's shortest routing. Strange, the Lexus obviously has adequate mapping resolution but will almost NEVER finds the shortest route initially and in some instances has routed me almost 2 hours out of the way, incorrect shortest route, on a five hour trip. It will be even worse if you do not set all road types to EQUAL MPH limits.

Same here...the body looks like the size is much more comparable to the GX now. I don't agree. A 2" longer hood/front doesn't put it in the GX class nor does a 2" wider body (look at the roof rain-gutter, "drains".)

More HP/torque = improved FE...?? NOT...!! Or maybe if your RX is underpowered to begin with.... NOT! Or you drive like teenage "boy-racer" all the time. The "scheme" is to modify the signal from the IAT section of the MAF/IAT, Mass Air Flow / Intake Air Temperature, sensor's signal such that the engine ECU "thinks" the intake airflow is colder/(therefore denser) than in actuality resulting in a richer mixture than otherwise. The problem is that during idle or cruising at a constant speed the MAF/IAT signals are ignored for A/F mixture control in favor of the upstream, first, exhaust oxygen sensor. While the oxygen sensor is being used EXCLUSIVELY for A/F mixture control the engine ECU is continuously LEARNING the calibration parameters for the MAF/IAT signals. So once you ask for acceleration torque the device's (typically an inexpensive, 5 cents, 1/4 watt resistor) modified signal has already been "zeroed" out. For this scheme to even have a chance of working the resistor should be out of the circuit during idle or cruise, when the MAF/IAT signals are being "calibrated", and only in the circuit when you ask for acceleration level torque. Off the top of my head the only way I know to do that is to disable the modifying resister if the TPS, Throttle Position Sensor, is at the idle position, OR the torque converter lockup clutch is NOT enaged AND the TPS is NOT at idle. For most modern day automatic transmissions the torque converter lockup clutch will ALWAYS be engaged while cruising at a relatively constant speed. Insofar as I can learn NONE of these systems on the market are that sophisticated in design. WORTHLESS.

You can widen your choices for new rims and dramatically improve your wintertime safety factor by first adding 1.5" wheel spacers all around. Benefits are not only wider rim selection but also wider tread (more roadbed traction), wider stance (less prone to rollover), and most important of all, the ability to use tire chains on the rear FIRST and add the front chains only in case of need. My 2001 AWD RX300 has 1.5" spacers on all four wheels, 17X8 RH rims, and wider tread tires. I use summer only tires, Bridgestone Turanzas, all year around to give me the quietest and most comfortable ride. I have one set of tire chains on board at all times and add the second during the winter months. IMMHO going above 17" rims would result in too rough and stiff riding RX.

You would be MUCH better served taking the money you would otherwise spend on the DVD upgrade and using it as partial (>50%) payment on ANY portable touch screen GPS/Nav system and simply turning the Lexus one off FOREVER.

You are on good firm ground with Lexus, or so it appears. Apparently Lexus has admitted, achnowledged, that your engine has had a problem from the get-go. Therefore they clearly, IMMHO, now have a responsibility to fix it to your satisfaction. Personally in your admirable position I would accept nothing less that a new engine or a new RX350. Making a counter-offer isn't costly....... Strange as it may seem I know of one case wherein MY OWN attorney already had a counter-offer response available when I refused the manufactuer's initial offer.

A couple of possibilities... As the A/C clutch is engaged and disenaged a HUGE electrical SPIKE hits the 12 VDC eelctrical system. That spike has been know to cause on-board engine ECU's to execute the wrong instruction stream. With the A/C on the airflow into the engine compartment will be substantially HOTTER then otherwise so any solid state device sensitive to heat to be intermittent of fail. You can alleviate a bit of this last effect by making the A/C substantially more efficient thereby less heating of the radiator and engine compartment via the A/C condensor airflow. To do so use MAX, 65F, cooling, recirculate mode, and the lowest blower speed that will maintain your comfort level. MAX COOLING...?? Counter-intuitive, right..?? Not actually. MAX cooling bypasses the Lexus climate control's REHEAT/REMIX airflow path allowing fewer cycles of the a/c compressor. Better FE too. You can improve the A/C efficiency even more by disconnecting the reheat/remix servomotor actuation cable from the hot water flow valve (top/center of the firewall in the engine compartment) and tying the valve into the shutoff position.

Longer hood....2"...? Longitudnally mounted engine, say from the IS250 (DFI, 12:1 compression ratio) and/or IS350 (DFI, 11.8 Compression ratio) and maybe, FINALLY, a rear based, biased, AWD...?? More sensible Atkinson Cycle 2.5L V6 for the hybrid...?? Or maybe rear biased AWD via a solid coupling(***) to the rear and VC for the from and DFI adopted for the sideways engines. (***) Even on the current model the center diff'l spider gears can be removed and the rear drive side gear welded to the carrier housing for an easy conversion to RWD with the VC for front drive. Then the 1-2 second delay hesitation idiory could be eliminated since the engine compression braking would occur primarily at the rear. I'll take mine in Brandywine.... One can dream......

I complained about this aspect of the GPS/Nav shortly after I purchased my new 2001 AWD RX300. Except in my case I wanted the OAT to stay "on screen" since it was wintertime traveling in MT and I wanted to know if the OAT was near or approaching freezing. Here it is 16 years later and I guess not enough of us have complained about the display reverting to the useless moving map. I pop the nav DVD out of the player when the GPS is not in use to avoid the "I agree" aspect but seemingly there is not way to keep any other display "up". After buying a portable Garmin the only time I use the Lexus nav is to remind me just how unsatisfactory, in comparison, it really is.

If the problem with the PS pump is only leakage, as is typical, you only need an overhaul kit and very few parts from that. There is a fluid pressure control valve that is the usual source of the fluid leak and replacing the seals in that is all that is really needed.

That's by design. DSP, Digital Signal Processing, is used to prevent the climate control from reacting to spurious OAT sensor signals, such as radiant heat from the nearby condensor/radiator when stopped or in stop and go traffic. More sensible design engineers simply relocate the sensor into the driver outside rear view mirror housing, but not the idiots at NipponDenso/Denso US. My 92 LS was build before DSP was adopted so I moved my OAT sensor into the front of the passenger side front fender well to it couldn't be heated by the condensor/radiator.

During idle or cruising at a relatively constant speed the upstream oxygen sensor is used exclusively to control the A/F mixture. During "these" periods the signal level of the MAF & IAT sensors are stored as parameters to be used when the time comes for them to be used to control the A/F mixture. In other words the oxygen sensor, during its exclusive use, is used to continuously calibrate the MAF/IAT module signals. When you ask for acceleration level torque out of the engine the A/F mixture must be enriched beyond the range of the oxygen sensor capability and so now the signals from the MAF/IAT modules are used. So if you want to run a richer mixture by "fooling" the system then the IAT signal must be modified to indicate COLDER intake airflow than reality ONLY during acceleration, say for instance only when the torque converter lockup clutch is NOT engaged. Constant IAT signal modification will simply be calibrated "out" during the oxygen sensor exclusive use periods.

Thanks for the information. You were right on all of this, and yesterday I went to the dealership and had all the settings personalized for me in one fell swoop. Since the car wasn't brand new, they charged $45 to make the changes. I guess that's reasonable enough. Sorry, you're likely to need to revisit that dealer yet again. For some rather strange reason for many years Lexus has kept somewhat secret all of the C-best features/options. More recently a few of these have been publisized as LPS, Lexus Personal Setings, options/features, but this list is not nearly the full boat. Go back to the dealer and ask, INSIST, to see the complete C-BEST list, you'll be surprised at how extensive it is, and USEFUL, over and about the LPS list. Hmm. I had problems getting the list from them yesterday, just as you mentioned. All they said they had was the current LS460 ones, and there were 16 of those, only one of which didn't apply (power trunk lid operation). I went down the list one by one and made every selection. They acted like this was the only list they had available. I can certainly press them on it if you're certain that there's more than 16 different types. I'll put the types they showed me and maybe someone can say if they notice something missing: Unlocking of doors Flashing of signal lights Unlocking doors when placing vehicles into park Auto locking of doors at 13 mph Locking doors when shifting from park into another range Using the remote key to open all windows Using the remote key to open moon roof Using the remote key to open/tilt moon roof Opening the trunk from remote key Illumination of cabin light Illumination of the interior light Delaying headlights to turn off Sensitivity of automatic headlights Daytime running lights function Auto tilt away of the steering wheel Power trunk lid operation / non-operation That is only the LPS list, you want to see the c-best list. Things like being able to disable the A/C compressor indefinitely by simply switching it off one time. Unlinking the A/C compressor from operating automatically, with NO indication to you of same, in defrost/defog/demist mode. Preventing the system from automatically switching into cooling mode, dash air outflow, on the coldest night in the dead of winter. Preventing the climate control from automatically switching to recirculate (shear idiocy) upon start on a hot day. Trust me, the service manager has the C-best list buried deeply and out of mind in a desk drawer somewhere. If he still refuses then ask to see the Lexus repair/shop manual for your MY and look up the section on climate control as a start.

Thanks for the information. You were right on all of this, and yesterday I went to the dealership and had all the settings personalized for me in one fell swoop. Since the car wasn't brand new, they charged $45 to make the changes. I guess that's reasonable enough. Sorry, you're likely to need to revisit that dealer yet again. For some rather strange reason for many years Lexus has kept somewhat secret all of the C-best features/options. More recently a few of these have been publisized as LPS, Lexus Personal Setings, options/features, but this list is not nearly the full boat. Go back to the dealer and ask, INSIST, to see the complete C-BEST list, you'll be surprised at how extensive it is, and USEFUL, over and about the LPS list.

I would take it to Lexus first and "beat" up on them a bit before going to a third party. Not denegrating third parties it's just that Lexus is VERY WELL acquainted with the premature transaxle problems of the '99 (possibly '00 too) RX300 and has been making concessions (monetary, labor, parts..) to owners, especually those with good maintainance records and more especially with those having had Lexus do all or at least some of the maintenance. '99 RX300 transaxles are failing prematurely, under 100k miles typically, because of a FWD safety improvement firmware change made in the engine/transaxle ECU programming. DBW was adopted with the RX330 as a temporary fix for the firmware "BUG" but that resulted in the 1-2 second acceleration delay. To this date it is still unknown as to what the permanent fix will be.

Without the filter the "squirrel cage" blower vanes accumulate dust and dirt like you wouldn't believe. The factory filter may also have some anti-microbial chemical embedded tp prevent mold and mildew formation as do the inexpensive home furnace filters you can use to make new filters for your LS.

If I remember correctly the 92 has a power transistor that controls blower speed up to MAX wherein a relay kicks in to eliminate even the slight voltage drop of the transistor in saturation. I don't remember where exactly the power transistor is mounted but I would suspect the driver circuitry in this case rather than the transistor itself.