monarch

Ah...that likely explains the grey deposit on the bottom of the transmission oil pan. Next time you drop the transmission oil pan - say in another 50,000 miles - the bottom of the pan is almost guaranteed to be clean because of your frequent changes. The magnets will still have some buildup, but that's normal and typical.

Are you the original and only owner of the vehicle or did you buy it used? What do you mean when you say the magnets were "saturated"? If the magnets were clearly visible in the pan and not buried with teaspoon full amounts of wear debris then everything sounds normal to me. A 1/16" layer of grey material on the bottom of the pan is also usually normal. A thick, 1/8" - 1/4" layer of grey material that could be scooped up with a tablespoon coupled with magnets nearly buried with wear debris would be worrisome, but a condition like that would be extremely unlikely given your frequent fluid change regime (unless the vehicle was purchased in used condition) It is important to get the fluid level correct after replacing the fluid. Many owners fill the transmission to the HOT mark on the dipstick when the fluid temp is only tepid warm and may mean the transmission will be overfilled when the fluid temp is actually hot. To compensate for this, I fill to a point inbetween the Cold and Hot marks when the fluid is at room temperature and then check the fluid level after driving the car at least 20 miles / 20 minutes to verify the fluid level is within (but not above) the Hot range. I believe the Toyota engineers and members of the Toyota 400,000 mile club would congratulate you on your aggressive preventive maintenance. Clearly you understand that in order for preventive maintenance to be fully effective in preventing wear, transmission fluid must be changed BEFORE it becomes really dark or burnt.

Late models Toyotas/ Lexus's can go the distance too. Here's a '99 Camry owner with 320,000 miles and still running like a top http://www.saber.net/~monarch/320.jpg All major oil company dino oils have additives that protect against harmful engine deposits. Light varnish deposits do no harm - they're just cosmetic.

Grumpa72, ATE Super Blue Racing is a DOT 4 brake fluid. The fluid reservoir of your Lexus brake master cylinder reservoir says in big Capitol letters "USE ONLY DOT 3 BRAKE FLUID." as does the Toyota service technician Brake Systems training manual. Therefore Toyota / Lexus owners who use ATE Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid are knowingly using an unapproved brake fluid.

In the real world, properly driven and maintained Toyota engines don't suffer from "valve and valve stem bluing from heat and cylinder wall scoring" and will still be running great when they have 400,000 miles on them regardless if the owner used synthetic or conventional oil (and changed it at least every 6 months or 5,000 miles).

Take your car to any shop you trust and ask them to do a chemical test on your coolant for a blown head gasket. The other good test involves using an exhaust sniffer at the coolnt recovery bottle, if there is a leak it will show up by reading the exhaust in the vapor coming off from the coolant. Headgaskets can leak internally or externally; coolant into the cylinder area, coolant into the oil, coolant seeping down the outside of the engine block as a coolant leak (sometimes evaporating before actually leaking onto the ground), exhaust leaking into the coolant or oil, oil leaking into the coolant or showing up as an oil leak. A blown head gasket is a symptom of preventive maintenance neglect or maintenance performed with aftermarket parts and fluids. If spark plugs were not changed in 13 years I would imagine alot of other tune up type maintenance on the car has been neglected as well; e.g distributor caps / rotors / spark plug wires / cleaning of the throttle plate, etc. that could explain the erratic and rough idle.The cooling system might need a new thermostat, thermostat gasket, radiator cap, antifreeze, the internal radiator core tubes checked for mineral buildup, exterior fins cleaned of dirt and bugs, electric cooling fans checked for proper activation. Preventive maintenance is highly effective only if performed preventively, using Toyota parts and fluids. In your case, you might still be faced with corrective repairs (i.e. a head gasket job) even if all the above preventive maintenance is performed, but the maintenance would prevent future failures.

He uses ATE Super Blue Racing brake fluid too, in place of the factory original Toyota Brake Fluid http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/rxbf.jpg http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&hl=brake+fluid because it's "preferred by many BMW performance tuners" and has "high boiling points"

I don't worry about being rear ended and killed by SUV's simply because they take 5 more feet to stop from 60 mph. I worry about being rear ended and killed by 2 Fast, 2 Furious small cars like these http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/br.jpg with their aftermarket brakes, suspensiions, intakes and exhausts.

Nothing stays exactly the same, of course, but in recent years the Toyota SUV's based on the Camry chassis platform have stopped very nearly as well as the Toyota cars based on the Camry platform. Examples of Toyota cars based on the Camry platform: 2005 Camry 4 cylinder 60-0 stopping distance dry 147' wet 154' 2005 Camry Solara V6 60-0 stopping distance dry 130' wet 138' 2002 Camry XLE V6 60-0 stopping distance dry 128' wet 138' 2004 Lexus ES330 V6 60-0 stopping distance dry 132' wet 142' AVERAGE: 60-0 stopping distance dry 134' wet 143' Examples of Toyota SUV's based on the Camry platform: 2004 Lexus RX330 60-0 stopping distance dry 134' wet 148' 2006 Lexus RX400h 60-0 stopping distance dry 146' wet 152' 2005 Toyota Highlander V6 60-0 stopping distance dry 137' wet 152' 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 60-0 stopping distance dry 148' wet 158' 2005 Toyota Sienna minivan 60-0 stopping distance dry 142' wet 150' AVERAGE: 60-0 stopping distance dry 141' wet 152' CONCLUSION: Toyota SUV's and Vans based on the Camry platform weigh about 20% more than Toyota cars based on the Camry platform, but take only a 5% longer distance, on average, to stop from 60 MPH on a dry surface and 6% longer on average on a wet surface.

Yes the RX330 SUV compares favorably even with some sporty cars in Consumer Reports tests: 2004 Lexus RX330 60-0 stopping distance dry 134' wet 148' 2006 Lexus GS300 60-0 stopping distance dry 133' wet 147' 2006 Chevy Corvette 60-0 stopping distance dry 126' wet 145' 2005 Ford Mustang V8 60-0 stopping distance dry 131' wet 144' 2003 Pontiac GTO V8 60-0 stopping distance dry 143' wet 152'

For decades we have been hearing these claims: "I need a monster V8 to accelerate my way out of dangerous traffic situations" and "I need Brembo pads and rotors to avoid dangerous traffic situations" My guess is commercial bus drivers and truckers have better accident avoidance driving records than the rest of society even though the vehicles they drive can't accelerate or stop very fast. And my guess is the owners of cars that can accelerate and stop the fastest have the worst accident avoidance records.

The RX300/330 and the Infiniti FX35 topped all other luxury mid-sized SUV's in reliability in Consumer Reports owner surveys http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/cr.jpg The RX300/330 also received the highest possible scores for owner satisfaction and low depreciation.

JIBBBY has a SC400 so his tranny uses Toyota Type T-IV fluid which is available only from Toyota / Lexus dealer parts dept's. Type T-IV fluid should not be used in Toyota power steering systems, only Dexron ATF.

Assuming the door latch is truly fatally broken (some parts of the handle inside the door panel may have simply have become disconnected, a clip fell off, etc. here's where you can order a used replacement: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/tap.jpg

Any Dexron II or III automatic transmission fluid. Even grocery stores carry it. About $2.50 a quart.

Virtually all the car makers of the world discourage car owners from using oil additives. Regular motor oil alone will take a Toyota engine to 500,000 miles. Even the regular motor oils available back in the 1970's were good enough to enable a Toyota engine to last 500,000 miles. Here's proof: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mast.../leowrfield.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/74h.jpg

If this is the first time the factory original pads have been changed on the vehicle then it would be extremely unusual for the rotors to be worn too thin already. I'd get another shop to measure the rotors and I'd bet money they are only 15-40% worn. Or you can measure the rotor thickness yourself using a hardware store micrometer or vernier caliper.

Both my high mileage Toyotas still have their factory original rotors: my '92 pickup with 467,800 miles and my '89 Corolla with 246,100 miles. I never encountered rotor warping probably because I was always careful to avoid abrupt stops, I used the lower gears to assist braking on mountain downgrades and I used genuine Toyota replacement pads. My '91 LS400 is still a youngster at "only" 105,000 miles

I don't understand how it could be functionally possible for a Toyota / Lexus to achieve a reliability history like this http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/cr.jpg unless Toyota parts and fluids were superior.

Beware independent repair shops (unless they are Toyota specialty shops) typically use aftermarket parts, fluids and filters. For the Lexus owner who is interested in maintaining maximum vehicle reliability and durability, one work around is to purchase the needed parts, fluids and filters separately ahead of time from a Toyota / Lexus dealer and then tell the independent shop to install them.

bhasbro, yes use Dexron III and it is Toyota approved for all Dexron II uses. Do NOT use Toyota Type T-IV as that fluid is only for the SC400 transmissions.

mehullica is the second Lexus dealer tech I've heard praising the use of a chain strap type wrench. Apparently one like this: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P6...ore&dir=catalog So if that's the tool the pros use I figure it must be good !!

camlex, below are some possible consequences of using a universal sensor on a late model car like yours: http://www.smsgj.com/Oxygen%20Sensor%20Que...d%20Answers.htm Q: What is a universal sensor? A: A universal sensor is a base sensor, which does not include the direct fit connector. Splicing is necessary for installation. Universals were widely used in the early years of vehicles equipped with oxygen sensors. The possibility exists that the user could select the wrong base sensor by assuming that all sensors with the same wire count are equal. All Oxygen Sensors are not created equally. Each type is matched to the make, model and sub-model application and cannot be mixed. It is impractical to offer a universal sensor for many applications due to heater types, ground types and other characteristics. Improper selection of the universal sensor could result in serious damage to the engine management system, including failure of the engine control unit (ECU) and/or the catalytic converter.

According to Consumer Reports, American 4WD SUV's like the Jeep Grand Cherokee have had major transmission problems as well: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/cr.jpg

There are tons of threads in the archives on coolant. Basically, if your car still has the factory original red coolant mixture (50% Toyota Long Life Antifreeze & 50% distilled water) you can maintain the system in like new condition for decades to come by simply draining the radiator and refilling it with this exact mixture every year or two. Since the factory coolant is virtually 100% effective in preventing corrosion (if the radiator is drained and refilled as described above every year or two) there is no need to ever flush the system or drain the engine block because the system and coolant never get dirty. On the other hand, if you would rather not have to bother changing the coolant for 3 years or 45,000 miles then you should drain both the radiator and engine block every time you change the coolant. Of course, draining the block is more complicated and beginner do it yourselfers commonly run into problems when they attempt it. Keep in mind the exterior fins of the radiator and air conditioning condenser do get filled with bugs, leaves and road dust over time. So approx. every 5-10 years or 100,000 miles the radiator should be physically removed to clean off this debris with the garden hose. Removing the radiator gives you room to access and clean off the AC condenser fins too. Toyota Long Life Coolant can be purchased at any Toyota dealer parts dept. Any large grocery store carries distilled water.