monarch

To keep my insurance / accident record incident free, what I do in the event of a minor accident is to try not report it to anyone, assuming the other party is receptive to the idea. Even if it was the other party's fault. I just bite the bullet and pay for the damage out of pocket or ask the other party to pay, or help pay, if it was their fault. This strategy has worked well for me. I''ve had four minor accidents in the last 10 years and neither the police nor my insurance company will ever know about them !!!! So my driving record remains perfect and I get the lowest insurance rates.

tealboy, check out this thread started by a 1999 RX300 AWD owner who has driven 155,000 miles and never had any transmission problems http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...0++transmission

Read through the ES forum. Dozen and Dozen of owners of 10-15 year old ES's have needed to replace their radiators and even sometimes their whole engines due to the use of aftermarket antifreeze and / or tap water. These owners didn't realize (and many still don't) all they had to do to prevent this self inflicted engine destruction is to respect and trust the advice of the Toyota engineers to use only a 50/50 mix of red Toyota Long Life Antifreeze and distilled water in their cooling system (it was the coolant mixture Toyota installed in their cars to begin with. In your owners manual it explains the RX330 uses a 50/50 mix of pink Toyota Super Long Life Antifreeze and distilled water. Your owners manual also says this factory fill is good for many years or 100,000 miles and strongly advises that you use it at replacement time. This new antifreeze came out in 2004 and since it will be several more years before most owners need to change it, Toyota & Lexus dealers generally aren't even stocking it yet, but you can special order it. You should read the factory repair manual to learn the procedure to change the coolant because sometimes a special air bubble bleeding procedure needs to be followed to prevent possible overheating and engine damage when changing the coolant.

Even compared to your '05 LS430 ?? What do you like & dislike about the RX330 vs the LS430? Are you still glad you bought the LS430?

Nissan / Infiniti owners manuals advise "Just Say No" to any kind of fuel, oil or coolant additives. At one time Nissan made it's own fuel injector cleaner but discontinued it after switching to it's "Just Say No" policy on additives. I agree with Nissan / Infiniti's policy and havn't used any additives in my '92 fuel injected Toyota pickup for 465,200 trouble free miles. I have always used high detergent Premium gas, however (like Chevron Premium or Shell V-Power Premium) so that may be why I've never had any fuel injector problems.

I agree with SK that nasty things could potentially happen by leaving a sizable piece of rubber loose inside the engine. I learned this the hard way myself. A cylinder head half moon rubber plug fell down into the timing chain mechanism of an old Toyota pickup I had. Engine ran fine for a few days and then one day when I tried to start it and it kind of locked up and wouldn't turn freely. I removed the valve cover and saw the rubber plug had jammed itself between the timing chain and crankshaft gear preventing the engine from turning and I also saw the chain had jumped a tooth on the camshaft gear spocket. So not only did I have to get the piece of rubber out, I also had to remove the camshaft gear sprocket and timing chain in order to realign them to fix the skipped tooth condition. Luckily the engine ran fine after I fixed it.

TThere are 2 cylinder heads, 2 camshafts per cylinder head, 8 valves per camshaft, 32 valves total. A camshaft needs to be removed if and only if there is one or more of the 8 valves it drives are out of adjustment. Checking the clearances does not require removing any camshafts. So a dealer should not charge too much just to check clearances, but only charge alot if one or more camshafts need to be removed. Obviously the dealer should base the price on the number of camshafts (if any) that need to be removed and number of valves that need adjusting (if any), but perhaps some charge a blanket 4 camshaft removal price on all valve clearance jobs. I just don't know what they do in regard to pricing valve clearance jobs. Your scheduled maintenance guide calls for an audible valve clearance inspection every 60,000 miles. Normally on a 1995 on up LS400 that wasn't raced and which received all it's oil changes and other preventive maintenance on time, the valves stay quiet and don't get out of adjustment for over 250,000 miles and owners never need to pay to have them adjusted. However, in your cars' case since the cylinder heads were removed at 49,000 miles, something traumatic likely happened to the engine at that time, like the prior owner might have overheated it, ran it way low on engine oil or something horrible like that. Some valves or the associated mechanical valve lifters could have been damaged at the time the trauma occurred (Lexus's do not have hydraulic lifters) causing the clearances to get out of adjustment. If it was my car I'd get a printout of the service history from the dealer to find out specifically why the heads were removed (to fix what?) and to find out if it was for a repair covered under warranty or not. If the heads were removed to repair mechanical faults due to owner abuse / neglect such as for overheating, blown head gaskets, or running low on oil then I'd probably have to bite the bullet and pay for the valve adjustment and any other damage that is found to be due to the prior owner's abuse and neglect. Another option is to get a second opinion from another dealer on the likely source of the ticking noise since the valvetrain isn't the only possible source of ticking noises. But the valvetrain is the likely source if the engine suffered trauma at 49,000 miles as noted above.

The location of the noise is around the rear cylinder head. Maybe one of the three spark plugs in the rear head has come loose and the noise is air escaping because it wasn' tightened correctly. But there are other possibilities so it looks like you should pay a Toyota dealer to diagnose the noise. If the diagnosis sounds fishy and costly, get a second opinion for a second dealer or Toyota specialty shop.

You need to tell us in detail the conditions in which it overheats and how quickly it overheats. And also a little about the ownership and maintenance history of the car. Example: if the temp gauge rises above the 1/2 way point on the temperature gauge dial within the first 5 miles of driving regardless of the weather, terrain or traffic conditions then that behavior would suggest the thermostat is stuck closed preventing coolant from circulating.

You need to tell us in detail the conditions in which it overheats and how quickly it overheats. And also a little about the ownership and maintenance history of the car. Example: if the temp gauge rises above the 1/2 way point on the temperature gauge dial within the first 5 miles of driving regardless of the weather, terrain or traffic conditions then that behavior would suggest the thermostat is stuck closed preventing coolant from circulating.

You need to tell us in detail the conditions in which it overheats and how quickly it overheats. And also a little about the ownership and maintenance history of the car. Example: if the temp gauge rises above the 1/2 way point on the temperature gauge dial within the first 5 miles of driving regardless of the weather, terrain or traffic conditions then that behavior would suggest the thermostat is stuck closed preventing coolant from circulating.

They're mechanical lifters, not hydraulic. So that means they are not self adjusting which is why Toyota specifies a valve clearance check a minimum of every 60,000 miles. Although the clearances may stay within specs for 300,000+ miles on a perfectly maintained and unmodded engine, most of the early 90's Lexus owners on this forum bought their cars used and that means the clearances could have gotten out of spec due to the prior owners poor preventive maintenance habits, overheatiing, engine mods, etc. Stick your head in the engine bay and find where the noise is comming from with your ear. ←

You said "a grinding/ticking sound every 1-2 seconds" Actually, this noise you are hearing may not be due to loose valve clearances because loose valves on Toyota / Lexus engines result in MULTIPLE TICKS PER SECOND. Although it's common for the Lexus V8 to have some valves with loose clearances after 75,000 miles, I can't remember a single post from a V6 owner complaining of ticking noises due to loose valve clearances. Some V6 owners have hear ticking noises caused by the fuel injectors and they are normal and unharmful. As a rule, it's normal for a Toyota engine to have a bit more audible mechanical noise after an oil change which gradually subsides as the oil gradually gets dirty again.

Search the LS400 forum using "valve clearance" as your search words and you will find alot of info including links to 1 or 2 websites that cover the procedure for the '90-'97 LS400. The early-mid 1990's ES300 has a very similar valvetrain, but there are no step-by-step websites / tutorials available. The procedure is also covered in the factory manual. If you do have alot of time on your hands it would be best to practice the procedure on a junked early 90's V6 Camry that you can probably find in a local self service auto junk yard.

If personal safety was the #1 concern then it would be far safer and less expensive to fly a commercial airline between Northern and Southern Calif. and just rent a car to do your local business. Crashworthiness: LS430 wins Driver comfort: LS430 wins Ride comfort and quietness: LS430 wins Reliability: Avalon wins Upkeep costs: Avalon wins

The Toyota Highlander is a less pretentious version of the RX330, but rides and drives with almost the same level of refinement. Check Consumer Reports and you'll see the Highlander is at the top of the midsize SUV class in ride, comfort, reliability, durability, owner satisfaction and resale value. Naturally you'd want to get one with an adjustable lumbar support. If you need great fuel economy the Highlander is also available with a suprizingly peppy, quiet and refined Camry 4 cylinder engine that gets 30 MPG @ 60 MPH. American SUV's all suffer mediocre to poor reliability after 4-5 years, mediocre to poor owner satisfaction and lousy resale value compared to Toyota and Honda SUV's

wwests original post was about whether or not using 91 octane would help alleviate the hesitation up acceleration. It should in 3 ways: 1. Using 91 octane prevents the engine electronics from retarding the ignition timing. Retarded ignition timing in any vehicle causes a longer lag in throttle response = more hesitation upon abrupt acceleration. 2. Using 91 octane provides quicker starting, smoother running and more instantaneous throttle response in any vehicle because it burns more smoothly and evenly. 3. Most brands of 91 octane have higher amounts of engine cleaner / detergent additive to keep intake valves and fuel injectors cleaner which in turn reduces the tendency of an engine to develop a hesitation upon acceleration.

On Toyota's website at toyota.com there is an FAQ for owners and it says this about the MINIMUM recommended octane for each 2005 Toyota engine: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/.min.jpg I hope this helps you guys understand that when Toyota recommends 87 octane, iridium spark plug changes every 120,000 miles, air filter changes every 30,000 miles, etc. that those are all just MINIMUM recommendations & service intervals, not necessarily the best recommendations and intervals to follow for maximum reliability, durability, drivability, etc. Likewise the owners manuals of nearly all Toyotas going clear back to the 1970's say: "Use 87 octane OR HIGHER." That's Toyotas way of saying 87 octane is the MINIMUM allowable octance and not necessarily the best octane to achieve optimal engine reliability, durability, drivability, etc.

The Service Advisor website http://theserviceadvisor.com/octane.htm is authored by a guy who admits: "I do not proclaim to be an expert in these matters". RX & ES Lexus owners manuals do not say 87 octane is the recommended octane. They say 87 is the MINIMUM acceptable octane and for better performance use 91. Also, the Owner FAQ on Lexus's website states that the engine control system will !Removed! the ignition timing if 87 octane is used and that means weaker acceleration and greater fuel consumption. Finally, practically any engine designed to run on a MINIMUM octane of 87 (including your garden lawnmower, rototiller, etc.) will start easier and run with less stumbling and hesitation if the owner uses 89 or 91 octane. Besides less hesitation upon abrupt acceleration, another benefit of 91 octane is that some brands like Shell put 5 times as much detergent / cleaners in it to keep the fuel injectors and intake valves extra clean which also translates into better power, fuel economy, lower emissions and elimination of the need to use supplemetal gas additives like fuel injector cleaners.

Hi blake918, I've never done the solenoid cleaning partly because I've never heard of doing this task before and partly because I can't imagine how they could get dirty considering clean transmission fluid is a good metal parts cleaner all by itself. So blake918, I'm wondering what type of dirt was present on your solenoids and in what way was this dirt interfering with how they were functioning? Thanks.

If the rotors are pretty smooth and there is no vibration when braking then turning just needlessly grinds away valuable life off the rotor, plus it's a wasteful expense. Best ways to avoid rotor problems are to avoid abrupt stops, use engine braking to help control vehicle speeds on long downgrades and avoid overtorquing the wheel lug nuts. Genuine Toyota Pads are relatively inexpensive when purchased from discount Toyota dealer websites like newlexusparts.com, irontoad.com and 1sttoyotaparts.com

4 cylinder, front wheel drive 2001-2005 Toyota Highlanders get 30 MPG at 60-65 MPH. It's the same 4 cylinder engine that's in the 2002-2005 Toyota Camry's.

I know a guy who drives a gasoline tanker truck for Chevron. And I also know a petroleum chemist who works for Shell. Both agree with what steviej said. Both also use premium gas in all their own personal cars because it eliminates all pinging - both audible and inaudible - and keeps fuel injectors and intake valves clean without ever needing to additives to the gas. These three benefits, in turn, maintain optimal engine power, fuel economy and lowest emissions which in turn benefits the life of the expensive emission system componets. Bottom line is regular gas is usually OK for the owner who sells / trades their car ever 2-3 years. Premiun gas is a worthwhile investment for the owner who wants to drive hundreds of thousands of miles without encountering fuel or emission system problems, hesitations or other drivability problems and owners who want the smoothest, most responsive engine performance.

Sounds like a used car dealer is selling the car for an average price but that it has few or no written service records. So mechanically the car could be in worse than average condition The cars' past service history is what counts, not it's current servicing needs because it's way too late to avoid the mechanical consequences of 15 years of spotty preventive maintenance. This website http://www.lexls.com/ details service requirements and do-it-yourself tutorials.

GM has always done a great job building rear wheel drive cars / trucks that excel in high speed handling and cornering while Toyota / Lexus cars / trucks emphasize refinement and lasting reliability / durability. Cadillac understands this and rather than trying to compete with Lexus on refinement, reliability & durability, fit, finish, etc., Cadillac has successfully been building cars that appeal to enthusiast / spirited driver.