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The low, dimmer, side of an 1157 draws about 0.8 amps. The high, brighter side, draws about 1.3 amps. 15 ohms and 10 ohms respectively. Due to low duty cycle you can probably get by with 5 watt resistor. And the load resistors MUST be in parallel with the lower wattage bulb. Resistor sets are available at autolumination.com

The 99, and possibly the '00 RX300's mostly the AWD models have been experiencing "premature" transaxle failure at about 70-80,000 miles.

I think its in the photo gallery at clublexus.com

Yes, we tend to call that stuff "Pacific Boilerplate". Personally I have a 1994 AWD Ford Aerostar if I plan to intentionally go where the ice and snow is. But for the unexpected stuff, lots of that twice in the past 4 months, I always carry a complete set, 4, tire chains during the winter months. You should be aware that tire chains cannot be fitted on the rear of the RX series as shipped. I added 1.5" wheel spacers all around, upgraded to 17X8 wheels aand +1" tires (wider stance, more roadbed contact area, etc) mostly so I could use tire chains on the rear initially and then also on the front if it became necessary. Otherwise my RX runs on Bridgestone Turanza summer only tires all year around for comfort and quietness.

Isn't it really nice to be able to set back and advise someone else to risk paying an extra $4,000.00 for a transaxle replacement on a $15,000 purchase?

Obviously you weren't in Portland during the winter of 68-69...!! Insofar as I know the RX transaxle isn't unique in any way, simply an add-on PTO. And I'm not so certain the premature transaxle failures have been isolated to only the AWD model. IN any case I will tell you that IMMHO a FWD RX with VSC & Trac would probably yeild as great wintertime adverse roadbed conditions as would an AWD RX. Regretably VSC/Trac was not available in the early models, made available for the AWD model in '01 but I'm unsure of the FWD. I traded my 2000 AWD RX300 (in Wilsonville) for a 2000 911/996 and then bought a 2001 AWD RX300 to get HID, VSC and Trac. No trips planned to Mt Hood or Bachelor?

I just paid ~$48 for a Bosch OEM replacement oxygen sensor at NAPA. And no, they cannot be cleaned or refurbished otherwise.

I'm lost... I understood that we were discussing the issue of the slight, SLIGHT, surge forward one feels in some of the Toyota/Lexus FWD or front torque biased AWD vehicles upon a FULL lift-throttle coastdown event. It was your position, or so I thought, that this slight surge represented a serious safety issue and I said I thought not. I'm clearly of a misunderstanding somehow, where did I go wrong? Sorry about the misunderstanding, and let me backtrack a bit. Whenever I let go of the gas pedal from a cruising speed above 75 kmh, my RX normally slows down but as it downshifts to 1st gear, it surges or pushes forward before it further slows down. This is what I will call its downshift cycle. Now, even if you apply your brakes in the middle of this cycle, the vehicle will carry on to finish the cycle but of course the driver will be caught off guard to the forward movement of the vehicle and hence, will again re-apply the brakes. The safety issue is not the RX ability to stop but rather the strain on the driver to stop the vehicle at varying road conditions. Downshifts in auto tranny are there to slowdown vehicle motion, as in engine braking. Yes, my RX does that too but it surges before it finally settles down. The techies at my local dealership are aware of this problem on earlier RXs and are now learning and hearing about it on the 07s. Apparently, there is already a computer patch to fix this problem but they are still awaiting word if the same patch will apply to the 07s. Now, if only I can schedule my emergency braking after it surges, everything will be dandy. Cheers! I'm not aware of any modern day FWD vehicle with automatic transaxle that will downshift of itself, I'm very surprised that your '07 does. Coasting down from 75 kmh at what speed does it shift down into 1st, and how does it act during the intermediate downshifts, 3rd, 2nd, etc. I'm not sure if this will be of any help but I have heard that the new Suzuki SX4 will rev-match the engine speed to road speed if you lift the gas pedal but don't disengage the clutch, presumably also to alleviate the potential dangers of engine compression braking on the front wheels. Maybe that's what your '07 is doing? Rev-matching and then declining revs on downshifts to prevent a sudden increase in engine compression braking with the downshift?

I'm lost... I understood that we were discussing the issue of the slight, SLIGHT, surge forward one feels in some of the Toyota/Lexus FWD or front torque biased AWD vehicles upon a FULL lift-throttle coastdown event. It was your position, or so I thought, that this slight surge represented a serious safety issue and I said I thought not. I'm clearly of a misunderstanding somehow, where did I go wrong?

It doesn't sound as if you really need an AWD vehicle. The FWD RX with VSC/Trac, etc, will provide stellar service provided you feel a FWD vehicle will best serve you. But if you should decide otherwise the RX series is definitely a poor AWD choice. The RX series, as is the Toyota Highlander and Sienna, are primarily FWD vehicles with rear dive capability added in as an afterthought. But your salesman is likely correct, the majority of buyers (95%) are smart enough these days to recognize that the RXes AWD system is nothing more than a pig in a poke, totally useless when compared as a plus, add-on, to a FWD with VSC/Trac. Given that uselessness of the AWD aspects of these vehicles if you want an AWD then have a serious look at the BMW X3 or even the Acura RDX. Honda/Acura's SH-AWD system is the very best that can be had for AWD in an otherwise "base" FWD vehicle.

By "surging" do you by any chance mean a fairly slight feeling of "freeing up" of forward rolling resistance? These cars will upshift the transaxle during full lift throttle coastdown events at ~40-30MPH and at ~10-5MPH brake on or not. A "slingshot effect" feeling at the higher speed and a feeling of being bumped slightly from behind as you slow toward a full stop. Yes. This is a safety issue. Wondered why was this not cited in all the car reviews. "...This is a safety issue...." Actually, no, this is a fix for what was a safety issue. But first, why do you think it a safety issue? I first noticed this "symptom" in my 2000 AWD RX300 and it also exists in my 2001 AWD RX300. After 60,000 miles in the 2001 I rarely even notice these upshifts unless I focus on the issue and pay pretty close attention during coastdown times. When I first noticed it in my 2000 RX I asttributed it to the need to alleviate or reduce the potential hazard of engine compression braking on a FWD vehicle should the roadbed happen to be slippery, ice, packed snow, etc. It is currently my personal opinion that Toyota adopted this transaxle upshift procedure at the onset of RX production and that is what lead to the premature transaxle failures for those early, 99-00, model years. By 2001 they had overcome the premature failures by increasing the pumping capacity of the ATF gear type oil pump but then that lead to other problems, primarily overheating of the ATF due to that fixed pumping over capacity with the engine above idle. In 2004 they went to DBW, e-throttle, to delay the onset of engine torque until the required "downshift" could be completed. The "downshift" immediately succeeding the upshift if the driver happened to go from a full lift-throttle state to a need to accelerate. Insofar as I can learn the 2-3 second downshift delay still exhibits in some of the 2007 Toyota/Lexus models. And that is a REAL safety issue IMMHO..!

"...by applying power to the electric motors to slow the car down...." These particular electric motors are of the synchronous multi-phase variety except they have a permanent magnet rotor. In regenerative mode you can think of them as an absolute duplicate of the industry standard alternator with the sole exception being your alternator's rotor is an electro magnet which is energized by the voltage regulator as a function of the need for generating electrical power.

By "surging" do you by any chance mean a fairly slight feeling of "freeing up" of forward rolling resistance? These cars will upshift the transaxle during full lift throttle coastdown events at ~40-30MPH and at ~10-5MPH brake on or not. A "slingshot effect" feeling at the higher speed and a feeling of being bumped slightly from behind as you slow toward a full stop.

I think this describes the situation accurately and should address many of the questions being posed here lately on the subject. The only thing I would add or take issue with is the notion that the "B" mode in anyway changes how any of this works. Everything functions just as described whether you are in "B" or "D". The only diference is the ADDITION of compression braking to the mix. This has the effect of displacing a certiain amount of the regenerative braking for a given deceleration and therefore the system will not capture the engergy waseted as heat in the engine. As for the transistion between regenerative and friction braking... it can be unsetteling at times. I believe Lexus could have done a better job at integrating these two systems so that it was less apparent to the driver. I've experienced the "letting go" feeling during hard stops on less than perfect road condtions. ANY activation of the ABS (and perhaps even the Active Stabilty Control) will kick out the regenerative and leave only the friction. With that is required addional pedal pressure from the driver to compensate for the change. It is more difficult to come to completely smooth stop with this car under normal conditions, throw in a bit of skidding or performance type stopping and it gets worse. "...Lexus could have done a better job..." Absent being able to accurately predict just when ABS will be needed, will activate, it is a practical impossibility to provide a "smooth" transition from combined frictional and regenerative braking to full/only frictional braking. Other than disabling regenerative braking virtaully completely as Ford does below about 35F anyway.

Think of it this way... Lets begin with the hybrid battery needing to be seriously (re)charged. As you apply pressure to the brake pedal the regenerative braking system will start charging the batteries and as you apply more and more pressure to the brake pedal the battery charge rate due to regnerative braking will also increase incrementally. At some point the system will decide to start bringing in friction braking and at that point regenerative braking will stop increasing in effectiveness. If you, instead of applying the brakes, switch into "B" mode the question becomes which "braking" effect will be the majority source for slowing the vehicle? Should the hybrid battery happen to be already fully charged then the answer is quite obvious, you will be left with only engine compression braking. So, as a general rule the use of "B" will, on the average, reduce the effectiveness of regenerative braking. Obviously if the hybrid battery charge is already "topped-off" then forget about regenerative brakingat any level. If

The answer is: Regenerative braking is not as effective when used in conjunction with ("B" mode) engine braking. Yes, the batteries will continue to be charged but since engine compression is providing some of the braking HP the regenerative "efficiency" will be lower. If the batteries are almost fully discharged and the roadspeed is fairly low then engine braking might not even come into effect even in "B" mode.

The electric motors have PM, Permanent Magnet, rotors, so absent multi-phase AC driving power application they WILL generate electricity if turning. Absent being in the "B" mode the electric motors are used in regenerative mode to simulate engine compression braking during "coastdowns" to charge the hybrid batteries. When the brakes are applied a stronger level of regenerative braking is used depending on how hard you press the brake pedal up to a point wherein the friction braking system MUST be used to provide the level of braking you require. Ford has just been granted a patent concerning this issue that may be of interest here. The first patented technique involves significantly reducing the level of regenerative braking to be used if the OAT is near or below freezing wherein the potential for loss of control from "braking" the front wheels on a slippery roadbed increases dramatically. The second technique involves disabling the regenerative braking system altogether the instant ABS activates while braking. Obviously, assuming Toyota has cross-licensed the patent, hitting a "minor bump" while braking might result in a brief, "one-shot", ABS activation and therefore instant disabling of the regenerative braking system.

Goes to the cruise control servomotor.

1. The egr pipe end at the exhaust can be bent over and sealed and no one will know the difference. 2. When the timing belt on my '92 was changed out at ~153,000 miles it looked as if it could go another 100,000, no cracks, checking, etc. 3. DIY front brake job, pad replacement, is really simple, otherwise ~$150. 4. With the advent of solid state ignition spark plugs are no longer a "wear" item and certainly not the wires. 5, 6. Someone's kidding you (Drives like a dream..).

Read the helpful material at airsept.com regarding their EED, electronic evaporator dryer.

The only way you'll be able to tell is on a dyno, with and without the mod. I bought a spare MAF/IAT module for my 2001 AWD RX300 and tried resistor values to both improve FE and increase HP. Ran for about a week with each and couldn't tell the difference with HP and the FE improvement wasn't measurable.

And to add to the headache :chairshot: , You'll probably have to cut wires and solder :chairshot: Watch out when you have to reverse the project :chairshot: My .02 cents There was a period of time in which this "mod" would actually work. The base idea was to modify the IAT, Intake Air Temperature sensor such that the engine ECU would "think" the intake airflow was cooler than actual. Cooler intake airflow equals densor intake airflow so the ECU would increase the level of fuel in the mixture and RICHER mixture therefore an increase in HP. But modern day engine control systems defeat this "mod" by "learning", monitoring for the correct A/F mixture in the exhaust manifold via the oxygen sensor. So these days if you want this mod to work you have to also modify the mixture feedback signal from both exhaust manifold oxygen sensors. These modern systems could possibly be fooled if the IAT modification were only enabled at WOT. But as always the fact that it is simply a 3 cent 1/4 watt resistor isn't the issue, it's knowing how to use that resistor.

Yes, generally all cars of asian manufacture will do this, certainly those with climate control systems designed by the idiot Japanese engineers at NipponDenso or US engineers at Denso US. The base idea is to go to recirculate mode in order to cool the interior down more quickly on a hot, or bright and sunny day. Note that it doesn't have to be HOT outside for the inside of your car to get quite HOT on a bright and sunny day, even a coolish day. The fly in the ointment is the fact that in most cases the interior atmosphere will have been heated far above the outside ambient temperature as will, in some cases, the interior surfaces themselves. Example: It's late in the afternoon and the local atmosphere is cooling, now 75F. But the car has been setting out fully closed up in the hot summer sun all day and the interior atmosphere is at 112F and the seat and other surfaces are hot to the touch. Start up the car, the A/C starts up and moves the system to recirculate. Now the A/C is extraordinarily burdened with cooling the 112F air "trapped" within the cabin plus cooling the extraordinarily heated surfaces. The way this should work is to use "fresh" mode initially, even at a high blower speed, to move the HOTTER interior atmosphere OUT of the car via the exhauster port provided, until the interior temperature is at least down to that of the outside ambient. Then at that point it becomes, is entirely reasonable, to convert to recirculate mode so the system is not continuously trying the reduce the temperature of the incoming outside HOT airflow. It is an extremely good idea to use reciculate mode continuously during the times when cooling need(***) is predominant to improve the efficiency of the A/C. Personally I use recirculate continuously and turn the setpoint to max cooling and then use the blower speed to control my comfort level. In that way none of the system airflow goes through the reheat cycle and therefore the A/C compressor runs a lot less often. Some newer models, maybe yours, have a c-best option that can be set by the dealer wherein this special recirculate mode can be disabled. ***CAUTION...Never, NEVER use the recirculate mode during wintertime, HEATING mode. Some systems will allow you to keep recirculate mode active as long as the A/C is on and is functional, but the use of the A/C in heating mode, or even in defrost/defog/demist mode, can too easily prove to be HARZARDOUS.

If you are an inordinantly aggressive driver I'm quite sure Don Kitch at Proformance would be glad to accommodate you. I think he might even have a "loaner" more appropreate to the venue. Lot's of safety aspects thrown in along with the high performance stuff. You can reach Don via TeamSeattle.com

When you activated defrost/defog/demist mode the A/C was switched on automatically and due to belt slippage did not come up to speed quickly.